In hindsight, a Monday vase with a seasonal content might have been more appropriate today, but to be honest it still seems somewhat far-fetched that it is Christmas on Friday, a mere 4 days away, and it didn’t even occur to me till I was about to write this post. Thus, we have instead a demure little posy of violas (yet another Aldi bargain), plucked from two baskets at the front of the house and popped into a brass inkwell with a verdigris finish, along with tips of a bright green carex.
A number of other vintage ink wells complete the display, so all wells; Saturday afternoon saw millions in the UK witness their Christmas plans being thrown into confusion, as further restrictions were suddenly imposed. Disappointing, but understandable, and as long as we stay safe then in the circumstances all’s well.
Have you time to find something from your garden to pop in a vase or jam jar today? Please share it with us on IAVOM if you can, leaving links to and from this post.
Rambling in the Garden 
Delightful!
I have a few of those old inkwells as well.
Those of us who are safe, warm, well fed and in good health have much to be thankful for – there will be other Christmases and family get togethers to enjoy.
For me, as you know, I’m off to enjoy a festive-free peaceful couple of weeks by the sea! Yippee!
Have a merry time. ❤
Indeed there will be Sandra, and I hope your fortnight’s Me Time is everything you had hoped for
Thank you Cathy.
Jeepers, I remember using those inkwells; mixing the black powder to make the ink and going around the classroom pouring it into each inkwell; and then the pens for our handwriting practice, those simple nib-pens and woe betide should you bend the tip of that nib! Fingers with ink stain!
Yes, me too, I meant to say that in the post – not the glass ones, but the blue stoneware one. I don’t think I was ever chosen to be ink monitor, which very much rankled at the time..😉 I have always enjoyed writing with grown-up fountain pens, but still get inky fingures so stick to a real-ink substitute as I don’t like ballpoint pens
Love the ink Wells ❤️
Oh, I love this, Cathy! Nothing could be prettier than your sweet violas, cheerful, colorful and resilient too. All is well. Interesting to see your inkwell collection, with the varying shapes and forms. Hope you will enjoy the upcoming holidays. Thanks for hosting.
Thanks Susie – the stems of the vilas were SO short and I really struggled to find anything to put them in (unless I used the same vase as last week!), but my search ended up providing the title and the underlying message. Just the two of us for Christmas , as expected, but we will not be seeing one of my daughters beforehand after all. Best wishes for you and yours too, Susie
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Your ink wells are perfect for little posies and I love your sweet violas. They are such cheerful little flowers aren’t they. I have a small posy today too. Thanks as always Cathy, and I do hope your Christmas will be a happy one! 😃 https://wordsandherbs.wordpress.com/2020/12/21/in-a-vase-on-monday-a-winter-solstice-posy/
Thanks Cathy – I am not actually a huge fan of pansies and violas, but these are a useful winter staple and there is not too much in the way of contrasting blotches which Is what I think I am not keen on! We do have some very individual disklikes in the plant world, don’t we…?!
LOL! I am choosy too and only like the smaller varieties and not big blousy pansies, and I can’t stand purple ones! 😉
I am going to repost with my real name Noelle…would you can that one with Lucy please Cathy. That is one of my other names, which I don’t use.
I was confused by this at first Noelle, but then realised what you meant, so did as I was bid – I quite liked how ‘she’ wanted me to stay ‘sage’ though… 😉
What cheery little faces Cathy on what is a rather bleak day in more ways than one. Such heartbreak for so many people whose festive plans have been thrown off the tracks at such notice. I hope that you and the Golfer are not affected. Still time to did in deep, stay at home and weather this storm until better times come. I love the inkwells coming from a generation who learned to write using a fountain pen, which is still to to this day my preferred writing implement. My vase is here: https://greentapestry.blogspot.com/2020/12/iavom-winter-solstice-offering.html
Thanks, Anna – we were due a brief visit from Elder Daughter but they are now in Tier 4 🙄Such a shame for all, and she especially misses having family locally. Sadly there will be a lot of disappointments around the country – but if it helps us all stay safe then most people will reluctantly accept the restrictions. How about you? I like fountain pens too, but my fingers don’t, so I use Pilot real-ink pens instead
I never saw the inkwells at school, but had a fountain pen. When the biros came on the scene, I found them difficult to use at first. Your collection is so pretty, and how clever to have matched them with blue violas. Happy Christmas to you and the golfer. xx
We had ones like the blue stoneware one with dipping pens in my Edinburgh primary school – and I used to invariably get the ‘ruler’ for untidy handwriting…
I’ve never seen ink wells in use but they make charming tiny vases and I smile every time I see violas, the first flowers I fell in love with as a child. We’re under stay-at-home orders again here as well so we’re joining you in making do and setting our sights on a better future. Best wishes for a happy Christmas. Here’s my post: https://krispgarden.blogspot.com/2020/12/in-vase-on-monday-itsy-bitsy-tangles.html
Yes, perfect for little blooms, Kris. I wondered what your restrictions would be, as US states are all doing ther own thing, I believe. Best wishes to you as well, for Christmas and 2021
Absolutely perfect! My favourite of all the posts of yours that I have enjoyed!! Hooray for not having red and green – and I love the ink wells. Just delightful Cathy! Thank you. My very best wishes to you and your family for a peaceful and Happy Christmas, and of course for a healthy 2021. Amanda PS : my Instagram post today showed my Christmas decorations! Garden door wreath, sprayed allium (Christophii – so big sputniks!) seedheads, holly and ivy. Seasonal stuff!
