Snapdragon's garden

I have found out that blogging is a bit like friendship . . .  If I talk to people every day - on the school run or by e-mail then I have masses to say - rabbit, rabbit, rabbit. 
If I don't see people for a while there seems to be much less to say and the poor people I see once a year get the "Oh well, not much been happening, we're all fine, what about you?".
When I blog 5 or so times a week, I find the posts fit into the rhythms of my day, thinking about what to include, taking some photos, editing out 90% of the waffle in my head.  I am never ever at a loss for what to say - it may not be very interesting but it all flows very easily.

Today - having been offline for almost a week I find myself slipping into a "but there is nothing to report" frame of mind.  What on earth can I write?
Perhaps it is as the quote says of childhood - all Happy Christmases are rather boring to talk about.
We had a lovely time at my parents in Gullane in East Lothian - the photos in this post are all from a Boxing Day walk on Gullane beach.
I then left the girls there to indulge in the panto, ice skating, sales shopping, swimming and cinema and came back here to tidy up a bit and fill in my tax return (and party a bit).
Everyone's back under one roof now, ready for Hogmanay.
This year we are walking to our neighbours and celebrating there (with other members of our Curry Club and the mob from Craigievern).  We are in charge of cocktails (bees knees) and starters.
Today I shall be working on my resolutions and encouraging the girls to do the same (tidy rooms?  make beds?  Eat vegetables? stop slamming doors?)

Many people hate Hogmanay I know - I rather love it - the chance for a think, a drink and a clean sheet of 2008 stretching ahead.

So I'll raise a glass to you all as the bells chime 12 and we sing along to Salsa Celtica's version of Auld Lang Syne.

Have a good time & see you all next year.

Today I had been going to blog about our Christmas tree - carefully chosen, a Nordman Fir from a local grower in Buchlyvie.  I was going to highlight the decorations from my childhood and Euan's, the decorations bought together for our first home, the decorations made by the girls.

I was going to contrast my maximalist - pile it all on aesthetic with the more restrained approach of my girls(do you know there was a whole cardboard box of decorations left when they had finished decorating - needless to say every last one crept onto the tree when they turned their backs.)

But then I went outside and saw this

and this . . .

and this. .  .

and this . . .

and this. . . .

and I realised that I couldn't compete.

What blogging gives me - along with the support, kindness and humour of other bloggers - is this push to look at what is going on outside.
If I hadn't been going to do a post, I wouldn't have had my camera, I wouldn't have really looked at every plant.
I would have missed all the amazing diamond-like beauty of the garden.
This will be my last post till after Christmas - have a great time, I know you will.
J
x

The last Christmas wreath has just been packed up and collected. Sally and I are just about to try and get rid of all the boxes, packing tape and general work stuff from the kitchen/dining room. 
By the time the girls break up from school at lunchtime we should be ready to switch from work mode into Festive Family time - no more perching eating cereal amidst the packing.
Here it is very, very cold - the hoar frost is spectacular - it suddenly lifts the garden out of its dreary muddiness into a world of sparkle and glitter.  Very festive.
It is also foggy - the geese honk in flocks overhead but you can't see more than a shadow in the cloud.
I feel am just about to get all Christmassy, put some music on, and bop about tidying up the floristry wire,
Have a wonderful Christmas.  Thanks to everyone who has made it such a great Christmas season.
J
x

Still here . . .just

People often comment on how is it that I find the time to blog regularly - it is a comment that usually smacks of "haven't you got better things to do?" and makes me feel like I should be ironing or sewing in school labels or writing my Christmas cards.  To be honest I find the 15 minutes that it takes to take some snaps and write a couple of papagraphs fits neatly into that afternoon dip phase when I would be otherwise tempted to head for a snooze.

The drawback of being a regular blogger is that if I miss a couple of days I get lots of lovely e-mails checking that I am OK.  Well I am, and thanks for the concern - we've just been busy. Yep, finally too busy to blog.

But it hasn't all been work.  Yesterday was Euan's birthday.  He very inconveniently celebrates his birthday on the busiest day of the busiest week of my year so usually has to make do with a rushed dinner and distracted partner.  It being a big number birthday this year however, I decided that the only way to stop myself from wiring apples between courses was to go away. So on Friday night we went here for a lovely indulgent short (very short) break.  It is traditional in blogland to wax lyrical with a birthday tribute here - but you know - I just can't do it - Euan is everything and posting it here sounds either completely "smug married" or appallingly fake and soppy.  He knows.
Anyway, today the new pigs arrived and are settling in well chasing the chickens about, I'm making up the 2nd last batch of door rings ready to dispatch tomorrow, sewing some extra orders that came in faster than I could post "out of stock" on the site and wrapping the presents that need to go "down south".
Have a great week,
J
x

Mythical January

At about this time of the year my mind seems to come up with a mythical January.

A January which is miraculously free of things to do, a January that stretches several weeks long, a January that is where I dump all the things I don't get round to doing in December.

