Bella, Bunting and the Bucket List....

Thanks for all the Bella and Colin love on the last post. x

Bella actually belongs to George which means I get called 'Granny'....can't say I'm too chuffed about that! Colin is still as mad as ever, he flew right down the garden the other day, crash landing in a bush so it looks like I'll be getting the scissors out to clip his wing feathers again soon.
See, I told you he was a bit of a berk.
Bella (or 'The Belly' as she is known, typical Labrador- stomach on legs) is learning all the good habits from my lovely old black Labrador, Red, who is in turn learning a few naughty habits from his new little sister. You should here the racket Colin makes when they play together in the garden, who new Turkeys made such good referees?

Bella and Red

I quite like having another girl around, it means 'Granny' gets to buy pretty Cath Kidston flowery dog beds and leads and butterfly shaped pink dog toys!

Anyway,I'm trying my hardest to get into the Christmassy spirit thing.

It feels a bit weird to be thinking about Christmas just yet, I feel like this year has just flown by, the weather has got me out of sorts too, one minute it's mild and I'm wearing a t-shirt to garden in and the next it's blowing a gale..last year at this time we were deep in snow! I know it will creep up on me far too quickly, I'll be disorganised and probably skint as usual..especially as we have just had to have a new all singing all dancing economical combi boiler fitted...yikes (I'm sat here sweating cobs and now realise just how bad our old boiler was, I think I need to adjust something to make the house cooler! phewwww )

dotcomgiftshop

Recently I got sent some of this gorgeous Christmas Bunting from the DotComGiftShop 
If you dont know this website already, click the pink link you will discover a whole heap of kitsch and pretty loveliness at your fingertips...Christmas or otherwise. Now I can't wait to string them up. Jolly little houses and snow scenes, I think they have the same sort of look as a certain Mrs Kidston.
I'm going to get some kitsch flocked reindeer lights this year too as they are just my cup of tea..kitsch and 50s looking but without the dodgy vintage wiring!


















I think a certain Bald bloke would like a cup of tea in this mug

and I'm so in love with this framed doggy print.

It was always my job to go to the post Office when I was younger to purchase the 13p dog licence when it used to be 'required by law'.

That'll definitely be on my wish list...pretty please Father Christmas!

Pete and I have been away 'oop north' again for our annual trip to Northumberland to see amazing fireworks, puppy worship (two of my sisters have puppies too) drink far to much frothy coffee and eat waaaay too much cake, oh and to tick something off my Bucket List.

I'm very lucky to have a great family, who mean everything to me.
I adore my 3 sisters and my little brother who I just don't see often enough.

photo:Google

My brother-in-law whom I've known since I was 4, ( he and my eldest sister were childhood sweethearts) treated me to something I've wanted to experience in a long time, an Opera.

photo:Google

OOOOOH posh stuff!! It was at the amazing Newcastle Theatre Grand , a beautiful Victorian place which has recently had a 5 million pound facelift (pity about the new chairs though, they had to be THE most uncomfortable chairs ever in the world..fidget, fidget, fidget)

I went to see Puccini's Madama Butterfly.

 photo: Google

Set in the 1940's, in the hills above Nagasaki, it was beautiful, very moving and you don't need to be fluent in Italian to understand the story of Lieutenant Pinkerton of the US Navy the and his 15 year old Geisha bride to be. The singing was incredible and the parts you recognised musically gave you goosebumps.
Wonderful stuff.
Big TICK of the list that one.

Of course when 'oop north', there is the obligatory shopping to do, especially in the Roman village of Corbridge which has Dickensian streets of stone houses and shops with Christmas windows that might even make old Scrooge smile. I spent some hard earned pennies in one of my most favourite shops.. RE
Giant paper snowflakes to hang in the big window in the dining room, architectural shop letters that will eventually light up and various other bits and bobs came home with us.

Inspired by a local coffee house, I'm going to make a cushion out of (yet another) tea towel, this time from a vintage French map of Britain.
If only you could smell these gorgeous French soaps!

Perfect colours for our 1930s bathroom.

