SweetMyrtle

birthday gifts..

a few weeks ago i celebrated another birthday and this blog also turned 4

i would like to share a few of the lovely  gifts that i was lucky enough to recieve.

firstly a scarf made by my friend Sarah in the most perfect colour and in the softest yarn;

 

this fun button mug  from my girls; (CT look away now!)

a gorgeous card sent from a dear blog friend, you can find them via Jen's shop;

My lovely ceramicist friend and fellow tutor at the art centre Lucy Burley gave me one of her wonderful turned vases;

 

and my sister jacky made me this pretty spiral wire and bead necklace;

I received lots of other kind and thoughtful gifts including another beautiful necklace from my eldest sister and another wonderful scarf from my parents. I really was very spoilt.

I was also made 2 birthday cakes (the above one gluten free, made by R & the girls) and some cupcakes, all with candles.  So three wishes, lucky me x

drawing

my girls really enjoy drawing. my youngest in particular has an instinctive talent for 'looking' and for seeing 'details' in everything. she has produced a wonderful piece of homework about Roald Dahl for a school project and i just love her illustrations and wanted to share them here with you.

at school they have been celebrating Dahl's work and a few weeks ago they had a Roald Dahl day. i was lucky enough to go and help make 'Nish Nobblers'. ( click on link for recipe )

the children also looked at Quentin Blakes wonderful illustrations and practiced drawing some of the characters in Quentin style.

Grand Witch - The Witches

The BFG

Matilda

she created these illustrations for her project and positioned them around a giant peach which contains all the facts that she wanted to include.

i then dug out this little book by Quentin Blake & John Cassidy that i had brought some time ago.

i was waiting to get another one or even two so we could all have one but us older girls decided that smallest would actually enjoy working through the pages so we gave it to her for working so hard on her project.

the book contains many differrent drawing exercises and has partially drawn pages which you can have lots of fun filling in.

it engaged the girls for hours, so much so that they almost missed the start of X factor! now that should tell you how great this book is!

a walk in the woods

i love to walk in the woods and it was wonderful to take a 'Memory' walk with my family last Sunday to raise money and awareness for the Alzheimer's Society.  here are some images of what i saw in the woods...

fairies

hawthorn berries

the turning of the year

fungi

nature's miracles

fly agaric

patterns of light through the trees

my wonderful family

x

small girl turns 10!

hello again ~ it has been a lovely Summer here but life as usual has been busy ~ good, but busy. since i last wrote we have had a great tomato harvest, a camping holiday on the isle of wight, various days out and a really successful family fundraiser for the Alzheimers society organised by my mum for which i made a teddy for guess the name of the teddy.

the girls have now returned  to school and i am preparing for some time alone next week when my husband also returns to work. i know i will miss them all but i also know that i need to have some clear head space to plan and prep for the hectic term ahead. we have lots of workshops scheduled in and i have finally updated news about them on the aliceandginny website here.  all our courses take place at the fabulously friendly and relaxed West End Centre arts centre in Aldershot, Hampshire. It is a real privilege to be involved with such a great place and if anyone who reads my blog is local, do check out their website and ring for a brochure as there are some amazing  gigs, comedy and workshops coming up, not to mention a burlesque night!!

September also brings two family birthdays, my husbands next week but we are not to mention that as he is now closer to 50 than 40 ~ sore point! and my smallest girl's.

Today smallest girl turned 10!! we really cannot believe it.  she is our  little ray of sunshine and really very dear. she is quirky, spirited, stubborn, creative, bright, funny, extremely loving and always right. we love her to bits.

 

i was up late last night printing out photos of her from birth to aged 10 and assembling them in a special book. i did the same for my elder daughter when she was 10.here are a couple of cute ones i included ...

camping age 3

modeling for a 'folkydokee' brochure. this one didn't make it in but i love it !

today we had a party for her.  her sister organised the food,  shopped for it with her dad  and iced the cake i baked.

we had a simple party at home  with a pass the parcel and proper forfeits. does anyone else do this? , games and a  party tea of sandwiches, cake and jelly and ice cream. oh and decorated biscuits. (made by girls ).

(message to grandmother myrtle ~ there is some jelly left for you for tomorrow!)

when the girls were smaller i used to theme the parties (with their input and ideas) and more often than not they were fancy dress parties too. now  they are older they like to go 'Crafty'.

i bought some inexpensive canvases and provided paints, buttons, sequins and felt pens and they created mini art pictures. i think they came out great. i am itching to do one myself now!

so tonight i am relaxing with some wine and resting up as we have our annual family sponsored Memory walk for Alzheimer's tomorrow. you can read read about last years walk here and the post i wrote about my grandparents last year too here. if this is a charity close to your heart i have reopened  my just giving page and you can donate easily straight to the charity if you wish.

