Go on say it....

ABOUT BLOOMIN' TIME you old crow..I hear you shout. Yes, I know, I've been gone an absolute age but you know how it is some days, life comes charging by and sweeps you along at warp speed, (that, and the fact I lost yet another very old kitty which made me a bit sad and I'm not very good at doing anything else when I'm doing sad)
Thanks for the emails asking if I'm dead or alive. I think I'm somewhere inbetween so I'll make this one a big post about nothing in particular as no doubt I'll scoot off again, doing two highly knackering jobs with funny hours dependent on the weather makes you do that sometimes.

::Weird freaky stuff
Now you might think I'm two sandwiches short of a picnic when I tell you this, but this is how it happened so I'll just come right out and tell you.At the height of my feeling down and tearful and thinking that the whole world and it's wife hated me, I had a visitor.
I woke up with a start to find a lady stood by my bed. Just stood there looking at me. Needless to say when you wake up to find someone unexpectedly stood by your bed it freaks you out slightly.I freaked out big time and hid under the covers, waking Pete up with my absolute freaky-outy-ness. Maybe it was a dream, I dont know, but I do know that this strange perfect heart shaped mark appeared on my arm a few days later.

It usually takes a huge whack to bruise me and I haven't bumped into anything heart-shaped or been stung by a horse fly or anything like that. It was just there, not hurting or anything.It stayed for a week and vanished as quickly as it came.(It had faded a bit when we took this photo, believe me, it was a perfect heart!)
Weird and freaky indeed but strangely it did lift my mood, I feel ok again and feel like the world isn't against me, which is why I'm here blogging. Ok that really makes me sound like I'm barking mad, what a way to start a post!!

::The paper knickers saga

A couple of people have asked how George's nose is after his reconstructive surgery. It's very good thankyou and you can't see the join where they stitched it back together with a bit of his ear...very clever stuff.
It was a bit weird seeing him with a slightly different but very nice 'textbook' nose, no-one else could tell the difference from his pre-accident one but I could because I made it in the first place. Being the right wuss that I am, I must admit I shed a secret tear for the old nose.
We wont go too much into the saga of the surgical paper knickers he was asked to wear but eventually after such a blooming hooha and delaying the surgery he was allowed to wear his own boxer shorts. Vanity? My son? Naaaah.


::The Marmite chair

I bought a gold metal and nylon velvet 1950s chair for £6, took it home sprayed it red and am in the process of covering the seat. It spins round. I love it. Basil loves it too especially when it spins but then he's always been a bit odd..he also like to be hoovered with the vacuum nozzle. Did you spot him in the White Stuff catalogue in his spectacles? Fame has gawn to his head and he finally has his wish of posh princess sachet food..(well there's only two kitties left now so I think they are allowed)
Everyone else thinks this chair is vile. A bit like Marmite..which I can't stand and everyone else in this house loves. Urgh.


::The Rainy day lampshade

I spent ages hunting for a cheap large white linen drum shade for the £4 standard lamp base I renovated ages ago, only to end up covering it on a whim one rainy Sunday afternoon with some fabric I'd saved for a deckchair.
Mmmmm, 1950s painterly lushness how I adore thee..

::Things you thought you hated but have now decided you like

I grew up with things like this, 70s bubble glass and G-plan furniture.Funny how you can change your mind about stuff isn't it?

::Square balls.

Remember my round-but-take-forever-to-clip box balls? well they are now slowly becoming a hedge.
There's been a lot of changes in the garden, the extra cold winter we had killed off a lot of plants front and back so I took the opportunity to change a whole border in the front, taking out large shrubs and replacing with my favourite perennials, it's all still a work in progress but then that's how gardens should be, an ongoing thing.

The first year is always the crappiest as everything tends to be the same height.


I'm far better at doing other peoples gardens than I am my own, if I'm redoing a flower bed for someone, I've got a budget, a colour scheme and a soil type but when it comes to my own plot, well that's another thing altogether. I'm a bit like a kid in a sweet shop when I'm at the garden centre and buy the pretty stuff I love with no-where suitable to put it! oops!

