A Walk along the Jubilee River

Today is one of those gloomy winter days when you go to put the light on, only to find that it's already on. Rather depressing!

So, I thought today would be a great day to share some photos from a very sunny walk I took a couple of months ago. Sadly you can't get a Vitamin D fix from just looking at pictures, but I hope you'll enjoy these sunshine-filled pics anyway...

Back in the middle of November, we had a day of such unexpectedly gorgeous weather that it seemed totally wrong to sit indoors. So, I took advantage of my flexible schedule (definitely one of the perks of being self-employed!) and took a few hours off work to go for a walk with my dad.

As it was such a bright, clear day we expected it to be chilly and wrapped up warm, but actually the day was so mild we didn't even need our gloves. No fumbling with camera buttons with frozen fingers, hurrah!

We went for a walk along the Jubilee River, which flows through the countryside near where my parents live. It's actually not a river at all but a man-made flood relief channel connecting to the Thames. It's been planted and managed to encourage wildlife, and is now a lovely place for a walk or to go bird spotting. 

It was so peaceful, and so beautiful - and so blue!

We walked along the path down one side of the water, then crossed one of the bridges - stopping in the middle to admire the views, of course. 

 

Everywhere we looked there was something interesting to see: flocks of birds, vibrant autumn colours, long grasses, bushes full of red berries. 

And that light. So gorgeous.

On the other side of the river we passed some grazing cattle, who also seemed to be enjoying their afternoon.

 Can you see the silhouette of Windsor Castle off in the distance? 

Eventually we reached another bridge, crossed over the glorious blue again and headed back towards the car with our hearts full of gladness.

 

 

 

Not the fanciest of Nice Days Out - just a simple walk, chatting with my dad - but a special one all the same.

A New Year and a New Project

I made a big change at the end of last year: I moved across the country (to the seaside!) and bought a flat.

I rather optimistically assumed I'd have time to go sit in cafes a few days after I'd moved in, drinking tea and using the free WiFi to write some blog posts about the move and my Christmas plans and so on.

Did this actually happen? Of course it didn't!

Instead, I spent a couple of busy weeks moving boxes and cleaning and doing DIY (with help from my parents) and shopping for important but rather boring things like a fridge and a cooker and paint and a new thermostat for the central heating and a plug for the bathroom sink...

... and then after all that, I collapsed in a heap under a blanket over Christmas :)

Now it's 2017 already!  

I love the possibilities a new year brings, and I'm really excited about this one: putting down roots in a new place, exploring the local area, and making this flat my own.

The flat is going to be my big project for the year - I've got lots of DIY to do, and of course I have already started a Pinterest board of decorating ideas.

I'll still be blogging about crafty things and my Nice Days Out though, don't worry! This isn't suddenly going to become a home decorating blog (though there might be the occasional update now and then!). I've got some fun work projects coming up and lots of creative plans in my sketchbooks which I can't wait to share with you all.

It's been almost 10 years since I started this blog (can you believe it?). I hope you guys will enjoy following along with my crafty adventures for another year.

P.S. The fab minimalist calendar on my wall is a free download from Foreign Rooftops.

Free Tutorial: Felt Christmas Baubles

UPDATE: my free retro baubles tutorial can now be found here on my blog.

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Wanna sew some vintage-style felt baubles for your Christmas tree?

Click here to find the free templates and tutorial over on the Village Haberdashery's blog, The Daily Stitch.

I loved making these baubles!

It took me a while to get the templates just right, but I'm really pleased with how they turned out - they look great either flat or stuffed with a bit of toy stuffing.

I used lovely wool blend felt and other supplies stocked by the Village Haberdashery to sew my baubles. There are so many creative possibilities when making these ornaments, I hope you'll have lots of fun sewing some of your own this Christmas. Click here for the tutorial!


Fancy some more free tutorials? Subscribe to my newsletter for a monthly free pattern and visit my crafty tutorial archive for lots more free projects.

Oxford in the Springtime Part Two: All Souls College & Christ Church Meadow

Did you see my first post about my trip to Oxford this spring? No? Click this link to read all about what I got up to in the morning, then come back here to read today's post about the afternoon's adventures... or be a magical time traveller and read this post first and then go read about part one of my day.

Ready? Let's go...

I spent the afternoon walking through the city with Polly, who is always delightful company. You can't go to Oxford for the day and not visit one of the Colleges, so we picked All Souls which I'd not visited before (I've been gradually ticking them off during Oxford Open Doors weekends and on other visits).

This turned out to be an excellent choice. If you've ever visited Oxford you'll probably have walked past All Souls College, it's the one next to the Radcliffe Camera with the fabulous black and gold gate. You can just see the gate in this photo (it's very shiny close up).

You get so many interesting glimpses through gates in Oxford, it's lovely when you get the chance to go behind the walls and see the quads and the gardens and (of course) the wonderful buildings. The Chapel at All Souls is beautiful - you can see some pictures of the Chapel interior and read about the architecture of the College here.

 

Look, there's the Radcliffe Camera viewed from inside the grounds of All Souls..

... and here's the Library, complete with a wonderful sundial. Don't those windows look like they're covered in black sequins? (Or maybe it's just my textiles-obsessed brain that sees sequins in this picture?).

The College buildings are all so elegant! Imagine studying in a place like this.

Here are those gold gates again, looking out towards the Radcliffe Camera.

It was lovely looking round All Souls, and because Polly and I are both bloggers we both wanted to take our time taking lots of photos to remember our visit by.

This is one of the great perks of visiting places with other bloggers - no-one gets annoyed when the other person keeps stopping to take photos, in fact they probably say "ooh, yes, that looks great!" and get their camera out as well! It was really nice to slowly wander, chatting and taking photos and soaking up the beauty and the atmosphere of the College.

Because Polly loves nature, I suggested our final stop for the day should be Christ Church Meadow.

Of course, we took a whole bunch of photos along the way...

I'd visited the Meadow once before, on a hot and sunny summer's day. It was interesting to see it in a different season and honestly I think it's the perfect way to end a day in Oxford, getting away from the hustle and bustle of the city and out into the wide green open space.

It was a joy to spot lots of birds and other wildlife, and gorgeous wildflowers like cowslips.

And that sky reflected in that still water! Such a simple thing, but so very gorgeous and a really wonderful end to our day.

For even more pics of the Meadow, you can read Polly's post about it here. You'll find all my posts about Oxford here. 

Have you ever been to Oxford? What was your favourite bit of the city?