A Saucerful Of Secrets

BELATED NEW YEAR GREETINGS TO YOU ALL X

2009-01-12T01:28:00.000-08:00

Well Hello my friends! I hope I find you all good and well and not suffering TOO badly with the post Christmas blues? We had a wonderfully relaxing crimble, we tackled the festivities in an unusually laid back way and surprisingly everything went like clockwork and the world didn't stop if we failed to get everything done on the list(s).

Here a some pics of our Christmas, seems such a long time ago now but it's good to acknowledge it here on my blog.
Look at that face! 6:15am and all is well with this little girls world.

A good relaxing time was had by all, even Mildred who took to guarding the tree and growling if we got too close to it(and her).We had a lovely time with the children playing games,watching movies and eating special treats.
Lovely flowers for Christmas from my friend of old , Cath.

Now we are well into January, dark mornings, dark evenings, poor Andy doesn't see the cottage in daylight at the moment. January is not one of my best months and what a lousy time to have a birthday!

Soon enough the days will get lighter and we will be heading towards the lovely springtime yippee!

I don't particularly have new year resolutions but I do find that as with tidying away the Christmas baubles I tidy away the past year and feel a twinge of excitement and hope for the new year ahead. January is the month for organising the mind and paving the way for the months ahead. If I was to have new year resolutions it would be to become greener and to do alot more walking in our beautiful countryside,I always feel wonderfully contented being close to nature. Poppy, at five, is still a bit little to do any major walking but on Saturday we went out into a VERY fresh morning and did a lovely 3 hour walk at a place called Ruskin Mill and the surrounding area. It was wonderful, we saw so many different birds and deer, making great use of George Dylan's new binoculars.I always feel inspired after being on such an adventure, imagine if I could do a walk every morning before setting to my work, if only........

I put this in because it's very intriguing.This sat in the lobby of Ruskin Mill, don't know what you call it, some sort of pump? if anyone has a clue, please share.

Here she is again, demon cat from hell, teehee, only joking, now I must be off. I have a sick child (again)to attend to and some work that needs finishing. I wish you all wealth, health and happiness for 2009 XXXXXXXXXXXX

THE WINNER IS.....

2008-12-19T18:23:00.000-08:00

Hi , just a quick post to say the name drawn out of the hat by George was,drum roll,..............
FUNKYMONKEY!! Please e-mail me your details asap.
Now, I am going back to my sick bed, the girls have succumbed.xxxxxxxx

DECEMBER DAYS.......AND A CHRISTMAS GIVEAWAY

2008-12-15T04:45:00.000-08:00

I love this time, Mid December when potentially, the ***t hits the fan. I find it quite exciting trying to juggle with various festive events,doing lists,food lists, gift lists, card lists , lists of lists etc. etc.You know where I'm coming from? oh good, I'm not alone. There is also a birthday list, our George is fourteen on the 17th December.

I have been trying to get some last bits of work done for the Christmas markets , my little wren house is soooo cold at the moment, I'm being a wimp, doing it in comfort in front of a roaring fire, but look at the conditions I have to work under.............Needle felting with a soporific cat firmly attached to my lap-he's nearly come a cropper on more than one occasion.

Our tree went up on Saturday evening , it was lovely to at last see the vintage baubles I bought a month ago in their rightful place, the pics do not do them justice, the tree looks lovely, looks like the trees of my childhood, I'm so pleased....

A night shot of the children's tree which sits on the piano

I shared a table at the Farmer's Market Christmas market with my friend Mandy on Saturday.It poured with rain until about 11am but I love doing this event each year, it feels festive and I love talking to the people. The time flew but my toes took an age to thaw out when I got home.

We have the cold and flu bug buzzing around here at the moment, and as I write this, my son is sat cuddling up, having a day off school, also, the man of the house has fallen by the wayside.Just us girls left standing, you watch, mine will come in time for the Saturday market, hey ho!!

This brings me appropriately to my Christmas giveaway, something to snuggle under a lovely warm blanket with, a Green and Blacks hot chocolate and a dvd of a great christmassy vintage movie,'The Bishops Wife' , Cary Grant, what more could a girl want? Sorry, the welsh tapestry blanket is not included, it's very much in use right now.

All you have to do is come say Hi, it's as simple as that, I will get birthday boy to pick a number out of the party hat on the evening of the 19th Dec at 6pm. I need to get it off to the winner asap so they can enjoy a pre-christmas evening with our Mr. Grant.

I'm off now to mop some brows. Do hope you are keeping well out there, Annie xxxx

DECEMBER DAYS........A BLOG CATCH UP.

2008-12-08T01:31:00.000-08:00

WELL! doesn't the time fly? I honestly couldn't tell you where I've been all this time, maybe I have a bad case of amnesia, must have been from the fall I had the Monday after the VH fair but I wont go into too much detail other than to say it was VERY undignified and it bloody hurt. There have been a catalogue of mishaps lately, like the needle that went through my slipper and into my toe,oh yes and being bitten on the hands by something with teeth that would put jaws to shame.Anyway dear readers, this is starting to sound like some feeble excuses for why I have been such a shocking blogger. No excuses, I am a shocking blogger, but I do hope that I can, somehow make amends, for I can confidently say that I have reached that "christmassy" frame of mind and would love to share my excitement with people who understand how I feel, yes, YOU........

Firstly, it would be very rude of me not to mention that wonderful event on the 22nd November, it seems such a long time ago now, there were so many great posts about the day, so eloquently told with great photos. My photos are not so hot and are few in number.It was so lovely to meet and put faces to the blogs, alas, I didn't get round to having a chat with everyone but I hope I will next time.Jayne and Michele did a fantastic job in organising the event, I hope it wasn't too exhausting for you ladies.

This is a nice one of Mr. Snippets isn't it? Like my Man, he stayed all day, a jolly chap :)

didn't take any photos of my table so here is the quick dummy run on the kitchen table the day before.Again, not a brilliant photo but my website is up and running now (still being constructed),see my side bar, if you would like to take a closer look at my work.How grown up!

This photo was taken for Jayne(and the happy crow) I hope you can see your rabbit sat there, he's made himself very much at home. Thank you, it was a lovely giveaway and my first.

This was what greeted us this morning on the way to school, a lovely sprinkling of frost and a fresh bite in the air, oh how I love it! I still have high hopes of a snow fall on Christmas Eve, a girl can dream.......It was Stroud's 'Goodwill Evening' on Friday, and for us, this marks the start of the "Christmassey"feelings.

There were more people than I'd ever seen before, maybe this credit crunch business is making people more determined to have a good time, it has with me anyway. There were street performers ,

A lovely lantern procession with fire jugglers, stilt walkers, carol singers galore.....

Here they are again, entertaining everyone with their jolly banter, Poppy and George loved this. There were some lovely stalls in the farmers market, food, pottery, stalls selling exotic wares, the smell of incense punching the air, frankincense? myrrh?

I will be sharing a stall at the Christmas Farmer's Market on the 13th and 20th December, it was great fun last year so I am looking forward to it very much.

Lastly, I wanted to show you my piano. I find that the things that live on top of my piano changes with the seasons.

This is my piano in November, it shows some recent purchases, some vintage Russian dolls that I love, a vintage (70's) chocolate box bought from the rag market in October, and some vintage Christmas baubles bought for £5 on a bric-a-brac stall, can't wait to put them on the tree.
I have to say, my piano is no longer dressed for November, the children put their tree up on Saturday and this always lives on the piano.SO, dear readers, you will have to come back to see the festive changes that take place over the next few weeks.Phew!!! I hope you are still there?yes? oh good.... thought I'd over done it for a minute........Do come back soon, I have an award from the lovely Deanna (now there's a girl who loves Christmas) and a Christmas giveaway too- better get my skates on hadn't I, Eeeek!xxxxxxxxxxxx

THE VINTAGE AND HANDMADE FAIR

2008-11-20T14:19:00.000-08:00

Hi there! I'm just quickly dipping in to my blog to remind everyone that The vintage and Handmade Fair is on this Saturday 22nd November at Rangeworthy village hall, near Chipping Sodbury, South Gloucestershire. Opening 10 till 4 with free addmission with refreshments on sale.
Get into the Christmas spirit, come along and bring a friend, it will be well worth a visit with lots of lovely things for sale plus the chance to meet fellow bloggers.

We would love to see you there, Annie x

AUTUMN TERM @ GREENVIEW.

2008-11-02T11:30:00.000-08:00

Half Term Bedlam, but we just find it best if you go with
the flow.

Relaxing in the afternoons, sometimes snoozing....

Warm cosy kitchen, waiting to be used.

Drying old lace.......

Some well appreciated sunshine in an

old jug....

Cooking soups and stews, real comforting stuff....

Some cushion making, can you see me?

