Faeries, Hummingbirds and Beautiful Things

I give my grandgirls traditions. My grandfather, Mum's dad, taught me that that's what's important in life. He was a great big giant of a man with heavy eyebrows, a ready smile and the kindest heart any human being can have. Every Sunday we used to stand on the verandah balcony wall at the back of the house, watching for his big powder blue Nash car to round the bend on the highway below, and then we'd rush to the top of the long driveway to await his and my grandmother's arrival at our gate. We'd then be told to go inside because the fairies don't like to be seen by children, that he would chat to them, and that maybe they would leave us a surprise hidden in the bush in the corner of the garden. Of course there were always sweets hidden there when we rushed out to look. Such a precious time.

It's the Irish Faeries which follow me around the world. They send chocolates and glittery things for me to hide for Holly, Evie and Maisie when I go to the UK - and they always write a letter in their tiny neat handwriting in one of the glittery Faery cards, with the golden seal of the Hummingbird on the envelope. That Faery handwriting sure gives my arthritic fingers cramp!

So all went well with our Faery tradition this year ... except that I forgot that the Hummingbird generally drops off crumpets for breakfast the following morning!!! Evie gently suggested to me that maybe the Hummingbird had forgotten the crumpets this year. I had to think quickly, blamed the windy weather on the Hummingbird's tardiness, and suggested she write a note to the Hummingbird asking him if all was well. This she duly did, and stuck it on the outside of the front door ... and Meghan rushed off to Tesco's for crumpets.

The next morning I placed them to the side of the front door, and Meghan asked Evie to take the trash out to the bin. She missed the crumpets on the way out but on the way back her little face was a delight to watch. She spotted something cerise pink and something royal blue tied around two packages just outside the front door, literally did a little double-take, dived for the treasure and came in grinning. The Hummingbird had delivered the goods. Phew!

I'll have to remember those jolly crumpets when I go back in October.

In the meantime, for no reason at all but to break my ramblings, this is a lovely bunch of white roses Alan bought for me to cheer me up while I was still in bed with the pneumonia. They're set on a dressing table in my Princess bedroom in the barn.

Ha! And I'm always telling people I'm not at all materialistic!!!

It's just that beauty is worth having. And that's my story.

I love glassware, and whenever I think of Venice, that's the picture I see in my mind ... incredibly beautiful glassware at every turn. But I didn't find these beauties in Venice ... good aul' England has its fair share of gems too.

My morning at the Garden Artists exhibition in the Royal Academy of Arts in London saw me spurning the purchase of the book of the exhibition and choosing to spend my pennies on this incredibly yellow vase, and green and blue glasses. Aren't the Lilies Alan brought me just gorgeous too!

 Close-up below

 

On my day out in Cambridge with Meghan, I spotted a garden centre and knew I wanted something "Zen-ish" to help me bring a bit of calm and serenity into my studio at home - and also as a good painting subject. This is how "Now and Zen" came into my possession ... looking good here with a suitable pot plant I have at home.

"Now and Zen"

But I still wanted a water feature. I've always loved water features. On the day I ended up going to hospital, before I collapsed in the car, I had enough strength to find my Buddha (couldn't have been that sick hey!) ... which, sadly now that I've got him home, he doesn't work as a water feature! Alan's on his case ....

My non-watering water feature

Also at the same garden centre and in my supposedly weak state, I wasn't too weak to brandish my credit card when I laid eyes on these .....

Aren't these wine glasses simply stunning!

Just before I left on my trip, we stocked up with food for Alan and Mum at our local Super-U (pronounced "Soopair Oo" here in France) and these 6 colourful little glasses simply jumped off the shelf and into the trolley. The cheek of it!

So now me and my credit card are tired and need to do some painting for mutual therapeutic reasons.

I'll let you all know if my feet start to itch again soon. I'm already thinking about Pont Aven where Gaugin used to paint ... and then there's Giverny where Monet's garden is ......