Notes from a Devon Village

Not in the mood lately

2010-10-25T19:14:00.000+01:00

Just haven't been in the mood to post to this blog lately. I think it's because here is where I loved to write about life with Amy and Ben ... and of course now it's just Ben and I. Amy has left such an enormous hole in our lives I think we're still trying to come to terms with her absence.

We're feeling like this! I took Ben up to Start Point last week - we walked all the way round which Amy hadn't been able to do for a very long time.

But as we climbed up towards the ridge we came to this point ...

... and the enormity of her absence took my breath away. Amy wasn't part of my life for very long - just four and a half short years. She was crippled when she came to me, and deeply unhappy - which she showed by withdrawing into herself, growling and biting (yes really) when I tried to show her life was worth living after all. Perseverance paid off and over the course of about a year she became the most loving and loyal companion I could have wished for.

That's not to say she was perfect - far from it! She was the most stubborn, self-opinionated and frankly greedy dog I have ever owned. She knew what was due to her as the most beautiful (in her opinion!) newfie that ever there was! But she simply loved people, bustling up to all and sundry (particularly children) and collapsing at their feet in the hope of a tummy tickle. Not to forget of course that she did once save a child's life, bringing a little girl in from the sea, in her long-ago youth.

Amy was also the only dog I have ever owned that would look admiringly at her own image in shop windows! In fact she adored shopping. She never had to be tied up outside a shop, but would wait for me as long as patience lasted - and if I took (in her opinion) too long then she'd bustle importantly inside to come and find me and tell me to hurry up! I remember leaving her outside WH Smiths once, and coming out to find a total stranger tugging on her lead ... impossible to steal ... she wasn't going to budge an inch without me and at 147 lbs, no-one could make her!

So I've been immersing myself in work - which I love - not forgetting of course that the "Bustle" of Bustle and Sew was named for Amy ... and won't be posting here again for a little while.

Meanwhile you can keep up with some of the news (and the odd photo of Ben which creeps in occasionally) on Bustle & Sew, and I expect I'll be back again before too long with some new photos and stories about life here in Devon.

Been Away...

2010-09-12T19:06:00.003+01:00

This picture, for me, depicts the two sides of Istanbul we saw whilst staying in the city last week. There is the modern city that has grown up around the Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque. Although these are ancient and beautiful, their impact is subsumed by the noise of busy traffic, clanging of trams and crowds of tourists. Then there is the human side of this beautiful city, traditional Turkish culture, bazaars, music, and the all-important family life. Food is very important here, as people grow (or fish for!) the freshest of ingredients to incorporate into yet another wonderful dish enjoyed at leisure surrounded by friends and family.

The city's skyline is truly beautiful, and I could only imagine how overwhelming it must have seemed to visitors a thousand years ago when most of us lived in mud or wooden dwellings. This view was taken from inside the Hagia Sophia looking out towards the Blue Mosque.

The wonderful Byzantine mosaics - over 1500 years old, and preserved by being covered in plaster when the building was used as a Mosque.

And I'm rather proud of this picture which I took in the old cistern beneath the city - constructed in the sixth century it supplied water to the old city before the Ottoman empire. There are now walkways so tourists like us can view this huge underground space - more than 300 marble columns and a vaulted roof about 20m high (I'm guessing here but it was amazing!). The lighting was rather dim so I rested my elderly camera on the handrail for the long exposure, clutching it tightly so that it didn't join the large fish in the water below.

We had a wonderful time - a great way to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary, but soon it was time to return home, to be reunited with our furry friend who spent the week in his favourite kennels ....

And who joined us on a picnic in the warm September sunshine at Mill Bay today. Lovely to go away, but nice to come back too...!

Gone away ...

2010-08-29T12:01:00.003+01:00

When Amy left us the summer seemed to fly away too. Ben took to moping on his bed and I missed terribly the round warm weight that used to settle heavily against my feet when I sat upon the sofa with my knitting or embroidery.

But .. after all .. Amy would not have wanted us to be sad forever. She had a tremendous zest for life, grasping every opportunity (especially if it involved food!) that came her way, and fortunately she slipped away so peacefully at the end.

So Ben and I decided to pick ourselves up and take ourselves out - on one of our favourite walks - around Snapes Point just across from Salcombe. We set off from the carpark across fields that had already been cut ..

Close to where earlier in the year we watched the spring lambs at play.

The day was overcast, but warm

and there was plenty of activity on the water. Sounds of gulls crying, and outboard motors chugging along floated across to us from the Salcombe side of the creek .. the sound of the motor is so ubiquitous on the water now, I wonder how Salcombe sounded before the outboard became so widespread..

The long walk was clearly doing Ben a lot of good - he cheered up and began to act much more like his usual impatient self. Doesn't the lane look autumnal? Check out the wind-sculpted trees - it can be very wild up here in the winter months.

Signs of autumn in the hedgerows - jewel-like haws and beautiful star-shaped ivy fruits.

And fruits in our garden too. I am not at all fond of apples and always worry that, even after giving as many away as possible, as well making some chutney and also jellies, a large quantity from our ancient trees either go to the birds or for composting - seems such a waste. But this year ...

... the surplus are going for juicing courtesy of GreenJane - and we'll have some lovely juice to enjoy at Christmas. It's the end of one season ... but the beginning of another... autumn leaves, bonfires and fireworks, choir and lunch-club, soups, casseroles and hearty warming puddings.... frosty mornings and toasted toes in front of the fire ... life goes on and though, like the summer, Amy has gone away now, she'll never be forgotten by her family here in Devon.

Farewell Amy

2010-08-15T10:45:00.000+01:00

Amy

June 2000 - August 2010

She was a much-loved friend to us and mum to Ben.

Lions of Bath

2010-08-02T10:29:00.000+01:00

We had a great time in Bath at the weekend. As usual the city looked elegant and well-kept. There was even a gentleman painting the details on the lamp posts in bright and shiny gold paint. He was explaining to a couple of tourists that he was a volunteer - the council painted the whole post black and he picked out the scrolls and swirls and the city crest.

We paid a visit to the Salamander - one of our favourite pubs .. and spent quite a lot of time in bookshops (spot Townie Husband above). And slowly I began to see .. lions! Yes, quite apart from the usual lions on pillars, posts and memorials, there were multi-coloured lions, each about 3ft tall, all over town. In the parks, shopping centre, pubs and pavements ... even on scaffolding!!

I only had time to take photos of a few - every one was different and each had his name on a little plaque by his paws. (I think Dandelion at the bottom left above was one of my favourites - he looked so friendly). It turned out that they're all part of a public art initiative and you can read all about it here.

Also did some shopping .... will post more on Bustle and Sew later! Orders to pack first - and poor neglected (ha ha think not) newfies to cuddle.

Today the weather is ...

2010-07-18T20:32:00.005+01:00

Sunny!!! Yes, after the wind and rain we've been experiencing over the last few days the sun has finally emerged to dry us all out. All over the village people have been out in their gardens repairing the damage - my sweet peas were nearly horizontal and the last of the roses were blown away in the night .. but if it stays warm then everything will soon start to grow again and we really did need the rain.

The sweet peas are wonderful this year ... I'm picking a bunch this size nearly every day ... it's important to keep picking so they keep flowering. Their fragrance is wonderful - I keep a vase on my desk and can smell them now as I'm typing. Next to the jug of sweet peas in the picture above is a jar of sea-glass or mermaids' tears, mostly found on the beach at Lannacombe - our favourite.

And Lannacombe is where, after a nourishing lunch of cheese sandwich and homemade elderflower presse, we headed off to ...

Ben loves to charge around pretending to be a pirate's dog (after all his kennel name is Mileoak Captain Jack!), whilst Amy is happy to simply sit in the sunshine and soak up the atmosphere (plus a large amount of seawater and sand into her fuzzy coat!) Feels like we've waited a long time for summer this year .. let's hope the warm weather continues now.

Busy times in the village

2010-07-06T14:35:00.005+01:00

We're all so busy at the moment! There seems to be a fete nearly every weekend, caravans have appeared all over the place and our gardens need all our care and attention if they're not to run riot when our backs are turned. Then of course, there are dogs to be walked - and in my case at least two separate walks a day - one very small and gentle one for Amy, who, since her nasty turn at the weekend can now only manage a few hundred yards - and as many vigorous expeditions as he can persuade me to agree to for Ben who is eager to demonstrate to all and sundry that he is young, fit and definitely the most handsome dog in the village (in his opinion!).

I did wonder if it was kind to ask Amy to walk, even such a short distance, but on reflection I think it's better for her ... a little gentle exercise is good, and I'm anxious to keep her mind active, happy and involved... simply sitting on her bed is no sort of life - I think. Anyway, although she missed Stokenham fete last Saturday, it's Chillington's turn this week, and maybe, just maybe she might be fit enough to attend.

Oh .. and the picture at the top ... I've been helping Green Jane out at her Pick your own farm - it's a very responsible role weighing the strawberries and taking the money. And ... she is paying me in fruit and veg - wonderful bliss.

If you go down to the woods today .....

2010-06-16T16:51:00.005+01:00

... you might have seen two large black bear-like dogs enjoying the fresh air and warm sunshine. We headed off to our woods, just 5 minutes walk from home.

The sky was blue and the sun was shining when we reached the gate

Which way shall we go today?

Amy chooses the path ... but is quickly left behind.

Wait for me!!

The orchid glade

I think they're Lesser Spotted - the common sort - but very lovely anyway.

Come on girls! (Ben is such a poser)

Look - what's that? Is it a wolf?

Last one home's a sissy!!

A lovely, gentle afternoon's walk in the shady woods - perfect for Amy, though I think Ben will need another outing this evening!

Blissful Blossom!

2010-06-13T13:16:00.009+01:00

When I first learned Amy was so ill I didn't think I'd want to carry on with this blog for a while - the idea of recording life during her final months seemed simply too painful. But now, having lived with the knowledge of her illness for the past couple of months, I feel differently. I want to keep a record of this, the very last summer the three of us will ever spend together, and make sure we enjoy every single moment.

I think it's helped that she is keeping very well (the photo above was taken only a couple of days ago). She's on much stronger medication now which is controlling her pain and has recovered from her operation. She's returned to being the Amy I love so much and it's tempting to think that she'll be fine. But although vet is very pleased (and surprised) by her, he has warned me that I mustn't expect to keep her through the winter.

So.... for the moment we are carrying on as normal ... and here in Coombe Leigh when the elderflowers are out normal means .... homemade elderflower cordial.

We have our own in the garden. I don't pick them all - leaving some to become berries for the birds in the autumn, but I do gather a good few handfuls.

For each pint of water add the juice and grated zest of a lemon, 1lb sugar, 2 teaspoons cider vinegar and a dozen heads of elderflower.

Lemons always remind me of holidays in the Mediterranean ....

Can't be bothered to grate .. always grate my fingers! So I use a peeler instead. You have to boil the water and sugar together then pour the mixture onto the elderflowers, lemon and vinegar. Stir well ...

Leave to infuse for 24 hours .. the kitchen smells wonderful!

Then bottle in sterilised bottles. Yes, they are wine bottles .. it was no hardship to empty them ready for the elderflower! The cordial has to be kept refridgerated even before it's opened, but it does keep for up to 3 months in the fridge. The taste of summer!

In the garden..

2010-06-11T16:34:00.008+01:00

It's been so nice to be outside over last few weeks. The newfies and I love to sit in the gazebo until quite late on these long, warm evenings, and then Ben and I often go for a final walk up through the woods whilst Amy snoozes gently on the cool slates of the courtyard. I love this time of year when everything seems so full of new life and potential. The lanes are especially lovely at present - although the bluebells are over, the cow parsley froths along the verges, ragged robin and willowherb peek through the grass and the dog-roses are just beginning to bloom in the hedgerows.

In the garden we have geraniums in the old stone trough ....

Sweet peas and scabious in the apple crates...

and a newfoundland dog in the lavender ....(!)

Yes, it's Amy .... if it had been Ben it would have been an action shot of him crashing THROUGH the lavender. Happy days !!

Amy is ten today!!

2010-06-06T10:42:00.004+01:00

Happy Birthday Amy- 1o today!!

Seem here with my daughter - one of her biggest fans.

Bluebells and the beach!!

2010-05-23T20:26:00.003+01:00

Amy has been put on stronger medication and as a consequence is feeling much more like her old self again. Her operation wound has now fully healed and so we decided to go to the beach. It was just like old times .... the excitement barely contained... the anxious lookings out of the car windows ..... the exuberance when the road to Mill Bay was recognised ... and then .. the rolling on the sand in sheer joy at being alive and on the BEACH!!!

Then of course there had to be swimming .....

But soon the old lady was tired .... she can only manage about 20 minutes or so now ... so she was told to wait in the car, parked in some lovely cool shade, while Ben and I went off to look at the bluebells. After all, she couldn't manage this walk last year, so I know it's impossible for her now.
She watched us go ...

You can't tell how steep the path is here - but it is VERY steep indeed.

It's worth it when you reach the top .... the bluebells were lovely ... but we were only just in time I think, another week and they'll be over.

But so, so beautiful .. these are the true English bluebells, much more delicate than the cultivated Spanish bluebells, and a much deeper, richer blue.. carpets stretching away up the hill ...

And the view back along the beach where we walked with Amy earlier.....

A truly glorious afternoon. And so nice to be out with Amy again. The vet is very pleased with her, he's talking about the possibility of her being with us for the summer ... that would be wonderful ... keep your fingers crossed for her.

A summer morning ...

2010-04-23T19:23:00.006+01:00

Found this account in one of my notebooks when having a bit of a spring clean. Jotted it down a couple of years ago ... tells the story of an early summer's morning here at Coombe Leigh when Ben was still very young and Amy was still fairly active....

Wake early, sunlight streaming through the crack in the bedroom curtains. A light breeze, sounds of birdsong - a bright sparkly morning early in summer. A morning to leap out of bed - no more snuggling under the covers, that's for dark, damp November mornings. Now it's June and the world outside is calling ... come on out and join us.

