Spring has come in my garden

 Hi,
Is Spring really around the corner,  well it does not real feel like it although the plants say it is.
Last wednesday I took a walk around the garden in the sunshine,  yes between the rain the sun came out to play and here is what I found flowering,  you will have a couple of surprises as you walk around with me.  I dont think we have had a day without rain since the 12th December, 2013
The Snowdrops are nearly over as the picture shows but here is the Crocuses in full bloom.

This is Bergenia Stracheyi   or better known as Elephant Ears with its pale pink flowers.

Here is a little surprise this is a Hardy Fuchsia,  summer flowering Fuchsia,   in a few weeks time my husband will be cutting them down as usual,  for the new growth for summer.

Here is my Pink Hebe,   this has been flowering all winter, and when should it flower,  in the summer,  I don't think it knows what season it should flower now.   This plant is in memory of my old dog (Lhasa Apso)  Shona I planted it when she died but then we moved so I took cuttings of the plant and I planted it here so I had a memory of her.

This picture is a little out of focus its the flowering Quince its just beginning to flower,  and that is early this year.



I dont think my garden knows what season it is,   its so wet I surprised that the plants have not been washed away.

You may have heard the Somerset levels are going down at last,   they are pumping millions of gallons a day and its still waist deep in parts, they still need boats in some parts just to get to their properties.   Its going to be weeks before some of the farmers can even think of getting back to work on their farms,  the damage is beyond words even there barns have been destroyed and months before they can get there cattle back on the farms.  Its amazing how much help has arrived from all over the UK and Europe.  Now hopefully they will dredge the rivers,   so it may not happen again.
Have a nice weekend.
                           Hugs
                       Margaret 

Lets go on a Tour of Europe Part two

 Hi,

This is the second part of my Tour of Europe,  I was going to post this last weekend but due to illness its a bit late,  These are the last four of eight counted cross stitch pictures I did many years ago of the countries I had visited which were from the Anna Magazine 1987.  While I was sorting out my Annas the other day I found another two which could be added to this set,  Turkey and Greece which Vernon and I have been to in recent years,  something to do when I have nothing else to in years to come.
Anyway here is the last four,.

Italy

The Colosseum in Rome
The Palazzo Vecchio in Florence,  (beautiful city worth a visit)
 The Piazza San Marco,
The Rialto Bridge and the Canale Grande in Venice  (a must visit again)
This picture has an edging of French knots representing the flower Mimosa







Holland

The Dutch bulb fields in the middle
The Cheese market
The musical organ which is seen in the streets over Holland
Delft Pottery
Canal Bridge theres a lot of them around Holland
There is a building on here which I will find out and update this piece




Spain and Portugal

The top half I think is Portugal with the bottom half being Spain
Both countries on the Iberian Peninsula share the same wealth of scenic beauty spots,  this picture seems to be a mixture of bother countries that are so alike apart from language. There was no set piece of architecture in this picture
Bullfighting being represented in both countries
The Oranges at the bottom of the edging are grown in both countries.





United Kingdom - London

The Tower of London
London Bridge
Houses of Parliament in the middle with the red London buses
Beefeater
Gates of Buckingham Palace,
Trafalgar Square and Lord Nelsons Column
Horse racing.
You can't see it but there was a lot of gold work in this picture

Well that concludes the tour,   I do hope you enjoyed it,  I did update the German Picture in part one as I promised.
Have a nice day
                             Hugs
                         Margaret

Thank you Carollyn

Hi,
This is a late post,  it should have been put on a few days ago, so apologies to Carollyn for the lateness of showing you this wonderful present she sent me.   I received this last monday unfortunately I have not been well this week,  some sort of bug that knocked me out.
Its a beautiful pin cushion with a tatted heart and a strap at the back so it will fit around my wrist.    Two beautiful flat shuttles both beautifully decorated one with a blue bird and the other with red roses.
 I had never seen a flat shuttles until a couple of years ago, never thought I will actually get one.   they are so light and beautiful,  they will be a joy to use.   The note that Carollyn sent has been beautifully written oh I wish I could write as beautiful as that.
Thank you Carollyn I will enjoy using the shuttles and the pincushion.
Here is a link to Carollyn's blog do go and visit when you have time link
Hope you are having a nice weekend.
                         Hugs
                     Margaret

