The foraged swag is done ...

I love to have fresh foliage on the wreath on the front door. These are some of the previous ones 

2011, 2012, 2016, 2017 , 2018,  2019 , 2022 

Then there is a small matter of the wreath for the front door.  It is tricky because our door is black & the fresh greens don't show up very well. 

We ventured to one of our local woods to forage for some greenery.  No one mind a few branches being taken for a wreath so we are always mindful to pick up branches or only take what we need. I love the soft woodland floor, spongy from all the fallen leaves over many years. It is a joy to just wander around & find some suitable greens. 

My enthusiasm doesn't match my wreath making skill - I really need to do a course on how to do it properly. However, it all seemed to be ok in the end. I fortunately had picked up some pinecones too that I wired in place. This overly generous pink ribbon & bows had been a recent charity shop purchase with the door wreath in mind & so it was a relief to have something ready. 

I think it looks just fine - the plants in the planters by the door will get ribbons & baubles so it will all look rather festive soon. 

I hope your thoughts have turned to the advancing festive season too. Thank you for your time, do stop by again & share your projects & websites with me, 

Dee 🎄

Colourful Autumn entertaining

 Somehow November is fast slipping away & my thoughts are turning to the festive season. 

Our rectory table seats 12 when the two leaves are pulled out on each end & we enjoy the freedom it brings to have larger gatherings in our conservatory. Chairs are brought in from the dining room & spares from the garage - never formal, just social times. It is usually  just the smaller compact size. 

On the weekend, we had friends old & new for supper & with 7 expected, the conservatory was the obvious place. 

My friend recently gifted me a stunning long length of colourful Autumn fabric in greens, blues, cerise, orange, yellow & a darker outline. When the table is extended, it is often difficult to find table cloths that  are long enough or interesting enough. The colours also tie in with my Frida Kahlo cushions. 

I cut a length of the cloth off & hemmed it for the console table that is also in the conservatory. I might shorten it a little more for the other table but that is a job for after the festive season. 

We fortunately have enough cutlery, crockery & glasses to have friends over so it was a pleasure to set the table with our large charger plates we use often, & some glass candle holders. These have the bobeche candle wax ring that saves the cloth when the wax drips down. So many candles are drippers. However, I mixed up the candle colours to match the cloth - I love flickering candles while we relax ... 

The sideboard has the lovely pink crockery of the Merrie Olde England Ironstone design & the Chelsea Wicker Spode creamware plates so it has been an in between setting. I love mixing up plates & sets, the large charger plates help to protect the table cloth from spills.  I have started to bring the vintage red glasses through from the tall glass cupboard in the kitchen. They are the perfect festive red & will be used often over the festive season. 

What a fab evening when the candles burn low because we are all enjoying each others company so much. That is the sign of a gesellige tyd (a social time) 

Have your thoughts turned to the festive season? The first Sunday of Advent is this weekend so I have had to find my Advent ring with the 4 holders & decide on what candles to put in ... 

Thank you for your company, it is always appreciated

Dee 🍽️ 💖

In favour of flasks & picnic baskets ...

Who else loves the freedom of popping your coffee & sandwiches in a basket before heading out to explore? 

My parents & grandparents often picnicked in the rurals in Southern Africa. The only requirement was that it was safe (from snakes & wild animals) and it was somewhere a picnic could be laid out. 

Growing up, picnic baskets were a familiar sight in our home & on the long car trips with my parents & grandparents. There was always steaming flasks of tea, coffee or soup in winter, along with sandwiches, sausage rolls, frikadelle (meatballs) and then a cake or biscuits like crunchies that travelled well. 

South Africa had concrete tables & benches along the long roads with a safe pull in. My mother always took a colourful cloth to put on the table - it was a welcome stop to stretch our legs & enjoy some treats.  

I own several baskets, including this open one I made a colourful lining for.

On a visit to South Africa, my late parents took us to one of the many traditional markets & they bought this basket for me. It is a traditional design with a wipe clean lining. I’m sure there are hundreds of similar ones but this is mine, gifted with love & used often.

This is another basket that is handy as the top is open so it can fit several flasks, a tin of snacks & the picnic blanket too. 

My friends & I sometimes take a basket of goodies on our walks - each contributing something & a real treat to find a good spot to enjoy the treats from. 

I still like to take a pretty tea towel to set it out on. 

This week hubby & I just packed some coffee & a bacon butty & headed for the hills. By the time we got to Long Mynd high up in the Shropshire hills, it was raining steadily. We had our picnic in the car, watching the local ponies & sheep outside, Church Stretton far below us in the valley. 

Are you a fan of the humble picnic basket? What do you pop in yours? Share your favourites please.

Thank you for stopping by, your visits are always appreciated. 

Dee 🧺

Exploring Shropshire's mining history ...

I have often seen mention of the mines at Snailbeach in Shropshire but paid scant attention to them. 

However, while out on the Shropshire hills, we returned past Snailbeach & stopped to visit the old lead mine at Snailbeach.  Mining in the area reputedly dates back to the Roman times so it is steeped in history.  Headgears are always a reminder of the depths miners had to work in & the dangers of flooding, rockfalls or equipment malfunction - these communities lived & worked with danger not far from them.

The site is fairly compact which gives a good overview of life in a mining village, the buildings would have been a hive of activity with sirens, voices, the hum of the winding mechanisms ... 

The information boards help to make sense of the various buildings - it would have been the heart of a small village with everyone knowing everyone else. 

An interesting site, a glimpse in to the past when mining was still at the heart of so many rural communities. 

Pretty autumn colours add a softness to this industrial relic with nature gently reclaiming the space. 

I hope you have enjoyed this visit with me, thank you for stopping by, 

Dee 🤔

Gone to Earth...

I have passed the bust of the Shropshire author Mary Webb dozens of times in Shrewsbury as it is close to the statue of Charles Darwin. They are both Shropshire born & bred & their names are remembered in our county town. 

Today was one of those days when the wide open spaces & fresh air of my favourite place called & we packed a flask of tea & our sandwiches & headed south to the Long Mynd, a place close to where my ancestors lived. I have loved this space for years ... 

These ponies live up on the hills, along with really hardy sheep & I am always pleased to see them. 

We took a different way back, passing through the little village of Snailbeach , famous for lead mining (I will do a separate post on that) . 

Click on the images for a larger image you can read more easily. The church caught my eye with a Mary Webb exhibition. 

Some of the Shropshire places mentioned in her novels 

 An interesting map & a family tree ... 

Mary Webb's family tree - she is the child on the far left 

A familiar Shropshire landmark of the Devils Chair 

Gone to Earth 

Long Mynd, the high point in our Shropshire Hills. It rises above the pretty town of Church Stretton 

The Golden Arrow 

Her second novel Gone to Earth was filmed in Shropshire in 1950 & it  is a rather dark one but the phrase has endured - Gone to Earth. That is what we did. 

This is the little church with its exhibition to her. I love that I love many of the same places as she did - I need to read her other books... I hope you have found her interesting too, thank you for your visit. It is always appreciated. 

Dee 📖