An afternoon in the garden

My idea of heaven.



But I'm afraid that this way of spending my day will be over for quite a long time. I have two new urgent projects (work-related, no crafting projects, alas). When I have a lot of boring things to do, I have the tendency to procrastinate.
So, back to the old computer and get to work!

Blossom

I made an important decision (together with our doctor): I will have one day in the week all for myself! No work at the computer, no telephones. Because I kept feeling tired and stressed at the same time... So there will be more blog posts from now on (I hope).
Little by little, I started working in the house and the garden. And my energy is slowly coming back.
Last year, we planted this Prunus subhirtella 'Autumnalis', and now we can adore its blossoms.

This is a great woodblock print by the Japanese artist Itō Shinsui, two girls walking under a blossom tree.

And of course, Van Gogh's blossoms.

And this brings me back to the disaster in Japan. I got a comment from a fellow blogger, about an "Embroidered Veggie Market Quilt for Japan". This is such a sweet idea to raise funds, so I decided to give it a try!
Here is already a little detail of what I'm embroidering.

You can find all the details about the quilt on Mom Wald's Place blog.

And while I'm busy embroidering, someone is getting very sleepy...

Winter Wonderland

A few impressions of this afternoon.

And the creepy snowman, made by my children. I hope he doesn't come to life overnight...

A walk in the woods

Is it because of all the rain and damp weather the last two months, but there are mushrooms everywhere in our garden.
I really don't dare to pick and eat them, I heard on the news that there were more cases of poisoning this year then normal (here in Belgium, don't know about the rest of Europe). My grandmother knew enough about mushrooms to use them in the kitchen, and it's a shame that I don't have that knowledge...

Cat & mouse

Ooh, it has been a long time...
My laundry bag is finished, I use it for my stray socks (know the problem?).

I'm always stunned by the beauty of Mrs. Potter's watercolours, and I have quite a few projects in mind, featuring her characters.


From now on, I will post a monthly update of my cross-stitched cat. I want to use it for a pillow, when finished.

In the meanwhile, summer has arrived. I try to enjoy it as much as possible, although I have a lot of computer work at the moment.
And that means:
having tea and cake and cherries in the garden,

walking barefoot,

and admire the flowers from my garden.

Getting better

This must be the worst summer in years... been ill all week, sneezing and coughing.
I only managed to do a little bit of gardening,very, very slowly, I really have no energy. And the weeds are growing in abundance...
But the weather is changing, maybe we'll finally get a summer?

A dandelion is so fluffy and cute, if you look closely.

I planted this Solomon's seal (Polygonatum) last spring, and forgot completely about it. And here it is, what a nice surprise!

Monet's house & garden

Yesterday night, I returned from a short holiday in Giverny, France. Main goal of our visit: the house of Monet and his oh so famous garden and the waterlily pond.

We went there early in the morning, and I managed to take this picture of the entrance of the house. Half an hour later, the place was crowded with mostly American and Japanese tourists.

At this time of year, the garden is a lust for the eye. Such a pity you can't smell the peonies...


And then of course the pond... you just have to see it for yourself.


After our three hours visit, time to get a salad and coffee afterwards at Hotel Baudy, the place where all the artists (mostly Americans) would stay in Monet's time. Just lovely!



We had a room with a view at an old mill. Our stay for three days was too short... my husband wanted to paint a lot of the scenery there, but the weather wasn't so good.
If you want to have a look at his (wonderful) paintings, go here.

Lily of the Valley

The sweet smell of a very tiny flower...

Beautiful embroidery idea, found in an old Marie Claire Idées.

Blossom

It's amazing how the weather has changed in a week! It's rainy and cold, weather to stay indoors, near the fireplace. Luckily, I took some pictures of the first blossoms last week, they're all rained away now...




Perfect weather to get back to work, and that is what I'm going to do right now!

Fresh colours

After two weeks of sunshine, and a very warm day yesterday, my garden is starting to explode. This is the time of the year, when I really don't know what to do first. All the borders need weeding, I buy a lot of new shrubs and flowers to put in the garden , my windows are very dirty, and so are the shutters, and so on, and so on...

But in the evenings there is still time enough left to do a bit of crafting.
My new granny blanket is ready to be used, I made it for my daughter's room.

I only used yarn leftovers to make it.