So I swing my legs round, feet to the floor, and tiptoe across the bedroom. Mustn't wake the dogs yet ... try to get dressed first - but no - Ben has the ears of a bat and he hears the tiny noises I make on my way to the bathroom. A large, black, furry face appears at the top of the stairs, eyes bright with love and anticipation. Downstairs I hear Amy stretch and yawn - the game's afoot and my cover's blown. So I dress as quickly as possible - canvas trousers and cotton shirt - thrust my feet into a pair of well worn sandals, forget to brush my hair - and we're ready to go ....

Downstairs a squirming mass of dog-flesh awaits me. Eyes bright with excitement, pink tongues lolling and tails quivering. I struggle past them to grab their leads from the hook. "OK dogs," I tell them, "we're off!" Immediately excitement turns to frenzy and Ben leaps through the door as soon as it's opened - then in his mischievous way waits for Amy to lumber up the steps, then pounces on her. Having put a stop to his nonsense and helped the old lady up the stairs, I pause to take a deep lungful of the fresh, cool air.

This is, I think, the best part of the day ..... a new beginning, full of potential - let's swim!!

Happy Birthday Ben!

2010-04-23T19:10:00.003+01:00

3 years old today

Some stories just have to be told ....

2010-04-11T14:45:00.005+01:00

"Hey Mum, look at me! Look! LOOK!!"

"My fur has patterns like yours! Don't I look great? Aren't I handsome!! Look at me Mum! MUM!!"

"The boy's a fool!" thinks Amy

Some stories just have to be told!

And the moral is ... don't let your dog help with the painting.

Amy is doing OK, very lethargic as you can see from the photos, but still enjoying her life albeit at a very slow pace.

Taking a break ...

2010-04-04T18:03:00.003+01:00

I won't be here for a little while. This is because just at the moment I can't bring myself to blog about life with newfies. I am expecting very soon to have only one newfie as Amy is very very ill. She won't be with me for very much longer - and yes, that's definite.

She has hemangiosarcoma - a particularly aggressive form of canine cancer with a prognosis of 1 - 2 months. So Ben and I need to come to terms with saying goodbye to her ladyship. I don't know how either of us will manage without her ... Ben in particular has never known life without his "mum." The picture above was taken in his very early days. Even then he had to copy and do exactly as Amy did. We're concentrating on making sure her last few weeks are happy ones and we'll be back later in the year.

See you soon .... and you can still catch me on Bustle and Sew if you're into crafty goodness.....

History on a shelf ...

2010-03-01T09:19:00.006Z

So glad the forecast storm missed us here in Devon, but so sorry about the devastation caused in France .. and the Chilean earthquake too - the news is all bad at present it seems. It's at times like this that I retreat indoors to snuggle down safely within my own home. Last night, just before I switched off the bedside lamp my attention was caught by the bright vase of daffodils on the mantlepiece. I then took the time to really look at the items on there and realised that they were part of my history, with so many memories attached to them.....

Here they are from left to right...

Moongazing hare was bought for me by Townie Husband on one of our first trips to Devon. We weren't in the South Hams, but stopped for tea up on Exmoor. I saw this little hare in a gift shop and he went back to buy for me as a surprise present.

Hyacinth embroidery was created by me in February as I loved the bulb I had planted in a teacup so much.

Crown floral china is my most recent purchase. We went to Dartmouth on Saturday afternoon. While husband was watching the rugby I took the opportunity to wander around the town and popped into the little antiques market. I was very taken with the antique hyacinth glasses, but my bulbs are all over now ... and then I spotted this piece of china. Amazingly it is not damaged at all. I think it probably dates back to the 1930s - the green pot seems the right colour for that era. I think the colours are wonderful and it looks great on the mantlepiece. Note to self - must remember to dust it well!

Jar of sea glass or mermaids' tears as these pieces are sometimes called. These memories are too many to count, all mixed up together - our local beaches - hot and crowded in summer, bleak and beautiful in winter, tides in and out, dogs running - Susie, Ben and Amy - Rosie and her boyfriend, paddling in wellies, in bare feet .... too many to count and all stored away in one jar of glass.

Moonphase pewter clock was a treat to myself when I first came here. I spotted it in a little shop in Kingsbridge and one day ..... well, it's important to know whether the tides are spring or neap!!

Dartmouth pottery jug - from Dartmouth of course!! There is so much Dartmouth pottery here, and I love these seagull pieces. In the jug are some early daffodils from Greenjane. She is a local grower who supplies many of our restaurants with beautiful fresh vegetables, flowers and eggs throughout the year. She now supplies our Lunch Club and the cabbages are so fresh they squeak when you cut them!!

Silver plated shell - brought back from a holiday in Cephalonia. That was the year I got prickly heat and all my exposed extremities were covered in itchy red bumps. Not a good look! But the shell is lovely.

Birthday boat! Made by a local potter (who has since retired) for my husband's 50th birthday. He was in denial which is why the boat reads "49+"!

History on a shelf. And Amy is better again! So life is good here in Coombe Leigh.

On the mend ...

2010-02-14T17:44:00.003Z

Update from Chillington Animal Hospital .... her ladyship is on the mend. Amy has indicated that a little white fish poached in milk, possibly some minced steak and some of her favourite doggy choc biscuits would be well received. She has also managed a gentle walk down to the playing field and back.

Get well soon Amy!

2010-02-11T19:36:00.005Z

Amy is not well. She has hurt her back and simply lies on her bed whimpering in spite of the vet's best efforts. She reminds me now of the picture I took when I first had her ....

That was 4 years ago .. her coat was such a mess that it had to be clipped very short and she was so unhappy with life - this photo tells the whole story.

But these days she's not in any pain with her crippled legs and is a great favourite in the village, taking a starring role at the village fete with her own stall .. "Guess the weight of the dog." Here she is with a young friend at last year's fete...

Now not even a gentle push of Ben's nose can make her smile. The vet says she will get better with plenty of rest and love. Hmmm.... she did manage to nibble on a little chopped chicken tonight... perhaps she's turned the corner. Get well soon Amy!

A weekend away .... and a walk at Blackdown Rings

2010-02-07T20:23:00.008Z

It takes a very special occasion to lure me back into a big city, but last weekend was Rosie's 21st birthday, so to Bristol I went. The ungrateful canine pair went happily off to their luxury holiday accommodation (not even a casual wave of a paw as they fell over each other in their haste to enter their temporary abode - huh - after all I do for them!) Then, after spending the night in a strangely empty and unhomelike house I boarded the Cross Country train at Totnes. The actual journey is only an hour and a half, and the section of route where the train runs alongside the sea at Dawlish is magical - a treat in itself.

The hustle and bustle at Bristol station is always slightly disconcerting to a country dweller like myself, but over the past few years I've learned to navigate the tunnels and stairs with confidence, soon locating Townie Husband just outside the ticket barriers. Then into a taxi to be whisked off to our hotel at Avonmouth - overlooking the famous suspension bridge.

Clifton village yielded an interesting afternoon's shopping (me) and one or two nice pubs (him)

A florist's shop. Great to take a photo, but the prices of the blooms were, I thought, horrifyingly steep. Still, guess these are city prices....

Then came the sightseeing. A very exotic resident was spotted enjoying the view - spot the golden giraffe below!!

The view was well worth enjoying - it's hard to imagine how 19th century engineers could construct such a bridge without the machinery we have today. And indeed, how Isambard Kingdom Brunel could conceive such a design - after all it was created to take horses and carriages over the Avon Gorge, but today carries many thousands of cars across the gap.

Clifton Bridge and the Avon Gorge

Then yesterday I took the dogs up to Blackdown Rings. It's an Iron Age Hill Fort, on top of which a Norman motte and bailey castle was constructed. The views across the countryside are stupendous, though the hill itself doesn't appear very high from below. It's a great walk as Amy can potter alongside me while Ben can charge around playing at being a Saxon hunting dog (or something similar). And there were no sheep yesterday either which meant I could relax too.

When we've had a lot of rain the ditches fill with clear, cold peaty water which the dogs love to splash around in .....

"Last one in's a sissy!" says Ben

"Not me!" says Amy (spot the bow wave!)

"Come on Mum, it's lovely!"

But I didn't. Guess that makes me the sissy then!

Bustle along over to Bustle and Sew!

2010-01-24T17:17:00.004Z

Just to say that I'm having a draw for a free giveaway over on Bustle and Sew. Here's the post .... why not mosey along over and enter for your chance to win the Dormouse Tea Cosy to keep you pot nice and snug on these cold winter afternoons!

Alice in Wonderland comes to Devon ....

Here in Devon I'm feeling a bit Alice in Wonderlandish! My National Trust magazine told me that Disney are creating a new film version of the story and that some of the scenes are being filmed at Antony, a beautiful 18th century house not too far away from here. (Sadly Johnny Depp, who plays the Mad Hatter did not visit Cornwall ...) The dreamy image above is taken from the magazine - but my favourite bit was always the Mad Hatter's Tea Party ....

I always used to feel very sorry for the little dormouse being stuffed into the teapot and just lately have been creating with a dormouse theme, both knitted.....

and applique ....

The teacosy above was one of the working projects for my book which will be published in the spring. In this design the dormouse hasn't quite made it into the teapot, but is comfortably settled in a rather pretty teacup instead. The cosy is my favourite vintage linen of course and the teacup is appliqued feedsack fabric. The embroidery is really straightforward: straight stitch, lazy daisy and stem stitch.

To thank everyone who's visited my blog over the last few months I'd like to offer you the chance to win the teacosy above. I won't ever be making another one and won't be offering this design for sale, so whoever wins it will receive a real one-off! If you'd like to enter the draw (it's free of course) then please leave your details in the form at the top of Bustle and Sew. If you already subscribe to the newsletter then I'll enter you into the draw automatically. Everyone who enters will receive a free pdf pattern to work the little dormouse.

I'll close the draw at midnight (GMT) on Valentine's Day and will let you know the results very quickly afterwards.

A bad dose of the sniffles

2010-01-16T14:56:00.004Z

When feeling like this ......

Keep warm ....

Drink lots..

Gentle activity ....

And you'll soon feel better!

No snow at Salcombe!

2010-01-13T20:06:00.006Z

Snow, what snow? No snow here!! Sorry the rest of the UK is cut off from us, but we're enjoying some (relatively) warm sunshine here today.

The car's thermometer told me it was 11 deg C in the sunshine as I drew up in the car park at Snape Point, just above Batson Creek. We set off down the track ...

The hedges had been trimmed and below us in the valley a bonfire smouldered, but we didn't go down to investigate. I love this walk, normally we trek right around the point, but it's been so wet lately that I decided to stay on the track. The views across Batson Creek to Salcombe are beautiful and so I kept stopping to take photographs ....

Which made Ben very impatient. He doesn't see the point at all.

You can just see the bottom car park at Salcombe on the left in this picture, with all the masts of the boats that have been put into winter storage. The pontoons you can see are crammed with boats during the summer season.

Salcombe was bustling though, we could hear traffic and the sound of hammering from one of the workshops. I didn't take Ben down to the creek as I knew the path would be pure liquid mud. Here in Devon we do very special extra-slidey mud and I've ended up on my bum more than once in the past. With a drive home and a visit to Morrisons en-route I didn't want to be walking around covered in mud, so I refused to go down through the gate.

Instead I took this very artistic (I think) photo looking out to sea. Looks like a holiday brochure!

"Ha!" says Ben, "I'll take my revenge. If Mum won't take me down to the creek then I'll wallow in this muddy puddle instead."

And he did! The end.

January brings the snow .....

2010-01-06T18:27:00.004Z

January brings the snow..... makes your feet and fingers glow.
Makes those newfies feel so good ... walking in our frosty wood.

Ben and ..

Amy (this one's rather good, I think) She looks very wise (which she isn't!!)

"Are there wolves in these woods Mum?" "No, only big black bear-dogs!"

Soo pretty - and so unusual for us to get snow here in South Devon.

Our House

Found this poem when browsing - describes perfectly the situation here at Coombe Leigh.

The Month After Christmas...

'Twas the month after Christmas,
and all through the house
Nothing would fit me, not even a blouse.
The cookies I'd nibbled, the eggnog I'd taste
At the holiday parties had gone to my waist.
When I got on the scales there arose such a number!
When I walked to the store
(less a walk than a lumber).
I'd remember the marvelous meals I'd prepared;
The gravies and sauces and beef nicely rared,
The wine and the rum balls, the bread and the cheese
And the way I'd never said, "No thank you, please."
As I dressed myself in my husband's old shirt
And prepared once again to do battle with dirt---
I said to myself, as I only can
"You can't spend a winter disguised as a man!"
So--away with the last of the sour cream dip,
Get rid of the fruit cake, every cracker and chip
Every last bit of food that I like must be banished
"Till all the additional ounces have vanished.
I won't have a cookie--not even a lick.
I'll want only to chew on a long celery stick.
I won't have hot biscuits, or corn bread, or pie,
I'll munch on a carrot and quietly cry.
I'm hungry, I'm lonesome, and life is a bore---
But isn't that what January is for?
Unable to giggle, no longer a riot.
Happy New Year to all and to all a good diet!
~Author Unknown

H A P P Y N E W Y E A R!

Start Point with Newfs

2009-11-05T14:02:00.008Z

I could have blogged about the bonfire last night .. our fireworks here in Chillington are famous - and justifiably so, we feel. Amy used to adore fireworks, she'd gaze upwards in wonder and her eyes would sparkle with reflected stars. But now she doesn't see so well, and fireworks have lost their magic for her. So I decided to give her a treat she can still enjoy and this morning took both dogs down to Start Point.

This is a great walk for them both as Ben can bound up and down the cliffs pretending to be a mountain lion, while Amy paces sedately at my side. We were the only people there which was great ... and the dogs couldn't wait to go through the gate.

Before WW2 the narrow road down to the lighthouse didn't exist - it was constructed by US forces to drive their jeeps up and down to the point.

Now it's a great newfie track!

Very moody and atmospheric - the lighthouse just peeping out from behind the jagged rocks. Last night its beam made a dramatic backdrop to our display as it strobed across the sky behind the fireworks field.

Looking back towards Start Bay - a wonderful panorama. I tried to put three photos together, but it didn't really work very well. Just look at the colour of the water!