They have some really great, quirky stuff there, far more than on the website.

Unfortunately,November also saw both my stinky boys loose their jobs, so we have been a bit pre-occupied here, I worry myself silly about things and if I'm not careful I get a bout of Shingles or the dreaded Migraines. This month its been the latter. Great.
December is lurking around the corner which as you know,is one of my less favoured months, already we have hospital visits lined up, (lifting heavy mowers into trucks does you no favours ladies!...get doing those pelvic floor exercises!!) and the dentist found something odd in bald blokes mouth which requires a biopsy.Scary stuff. Keep your fingers crossed for him pretty please...he's my rock. x

Cheerio for now x

p.s
Xxx's....for Lynn for her lovely Harry....

28 days later

Oops where on earth did February go?Maude

I was supposed to tell you about my mad sister jumping off a tower in Thailand, stinky boy turning 18, Pete's new job and my poor old Dad falling down a hole..oh yes, it's been all systems go in this neck of the woods so I better get started really..

First off my Dad fell down a boat hatch whilst staying in Thailand and broke his shoulder, got septicemia, very nearly popped his clogs and is now stranded in England with my mum at my other sister's house in Corbridge, now unable to get home as he can't drive back to France..poor old thing. So we were all very concerned about him.(I reckon hes milking it now he's on the mend but don't tell him I told you so) Hopefully I'll be heading up north to see them soon.

Jac, who lives in Thailand and is terrified of heights, zip-wired off the Pataya Tower on the 26th of Feb to raise money for Josie's charity..She did it on the 3rd anniversary of Josies death (I can't believe it's been 3 years..seems like only a week ago) She impressed us further by doing it in high heels and linen trousers (well if you're gonna go for it, go in style )!! Crazy lady! Oh and she's recently published her book called A Dragonfly Tale which you can now buy on Amazon, ooh err!

George has turned 18 this month now that is scary.Does this mean I can no longer call him stinky 'boy'? is he now stinky 'man' stinky 'person' or stinky 'bloke'?
He has been looking like he's done ten rounds with Tyson this week after having some very painful surgery on his lip. It's been almost year since that awful accident and he still has to have more operations. Do you know that b*%!$?* taxi driver, who changed his plea after 3 court appearances, finally pleaded guilty to dangerous driving and only got 6 points and a £110 fine.
I cannot tell you how angry the parents of the victims were. George has got six stitches in his mouth at the moment to repair his lip where his teeth went through it and tore a chunk out of his chin, his nose was slightly torn away from his face, broken and the septum damaged so badly that cartilage from his ear needs to be used to fix it again...the force of them hitting the taxi which was doing a u-turn made him end up in the foot-well of his friend's car, even though he was wearing a seatbelt. He also got dropped from his beloved rugby team.The fearless Flanker was finding it all too difficult with his ongoing injuries.

The elderly taxi driver is free to take paying passengers again.

So anyway, a calmer, wiser George lives in this house now, and an 18 year old ..18!!(sorry I mustn't keep on about it) and what did he want for his birthday? DRIVING LESSONS
Pass the Valium please...

And then there's Pete. Poor old Pete who's had the weight of the world on his shoulders for far too long.
He got his job, the one he really wanted with Eddie Stobart and it all worked out OK in the end. He's away alot and when I finally settle into this new routine of him being away all week and not eating biscuits for dinner because there's only me at home most of the time, you might find I blog more often and actually get round to replying to more than 3 of my messages.So if you see a large Eddie Stobart truck called 'Jenna-Louise' on the motorways, it happens to be my Pete driving her (probably looking rather pleased with himself)
Apparently Mr.Stobarts lorries get quite a lot of female attention, so I hear from their latest recruit anyway....
There's even a huge fan club (Harry's rabbit is named Eddie after the famous green and white trucks)
As for the rest of us well, I haven't finished my Summerhouse yet..there's still lots to be done. Crikey they take some painting! But, it has had a new slate roof and a black and white floor laid..twice in fact.I'm so glad you approved of my idea of a Summerhouse. Me and The Hound sat in it the other day, me in my socks, sat on the floor drinking tea and Hound in his doggy feet just sitting and looking out the windows.It was just lovely, the sun streaming through and no-one being able to see us. I can't wait for it to all be done and finished properly and for the summer to arrive...Then there's the ducks..those lovely cute,cheeky little ducks who lay one beautiful pale blue egg for me each morning.. Lovely Lily looking like she should have a blue bonnet and pink shawl like Miss Jemima puddle duck... hmmm yes..lovely adorable ducks...

