Chrysalis

Today is the first day in six weeks that I have logged into NKK.  And I'm not entirely sure why.  I have wondered if I should come clean and write to say that NKK is being put into storage but I'm not sure I want to.  And yet I haven't written.  I have some theories as to why, none of which are very interesting or laudable or blog-worthy.  I guess I'm in a transition phase and I'm not sure that I should inflict the ups and downs that that implies with any of you.

But, well, today is my birthday, and I woke up this morning to a lovely present - a Versatile Blogger Award from A Girl in Winter.  Thank you!  I have to get my head around who to pass it on to and the rest of the rules, but for now, know that I am delighted to accept and a little chastened that I haven't been writing. So, maybe on this my birthday, I can reacquaint myself with something that has brought me such joy in the 16 months since I started NKK.  And tell you a bit about what I've been up to.

For ages, Mr. P and I were working hard to get our new holiday let up and running.  The house by the sea is now open for business.  Come and see us!

And I've been writing.  Thank you all SO much for your kind words and encouragement about my news of getting published.  My story, The Quickening, can be found in Causeway/Cabhsair, a journal of Irish and Scottish writing published by the University of Aberdeen.  Much excitement in the house of NKK at first seeing my name in print!  It's lit a fire under me so that I'm spending lots of my day reading and writing at the moment.  And I''m discovering that writing doesn't really lend itself to blogging.  "I sat at my desk for hours and wrote a whole page..."  You begin to get the picture.

And that's basically been it.  Well, not quite.  There's been the WI and a new book club and my first forays into gardening, but all that for another day.

For now, I leave you with a few photos, the content of which fill me with wonder.

The other day, a fox spent the afternoon sunbathing in next door's back garden.  And a great tit (or maybe it's blue?) has chosen the laurel tree by our front door in which to build her tiny, exquisite nest.  As for the last one - this is the view from the upstairs front bedroom.  Almost worth all that rain we've had.

More soon, hopefully.

Off to do some catching up with what you've all been up to.

C.x

Acorns

Okay, so the last post was a bit of a cop out, I realise.  It's all very well telling you about the latest shopping find, but that doesn't tell you anything about what I've been up to.

I could tell you about the plans to turn part of the house into self-catering holiday accommodation (Mr. P is tiling as I write).  I could tell you about the fab new WI that's being set up.  I could tell you about the green curry I've just made (only a day late for St. Patrick's day).  I could tell you about the interview that I have on Tuesday.  I could tell you about the garden which is being whipped into shape by two very nice men who are working their way through their own weight in teabags, or the bike ride I took this morning along the wetland path.

But I won't.  Instead I will tell you that I have had the best news.  I am to have a short story published.  It's just a small literary journal - not exactly the New Yorker, you understand.  But still.  Someone who knows nothing about me has read something I've written and likes it enough to want it for their magazine.  Shucks.

I almost don't want to tell anyone in case they've made a mistake.  But I have read and re-read the email and it seems that yes, they like my story very much and will be sending me along a proof to check before it goes to press.  So, there you have it.  I am a writer.  The man says so.

C.x

Hibernating

No, no, this won't do at all!  If I'm going to have a blog, the very least I can do is write in it once in a while, no?  And I can't even give you a decent excuse, beyond, well, you know, stuff and nonsense getting in the way.  Sorry.  Sniff.

Right, so what have you all been up to?  Me - I'm beginning to think we made a big mistake buying the House by the Sea. It's fast becoming apparent that what we should have bought was a house boat.  Yes indeed.  It has rained since Sunday, pretty much non-stop.  Living in the dryest county in England, I know I'm supposed to think that's A Good Thing.  But enough now.  Really.

So I thought you might like a little injection of colour.  Those who've dropped by NKK before must be wondering how I'm managing without my favourite store.  Well, fear not.  It hasn't taken me long to find Suffolk's answer to Anthropologie.

 Snape Maltings is 5 minutes' drive from where I live.  There's a rather lovely looking walk across the wetlands from my town to Snape, and if it ever stops raining, I may even drag Mr. P out for a ramble, with promises of cake at the other end.

It's one of the main attractions in the area as it hosts an impressive series of musical events throughout the calendar.  Cunningly, the developers also realised its retail potential.