MEET THE FAMILY

2008-10-19T18:30:00.000-07:00

I have been working on a rather large commission which was to make dolls to represent the client and her husband and three daughters, one of which died at birth, tricky, yes, but to my great relief they loved the finished result.
There were alot of new challenges for me in this commission, one being to make a MAN doll. I was given a brief to work to and some materials which meant something to each, it was a lovely project to do.

The girls were alot of fun to do, with their hairstyles and punky clothes.

The golden leggins of this doll were made from a gold metallic ribbon that came from a confectionary business my clients grandfather owned years ago, quite precious and very tricky to work with.

The baby doll I found the hardest task of all. I didn't want angel wings, so little butterfly wings were made. The little strawberry hat and stripey socks were the only two things my client bought during the pregnancy, she wanted the doll to wear these things, the money thing was wanted to represent her name, Luca, not a choice I would have made, I can't ever imagine what it's like to lose a child...........

I've yet to make the pet cat and rabbit, which will be done soon.

My client, herself, is a maker of the most amazing mozaics, so, in part payment I am having my children's hands made.I love having makers work around me, but being a poor maker myself this is the only way I can do it. I don't mind being poor, but I do love being surrounded by lovely things, don't you?

OH MY!

2008-09-29T10:07:00.000-07:00

Hello! My, it's been a while, over a month since my last post.I have no explanation for this,only that real life must take priority and the virtual one must stand aside. I have still managed to pop by some of you lovely blogs out there and am truly heartened to find that most, like myself, find the summer into autumn thing a bit challenging and our offspring leaving the warmth of our nests to enter into another school year SLIGHTLY perplexing......
On the plus side, work can resume and at last I have found my thread (literally) and enjoying the freedom to make and the contentment it brings me.

Before I go any further, I must at last acknowledge this wonderful award given to me by Michele (Cowboys and Custard),bloody links still escape me, but I'm sure you all know who and where Michele is, if you don't, you are missing out big time. Anyway, Thank you sweetheart, but do forgive me for not passing this award on at the mo, I have a number of blogs in mind but not the time, patience or most importantly the SKILL to do it justice.

As I have mentioned, back to school time has come around again.George has gone in to year 8 and seems his usual settled self, it's Harvesting at school today, always a favourite with my boy. They spend most of the day digging up the produce from their bio-dynamic garden (their planting and growing is determined by the moon) and making a very grand Harvest alter in celebration. George's favourite part is when all the school share a meal of soup made from the harvested goodies, a lovely time of year.

Poppy has settled well into year 1 and her confidence has really come on since last term, which is lovely to see.Pops loves school,although, you wouldn't believe it from the photo, I think she was fed up of me taking so many,lol. The photo was taken on the wrong setting so it's not great, do you love the hat? I love it, one of CK 's better products,OOOhh! how damning was that? sorry girls, I find the quality of some of her products very disappointing to say the least and overpriced, would rather spend the money on real vintage finds, enough said......

It's been so long and I'm incredibly rusty at this malarkey, so I think I will just show some pics of some of the things going on around here with a little explanation.

There have been funny times.........

little bird making times.....

Mindless knitting times.....

Knitting and crochet book buying times.........

Book reading times, I loved reading about these strong creative ladies.......

I will leave it at that for now. I have a day ahead juggling my nursing and making hats, Poppy has a day off school today with a hacking cough and cold but I hope I can manage to do some making between all those lovely cuddles and hot chocolate, bliss..........xxxxxxx

MINDLESSNESS

2008-08-18T09:00:00.000-07:00

This is our August garden, with all the rain we've been receiving, it's gone crazy! but I love it wild. It's just a shame we haven't been able to use it as much as we would have liked, but who wants trench foot? We really must get in there and tidy it up before winter sets in.

I must admit, my brain seems to have skipped the summer mode and headed straight for Autumn, I find myself making mental lists and plans for:-

1. Preparing the garden for winter.

2. Digging out winter attire, I can already be found wearing my knee length suede boots, this does not feel odd to me, people around me have noticed, the British are very polite, they say nothing......

3. CHRISTMAS SHOPPING!!! yes, I'm starting next week....

4. Laundering all our lovely blankets and quilts ready to dress the beds. I think , after much deliberation, this is the way forward, going back to the good,cold old days when we didn't have C.H. and we did have to put on extra jumpers. We cannot afford a 60% rise in our fuel bills. Please, if anyone has any good ideas on this topic, please let me know.

4. Oh yes! I've been planning a menu of hot soups and stews (and eating a few along the way too)

I have also started knitting up some scarves ( I AM LOSING THE PLOT). I call this my "mindless knitting", no counting of stitches involved so I can let my mind wander to those all important lists and yet I can still communicate with the children, the busy hands keep me calm:)The scarves look dead boring at the moment but I'm hoping a few flowers and buttons will jazz them up a little.

The children have watched me mindlessly knitting and asked if I could teach them how to do it,EEeeek! So we gave it a go.......... it was fun and wiled away a rainy hour, but I think George is a bit dispraxic and needs loads of time and practice and Poppy is just too young at the moment, one day they'll get it.

I got this book out of the library having it in mind to do crochet flowers on the scarves, but it may as well have been in dutch!ssooooo, I've ordered a crochet book from Amazon recommended by a favourite blogger of mine 'attic24' sorry,forgotten the link thing again, So hopefully, I will get the hang of it.

I saw this teapot in a charity shop and had to make it mine. It has replaced my trustee red pot that alas had a wicked chip on the spout. the only thing is, the cosy I made last year, as you see from the pic, does not work with my new pride and joy, so, a new cosy is planned to wile away the cool autumn evenings while curled up under one of our blankets.

Oh dear! I have gone on a bit, sorry about that, just call it my mindless blogging.....
MMmmmm, time for tea xxxxxxxxxx

LITTLE GIRLS ROOM, IKEA TO THE RESCUE YET AGAIN!

2008-08-11T10:36:00.000-07:00

I have found myself, on returning from our phantom holiday, wandering around the cottage making mental lists of "things to do". The list is sadly endless at this point in time. One job desperate for attention was Pop's room.

When Pops came along, all her worldly possessions could fit into one small vintage nursery trunk that I had found during my student days, as with George, five years on, storage has been a major issue. Toys filled the said trunk and toppled out spreading chaos all over the floor. A few months ago we were preparing my wren house studio and discovered shelves at Ikea perfect in every way, especially the price, £29! Ikea come to the rescue yet again, we buy a set for Pop's and I spend a whole day sorting through , baggin , shelvin, binin. I was so pleased with the result and I think Pops was too, she could find things she forgot she had and her bedroom seems twice the size now. We also bought a stack of wicker baskets which did the trick in containing all the annoying little bits like yoyos, bouncy balls, musical toys etc. Result!!

The bed cost us £32 from a bric-a-brac shop in Brecon, it's very shabby, but as they say, it's chic! it's covered in an old fifties patchwork i bought off an antique dealer friend and an old welsh quilt I had in exchange for some sewing repairs.

We hung some pictures and found a use for some old dummy boards I'd made a lifetime ago, brightening up some corners. The bunnykins clock was a christening gift for George, and a favourite of ours.

I do like a bargain but I have been known to spend a bit on toys, saying that, the children only have them at Christmas and birthdays, so we feel justified. I think it's important that George and Pops should value what they receive, being a maker myself, workmanship and quality is important to me and I want things to last, as heirlooms, they might even be the antiques of the future, that would be lovely....

This is the dolls house we got Pops a few years ago, as a child I always wanted one, so obviously I couldn't wait to get this for her, there's something magical about life in miniature don't you think?Pops plays out all life's scenarios with the little people living inside.

The painting was done by someone at college the same time as me, I think it was a swap. It's quite naive, but I love it for this reason, it's perfect in this room.

This Noah's Arc is made by 'East of India', again, simple and naive but robust enough for heavy duty playing with ( even though a label states it is not a toy).
The plan is to paint the draws and cupboards with a lovely eggshell paint, but I can't decide on the colour, any ideas?
Oh well, enough of my waffling, I must be off, I have that mental list to deal with.
I do hope the sun shines on you wherever you are today. Annie x

FOWEY OR FOLLY

2008-08-02T17:03:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of July I took it upon myself to book a campsite. Myself and my family were desperate to get away from it all, even if it was just for four days, it has been a bit of a roller coaster around here these last few months with one thing and another.

I have been reading the memoirs of Daphne du Marier's daughter and the setting of Fowey in Cornwall inspired me to take action.

Penhale farm campsite was truly spectacular, as you can see in the pic, with views out to sea. This being only the second camping experdition undertaken with the children I did my damndest to make it special, we took our lovely welsh blankets to ward off the cold night air, we bought a snazzy cooker with grill and some comfy folding chairs. much to Andy's amusement, there was a table complete with table cloth and our trusty teapot complete with cosy. I felt I had done my best to make it work.

