Saturday 31 January 2015

Nothing to see here, but I do have some puzzling questions








I do like those end of month collages that you see on some fine blogs, they always look so striking and pretty.  I thought I'd do one myself.  Back at the beginning of the month I set up a little folder on my laptop, into which I planned to put a nice assortment of pictures from the month.  I distinctly recall adding some to the folder, and last night I sat down to make a spectacular collage.  Imagine my surprise when there were only three, count them, three photos in there.  Not much of a collage to be had there.  I've put it down to experience and moved on.  Next month, that will be the one.  Stand by for a collage extraordinaire.

In the meantime you'll have to put up with the above.  A couple of shots of the second Severn Crossing, taken last weekend on a roller skating trip.  It really is quite godforsaken there.  The River Severn ends at the bridge, and the Severn Estuary begins (to the left in the pictures).  I remember the bridge being built, it was completed in 1996, and for the sum of £6.50 you can drive your car over to the other side, to Wales, the land of dragons.  A little way upstream there's another bridge, an older one, built thirty years earlier.  You can walk across that one if you choose.  Both of them scare me a little, when we drive over I sink my nails into the palms of my hands and try to ignore the powerful swirling currents below.

The rest of the pictures were taken today at the wildfowl and wetlands place we go to.  I forgot my camera, so they're from my little point and shoot one.  The wind was bitterly cold, and after a morning of football watching and an afternoon in the hides it too me a while to warm back up.  But it does make indoors all the lovelier.  A scrumptiously warm living room in January is a thing of wonder.

I've been wearing a scarf every time I go out for any great length of time.  It's made from wool, which I bought in a (regular) moment of madness, completely ignoring (again) the fact that I can't wear wool, and by some miracle it doesn't irritate my skin, or at least, hardly at all.  It's made from Madelinetosh Merino Light, which is 100% merino.  Do you think that this means I can wear any merino?  Or is that too much to hope for.  I've bought yarn in the past that is SO soft it's like touching a cloud and I haven't been able to wear it for more than five minutes.  But I'm tempted to try some more merino.  Maybe me and sheep have a future together after all.

On the home front there have been some puzzling disappearances.  More than the usual little ones - a missing silver ring, a lost hair clip, a library book that no-one remembers ever seeing - this time I'm missing a giant spoon and the top of the toy box.  The spoon is a huge stainless steel serving one and the lid of the toy box is, well, an enormous four foot long piece of wood.  One minute it was there, then it was gone and no-one is admitting to knowing anything about it.  Honestly, where does all this lost stuff go?  I've looked everywhere and it's not to be found.  The only possible explanation is that it's slipped sideways into a different space time continuum.  If anything pops up near you, do let me know.

I shall leave you with a little conversation I had earlier with the biggest boy, who was thrilled to see a water rail at really close quarters.  It's quite a shy, secretive bird, so it was brilliant to be able to see it so clearly.  He took loads of pictures and said, "I expect I'll delete some of them, I probably have about fifty!"  I said something like, "Mmm, you did take quite a lot".  He said, "But it's like if you saw a really rare rhododendron, you'd take loads of pictures".  Is that how he sees me?  Inside I feel far more cool and exciting than that.  I am making a note to be more interesting on the outside too.  Incidentally, does anyone know what that pretty little white flower is in the last picture?  CJ xx

45 comments:

  1. Oh god that bridge shot has reminded me of a particularly hairy windswept journey over it on the way to Cardiff with my flat mate in her 2cv (named Myrtle). It was so windy we had to open all the windows to avoid being blown sideways! It must be vexing, those things disappearing. I'm glad it's not just me it happens to. xx

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  2. I think three photos would be plenty for a collage; no point setting impossibly high standards for oneself with four. Or, for a nice orderly block of 4, perhaps the 4th photo could be of your collage of three? I am here to help, not that a cool and exciting person such as yourself needs help.