Ben always knew he was a superstar!! He definitely made the most of this photo opportunity!

Then he tried to continue along the coastal path. But I had to say NO as Amy simply can't manage this walk any more. Another time, Ben.

Ben is making sure Amy's OK. They do love each other!

Then home again. Maybe later we'll go and examine the bonfire and see if it's still smouldering.

Where does the time go?

2009-10-17T14:45:00.012+01:00

Where does the time go? I can't believe that nearly a month has passed since Ben and I took the tidal road to Mill Bay. Such busyness betweenwhiles! A couple of weeks ago townie husband and I decided to use our National Trust tickets for possibly the last time this season.

We had some shopping to do in Torquay so called at Coleton Fishacre on the way home. This is one of my favourite properties - it was built in the 1920s when Sir Rupert d'Oyly Carte noticed the beautiful valley whilst sailing between Brixham and Dartmouth. He bought the land and had the house built ... how the other half lived !!!

After parking we strolled down the drive towards the house. I decided not to go inside on this visit as we only had an hour to spare and took a walk around the beautiful gardens which tumble down towards the coastline. This was taken looking down from the rill garden towards the sea.

Beautiful colour from some late summer stragglers.

The trees were beginning to turn and the colours against the deep blue of the sea were wonderful.

This seal is sunning himself - love the little ramp for the pondlife!

The next day was Monday, so back to work - part-time in Kingsbridge for a local charity. After parking the car I discovered I still had my camera in my bag so took these shots of my walk along the harbour to Quay House where I work ..

Looking towards Kingsbridge.

And back the other way. A truly glorious autumn morning.

And working part-time leaves me plenty of time for DevonBears .. busy making lots of stock for the Candlelit Dartmouth weekend in December. Hope to be very busy and sell lots of goodies - fingers crossed - and then the newfies can have new collars, a new stuffie for Ben for Christmas and seasonal delights for husband and daughter too! (That's a lot of cushions to sew and sell!)

Applique cushions.

And a well-organised cupboard - that's the other thing I've been up to - having a good sort and tidy - supervised by the two newfies - and Ben in particular who has been delighted by some of the bits and pieces I've discovered. But that's for another post (maybe!)

From South Pool to East Portlemouth

2009-09-19T18:54:00.010+01:00

What glorious autumn sunshine we've been enjoying this month. Really warm during the day, yet with a chill in the air at night to remind us that summer is behind us now. So I loaded Ben into the car and we set off on an expedition. We wound our way through the little lanes, emerging at the top of the hill above South Pool. Like many of the villages around here it has a most impressive church with a very tall tower - far too large for today's congregations.

We parked alongside the creek and, taking note of the white ducks roosting on a bank in the middle of the (very shallow) stream I took care that Ben headed off in the opposite direction towards the stepping stones and down the path that leads along the bank.

The tide was low however, and the temptation to wallow was proving rather too great for my furry friend.

So, ignoring his protests I returned him to the newfmobile (aka my car) and we continued along the tidal road towards East Portlemouth.

Look at the colour of the sky!

Last time I blogged about this walk we came to see the bluebells. No bluebells today! Just one black dog!

Who knows the path down to the beach very well!

And took to the water like - well - like a newfie really!

BUT THEN - A RED LETTER DAY FOR BEN!!! WHAT EXCITEMENT!!! A NEW FRIEND!!!

WHO WAS B I G G E R THAN HIM!

That doesn't happen very often! Something to tell Amy when we get home. Luckily both dogs were gentle and friendly and happy to nuzzle one another in an agreeable way. I didn't find out the Dane's name, but he was quite an elderly chap who weighed a good stone more than Ben!

Then we turned back up the path and headed towards home ... only a few more pictures to look at ...

Looking back along the beach - not quite deserted, but nearly so....

Naturally Mr Impatient Ben got to the top of the path first.

Back to the newfmobile ..

Leaned over a gate at Rickham to take the photo above. It's beautiful now, but so bleak up here during the winter months when the wind is howling and the lane is a sea of mud. That's when I'm glad I live down in the village, tucked snugly away under the hill.

The end of the expedition - the lane down towards home, tea and Amy waiting for us.

The year has turned ...

2009-09-15T19:46:00.008+01:00

... and autumn has definitely arrived. Each day is a little shorter, the lights go on a little earlier and the back door is closed before the evening chill enters the house. The atmosphere in the village has changed too with the departure of the summer visitors. Everywhere is less crowded and people have more time to stop and chat again. The schools have gone back and other autumn activities have commenced - lunch club has started and I've joined a choir based in Kingsbridge.

The newfies love the cooler weather and the freedom to return to their favourite haunts without worrying about the reactions of those who are unfamiliar with my two furry friends ... no more squeals of fright or anxious crossings of the road ... it's such a shame that people often react like that even when the newfs are on their leads. Amy in particular is such a sociable old lady and loves nothing more than to collapse at someone's feet in the hope of having her tummy tickled. Luckily most local people know her well and are more than happy to oblige!

No more buttercups ....

Today we went on one of our usual walks taking in the woods above the village. We were joined for part of the way by Belinda and her terrier doing the school run(!) but they soon outpaced us as Amy does not walk very fast and I was stopping to take photos....

Autumn berries

Apples for scrumping!

An autumn view ...

and a happy Amy (loves having her photo taken)

Still some blackberries to be had (yum!)

Then we turned at the top of the woods and headed down the path towards home.

Ben is worn out - and Amy wants her tea!!

Ferry across the Dart

2009-08-29T16:41:00.004+01:00

Ben loves travelling on the Hauley Ferry. It's not something we do very often, but when we do, he delights in standing right at the front of the pontoon, letting his furry ears blow in the breeze and muttering phrases like "Ahoy there, landlubbers!" and "Newfs Ahoy!" I've even been inspired to make a cushion based on Bayards Cove and the Hauley Ferry (at the top of this post) and was delighted to read its history in the Autumn magazine from the South Hams District Council.

The magazine informed me that there has been a ferry across the river Dart between Kingswear and Bayards Cove since at least 1365 - operated by a Mr William Carey at that time. In 1558 Robert Collyns was the operator, paying 12/- per annum rent to include half of the landing stage. In those days of course, rowing boats and a larger wooden float capable of carrying a small cart, with maybe a horse or two, were the only link across the river.

The picture above is a bit more recent than the 16th century - probably round about 1865 showing the first wooden "horse boat" with a lifting prow at each end capable of carrying two horses and a loaded waggon. It was powered by oars until the arrival of steam power in 1867 and in 1909 the first of a long line of Hauley Tugs was ordered by Mr Heal, the operator at that time, from Philip's boatyard further up the river Dart.

Then came the motor car ... and the ferry continued under a variety of operators right through the war until it was taken over by Dartmouth Corporation in 1949. It was taken over again in 1974 by South Hams council and continues to this day - currently with Hauley Tugs V and VI plying their trade across the Dart.

It's interesting to note how little the view across to Kingswear has changed in the last century - I expect the original operators would still recognise the route across and the landing area. I don't think Newfies were around in those days though - they're from Canada - which of course hadn't been discovered in 1365!!

Too close to nature

2009-08-18T19:59:00.010+01:00

Living in the country you get used to being close to nature ... a newf at the door ...

Sheep and cattle in the fields ...

Swallows in the woodstore ...

(rather messy!)

Even hippos, elephants and piglets on the radiator ...

but I feel that a line has to be drawn somewhere. Last night I felt that very strongly indeed..... during these warm evenings I have formed the habit of leaving the back door open until very late indeed as the newfies love to stretch their over-warm furry bodies on the cool slates of the courtyard.

I was tucked up in bed thoroughly enjoying a very good book when out of the corner of my eye I caught a movement. I looked up .... and a bat fluttered into my bedroom, circled past the curtains, round the lampshade and headed out into the hallway. OK, I thought, maybe he lost his way. Until he returned again for another lap around the room!

Too close to nature indeed I felt as I stood with cold toes by the back door waiting for him to find his way back outside so I could shut him out. Yes, I draw the line at bats in the bedroom - I think I'll close the door earlier tonight!

Frogmore Regatta

2009-08-16T16:30:00.004+01:00

Today was the Frogmore Regatta. The sun shone and it was wonderful! There were icecreams, swingboats, lots of people falling in the water - and a dog show!

I had hoped to be able to report that one of the Newfies at least had won a rosette, but sadly this was not to be. Our classes - for most handsome dog and prettiest bitch were right at the end of the show - which was moving veerrrrry slowly. It started at 1 pm and by 1.45 only the first class, for waggiest tail, had been judged.

Now this was great in one way as it meant we had more time to meet friends, lick icecreams (and small children), lose money on the tombola etc etc, but in another way it was very bad as the heavily-coated Newfs just became hotter and hotter and more and more uncomfortable and, in Ben's case, worse and worse behaved. So we came away again. Never mind - there's always next year!

Of pots, pans and preserving ....

2009-08-13T15:00:00.006+01:00

I love this passage from Susan Hill in "The Magic Apple Tree" ...

"Down Fen lane, the moonlight shows up the bramble berries, pale green, but fully formed, and the elderberries too, and there are nuts on the chestnut trees and bunches of keys on the sycamore and the ash, and acorns on the oak....... We are approaching the year's turning. I can see autumn just ahead and yet, in the middle of the day, when the early mist has cleared, it is still high, high summer."

She describes this time of year so well and, although it IS still summer I have brought down my heavy cauldron-shaped preserving pan ready for the autumn crop of blackberries, elderberries, apples, plums and sloes.

And, as a "thank you" to everyone who reads my blog, I'd like to share my preserve labels with you (image above). They're based on vintage American fruit crate labels, and have been altered to give you room to write your own description and date. I adore their lovely colours and great artwork and I hope you like them too.

Simply click here to download the free A4 size pdf. Then just cut around them and affix to your jars with some PVA glue. A pretty fabric cover for the lid would look great too if you're planning to give your preserves as gifts at Christmas - now there's a thought!! How many shopping days? OK I'm going now!!

At last the sun shone!

2009-08-10T18:51:00.009+01:00

This weekend was very busy for us sleepy South Hams people (and newfies). We had guests!! Not one set, but three sets of people came to visit us in the course of only a week. Ben and Amy were overcome with hospitality, with so many people to snuffle, kiss and generally keep an eye on!!

Visitors are soooooo exhausting - Ben didn't even manage to finish his treat. Amy finished it for him later!!

Friday was Sasha's Christening. Sasha is my Russian friend Elona's young son - and I am his VERY proud godmother. The service was lovely and we were sooo lucky with the weather - at last the sun came out! After the service we all went back to Rory and Elona's for refreshments and were able to enjoy the novel (for this summer anyway) experience of sitting outside on the patio. Rory (who is very competitive) challenged Kyran (who is 5) to a game of Jenga.

Sadly for Rory on this occasion experience did not triumph over youth!!

Kyran was jubilant and Rory gracious in defeat. So everyone was happy!!

The following day we decided to take the number 93 to Dartmouth and indulge in a little liquid refreshment in the Cherub Inn. The Cherub dates back to around 1380 and features many low beams and wobbly floors - just right to trap the unwary drinker or unobservant tourist. We love it for its great atmosphere and extreme dog-friendliness. I am pleased to report that a tin of dog biscuits is kept behind the bar for distribution to all canine visitors. Sadly only one newf at a time can visit as the floor space simply isn't large enough for my two furry friends to lounge around.

I think that the bus route from Torcross to Dartmouth must be one of the most beautiful in the country. My camera was still in my bag from yesterday's christening so I was able to take quite a few photos from the top deck as we rattled along the narrow roads, pausing only to terrorise caravan and camper van drivers into submission. I love to sit at the front and watch the look of pure terror on some drivers' faces when they're faced with a series of narrow bends and an immovable double decker bus! (Yes I know I am a very bad person!!)

Anyway, back to the photos ..... please ignore the strange reflections and wobbles as they were taken through the window.

Slapton Ley from the bus stop at Torcross.

Sweeping view across Start Bay

On the beach at Blackpool Sands - could almost be the south of France - but there's nobody in the extremely chilly water!!

Looking down into Dartmouth

View across to Kingswear

Dartmouth was surprisingly quiet for a sunny Saturday in August - perhaps everyone was making the most of the unusually sunny weather by heading off to the beaches or onto the water. The pirates were in town ..

So we headed inland ...

One of my favourite shops

View across the Boat Float

Then the number 93 took us home again. On the way home the farmers were busy taking advantage of the sunny spell and I was struck by the golden corn and the feeling that soon the year will turn again and autumn is only just around the corner.

But there's still some more summer to come (I hope!) - the Dartmouth Regatta at the end of the month, then I'm exhibiting at Kingsbridge Show. I've also signed up for the Christmas Candlelit Shopping in Dartmouth, so keeping very very busy!

Of cabbages, kings and thrift shops!

2009-07-31T15:04:00.015+01:00

From "The Pleasures of Gardening" by Angela Stanford

I love thrift, or charity shops, the pleasure of going in and never knowing quite what I'll find, the thrill of spotting something special (well special to me anyway), knowing that I won't be charged the earth for it and the little I do pay will go towards supporting a good cause. We have 2 or 3 in Kingsbridge and I patronise them all. Some very wealthy people live, or holiday, in the South Hams and so there are often real finds to be had.

I search for vintage textiles, old shirts, pillowcases and blankets, all of which can be cut up and remade into DevonBears products as I adore patchwork and applique and have recently been moving back towards "painting with fabric" rather than watercolours, after all, fabric has always been my first love ....

Country Cottage Big Bag

As well as textiles I adore books of all kinds and was fortunate enough to come across a real treasure in Oxfam earlier this week. It's called "The Pleasures of Gardening" by an enormously talented lady called Angela Stanford - and my copy is signed by her too!! Sadly, after checking on Amazon and the publisher's website it would seem that the book is out of print, and I haven't been able to find anything out about Angela, but I would urge you to look for this book - it's wonderful. I love the way she combines beautiful detailed watercolours with flawless calligraphy and still manages to impart some useful facts. The pictures below (and the one at the top of this post) come from the summer section ...