Fowey was, indeed enchanting, the lovely narrow streets, the harbour with the little boats bobbing about, reading the book and it's place in history, it was, in theory the perfect choice.....

Monday night, our first under canvas,was noisy and very wet. There had been severe weather warnings. Morning, we thought, that wasn't too bad.

Tuesday we had a lovely day,firstly going to Truro for a look round,got some good things from the charity shops and a nice lunch, but the best part of the day was driving to The Lizard, the most southerly point of Britain, a wild, exciting place, we celebrated with a cornish cream tea, cor!

Nature is truly a wonderful thing and I am often in awe of it, but oh my God! Tuesday night, in that tent, exposed to all that nature could throw at us, it frightened me. Apparently, there had been further severe weather warnings. The noise was incredible, and myself and Andy soon realised we were in trouble, looking out of the bedroom pod, we could see the tent had risen about six inches and everything was soaking.All the pegs had come loose and the tent was virtually flat on top of the children in the other pod.

To cut a long(night)story short, we were awake all night, soaked, the tent was wrecked and we packed the car all through the night. We new our Fowey holiday was over.

George was awake and alarmed by the whole situation. Poppy! well, she slept through the whole ordeal,AMAZING......

The week before had been glorious, it seems so unfair, four days thats all we wanted.....

Before heading home, I went round some of the lovely shops in Fowey and consoled myself with a few treats to take back to Gloucestershire with me.

It was sad our cornish break ended so disasterously, but a few good things came out of it. Both myself and Andy were of the opinion that camping is not for us, strictly cottage hire from now on,WHOOPIE!

The last few days were spent in Hay-on-Wye, I love this place, with all it's book shops and individual gift and antique shops, and pottering around here. Atleast we were dry,warm and stress free. We did get about a bit didn't we?!! (she writes, laughing hysterically)

Please let me know some good holiday weather stories, restore my faith, PLEASE X

THINGS THAT MAKE ME SMILE,PART 2

2008-08-01T23:20:00.000-07:00

Emma Bridgewater china............

Lovely Billy Holiday..........

old china bought for next to nothing..........

hand made goodies........

my swap with Mrs.Custard, it's perfect there......

my mannequin, she's a doll..............

Birthday cakes and party bags...............

our leaf and bee lamp, our wedding gift from Andy's parents.......

and christmas of course!!!!!

THINGS THAT MAKE ME SMILE, PART 1.

2008-07-21T15:36:00.000-07:00

LONG HOT DAYS ON THE BEACH.

LOVELY COOL ICE-CREAM.

SMILEY HAPPY FACES.

RHOSSILI BEACH.

THE SUN SHINING ON WORMS HEAD.
MY MAN ASLEEP IN THE SUNSHINE.

MY JULY GARDEN.

ANDY MAKING US LEMON CAKE,MMMmmmmmmm.

ROLL UP! ROLL UP!

2008-07-17T14:15:00.000-07:00

There's been a bit of a buzz in blogland of late, and it's all to do with this idea cooked up over a good coffee by Jayne of http://countrycottagechic.blogspot.com/ and Michele of http://infocowboysandcustard.blogspot.com/. Basically, the ladies thought how great it would be to organise an event where like minded bloggers could meet and sell their vintage and handmade goods to each other and the public. I, as do others, think this a fab idea, an opportunity not to be missed, think of all the lovely things to buy for christmas and of course, there will be plenty of cake.......Vintage & Handmade Fair to be held on Saturday the 22nd of November 2008 at Rangeworthy Village Hall, nr. Chipping Sodbury, South Gloucestershire. 10 a.m - 4.00 p.m. Tables for the event are £10.00 each for the day Maximum 2 tables per person.

If this little jamboree sounds too tempting to miss and you would like to find out more information, then please click on the above links. I would love to meet you there . xxx

NOW I AM 5,ANGEL AND BUTTERFLY

2008-07-13T22:28:00.000-07:00

I think this is one of my favourite pics of Pops, it was around the time of her 2nd birthday, a glorious age, little did I know how much fun was still ahead of us.........

Now I am 5! here she is, my angel. How time flies when your having fun. I can't believe how she has grown in three years. I love her spirit and how she reacts if she thinks an injustice has been done and her motherly ways, in one so young. Mostly, I love her slapstick humour, it gets me every time.........
This was Pops birthday party, mmmm, rain and mud, mud and some more rain. We put the family tent up in the garden and decorated with balloons, banners and streamers, lots of games were played and food was devoured, they loved the mud and playing football. Pops thought it was wonderful....... Phew!

So happy you had a great birthday peaches, I look forward to many many more,

We All LOVE you baby xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Meet May Fly, she is a fairy I've made for a customer's daughter. I have not made a fairy before. I decided to make her a butterfly fairy, with butterfly wings. I have a thing for winged creatures, birds, butterflies, dragonflies. It's started me off now, I'll be throwing wings on everything !!!!
It is the final week of school, while I am both relieved and excited about having six weeks with my babies, I also wonder how on earth I can keep them busy and happy during this time AND work on a large commission too, Help! any tips? It usually takes us a week or two to get into a rhythm that feels good for us all. We are going camping down in Fowey in Cornwall the last week of July, please let it be dry :)

I shall leave it at that for now, night night xx

A MONTH GONE BY ALREADY.......

2008-07-07T11:30:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know, I have been a shockingly bad blogger these last few months and have toyed with the idea of putting the old thing to rest, but I think I must atleast reach my first year anniversary!!
I have just managed to put a few pics on of the open studio that was a month ago now, i can't believe how time flies. look at the sun shining in the photos! The weather has been something else these last few days, It was Poppy's 5th birthday on Sunday, boy, did it rain. Luckily, the rain held off for the two and a half hours of her party. We put the family tent up in the garden and decorated it with streamers and balloons, they loved it, and lots of games were played and jelly devoured with gusto. It was lovely, but exhausting. I will post some photos in my next post, hopefully tomorrow, I really must get back in to regular blogging, I enjoy it and I love reading comments from other bloggers and reading about their lives and loves. The issue, is having enough time for this pleasure.

Mandy's knitwear, I've bought a few of her lovely hats over the years, and her knitted bunting is gorgeous

At long last, this is my studio, I love it and am enjoying working in there, as you can see, I'm not the only one. A certain amount of time is wasted fighting for my seat.

I'm afraid my table is a complete mess, but it's my mess and it's pure bliss being able to just leave it that way.
It's 11:30pm now so I think it's time to say bye bye and put the laptop to bedZZZZZzzzzzzxxxxx

TIME TO STOP AND TAKE STOCK.

2008-06-20T21:56:00.000-07:00

WELL HELLO MY FRIENDS, COME, PULL UP A CHAIR, IT'S BEEN A WHILE SINCE WE LAST MET FOR A CATCH - UP. DO YOU FANCY A BREW? MILK? SUGAR?

IT'S BEEN A FEW DAYS SINCE WE FINISHED THE STROUD '08 OPEN STUDIOS. I DIDN'T REALISE HOW MUCH IT WOULD TAKE OUT OF ME BUT I THOROUGHLY ENJOYED THE WHOLE EXPERIENCE.

ANDY WAS A TRUE KNIGHT IN SHINING ARMOUR AND FINISHED MY WORK ROOM AND THE GARDEN, I WAS SO PLEASED. THERE WERE FIVE OF US EXHIBITING, IT ALL WENT TOGETHER VERY NICELY I THINK.

PHOTOS HAVE BEEN TAKEN, BUT ALAS, THEY ARE NOT ON MY LAPTOP, SO MAYBE I'LL HAVE SOME FOR MY NEXT POST....

A MAJOR HIGH POINT OF THE EVENT WAS MEETING MY BLOG FRIEND, MICHELE ( COWBOYS AND CUSTARD ) AND HER LOVELY MR. CUSTARD. IT SEEMED SO NATURAL TO BE GREETING THEM AS IF SEEING OLD FRIENDS AFTER A LONG SPELL APART, WE HAD NEVER MET BEFORE , HOW STRANGELY MAGICAL . MICHELE WAS JUST AS I IMAGINED, HAVING NOT SEEN ANY PHOTOS ON HER BLOG, JUST A TANTALISING SHOT OF HER HAIR OR A BACK VIEW, HER VOICE ON THE TELEPHONE....... IT'S LIKE FINDING THE FINAL PIECE OF AN ON-GOING PUZZLE, BUT THERE IS NO ANTI- CLIMAX, JUST HOPE, THAT WE WILL MEET AGAIN...

SOME OTHER EXCITING THINGS HAPPENED DURING OUR OPEN STUDIO, BUT I CANNOT TELL AS YET, WE SHALL SEE....