wishing you all a Happy September and a gentle return the different rhythm that this time of year brings. i am thinking of a new knitting project for the autumn. i have learnt a little more about shaping this year with making  toys from this book but i would like to make myself a beret style hat. can anyone recommend a  simple but stylish one to start off on and any good places to purchase lovely yarn ~ i am thinking soft dusty lavender...

g x

a visit to the museums

last week we visited the Science  Museum in London. we enjoyed the interactive displays about the human body but if you are planning a visit be aware that the whole floor on energy is being refurbished and is closed. there was another display though that i found particularly interesting~ trash and fashion, more details here.

we popped over to the V & A for lunch in the courtyard and ended up spending more time looking around there.  the V& A is a fabulous museum. the girls just loved the scale of some of the sculptures.

our eldest girl with a lion.

our youngest likes to be busy and took the oppotunity to join in a craft activity. she had to first find something to draw from the museum.

she drew the lion sculpture.

she then cut it out and lay it over some light sensitive blue paper and exposed it in the sun.

the final step was rinsing it in the water.

 

and behold a fabulous  lion  sun picture ( cyanotype).

 the activity was only open to children but i think i may buy some paper and have a play myself!

for those of you planning a visit into London the V&A in addition to all the wonderful artefacts and exhibits on display also have a fabulous free exhibition scattered around the museum called 'architects build small spaces' 

we had a great day and it was fun to take the train  and bus.

have you visited any good museums or exhibitions this summer?

 x

(2) + 40 + 2 and a wee giveaway...

today is my blog anniversary...

2 years ago today i started my blog here at sweetmyrtle.

2 years ago i also turned 40... so today, 2 years on we are celebrating my 42nd birthday...

why is it that i still feel about 24?

today has been sweet ... first there was this reminder pinned onto our bedroom door last night...

hmm ... i am the one that always gets woken up first, but today was a lie-in!... and then this was left by my bedside last night...

 

inside was the sweetest little message, with some musical notes to highlight the fact that it should not be read but sung...

my family baked me a  chocolate birthday cake today ... it was delicious... the candles were magic too... as once they were blown out they kept relighting... which was good as i blew them out many times and made many birthday wishes ; )

as it is my blog anniversary i think a wee giveaway is in order too today... so if you would like to enter and win a little 'sweetmyrtle'  something, then please leave a comment on this post by midnight on valentines day (sunday) and i will pick a winner on monday.

also please pop over to aliceandginny for a post by alice (it must be my birthday!) and a few pictures from our latest sewing course.

wishing you all a very happy valentines weekend with lots of loving x

paws update...

firstly i want to say thank you for all the good wishes for our sweet Paws.he is fine, though the laceration was very deep and cut into the tendon... so 11 external and 4 internal stitches later and after an hours operation he came home sporting a teal coloured bandage. the treatment will be ongoing  for a few weeks with a change of dressing every 2 days and antibiotics. he was pretty distressed when he came home and when he finally calmed down he wanted lots of fussing and affection... he has been sleeping pressed up against me at night... which is very sweet. he is desperate to go outside but sadly will just have to continue to gaze out of the window till his leg is healed.

 also thank you all for your comments about our 60's attire...especially cathleen... i am blushing... black and white  photoshopped images do hide a multitude of imperfections!  my character was called Mary-Jane Faithless (a pop star) and my man was Terence Shrimp (an East end celebrity photographer).and the murderer was....

only teasing!

i am going to tidy my studio space today which is long overdue! hopefully i will find some fabric to make up into the next Morsbags...if you would still like to enter the Morsbags Giveaway please email me or leave a comment on the morsbags post.

hope you all have a lovely day.x

things i am noticing...

...looking up, i notice the spaces in between the leaves and flowers and the patterns that they create.

...today i am distracted. our beautiful Paws sustained a nasty deep cut to one of his back legs in the small hours of yesterday morning... as i write he is in surgery... the procedure is routine and his leg should be fine but still i feel distracted and know i shall until i get a call to collect him later. i remember the first time my girls had a full anaesthetic... time travelled so very slowly...pets become so much a part of the family and we love our Paws dearly. the hardest thing i suspect will be keeping him in for the next 2 weeks...he won't like that much as he is an outdoor stay up all hours kind of cat... we have had to keep the cat flap closed which means once we  reopen it he will be a little confused (we have been there before with him)...as a cat he has lots of brawn but is not great on brains.

apart from Paw's hurt leg this weekend was a fun one...

on saturday evening we hosted a swinging sixties murder party ...it was a real hoot! the most amusing thing though was the realisation that  a large part of our music collection, our crockery and our 'knicknacks' are from the late 60's early 70's period... so we really didn't have to work that hard at setting the scene. our guests all looked fabulous and were in character as soon as they arrived.

 we prepared a 3 course meal starting with the hippy classic of lentil soup, followed by coq au vin and finished with a homemade fashionable 'black forest gateaux' and a very kitch 'sherry whirl' taken from an original Margerite Patten 1960's recipe from Cookery in Colour.