So In January I shall be paying back all the child minding favours. I shall; be getting together with friends, I shall be actually going out to see a movie or getting round to see a band.

On a less joyous note - in January I shall be sorting out the piles of paper that have taken over my desk.  I shall be ironing and putting away my fabrics, I shall be digging out pernicious weeds in the garden.

In January I shall be sorting out my tax return. . . .  I shall be decorating the Airstream. . . .  I shall be clearing the garage ready for building work to begin.

In January I shall be sorting out the website, I shall be doing a big publicity drive, I shall be planning everything out so that I know what I am meant to be doing.

There are 31 days in January.  At the moment  I constantly find myself saying "Oh lets meet up in January"

Because up until this mythical January I shall be packing things in boxes.

When I decided to sell via the web I was worried that it would all be a bit corporate. I was worried that I would just be dealing with order numbers and e-mails and wouldn't get a feeling for customers.  One of the things that I love about my job is people being pleased to see me - I love that moment of handing over a bouquet or a door wreath and seeing people's face.  It is the same at Fairs, the thrill of seeing someone love something that I have made.  There has been a lot of honest writing recently about the downside of attending Fairs and sometimes I wonder why we do it.  Deep down though, I know  - it is this jump of the heart of someone liking what I do enough to pay money for it.  This is why I couldn't sell bought in things - then the fairs would be all the bad bits with none of the good!
Anyway I have found that, contrary to expectations, the internet is full of communication - people dropping me an email or even phoning to say how pleased they are.  I had a woman phone this morning to say that she a delivery from us had meant the beginning of the Festive Season for her.  I was so touched - this is time out of people's busy lives.  I was almost in tears.
And this has changed the way I will act with my own web purchases - aside from Etsy purchases I don't think that I have ever contacted someone to say how pleased I am with something I have bought over the web.  I really should - for in many cases the service is exemplary.  And if it makes people's days the way thank you messages have made mine then it is definitely worth it.
The photo was taken by Jane Robertson.
On Snapdragon's Chat I am waffling on more about changing over to internet selling

Today has been a good day.

It started well

with this left on the doorstep by a magic fairy

It tastes as good as it looks - Sally, Euan and I had some for our elevenses in between making door wreaths.

This morning Sally and I made up rings with hydrangeas and pomegranates, limes and chillis.

Now I am threading these

to spiral round dogwood, apples and variegated holly.

I was taught how to make Christmas door wreaths by Sarah Raven in 2000 and, though I have tweaked the technique in many ways since then, they are still substantial things to make, quite different from the type with foliage rammed into oasis.  They  begin with proper moss bases (as opposed to oasis or polystyrene) and have masses of foliage and wired fruit with a hessian backing so that they don't scratch the door - they take a lot of time to make but the benefit is that they last a long time too and then they can be put out for the birds.  The moss is from a sustainable, conservation managed source.

Our last order date for door wreaths and other decorations is 15th December.

This last wonderfully atmospheric photo was taken for me by Jane Robertson. I don't think I have seen a better photo of a door wreath.

Now the girls will be home on the school bus in a minute and I think it is time for a coffee and some more of that cake.

I am feeling very grown up today.

Today I moved the business on a bit by doing something I have been putting off for the past 6 months.  It is a small thing, a very easy thing, but something it seemed that I had a bit of a block about.
I signed up with a carrier.
90% of the parcels that I send out are light - they are honesty hearts and felt robins, they are embroidered stockings and button magnets - they go to the post office and the service and charge is great.  At Drymen we even have a great system going where Euan drops off the box of parcels in the morning on his way to work and I call in to settle up later in the day.
But as soon as a parcel is even moderately heavy the postage charge is just too much with Royal Mail.  It was costing £7.95 to mail out wire baskets that cost £14.50 and that is just too big a hit to swallow up in the margins.  Bulbs were even worse. 
So for ages it has been  obvious that I would have to sort out an alternative for large parcels. But something stopped me from acting.  I could talk for Britain about the pros and cons of all the different carrier companies, I buttonholed people to quiz them about their experiences, I analyzed charts of postcodes and prices.  I did not actually sign up with anyone.

Until today - when I looked at the list of Christmas wreaths that are beginning to be dispatched on Monday and realised that the Royal Mail quote of £19.95 per delivery was just a step too far.
So I called my carrier of choice and a very helpful man called Gio came out to the house this afternoon to explain all the different services and suggest the most cost effective options.  Then  I spoke to the local driver Alan and we sorted out exactly what I need. On Monday afternoon Alan will be here to pick them all up.
It seems like such a small thing - and it is a small thing, my carefully guarded book of pre-paid stamps - but I feel that I have taken a step away from this self image that I have of being a tiny, tiny business to one which has many more options.  We even had a talk about flower deliveries to Edinburgh and Glasgow . . . .there's something to think about.

Random things

Tash from Vintage Pretty tagged me to list 8 random things about myself - I did this once before and find it ridiculously difficult.