THESE PHOTOS ARE A FEW WELL OVERDEW MINUTES OF FUN WITH MY POPS, THERE'S ALWAYS AN ELEMENT OF GUILT INVOLVED WHEN I'M PUTTING ALOT OF TIME INTO MY WORK, THE POSITIVE SIDE OF THIS IS THAT THE CHILDREN SEE ME MAKING AND ARE EAGER TO HAVE A GO THEMSELVES. GEORGE LOVES FELTING AND POP'S HAS JUST STARTED SEWING, I COULD DO WITH SOME HELP!!!!

EARLY MORNING SUNSHINE AT THE LITTLE WREN HOUSE.

2008-05-14T14:05:00.000-07:00

HELLO, I DON'T WANT TO BORE YOU WITH YET MORE PICS OF MY WORKROOM BUT I'M AFRAID I MUST,LOL. THE SUN SHONE GLORIOUSLY EARLY THIS MORNING WHEN ME AND POPS VENTURED IN TO THE LITTLE WREN HOUSE, IT SMELLS OF WOOD AND PAINT, NEWNESS, I'M SO EXCITED NOW.

I THINK THESE SPANISH TILES ARE LOVELY, I BOUGHT THEM ONE A WEEK YEARS AGO, WISH I'D BOUGHT MORE.....

THE POND HAS BEEN CLEANED OUT, WE HAVE TWELVE NEWTS PLUS THEIR BABIES AND A LOVELY FROG, HE STANDS WITH HIS BACK LEGS ON THE BOTTOM WITH HIS FRONT LEGS OUTSTRETCHED GAZING UPWARDS, LIKE SOME KIND OF SUN WORSHIPPER, I'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING LIKE IT.

AGAIN, IKEA COME TO THE RESCUE WITH THESE SHELF UNITS, CAN'T WAIT TO FILL THEM WITH ALL MY BITS AND PIECES.

MY GIRLS. I THINK THIS IS THE FIRST PIC I'VE MANAGED TO GET OF MILDRED SINCE SHE WAS A KITTEN, SHE'S TWO END OF THE MONTH! LIKE HER BROTHER, SHE IS A BEEEAAAUUUUUUTIFUL CAT. I HAVE WORKED VERY HARD TO KEEP HER, KEEPING HER IN FOR SIX WEEKS AND GIVING HER LOTS OF LOVE, CROSS FINGERS, I THINK IT HAS WORKED. I HAVE TO CONSTANTLY CHECK THAT THE NEIGHBOURS ARE NOT TAKING HER IN AND FEEDING HER.

SHE IS SO WORTH IT.

I WILL TRY AND POST ABOUT SOMETHING OTHER THAN MY WORKROOM NEXT TIME. THE WHEATHER HAS BEEN GLORIOUS, LOOKS LIKE IT'S GOING TO TURN TO RAIN TOMORROW, THE GARDEN NEEDS IT SO THATS OK..... BYE FOR NOW X

AND FOR SOME MORE .........

2008-05-12T17:07:00.000-07:00

As promised, here I am again with yet some more pics. The first ones are of studio progress, and as you can see, it's amazing what you can do with a bit of determination and hard graft, thank you so much my love, your a hero x

Don't you just love IKEA? i'm not so keen on the furniture, but their lighting is ace and soooo cheap, they do great jammy dodgers too! a must for us on every visit.

I love my sink, how sad is that? called Charlotte, I have a habit of HUMANISING objects I like or love, I wouldn't tell my brother, he's a psychiatrist, he would have an absolute field day!

The GANG. A dummy run( RRR!) For the textile festival market which I attended on Saturday and Sunday.

Little Nell and her little hen.

Maybelle.

The venue for the textile sale.The setting was in this lovely old house which was once part of the mansion belonging to the mill owner. I really enjoyed the two days here, made some sales, met some lovely people and learned a lot, fabulous!

Miss B.T

This is me, a month ago, I had surgery to remove a freckle that appeared about ten years ago. I had the photo taken because I was very pleased with the plastic surgeons hand work. ALAS, my biopsy results were not what we expected, my freckle was what you would call a wolf in sheeps clothing........ I have to have the surgery again next week, such is life, things could be a damn sight worse, it was a dissapointment to think I'd been living with a melanoma for all these years, I have an angel watching over me, THANK YOU MY ANGEL X

IT'S BEEN SUCH A LONG TIME....... BUT NOW I'M BACK!

2008-05-11T22:28:00.000-07:00

HELLO, IS THERE ANYBODY OUT THERE? i SHOULD THINK NOT! AFTER THE PERIOD OF TIME THAT i HAVE BEEN ABSENT FROM BLOG LAND. lIFE HAS BEEN A TAD ON THE MAD SIDE i MUST SAY, IT IS HARD TO KNOW WHAT TO WRITE, HOW TO BEGIN, SO I WILL START VERY SIMPLY BY SHOWING A LITTLE OF WHAT HAS BEEN GOING ON AROUND HERE. I WILL TRY TO BLOG EACH DAY THIS WEEK IN THE HOPE OF CATCHING UP WITH NEWS AND EVENTS, IT WILL DO ME GOOD.

some before pics of the wren house.

As you can see it's a bit of a mess, but the pics that follow the progress of andy's hard work will show what can be achieved when you have a major deadline.

FRIEDA AND THE BIRDS.

maria von katz.

MY SWEET WREN HOUSE.I AM GOING TO LEAVE IT AT THAT FOR NOW, BREAK MYSELF IN GENTLY, HA HA XXXX

HAPPY EASTER !!!!

2008-03-22T10:09:00.000-07:00

Some Easter decs to brighten the place.....

A little egg display to tantalize and tease....

Andy's lemon Easter cake to please....

Easter breakfast with hot cross buns......

My favourite china in fresh springtime colours......

The Good Friday procession with crosses and free buns.

These are some of the ways we have spent this easter weekend. We still have bonnet making and making chocolate nests for the ' Collieockey Bird' who lays chocolate eggs in the nests on Easter morning and if we are really lucky, she might even leave one of her brightly coloured feathers for us to find, what fun!!!

Do have a safe and wonderful weekend, Annie x

THE TALE OF RUFUS AND THE CATNIP AND SOME OTHER STORIES.

2008-03-16T11:45:00.000-07:00

GOOD MORNING EVERYONE!I HAVE TO SAY I'VE HAD QUITE A WEEK ONE WAY OR ANOTHER AND I CANNOT HELP BEING OVER THE MOON TO HAVE GOT THAT ONE OVER WITH.
POPPY WAS OFF SCHOOL MOST OF THE WEEK WITH A TEMP AND COLDY SYMPTOMS, BOY, ARN'T THEY TIME CONSUMING?WHAT WITH FEEDING, CUDDLING, CLOTHING, ADMINERSTERING, PLAYING........ THERE AIN'T MUCH OF THE DAY LEFT! WHAT ABOUT WORK? OH WELL, SHE'S GREAT FUN EVEN WHEN A BIT GRUMPY AND OFF COLOUR.
I HAVE BEEN HAVING HEART WRENCHING MOMENTS OVER MILDRED,MY CAT, YES I DO HAVE ANOTHER CAT BESIDES RUFUS, BUT IT LOOKS LIKE MILDRED DOESN'T THINK MUCH OF US ( WITH SOME NAUGHTY GOINGS - ON BY A NEIGHBOUR,AGAIN!!!) AND IS NOT COMING HOME.I AM DEVASTATED AND ALSO VERY ANGRY.ANYWAY, TO TRY AND HELP MILDRED LOVE US, I PURCHASED SOME VERY POTENT CATNIP AND PUT IT IN ONE OF THE HOUSEHOLDS BEST SOCKS ( THEIR LIKE GOLD DUST HERE). MILDRED WASN'T MOVED, TURNED ON HER HEELS AND SCARPERED.
RUFUS COMES IN AND IS IMMEDIATELY FLOORED BY THE BREW, HE WAS POSITIVELY ORGASMIC ! SO I LEFT HIM TO IT.....
HE LATER COMES UPSTAIRS, PULLS ALL POPPY'S TOYS OUT OF HER BASKET ATE HER STRETCHY RUBBER FROG, THEN OPENED HER BOXED GAMES AND TOOK ALL THE BITS OUT. THE PIC ABOVE IS TAKEN JUST AFTER THE RESCUE OF SAID BITS OF BUCKAROO, LOOK AT HIS EYES!! THIS BEHAVIOUR CONTINUED ALL MORNING, NEEDLESS TO SAY, CATNIP HAS BEEN CONFISCATED. HE'S CRAZY ENOUGH WITHOUT IT

IN BEETWEEN BEING NURSE AND KEEPER OF THE PEACE, I HAVE BEEN BATTLING AWAY WITH SOME MORE DOLLS AND THINGS. I THINK THE KITTEN LOVE HEART VERY MUCH SAYS WHERE MY THOUGHTS HAVE BEEN, WITH MY TWO LOVELY CATS WHO NO LONGER LOVE EACH OTHER.
THE BUTTERFLY DOLL HAS BEEN A PAIN IN THE BACKSIDE FOR SOME REASON, BUT I'LL GET THERE IN THE END.

