Welcome

Thank you for all the fantastic feedback yesterday. It's pleasing to think that my post evoked so many lovely memories for many of you and how great that so many of us have known wonderful people like my aunt in our lives. She really is an inspiration, but would be amazed that so many people would consider her to be! I enjoyed reading about your own inspirational people :)

About two and a half years ago, we spent a lovely week in Staithes, North Yorkshire. I have blogged about it before because I was very impressed with the little seaside town of Staithes. The rental cottage we stayed in was very pretty, small, but cosy and full of all sorts of quirky home made items. Outside the front door was a large pebble, painted and with the word 'Welcome' on it. I was rather taken with this idea, but it's taken me all this time to actually get round to completing it!

My 'pebble' has gone from this .....

To this .....

Fortunately, I have collected lots of blue paints - lots from friends and lots from various projects around the house, so I decided to go for a beach themed colour scheme. I painted it all over with a base coat, then added waves of tonal colours to the front. Once this was all dry, I added the welcome and some other minor decoration. Finally I gave the whole stone a good coating of clear spray lacquer to protect it from the elements. It's in my porch area, so won't get the worst of the weather, but with it being emulsion, it wouldn't last long without some added protection. I may give it another coat later. 

I've also made 8 jars of loganberry jam this morning. To help it set, I used a tip from Sue from Ournewlifeinthecountry, adding a few quartered apples to impart their natural pectin. I then scooped them out at the end with a slotted spoon and, once cooled, gave them to the chickens. They were beyond delighted! I guess it's almost like a raspberry tonic, which is often suggested to help give chickens a boost to their immune system. Either way, they loved their sticky treat!!