::Chickypoos

It wasn't only our 21 year old cat Winnie, that died, I also lost several of my old ladies this year including lovely old Big Bessy so there are 3 new lovely young chickypoos joining the flock; Florence the Barred Orpington and a Black, feathery legged Cochin/Orpington hybrid who looks like she's got 70s disco flares on and a jacket of the most amazing beetle-black colours, she's called Fanny (after Pete's Granny incase you're wondering who was neither black nor had a pair of 70s disco flares but there you go) and a Lavender Orpington called Beryl. The Barred one is HUGE and still only a baby. They came from a fabulous farm near us that takes chickens in for boarding, they sell beautiful,friendly, healthy birds in immaculate pens (often occupied by an oblivious Bacon the Jack Russel too) a farmhouse looking like it's straight out of Country Living and to die for Shepherds huts, made on the premises to order. Needless to say, I rather like going the 5 minutes down the road for a chicky-fix. (there's a link HERE if you'd like a peek)

::London

Pete HATES London. Only because he has to drive a 44 ton lorry through the hoards of traffic cutting him up at every opportunity and giving him more verbal abuse there than anywhere else he goes to in Great Britain. It makes him grumpy and it makes him sweat alot as there are hundreds of low bridges and narrow streets down there that his Sat Nav always seems to miss and if you come to one of those it means a lot of slow manoeuvrings, hooting, being sworn at and hassle all round.
I on the other hand have rather fond memories of our capital city.We used to live on the London /Essex border so trips to see that huge blue whale in the British museum and the Changing of the Guards were commonplace. I had my 5th birthday at London zoo when Chi-Chi the panda came over from china and it causes a heap of excitement, (poor old Chi-Chi is a stuffed exhibit in the aforementioned museum these days) then there was my 10th birthday at Madame Tussuads and feeding the pigeons in Trafalgar square.My first proper visit to London with Pete was to go to Johnsons on the Kings road for a pair of much hankered after biker boots, a visit to Flip for some 50s American bowling shirts and a milkshake at Eds Easy Diner.
Although I haven't been there for years, I do rather like London.

Don't think my other half will be too impressed with this though when he gets home...
I, on the other hand, love it. A kitschy 1950s London souvenir tablecloth.

::Swimsuits
I am trying to find a swimsuit with a retro look. Not an easy feat when you are shaped like a baking potato...this is the lush list so far:

Laura Ashley

For Luna

Cath Kidston

Ideally I would like to be able to just appear in the water without having to do 'The walk of shame' to the pool, but if you're going to look like a walrus, you may as well look like a walrus with style...

::Mollie Makes

Oooh this is the most fantastic magazine ever in the world, like, EVER. I've canceled my Country Living subscription and subscribed to this one instead.For the first time in months I've actually wanted to make stuff and this is what has inspired me.AND, you get to see in some of our favourite bloggers' gorgeous houses so it's not only making things. Go get it, you really do need it in your life.


So there you go, see..told you, nothing exciting, just some stuff to waffle on about but I thought I'd better show my face sooner rather than later.

Cheerio for now x

things I'm liking at work today...

Thankyou so much for all your encouraging words and emails,it's really scary for us at the moment..you forget about it all for a minute and then your tummy flips over like you have driven over a hump-backed bridge and reality creeps back in, yuk.. but I'm sure things will work out ok...they have to. It's the law and I wont have it any other way, but yes, thankyou you lovely bunch, it means ever such a lot, it really does. xx

Anyway I thought you may like to see some nice jolly things that have come in at work recently. It 's great to unpack parcels when they are filled with lovely exciting things like these and it is currently filling the void of my (now banned) eBay obsession!
You can buy some of these things online too as the gift shop I work in for two days a week has now got a little website, this is just a bit of stuff..there's tons more!

We sell goodies for;

Cath fans...This is one of the best hand creams I have ever tried! (and that's something coming from a gardener with hands as rough as a badgers backside!)MASSIVE mugs of prettiness.

Lovely cute things for babies...

I so love this little velvety soft owl .He looks like someone has just pinched his bottom!

For girlies...

you can't beat a bit of posh soap! oooh which is my favourite?

This one?

or this one?

polka dots?

hmmmm... eeny meeny miny mo

I'll decide whilst I'm soaking in a bath of these..

For that weekend away...

I love this quirky bag, (just need the weekend away now..ooh and Bruce Willis to whisk me away there!)

For ladies that need to save their pennies

err-hum moving swiftly along...

for stinky boys....

Fab cartoon mugs for hot chocolate...

nail through the finger joke? or maybe a fly in an ice cube..boys, now you can get back at that annoying auntie who always wants a kiss at Christmas

then she can get you back at a game of cards!

For playing tricks on grandma...

ok she may have her own inbuilt whoopee cushion but it's still highly amusing..

Hope you liked this little selection of jolly stuff, there's always new things being added to the website (or we could add it especially if you ask nicely!)
x