Not that I've been in the garden very much this month. June was glorious, but July has been every bit as bad as the last two years and I don't think we've been promised much improvement in August. The fig tree at the top of the garden loves all this warm damp weather though and is busy creating its own rain forest, together with the hydrangeas which are romping away and the rambling rose which has rambled over everything creating a sort of jungle effect. I really must do some pruning - last night Ben woke me up 3 times convinced there were tigers at the top of the garden - and who knows, he could well have been right!!

Kingsbridge in Bloom

2009-07-29T19:01:00.009+01:00

The Quay at Kingsbridge

Over the last few weeks Kingsbridge has been a hive of activity as the town prepared for its 2009 Britain in Bloom entry. There have been a lot of unkind comments about Britain in Bloom over the years, but I think that any initiative which encourages us, as a community, to take a pride in our environment must be positive - whether you're a fan of bedding schemes and hanging baskets or not .... surely they're better than graffitti and litter?

Anyway, lots of teams of volunteers have been spotted weeding, pruning, training and planting all over the town. Local businesses put pots of flowers out each morning and the larger companies have sponsored tubs and other features. Even the W.I. has a boat planted out !!!

And the committee commissioned a beautiful map of the judging route from a local artist ... I think it's great and hope it's used again next year...

And finally ... from my well-thumbed Book of Days - on July29 1907 Robert Baden-Powell took a group of boys to Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour, on the south coast of England, for what was effectively the first Scout camp. The aim was to try out some of the ideas that were to become the basic principles and activities of the Scout movement; fostering a sense of honour, loyalty and good citizenship; achieving physical fitness through exercise; and developing practical skills such as woodcraft, tracking, observation, signalling and first aid. The boys were divided into 4 patrols, each assigned a tent for sleeping quarters. Morning prayers were followed by drills, games and instruction, interspersed with quiet rest periods and the day ended with stories around the campfire. The experiment was deemed to be a great success, and Scouting was born.

Just think - if the weather had been as truly awful as it has been today, then the Scouting movement might never have got off the ground, but sunk in the mud instead - just like the poor campers out at Lannacombe.

The world has gone mad!

2009-07-28T19:30:00.006+01:00

When I was a very small girl - probably even a baby - many many moons ago, I was given a set of Noddy figurines. I can't remember a time when I didn't have them, they stood on my bedroom windowsill throughout my childhood, and have remained with me through the traumas of adolescence, 25 years of marriage and my own motherhood - although Rosie was never allowed to have them! Here they are ....

... and I have just seen Big Ears alone on Ebay for £125!!!!! Yes, £125!! Somehow I've never thought of my own possessions as becoming vintage collectables, but I guess they are ... as Rosie says .. "You're just soooo last century Mum."

A visit to Bath

2009-07-12T20:03:00.009+01:00

Last week Townie Husband said, "I know, let's meet in Bath next weekend." I said, "What a great idea!" So we did. I love Bath, its wonderful honey-coloured architecture, quirky streets and welcoming pubs - the shops are great too of course, and I can get a retail fix not possible down here in deepest Devon.

On Friday I took the dogs to their favourite kennels - on our arrival they were practically begging the owner, a lovely lady called Gillian, to let them inside - then suddenly they were gone - not even a nonchalant wave of the tail as they disappeared - simply gone! So I turned the car around and headed back to a strangely empty home. And next morning caught the train to Bath.

I'm not used to visiting Bath in the summer months - husband of course is a keen supporter of their Rugby team which means our expeditions are generally confined to the season and the town is full of genial supporters quaffing large quantities of ale in a cheerful fashion. On this visit the rugby supporters had been replaced by chattering hoards of foreign students - all perfectly well-behaved, but somewhat overwhelming in their numbers. The gardens looked wonderful ...

and there was a pleasure boat moored alongside the weir. I hadn't realised that the weir was only built in 1972 until I read the sign on the balustrades - somehow it seems as though it must have been there as long as Pultney Bridge - all credit to the designers and engineers - so often architecture from that period is so out of sympathy with its surroundings.

Summer means flowers, and the florists on the Pultney Bridge had a colourful display ...

The hanging baskets outside this chemist's shop were beautiful - check out the fantastic lion and unicorn crest over the door

Here's a closeup ...

And the display of bath bombs in the window at Lush was as colourful as any flower arrangement. I had to make a selection of my favourites to bring home - we don't have Lush in Kingsbridge(!) and although it's possible to order online, it's great to go in for a dose of olefactory wonderfulness!

Then some rest and refreshment was required. The Salamander has always been a favourite and was much less crowded on this visit!

OK, we did spend a while in the pub - but why did I start seeing strange giant hares and a Minotaur? An art installation as it turned out, and from reading both the official and unofficial signs one which has invoked very mixed feelings - I do think that describing it as created from old coat hangers and looking like a shop fitting is a bit cruel, although I'm not sure whether I like them or not. They're only temporary anyway and were certainly creating a lot of interest.

In the end I didn't spend very much - Cath Kidston had a sale and I purchased some lovely fabric remnants which are sure to appear in some of my designs - I loved the racing car fabric which I used in my Vroom Vroom Quilt and was delighted to find it in the sale.

Then home .. and off to collect the Newfies tomorrow - if they want to come home!

Amy, Queen of the Fete

2009-07-06T07:33:00.007+01:00

Saturday was our Parish Fete day. We were lucky - the sun shone and the skies were blue, loads of people came and the money rolled in! Amy attended as a competition once more ... this year she was "Guess my Birthday". Here she is proudly sitting next to her prize, a cushion featuring the signs of the Zodiac (made by me!). What you can't see in this photo is her harness,

And it hasn't come out very well in this photo ... it actually gives details of the competition and asks, "Am I a Furgo? Or maybe a Pawsces? I might even be a Hairies! Scpawpio? Or not?" I can hear the collective groan!! Anyway, she did really well, raising nearly £25 which is a lot of 25 pences.

Similar to Amy's prize and available for sale on DevonBear Designs.

And of course Amy always enjoys the opportunity to meet her young fans!

The fete was held in the grounds of Stokenham House which has wonderful views down towards the sweep of Start Bay. The lawns were soon dotted with people simply sitting, enjoying their icecreams and the wonderful gardens.

The icecream stall did a roaring trade

So did the raffleWhilst there was face painting, Splat the Rat, a coconut shy and other events in the field. People came from far and wide to enjoy themselves, and it was a hot, happy and totally exhausting afternoon. There was jazz in the Church House Inn, the pub next to the church on the village green and the merry making went on well into the evening. Then we went home, to be met by an irate Ben who demanded to know where Amy had been and why he hadn't gone too!

Maybe next year Ben!

Two swallows

2009-06-25T19:05:00.003+01:00

Two beautiful young swallows have made a nest in the eaves of our log store. It is a very beautiful nest, placed out of reach on the oak cross beam, sheltered beneath the slates and safe from predators. They crafted it very carefully from beak-fulls of mud and are clearly very proud of it. I haven't peeped inside as this is the first year we've had swallows come to live with us and I don't want to frighten them away. They are very protective of their nest though, and the male in particular has a very annoying habit of "buzzing" me as I go to and from the garden. Sometimes he swoops so low that I can actually feel the downdraft from his wings. I wish there was some way I could make them understand that I'm no danger to their young. They also visit me from time to time, sweeping in through the open back door where Ben and Amy like to snooze in the breeze, and pirouetting up through the house, emerging through one of the bedroom windows which are permanently open at this time of year.

Swallows are so much part of summer in this part of Devon - they seem to be everywhere, swooping low over the roads to take insects, then circling high into the sky in an amazing demonstration of aerobatic skill. A large colony spend the summer months in the tumbledown barns over the road, and the air is full of their shrill cries. It's always sad when they start to gather on the telephone wires at the beginning of autumn, but that's a long way off yet.

But in case I forget to post it when September arrives - I hope you enjoy this poem now!

A bit of a puzzle....

2009-06-23T20:08:00.004+01:00

I've been adding to my (very small) collection of vintage toys lately and was lucky enough to come across these beautiful wooden jigsaws. I'm sure I used to have the rather sophisticated cat when I was a young child, though mine wasn't in nearly such good condition by the time I grew out of it .... I think I might have chewed one of the cat's paws. Anyway, this one is almost as new, and a bargain at 99p!! She looks so beautifully '50's retro ... I wonder if I could incorporate her into a fabric item ... must puzzle over (groan!) how this could be done.
And this one's just crying out for special treatment. It's the most beautiful wooden map of Devon, far too nice too keep shut away in its box. We live right at the bottom of the map, near Start Bay where the yacht is sailing into Dartmouth. I'm not sure why there's a maypole on Cornwall but love Sir Frances Drake up in the top right hand corner. Did you know that Devon is the only county in England to have two coastlines? I didn't until I moved here. But it's true.

Enough pondering and puzzling for now ... I'm off to take Ben on his second walk of the day now it's cooler. He and Amy went swimming in the ley at Beesands this afternoon, but he could do with a bit more exercise and there are sure to be plenty of nice smells and friends to play with up in the woods at this time of the evening. It's tough being a young newf!!

Keeping Busy

2009-06-17T14:42:00.004+01:00

I had a great time at Exeter Craft Festival - sold out of loads of stuff and all my little knitted animals have found new homes, not a single one came back with me. I'm so glad I took their photos before they left. I've started on a new family already as I'm hoping to attend the Craft Show at our own village hall in Stokenham. (that's Hester, the new baby elephant at the top of this post.

Of course the village hall is home to lots of other activities including our very own Lunch Club. Last week Elona took baby Sasha in for the first time and we had our photos taken. We're hoping they'll appear in the local newspaper, this must be the first time ever that a pensioners' lunch club has had a baby! (Yes, there are more club members - the seated people - but the photographer couldn't stay until they all arrived).

I've been busy in the garden too - and indulged in a spot of bartering with a lovely lady called Sarah who has her own website, Heading Home. She wanted my paper bunting, and I fell in love with her cabbage patch rabbit. So the deal was done and he now lives in one of my old wooden fruit boxes where I plant courgettes, tomatoes, beans - and the tiny plants are aubergines which everyone tells me I won't be able to grow outside. I'm persevering though - the crates are sheltered in the woodstore which faces due south. The only danger comes from Ben's happily wagging tail when he dashes past on his way out for a walk.

And did you know that in Devon an old superstition stated that if a young woman plucked a rose at midnight on Midsummer Eve and wrapped it in paper it would remain fresh until Christmas Day. If she then wore it on her dress it would be snatched away by the young man who was destined to become her husband. Now I'm not looking for a new husband (one is definitely enough!) so I brought these roses inside to admire instead.

Finally, Amy has become unbearable. Last year she was a competition at the village fete - "Guess the Weight of the Dog." This year she is returning by popular demand - yes, she was such a success and so popular that they want her back again! She is absolutely full of herself, and this time the competition is to be "Guess Amy's Birthday."

Here she is in her special outfit from last year - I expect she'll want a new one this time round - still it will keep me even busier - there's never time to be bored down here in Devon!!

The last family photoshoot

2009-06-11T11:32:00.000+01:00

Can't you just imagine the bustlings and rustling, whispering and squeaking as the little family assemble for the last time before some of them at least find new homes at the Exeter Craft Festival over the weekend.

Fingers crossed for fine weather and lots of eager customers!

This time Amy came too....

2009-05-25T09:05:00.007+01:00

We're so lucky to live in the most beautiful countryside, with so many lovely walks to choose from. I'd been feeling a bit guilty about leaving Amy behind last week when Ben and I went to the bluebell woods above Mill Bay, so decided to take her on a more gentle walk closer to home. This is normally an ordinary, everyday walk talking in the woods behind the village, but now the buttercups are in bloom and instead of sheets of blue we walked through sheets of gold. Well, Ben and I walked and Amy ....

... sort of bumbled along for a bit (wandered lonely as a cloud among a field of golden .. BUTTERCUPS?!) ...

then was clearly overcome by the beauty of the flowers!

We couldn't go through the stile and across the fields as Amy's round body doesn't fit through the gap left for dogs. Ben with his slinky and lithe young frame can wriggle through but Amy ... well .. no!

So we cut across the fields above the new houses. The young cattle came out to look

That's Stokenham in the distance, where Elona lives. But Amy can't walk so far so we didn't go visiting today. Instead we turned back towards the buttercup field

Where Ben as always had the last word!

Tiptoe through the bluebells .....

2009-05-20T19:30:00.015+01:00

Last week Ben and I walked through the woods above Mill Bay where there are masses of bluebells in the springtime. I'd been meaning to go there for a little while, but there was always something needed doing, and Amy cries most pitifully if we leave her behind although as an old lady she simply can't manage the more energetic walks these days. But ... the butchers found us a most beautiful bone to console her ladyship, and time was running short if I wanted to see the the woods carpeted in blue this year ... so I hardened my heart, loaded Ben into the newf-mobile (aka my car!) and set off on the short drive.

The narrow Devon lanes are at their most beautiful I think at this time of year - Ragged Robin, Cow Parsley, Lords and Ladies, Pennywort, Toadflax - and of course Bluebells - I love the old-fashioned names for our wild flowers.

Up the hill and into the bluebell woods ..... we were only just in time - although the bluebells were past their best, they were still very beautiful.

Hurry up Mum! Lots more to see!

Down towards the lower path. Last time I walked this way was in February. The slope was a sea of mud and I had to hold onto the fence posts to keep from falling. Now they are invisible behind the new young spring growth.

The views open out as we turn onto the lower path, heading back towards Mill Bay in a circle around the edge of the woods. Opposite is North Sands, South Sands and then Salcombe. Deserted now ... but once the school holidays are here it will be quite otherwise!

Ohhhh Mum, my paws are tired and I'm hot!

Now that's more like it!

Let's swim!

It was lovely to have the beach to ourselves - no young children to worry about. Although Ben adores children, those who aren't used to him can (understandably) find him rather alarming as -10 stone of floppily lolloping newf charges happily towards them.

Then home for a nice cup of tea - and for Ben to tell Amy his adventures of the afternoon!

Happy Birthday Ben!