Here goes
1. When I was 10 I was late for Brownies, decided - against the rules - to cycle down the hill behind our house, hit a brick, came over the handlebars and knocked out my front teeth.  I used it as an excuse to miss gym for the next 9 months.
2. Also when I was 10 an example of my handwriting was taken to Australia for an exhibition organised by Tom Gourdie.  Now my handwriting is really terrible and no-one can read it.  Poor Tom would spin in his grave.
3. When I was 15 I left my all girls school and moved to an all boys school.
4. I didn't really get on well at said school, but I did meet Euan there so it wasn't all bad.
5. When I went to University I had dozens of hats, ranging from a sea captains hat to a 1950s boater with net veil.  I wore them to lectures.
6.I have a half finished and now abandoned PhD thesis in a cupboard on the Scottish artist Robert Burns.
7. I love liquorice.
8. I try hard to shake off my academic tendencies but still find myself drawn to making complicated archaic recipes like quince jelly, and brawn.  I think it is the research I enjoy.

I'm not going to tag anyone else as I don't know who has already done this.
Today it hasn't really got light  at all so my photo looks as though it was taken in the middle of the night.  This is a table decoration with a candle and greenery in a pot.
Today I was at a fair in the new BBC building in Glasgow - aside from the selling it was really interesting seeing the building and meeting new people - It was also great to see Karon from Dream Acres again and be near enough to chat.
According to the porter who helped me with my boxes (posh fair) Brad Pitt was there and bought a candle.  I am off to Google & see whether this was possible or whether my leg was being pulled.  The porter thought that I was miffed at not having seen the screen god - I would have just been after the publicity!  Caurnie soap had a sign saying "As used by Brad Pitt and Jennifer Anniston" on their market stall for years.

Connections

On Sunday evening  we went for tea at good friends Callum and Jo Gordon to see their new house, eat good food and catch up on chat.  Jo is Navaho and we were talking about spirituality - she explained how, though she will camp out under the stars anywhere else, she is frightened of the dark in Arizona.  There, the belief in night spirits is so strong amongst the people, that it makes it real.

I was thinking of this in relation to all the cyber chat that there has been about craft fairs  and what it is that transforms a sad event into something buzzing with the  kind of positive energy that there was at the Green Gallery.  My conclusion was that it was the connections between lots of people, the feeling that it was a small world, that it creates a buzz that positively re-inforces itself.  At the weekend everyone believed that it was going to be a good fair and it was. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.

I promised a low down on some of the stalls - so here goes - you'll see what I mean by connections.

Firstly it was good to see Laura of Lucky Cats back making soaps and candles after taking the  summer off with to be with her children - It can't have been all play though as she has a new website up and running.  It is now possible to mail order goods.  Laura makes my fabulous gardeners soap especially for me but also has great non-gardeny soaps, bath treats and candles.  She is a maker whose high ethical standards go right through everything she does.

It was also lovely to meet Jane Keith, creator of beautiful colourful yet sophisticated hand printed textiles.  Jane has long been trailed as someone whom I should meet.  Her sister Sarah, and parents (all artists) are regular vistors to the garden and always a delight to show round - they instinctively "get" what I am trying to do and are really supportive.  For the past year or so they, and Jo and Callum (Callum is a childhood friend of the Keiths) have been saying "you really must meet Jane" .  Well now I have and she is, as promised, a lovely person.  I gather that her elegant ties went down really well at the men's only evening on Sunday.

Another personal connection was to Morag Phillips of Cookroom.  Up until this September, Morag was the practice manager at Euan's GP practice. One of the numerous perks of knowing her was that she is a fantastic cook, completely unflappable, producing a feast for 10 or 200.  She left the practice to change direction and set up Cookroom  a catering company producing food for people who are wheat/gluten intolerant, food that is so good that no-one would know it was for a special diet.  Now I am not properly intolerant to wheat at all but I know that I feel better when I don't eat much of it.  I have therefore sampled a lot of wheat free baking over the years - and I must say that most of it was rather worthy and either dry or stodgy.  This is not the case with Morag's cakes - they are delicious and you would buy them for their taste alone, regardless of their ingredients.  I couldn't recommend them more highly - the only problem is that the bag full of cakes that Euan and the girls bought was oddly depleted by the time I got home.

Someone that I had no connection to at all but whose work I really liked was Ceri White - a ceramicist from Dunning.  Ceri works in a few different styles but the bits that I particularly liked were tiles which mixed animals and textiles - on each tile either the a silhouette of an animal with either the figure or the background as an embossed textile.   They managed to be both very sophisticated and very quirky.  I liked the giraffe best but there was also a fabulous hound and horse which would be make lovely presents for someone with said animals. 

The top photo is a bit of a cheat today - here we are all mud, and not very photogenic mud at that.  I have been planting hyacinths so show one in bloom from last Spring. It is a small variety called Woodstock.