Loving the garden.

I am loving the garden at the moment but I can not take much of the credit for it.

The hard work is done by my man and mother nature.

The weather has been lovely for the last couple of months and we have been spending as much time as possible in the garden, this table seats 8 people and summer Sunday afternoon lunches have been filled with chatter and laughter as the family catches up on the weeks news.

I love the changing seasons and Autumn is my favorite followed by summer (when we get a good one!) so I love these passing days making the most of the garden with the promise to come of Autumn in all its glory.

We are blessed with many visiting birds to our garden and this year we watched as blackbirds, thrushes and robins raised their little ones.

On a warm day they come and take a bath in this shady spot.

Another visitor to the Lily Leaf!

Love, Love, Love these Blues.

So just get out there and enjoy your summer garden.

More from Cambridge

More photo's from our walk into Cambridge last Sunday.

Following the river to the City Centre.

I so wanted to open this old gate to see the garden behind.

The punts all lined up by the mill pond.

I love the willow trees.

A side entrance to Kings College.

The front entrance to Queens College.

This door way said 'Entrance to the Masters Lodge' I wanted to go in there as well!

And I want to live in this house and watch the world go by from this window!!.

That's all for now.

Shelly.

Simple Food.

I have been putting into practice my quest to get more organized with the shopping, preparation and cooking of our food.

On Sunday night I prepared a menu for the weeks evening meals - (nothing elaborate or over descriptive, I need a bit of poetic licence to create!!)

and the menu looked like this for Monday:

Monday - Chicken with Potatoes and Salad.

So we ended up with cold roast chicken (left from Sunday lunch), a summer salad made from mixed salad leaves, baby tomatos, yellow pepper, wonderful organic beetroot, cucumber, and some feta cheese and potato salad made from new potatoes, fresh peas, with mayonnaise and chopped mint dressing and topped with hard boiled free range organic eggs.

See what I mean by poetic licence!!!

Lets see what happens for the rest of the week........

A Day in Cambridge

Today we went to Cambridge, we park the car at Trumpington Road opposite the Botanic Gardens and walk across the common land, following the river until we reach the old city centre.

It is a walk we often do especially in the summer.
Today the walk was beautiful, the river full of punts and visitors to the city enjoying the sunshine.

Cows roam the common land and as you follow the river the spires of Kings College come into view.

On the river punts were filled with people holding picnic rugs, cushions, glasses of wine and laughter when a hapless punter lost control of the punt and collision was inevitable!

There is a family of swans on the river - 5 cygnets and the parents, we have often seen them building and sitting on the nest when we do this walk.

As we approach the city the beautiful old buildings begin to come into view.

On a Sunday there is a Farmers and Craft Market in the city centre square just in front of Kings College.

I went to my favorite stall and bought 2 'hearts' one made of bleached twigs and one solid wooden one with the word 'Life -it's a wonderful life' on it.

The spires of KINGS.

I also bought this delicious set of painted tiles in metal holder for use as drinks mats, prices were much cheaper than the design shops and I loved the simplicity (there's that word again!)

There is more to share but I will wait for another time.

Simplify - make simple, make easy to do or understand.

I have been thinking about the word 'Simplify' since I wrote in my last post that I loved Country Fayre's because of the simplistic nature of the events and the way they bring people together to enjoy life from a bygone place in time.



The last couple of decades nurtured the 'grab it, have it all' culture that has become a part of the materialistic driven western world and I am right there in the mix, wanting, spending, credit busting and think about it tomorrow way of living.

'Melt down' began to creep into our consciousness and as last year's recession became a reality it was time to think again, which I did, I did a lot of thinking and not much doing!


For me it is only lately that I have been thinking about how to live differently, not by giving up what I know for a completely different way of life, but doing things differently within the life I already lead (which by the way is a happy and rewarding one) hence the one word that sums it for me is SIMPLIFY.

I am blessed with a wonderful family, a gorgeous man for a life partner, a home, a garden, a market town lifestyle, a job that makes a positive difference to the lives of others. In some aspects of my life I have already chosen a simplified route but the time is right to apply the 'simplify' message to other things.

The way I prioritize my time, the way I spend my money, what we eat, the possessions I do not want or need, the things I think I want but do not really need! .
So the challenge is set.. resourcefulness, organisation and de-clutter are the starter words, I will keep you posted.
PS .. the garden pictures are favorite corners from my garden)

English Country Fetes

One of the best things about the English summer months is the country fetes.

Villages surrounding the town hold fetes through late May until early September and I love the simplicity of the days out at a fete.

Craft stalls and Cakes, Tombola and Coconuts, Tea and Beer Tents, Live Music and Dog Shows - whats not to love.

Food Fayre's are good too and last week I bought the most delicious Cheddar cheese and onion chutney which we had for our lunch with some homemade bread.

Scenes from the market town.

This is why I feel so lucky to be living in the market town.

The Library and Town Hall buildings.

View across the roof tops to The Common.

I just love roof tops! the older the better.

The Town has lovely roof tops.

Summer's here..

We went away early this year (my man and I) seeking some sunshine just in case the English summer sunshine didn't make it again, we planned the trip to a sun drenched isle during the coldest winter for years in the market town and I am so glad we did because it would be such a shame to be away now summers here...those long dreamed about warm days, summer fetes, picnics, concerts in the park, BBQ's and market town folk and visitors to the town sitting on the ancient common grass land just enjoying the history and beauty of the town I am lucky enough to live in.

I will be sharing a lot more of market town life here on the 3 counties boarder of Essex, Cambridgeshire and Suffolk but for now I am off to have dinner at a local restaurant and enjoy the evening sunshine.

Shelly