So now it houses everything from garden products to furniture, with lots of pretty frou frous wherever you look.

And isn't this enamel chandelier affair just the business?

 It's the kind of place you take visitors to, have lunch overlooking the vast shop floor and then come away with the perfect little something to take home as a momento.  So you see, Anthropologie fans need not worry.  I am right at home.

Back soon, I promise.

C.x

This year's love

Hello there,

You may remember that I restyled my hall during the hurricane that wasn't last year.  If so, you'll know already that I have a small but growing collection of hearts.

We don't go in much for St. Valentine's Day celebrations in the House of NKK.  Anyone who's been in the States between Christmas and 14 February and watched the commercial machine crank up the volume on Hallmark-style romance will understand why.  That, and an in-built contrariness about being told to love each other NOW.  So the heart collection isn't bought on St. Valentine's Day but at random days of the year, when I see a heart that calls to me.  And so it was, just after Christmas, that the tinkle of this lovely proved too difficult to resist.

So, there you have it.  This year's love.  With bells on.

Tonight, I am off to my first WI meeting.  Yes indeed.

Happy St. Valentine's Day everybody.

C.x

And the winner is...

Hello there,

Last week was a bit crap so I am a bit behind on my blogging (again).  But it is a new week and I have given myself a vigorous shake and am Getting On With It now.

So, to business.  Welcome welcome to my new followers.  How lovely to have you here.  And thank you thank you thank you for all your comments on my blogiversary.   In my last year of primary school, our head nun used to refer to scatty girls as Féileacán (fay-le-cawn), and I sometimes think I should rename my blog accordingly.  I have all these grand ideas about posts that I carry around in my head, but somehow they don't get written except in snatches so looking back on the last year, you might be forgiven for thinking that there is no rhyme or reason to this blog.  But the good news is that you don't seem to mind.  And that makes me very chuffed indeed.  You also seem to like my photographs, which is great because I am always happy with a camera in my hand.  And it pleases me that you like the name because even now, a year on, I love NKK.  So the butterfly can flit off.

Anyway, the thing I hate about giveaways is that not everyone gets a prize.  But according to the random generator (Mr. P.) the lucky number here was 10, so if Annie from Knitsofacto could get in touch with your address, I'll parcel up the book and send it on its way.  I suspect that Annie is more of a knitter, but this book seems like the perfect enticement to get sewing.  Congratulations to Annie.

And in keeping with the randomness, on this bleak and grey day I thought you might like these beauties, seen recently in a nearby former RAF airfield.

Back tomorrow.

C.x

Winter garden

Hello there,

I have a sore throat and earache.  Whoa is me.  I've slept most of the day today.  But the weekend - the weekend was a delight.  Much rummaging and pottering and gossiping and drinking and eating and general merriment.  Which probably led to the grots today, but worth it.  We had a sprinkling of snow on Saturday.  Enough to make it look pretty by the sea without too much disruption.

We walked through the churchyard on the way to the sea and came across this.  Just beautiful.

The snowfall overnight meant the garden was entirely transformed on Sunday.  I haven't shown you the garden yet because it's a complete tip.  But there is nothing like snow to pretty things up.  Here, then, is my garden.  Or at least little bits of it, dressed in white.

Off to dose up on hot toddy now.  

C.x

Glow

Hello everybody,

Brrr.  Hope you're managing to stay warm.  It's sooo cold here, but beautifully sunny so that's okay. And I'm trying to contain my excitement because we have visitors coming for the weekend.  Two whole days of eating and drinking and chatting and general girliness.  And it's finally given us the incentive to sort out the bedroom that we've been using as a dumping ground since we moved in.  So this is how it looks now.

I made the lampshade this morning.  Can I just say that again - I made the lampshade this morning.  Yes indeed.  As my sister will tell you, I am a bit obsessed with lampshades at the moment.  It's so difficult to find nice ones for anything approaching a reasonable price.  And then it occurred to me that I could make my own. 

It was a bit fiddly and I needed to call in Mr. P to help at some point.  I suspect it's the kind of thing that gets easier with practice.  Which is good because I have a second kit and am waiting for some Etsy fabric to cover it with.  

Like it?

Have a lovely weekend.

C.x