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  3. I thought I was quite a cool mum, I mean I know a lot of songs and things, I wear jeans and boots, and can name most of One Direction, but my 10 year old daughter has told me in no uncertain terms that I am definitely not cool. Gutted.

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  4. Hi CJ.. we're used to heavy wind and lots of bridges here.. I don't even think twice crossing them. I even get a feeling of flying when I cross this tall one of the Columbia River. I think your white flower is a Vinca vine which usually has purple flowers, but I think you saw a white one. Stay warm! ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

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  5. I think any of your photos would be beautiful in a collage of three. I think you seem very exciting, personally. You grow things and you have tattoos. You have me beat on both fronts and I'm seriously impressed.

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  6. Here's a bit of information on your flower. http://www.ehow.com/info_8019153_difference-vinca-flower-vinca-vine.html
    As for the disappearing items - do you have a very large and very strong magpie flying around your place? Ha, ha just joking! Do let us know when you figure out the mystery.

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  7. Love that sweet conversation with your son!! How cute is that! And like you I like a cozy living room to come home to as well! Your shots are so very pretty! And I live in a small house and things still magically disappear without ever being seen again! I am with you...I have no idea where they go!! Have a great weekend friend! Nicole xo

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  8. Personally, I blame 'The Borrowers'! My mother always used to pray to St. Anthony to find lost things - she claimed it always worked! Good luck with the collage this month and, just for the record, I too think you come across as very cool and exciting! x

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  9. I must think you are cool enough as I'm a follower! Anyone who likes rhododendrons must be cool too. Stunning photos though I prefer the lines of the old bridge myself.

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  10. I always thought it was cool taking lots of photos of flower?! Oh well you live and learn. Enjoy your day. Keep warm. Xxx
    PS. Big pieces of wood, trays Tec used to magically get outside to be used as ramps for remote controlled cars round here!!

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  11. I agree about the while flower - a vinca otherwise known as a periwinkle. I was also going to suggest that Borrowers were running off with things until the missing items grew. They are probably nestling in amongst all my missing odd socks.

    Fancy going to Slimbridge and forgetting your camera. Your biggest biy sounds like us - we often come away with zillions of photos.

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  12. white periwinkle? my children openly tell me I am not cool. I am embracing my non coolness, as I don't think I can change.....
    as for the missing items, we definitely have one of those space time rifts here, so I'll look out for your stuff, but I'm sure it's just one way....

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  13. Yup it's a periwinkle - but I've never seen a white one before - really pretty! I agree with Lacy above - you've obviously got a very strong magpie somewhere nearby. The good news is that it will b easy to spot - it's nest will be the one with the four foot wooden roof and a spoon for a door knocker! And I think taking pictures of rhododendrons IS cool ( oh dear - what does that say about me?)! Enjoy your Sunday x Jane

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  14. Glad to know the flower is a Vinca as I was wondering too! Your pictures do capture the cold very well and I am the same as you whenever I cross the Severn Bridge :o) As for disappearing things, it sounds to me like you have a case of the House Elves who've been borrowing things here. I made a new bag last week and it has completely, utterly and entirely disappeared. The other thing they're keen on in this house is fountain pens- M has lost three xx

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  15. CJ your photos are amazing as always, I would love to see a collage next month, I might even try my hand at one too.....cool Mum, I think I am, but luckily my kids are small enough to agree, that will probably change over the next couple of years. I will look out for your toybox lid, it is probably with all my missing items!! I think they are in Narnia xx

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  16. It's so easy to get carried away taking photos of birds or flowers, or anything else actually. You could have slipped the rare rhododendron photos in to your collage.

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  17. I think it's actually quite sweet that he notices you enjoy photography, and I also think it's awesome that he had such an interest in spotting that bird.

