Tuesday 1 December 2009

The germination of a thought....

Today, again, I am amazed by the workings of this world we live in. I love how a phrase, an image, an action can nourish and water the seeds of thought. And how these inspirations can come from the most unexpected places, often when we've long forgotten we ever had the thought to begin with.
Inspiration equals empowerment.

Monday 9 November 2009

Many Mansions

A beautiful new venture has come to my notice. The Ireland Chair of Poetry are launching a limited edition poetry book, designed and published by Stoney Road Press. This truly is a very special limited edition. Only 125 copies will be produced, each of them lovingly made by hand using traditional letterpress equipment in the National Print Museum in Dublin. Each book will be made using 250gsm BFK Rives Blanc paper and bound in mid-blue goatskin leather by Antiquarian Bookcrafts, also in Dublin.

"Many Mansions" features 12 previously unpublished poems, 2 each from the previous six Irish Professors of Poetry, the poet representing the Chair. The six are John Montague, Nuala Ni Dhomhnaill, Paul Durcan, Michael Longley, Ciaran Carson and Seamus Heaney.

The books cost the understandably princely sum of €1000 each but the true value lies in their exquisite artisan production and the limited collection of these great Irish poets. The majority of the profits will go to raising funds for the Ireland Chair of Poetry. Oh how I covet one.

See also, this article.

Saturday 7 November 2009

Extraordinary in the Banal

Special memories of simple ordinary moments that will stay with you always.


Stopping at a late opening petrol station for coffee during a long late night journey with my mother. We sat in the car in the pouring rain and the petrol station coffee tasted superb and revived us for the last leg of the journey. I'll never forget that cup of coffee!

Monday 2 November 2009

Cosy Autumn Days

I just love this time of year. It makes my heart sing every day! The changing colours, the falling leaves, the crispness to the air and the difference in the light all leave me full of hope and ideas and happiness! Out with the blankets, the porridge brekkies, the thick socks and wool coats! Even candlelight is nicer this time of the year - enjoyed with a cup of hot chocolate and a special someone!

Monday 7 September 2009

Mushrooming



Okay so I started this blog with great intentions of posting regularly and being creatively organised and organised creatively! Things have mushroomed and I have had feelings of guilt about devoting time to this little attempt of mine and so it has remained quiet. Positive things should never be the cause of guilt though, so again I'm attempting to get sorted and conquer the time management devil and the guilt in one!
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On another note, we got the most delicious mushrooms at the weekend at the farmers' market, simply heavenly. And Alison over at My Little Happy Place posted this lovely collection of mushroom inspired interiors. It's all fitting in perfectly!
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Here's to the simple elegance and divine flavour of all things mushroom!

Monday 3 August 2009

Let me introduce myself...


After a few haphazard starts I think it's high time I properly introduced myself....

I'm very excited to join this community of bloggers. It's funny how for a little while now I've been religiously checking in daily with my favourite bloggers and despite all the joy and inspiration you were bringing me, you had no idea I existed! Crazy.

I really feel that I found the world of art and design blogs and the amazing Etsy marketplace at just the right time. I've been a bit stuck in a rut of late in something and I'm too far in to turn back now, so I just have to try to keep motivated and do my very best until I've successfully emerged at the other end. Jumping head first into the world of art and design blogs has really opened my eyes that it's more than possible for individuals starting out on their own to create their little piece of happiness and live their dream and I'm heartened to be able to begin to see the possibilities for myself in the future once this thing is done.
I have maintained my sanity lately with popping in and out of beautiful, thoughtful, inspiring blogs. Here are some of my favourites: Ill Seen, Ill Said; Lobster and Swan; dottie angel; Ninainvorm; automatism; Ink on my fingers; A Field Journal.

Amiable Peculiarities was born, as I've said before, through a longing to document and communicate some of my thoughts and to record things I love and to hopefully connect with some of the wonderful blogging people that have inspired me to pursue this creative part of myself that I hardly dared believe I had. Amiable Peculiarities is about appreciating the beauty in everything, the small unsung details of life, the unusual but likeable and all things in between.

I love the little things, the glisten of morning dew on spiders' webs; the thrill of making a beautiful meal; an amazing lyric and the feel of wood.

I'm on a new path

I can feel it today, a new start. I could feel it when I woke up. I just knew that today was the day.
And so it was, I made myself some early morning "Love" tea to take back to bed with me while I eased myself into my new day and my new me with postive thoughts and intentions of a more organised, productive, calmer, creative, fulfilled me. I think this has been brewing for a little while now with various random things contributing to the feeling of change from beach huts and icecreams, pretty flowers, summer dresses and re-acquainting myself with forgotten music loves to newspaper articles and blog posts and a million emotions in between. I'm so looking forward to the new me, the me that was there all along.

Friday 3 July 2009

The beginning ........

I'm not sure where this all started really. Usually, I dislike committing information to be forever available on the world wide web. But I've been aware for a while now that there are lots of thoughts and things I'd like to collect and share in one way or another. After, becoming addicted to reading lots of wonderful art and design blogs by ordinary people I figured this was the way to do it.

So, it's a big step and an adventure for me to dip my toe into the sea of blogging and definitely a step out of the comfort zone. I hope that I can create that warm happy feeling in my readers (fingers crossed) that I have often felt in reading others' musings.