Ah, I’m glad I didn’t come up with something seasonal then, Amanda! I didn’t even think of it being the shortest day until today itself! Your Instagram offerings sound lovely – and remind me that I have a bundle of allium seedheads upstairs that I forgot to do anything with – never mind, there will be other years!
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Cathy, your collection of ink wells is wonderful! Love the brass one. How are your violas so perfect? Not a nibble is sight. That doesn’t happen here, that’s for sure. And those blue tones are my favourite for pansies. I think that I am going to start shopping at Aldi’s. 😉
I just about managed a vase today with flowers from the garden. Here it is: https://wp.me/pM8Y1-85q (Hurray, I found the URL short form in this new editor, finally).
Thank you – I think some of the glass ink wells are ones I dug up from Victorian tips back in the 70s! Not sure about the nibbleless violas though, but it seems as if the ones at the front are untouched, unlike those in pots at the back – perhaps because the house fronts directly onto the lane it is not very hospitable for slugs and snails (and they have no other vegetation to hide under). I’ve always avoided the short URLs because they don’t give any hint of what they are linking to – silly really 😉 ps did you know you can still access the Classic Editor if you want to?
Lol, yes first thing I do every time I start a post is switch to Classic! Nevertheless, the rhs sidebar with the categories, tags etc is now different and I hadn’t realised short urls had been separated out to ‘Jetpack’. I’ll get there eventually!
I noticed the order had changed. I don’t use the short URLs but have seen something come up that says ‘get short url’ or something like that – I have no idea what ‘jetpack’ is!!
Those are charming! And what a gorgeous purple. Inkwells seem appropriate in a year when we’re so often staying in touch at a distance, even if writing implements have changed!
My Tai Chi teacher is a ‘letter writer’ and has written letters to all all her participants when we were unable to meet up – proper descriptive letters with wonderful details, so I have replied in return although normally an email would have sufficed for me these days. Once I start I do get stuck in, although I am reminded that the physical act of writing is quite tiring!
Ink wells and violas. Unusual combination. I have the latter and will look out for the latter. Have a great Christmas.
Thanks Ian – ink wells make great little vases for a few small blooms, or a single bloom even
Violas are charming, divine, happy, I love them like the inkwell used as a vase: it looks wonderful. The accompaniment of the four old inkwells is charming: I love them. Cathy this year is special, but I wish you a Merry Christmas full of love, peace, good health and best wishes for the next year. That although we may not be able to reunite with our loved ones this year, we can do so at Christmas next year. Take good care of yourself and the golfer, Cathy, and keep yourself safe. Merry Christmas! Very affectionate greetings from Margarita 🎄✨✨
Thank you for your kind words, Margarita. It has been a strange year but hopefully we are all looking forward in a positive way to improvements in 2021. I hope you and your mother have a pleasant Christmas together and a happy and healthy new year
I adore violas as you know and this colour is especially beautiful. Your ink wells look fab too, don’t think I saw them before. Wishing you and the Golfer a happy Christmas, Cathy xx
Pansies make the perfect little bouquet, and purple ones are the best.
We all have our favourite colours – and another blogger has said purple is her LEAST favourite!
One of my favorite ink bottles still has ink in it, and has not been opened since the 1960s. It will not be used for flowers anytime soon. Even common bottles were so pretty a long time ago. There is an asprin bottle on the widow sill here, just because it is such a pretty green.
Old bottles can be really pretty, can’t they? And the 60s were longer ago than some of us would like to think they are!!