2009-04-23T07:03:00.012+01:00

Ben aged 10 weeks

Ben aged (not quite) two years

Today, as well as St George's Day, a certain young newfie has reached his second birthday! He has been advised that his puppyhood is now officially behind him and he must now behave like a mature and sensible dog. I realised he hadn't been listening when I found myself chasing my slipper (firmly grasped in his slobbery jaws) round and round the garden this morning.

The primrose is the county flower for Devon - there are loads this year!

Whilst running around the garden in pursuit of my slipper I noticed several things. Firstly, that my exposed right sock was becoming increasingly soggy. Secondly, how beautiful the garden is looking at present (weeds and all!) and thirdly, what a wonderful den Ben has made for himself next to the compost bins!

We chased past the old bird bath (three times!)

At the top of the garden by the overgrown fig tree where we sling the hammock in the summer, the hedges are very wide, probably approaching eight foot - and very dense. I noticed a tunnel had appeared at the base and peering inside realised that a beautiful snug hollow had been carefully created by the pressure of a newfie body pressing against the tangle of branches. I realised that it was the handiwork of one particular newfie as there were tufts of black fur on a couple of the twigs and a rather neglected looking stuffed bear with only one eye was lying on the floor. Also, Ben is rather inquisitive and so had carefully crafted a window in one side of the den to enable observation of Nick and Julie's activities in their vegetable garden next door!

Ben's Den

He is also very creative in teasing Amy - a favourite trick being to delay eating a treat until she's consumed her own, then chewing it very slowly in front of her. This is occasionally varied by leaving the delicious item just out of her reach, then pouncing and snatching it away when she makes a move towards it. But she loves him just the same!!

Happy Birthday Ben!

Spring has sprung!

2009-03-25T19:24:00.007Z

Spring has sprung and the fishermen are on the beaches! Now I've nothing against fisherfolk as people, but they do have one or two very antisocial habits - the worst of which is leaving discarded hooks, bits of line and holey nets behind them when they go home. Not only is this bad for the wildlife, but it's horrible for dogs too - a friend's dog died when a discarded fish hook became lodged in her throat, and I always worry when we're on the Start Bay beaches as this is where the fishermen tend to congregate.

But .... Ben took revenge last week - he ambled up to one unlucky fisherman and casually cocked his leg - and a fishing rod on a tripod was liberally sprinkled! Well, how is an innocent young Newfie supposed to know the difference between tripod and rock/tree/other suitable area to cock his leg?

I've been working really hard on new designs for the summer season and the fish above are destined to appear on vintage linen/ticking totes - I think they'll look great. I'm booked to do craft shows at various locations through the summer months and so I need lots of stock. My shelves are always full at this time of year, but hopefully by the last show in October I'll be panicking because I've run out of stock!!

Bad Black Newfie!

2009-02-09T09:33:00.008Z

Now, I'm sure you will agree, Ben is a very handsome young newfie. And two of the certainties in his life are .... he is NOT allowed in the workroom and ....

.... he loves his stuffies to pieces. (Literally!) This is a major reason why he is not allowed in the workroom of course. But yesterday he mounted a raid...

"Haha! Mum has some new Welsh blanket pieces. I wonder where they came from? They smell good. Perhaps she'll make something for me? My stuffies don't seem to last very long and Mum makes good ones."

"Oh no!" (guilty expression) She's seen me. (acts innocent) I just thought I heard a noise Mum, honestly, just making sure everything's alright. OK OK I'm going now."

"Is this far enough outside? Look my paws are behind the threshold." At which point he was summarily dispatched downstairs where Amy was waiting to hear the results of his daring expedition.

So then I closed the door, picked up my knitting and took myself off for tea and an old movie at Elona's house. She loves the old musicals, never having seen them before (the Sound of Music didn't make it to Azerbaijan) so last night it was "The King and I" Lovely.

I took my knitting - I've found a great vintage pattern for Alexander - his first hoodie!! And the patches read "Elephant" both in English and Russian - Elona wants to applique them onto a toy elephant she's making for Alexander.

Hard luck Ben - no handsewn stuffies for you today!

At last the Newfies can stand proud!

2009-02-03T15:27:00.008Z

Because they've seen snow!! At last they're in touch with their Canadian heritage!! Ben has certainly never seen the white stuff in his life and as a Devon born and bred girl I don't think Amy had up until now either. Last night was cold, clear and crisp. Their outdoor water bowl was frozen over and their breath emerged in clouds of vapour when I took them for their evening walk. But it was clear and still - the stars were bright and there was no wind at all, so we thought that the snow had passed us by ... until we woke this morning to a white white world.

Amy, wild snow-newf of Chillington!

This fluffy stuff wasn't here last night!

Ben makes sure passers-by are OK!

Of course, this is the South Hams and in reality there wasn't much more than a sprinkling of snow. By the time Ben and I set off on our morning walk it was already beginning to disappear.

Inside all is much more springlike with indoor bulbs and haberdashery in beautiful spring pastels. Outside there are masses of snowdrops ....

.. I love the way they appear in the same places each year. I've never been lucky with snowdrops though, they just won't stay in my garden. Primroses - masses; daffodils - overrun; hellebores - too many to count! But snowdrops - I just can't grow them! Here's a simple verse by Mary Vivian that I loved as a child:

I like to think

That, long ago,

There fell to earth

Some flakes of snow

Which loved this cold,

Grey world of ours

So much, they stayed

As snowdrop flowers.

And it will soon be Valentine's Day. Over on my other blog "Bustle & Sew" you can find the tutorial I promised for making heart-shaped brooches from fabric scraps - perfect cost-conscious chic for loved ones this year (having just had an oil delivery I'm currently extremely cost-conscious!).

Bustle & Sew, my new blog

2009-01-30T10:31:00.003Z

I've decided to start a new blog in addition to this one ... and I'm calling it "Bustle & Sew" (more about that below!)

I've found that things are becoming very muddled - I want to blog about all my new ideas and products, but also about the life I enjoy here in Devon with my two naughty newfies, Amy and Ben. So Bustle & Sew will be more of a "how to" blog incorporating some tutorials and giveaways from my business, DevonBear Designs and lots of crafty photos and links, while stories of our day-to-day life will remain here. Hopefully this makes sense and if anyone decides to visit Bustle & Sew you'll enjoy some of the pictures and tutorials I'm going to put together over the coming weeks and months.

The name ... well ... I wanted to keep it separate from DevonBear Designs and was stuck for ideas until I remembered my names for the two newfies .... Amy bustles around looking very important and girly while Ben slinks through even the smallest space (not bad for 11 stone of dog!) with his young, flexible body. Clearly Bustle and Slink wasn't really going to be suitable, but what about "Bustle & Sew"? I thought. Especially as Amy likes to sit with me while I stitch. So a new blog is born.

Next week I'll be posting a tutorial for my handmade heart brooches (shown at the top of this entry on my new blog) - just in time for Valentine's Day. If you don't have time to make them yourself, then they are available for purchase on my website. I've crafted them from vintage Welsh blanket scraps, but felt would be just as good.

Back on the beach!

2009-01-09T11:03:00.008Z

The weather here in Devon has been cold and gloomy with icy winds for most of the holidays, so we haven't been to the beach very much lately. Of course the newfies adore this weather, and often beg to be allowed outside to bask on the cold cold slates and turn their muzzles to the icy blast! But today dawned bright and sunny, the tide was right so ... the beach it was! All is revealed in our video below...

Weather ... I love this poem!

2009-01-06T19:28:00.003Z

January brings the snow

Makes your feet and fingers glow

February's ice and sleet

Freeze the toes right off your feet

Welcome March with wintry wind

Would thou wer't not so unkind

April brings the sweet spring showers

On and on for hours and hours

Farmers fear unkindly May

Frost by night and hail by day

June just rains and never stops

Thirty days and spoils the crops

In July the sun is hot

Is it shining? No it's not

August cold, and dank, and wet

Brings more rain than any yet

Bleak September's mist and mud

Is enough to chill the blood

Then October adds a gale

Wind and slush and rain and hail

Dark November brings the fog

Should not do it to a dog

Freezing wet December then:

Bloody January again!

Michael Flanders

Merry Christmas everyone!

2008-12-24T14:31:00.002Z

The flu struck - so no posts this month! No Christmas party either, though we did make it to the Carol Service.

Better now - so Merry Christmas everyone!

Press cuttings

2008-12-03T12:07:00.007Z

Isn't this just wonderful - such a shame that it's sized only for babies up to 6 months. What about adults up to 50 years? Anyway, the pattern was published in the Daily Mail earlier this week and you can see it by clicking on the image above - it was far too nice to keep to myself!

It most definitely wouldn't fit me anyway as I think my head has grown several inches this week after seeing the mention below in "Quick and Crafty" magazine - which took me totally by surprise! I feel very humble too as there are so many wonderful blogs to be found and mine's really very ordinary in comparison to a lot of them. But nice to be mentioned anyway.

As usual we are all becoming very busy in the village. Our Christmas tree hasn't gone up yet, but the Lunch Club party is next week and I've been nominated to make the bread sauce again - that's 12 pints of the stuff!! Don't mind really - that's the easy part. I've also been nominated to play the piano for the carols, now that really is scary. Hopefully 100+ massed voices will drown out the multitude of wrong notes that are sure to occur, and if they are heard, well, we'll all have enjoyed at least 2 glasses of wine each, and most of us probably more so nobody will mind anyway. (Note to self - remember to wear elasticated waistband this year!)

The Lunch Club party where so many people freely give of their time and money to make a really special occasion for our elderly villagers to me epitomises the spirit of Christmas. So often it is lost in the cacophony of shop tills ringing and raucous TV shows. I particularly like this extract from a poem which nearly featured on my cards last year ...

I do enjoy all the hustle, bustle, shopping and preparations for Christmas, but sometimes I think it's good to take a few moments to remember what it's all about.

OK, now you've done that get moving again - remember there are only 22 days left to do EVERYTHING!!

Amy's getting thinner!

2008-11-29T22:19:00.007Z

Amy in her "Guess the Weight of the Dog" outfit.

Read about the time Amy was a competition at the Church Fete

Christmas is coming ... and the goose might be getting fat ... but Amy's latest diet is working!! Instead of her usual regime of food combining - that's any food she can rootle out, combined with any other food she happens to be able to obtain from one gullible Russian human in particular - she's been restricted to plain dog biscuits and limited portion of meat in the evenings.

My friend Elona is the worst culprit for feeding Amy, but she has been visiting her family in Russia, and while she was away Amy lost 8 cm (about 3 inches) off her rather substantial waistline. She now measures a (mere!) 104 cm (41 inches) around her middle! And I think this time Amy will have the last laugh as Elona is expecting a baby in the spring. Elona's convinced that she will never be as fat as Amy, but we're keeping a record and Elona has already reached 99 cm!!!

Meanwhile we're surrounding ourselves with all sorts of baby catalogues and planning to make lots of baby goodies in the new year to compliment our existing babychange bag. Watch this space! Meanwhile Elona is proudly wearing her DevonBears T-shirt...

Daughter's visit brings chaos!

2008-11-23T19:28:00.011Z

"Let's have a photoshoot!" said Rosie.... none of my friends at Uni will believe how big the newfies are." So we did.

She invited Ben onto the sofa - this is normally TOTALLY forbidden. He became a little over-excited ....

and tried to sit on Rosie....

had to be restrained ....

..... then became totally hysterical.

Meanwhile Amy sulked as she adores having her photo taken and hates not to be the centre of attention. When sulking turned to petulant barking the photoshoot was cancelled and all canine participants removed for a cooling-off period.

Rosie also wreaked havoc with my little knitted mice! Now I'm not the fastest knitter, but had managed to complete 3 mice ready for the Yuletide Fair at Saltram House next weekend. I'd hoped to take at least half a dozen with me. But Rosie fell in love with them. Above you see Ralph, Alice and Fred. Rosie has now rehomed Ralph into her bag to take back to Bristol, together with a personalised hot water bottle cover, lavender heart, spiral bound DevonBears notebook and assorted sundries.

At least she didn't help herself to a needlebook - my answer to using up all the vintage blanket scraps ...

But she has thought of lots of things she'd like me to make her for Christmas!

Only a month to go!!

Christmas is coming!

2008-11-20T18:06:00.006Z

Wow, I hadn't realised how long it was since I last blogged - time has simply flown past! Here at DevonBear Designs we've been lucky enough to have some of our products featured in various magazines - which has led to a significant rise in orders. Christmas paper bunting has proved to be particularly popular -

- I guess it's a bit different to more traditional Christmas decorations - it was certainly great fun to design.

As well as Christmas orders, I've also been busy getting ready for the Yuletide Craft and Food Fair at Saltram House next weekend and have added little knitted mice to the cupcakes I'm offering in support of the Gables Animal Rescue.

And yes .. that is Craft and FOOD Fair. Can't wait! All profits may well be spent before I leave the event!!

Meanwhile, Rosie's home for the weekend ... she's brought some work with her - but may well find herself packaging Christmas bunting if this rush continues. It's great to have her here to spoil, and husband's off to Twickenham for the England - South Africa match so we can have a really girly time together. Chocolate may feature prominently on our menu, whilst Bridget Jones is sure to find her way into the DVD player!

Sunday afternoon ...

2008-11-09T16:09:00.012Z

Oh, what a wild, blustery, sodden afternoon we had yesterday. Outside the skies were an unremitting leaden grey as the rain hurled itself against the windowpanes and rushed down through the drainpipes to the well below the cellar. It was dark by four o'clock and I was glad to pull the shutters closed against the stormy weather. It was an afternoon to forget all outdoor pursuits - I had planned to get out into the garden ... being a subscriber to Vita Sackville-West's philosophy that:

"If it is true that one of the greatest pleasures of gardening lies in looking forward, then the planning of next year's beds and borders must be one of the most agreeable occupations in the gardener's calendar. This should make October and November particularly pleasant months, for then we may begin to clear our borders, to cut down those sodden and untidy stalks, to dig up and increase our plants, and to move them to other positions where they will show up to greater effect. People who are not gardeners always say that the bare beds of winter are uninteresting; gardeners know better, and take even a certain pleasure in the neatness of the newly dug, bare, brown earth."

