the call of the sea....

.......another day,bathed in that magic light which heralds the coming of Spring,except today also brought a wild sea which threatened to engulf our tiny island! Sitting safely cocooned in my car waiting for the 'water-bus' to ferry me home I watched the angry waves,which seemed so at odds with the sunshine-the wind catching the top of the white horses created an ethereal sea-spray & the rushing sound-just like that from a pink lined conch shell. I am all too aware of natures powers,after all I am surrounded by the sea for most of my day- I guess an island cut off from the mainland for 16 hours in every 24 is not the obvious choice of home for someone like me who is rather afraid of the sea! After a visit here as a small child,I had a recurring nightmare of the place-always the same dream,standing at the entrance to the island I watched,helpless-with those legs you get in dreams,the ones that won't work (& the voice with no sound!)-as a giant wave engulfed me,my mama,the whole island! Terrifying & doubtless,highly significant.....yet as a teenager I was drawn back to this lifesize sandcastle in the sea,to take a summer job in the restaurant-(resplendant in a sailor top & deck shoes,much to the dismay of my 15 yr old demi-goth self!).So for several years,college holidays would find me here-serving cream teas & ice creams to the hoardes,never imagining that I would meet my husband here & make it my home one day! Given the chance to live here,those childhood nightmares were put to bed,the lure of this magical place was too strong to resist,rooted as it was in my romantically inclined heart-the roaring waves,craggy rocks,howling winds & isolation,straight from the pages of a classic novel! But still,my fear of the ocean never leaves me & I must confront it on a daily basis,on a calm day of course I am in love with its sparkling,glassy beauty-but on an angry day like today,it sets my nerves tingling knowing I am at its mercy,bobbing along until the safe harbour is reached on the other side.So today,I sat & watched knowing that in order to reach the home I love-so near & yet so far,I must first face the enemy....& here I am,I lived to tell the tale & make another cup of tea with shaking hand & pounding heart,it was a bumpy ride,but I've had worse-much worse.

Now,on to tomorrow & the start of a new journey on unchartered seas-no matter,I have a compass & a trusty crew,through the storms I will reach my safe harbour eventually & so,in the morning I set sail with a hopeful heart....land ahoy!      

Pull up a chair........

.......its amazing what you find down by the beach! Imagine my surprise when I spotted this pair yesterday morning on my way to school! I could think of nothing else as I taxied the little people up the road & bundled them off into the classroom.....what if a fellow chair-fancier (or Kirsty Allsop!) had salvaged them in my absence or what if they had toddled off for a stroll on the sand,maybe a dog in need of convenience had lighted upon their spindly pins! I was delighted on my return to find the dear souls still there taking in the view......what to do? First a little kerb crawling,drive slowly past  & oggle......then,park up at a stones throw,so as not to look too keen......next,alight car & walk past with a casual air,look out to sea-to blend in with the tourists.....turn,glance furtively around the deserted car park & up at windows to check for twitching curtains....get out mobile phone,take a photo,take a seat,phone mama to ask advice......look around once more,grab a chair in each arm & head for home! Oh the thrill-& so early in the morning too! This is becoming a habit (remember the coathanger in an earlier post?) I can only guess at their story,I was even a little sad to remove them-they were so perfectly placed for bay-watching,all they needed was a tartan rug & a Thermos to complete the scene,then it struck me that maybe this was some 'installation art' that I was disturbing! Then I was taken with the idea that a row of  'chairs' of different designs would make a wonderful alternative to the park bench- imagining them in a higgledy-piggledy line in parks & on seafronts.....obviously they would need to be nailed down,just in case they went walkabout!

So they both went slowly down,

And walked about the town,

With a cheerful bumpy sound

As they toddled all around

And everybody cried

As they ran up to their side

''See,the table and the chair

Have come out to take the air!''

Edward Lear-The Table and the Chair.     

Back to life.....

.....today we ventured back into the real world..........the world that exists over the sea,beyond this tiny island I call home! Me & my little ones had last left the island last Monday before we were sent a small Mc-flurry of snow,however,it was not the snow that kept had us housebound but ice-our winding country style roads simply do not like it & the gritters save their grit for the more substantial roads. At times like these those much maligned,burly beasts-4x4 monster trucks come into their own & those of us sans 'Chelsea Tractor' must sit it out! School was shut for a week,the children were blessed,having only just emerged from the Christmas break,parents awaiting that back to school bliss,were less enchanted by it all! We had our day in the snow,then spent day after day,the 3 of us in the one room-the room with the fire lit-sure Country Living is all a bed of roses in Kirsty All-slops world,but in reality the idyllic country abode in winter can be as harsh as the snow queens palace! All draughty windows & doors & as for that rustic slate floor it simply transforms itself into floor level refrigeration,perfect for keeping ones feet on ice,3 pairs of socks & 1 pair of slippers (upgraded with sheepskin insoles) are no match for a chill which penetrates the bones! The woodburner was doing overtime providing us with 24 hr glow-wolfing down coal & logs,I provided my 3 hungry birds with homebaked crumbs from the kitchen-baking to keep warm,until the cupboards were bare,Mr M took on the role of hunter-gatherer venturing out to forage for food & rescue my mama from her hilltop home! Our enforced confinement took on a surreal & timeless quality,island life out of season is always secluded,in contrast to the months when we are just another stop on the tourist trail,but this was something else! Of course we are never really that cut off from the world in these days of virtual communication are we,as I type on my laptop-whilst watching TV with my mobile at my side....no-one is ever far away. Just before Christmas I started a book about the lives of the Brontes-a gripping read,that had me longing for bedtime & sneaking little reads at every opportunity. I chanced upon the book in Oxfam when I was on a desperate search for reading matter having just finished a book,reading is an insatiable hunger is it not,whilst absorbed in one I like to have another lined up ready to be devoured-after a respectable pause of course! Having conquered Wuthering Heights earlier in the year,I was hungry for more Bronte & when I saw on page 1 of this dog eared paperback that their mother Maria Branwell was born in my own home town of Penzance,I knew this was my next conquest.Oh, what lives they led up on that bleak Yorkshire moor,at the mercy of the elements with little to comfort body or mind,all of them virtually blind & suffering the pains of illness & heartbreak-not a cheery read-yet still they had a passion to write as though their life depended on it & it did. So in the days of this recent cold snap I was eeking out the final chapters as the Bronte sisters were eeking out their final days-racked with consumption,consumed by unrequited love,isolated & without hope & suddenly my own discomforts seemed so slight. When the end came,the last page,the final word,I was as always bereft-especially as the weather meant that my new book from Amazon had not arrived,I was like Charlotte longing for the postman,alas I waited in vain.....then yesterday it arrived... 'The Collected Works of the Bronte Sisters' oh goodness it is a tome 1,475 pages! I am not even sure I will be able to read it in bed,it is worthy of a lecturn......obviously it will keep me well fed for quite some time.......& I am secretly wishing for more snow!

