Sunday, 6 January 2013

A New Sea Glass Beach

I was a little unwell over the  New Year holiday, with a bout of gastric flu, but my husband and daughter set out each day for a walk whatever the weather.

The clever things, they passed a headland, and found a New Sea Glass Beach!

Once I felt better, I joined them and we had a super time scrambling over rocks, lifting shells and seaweed, to find these wonderful treasures of the sea.
This is a trick photo, there is no glass
but we loved the orange shell


The fragments of glass are usually to be found
among shells and stones

Just after the tide goes out they are easy to spot
as they still glisten with seawater

In France most are broken wine or beer bottles
so white, green and brown 

You can just see this fragment

We put them on a white plate at home to view them clearly


I love to bring this part of the beach home

Incredible jewel like colours

The natural shell and the seawashed glass look amazing

I love looking for texture on the glass

And contrasting the colours

A wonderful palate

Friday, 4 January 2013

Better Weather

The last few days have been so much better!  We still have leaden skies, but the rain and wind have ceased!

Hopefully, we'll have a calm crossing on the ferry tomorrow night as we journey home!

A little daylight is so much better for photos!

Doesn't the sea look inviting?

The waves are still huge though!

Pleasant from a distance

The sand is covered in seaweed from the storms

Would be great for my skin, or to eat, if I knew what to
do with it!

Calm, calm, calm!

Wednesday, 2 January 2013

Happy New Year

I always post some pictures of our beach, here in Brittany.  You can see it's rather bleak at the moment.

As the nuns who taught me at  my seaside Convent School would have said, "Bracing Dear, and very good for you!"

We have managed a few walks in between squalls, and the weather is supposed to be improving, we are watching the barometer with interest and anticipation!

Happy New Year to you and yours,

Best Wishes 

Jude x


Leaden skies and sea

Still stunningly beautiful

My daughter gazing out at the ocean
(the raincoat was mine when I was a child - so over
40 years old - impressive thriftiness for 2013!)

Seaweed uprooted from the seafloor and thrown on the
sand by the violent storms

Cold and bleak

Only the sound of curlews, gulls
and the constant thud of the sea.

Tuesday, 11 December 2012

Visiting Father Christmas

We popped along the road to Ham House on Sunday, where we followed a trail to Father Christmas's Grotto.

It was great fun, running around the garden looking for clues, making  a magic word which we could  tell Father Christmas when we met him.

I don't know who enjoyed it the most, our six year old daughter or my husband and me!


Ham House

Lots of Fun

Christmas decorations

The first clue was here, under this exotic fruit

We read the clues and filled in the wordsearch

Riding lessons at a nearby stables

More clues, and directions to the next one!

The clues were in the most unlikely of places

Wintery light dappling this wall

Another clue

They were all attached to bowler hats

Every where looked cold... Brrrr!

Some vegetables were still growing in the garden

But most were gone

the Holly looked spectacular

At last the final clue

We're nearly there!

Hot drinks for those feeling the cold

And here is Father Christmas!

Wednesday, 5 December 2012

Decorating for Christmas

When I looked out of the window this morning I thought I might be able to photograph some lovely wintery scenes, but sadly, by the time I returned from dropping my daughter at school, the sprinkling of snow had disappeared.

On Monday, when I had picked her up from school she had let our a plaintive cry, "I am the only person in my class who has not got her tree up at home!"  Poor lamb.

So yesterday, to remedy this dreadful disaster I set about decorating the house.  I put the tree up with the lights, but left the decorating for her to do, while I focused on shelves and windows.

I always feel quite thrifty when I decorate, as I reuse many things from year to year, in particular my crib figures, I just move them around to different places in the house, but one is always on the dining room windowsill and one on the living room bookcase.

As the song says; "It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas!"

My beautiful Mexican crib figures
I bought them when the boys were small
they were made by a fairtrade cooperative in Mexico






These Italian figures are more recent
I love their simple elegance




I am rather partial to deer
and the turkey candlestick holders came from the States
(I think they are for Thanksgiving, but I always use them
at Christmas)


These are waiting to be 'homed'
The penguins and polar bears are for cake decorations

My new decorations this year, seem to all have some tartan
(it must be my Scottish roots!)