Just look at my blinking lawn!!!!! arggggh! pests!and my flowerbeds!!! (what's left of them) (sorry about the pants phone photos..cameras on the blink)

Before I go and disappear to eat my biscuit selection accompanied by a large mug of tea for dinner, and get back to reading 'The Lovely Bones' I thought I'd better just say...

Katie Noelle...dont worry I read it just how you intended it..yikes, boys hey?!!
Yaz sang 'the only way is up', Siobhan....ahh the 80's!
Thankyou so much Deborah for my sunshine award, how lovely I must pop by and accept it properly x
and lastly MRS WOO (that's my shouty voice) its about time you came and saw me for a cuppa and dont call me Fudgeflaps!!!!! (it's all to do with my surname ladies..nothing else, I promise)

Cheerio for now xxMiss Daisy

The good,The bad and the downright lovely...

Wooooosh..there it goes, that was the year then, all over and done with for another twelve months.Here's to a good,prosperous and healthy 2010..Happy New Year!!
I'm not a great fan of December, I have to admit. I love the build up and the trimmings and excitement, reading everyone else's blogs and living the season through other's eyes but bad things have a tendancy to happen around this time of year for us so I'm not what you would call the life and soul of any party.
When I was younger my Grandparents both died, my Granny 'Mopsey' on Christmas day then several years later, my Grandpa 'Pop' on Boxing day. I always think of how my Dad kept a brave face all over Christmas, we never knew till later. There have been various other things happen in Decembers past which I wont dredge up, but it is a strange month which I tend to go a bit quiet in.
My parents are in Thailand at the moment, celebrating their Christmas and New Year Thai style with my sister and her family. It's a Christmas holiday they cut short back in 2004 that they are now having good and proper.
Yes, that 2004, that Christmas in paradise, that boxing day Tsunami.
I watched a program the other night that showed the full horror of the Tsunami as caught on peoples cameras. I kept thinking about it again and again, seven members of my family would have been there on that very beach on that very same Boxing day but through a strange twist of fate, came home early because of Josie being ill. Their hotel was totally destroyed by the water. It sends a shiver down your spine.So, Christmas for me, and I know it's a bit gloomy, means I tend to be thinking about those people who may be having a tough time or who are remembering loved ones. I really dislike the commercialism of it all and the endless buy, buy, buy adverts on TV.
Onto some cheerier things now, I had some lovely surprisesrecently, really unexpected ones, firstly I won a competition.. one of those easy peasy 'missing word' ones, I entered on a whim late one night.Never in a million years did I think my name would be drawn out of the hat, but low and behold, those lovely people at Cabbages & Roses sent me £50 worth of Burt's Bees goodies the very next day, all beautifully wrapped in C&R paper and smelling coconut-honey-minty gorgeous.. Needless to say I saved it all for opening on Christmas day..Just look at that cute polka dot bag!!! purrrrrrfect for a polka dot nut like me. Then, my lovely facebook buddy Julie in Sweden (swedishhouse blog) sent me the most gorgeous old Swedish toadstool candleholders.. she knew I was down in the dumps after a particularly miserable facebook post and tagged them with my name in a photo saying these are heading your way! Then as if things couldn't be any lovelier, one of my favourite blogging ladies, Steph sent a lovely parcel of vintagey goodies to cheer me up even more. oh I've missed the Russian cocktail sticks out the photo! they're such pretty colours too.

