Saturday 21 November 2015

4 minutes and 52 seconds of joy

I really like the song 'Uptown Funk', as it is so up beat, so when Chris found this video on Youtube, including many great dancers including Fred Astaire, Eleanor Powell, Ginger Rogers, Gene Kelly, The Nicholas brothers and even Laurel and Hardy, I knew I had to share it.  Brilliantly edited and great fun!  Enjoy!  (If you put 'closed captions' on, you'll see the name and year of the films used too.)

Tuesday 10 November 2015

Tulip planting for Spring

Even though it is very mild for the time of year, I decided that I needed to plant my tulips for next Spring.  It is a positive thing to do, as it shows that eventually Winter will end (although it hasn't started yet...)  So, I set to and planted my tulips in pots and tubs.  This year, I have bought:
Princess Irene (the first four photos are from Peter Nyssen's website), to continue my enjoyment of orange in the garden...
 Tulip Negrita which is supposed to be slightly fragrant...
 Tulip China Pink which looks very elegant..
 and Tulip Ronaldo which I have grown before and is a lovely deep purple/black.
Tulip Upstar (photo from vanengelen) was part of my Seasons swap gift, and these have gone into a pot at the front door.
 Of course, I have planted more Ballerina, because it is my favourite tulip and it is beautifully scented. (I haven't got any Red Shine this year - you can see one sneaking into the photo above from my tulips last Spring).
 The mild weather is encouraging some plants to keep flowering.  Above is Rose Blue Eyes (more purple than blue, it has to be said, but very pretty nonetheless), flowering away last week.

Sunday 8 November 2015

Remembrance Sunday

 Here in the UK it is Remembrance Sunday where we take time to remember all those who have been injured or killed in war.  I thought it was appropriate to share my polymer clay poppy brooches, which I have been wearing this week.  I used a mould to create the shape, then highlighted the petals with acrylic paint and added some black glitter to the centres.  I did make a donation to the Poppy Fund, even though I wasn't wearing one of their poppies.


They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

(from For the Fallen by by Robert Laurence Binyon (1869-1943)