THIS IS FIFI ET FELIX, A FRENCH MADAM WITH HER TRUSTY CHOWAWA, HE DOES LOVE HIS DIAMONDS!

ON SATURDAY, I ESCAPED THE CRAZY BUNCH AND WENT TO A RAG MARKET IN TOWN, OH MY GOD! I THOUGHT I'D DIED AND GONE TO HEAVEN. I COULD HAVE BOUGHT THE WHOLE LOT, I TRIED TO BE AS SENSIBLE AS POSSIBLE, ADDICTION IS A TERRIBLE THING. I SAW SOOOOO MANY OTHER WOMEN THERE WITH THAT SAME CRAZED EXPRESSION, IT'S OUR KINDA CATNIP, DON'T YOU JUST LOVE IT?
I THINK IT'S TIME I SIGNED OFF, THINK CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG WILL FINISH SOON,THATS ME BACK FEEDING, CUDDLING, CLOTHING, FEEDING........ BYE X

LIFE' S A BIT TOPSY TURVY AT THE MOMENT

2008-03-11T09:28:00.000-07:00

As you can see! didn't know how to change this pic but thought it was apt. I would love to offer you some topsy turvy tea and welcome you in to my topsy turvy world.
I have some pics to share with you or should they be confessions of how much needs to be achieved before June. I hope the after pics are a darn site better. Anyway, pick up your tea and follow me........

This is my 'Wren House', my work room. We shall leave the door firmly shut and save that pleasure for another day :(

My potting area at the bottom of my work room.

Halfway down the garden, where's the colour?

The bottom two terraces, MMmmmm, diggin and turfin is needed here.

Looking towards the house and workroom from the middle terrace. Oh my word! I feel a panic comin on.........

Finally, our sad little pond, the shame of it.

Do not despair dear readers! for I'm sure, by June we will have a garden to match this one, Monet's wonderful garden in Giverny. I've been here, a devine place. Don't you love that green?

Besides freaking about the garden, I've been doin a bit of this.......

Some sorting through my bits of fabric...........

And some felting.

What I am having to do is muster up as much belief and faith that great things can be achieved on limited time and budget. There's nothing quite like a challenge to get the blood circulating,lol.I will post the before pics of my workroom soon, hope you've got the stomach for it?

Best Wishes to you all, have a lovely day. Annie x

FOR JAYNE, AND ALL YOU TEDDY LUVVERS OUT THERE X

2008-02-21T09:09:00.000-08:00

Hi, in response to Jayne(http://countrycottagechic.blogspot.com)and/ her challenge of doing a post on our favourite teddy or toy, here are just a couple of pics of our motley crew who sit quietly on Poppy's cupboard.The old boy in the centre is mine, the 'old bear ' on the right is my sons which he was given by a dear friend on the morning he was born.The teddy on the left is Andy's which he has had since birth.Also residing there is Rabbie, friend and confidant to Ted,Winnie the pooh and a dragon commemorating The Prince of Wales investiture in Caernarvon in 1969.

As you can see, Ted's no 'Steiff ', but as a child I loved him dearly, he was my friend, comforter and councillor all rolled in to one. I'll keep him always.

What about you? why not join in this trip down memory lane?If you do, please let me know so I can come visit your past. It's cuddly fun!! Annie x

BRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

2008-02-19T09:32:00.000-08:00

This is what Rufus is up to today, and I can't say I blame him. It is dead chilly outside, but the sun is shining, so I think myself and Pop's will wrap up warm and head off on a little adventure together, nothing TOO exciting, just a drink in our favourite watering hole and then the library, charity shops and ofcourse the haberdashery, I need to be inspired.
Hope you are keeping warm and doing what you like doing best today. Annie x

OH ME , OH MY , IT'S BEEN A WHILE.......

2008-02-16T13:31:00.000-08:00

Well HI! How is everyone out there? Hope you are all fine and dandy, isn't the weather fab? the sun shines as I sit here writing this, I should really be out there sorting out the garden and things but I felt I had neglected my blog for far too long.

Life is great at the moment, I felt 2008 was going to be a good year, and so far it sure is living up to my expectations. I am incredibly busy, what with general things round here and having my big boy off all this week has been an added dimension ( Poppy's off next week! ) , I am working for an exhibition in May and have committed myself to doing the Stroud 2008 open studios at the begining of June, yeek! This might not seem much to the onlooker , but behind the scenes it's meggar. You see dear readers, my studio sits in the garden, and both studio and garden need a massive overhaul. I have not been able to use my lovely 14ft by 7ft work space for as long as I can remember, and the garden, well, last year was lousy for doing anything of any worth out there. But there's nothing like a deadline to make you shift your butt. Andy says he'll sort out the work out there and that I should concentrate on making, he's my rock and I love' im dearly.

Talking of love, may I wish all you lovelies out there a belated Valentines Day, I hope you had a lovely one, this blog is dedicated to the theme of love, and so I have posted some heart shaped things I have been working on this week.
This Peirrot heart I made for a friend who celebrated her birthday yesterday. Lianne, another friend asked me to teach her how to felt, and so, my taste for felting has been re-kindled after a break of a few years, although I have been using felt on some of my dolls. These hearts are made using hand felted merino wool and various bits and bobs.

This one is larger, and I finally found a use for my black crow print that has been sitting in my sewing box .

Finally, I thought I would show you ' Pandora The Pug Lover', I think she has a certain romance about her. Pandora has gone to live with a very lovely lady, and I hope they will be very happy together. Do you like the pink pugs running along the hem of her skirt?

I have quite alot to show and tell , the most challenging being a cd set with plinky - plonky music ( this is what we call it, it's victorian music box music ) it is a record of my work so I can send to prospective shops and galleries. I hope to find a way of putting a link off my blog so you can see it, but thats for another day!

I hope to do a post showing before and after pics of my studio and garden, I think it will most definately be a bumpy ride, but how exciting!!

Have a lovely stress free weekend, Annie x

THE GIVEAWAY WINNER IS............

2008-01-27T16:44:00.000-08:00

THE DRAW

WHO IS IT POP'S?

IT'S THE LOVELY MARY! I SHALL E-MAIL YOU MARY TO GET YOUR ADDRESS, THEN I CAN GET THEM OFF TO YOU STRAIGHT AWAY.

ANNIE x

JUST A QUICKIE TO SAY.....

2008-01-26T20:12:00.000-08:00

Hi, there is still time to leave a comment and get the chance to have your name picked for my first ever giveaway. I shall get someone to do the draw at 4pm Sunday 27th January. I will then post the winner's name. Hope you are all having a lovely weekend. Annie x

"LET THEM EAT CAKE!" OH, AND A GIVEAWAY

2008-01-20T19:41:00.000-08:00

Good evening! Atlast I have found the time to fit in a blog, and today (drum roll) is my very first giveaway. It's to celebrate a couple of things, I do believe I'm coming close to my fiftieth blog and I have recently celebrated my Birthday, what better excuse do I need. I had planned a caption challenge using a photo that I thought perfect, but came to realise it was a bit too much like hard work, so, I shall put the names of all who leave a comment on my blog into a hat and get one of my lovelies to do the honours. This will happen on Sunday 27th January.I have put the photo at the bottom of this post, I think it says it all....
The giveaway is one of my 'Rufus' linen cats that I made just before christmas. You will also see from the pic that there is a lovely painted china cup and saucer from my collection of many, some vintage lace and buttons and a lovely vintage postcard of cats doing domestic duties. Also, I've put in a reel of 'East of India' ribbon, not vintage but very lovely and darn useful. Just a few things which show the sort of things I like, I hope you like too.

It's been quite busy here, children settled back into their school routine and me finding my rhythm again after the christmas spell. I must say, I'm feeling very positive about 2008, good things already coming our way. Lets hope this continues aye?

I've been working on a couple of dolls, 'Pandora the Pug lover' and 'Let them eat cake'. I've also been getting my ideas together for a textile exhibition I've been asked to take part in which is in May. I want to base the work on old circus acts and vorderville, we shall see how it goes.

I think I need to go now, you would giggle if you could see me, our stool for sitting at the computer gave way under the strain a few days ago (too many pies!) and now I write my blog while sitting gingerly on George's big orange space hopper, very comfy but I feel very silly and I'm getting a bit of a crick in the neck. Please leave a comment and if you can think of anyone who would like my giveaway, do let them know.
Have a good evening, Annie x

Isn't she a scream?

