LifeThymes is part journal, part cup of tea leaning on the kitchen counter in our socks.
An account of a life spent curating simple satisfactions; a well thumbed recipe book handed down from an elderly friend of Nan's, that joyful ache in the limbs after a day pruning apple trees and turning compost, a pause to notice the broad strokes of changing seasons or minute detail of the greenfinches wing, its tiny heart all a-flutter under my fingertips as I gently release it from the greenhouse. A well filled log stack, a cup of tea in the early dawn, and trying to grow wildflowers instead of lawn. Written and shared with you from a tiny, rented, Sussex flint-and-brick cottage and its garden of chalk and apples, all of which I share with my husband, and two greedy chickens.
About the Author
With a background in countryside management and wildlife interpretation, my love for nature has always led me outdoors. Now, I work in horticulture, and when home, am mostly found either in the garden, or perhaps the kitchen as I am permanently peckish. Third Thursday of the month finds me in one of the local village halls along the valley, with the other ladies who make up the membership of the oldest Womens’ Institute in England.
Like many of my generation I rent my home, with homeownership being a distant goal. Regardless of the lack of acres, and indeed despite the need to work full time, my husband and I still dream of ‘the good life’. A well stocked pantry and a good book by the fire. Fresh flowers on the windowsill. Woolen jumpers on mellow autumn days. Vegetables from the garden. A pair of study boots for walking. I have a taste for the vintage, mainly 30s and 40s, love a good nose around a flea market or old bookshop, and cannot pass a charity shop without going inside. The best part of a day out, or holiday, is arriving home. My favourite colour is ‘October’ and my best day of the year is the first sparkling frost.
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