Jeanne D'Arc Living and Isla

I have recently discovered Jeanne d'Arc living, a Danish lifestyle magazine which is full of beautiful inspiration. All the pictures are of delightfully shabby rooms things. I think its another style thats lovely to look at but probably really tricky to maintain.......I mean, you get one bright coloured cushion or you leave a mug out that doesnt 'go' and the whole thing is thrown....nobody wants to live under that type of pressure do they?!!!

But beautiful pictures to have in a book on your coffee table.I love the antique dressmakers dummies, the angel wings and the lovely old shoes....I like having old treasures out on display.

All photos by Jeanne d'Arc Living.

In other news, wee Isla was spayed last week and had to wear the traditional plastic lampshade collar.....making her and my life suitably awkward. Poor girl, she looked so uncomfortable in it, she hardly moved her head at all, it was like she was looking up all the time. It was so huge, it reminded me of the Jetsons spaceship....

After a day of her bashing into everything, including me, and knocking over her water a hundred times, I decided to try and make her a 'comfy collar'. I cut a large ring out of some upholstery foam and pulled one leg of a pair of tights(hose) over it to keep it neat and to allow me to secure it with a knot.

It works quite well, she cant get at her stitches and she is much happier. She is such a sweet girl, she jumps up beside me on the sofa and puts her head and front paws in my lap asking for a cuddle when she is a bit sore. We have always called her Isla Bear because we think she has a Polar Bears face.

With Euan still away, I cant leave her home alone to take Molly out for a walk so we can only go for short ones with Isla on the lead so poor Molly is getting rather short changed on her walks this week...........she bears it tolerably well!!! xxx

Happy Valentines Day.........

I hope you all had a nice day yesterday with your loved ones and that you ate as much chocolate as I did...(well you've got to, dont you??) I just wanted to post one of my all time favourite love poems and a absolute classic by E.E cummings.............

I carry your heart.

I carry your heart with me (I carry it in
my heart) I am never without it (anywhere
I go you go, my dear; and whatever is done
by only me is your doing, my darling)

I fear no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet) I want
no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you.

Here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows
higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart..

I carry your heart (I carry it in my heart.)

This one reminds me of being a little girl and me and my sister tried to dress up our cats like Brides and Grooms.........

And this one just remind me of my sister because she is unlucky in love..........



Love to all xxx

Hydrangeas and regrets..............

I am really regretting that I didnt dry any hydrangea heads last year. I have hydrangeas in the garden but they havnt really taken off the way I had hoped, maybe I planted them in the wrong place, too shady.
The year before last, I was on a training course with the Coastguard in November and there were several huge hydrangea bushes on campus with the most beautiful blooms I had ever seen. On our last day, I took a knife, which was all I could find from the kitchen and cut a bag full of them to take home and dry in my carry-on luggage. I forgot the knife was still in my handbag......until I went through security at the airport!!!!

They brightened the house so much and lasted forever.........well not quite forever, until the spring. At this time of year when everything is so grey, I would have loved to have them around again.

I will have to make do with some very pretty pictures instead...............

bellasrosecottage.blogspot.com

http://pa.locallygrown.net

I love these wreaths........

http://www.amesbury.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk

http://www.amesbury.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk

I hope you remembered to dry some of your hydrangeas...... Hayley xx

The Adventures of Molly and Isla

Molly and Isla have been complaining that for a blog named for their muddy paws, they havnt featured very much ..... so here are some photos of them from our walk at Glen Dye on Saturday. One of the things I love most about where we live, is that we are only a few miles from rugged unspoiled wilderness ; its the perfect place for nice long walk even it it was freezing!

Its a good 4 mile hike along a rough path cut into the hillside to a little stone Bothy where we had a picnic lunch.

We kept the girls on leads on the way there (also a big help when going up hill!) because there were a lot of sheep roaming about but on the way back we let them run free and they were so well behaved and didnt seem all that interested in the sheep.

They have been doing a fanastic job looking after me during the week since November. Euan has been away training for his new job... as a Firefighter (shriek!) and only comes home at the weekends. He is away till March and they are the greatest company I could ask for.

They are also the best of friends. Isla is a bit like an annoying little sister though; she follows Molly everywhere and copies everything she does! Its funny to watch.

After a good bath and blow dry they collapsed................

..................for at least 10 mins!............