But it was not to be. So I closed the shutters and we all settled into a long, peaceful Sunday evening in front of the fire....

Amy chose to stay with us in the living room, but Ben became far too warm and retired to snooze on the chilly flagstones in the hallway. Husband was busy with the papers, so I picked up my latest project...

The knitting!

I have been inspired by a great blog I found called "Little Cotton Rabbits". I purchased one of Julie's patterns for her knitted cupcakes

and am knitting my own to sell at the Yuletide Fair at Saltram House in aid of our local animal rescue centre, Gables Farm, which helps unwanted and abandoned animals find new homes. Up until Ben arrived I'd always had rescue dogs - you can read Susie's story here from my blog entry of March this year. Her tale was so sad, and now I have a house full of newfies I can't possibly adopt any more - but maybe this way I can help give other animals a second chance.

Susie

The cupcakes are turning out rather well, and if you'd like to purchase one, then you can do so on the DevonBear website. Profits are going to the Gables Farm Animal Rescue Centre - I'm not making them on a commercial basis. To make the little cakes extra special I've put a sachet of organic lavender into each one, so they smell as good as they look, and will keep those pesky moths away!

And finally, from my trusty Book of Days ... on 10 November 1960 D H Lawrence's novel Lady Chatterley's Lover was first published in its entirety, and the first run of 200,000 copies had sold out by the end of the day. So there!

Autumn pleasures

2008-10-21T22:05:00.012+01:00

Over the last week or so I've noticed the days are growing shorter and every day I seem to draw the curtains earlier. Ben misses his evening walks - over the summer months we developed a habit of taking a second or even third walk up through the woods behind the village while Amy remained at home snoozing happily on her bed.

For all the drawing in of the days I love autumn, the way it smells, fruity, damp and smokey, the colours of the leaves drifting down from the trees, lying crisp and crunchy underfoot until it rains again. Autumn fills me with nostalgia for old school days, the start of a new term, clean exercise books and new beginnings even as the year draws to a close. I love the clear bright mornings after a night of rain when the air is crisp and chill and a mist rises over the tree tops by the stream.

In the garden a few last apples lie rotting on the ground, decaying gradually into the soil as the birds have taken all they want. There are chutneys in the larder, dried herbs in jars and blackberries nestling in the freezer ready for autumn feasting. The painting above reflects the final summer harvest and will soon be featuring on some tea towels and canvas totes for Stokeley Farm shop, just a mile or two down the road.

Autumn is also a great time to enjoy indoor pursuits - for me painting is a major pleasure, but I also love sewing and have just taken up knitting again as one of my very best friends is expecting a baby in the spring. I was helping her sort through some very old boxes and we came across some lovely vintage knitting patterns. I particularly liked one for a knitted tea cosy, taken from a 30 year old magazine ......

Back of teacosy.

It was designed by a lady with the wonderful name of Mrs Halcyon Green. The back of the cottage has a single window and three Welsh sheep. I think the front would look even nicer with maybe some embroidered roses around the door. If you'd like the pattern then please click here to download it as a pdf file. I think I'll practice my rather rusty knitting skills for a while before attempting this, but I'd love to know if anyone does try it out, it would make a great Christmas pressie!

And finally ... another couple of exerpts from Vita Sackville-West's epic poem "The Land" (one of my all-time favourites) - from the Autumn verses.....

"If you may snatch before the rain

Crisp days when clods will turn up rough;

Gentleman robin brown as snuff

With spindle legs and bright round eye

Shall be your autumn company....

...Then may you shoulder spade and hoe,

And heavy-booted homeward go,

For no new flowers shall be born

Save hellebore on Christmas morn,

And bare gold jasmine on the wall,

And violets, and soon the small

Blue netted iris, like a cry

Startling the sloth of February."

Demented

2008-10-13T09:33:00.004+01:00

I'm a great fan of the Demented cartoon strip by Jacky Fleming which comes out in the Mail on Sunday magazine. I particularly enjoyed this week's offering which I think just about sums up the last few months .....

.. and not just the weather!! Enjoy.

News from Ben

2008-10-04T18:16:00.015+01:00

Hi everyone!

It's me, Ben Dickson, reporting in. Shockingly Mum hasn't posted in our blog for a whole month ... that's one whole month without Amy and me getting mentioned on the internet. UN-BE-LIEVE-ABLE!!

So .... what's been happening here in deepest darkest Devon? Apart from rain that is! Well, we've been to the beach a lot ....

We don't go too often in the summer as it gets very busy and Mum says me and Amy do not behave very well. But all the families with baby humans have gone now so I can charge around at 100 mph on the sand and go swimming again. All the families with picnics have gone too, so Amy can't plonk herself in the middle of their picnic blankets and refuse to move until they give her food.

We had our own picnic on the beach, Mum and one of her friends and our most favourite people, Elona, took lots of nice food - good - but sat up on the rocks where we couldn't reach the sandwiches - BAD BAD BAD!!

We sat and looked at them to show them how thin we were and to try to make them give us their food but they just laughed! Huh! We will call the Dog Rescue People!

Mum has bought us new collars. She said it's no good buying us leather ones because they just go mouldy and funny with all the swimming so she would get webbing ones. There was a problem though. It was easy to get a collar for tiny little Amy who only needs a size 24". But big strong me needed a 27" and Mum couldn't find one anywhere in webbing, just leather.

Then she found this wonderful American site called Big Dog Boutique. She chose a very pretty girlish one for Amy called "Pink Lemonade" and "Seaside Stripe" for me - very masculine. Here we are modelling them. It was very hard to sit with our backs to the camera but we managed it for oh about 0.1 of a second. Mum said she was very impressed with the site, the collars arrived in less than a week and not too expensive either.

Mum has been busy upstairs in her workroom for EVER. She says it is something to do with Christmas. But I don't understand. That's not for ages yet. I remember last year that I was responsible for pruning the Christmas tree while Amy helped with the cooking. Now I'm older and wiser I'm going to cook as well! Mum is sure to need my help too. Mum's been busy with some downloadable stuff for Halloween - this bunting thing again. Here's the Halloween bunting ... lots of it is black - just like me, so I know it's very attractive!

And finally ... for other Devon dwellers - you MUST get Devon Today October issue. An article about our Mum is in there!! A picture! And our names are there too - a whole page just about DevonBears. So we is famous after all.

Goodbye from your favourite newfie
Ben Dickson.

Of bunting, beer and TWO competition winners!

2008-09-02T09:57:00.006+01:00

What a busy weekend! But here's the names of my competition winners. There are going to be two prizes - first for Cait O'Connor as I just loved her suggestion of the Huggy Bag - irresistible! And secondly for Faith for the sheer quantity of wonderful names - some of which will definitely be used for future products. Meanwhile a big fat

THANK YOU

to everyone who took the time and trouble to leave suggestions. I'm just sorry I can't give everyone a prize!

Last week was the Dartmouth Regatta and our friends Rory and Elona took the bus with us to Dartmouth to spend Saturday afternoon/evening there. The Red Arrows were scheduled for 5.30 pm and Elona was particularly looking forward to this as she only moved here from Russia last year, so has never seen one of their spectacular shows. The crowd was full of anticipation ...

Pavements and balconies were crowded ..... the men had appropriate nourishment in their paws!

And then ..... the cloud came down.

Sadly no Red Arrows after all. This summer has been dreadful - I've spent more time knocking water off the canvas roof of the gazebo than I have sitting in it. Last night the rain was lashing against the windows - in a way it's almost a relief that it's September now as at least we can stop hoping for good weather. Although the economic doom and gloom news is so awful it feels as though it's going to be a long winter. So I thought we needed cheering up, and have spent the last few days developing DevonBears' answer to the credit crunch. Yes, it's PAPER bunting!!

OK stop laughing and get back on your chairs. It's cheerful, colourful, fun and cheap! What could be better? It will encourage people to have parties and make them smile. Well, I like it anyway.

... and at only £5.50 per pack for 18 flags, I'm sure it will add some cheer to the autum and winter months. I'm going to put it all around the office and workroom to give me a summer feeling inside even when it's cold in the garden.

Competition Time!

2008-08-22T07:39:00.009+01:00

Hi everyone - I need help! I have a new product for DevonBear Designs which I'm anxious to put on the website, but I have a problem - I can't think of a name for it. It came about originally because of the Babychange Bag .....

The Babychange Bag

Which, as you can see, has a very long handle - to go on shoulder or over buggy handles. Now this is fine, but it left me with a long rounded piece of fabric that was too small for most projects, but too big to waste. Then I realised that the shape was very like that of the bottom of the Amie bag - but probably just a bit narrower....

Here's the Amie Bag so you can see the bottom ..

The Amie Bag

And I had an idea ... initially just for the nursery. What about making some sort of container to keep things tidy. So, basing the shape on the Amie Bag pattern, but making the interior from 12oz canvas to give strength and some rigidity, I made a pouch shape - then put a large brass eyelet in the back for hanging. (Love all that banging with the hammer - great for working off stress!) And this is what it came out like .....

The new product

And then I thought - but it will stand up too, and why keep it just for the nursery (although it will be good to hang over the end of a cot - maybe with a velcro loop?)

So I made more .....

And then I made one in vintage linen. It looks great hanging next to the Aga piled high with my vintage moulds.

I'm sure other people would find them useful too. And I want to put them on my website, but can't think of a name (got hung up on tidy pocket, which does what it says, but isn't very exciting).

So, as I said at the beginning of this post, I need help. Suggestions for a name for this product would be much appreciated.

And the best one will win a "tidy pocket" by any other name!! Please leave your entry as a comment - the competition will close on 31 August when I'll contact the winner and let everyone else know the name.

Thanks for your help.

Time for Tea

2008-08-17T10:09:00.016+01:00

Of course the poem I had in mind when setting the hands on this clock was not Hickory Dickory Dock at all, but Rupert Brooke's Grantchester with its final evocative line ...

"Stands the church clock at ten to three?

And is there honey still for tea?"

Thinking of honey, there has been a lot of publicity lately about the mystery honey bee illness that has been decimating hives across America and now there are fears that it might have reached Britain. I was talking to a local bee keeper last week and thankfully there are no signs of problems in our locality as yet, and hopefully never.

Certainly the bees have been busy these last few weeks in the gaps between rainfall. First the lavender which thrives in the hot and (normally) sunny garden at the front of the house, and lately they have been drawn to the ice-plants which are just coming into flower. They are so funny to watch on these, they seem to adore the nectar, becoming drowsy and heavy, hardly able to summon the strength to lift themselves in flight!

Of course the ice-plants flowering is the signal that summer, such as it has been this year, will soon be over and autumn will be upon us. I love autumn, the whiff of woodsmoke on the wind as everyone begins to tidy their gardens, the first chill in the air and the woods just edged in gold. But I do hope we see something of summer first! I was asked to paint some beach huts for a local shop to feature on some bags ....

And then I considered all our usual summer treats that have sadly been few and far between this year ... eating in the gazebo, with the starlight and the moon and our delicate Japanese lanterns strung from the trees in festive fashion .... hot summer afternoons swinging gently in the stripey hammock .... sand between my toes and in the sandwiches at the beach ... but maybe September will be fine - there's still time...

Rosie returns from her gap year in three weeks time, it's hard to believe she's been away since January, the time has passed so quickly. She's spent the last few weeks in Thailand, and has ridden elephants, stroked tigers and enjoyed beach parties under a full moon. Returning to England may well be a shock to the system, but it will be wonderful to see her again. She's requested large quantities of Galaxy chocolate, and Mum's roast dinner to celebrate her return!

In the summer I often roast new potatoes with rosemary from the garden and will leave you with this easy recipe ...

You need a nice hot oven. Put your new potatoes (cut them in half if they're large) into a plastic bag with a tablespoon of olive oil, chopped rosemary (garlic too if you like), some sea salt and cracked black pepper, then squidge around in the bag until they're nicely coated. Tip onto a heavy baking tray and roast for 30 mins. Turn over and leave a bit longer if needed - and that's it. Lovely cold too - good to take on picnics (but watch out for marauding newfies - they adore them!). Happy days indeed!

Homegrown is best!

2008-08-01T19:24:00.013+01:00

As an amateur vegetable grower I must admit to some doubts regarding the productivity of my patch. Flowers - yes, I've grown flowers all my adult life, but vegetables - no - not until now that is. My kind next door neighbours started me off with some tomato and courgette plants, to which I added runner beans (almost foolproof), aubergines and peppers. We may well have had one of the wettest Julys ever down here in Devon but, fuelled by the warm sunshine we have enjoyed between the rain, my plants have grown and grown and grown.

And tonight I was proud to present my adaptation of Gordon Ramsay's Fish and Tomato Chowder. It was DELICIOUS!! Here's how it goes....

First put on your very beautiful DevonBear apron

Ingredients

good splash of olive oil
1 or 2 medium onions, roughly chopped
2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
2 large carrots, roughly chopped
couple of handfuls of small new potatoes (pre-cook these or use up leftovers)
1 yellow pepper, deseeded and roughly chopped
a few thyme sprigs from my own garden
2 bay leaves from my own garden
400g tin chopped tomatoes (but I think when my own are ready I shall use these and just add more stock)
1 pint hot fish or chicken stock
2 courgettes, roughly chopped from my own garden
handful of green beans cut into short lengths from my own garden
some chilli flakes to taste
1 lb white fish fillets (the fish van that visits the village every Thursday has a good selection of mixed fish fillets - only £3.50 for 1 lb)
bunch of parsley, roughly chopped from my own garden

Method

Heat olive oil in heavy casserole. Add onions and celery, cook for 6-8 mins to soften. Then add carrots, pepper and herbs, then saute for 5-10 mins until veg are lightly golden.

Add tomatoes and stock to pan, plus courgettes and beans and chilli if desired. Simmer for 5 mins. Thicken with a bit of cornflour/water if desired, then add potatoes, and simmer to warm through potatoes.

Put most of the fish fillets on top of the vegetable mix in the pan. Give the remaining fish to the newfies who are absolutely starving as they haven't eaten for oh - at least 2 hours.