 

i will not tell you who' did it' but here is the game we played here...

now can you work out who i was?  and my man too?

saturday ~ memory walk

thank you to everyone who sent support in way of good wishes  for our family memory walk... Between us we have now raised well over £300 for the Alzheimer's Society... so thank you to everyone who donated via my just giving page.. if you want to donate and missed my post don't worry ... it is not too late as my fund raising page will be up for a little longer... here.

we had a wonderful time... the weather was glorious and the woods were beautiful and filled with signs of seasonal change. we are very lucky to have some fantastic forestry commission land nearby with a variety of different walking 'routes'. we took a new route which took us deeper into the woods where we hardly saw a soul until later when we rejoined the more popular paths.
here are a few photos we snapped along the way...

whilst we walked we told stories to each other... recalling our memories from childhood and reminiscing about our time spent with our grandparents... we foraged... we played... we laughed.. we took photos and we had such fun.

here are some 'gifts' spotted in the forest...

such soft, warm, autumnal colours... many'blushing' leaves were starting to fall 'but even more beautifully were the acorns and berries  beginning to ripen. we saw quite a few fly agaric mushrooms .(top left) too  and this amazing shaggy ink cup mushroom which was about 9 inches tall...

the walk walk ended with a certificate receiving ceremony and a pub lunch! and for me  and my man a trip up to london for a friend's 40th birthday bash ... so a lovely but busy weekend...

how did you spend yours?

Memory walk...

on saturday i am doing a sponsored memory walk  with my family in memory of two very special people and a cause close to our hearts. we are fund raising for our 'family' charity...the Alzheimer's Society.

 if you are able to and would like to sponsor us please click on the link and it will take you to my just-giving page.  donations go straight to the charity which works to improve the quality of  life of people affected by dementia.

...firstly we are remembering my darling Grandma Rose (my father's mother).

this is her on her wedding day...

she was a warm and friendly grandma to us who enjoyed a good game of cards or cribbage with our dad and was also partial to a wee tipple of sherry.  i have such strong memories of being at secondary school and popping in to visit her and grandad george after school... they lived just by the local park which was on our route home. she was very sociable and loved it when we brought friends in to say hello. she had one of those (now coveted) 60's cupboards in her kitchen with a drop down shelf. this is where she kept her lemon squash, especially for our visits. i can still hear her saying, 'now let me make you a drink dear'...
she also had a little area  under the stairs behind a curtain where she kept the hoover, ironing board, cans, preserves etc and a variety of small black tins filled with money put by for the bills. these tins were marked with labels ...  food... electric... gas... etc. she used to pull back the grey patterned curtain and disappear into that cupboard and reappear with some pocket money taken from one of her 'tins' which she then gave to us.
In later life she developed Alzheimer's and sadly died in 1998.
i do miss her...  before she died she did meet my first born girl...

...she held her and chatted to her. i told my grandma my daughter's name but she called my girl 'cecil' and kept saying what a beautiful boy he was. it was very sweet. i later found out that she had had a younger brother who had died early in life and that he was called cecil. it is strange the things that get forgotten and the things that are remembered when a person is suffering from dementia.

the other special person who we are walking in memory of this saturday is my Grandad Leonard (my mother's father).
he we are ... 3 sister's on our grandad's lap at christmas. (i am the tiny one on the right)

Grandad Leonard was the most gentle man you could ever meet. his wife, grandma olive sadly died in her 60's. this meant that grandad spent a lot of time with us and came on all our family holidays. he loved to garden and grew vegetables and flowers. i have such fond memories of playing at the bottom of his garden by the compost heap.... where the fairies lived! he also showed me how to make snapdragon's 'snap'!
he was very creative and particularly good at woodwork. he made my sister's both doll's houses and he made me a garage (as that is what i wanted) i remember being delighted when i was given it along with some toy cars that grandma had bought for me. He made wooden beds for our 'pippa' dolls, toy boxes which we put our dressing up clothes in, desks and various other things.... i have just found this photo of the room that i shared with my sister jackie. i still have two of the toy boxes which my girls now use and some of the dolls furniture... how wild is that wallpaper?!

grandad lived alone for many years and became very good at cooking... his pineapple upside down pudding was delicious and he also made damn fine rock cakes. his Alzheimer's developed in the last  6 years of his life and his memory and behavior deteriorated quite rapidly. i have such fond memories of all the times we spent with him and i can still see his gently smiling face.

this post was only meant to be brief but as i was writing vivid memories kept popping into my head.

i feel very nostalgic after writing this post and a little melancholy too... i loved them both so much and also miss them greatly... but they are and always will be in my heart.

...please if you are able to donate anything, however small it will go towards helping families who are coping with this terribly debilitating disease right now.

 thank you for listening.... and please wish me luck!

warm wishes

ginny x

p.s.  TLBG post coming later...