A COLD DARK WINTER'S TALE

2008-01-09T17:59:00.000-08:00

Dear Bloggers, I'm afraid to say it's happenin again! My post Christmas blues. Try as I might, they decend on me as sure as christmas itself. Everything was great until Monday arrived and the children returned to school, maybe the alarm call at 6am set the blues cogs whirring or was it the fact I have to find my way back to where I was before christmas, I do lose my momentum and it is hard work to find it again, but find it I will - I have to...........Anyway, today is Wednesday and the fog is lifting a little bit, I spent the day with my friend Lianne which is always a tonic and helps me laugh at myself and put perspective back in to my little world.
Talking about friends, tonics and all that, I would like to mention one member of our blogging community who has become just that to me. The wonderful Michele, who kindly bestowed upon me the ' You're An Amazing Blogger' Award, not deserved me do think but very much appreciated. Michele has a lovely warm blog which has a charm of it's own, and I have found her very supportive and eager to share her knowledge of being a maker and seller. Thanks Michele, your an asset to this blogging community. Michele is at COWBOYS AND CUSTARD, sorry, I don't know how to do links but shall endeavour to put her blog address on my favourites so you can find her.
I am afraid that the award has come with the forfeit of seven random facts about myself, so here it goes, don't get too excited!

1. I trained to be a peer supporter for MOBS ( mothers offering breastfeeding support) I thought this to be important as there was no such support for me when I was a new mother embarking on the fabulous but complicated and sometimes extremely painful decision to feed my new baby. A very rewarding experience, and I got to cuddle all those lovely new babies!
2. I love birds and always have from a young age. I was a member of the RSPB young ornothologists club and went bird watching with my father, how geekie is that? my love of drawing came from this time when I would just draw birds.
3. I am a firm believer in fate and on numerous occasions have made decisions based on this. For example, in May 2006, the last of my beloved cats,Margo, who was eighteen, deaf and having three legs was sadly coming to the end of her life. We had seen her and her sister coming in to the world, the thought of being without her was impossible to imagine. The next day, Sarah phoned, a friend I see now and again and I told her my sad news. Sarah told me her brothers cat had given birth at that time when Margo was leaving us. I felt this was fate and that we were meant to have one of the kittens, the decision was made and a few months later Rufus and Mildred were ours.
4. I do not drive. I passed my test first time round
in 1990 but lost confidence and interest in driving. I always think when the need takes me, I will have a refresher course and give Andy a break from his chauffering duties, but it ain't happened yet....
5. I have two hidden talents that I pull out of the bag if need be i.e. at drunken parties. I can touch my nose with my tongue (attractive and demour!!) and I have funny hands , my fingers bend back too far. Andy says my toes do things they shouldn't too , but I only have his word for that, not something to test at parties ( does this come across rude?oops )
6. I'm really going to sound attractive now!! I have a sizeable bald patch on the side of my head where I was born using forceps. The hair never grew but luckily I was blessed with more than my fair share of hair so the curse of my birth can be easily hidden or atleast until a drunken party where I could reveal this quirk, it's a winner!
7. Last but not least, I have a false eye, ONLY JOKING!!!! I'm trying to think of something really attractive to say about myself, mmm, can't, so I will tell you about my attraction to Mr. Johnny Depp. I must tell you that I feel that fate cast it's wicked spell again. A few years ago I had a milestone birthday. Nothing special was planned other than going over to Wales to meet up with friends. We decided to meet in a little real ale pub in the middle of nowhere. It was a cold January evening and there was a fabulous old worn windsor chair in the corner by a very inviting fire. I made a bee line for this cosy scene
and made myself at home. Are you on the edge of your seat yet? are you gripped? I shall continue. The evening passed gently and pleasantly and the warm ale went down a treat. Andy went up to the bar, I could see the inn keeper being very animated telling Andy some yarn and pointing in my direction. Andy returned with a big smile and informed me that only a week earlier Mr. Depp had sat in that very spot on that very chair!!! How cruel fate can be, why then and not now I moaned, how sweet it could have been, but I still got a massive thrill and a lovely memory for my milestone birthday. If you saw where this pub was you would wonder how on earth he came to be there, but thats what makes it magic .
Well, thats it, hope your not all bored senseless. I shall return soon with my caption giveaway. I shall retire now and let my thoughts wonder to an old worn chair in an old worn Inn deep ( or should I say Depp?) in the middle of nowhere, sigh.......xxxxxxxxxxx

MEMORIES ARE MADE OF THIS

2008-01-02T16:06:00.000-08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! to all of you out there. I truly hope that 2008 will be an excellent year for everyone. I usually find the New Years Eve thing difficult and have pangs of sadness for the year we leave behind, NOT THIS TIME, I was soo glad to hear the chimes at midnight, I disliked 2007 immensley and would not want to repeat the like again, for reasons I will not go into other than to say I lost alot.2008 will be a fab year, and I am eager to see how it unfirls....
I wanted to take this last opportunity to post some pics of our Christmas, it was a wonderful relaxed affair, maybe it was more relaxed because of the decisions I had made but maybe it's best not to look too deeply and just enjoy the special moments for what they are, bloody good times. The pic above is of the children's tree, it always sits on the piano between the photos of their great great grandparents.

This is Christmas Eve, and as you can see, HE's BEEENNNN!!

We went to bed at 2am and I was, like the big kid I am, awake at 6am. I turned the tree lights on, got dressed and climbed back into bed and waited and waited........7am they emerge, atlast!!

This is George and Pops opening the things Santa kindly left them.
Myself and the children don't eat meat, Andy only eats meat off the premises, so we all tucked in to a parsnip and cashew nut bake with the usual veg and christmas pud to follow.

I wanted to show you my present from Andy, he calls it my 1920's i'pod. It's a picnic gramaphone. He bought it on ebay and met the guy in a layby near Bath to pick it up on the day before christmas eve, now that scored him alot of brownie points!!! We managed to buy some jazz and swing 78's a few days after christmas in a little shop in Ledbury. It was a real talking point on New Years Eve, everyone wanted a go, it had a real presence, I love it! thanks love xx In my next post, I shall be doing my very first giveaway (gasp!!). I have a picture ripe for a caption, it's a bit of fun and I will put together a few things for the person with the caption that makes me chuckle the most or if I like more than one I shall get one of the kids to do a draw out of a hat, yeah? ok, till next time, Blessings xxxxxxxxx

CHRISTMAS IS COMIN, IT IS YOU KNOW!!!

2007-12-19T10:44:00.000-08:00

Hello there! Atlast, I have managed to find the time to blog. The christmas illustrations are posted to wish you all the best wishes and seasons greetings, I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a fantastic New Year. I am looking forward to 2008, this year has been a stinker for me, but hey! my cup runneth over today! I am a happy girl, I realise how lucky I really am....It has been very busy here in the Hutchinson household, three christmas markets, two christmas plays , a teenage birthday party and a partridge in a pear tree, lol. Once I get George's birthday under my belt everything seems so much more relaxed. I think it's the stress of trying to make his birthday special and seperate from all the christmas activities.

I've put in some pics of the decs, like so many of you, we do love decorating the house for christmas, it's lovely rediscovering things we have forgotten about at the bottom of the box. I shall post some pics of the children's christmas tree and some other things in my next post. I always manage to leave something up each year, like the little berry garland around the mirror, I think it's a shame to take everything down, Andy is always there as a sobering influence though, boo!

