The Country Flowers of a Victorian Lady and Advent Day 15

Hello friends! 

My goodness I think we should collectively start singing Baby it's Cold Outside don't you? My living room at 7:30 this morning was 13.2 degrees Celsius. Yesterday it took until the evening to reach 18 degrees Celsius so I'm jolly thankful I know all about layering my clothing to keep warm. This morning it seems to be coming up to 18 degrees much more quickly we might make it by midday I can't believe how inferior this heating system is. And before anyone asks, British Gas has been out to check it several times and say there's nothing wrong, my radiators are fine, they don't need bleeding and are very hot to the touch from both top to bottom. The only thing I can assume is that it's just jolly cold weather.

Last week I treated myself to a new combination microwave oven. It was on sale in my local independent retailers where I get all my appliances from. I haven't used microwave in some years now, so it's taking some getting used to I can tell you and this morning is the first day since I've had it that I've actually had porridge that hasn't boiled over and made a mess to clean up! I've noticed there are some quite interesting recipes in the booklet so later on I'm going to try the microwave gingerbread as it's seasonal and I do like gingerbread and I happen to have all the ingredients in the house. I'll let you know how I get on tomorrow or Saturday.

This morning while looking for door Number 15 on the calendar I notice there seems to be an extra door without a number on it. I have checked all the doors numerically and everything is present, as it should be, so I'm wondering if this extra door has anything to do with that mysterious key? It's getting more tricksy now to take photographs that are clear as the already opened doors are starting to get in the way.

The book I'm sharing with you today is quite charming and exquisite, and called The Country Flowers of a Victorian Lady.  I will quote from the introduction of the book

In 1977 Edith Holden was a worldwide publishing sensation and it was thought that this naturalists collection of paintings, musings and poetic extracts was a discovery, the quality of which would never be matched

Recently, however, an exquisite volume of Victorian flower paintings has come to light in Denmark, the treasured heirloom of the descendants of Fanny Robinson, a talented amateur artist who is known to have been painting in Norfolk in the 1840s

Her Book of Memory as she called it combines evocative poetry including extracts from Keats and Shakespeare with fine illumination and, most startling of all, exquisite watercolour studies that are both highly botanically accurate and a perfect example of high Victorian style of floral illustration

Until next time

Stay well, stay safe, stay warm

Debbie xo