Tuesday 30 June 2009

I do like


to be beside the seaside


visiting friends in Brighton



on the hottest day of the year.


Sunday 28 June 2009

Thursday 25 June 2009

Have you ever?


I've seen versions of this on quite a few blogs. 
Really we need an Anglicised one.

I'd substitute stick insect for praying mantis, visited the Isle of Wight for Hawaii, walked to the top of The Monument in London for the Statue of Liberty, played croquet for hit a home run, toured the Lake District for the Everglades -  for starters.

What would you change? 

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland 
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sung a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo's David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie, no but I was once on TV
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class does fencing count?
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Guide Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House 
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee


100. Seen a stag beetle
These are rare and protected.
I think this is the female, males have huge antlers, hence the name.

Copy and paste then highlight anything you have done.

Wednesday 24 June 2009

Dream coat


made from vintage saris and reversible.


Has had a mixed reception so far,
('You look like a rug, but it fits you very nicely')

What do you think?


I love it.

Monday 22 June 2009

He's back


Line one of five.

Sunday 21 June 2009

Foxed






And this pair is the reason why our vegetables are looking a little less pristine
(see below)
and a little more sat, jumped and pounced on.

Dream vegetable garden


West Dean Walled Kitchen Garden


Pristine glasshouses.

Forests of parsley.





A whole greenhouse devoted to Basils.




Newts in the dipping pond.


Tuesday 16 June 2009

Up and down the Downs


Come this way

and walk with us if you will,

up and down the Downs

through a coppiced wood,


past these sheep

under a big sky,



past tiny ancient churches,

under a black sky,

through a wheat field,

and a rape field,
for about ten miles.
It took five hours and several Mars Bars,
but was probably quicker than driving in one of these cars...