90/365 Spring blossom

We awoke to a beautiful spring morning, so I had to go straight to the park with camera after taking the kids to school. This tree was humming with the buzz of wild bees, there was a woodpecker in the woods, the sun shone and the sky was blue. Fabulous. Tough choice today, several worthy blossom shots, also some water iris shoots in the ornamental pond, a magnolia bud... go and see the album:

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/not2early/AllestreeParkSpringMorning?feat=directlink

89/365 Kerria blooms

We seem to have quite a few yellow flowering plants in our garden, most of which we inherited when we bought the house, and this is my favourite. This starts to come out just as the forsythia peaks, and shelters under the bare branches of the tamarisk tree. (Just wait til May when the tamarisk is in bloom with a clematis growing through it - its Mark's favourite.)

Rosie & Sweetie mooched in the garden while I took a few pictures, Rosie is very hard to catch well, being so very black! Sweetie just sits there though, mainly.

88/365 Can you fix it?

Or is it terminal? My 1950s Singer, given to me a few years ago by my wonderful MIL, may finally have bitten the dust. :0(

It was repaired last year by a friend and he'll see if he can fix it again, but I'm preparing for the possiblility of having to let it go. I do have an alternative machine, but this little beauty is my favourite. My MIL, Rita, had it from new when newly married and it has stitched yards of curtains and made many alterations and repairs, the box still has the original key.

On Friday the fuse went, and the replacement fuse went straight away, so its shorting somewhere. Here's hoping ST can fix it.

87/365 A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away

This makes me think of the opening sequence of the Star Wars movie, its like a hubble telescope shot of a distant galaxy or something! Actually, its two M&Ms which have been dropped in a puddle near Jodie's school, and I have messed with it some. There's even a shooting star to the left! ;0) [I recommend clicking on it to view larger as it loses something in being reduced for the blog. ]

We were on our way to the Easter Fair and I just saw this by chance and wondered if I could make something of it. I already had a blog shot 'in the can', or so I thought. I think I might re-jig it for tomorrow as I've thought of a refinement I can make.

86/365 Rose

This is one of Jodie's roses. I love the graduation of colour and the texture on the petals, they are coming to the end. I had hoped for something unusual for Mother's Day last Sunday, but Jodie chose pink spray carnations for me and these for herself. Instead of dropping hints, next time I'll just spell it out!

85/365 Alstroemeria

These were a gift from a good friend, (she of the pin cushion, 48/365), and made a good subject for today's image. I also had some spray carnations for Mother's Day, and Jodie selected some roses for herself, but I haven't had a chance to shoot either of those yet! Thanks Mel, ;0)

84/365 Original and best

We visited the Black Country Living Museum today in Dudley. This is the Fish & Chip shop, reputed to be the best in the Midlands, and I think I must agree - we had the most delicious chips I have eaten in years! Both Oliver & Jodie were on INSET days today, and as it was also my birthday, Mark booked the day off work and we had a day out. It was very cold, very windy, rained some as well, but we will visit again in better weather - it only took an hour via the M6 Troll. I'll upload the rest of the day's pictures to Picasa. [ For the benefit of my American friends - chips = fries, only much, much better ;0) ]

For more info see: http://www.bclm.co.uk/

83/365 Acupuncture Man

I saw my acunpuncturist today. Last year she spent a month in China and brought back this ceramic man showing all the points on the body, and also a couple of scrolls featuring words of wisdom from the Dalai Lama:

"We have bigger houses but smaller families: We have more degrees but less sense; more knowledge but less judgements; more experts but more problems; more medicines, but less healthiness. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but we have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbour. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we have less communication. We have become long on quantity but short on quality. These are times of fast foods, but slow digestion; tall man, but short character ;steep profits, but shallow relationships. It is a time when there is much in the window but nothing in the room."

Thanks to DS for a fruitful session, and my image for the day.

82/365 Birthday Girl

Make a wish Jodie! My Golden Child turned 5 years old today (actually, at 7 o'clock this morning!) and while she was at school I decorated a small cake with a unicorn design. She has had lots of horse/pony/unicorn gifts and is certain to have wished for a real pony. It took about 5 attempts to blow out all the candles (they weren't even trick ones!), then she ate an enormous slice of cake - and why not??

81/365 Pedal Power

It's hard work pedalling around the park, so we stopped for an ice cream and even though its Mother's Day, I only got 2 licks! Jodie loves her new bike, but it was too cold and windy to stay long.

80/365 Camera shy niece

My niece and nephews dropped by today on their way to a masked ball. This is Nathalie, she's not really that camera shy, but we had some fun with me shooting from my lap which she caught onto very quickly, and her trying not to look at the camera! Nathalie and her brothers live in France, so we don't get to see them often, but we'll see each other again very soon at my brother's wedding.

Later on we collected Jodie's new bike, Happy Birthday for Monday!

79/365 Bullrushes at Kedleston Hall

Today was a lovely spring day, blue sky, a little hazy, chilly out of the sun. The bullrushes next to the bridge on the approach to Kedleston Hall were all fluffy. Today's pictures were worthy of a Picasa album: click on the Picasa link right, see Spring Morning, Kedleston Hall - and it was not as warm as it looks!

I think this is Rosebay Willowherb.

78/365 Lychgate, St Edmund's Church

There wasn't any confetti this time, but the day was brighter than my last visit. Apparently, 'lych' is Anglo Saxon and originates from the German word for corpse. The lychgate provided shelter and a resting place for coffin bearers on their way into church.

For some interesting historical information about Allestree, including St Edmund's church see http://www.picturesofderby.co.uk/area_allestree.htm

Here is a detail from the carved stone doorway into the church which dates from Norman times.

77/365 Forsythia (and cat)

Its a bit like sunshine on a bush really. Its a mass of rich yellow several feet high and across and in full bloom now. It grows in our neighbour's garden and hangs over our fence. From the bathroom window, which is obscure glass, it looks just as stunning, a suncloud. It is tricky to isolate blooms as they are so crowded together, but the dark fence is a perfect foil for the intensity of colour.

And here is the cat. Again. But this time in monochrome!

76/365 New daffodil

One of the fresh daffs we bought yesterday, a tough choice, will add a couple more in the morning, just off to bed to chase away the rest of this evening's migraine. (have not quite managed to post before midnight! Tch!)

75/365 Blowing bubbles

Jodie spent another day at home with me, and it was warm enough to be in the garden some. This was after we'd made a tent to play in (sheet over chair backs) and set out the horses on the farm and done some of the activities in her magazine. I think perhaps one more day off and she may be well enough to go back to school! She pottered more and didn't crash until much later in the day, and although her temp was up it was very slight.

The magazine came with a packet of 'body art' stickers - tiny butterflies, strawberries, stars etc, which Jodie stuck to her nails and face!

Perhaps if I make tomorrow very dull she'll be more keen to get back to school ;0)

74/365 Hellebore in bloom

This hellebore has surprised me this year by blooming beautifully for the first time since I planted it.

I had a little stroll round the garden, with camera of course, and lots of new shoots are breaking through. It was warm, the sun was shining, the wind had dropped since yesterday and I sent hubby out there after lunch to rake up all the twigs on the grass (can't call it a lawn really...!) and he did a little light pruning as well. So now I can add gardening to my 'to do' list, weather permitting, little and often, we get a little further on with it each year.