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  18. Love either of the Severn Bridges. The start of so many adventures in Wales over the years. But I also get that vertiginous feeling whilst crossing. I think my lost black leggings may be with your toy box lid and stainless steel spoon. Let me know if you find them. x

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  19. Lovely photos. I'm not so sure that the flower in last picture is a white vinca, but at the moment can't say what it is so I'll keep looking! I keep meaning to do a collage as well.
    As for the puzzling disappearances I'm sure that most, if not all, of the missing items will be found or reappear.
    Surely it's best to take as many photos as possible of such a sighting. Flighty xx

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  20. I am the least cool mum on the block. This is certified truth. And I do take lots of pictures of rare and not so rare rhododenrons. Have a wonderful week, hope you find the missing stuff!

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  21. Aw what your son said to you is soooo sweet. I'd definitely have taken it in a flattering way :)

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  22. I look forward to the end of February to see your collage. Some people who can't ear wool can actually wear very fine wool like baby merino. Love what you son said, and if he thinks that about you then you are very lucky.
    Hugs,
    Meredith

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  23. That looks like Vinca to me and I do so sympathise with you about mysterious losses and the inordinate amount of time they take up while we try to find the disappearing things.

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  24. I once threw a block of Caerphilly cheese over that bridge. Horrible stuff. Or at least the plastic wrapped version is. Is it still there I wonder?

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    1. p.s. I took the plastic off first
      p.p.s Vinca.

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  25. Well I can only assume that you have a large family of Borrowers living in your home with you! Although the lid of the toybox does sound rather large for them to have made off with! I wish that I knew where things disappeared to. There is a whole planet of things somewhere, made up of lost odd socks, that these things reside on. Must be. As Rusty Duck says, Vinca for the plant! xx

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  26. I just hate it when things go missing, especially big things - how does that happen?! I've spent this morning looking for my boys 'eco warrior' school badge that he was only given last week. Something so small was bound to get lost! And yay for snowdrops! xx

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  27. It is an odd place the Severn Estuary. It can be so incredibly beautiful in certain lights. We've seen some fabulous sunsets when driving over the bridge but quite a lot of the time it does look fairly bleak. Don't get me started on the bridge charge. It's one of the reasons we're looking to move to the other side. ;) I'm not good with some wools either but I did make a cowl in the autumn from Debbie Bliss Blue Faced Leicester wool which is lovely and soft.
    We're always losing things. I couldn't find my flower snips for months, when I did find them they were exactly where I would have expected them to be. I definitely searched there. I was completely perplexed. ;) As for being cool. I wonder if any kids think their parents are cool. Anyway taking pics of a rare plant seems pretty cool to me. ;)

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  28. If anything goes astray in my flat, I always demand - out loud - that those items are returned to me at once! Like Welly, I've had items disappear for a short (or longer) while yet I always put things back in the same place. It's the house elves, I know; they can be very mischievous. As soon as I saw your white flower the name Gertrude Jekyll popped into my head. It's Vinca minor f.(form) alba 'Gertrude Jekyll' to give it its full latin name. Good for lightly shaded areas, can be a bit rampant. Doesn't usually flower until late spring but, having said that, I've got rudbeckias and coreopsis in flower in the gardens here as well as borage and lavender. It's a mad, mad world. :D C xx

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  29. Look under the sofa. I find everything under there. Although Alfie used to be a little magpie and would hide little things that he coveted. I quite often get told off for taking pictures 'from behind' Marc favours the classic stand in a line and pose shot. I quite like the from behind shot; you can't tell that there's any arguing going on from that angle!
    I'm really behind blogging wise at the moment. I just can't seem to make sense of any post. It's all very frustrating.
    Have a great week.
    Leanne xx

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  30. Vinca minor is an absolute thug once it gets hold but a useful ground cover plant in areas that don't matter too much. I spent a good few days last autumn removing it from a border. I had planted it as an evergreen edging plant, kept it trimmed into a nice shape and was very pleased with it for a while. But those roots, how they travel!
    Things going missing - tell me about it!!

