Sunday, December 05, 2010
Nymans - walk in the snow and craft in the potting shed.
Today was one of those special days when we wake in the morning and have no idea what lies ahead for the day.
Were we just going to sit around and hibernate?
It is still cold and the snow has not disappeared.
We cooked some breakfast and then pondered.
Yes, we would go to Nymans.
Nymans is the National Trust property closest to home - about 4 miles away.
Having joined The National Trust we can visit as often as we like at no extra charge.
We thought we would pop in for an hour or so's fresh air and exercise.
But the visit gave us so much more.
We were greeted by an angel in the snow.
There were a few such Christmas decorations around.
The snow is very crunchy now over the grass and very slushy where feet have trod. Most of the pathways had been cleared and gritted for the benefit of visitors.
Pampas grass in front of a favourite tree. I like the needles, soft and ferny, on that tree.
And to walk underneath it is like being in a glorious childhood camp.
That tree really did look red - standing out on the snowy slopes.
Bill can't resist a dragonfly.
The sun came out for a while, creating fantastic colours across the wooded valley.
Winter trees. 
Footsteps to the winter tree. 
A Nymans robin.
The Lord of Nymans waits to greet you at the gateway, festooned with Christmas garlands.
We were both attracted to the piles of ornamental bricks in the snow by the gateway.
Nymans ruins in the snow. 
This part of the building remained to be the family home. 
That is what I am doing here.
Bill went first - securing his glass pebbles and making them appear to be in a silver setting.
Bill, of course, had soldered things before. 
I wasn't as adept as Bill at it. 
We had already down loaded photos at home when I realised we had no picture of our work. So Bill put them in the scanner.
Were we just going to sit around and hibernate?
It is still cold and the snow has not disappeared.
We cooked some breakfast and then pondered.
Yes, we would go to Nymans.
Nymans is the National Trust property closest to home - about 4 miles away.
Having joined The National Trust we can visit as often as we like at no extra charge.
We thought we would pop in for an hour or so's fresh air and exercise.
But the visit gave us so much more.
We were greeted by an angel in the snow.
There were a few such Christmas decorations around.
The snow is very crunchy now over the grass and very slushy where feet have trod. Most of the pathways had been cleared and gritted for the benefit of visitors.
Pampas grass in front of a favourite tree. I like the needles, soft and ferny, on that tree.
And to walk underneath it is like being in a glorious childhood camp.
That tree really did look red - standing out on the snowy slopes.
Bill can't resist a dragonfly.
This carving hovers above the ice covered pond.
The sun came out for a while, creating fantastic colours across the wooded valley.
Winter trees.
I love winter trees, creating silhouettes.
Footsteps to the winter tree.
I think the pathway round to the left could be the road less travelled.
A Nymans robin.
The Lord of Nymans waits to greet you at the gateway, festooned with Christmas garlands.
We were both attracted to the piles of ornamental bricks in the snow by the gateway.
Nymans ruins in the snow.
Much of Nymans was destroyed by fire.
This part of the building remained to be the family home.
And then we began to walk back to the car park; the path took us past the potting shed and I had determined that we should look in.
I had seen in the entrance as we came in that there were opportunities to make Christmas decorations there.
We sat ourselves down at a table with lots of children - and some adults too.
The table was strewn with coloured glass pebbles and pieces of plastic mirror.
The simplest method of creating a decoration, which was the option of the young ones, was to arrange some glass pebbles on a piece of mirror and a helper would then stick them on with superglue. A hole was then drilled so that they could be hung.
Older children could try a more complicated method - suitable for old age pensioners too!
We chose our glass and then took a coil of adhesive copper strip and wrapped it round each pebble.
The copper needed to be buffed and smoothed and burnished, so that there were no creases or bubbles or loose edges.
That is what I am doing here.
By the way - no mention of the hat, please! I know now that it is too small - pity Bill didn't tell me!
When we had all the stones fully prepared we settled on an arrangement and took them over to the work bench where a soldering iron was set up.
Bill went first - securing his glass pebbles and making them appear to be in a silver setting.
Bill, of course, had soldered things before.
I am quite sure that I had watched other people at work with a soldering iron. I have memories of holding the solder for my Dad.
But I had never worked with a soldering iron before today.
I wasn't as adept as Bill at it.
I dabbed too quickly.
We had already down loaded photos at home when I realised we had no picture of our work. So Bill put them in the scanner.
Mine actually shows up best in the scanner picture - but Bill's is sturdier and very lovely.
The day was an example of grasping any opportunity that comes your way.
We could have walked past the potting shed - we had been out for longer than intended anyway.
We could have chosen to think it was just for children.
But the end result was two smiling happy people who had stumbled on something satisfying and interesting.
Labels: home and daily life, Sussex