Cover and simmer for 5-10 mins (bottom oven of Aga for me) until fish is just cooked through.

Break the fish into large flakes and gently stir through casserole. Ladle into bowls and eat in secret so that the newfies don't realise what you're doing.

And that's it! It's so delicious you don't even realise it's healthy too. (Can always be followed with chocolate icecream, chocolate cake or best of all chocolate dipped strawberries if desired!)

The power of positive thinking ....

2008-07-28T15:40:00.002+01:00

In these days of food and energy shortages, the credit crunch and global tensions sometimes it's good to count our blessings ...

Across the Tamar!

2008-07-25T18:36:00.007+01:00

Yesterday we left the sheltered South Hams behind and drove north keeping the moorland and tors of Dartmoor to our right. We (townie husband and I) had a meeting arranged with our PR lady, Sarah, in Clovelly - and afterwards - dogs away at their favourite kennels - our time was our own! FREEDOMMM!!!

Clovelly was indeed beautiful, but we've visited before, and anyway I think my legs are getting a little too old for hills quite that steep. So we didn't linger, but followed the coast road west into Cornwall, heading for the Rectory Tea Rooms (as recommended by Sarah)

Well, Sarah obviously knows a thing or two about scones is all I can say!! The tearooms themselves occupied part of the ground floor of an old farmhouse and were in a lovely location set back about 500 yds from the cliff top. But, as I'm sure everyone will agree, the test of a good Cornish teashop is its cream tea!

This one did not disappoint! (But should cream or jam be applied first? Who knows? Does it really matter?)

Afterwards a walk was definitely required to burn off at least a few of those calories, so we set off a little way along the coastal path. We could see Lundy Island ...

And then a National Trust sign telling us we were close to "Hawkers Hut." Who or what was hawker we wondered. We postulated about Cornishment looking out for pilchard shoals, but they turned out to be "huers". Had to wait until I got home to discover that the hut was named after the Rev Richard Hawker who became Rector of Morwenstow in 1834 and remained there preaching to the smugglers, dissenters and wreckers of the area for the next 40 years.

But what about the hut? We climbed down to it ...

And husband was persuaded to try out the accommodation. He felt it was a little cramped!

But back to the Rev Hawker. Apparently he was an eccentric who is known to have dressed up as a mermaid and excommunicated his cat for mousing on Sundays. He dressed in claret-coloured coat, blue fisherman's jersey, long sea-boots, a pink brimless hat and a poncho made from a yellow horse blanket, which he claimed was the ancient habit of St Pardarn.

He talked to birds, invited his nine cats into church and kept a huge pig as a pet. (don't see what's so odd about that - after all I keep 2 huge dogs as pets and certainly wore a poncho during my 1970s youth). Apparently he spent a lot of time in his hut contemplating, writing poetry and smoking opium. Wow! Sort of like an early hippy then.

On our way home we stopped for fish and chips in Kingsbridge. We sat on a bench looking over the estuary at the fun fair (it's our carnival this week) and decided to go for a wander round the attractions. The Dodgems were great fun, and I was amused by one booth in particular - I'm going to use this photo to frighten the newfies into good behaviour ...

They too could find themselves hanging by their collars like these stuffed toy dogs - and as for the free puppy if you lose - watch out Ben, or you could be donated !!!!!

The ancient sport of newfie-wrestling

2008-07-13T09:23:00.012+01:00

DevonBear Promotions are proud to present an evening of newfie-wrestling from the garden at Coombe Leigh. Here the two participants are evenly matched, and although the fight was energetic neither party sustained injury during the making of this video. Although the outcome was unclear I am inclined to nominate Ben as winner, due to the copious amounts of dog hair, slobber and mud he succeeded in plastering over Rory during their match. (Well, no one said newfie-wrestling was completely without risk!)

Amy's accident - and a new idea!

2008-07-11T20:16:00.011+01:00

Last weekend Amy was a competition at the village fete - "Guess the weight of the dog". Here she is wearing her special harness complete with bunting! She of course had a great time as the centre of attention, and I went along to act as her minder. I spent a couple of hours accepting people's twenty-pences and recording their estimates of her rather too substantial weight. This was great fun, especially as helpers received free cups of tea all afternoon!

You can see in the photo above that she stands with her bum very rounded and her back legs tucked under her at an angle. She also walks in a crooked fashion due to a spinal injury sustained in her earlier life when she used to do water rescue work. She has a huge jagged scar running all the way down her back and can't raise her tail - it's a very funny shape having been broken in several places. She does the cutest little wag of just the tip when she's really happy, and she isn't in any pain now (except on damp mornings) as she is on medication from the vet. She still loves swimming which is the best therapy of all for her.

Is this a happy dog? I think so!

Anyway, all that time spent contemplating the roundness of Amy's backside started me thinking ... and I've come up with THE AMIE BAG!!!

Note how perfectly the shape of the bag corresponds to the shape of the sleeping Amy. Do you think this is a legitimate design technique? Should I offer myself as a special speaker on design courses? Probably not ... but I still think the Amie Bag looks really good. Vintage linen too, so recycled - just like Amy! It will have its debut on the DevonBears stall at the Saltram Craft Fair next month, so I hope the customers there like it too!!

Strawberries and more ...

2008-07-08T19:31:00.012+01:00

I love strawberries ..... and our friends the MacIntoshes have the most wonderful strawberry patch ... full of the juiciest, sweetest berries. And, like all old-fashioned varieties, the fruiting season is relatively short, and once picked the berries don't keep .... but ahhh, the flavour! We've been picking loads and gorging ourselves till we just can't eat any more.. so I painted some (not very well) and then I made some jam ....

Last month I mentioned the old letter concealed in the chimney breast that the builders found when renovations were in hand. Here it is ...

It's hard to read in the picture, but what it actually says is

"Fryday 15 Septr 1837

Enclosed in a cupboard being part of an old chimney built time out of mind lately belonging to and rebuilt in all its parts this House (save this Chimney) in the Year of our Lord Jesus Christ 1812 by the late James Torring Esq and now altered improved & beautifyed by me the Owner a newspaper being enclosed with it describing among other things the Funeral of our late King Wm 4th it now being the first year of the reign of Victoria a young Lady of great promise.

Robt Webb"

And that's it. I haven't been able to find out anything about Robert Webb, but do know that the back part of the house where the cobb walls are 2 feet or more thick dates back to at least Tudor times, whilst the front is definitely Georgian. I think Robert must have been the gentleman who laid our wonderful hall floor and I think of him every time I sweep and mop it (rather more often than I would like thanks to those newfies!)

And having mentioned the newfies ... it was our village fete last weekend. Sadly it rained and rained and rained and we had to hold the event in the hall. Having made all our preparations though, we carried on and it was a great success. Our most important task here at Coombe Leigh was to create a special harness for Amy to wear on her big day - for of course Amy was a competition in her own right!

She loved it!! She preened and posed, delighted to be the centre of attention - and raised £21.45 - which is a lot of 20 pences!! (No, I'm not sure where the 5p came from either!)

Amy was trained to do water rescue work before I adopted her following her accident. Interestingly, when I put the harness on her she puffed out her not insubstantial chest, and became very serious and important - I don't know if she thought she was going to be working again. She did actually save a little girl once, bringing her in from the sea at Looe, and was in the local press. But she's been resting on her ever more substantial laurels ever since. In fact she weighed in at 10 stone 11 lbs!!

As usual, Ben gets the final laugh!! (He's simply impossible to ignore)

A weekend at Exeter Craft Festival

2008-06-15T11:10:00.007+01:00

Today is not going to be a blog about the newfies ... in fact I haven't seen them all weekend as they've been banished to boot-camp (aka the most wonderful kennels in Devon, let's run straight into the play area and not even bother to say goodbye to our mum)!

But they wouldn't have enjoyed this weekend at all, as the DevonBears have been at Exeter Craft Festival meeting lots of nice people and selling loads of stuff. We had a great weekend, in the most wonderful surroundings as the stalls were set up on the Cathedral Green. You can't see the stalls on the photo below, but they were just off camera to the left.

The only bad bit of the day was trying to navigate our way around Exeter's one-way system - we could see the Cathedral in the distance, but whichever turning we chose we found ourselves heading back out of town again. Marital disharmony threatened, but more by luck than judgement, we found a very-well hidden side street and suddenly we were there! We quickly set up our stall ....
Not a moment too early as vistors soon started to arrive ...

The junior team member (aka husband) was overcome with fatigue and abandoned his post for a quick cup of tea and newspaper break ...

Then the band began to play...

And he quickly returned to his post... (I wanted pink stripey staff uniform aprons but he refused to wear pink - spoilsport!)

Visitors came from across the globe - some travelling great distances to reach the DevonBears stand ...
Some of our products are off to far-flung places such as Canada, New Zealand and Hong Kong - wow - my bags and aprons are better-travelled than I am!

Two days of fun, sunshine and hard work!! But a great time was had by all - we sold out of some things, and loads of feedback - more bunnies are needed!! A day off today, then collect my furry friends tomorrow (don't suppose Ben will want to come home) and start on the orders.

An English summer's day

2008-06-09T20:42:00.005+01:00

Today has been a perfect summer's day. I consulted the Book of Days I keep on the study windowsill and was informed that "An English summer is three fine days and a thunderstorm." On Saturday we had the storm. Hailstones the size of grapes rained down in Kingsbridge - the town turned white with ice and Fore Street became a raging torrent as the hailstones melted and the water ran downhill to the top of the creek. But by the evening the sun was shining again. I am hoping that we have had the thunderstorm and are now enjoying the three fine days .....

The rose that scrambles over the woodstore is now in full bloom and shedding its petals on me like sweetly scented confetti when I water the old stone trough of geraniums below. It is highly fragrant too, but has wickedly sharp thorns and is very vigorous. I have to keep it well pruned, or it tries to invade the gazebo above and twine itself into the hair of unsuspecting diners when we lunch al fresco!

On these warm days, the house stays beautifully cool, thanks to the thick cob walls and cool slate floors. The hall floor is quite beautiful - I've never seen such a beautiful old floor. I think it must have been laid by the gentleman who improved the property back in 1838. I can be exact about the date as he left a letter hidden in the chimney breast for future generations to discover - in which he refers to "our new young queen, Victoria, a young lady of great promise."

Again consulting my Book of Days I discover that the Roman Emperor Nero was born on June 9th AD 68 and that he shares his birthday with Cole Porter and Johnny Depp (although of course they are considerably younger than him!!) Today is also the feast day of St Columba, the 6th-century Irish missionary who founded a monastery on the Scottish Island of Iona.

Finally, having carefully omitted to write about Amy and Ben in this post, I shall say that I spent some time yesterday afternoon painting Ben. I don't normally paint direct from photographs, but was enchanted by the shot of Ben carrying his teddy that Jack managed to take during our DevonBears photoshoot. So here it is .....

We are so lucky

2008-06-05T14:33:00.009+01:00

We are so lucky at Lunch Club to have such a wonderful team of volunteers working with us. Our Lunch Club provides a weekly cooked meal for some of the area's most elderly residents, many of whom are well into their nineties. The food is fantastic - today we had sausages (from Durrants, our local butcher of course) braised in red wine, followed by peach (from the cook's own tree) and almond crumble. It's so interesting to chat to all the club members too as many of them have such exciting stories to tell - this week I was talking to one lady in her eighties who remembers driving a truck round the East End of London dodging bombs in the Blitz. Many still keep themselves up-to-date with new technology and are keenly interested in the progress of DevonBear Designs - after all, they say, such a business just wouldn't have been possible when they were my age.

The Parish Fete isn't far away now, and the fete committee meets today I'm told. Amy of course has already decided upon her contribution, while Ben is putting his paws up and taking a back seat after his heroic effort on the sponsored walk earlier this month. I've been asked to put together a bag design to sell canvas totes on the day - all profits will be donated to the funds.

Meanwhile we're making the most of the lovely sunshine after all the heavy rain we've been having lately. At Saltram the clouds opened on Saturday morning - as if a tap had been turned on in the sky - I was so glad that our stall was indoors. It was a great weekend though, we sold lots of stuff, met loads of nice people - and will be doing it all again in August!

For us Devon Bears of course, making the most of the sunshine means heading off along our coastal paths....

Here Ben is leading the way towards his favourite beach for swimming ....

As usual Amy becomes distracted and somewhat bewildered by the overgrown path. (Her brains do not match her beauty I'm afraid). Here she is doing her sheep impression.

Luckily I am taller than Amy so I can see over the hedge to take this photo of our beaches.

Ben takes to the water first and shows off his swimming prowess.

Amy isn't too far behind, but these days enjoys a gentle paddle more than an energetic swim.

And it's a long walk back up the path. But the most enjoyable way to burn up all those calories consumed at Lunch Club earlier in the day. And finally .... could this be the vegetable garden with the best view in England? We think it has to be a strong contender and love to peer over the hedge to check what's growing!

Will the paparazzi come calling?

2008-06-04T21:00:00.007+01:00

I haven't had time to blog for ages, and was going to write about our weekend at Saltram, and the trip to the beach to make it up to the dogs for abandoning them in kennels. (Not that they care, Ben almost fell over his big wubbly paws he was so eager to get into the play area, and even Amy barely stopped for a goodbye kiss before hurrying inside!)

But events have overtaken me. I find that I am now the custodian of two media stars. The fantastic, fund-raising Amy and Ben!! This has come about because of a conversation I had with Ray when he was bringing us home in his taxi from a boozy night out in Dartmouth. Ray is our village correspondent for the local paper and is always on the lookout for a good story. I was telling him about Ben's sponsored walk and about how Amy was going to BE a competition at the Parish Fete. And look what happened...!! (Must have been a very slow week for news in the Kingsbridge area)

Amy not on a diet! Huh! That's what SHE thinks. Her last weigh-in at the vet's was very embarrassing, particularly as Ben was congratulated on his trim, lean figure. Still, I guess it's all in a good cause, and it's her birthday on Friday, so perhaps the diet can start next week.

Off to pamper my two stars.....

The Photoshoot!!