I can't begin to tell you how lovely it is when someone you are yet to meet does something like that. LOVELY it is...just lovely.
I'm still so behind with everything, right now I'm meant to be making some roman blinds for the dining room as they were next on the 'to do' list (which is currently at least four A4 pages long) I have had the white linen fabric for months but seeing as I can't afford the batons to go in them and they would look like big baggy knickers hanging at my window, maybe it's not such a bad thing. I did manage to finish my patchwork cushion at last and after a lot of deliberating backed it with some Cath kidston fabric I found on eBay that normally only comes in oilcloth items..yes Mel, it's Provence rose! well spotted! (the lady who sells it is in Hong Kong, so it must be where the CK things are made) My mum gave me some money for Christmas and told me I would be in trouble if it was spent on bills or food and wanted to see what I bought with it, real proof of pretty stuff..so, after I had hankered after that patchwork throw at the Malvern flea fair back in September..you know,'the one that got away' and I saw these four vintage placemats on Louise Loves, I knew that they would most certainly fill that void. I hand stitched two pairs of the mats together to make them into cushions, just as Louise suggested,backed with some vintage French linen..oooh 1930's prettiness! The colours seem to be very Spring-like and fresh. I wonder what all the fabrics had been before?I suppose the bad thing is that Pete still hasn't got a proper job, the agency work finished and we are quite literally clutching at straws and living off fresh air (and Quality Street sweeties morning,noon and night) but when you find messages like this on the fridge door, it can't be all that bad... can it?I've got a mad busy week next week with horrid prodding biopsy things going on again..yuk (six months comes round too quickly for my liking) and some very much needed extra days at work so I hope you'll forgive my utter rubbishness at message replying yet again x

ps..my front door is painted in OLIVE by Farrow & Ball!! I forgot to reply to you earlier Claire and Kristina..sorry! xx
I always find their colours come out much lighter than on the chart, so it does look very similar to Cooking apple green!

End of an era..

1914

98 years is a very long time, when you think of all the events and technology,the things we take for granted that have appeared over the last 10 decades, it's really quite surprising.



My Grannie saw many of these events during her life. She was born at the tail end of the Edwardian period.To put it in perspective at the age of one, The Titanic was in the news after that tragic maiden voyage and Charlie Chaplin was the comedy hero. She witnessed 2 world wars in which her father and husband both fought, witnessed television being invented at the age of 17, Saw Kings, Queens and endless Prime Ministers be in charge of the country and it would be 58 years after her birth that man eventually walked on the moon.

1923
I wonder if she watched in awe at the Royal wedding as I did at Charles and Diana's at a similar age..

and I wonder if it influenced her wedding to her childhood sweetheart 1o years later? 1933

In the 1940's she saw wartime England first hand,1944 with my mum

and tragedy when her young son was killed in an road accident.

Joy again when her 3 children married,producing children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.
1954

at my mums wedding in 1958

I recently read an article my Grannie did for the BBC, her story was about mothers during the second world war..I love the part about the woolly hat, you can read her story by clicking here.

She was an amazing part of my life,all our lives, a truly wonderful lady who was always impeccably dressed, always had make-up and her earrings on, had an impeccable English accent and always rolled her 'R's. It is this Grannie who gave me an absolute love of social history,the head of our family, affectionately known as Dodo or Grannie 'Bunch'. Who spoke French to Grandpa when she didn't want us to overhear something.
The person who always signed her letters 'with fondest love'
and who's 'Rive Gauche' scent I shall remember forever.

This wonderful lady, my dearest Grannie, sadly passed away this morning.2008
Thankyou for 39 years of wonderful memories Grannie, it really feels like an era has come to an end today but I know you will be with those you so desperately missed and for that reason I'll try not to be sad. x

Dora Madeleine Wicksteed
1911-2009



Faure's requiem in paradisum

prizes,new life and stormy weather

I've been a lucky girl of late,winning some beautiful gifts from Hen's giveaway that arrived in a beautifully packed parcel of pink this morning.They are even more gorgeous in the flesh..stitching so tiny and perfect it looks like pixies have sewn it all...she's a talented girl that Hen.
Then I had a parcel of Christmassy pay it forwards from Twiggypeasticks, that have scented my room with some yummy spices for mulled wine and pretty little handmade decorations for the tree, another talented girlie, I will have to pass that pay it forward on at some point.
Anyway, thankyou for all your recent messages, I have put the 14 names that were kind enough to ask a question into a hat and pestered a stinky boy to pull one out, in this case Harry, so having tipped them all out of the hat accidentally not once but twice,(clumsy oaf!) he eventually managed to pull Stephs name out amidst some teenage muttering and mumbling..so, lovely Steph at Curlew country, a little something will be winging (that's your clue!) its way to you at some point,once you let me know your address.

