beauty in everyday life

I recently bought this new water bottle. (It's a V&A Museum product that I bought at my local garden centre.) I think its beautiful print will help me to carry it everywhere and use it consistently. Isn't the print lovely? It's a historic wallpaper design. It was designed by a man named William Morris in 1884. He said "Have nothing in your houses which you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful." This is also my Mum's philosophy--she is an expert at filling her house with beautiful and useful items. I have lots of her photos in our home--beautiful pictures of flowers, especially.

This week Mum and Dad have been staying with us and Mum helped me totally spring clean my kitchen and improve it. So I hope to post again later about my new item of kitchen furniture and the reorganisation of my cupboards. I also got new plates and napkins--ooh, the excitement!

an ode to Helen

Your birthday was a memorable meal.
You helped me with my weeding.
You share seedlings with me.
And you like to eat my food.
Thanks for washing up afterwards.
You inspire me to be more green.
You like to talk about God with us.
You are also hilarious!

looking around

things I am looking forward to:
Mum and Dad are coming to visit.
I get to see Jayme and Maya and Donald soon.
Hopefully everything will go well at exam season and I can put on my proud teacher smile.
The salad in the big green box is almost ready to be harvested.
There is a small chance I will be able to grow several vegetables successfully this year.
Monday is bank holiday and Ant and I can practise our German together.
The older you get the more you learn.
There are so many good books waiting to be read.
A quiet afternoon means my brain can rest and meander.

things I am glad are now in the past:
The stress of the last few weeks has been grinding me down.
Ant did all the washing up today.
The dark and cold weather is over now (mostly, in theory).
Being an adult with a good job means I am no longer living hand-to-mouth.
My thirtieth birthday is long gone (since I have been inflating my age by five years since I started teaching).