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  31. We have a big black hole here too into which things disappear -lately a favourite vegetable knife and the chopping bit of a hand held blender!

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  32. That's interesting about the wool - neither my mum or sister can bear to wear any pure wool against their skin, be it scarf or jumper, and it brings them out in a rash. But acrylic is often not as warm as wool...I will note down that brand and keep an eye out for it. And since we moved, I can't ever lay my hand on anything I want. I don't know if things are actually lost, or just in storage. Time will tell. xx

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  33. I am losing things a lot lately, and even if it's only for a short time (ie, put it down in the wrong spot, rather than actually losing it) it's very frustrating. I put it down to getting older.
    I especially love that fifth picture. I want to climb that fence and sit atop looking at the field.

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  34. The fibres of merino wool are much, much finer and flatter scaled than those of other wools, look for yarn marked 'extra fine merino', which is the finest of all merino, and you will probably find you have no trouble with it at all.

    The lost things ... maybe they are wherever my gloves went. Leather, artificial fur cuffs, much admired by other folk, lost two years ago, possibly but not necessarily in the house I thought. Turned the place upside down, couldn't find them. One turned up in the middle of the living room floor just before Christmas. The other one appeared on the stairs a few days later. So yes, I have puzzling questions too!

    Another story ... within hours of marrying the mister we drove across the Severn Bridge into the land of dragons, just before the bridge was closed due to high winds. I always say our marriage had a stormy start ;o)

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  35. I hate it when things disappear into thin air, always spooks me a bit. I usually can't wear wool next to my skin either, too itchy and uncomfortable, but I have got a scarf made ages ago from Jaeger extra fine merino (100% wool) which is fine (slight itch but bearable). Some sheep are obviously soft! Lovely pictures, looking forward to collage extraordinaire :o) Your pretty little flower is a white periwinkle (Vinca minor alba). Have a great week.
    Jane xx

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  36. Great post. I've been across the Severn bridge a couple of times - most bridges scare me at least a little. I must be the same as you when it comes to wool. It can feel as soon as possible but on my skin it drives me mad. But it seems that merino wool and I can live together quite happily. It is probably going to be the same for you. Which is really great except that merino wool is more expensive.

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  37. Ooops - above that should say as soft as possible rather than as soon as possible.

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  38. I actually laughed out loud reading your list of lost possessions. Reminds me of my head torch my partner borrowed to lock up the chickens and has been lost ever since. He says he didn't lose yet haven't seen it since!
    Miss Tulip x
    The Thrifty Magpies Nest

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  39. I love experiencing winter through your blog and I'm happy to hear about the merino wool. I don't know much about allergies, but I do know the merino doesn't irritate my skin either. In fact, I think I could sleep with a blanket made completely of it.

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  40. I'm not sure that I would want to walk across either of the Severn bridges either, I remember my first journey across the first one as a child it was so exciting and then we stopped at the motorway services near the bridge too! I'll join you not being cool take lots of pictures of flowers! Sarah x

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  41. So enjoyed reading your post and looking at your photo's ..... thank you.

    All the best Jan

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  42. Wool and I do not get along but I too have a tolerance to a little in a mix. Merino sheep are obviously more caring :)
    Good luck with all those lost items!
    Never, never feel weird about taking 50 pictures of a flower! It's totally normal x

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  43. Wool and I do not get along but I too have a tolerance to a little in a mix. Merino sheep are obviously more caring :)
    Good luck with all those lost items!
    Never, never feel weird about taking 50 pictures of a flower! It's totally normal x

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  44. I love the bridge photos. We're going to make our way to London this spring, but I don't think we'll make it to Wales. I'd pay the pounds to see the dragons! Personally I think there is something magical about MadTosh yarn and I would not say that the way it wears translates to the rest of wool being more wearable. Is that a real sentence? Anyhow, I always enjoy your thoughtful posts. I often feel my apartment is so full of things (I should probably let go of) and I'm missing all the things I'm looking for.

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