Thursday 10 May 2012

Cheering myself up

I'm not enjoying a very positive time at the moment.  There are times when it is easy to get low and stay there.  Recent/current health worries are making me feel unusually stressed, so my husband suggested a walk around the antiques emporiums in town this morning to cheer me up.  I should have known THAT would be fatal!  I was casting a jaundiced eye (after last weekend!) over various pieces of china and collectables, when I looked up and saw this beautiful watercolour.  It reminded me both of my New Forest childhood and of course, the moors of Dartmoor.  We asked the price, which wasn't at all expensive, and left the shop to walk back to the car.  My OH knew I really wanted it, but I was of the philosphy that money wasn't exactly plentiful at the moment and if it was meant for me, when I DID have the money, it would still be there waiting.  Anyway, the long and the short of it was that we turned round and we got a suitable amount off the asking price and it came home with us and is now hanging on the bedroom wall.  Another week of beans on toast and vegetable curry then!


As you can see, we had a wee bit of rain yesterday and overnight.  This is the extension to the "herb garden", which has various perennials in it, and will have Sweet Peas around the edge when I have set to and excavated a suitable trench.

Ramsons (Wild Garlic) growing just beside our front gate in the "wild" area.


I had intended to walk down along the river, camera in hand, to take some photos of the beautifully ethereal atmosphere of the young leaves on the beech trees.  However . . . someone (Miffy, the boys' mother) saw me going and decided she was going to come too, but she was complaining bitterly all the way until I turned round and retraced my steps.  Here she is, yowling at me and telling me to Hurry Up!  She is blind in one eye, but this doesn't seem to stop her hunting.

So I took a couple of photos on our way back from town.  Doesn't it look beautiful?  Quite a depth of flood-water building up too . . .

16 comments:

  1. I'm glad you have the painting--sometimes beans and ramen noodles are cheap enough as recompense for something beautiful--as long as there is agreement on the 'beautiful!'
    I'm hoping a few days of warmer weather and sunshine would help the health issues--at least when the sun shines for a bit we convince ourselves that things are 'better.'

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  2. yes, well worth economising for! I thought of the new Forest, even before I read what you wrote.
    I always enjoy your photos, I loved the swollen river today.

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  3. That lovely little painting would cheer anyone up! Sorry you are feeling down. The long stretch of wet cold weather is probably contributing to it. Hope you get a break soon.

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  4. What a beautiful painting! So worth the beans on toast. When I think of this on your wall as you close your eyes to sleep, I expect your dreams of moors and new growth will soothe those fears and worries. A perfect choice to purchase!

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  5. Thank you all. I am glad that I let my husband talk me into it. DD - I shall try and focus on it as Dartmoor is where I would love us to relocate to, and I can conjure up the scents and sounds of the moor.

    Hello again it's me. The weather doesn't help, that's for sure. A few days of sunshine would be SUCH a treat.

    Kath - our river goes up and down like a fiddler's elbow!!

    MM - it's not the things you buy that you regret, it's the things you DON'T buy . . . in my experience anyway. It makes me feel good just to look at it.

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  6. That painting is worth a week of beans on toast!

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  7. I'm feeling exactly the same at the moment so I really feel for you. Love the painting and sympathise with the huge pools of standing water; Dartmoor is awash. Very envious of your wild garlic. I have a tiny bit in the garden but would like loads to use in salads every day. Hope you feel more positive soon.

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  8. AJ - I heartily agree with you!

    Em - I'll post you some roots if you like, as I have masses. And save you seed too perhaps?

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  9. BB, I am droopy too. Its just the area I'm living in, and I can't do a thing about it at the moment, so I just try to get my game face on and struggle through it.
    I love your photos, they are so mystical and magical. I can see Merlin prowling around somethere casting spells...
    Wishing and sending you peaceful thoughts and a wonderful weekend to you and yours.
    Hugs

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  10. Oh I love that your cat came...our cats used to come for a dog walk with us too! trotting just ahead of us down the lane to the fields, where they would divert for some hunting! Hope things are looking up? Hopefully the sun will return this weekend, that always helps...

    Sarah -x-

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  11. That's a lovely picture, I hope it succeeds in lifting your spirits. Apart from any actual problems I don't think the weather helps very much, all the rain and grey skies has a very lowering effect. Parts of my garden look like your herb bed with standing water in the edges. I'm definitely ready for some sunshine and blue skies.

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  12. denim - I so wish you could change sites to somewhere NICE, or else someone could take over your site and get rid of all the wastes of rations who live there.

    sarah-jane - just left a comment over on your blog. Nice to meet you - several of our cats like to walk with us, but it always means we can't go far because of the farm traffic and very narrow high-banked lanes.

    Rowan - hangs head in shame - I STILL owe you a letter!

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  13. I'm deep in the mindset of downsizing. No buying anything more unless it is absolutely essential. We are going to have a garage sale one day and we will make a MINT of money, we have so much stuff -- 40 years' worth! Just can't get up the mindset to DO it.

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  14. Chris - we have got rid of a roomful of "stuff" in recent months, and more will go in due course. This painting just "spoke" to me and is one of those "forever" possessions. It's on the wall where it's the last thing I see before I go to sleep and the first thing I see when I wake.

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  15. I would gladly eat beans for a week for that lovely painting! I hope it cheers you up and that you feel better soon. Seem to be fighting a fibromyalgia flare here in the midst of so much to do and that's not good. Longing for a lot of energy here - for both of us!

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  16. That lovely painting was meant to come along and cheer you up, so definitely worth the beans on toast!

    Hope you are feeling a bit brighter now. A day without rain will help.....

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