2008-05-23T19:21:00.012+01:00

For days I had been anxiously watching the weather forecast. Sunny or raining? Raining or sunny? What would it be? Fortunately the day designated for the Coombe Leigh DevonBear photoshoot dawned fine and reasonably sunny, although there was a cool breeze. Never mind - we were on!!

Jack, our photographer arrived with his assistant/girlfriend Jen and began to set up the scenes. It was all very exciting and I was amazed at the amount of preparation that goes into what seems - when you see it - to be a very simple shot. Here are Jack and Elona (a victim - sorry friend) who agreed to model for me - setting up the picnic shot.

Meanwhile Amy and Ben appointed themselves as doorkeepers, anxiously watching to see who went in and out, and that no bones, stuffed toys or other canine treasures were being removed from the premises. Ben at least though, had other plans ....

When he saw Elona in the hammock, he felt that modelling was clearly a very simple task and one that could easily be undertaken by an enthusiastic young newfie.

Sadly both he and Amy had to be forcibly removed from the garden when Julie and Elona shot the picnic scene as neither dog would believe that the bags and flasks were actually empty. They were both convinced that cake would somehow miraculously appear - or even better - ham sandwiches!!

Soon it was lunchtime, and Ben took the opportunity to have a quiet word with Jack. Some sort of agreement must have been reached as the following photos appeared in the final batch I received ..

Seems like I don't even have control over my own photoshoot these days!! Trust Ben to have the last word. Seriously though, I'm so pleased with the photos, they really show off the DevonBear products to the best advantage. And all that energetic gardening paid off too, although some of that could be down to Jack's photographic expertise.

Now we're off to the Craft Fairs. Saltram House next weekend and Exeter a couple of weeks later. Still loads to do and not enough hours in the day.

Great excitement at Coombe Leigh

2008-05-14T17:31:00.010+01:00

We are all very excited here at Coombe Leigh. We are going to have a photoshoot here at the house with a proper professional photographer. (Not just me with my little digital camera!). Jack is coming to take some lifestyle shots for DevonBears publicity so we are all running around trying to make everywhere look beautiful.

Of course Amy feels she is already beautiful and when the words "camera" and "photograph" were mentioned she immediately started posing madly. She was made worse by the coincidental visit of Kelly, our lovely grooming lady, who came to give her and Ben their regular beauty session. Here's Kelly hard at work ..

Amy feels that she should be the centre of attention, so keeps edging closer and closer to Kelly ..

Meanwhile Ben is surreptiously chewing through the lead Kelly has used to attach him to the railings!

Afterwards they were quite worn out. I didn't have the heart to tell them that we weren't actually planning to include them in the photographs. I expect Amy at least will manage to push her way into one or two of the pictures ... and where she leads Ben usually follows!

As you can see, the grass has been cut ready for the shoot, and look at that lovely edging - shame it's not straight!! Never mind, perhaps wonky will become the new trendy after our uber-cool photographs demonstrate this new look?! (That's the studio/workroom on the left in this picture and the handrail leads to the steps to the courtyard. Our house is built into the side of a hill, so the garden is actually above the house).

While all this activity was taking place, I was in the gazebo painting - Christmas cards!! Surreal or what? But my summer's going to be so busy I thought it was best to start early rather than risk running out of time as they'll need to be at the printers by the end of August.

Here's the first (still rather rough) version of card one for the set of dog cards. More will follow..

An afternoon in the garden

2008-05-10T19:06:00.012+01:00

This last week has been so warm and sunny that we've spent almost all our time outside. This afternoon I took my paints into the gazebo and completed the picture above which I think will make a great postcard, and possibly a patch for a canvas bag. I'm off to a number of craft fairs over the summer months, so I need some images that will appeal to visitors to the area, and hopefully this will be popular.

Of course Ben has been very bored by all the painting and gardening - here he has collapsed in a stupor of boredom. But I told him the beach wouldn't be nearly so much fun if he spent all his time there. I don't think he believed me though. So he decided if he couldn't be digging in sand, then he'd dig up the borders instead. Check out the muddy nose below!!

I was given a couple of tomato plants by Nick from next door, and I've planted them in an old wooden apple crate. It's hard to believe that one day they'll reach nearly to the top of the canes and that I'll be picking my own salads before long. I'm also planning to put in some aubergine and pepper plants, it'll be very Mediterranean in my courtyard!

The lanes here are at their best now I think. They're smothered with bluebells and pink campion, with cow parsley frothing in wild abandon. Some of the wider and sunnier verges are even studded with wild orchids. I have been told that they're a very common kind, but then that doesn't make them any less attractive. I often think that the summer visitors miss our countryside at its best, since by late July and August the wild flowers are mostly over and everywhere is beginning to look tired and dusty. At this time of year I often think of the poem "Lanes in Summer" by Malcolm Hemphrey which I learned as a child...

I love the little winding lanes,

In the sweet days when summer reigns;

The eglantine and hawkweed's plume;

The dog-rose and the bramble bloom,

Like stars from heaven gone astray;

The fragrant scent of new-mown hay;

The poppies in the green-aisled wheat;

The bees that find the clover sweet;

The last song of the wren and thrush

Breaking through the drowsy hush -

If kindly peace be anywhere

'Tis surely there, 'tis surely there.

The boy did it!!

2008-05-08T07:28:00.010+01:00

Last weekend Ben did something very useful for once. He would probably argue that he is extremely useful around the home - digging holes in the garden for me to put in new plants, making skid marks on the lawn to break up that oh-so boring expanse of green, patiently transporting sand home from the beach in his coat so that our hall resembles the beach - after all that's his favourite place - so let's have it at home too he thinks. Now, he may regard these activities as useful and constructive but in general I disagree.

However ... he has finally done something really good. He participated in the Start Circle of Friends (SCOF) sponsored dog walk to raise money for patient transport services. We are very rural here and many elderly people live a long way from medical services with no transport to get them there. The SCOF volunteers transport these folk to and from their appointments. They give of their time for free, but of course petrol is increasingly expensive and has to be paid for - hence the sponsored walk.

We collected loads of sponsorship money with the slogan "Sponsor or be slobbered!" This worked extremely well and Ben's form was soon overflowing with names and promises of support. Now all he had to do was complete the walk. There was a choice of 2 or 5 miles. Naturally we went for the 2 mile walk.

This is not because we are lazy, but because even though Ben's very big, he is still a baby really at only 12 months old. It's only recently that I've been able to do much walking with him at all as you have to be really careful of Newfie puppies' joints while they're growing so fast. It was a hot day too - so 2 miles it was. AND HE DID IT!! Here is his certificate ...

He was sooo tired at the end, bless him. Cream teas, bowls of water and a variety of dog biscuits were provided for the walkers back at the village hall. Then when we arrived home - he flopped on the cool slates of the rear courtyard. Amy fussed around him for a while (she of course had remained at home on guard - no, not the house - the beautiful juicy bone I gave her to make up for staying behind) then, confident he was OK really, went back to her bone.

And Ben slept for at least 2 hours. Then he was ready for tea!

A visit to Dartmouth

2008-04-28T20:10:00.008+01:00

Our friends Joe and Jane own the Dartmouth Canvas Factory. We met last year when I was looking for someone to make panniers for Ben. I had often passed the Canvas Factory and thought that it looked the kind of place that might be able to help. So, after a glass of wine to fortify myself I went inside and tentatively enquired whether they might be able to make panniers for a Newfoundland dog. It was fortunate that I am not, as Jane Austen might remark, of a nervous disposition, because at that point a tall man leaped out from behind the counter garbling, "You've got a newfie? You've got a newfie?"

Of course I informed him that indeed that was the case, and in fact I was the proud owner of (or owned by!) two of these black furry bear-like creatures. "Where are they from?" came the next question at the speed of machine gun fire.. "one from the West Midlands and one from north Devon," I answered, backing towards the door a little. "Not Lucy Stevenson?" "Yes" ... and it transpired that Joe (for so he turned out to be) had owned Amy's half-sister, Storm. Of course we were now fated to become friends, for after all, as previous custodian of Amy's half-sister, he was practically family already.

The picture above was painted for them, and is now displayed on a shelf in the shop. But back to my story ... Jane did indeed make panniers for Ben. Panniers Mark One were trialled last month and a few alterations were required - including Ben-proofing the bags to prevent theft of the contents - by either dog!! Then we went back for the final version and Ben posed ....

Like the superstar he wants to be ...

Joe is now suggesting that we fill the panniers with beer and then train Ben to sit in the sea until the beer is chilled. Would this constitute newfie-cruelty do you think? No answers on a postcard please!

One swallow ....

2008-04-23T10:09:00.009+01:00

Yesterday I saw the first swallow of spring on our telephone wire. One swallow might not a summer make, but surely now we can hope that summer isn't too far away. I love to watch their aerobatics over and around the house - and last summer in the house - one besotted pair swooped low through the back door then up to the top of the house where they left just as swiftly through an open bedroom window.

I'd rather have swallows indoors than our bats. I'm very pleased that they've decided to call our attic and cellar home, but don't like it when they come into the house proper, it's so difficult to send them outside again. I usually just open the window and close the door of the room they've invaded and hope they find their own way out by morning.

All this rain and then warm weather has brought the garden on - it's so rampantly fertile you can almost see and hear it growing. My runner beans are already 12" tall and the borders have recovered well from the puppy's excavations during the colder months. Trouble is, we now see the rise of the super-slug. Armed with bionic rasping jaws unless checked these creatures munch their way through my wisteria, hollyhocks, beans and anything else they choose to devour. I do try to garden organically, but must admit that I resort to slug pellets at this time of year, though choose the ones that are harmless to other wildlife.

Indoors is just as busy. As well as preparing for craft shows, I have realised that the stronger sunlight is revealing areas that, from the look of them, have not been properly cleaned since last summer! Sand and dog fur are the main problems, together with liberal sprinklings of mud where the dogs shake after coming in from outside. Alas, as fast as I clean, the problem recurs. I'm sure those pesky canines are deliberately trying to recreate some of their favourite outdoor places indoors. Certainly the floor resembled Lannacombe beach this morning. Clearly they enjoyed romping across the sand so much yesterday they decided to bring the beach home with them too. Batson Creek later today I think .... but back to the sewing for now.

Ben's Birthday Post

2008-04-13T15:10:00.032+01:00

Here I am. My name is Ben Dickson and I am an exceptionally good-looking Newfie as I'm sure you will agree.

Mum said that I could write this post for a special treat as next week I will be one whole year old. Yes, one year and 10 1/2 stone. That's 147 lbs or 64.5 kg. Wow!! I'm all grown up. Bigger than Amy (not that she likes to admit she's just a shortie).

Over the last year there have been a lot of firsts for me and I wanted to show you some of them ... but before we begin, if you visit Middle England Newfs

you'll be able to see some photos of me when I was only a few days old. UNBELIEVABLY small!!

One of my first journeys in the back of the newfie-mobile. Here I am only 3 months old. (There's not so much room now!)

First showing Uncle Richard how to undo his shoe laces!

First trip to the beach with Dad

First time getting wet all over and making like an otter

First game of beach football with the BOYS!! (Look at Amy getting in the way. Trust a girl not to understand the RULES)

First time captain of boat

First water training lesson with Joe

first time WINNING at beach frisbee!!

First time Amy ADMITTED I was as big as her. See how fed up she looks!! Ha!!

First visit from Kelly the grooming lady. She NEARLY CUT MY EAR OFF!!

(note from mum, no she didn't he's just being silly)

First Christmas. Don't I look handsome? Amy thinks she looks best, but I know the truth ..

First time galloping so fast I thought I would FLY!! (Amy isn't even watching)

First time cooking Spot's golden cheese dreams. Watch out all you celebrity chefs. "Canine Cookery with Ben Dickson" has a certain ring to it! I want to do some more cooking, but Amy is back on her diet.

First time trying to EAT the bluebells. Mum said "No! they're for looking at silly." Girls stuff is what I say.

This is not a first time although I hoped it would be. This is me (the tall handsome one) trying to get the best bit of doughnut FOR THE FIRST TIME. But our friend Mike always gives tiny little Amy the nicest bit. Life is soooooo unfair .....

Love from Ben xx

Spring is here to stay!

2008-04-11T15:17:00.007+01:00

Walking up to the woods yesterday I realised that spring has really arrived - no cold snap or arctic blast can put it back into its box now - it's well and truly here. Although there was a frost on Wednesday night, by 8.30 am it had disappeared from all but the deepest shade, and the sunshine was hot on my shoulders. Amy huffed and puffed along like a black furry steam train. She is not fond of the warmer months as a combination of thick black fur and a round body does not make for comfort when the days grow hotter. Her favourite place to snooze is in the old stone courtyard at the back of the house where the sun barely reaches even in the highest dog days of summer.

Today we walked down to Batson Creek. We haven't been this way for a while and I was struck by the sheets of acid yellow rape with its distinctive smell. I don't mind it, I think it looks like sunshine fallen to the ground on even the gloomiest days, though I know many people think it's too bright and alien in our mellow English landscape. Luckily the swans weren't around today and we spent a long time at the creek. I found some lovely broken pieces of old blue and white china half buried in the mud, while Ben and Amy found some less lovely smelly seaweed and unidentifiable slimy objects by rootling around where the trees overhang the water.

I shall try to paint the china pieces, I love the combination of blue and white, so classic and timeless. I've just finished painting two Bernese Mountain Dog puppies for friends in the village, so the china will be a different challenge, quite different to my usual subjects.

I've been re-reading Vita Sackville-West's epic poems, "The Land" and "The Garden". Although I find some parts very heavy, others really sing to me as she is so in tune with nature and the seasons. As our gardens and hedgerows burst into life, I particularly enjoy these few lines ....

" .... But for this summer's quick delight
Sow marigold, and sow the bright
Frail poppy that with noonday dies
But wakens to a fresh surprise;
Along the pathway stones be set
Sweet Alysson and mignonette,
That when the full midsummer's come
On scented clumps the bees may hum,
Golden Italians, and the wild
Black bumble-bee alike beguiled:
And lovers who have never kissed
May sow the cloudy Love-in-Mist."

Great planting plan, beautiful evocative words .... spring is really here now!