Signs of a change....

Standing in the kitchen this morning the sunshine was streaming through the windows.

These little primulas were basking in the sunlight.





I freshened up the dresser with some cream pots and jugs.

Walking round the garden there they were..... new shoots stretching up towards the sunlight.

Fresh green veggies for lunch.

and look.... the Spring Fairy in a ring of Spring bulbs.

How these small rays of the sun can lift my spirits and make me look forward to the Spring months ahead.

Shelly.

A touch of Valentine Red

On the table.


In the living room.

In the dinning room.

In the bedroom.

In the kitchen!

In the garden.

In your heart.

Happy Saint Valentine's week.

Shelly.

(pictures 2-6 Country Living March 2011)

February Blues....

"One month is past, another begun,

Since merry bells rang out the dying year,

And buds of rarest green began to peer,

As if impatient for a warmer sun;

And though the distant hills are bleak and dun,

The virgin snowdrop like a lambent fire,

Pierces the cold earth with it's green streaked spire.

By Hartley Coleridge 1842.

I find February a most difficult month..... the appeal of cozy evenings indoors is wearing thin and I find myself waiting for real signs of Spring.

February blues (maybe that should be greys; the same colour as the sky!) have really got a hold on me this week. I have been so busy with work and family commitments that my usual routines and good intentions have been seriously neglected which has just added to the 'grey mood'.

But...today I had the day all to myself... so I had a quick clean up to freshen up the house, had a long bath and turned it into a home spa.. face and hair treatment packs, mini manicure etc.... Bliss.




I needed to get back menu planning, I have let it slip for the last couple of weeks and our meals have been a lot less healthy and they cost a lot more! So I checked the cupboards and the freezer and have planned for the week ahead.

The Sunday roast is in the oven and the rest of my February 'beat the blues' plan includes:

• Sorting out my photographs and updating my albums.
• Get out walking, even on a grey day, and look for the Snowdrops and Catkins emerging from their Winter shelter.
• Make some skin nourishing Aromatherapy oils, I love essential oils and making my own lotions and potions.

I am also planning to cook some lovely Spring dishes from Sophie Dahls recipes.

( from Miss Dahl's Voluptuous Delights - see side bar)

Here's to chasing the February blues away...

Shelly.