We went to see George in his school play last Friday. He played King Herod, he cut a fine figure in his costume. As you can see from the pics, they really go to town on it, lovely it was too. George was great, we were very proud of him.
Poppy's play was called, 'It's A Baby!' and she was one of a troop of lovely angels,very cute and very funny. I shall post a photo I have ordered from the school, it's funny and ripe for a caption so I may well take the opportunity to do my first giveaway/compertition based on this, so keep checking over the christmas period. It's time to step back on to the merry go round, myself and George have been roped in to putting the party food out for Poppy's class. The teacher said there was a chance we would meet Father Christmas! I thought it was an opportunity I couldn't miss, I'll try and slip him my wish list when Mrs. Hawkins isn't looking, well! it's worth a try, don't you think? Have a great weeek y'all, Annie xx

THAT'S SNOW BUSINESS! (SOORRY)

2007-12-13T08:21:00.000-08:00

Well hello there!!! this is a very short but I hope sweet post. I am becoming totally aware that I am not fulfilling my blogging duties at the moment. My window of opportunity to blog seems to have deteriorated to the size of a pin head, but am determined , as for my tummy, to pull it all in for christmas. I have some pics of the christmas decs and some other bits and bobs to share with you, but for now I will leave you with our lovely snow globes and music boxes , I love these, and we try to get a new one each year, the Harry Potter castle one was this years addition, the Hogwarts train goes round when the tune plays, ace.........
I would like to ask you one question if I may? are you a cup half full or a cup half empty sort of person? Mine is definately teeterin on the half empty side at the moment. Any funny Christmas stories? would be gratefully recieved.
Hope everyone is well and happy, Best Wishes to you all, Annie xxxxxxxxxxx

TO THE LADIES, SOME CATS AND A VERY PATIENT MAN

2007-11-27T17:43:00.000-08:00

I want to tell you about my last few days, funny old days they have been. Firstly I have to thank a very special lady, Gena , who has a fabulous vintage web site called ' these foolish things' if you haven't visited Gena yet you really must go see. Gena's blog is the one that started me off , I'd never heard of blogging before then, but I sure do now!! This kind and generous lady offered to put my dolls on her website, and there they are. A helping hand of friendship, it restores my faith in human nature when sometimes it has been challenged by things I have seen and heard. So, if I was a clever blogger I would make an award for our blogging friend Gena, and it would read, " MOST GENEROUS HEART AWARD", can anyone help me do this? or point me in the right direction? Gena, if you are reading this, you never know, another generous heart might just come to my aid and you might get your award lol!! I love this blogging lark don't you?.....

PANSY POTTER

ROSEY PINK

I have posted the pics that went missing off my last blog and also two more girls, these ones are a bit flighty and have already flown the nest- yipee! children, we will eat this christmas! joking.

It's been a stressfull week for a number of friends this week. It's hard being a grown up isn't it? Our friend Betty has a new ethical jewellery business where she employs underpriveliged people in Rodrigues and India to make jewellery from coconut and found objects. It's a struggle and Betty is hoping to launch ' BEAU COCO' at' The Clothes Show' next week. Betty, and all the makers have worked soooo hard to get things ready and Betty has invested everything in this. It looks like the Indian couriers may have let her down,900 pieces are missing. I am a believer in positive thought, so am willing these parcels all the way from Dheli to Betty's front door.

If any of you are going to ' The Clothes Show' go say HI! to Betty at ' BEAU COCO' and send her my love.
Finally, a great big THANK YOU to my man Andy. For the lovely red roses and giant chocolate coin - my favourite! it cheered me up no end. Also for all your support through my hours of doll making and getting stuck in and stuffing the legs, you are one of a kind XX

NOT QUITE CHRISTMAS, BUT HEY, I'M GETTIN IN THE MOOD

2007-11-26T14:53:00.000-08:00

Hi there, managed to find a window of opportunity to do a quick blog. Is it me, or is everyone finding time just seems to evaporate? Anyway, the weekend was cold and we enjoyed some family time, mainly infront of the fire but hey, thats good enough for me!!

I spent some time sorting Poppy's room out, no mean feat I can tell you. on doing so I came across the dragonfly lights I'd temporarily put up there a year ago eeek! and thought they would look nice on the mirror in the front room, this being too early ( or so I've been told ) for the

Christmas lights, I thought they would temporarily feed my need, crafty heh?

Poppy insited on having her photo taken like my dolls on the little yellow chair. This is for Michele at cowboys and custard, I thought you would appreciate her cowboy skirt, it's a favourite.
I thought I would post some pics of the 'Rufus' cats I've been working on. Again, I use vintage materials and paint and stitch the faces.

This is Rufus Rhinehorn, the inspiration for the cloth cats. He is Abyssinian, and has the classic looks of one, that being the long years and long wirery body. He is the happiest cat I have ever met and feels the love wherever he goes. He is truly one of a kind. Mama loves him.

Time to go now and collect Poppy, hope everyone is having a great day. Thank you all so much for the lovely comments about my dolls. I shall pay you all a visit as soon as time allows.

P.S. my pics are all over the place, some have vanished all together??! so apologies if it posts a complete mess.

MEET MY GIRLS

2007-11-20T15:02:00.000-08:00

VIOLET BROWN

MADAM BUTTERFLY

LADY DRUSILLA BIRD

FORGET-ME-NOT-MARY

BETTY BUTTONS

BETTY BUTTONS BEFORE HAIR

ANNIE BIRD

Hi everyone, or anyone who may be stopping by. I must say, I don't seem to be having many visitors of late, probably due to my lack of posting due to these maidens. I have been all out producing these one off hand made dolls, I really enjoy making them but find it hard work juggling this with being Mammy and tending to daily chores, how to get the balance? as much as I try I am failing miserably in my quest as super woman, How about you? any tips would be gratefully received,lol. I really miss the blogging too, so hopefully in the next few weeks I can join everyone else in the excitement of festive shinanagins ( don't know if it is spelt right, but hey, it looks a good word ).

I took my dolls on their first adventure today. I took them to ' The Brewery Arts Centre' in Cirencester to see if they could spend some time in the shop there. It went ok, but the commission is scary, it works on a 40:60 basis,oh poo!! It's hard being a maker. It's a possibility next year, but she did like them, which was great for my self esteem I can tell you. I find that I busy away at making something and kinda lose sight as to wheather the things are working or not. Lets face facts here, I'm a maker not a business woman. I also took them to a fantastic little shop called 'Just Maud', if your ever in Cirencester you really must go see. Annie the owner is lovely and sells all sorts of wonderful clothes , jewellery, altered art etc. etc., she is incredibly lovely because she is taking two of my dolls on sale or return to display in her Christmas window!! I'm chuffed, but again the mark-up is too much. I will be amazed if I sell, but two of the girls get to spend a bit of time in that wonderful shop. Annie gave me a few contacts to follow up in London, which was great, but I don't think I'll manage it before Christmas alas.
On the home front, everything is well. The children are slowly but surely getting excited about christmas, like so many of you out there, we love it and feel it is a really special time. It's not the present giving, it's decorating the house and making the special food that smells so beautifully christmas. Saying that, Andy made the christmas cake last Thursday evening, I came in from being at my knitting circle expecting the house to smell Christmasie, it didn't. Andy had forgotten to put the mixed spice in! I tell you, mixed spice is obviously for me the smell of christmas. We have a cunning plan, we will dissolve the said mixed spice in warm brandy and then drizzle it over the cake. Do you think it will work? I'll let you know.

Have a fantastic week, and to all you makers out there, be productive and don't panic. xxxxx

AUTUMN SKULDUGGARY PART 2

2007-11-12T13:44:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone!As you can see from this post I am seriously behind with my posts. I just wanted to show some pics from a Halloween party we went to on the 31st October. George as a dashing wizard

Ooops! this shouldn't be in this post but non the less it does look a bit creepy....

The little ones had a great time.......

And so did we........ Wish I hadn't eaten sooo many squirting skulls, felt a bit rough next day. Thats beautiful Betty on the right, the hostess. Thanks Betts x

AUTUMN SKULDUGGARY PART 1

2007-11-03T20:43:00.000-07:00

Autumn is such a beautiful time of year isn't it? Half term arrived along with our children's eagerness to be entertained. They had spent a glorious weekend with their grandparents and Tuesday morning breakfast was spent defending myself from questions like " what are we doing today?" and " we are not staying home all day are we?". I have to confess to getting a little bit hot under the collar, and we all exited to our own little rooms to lick our wounds.

This is when I realised that there was NO WAY we were going to spend such a fabulous day wallowing in our self pity, so I decided we should take a rucksack with some food and head off on a grand adventure, when put to the children in such a way how could they refuse?

So off we went, much happier and relieved to be on our merry way, full of expectation of what we might encounter in the woods on our way down the Slad valley.

I felt top of the blinkin world, walking with my two through those woods. It was cool and smelt wonderful and the sun shone further down the valley so it was quite dark, but somehow it was comforting. We all found our sticks and searched as we walked for any hidden treasures.

The two pics at the top are the view over the Slad valley from the wood. The one with the cow was taken while we sat and ate our sandwiches and bananas, what a view....

We met only one old man on our journey but we made two new special friends, two Gloucestershire old spot piglets who live in a lovely little bit of the wood, they followed us as far as they could. Poppy was overjoyed and helped them dig in the undergrowth with her trusty stick.

We walked for nearly three hours! I was very impressed that Poppy did it, towards the end I did have to promise hot chocolate, jam tarts and snow white ( and that was just for me, lol ).

It was a lovely adventure and needless to say there was peace at last in the Hutchinson camp.ZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

MISS HAVERSHAM'S AND THE ANNIVERSARY.

2007-10-22T10:03:00.000-07:00

Hi there everyone, how are you all today? fine and dandy I hope. I am all alone here this morning so I thought I would take the time to share a bit of my world with you.