I've been reading about the bloggers vintage and homemade fair,that took place on Saturday.What a lot of hard work was put into that, it all looked wonderful.I would have loved to have gone..The bags under my eyes would have been so handy for all those lovely treasures! Well done Michele and Jane and all the other ladies who worked so hard to bring it to fruition.
This month is usually a mad one,visiting my sister up north for Bonfire night and then seeing my mum and other sister too..Like a lot of my family,they both live abroad but have recently been over here.Unfortunately neither happened, with me going into hospital and Jac has been busy with the Dragonfly charity and doing some press interviews,whilst my mum was looking after little Charlie,her son,it made it all a bit difficult really.
My 'little' brother and his wife (that's them in the wedding photo above) had a baby girl on Thursday..9lbs 8oz..what a whopper!..eek! it makes your eyes water!..I hope that one day I'll be able to meet the new baby-with-no-name along with her gorgeous big brother Jake who thinks his Auntie lives in a box called 'pooter' on the other side of the ocean...I shall be sending them the lovely pink new baby card that Krafty Keely made for me a while back.

The stormy weather arrived here this weekend, and with it some bad news, my euphoria when the taxman gave us some pennies to play with(and recent online spending spree..oops) was very short lived, Pete who works 72 hours a week just so we can survive the bills looks like he may have his hours cut by quite a lot..it would almost half his salary if they did..the credit crunch will be biting us very hard, so many people will be in the same boat this year it's quite frightening..Brown robs the rich to pay for the poor but what about the people in the middle? the ones not on benefits who work every hour they can just to keep their heads above water, who own their own house and will loose it in a shot if they can't pay for it..but can't sell it either..who cancelled their insurance as it was too expensive (arrrggh) what about them? It's not Mr. Browns fault, I know.I hate politics but I needed a moan.
So I am trying to find a job, any job so I can help out, Christmas is a case of 'if and when'..The stinky boys have been warned they may have a gas bill instead this year.I'm sure they will be thrilled with it.This week I have to feed a family of four, five cats and a dog on £38.50..It can be done, I've done it before..you have to plan ahead, stick rigidly to your shopping list and get used to the cats being sick because they don't like the cheaper alternative..sorry pussies.Thank goodness we get free eggs.Less in the winter when the hens egg production slows down, but enough to make a stupendously good quiche.

I am feeling incredibly guilty. I'm also feeling sick.

Next Tuesday (2nd) I should get the results of a biopsy.The C word has been mentioned and I'm not talking Christmas here, but only in passing conversation..funny how it's the one word you remember out of all the medical blurb..funnily,I'm not in the slightest bit worried about it, what I don't like is the messed up hormones that caused all the trouble in the first place...how about these for just some of the side affects of the drugs I'm on..

• weight gain (ooh goody..some more!)

• spots (yay we love those, whiling away the hours infront of the mirror)

• mood swings (hoorah, boo, scream)

• depression (groan, sob)

• bloatedness (parp)

hang on a minute these sound very familiar..it's another puberty..I'm going to be a teenager again!!! heaven forbid!!!
So my lovely blogging ladies, I'm going to sign off for a while.I'm sure you want to read about lovely things really and as you can see, I'm a bit stuck for those at the mo, I will however,be adding some things to my shop along the way, including some vintage things..like eiderdowns (the one above has been reserved but I will be adding some more) and pretty stuff that you may just like to take a peek at..or if you are in the same boat as me...a sigh at..
xxxxxxx