.....just sometimes you get what you wish for!

Today the little folks got their much longed for snow...............not alot of it,but it worked its magic & set little hearts aglow!

......dear little birds perched on the bare branches,chests puffed,added a sweet song to the winter wonderland!

......snow rocks & icy sea!

......snow mummy,in need of tea & a macaroon!

......numb toes,wet gloves,red nose...time to go home!

That was the year that was.......

.....2009,is fast departing us,time to reflect maybe or even just sort out the photos on my computer,same thing really!Here's some of my 'best bits'.......
In February,we got what we like to call snow,sorry to be a killjoy-but really it was more like Slush Puppy or the ground ice made by a Mr Frosty machine!But it was enough to create a picturesque landscape & more importantly to make a mini snowman,Ruby's 3rd (in 10yrs),Georges 1st!

In May we lost a dear old friend,our tabby cat Mog-aged about 16.Mog came to live with us not long after we had left the mainland & moved to our island home,she had been living with an old lady & a blind Yorkie dog-Mr Magoo-having turned up on their doorstep one day,looking for a new start!So the 3 of us started our life together,all learning as we went along & readjusting with each new addition to our family,kittens & babies-Mog disliked both in equal measure!She was quite the celebrity,spending her days with the tourists,having her photo taken & even letting them pick her up,her daily diet was supplemented with titbit's & clotted cream! Each evening with the lowering of the castle flag she would return to us with a round belly,fur smelling of the perfume & cologne of her adoring public!At home,it was affection on her terms,she barely tolerated her 3 furry brothers,let alone her 2 legged siblings & was a very fussy eater,but how we loved her & we treated her like a little person.By May our elegant feline had become a little old lady,thin & bow legged,seeking out the sunny patches as always,but mostly spending her days in her igloo,head always poking out-keeping an eye on things!How enormous is the gap left in our lives when these little creatures leave our side.........

......so,in July we decided our 3 furry boys needed a new mistress,enter a scrawny little tortoiseshell cat called Honey age 2!We all know the Internet can be dangerous,in this case it was fatal-do not google your local re homing centres unless you are prepared to have your heartstrings tugged at most severely!The animal equivalent of an NSPCC advert,these websites are not for the feint hearted or recently bereaved!So it was that Honey found her way into our hearts & our well used cat basket one rainy afternoon this Summer.She had been brought to the RSPCA,a stray with newborn kittens,long gone by the time we met-thank goodness-else we would've come home with 3,no doubt!The little scrap of tortoiseshell has blossomed into a rotund ball of fur,despite her idyllic surroundings she prefers to stay at home & eat,like the previous mistress she dislikes the fur boys & is not keen on our 2 legged rogue & his noisy,light sabre wielding ways!We are honoured with the odd knee sitting session usually as a means to getting fed,yet how grateful we are for these moments,on any terms!

Sometime in Spring,I finally sorted out my workroom.....

We moved back into the fully restored lodge house,that is our home,in the run-up to Christmas 2008,this was the 2nd time in 3 years.....since we had first moved in we had aquired a boy child,boy toys & a mountain of-stuff!I hold my hands up,mostly,my stuff-mama,I place the blame for this firmly at your door-brought up as I was amid the glory days of the jumble sale,village bazaar & best of all,flea market-where mama often had a stall!So the seed was sown,fed & watered,until a bumper crop of stuff had been harvested,packed in boxes & moved from house to house,loft to loft!This time however I was determined it was not going back in the loft,it had to be sorted-by me-& so,as it had its own room,I shut the door & left it!However the room it was occupying was also to be my workroom/studio & I had ambitious plans for it,having bought 2 lovely old shop counters-crying out to be filled with haberdashery & well,stuff!The room was originally used as a Parish Room,for parish meetings & social gatherings & is full of character,granite windows & an enormous fireplace,oak beams & an original parquet floor,in the half of the house that is in the castle grounds,it looks out on the gardens-away from the tourists!Like a scaled down version of rooms in the castle,it is at the same time filled with light & best of all,birdsong-perfect as a studio.So having ignored the skyscraper boxes for months & being without a workspace,I took courage & locked myself away ....several weeks,several trips to the charity shop,recycling bank & skip later,I realised my dreams & my drapers shop-workroom was born!Here I am surrounded by my treasures,one counter is used for storage (it holds lots of-stuff!),the other for displaying my collection of vintage haberdashery-gorgeous lace,ribbon,buttons,so many buttons,sylko threads,doilies,table linens,more buttons-all the lovely materials for my work.It is a very inspiring space,for which I am eternally grateful....& no more boxes.......well,just small ones.....