Rummage

The small people fashion themselves magpie scaring hats.

Which can moonlight as a fabulous pair of spectacles.

xx

I am, at heart, a luddite. I have composed less than 15 text messages in my life. I do not have a phone that can take or receive photos. I had to google LOL. I have never twittered except when doing my kookaburra interpretation and even then it is more a hiccup than a twitter. So it comes as an enormous surprise to me that I have joined the modern world on Facebook. Frankly, I'm wondering what all the fuss is about. The site design is ugly and there are great big gobs of advertising that I have tried to get rid of to no avail, I remember reading about a little program you could download that would layer an image of an artwork over the top of advertising on your computer screen, shoot me an email if you know how to nix the adverts but I suspect they are there for keeps.

I had a slightly paranoid moment when I joined up and discovered that Facebook already had a long list of suggested friends for me, how does it know who I know?? Then it tried to rifle through my email account to find more people that I know which I thought was just downright cheeky. I now have two Facebook friends with whom I have had no contact other than to be informed that my virtual hand of friendship has been accepted. I considered friending others but what if they knock me back? And even if they didn't what the hell would we talk about? Lord knows, I'm not a good communicator at the best of times. Suddenly it all feels a little bit like being sixteen again and as fun as it was I'm not in a hurry to go back.

PS the flower is for you. x

Made hay while the sun was shining today. After all the rain we've had, the park was covered in wet-the-beds that we made into long necklaces. Did you know that these dandelions are known as "pissabeds" in England and "pissenlit" in France? It seems their diuretic potential is universally known. Here's hoping there are no knock-on effects tonight.

I've also been doing some special orders for people. This hair piece will be on its way to a dear blogging friend tomorrow for a special occasion.

xxx

I think the Mirabel Foundation is great and it's brilliant that the Softies for Mirabel is now in its third year. These peggies are winging their way down to Pip as we speak, if you're interested in donating something all the information is right here! Thanks Pip.

And have a gorgeous weekend. xx

We love finding old copies of fairy tales, particularly when they start like this:

"In the olden time when wishing was having.."

and even more thrillingly,

"Look you, now we're going to begin. When we are at the end of the story we shall know more than we do now, for he was a bad goblin.."

There was rain all day today so we curled up with brown bread and honey and fairy stories. x

I hope your day was lovely too.

Look! Even the dollies are falling over themselves to see the child whose mother doesn't brush her hair.

In my own defence, the smallest person has a particular gift for bed head. I always know that I'm in for some extra special naughtiness when she wakes up with hair like this.

I hope you have a super weekend with lots of strawberry jam on toast, steaming pots of tea and some private air guitar time with your favourite tunes! xx

Thank you everyone who suggested names for my mystery plant. Opinions were divided between the happy wanderer, (Hardenbergia violacea), and native indigo, (Indigofera australis) with an honourable mention to Tania's suggestion of 'Pinkus Wotsitus'.For the horticulturally minded, the secret was all in the leaves. Happy Wanderer has punchy large leaves to the native indigo's discreet, slightly hinged version. After a close examination of the happy wanderer in my garden, which, just quietly is neither happy nor wandering, I'm sure that Ms Mystery, (all plants, like boats are female in my mind), is Indigofera australis. Interestingly it is said that boiling the stems of the plant invokes an indigo like substance, (hence the name), which I will not be able to resist trying. Particularly as it will come in handy when I get around to finishing this project currently spending quality time on the backburner.

Janet was leading the indigofera australis charge and will be recompensed for her labours with a package of oddly familiar peggies winging their way southward whenever she can locate a photo of all family members together. Thanks again for all the helpful suggestions. I've said it before but you people are the business.

I'll leave you with my favourite stage in children's artistic development, the disembodied head, (I'm the one on the right sporting the mohawk). xx

I'm always in a quandry as to whether I should post gardening stuff here. I usually write that sort of thing over at acacia et coquelicot largely because I think I might bore some people senseless when I rabbit on about all things jardinage. Not that I have a great deal of knowledge on the subject, to prove the point I have a plant here that is currently looking smashing but I have absolutely no idea what it is. I can tell you that I planted it last year and that I am fairly sure it is a native, beyond that your guess is as good as, or hopefully better than mine.

When the Frenchman asked me what it was the other day I tried out, "spectium thrombasiosis", to which he raised a black gallic eyebrow. If I can't fool him I'm unlikely to be able to pull the wool over anyone else's eyes. SO, if you know what this plant is and would like to enlighten me I would be most grateful, so much so that I can offer my services as a portraitist of sorts. The first correct answer gets a family portrait in peggies. You send me a photo of the family and I'll send you a corresponding set of peggies along with my eternal gratitude.

x

Perambulating with the kokeshi. As you do.

 

Eating finely sliced snowpeas with this killer sauce from Jill Dupleix:

1tbs sugar, 1tbs soy sauce, 2tbs mirin, 1 tbs rice wine vinegar, 2 tsp sesame oil, 1tbs peanut butter.

Whisk all ingredients together, taste and if necessary adjust flavours.

Playing Odosketch, be careful it's addictive.