Happy Valentines Day

Hi,
Another day, another storm,  whats a bit more rain when we have so much water.  Yesterday we had some snow although it did not last very long, it was a change from rain,  so what else can this winter throw at us.
Anyway today is Valentines Day so heres a little heart from me,  before you ask this was tatted last year long before I had my accident.  Oh to pick up my shuttles and tat again,   I keep hoping this hand will get better but its still swollen and painful.
This heart is called Butterfly Heart by Irene Woo, one of my favorite heart patterns,  tatted in Lizbeth thread no 20.
Have a nice day, stay safe and dry.
                           Hugs
                       Margaret

Lets go on a Tour of Europe part one

Hi,

 I won't go on with the weather but lets just say this week has been totally awful it can't get any worse can it?

The Somerset levels are totally devastated,  the railway lines to the west country are broken so Devon and Cornwall are cut off from the rest of the UK,  its going to take weeks to even repair at least one of the lines, and months for the other lines.  Although we are not flooded here we don't have to go too far before we hit flooding  and its just keeps on raining.  My lawn is going yellow in places which means it has too much water in the ground.  There are many parts of Southern England suffering from floods at the moment, even places that have never flooded before. The southern coastal regions of the UK have just been bombarded by the high seas,  the damage is going to cost billions by the time the weather improves for work to begin and its all to do with the jet stream bring the low pressure systems across the Atlantic Ocean,  anyone know the sun dance please.

Anyway today I thought I would show you some of my set of European Counted Cross Stitch pictures that I did many years,  they are all framed and on the wall going up the stairs.   

This is a series of 12 pictures from Anna Magazine dated 1987,  they did a different picture each month for the year,  I have done 8 in all,   the ones I had been to when I made them,  theres the first four. 

Austria

Featuring the ferris wheel in Vienna in the middle, 

the golden roof in Innsbruck  

Salzburg Cathedral 

and Hofburg Palace.

A bunch of grapes representing wine.

France
 
This is mostly Paris,   with the Eiffel tower in the middle,
The Notre Dame,
Basilica of Sacre Coeur,
Arc de Triomphe,  and the Moulin Rouge,




Germany

With the Black Forest in the middle,
The Brandenburg Gate,
A German cuckoo clock,
The Holsten Gate in Luebeck
A fortified castle overlooking the River Moselle,
Spires of the church of Our Lady in Munich

Switzerland

Lake Geneva with the fountain which does not show up much in the picture in the middle,
the Matterhorn,
the wooden bridge in Lucerne,
the Swiss Horns,
William Tell with his bow and arrow shooting the apple.
A cable car going into the Alps and the Fountain in Berne.

I will post part two next weekend,   I hope you enjoyed the first part of the journey around Europe
Until we meet again take care,  stay dry.
                         Hugs
                     Margaret

Vernons Indian

Hi,

We are in the middle of a  severe storm as I am posting this while we have electric,  it's been on and off since 7.30 last night, storm force winds and heavy rain lashing the south west.  Where ever you are I hope you are safe.
I had this ready to post but blogger would not let me schedule the post.   So here it is a bit late.

This Indian counted cross stitch picture I made for Vernon back in 2001,   hes into country music and he took me to a country music night.   This was my first real encounter with country music,  plus it was a theme night.  The members were dressed up in Indian costumes.   Not knowing what to get him for his birthday,   I found and  brought this kit of an Indian Warrior.  Its the hardest counted cross stitch picture I have ever done,   I used to hide it when he was around but oh boy it was a test of patience.   The kit is called Noble Warrior from the Gold Collection by Anchor (Dimensions)  This is one I wont be re-doing ever.  the strips were the hardest with Indian signs they don't show up very well in the photo and with the enormous amount of different colours used in the feathers and clothing made it hard to do.

Until we meet again take care
                        Hugs
                    Margaret

Food Glorious Food

Hi,

There comes a time when what do you put on your blog,   well at the moment its still a one handed job,  its going to be a lot longer than I first thought and it looks like another month at least, so when these pictures arrived in my inbox yesterday,  I knew this would be todays post, so thank you Jim and Kay for sending them.  I like to make my blog interesting so I hope that instead of more counted cross stitch you might enjoy these.

I hope you have liked these pictures,  I think the pictures speak for themselves.
Until we meet again in Blogland take care,  and have a nice weekend.

                       Hugs
                   Margaret