spring scents

Mown grass, and other delicious scents, from Baileys Home and Garden:

a blade of grass

You ask for a poem.

I offer you a blade of grass.
You say it is not good enough.
You ask for a poem.

I say this blade of grass will do.
It has dressed itself in frost,
It is more immediate
Than any image of my making.

You say it is not a poem,
It is a blade of grass and grass
Is not quite good enough.
I offer you a blade of grass.

You are indignant.
You say it is too easy to offer grass.
It is absurd.
Anyone can offer a blade of grass.

You ask for a poem.
And so I write you a tragedy about
How a blade of grass
Becomes more and more difficult to offer,

And about how as you grow older
A blade of grass
Becomes more difficult to accept.

- Brian Patten

the grass is always greener

I don't know that there is anything nicer than the hum of a lawn mower and the smell of freshly cut grass to signal the arrival of spring. Photo by Penwren.

 

selvedge spring fair

Jolly good, the Selvedge Spring Fair is fast approaching:

all that is gold does not glitter

All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.

- J R R Tolkien

Solid gold band by my all time favourite jewellery designer/maker, the wonderful Shane at One Stone New York. What's not to love about a designer who lists Malcolm Gladwell and David Sedaris as his favourite writers and uses recycled and ethically sourced materials:

the bucket tree

I am in awe of the multi-talented Artemis Russell and take much delight in browsing her online vintage shop, The Bucket Tree. Today, I am most tempted to purchase these gorgeous vintage wooden nesting dolls:

fish supper

As a special treat, the boy cooked up an awesome tuna steak with rocket and bean salad from Jamie's iPhone app (who else?). 'I'm a genius!' he declared and, for once, he was right. It was the most tasty thing I've eaten in a long time:

orla kiely

I'm a huge Orla Kiely fan and this bowl from the SS11 collection makes me super happy:

daffodils

I wander'd lonely as a cloud 
That floats on high o'er vales and hills, 
When all at once I saw a crowd, 
A host, of golden daffodils; 
Beside the lake, beneath the trees, 
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

- William Wordsworth (1770-1850) 

The shops around town, and now too our flat, are filled with cheery, home-grown daffodils:

...and it was all yellow

Dreaming of summer, blue skies, ice creams and an opportunity to wear this cheery Anthropologie sun dress:

refreshing

Start saving now for these Toast tumblers, hand made from recycled glass in Damascus (£29.50 for a set of four). Perfect for picnics or al fresco dining! (Wildly optimistic at this time of year, I know).

thompsons deli

One rainy Saturday, after the boy and I had argued, we took a trip to Thompson's Deli in Streatham Hill and made up over their yummy homemade lemon tarts.