It has to be …

October 6, 2017 sareenmclayLeave a comment

Teapots!

Well, it has to start with a teapot really, doesn’t it? thumb_IMG_7485_1024

I have to confess I bought this teapot over 20 years ago, it’s travelled with me around the world and yet, I don’t think I’ve ever had a cup of tea from it.

It is strange looking back at the things we keep as we move houses and countries, as we age, as our families grow and change. Why did I keep this teapot when so many other things have been left behind along the way?

I bought it on holiday in Keswick in the Lake District but when I recently returned to the town, it was only to discover the place I bought it from, The Teapottery, was no longer there. A little reminder not to look back too much but to keep on moving forward?

I know am certainly not alone in admiring a teapot. Hans Christian Anderson was moved to write a story about one.

Now, like Aladdin, I’m going to wipe this teapot, have a cup of tea and maybe, just maybe, it will be an inspiration for me to write!

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The Patchwork Plan

September 25, 2017 sareenmclay2 Comments

I have a plan. I’m setting myself a target.

One blog post a week for the next year.

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My posts will be a patchwork of ideas, inspiration, and, hopefully, a little bit of sunshine – all in the time it takes to have a cup of tea!

I am a self-confessed Jack (Jill)-of-all-trades: someone who is always happy to learn new skills. So to pin down a theme for a blog has proven too difficult for me!

So, what to expect? Well if I had to write a recipe for this blog it would include:

books, writing, poetry, wildlife, gardening, baking, crafts, travel, music, the seasons, children, dog walking and more I’m sure.

Most of all I’d like to share the things that make me smile.

I hope you like it and I’m looking forward to having fun writing!

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Last week I planted some hyacinth bulbs, getting ready for the coming winter days when there aren’t so many flowers in the garden.

As I did this I was thinking about National Poetry Day on Thursday and how one of my favourite poems for children is Robert Louis Stevenson’s ‘Bed in Summer’.

For me this poem is always a reminder of the long summer nights when you just want to be outside enjoying the light. Planting hyacinths is a signal of the shortening of the hours of daylight when you are inside so much more. Hence the need for hyacinths!

(Pictured mug; ‘Machair’ by Highland Stoneware, Lochinver – and there’s always time for a flower photo!)

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Garden · Inspiration · Nature · Poetry

Looking forward

September 15, 2017 sareenmclay1 Comment

I have planted apple trees in my garden. I am planting them for the future. I hope they will be here for many generations to come. I hope the apple trees grow to become old and gnarled with their boughs laden with fruit. I am hoping all ages pick them, bite into them and enjoy the crisp, crunch of an apple. Perhaps they will be made into my favourite, apple crumble? Maybe they will be used for chutneys to spice up plain sandwiches in the dead of winter?

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I hope they will cheer the future, welcoming every year with their spring dresses of blossom.

Recently I found myself sitting in silence on a bench in the wild garden at Woodend Barn in Banchory. The thin trunks of crab apple trees on my left caught my attention. How could their spindly branches hold so many apples? Despite their apparent frailty they must be so strong inside.

Writer in Residence, Elaine Reid encouraged us to write a haiku, so here we go –

Crab Apples

Laden boughs of apples

Hidden strength in your core.

Rosy cheeked glow

Inspiration · Nature · Trees

The Daily Walk

August 31, 2017January 22, 2019 sareenmclay1 Comment

They are there in every country I pass through. I am in transit while they are as solid as the very trees lining my path.

I’ve learnt to look out for them for whatever the weather they will appear.

They are the walkers. They step out of their doors, take in the world, and become part of the daily scene.

I long to ask them, what is your story? To tell them how they inspire me.

Cheeks, rose red with effort, the rhythmic thump of walking sticks, the wagging tails of their canine companions, a smile, a nod, a hello, all create for me a familiar human landscape.

Like them, I too have learnt the value of a daily walk. As if by walking I press a magic reset button within myself. I am suddenly aware of the sights, sounds, smells of the outside world around me. I discover the sky above me in all its moods.

There is the realization that this world is bigger than my worries and I am not alone.

Flowers · Garden · Inspiration · Poetry

Sweet Peas

August 20, 2017August 20, 2017 sareenmclay2 Comments

Back in April I spent five minutes sewing a few sweet pea seeds. As the weeks passed I spent a minute or two watering the seedlings now and then. It didn’t take long to pot them on as they grew taller. Being a fair weather gardener I planted them outside on a dry day.

Now, today I am picking the flowers. It’s early morning and it looks like it’s going to be a warm, sunny day. What a great start to my day to smell the perfume of these delicate beauties, to admire the combination of colour, to feel the pride of achievement.