I thought I would share some images of what used to be our dining room, it is now a kind of entrance hall ( we enter the house straight into this room ) come chill out room.This room has it's work cut out for it, for this is where myself and Andy sleep also. This is truly lovely at christmas time, with all the decorations, it's like being in santa's grotto!

One of my favourite films of all time is 'Great Expectations'. My favourite scene is the one where we meet the tragic Miss. Haversham in her tomb like room where time has stood still after being left at the alter by her bloke. I've always loved that room and would love one just like it, my mother would probably say that I was well on my way to achieving this , as you can see from the fireplace, I seem to live with small towers of books, sketchbooks , letters etc. where I can get to them as easily as possible. I think it must drive Andy mad, but he lives with it all the same, bless him.

The things I cherish the most, besides my family ofcourse, are the old painted photographs of my great grandparents that watch over us from above the piano. Their lovely arn't they? Yet again, my wonderful great aunts dragged them out from under the stairs at 'Maes yr Ronen', the old family home, and entrusted them to me. I was in my twenties at the time, and I had never set eyes on them before this day, I fell in love with them and there is not a day goes by that I don't look at them . The piano also came from them, infact, there is alot of 'Maes yr Ronen' here in Stroud. We are also in the process of changing our house name to this, in memory of Auntie Bett, who sadly left us in July. All the old photos are from them, and I couldn't be without them, not for anything.

So, as you can see, our house is not exactly " Kath Kidston", nor would I ever want it to be.

On a final note, unlike Miss. Haversham, I did marry my love, and on Saturday we celebrated our 17th wedding Anniversary!!!!! We have been together for 21 years and it don't seem a day too long.

Our wedding day was a lovely autumn event with just fifty guests and Andy's dad, who is a vicar married us in his lovely little church. My sister made us a fabulous antique looking three tier wedding cake, and all the gorgeous food was made by my mother-in -law. the reception was in the vicarage, it was truly lovely.

I wore a 1944 ration book wedding dress which I bought for the pricely sum of £16 from an antique dealer in Bath. Sadly, last year, we had a pipe burst and all the water was caught in the box carrying my dress and flowers (which were dried). the dress could not be rescued, it was covered in rust marks, and so, I sadly threw it away. I salvaged the headress, but it's a bit green . Still, I have the photos and the memories. Did you get married? what did you wear?xx

TIRED DAYS , BETTY BUTTONS AND ANNIE BIRD.

2007-10-13T21:48:00.000-07:00

Hi friends! It feels like a heck of a long time since I posted a blog. You have to forgive me, can someone tell me who turned the speed up? days seem to be flyin by and I want to stop now and get off, PLEASE!Poppy is coming up to half term, as you can see from the pics there's been alot for the dear heart to contend with and she's not even full time yet!nor will she be until we feel she's ready. We are lucky, the school are very open to under five's being part time, thank goodness..... besides the tiredness, Pops is havin an absolute blast! and loves Mrs. Hawkins her teacher with a passion ( I feel quite jelous :( )

As for me? I seem to have the occasional meltdown.There are a number of reasons for this,

1. I think I'm getting seperation anxiety.

2. The school system is doing my head in.

3. The pressure to get back out there and earn a few beans.

4. My pre-occupation with making these dolls in the hope of making said beans.
5. the postal strike! well, I have to blame someone don't I :)

I have a few things in the pipeline , I really must get a grip though. I want to set up an etsy shop, do any of you know or have dealings with etsy? any advice would be more than generously received.I hope the flippin post is sorted out! my poor dolls are awaiting some hair, poor things. I will do a post on the dolls ,How?why?when? etc. when I'm not such a wreck. Glad to see Kat ( Kat-in-a-flap ) back blogging, and I shall be comin to visit you all one by one to see whats happening. Night, Night, xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

FIRE!!!

2007-10-04T16:52:00.000-07:00

We had our first fire last night. I had been looking forward to the first one for weeks and it did not disappoint. The only trouble was, after having a hot chocolate I found myself gazing dreamily into said fire and not doing the sewing I should have been. Next thing I know, it's midnight!! I had fallen into a deep sleep curled up with Andy sleeping by my side, what a lovely first fire...... Have you had your first fire ?

THE HUTCHINSON'S HARVEST TIME.

2007-09-29T17:56:00.000-07:00

Hi there everyone! hope your all enjoying your weekend? Thought I would share some pics with you, this is what we've been doing today. Getting ready for the winter months. It's a bit sad but also very comforting, the thought of those cosy winter evenings infront of the fire doing my arts and crafts, feeling safe and warm in our little stone cottage while the winter reveals itself outside.Do you get it? maybe I'm just trying to be optimistic, I don't like the dark evenings though...
This is Andy hacking back the ivy, it had got a bit mad, he shouldn't really be doing it, it sets off his hayfever for some reason.

This is moi, picking apples before they rot. I really think I should have worn my ' Platex ' girdle, country girls are all the same!! (arn't they?oh... )

Here are the apples, they've made it as far as the kitchen. What now? I hear you asking, maybe chutney?, maybe jam?, a crumble?, Andy keeps muttering something about cider, yeah right! Maybe tomorrow? we might just eat them as they are with some bread and cheese, sounds good to me. Have a great evening xxxxxxx.

COUNTRY LIVING MAGAZINE,THE JUG AND THE ROBOT

2007-09-26T02:08:00.000-07:00

Every year in my home town we have ' The Open Studios' where artists and craftspeople open their homes and studio spaces to the public, this is over two weekends at the beginning of June.We have a wealth of creative people in this town and it is unbelievable but true, some roads have artists and craftspeople virtually every other house! I love the time of the open studios, it's great to see the work and meet the makers and the nosey side of my nature enjoys seeing how they live.
One such artist is the lovely Kate Loveday. Kate paints lovely still life and flower compositions that would fit in to any environment, they are easy to live with.I purchased my first painting from Kate last year, at the site 06 open studios, it's called ' Favourite Jug' and it had to be mine.
In May, Kate informed me that there would be an article in ' The Country Living Magazine' about her and the open studios. I love getting this magazine and consider it a real treat to thumb through a new one, in peace with a hot chocolate. On getting the June issue, much to my delight, there was the promised article, but even better, there was MY JUG! sat on the shelf where I had found it a year earlier. Silly me, I didn't realise that the articles are planned a year in advance.
Andy informed me that this would be the nearest I would get to being in 'The Country Living' magazine, HARSH! HARSH! A girl can always dream............
This year at the site 07 open studios, yet again, I purchased a Kate Loveday delight called,'Green figs on a red cloth', I haven't a pic of this one, but it hangs at the top of the kitchen stairs. It might turn up in ' Period Living' next year, who knows :)

I just had to show you the picture Poppy did of a robot, Isn't it great!

Have a great week, xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.

FOR GENA AND JULES, AND ALL YOU CAKE LOVERS OUT THERE

2007-09-22T10:54:00.000-07:00

Hi there everyone, as promised, Here is the recipe for the carrot cake I am so in love with at the moment. It is taken from the wonderful book pictured. I discovered this book at my local library when we were making our friends wedding cake. I kept going back for it time and time again, but some cheeky bugger knicked it! I found a copy on Amazon, it was one of my better purchases, it's worth investing in.

This recipe is for a round loose bottomed 7" tin.

Self-raising flour 125g

Plain flour 125g

Ground cinnamon 1 tsp

Ground ginger 3/4 tsp

Ground nutmeg 1/4 tsp

Bicarbonate of soda 1/2 tsp

Vegetable oil 120 ml

Brown sugar140g

Eggs 3

Golden syrup 70 ml

Grated carrot 315g

Pecans or walnuts 50g

Baking time 1 1/2 hours

For the top;

Unsalted butter 150g

Icing sugar 150g

Glace cherries to decorate

Vanilla extract, few drops

This is the way we like our butter icing, but some might prefer it sweeter, if so, just add more icing sugar.

METHOD.

1. Preheat the oven to 170c (325f/gas 3 ). Grease the tin ( with veg oil ) and line the base. Sift together the flours, spices and bicarb of soda into a large bowl and make a well in the centre. Whisk together the oil, sugar, eggs and golden syrup. Gradually pour into the well, stirring until combined. Stir in the carrot and chopped nuts.

2. Pour the mixture into the tin and bake for the time stated. Test the cake at the end of the cooking time, a skewer inserted into the centre should come out clean. Leave the cake to cool in the tin for atleast 15 minutes before turning onto a wire rack to cool.

3. Whisk together softened butter, icing sugar and vanilla extract until blended. Spread onto the cooled cake and decorate with cherries.

It's scrummy, if anyone out there has an alternative carrot cake recipe that you think takes some beating, let me know, I would love to try it.

Andy's making one later today, what a treat!!!

BIG DAY

2007-09-17T14:49:00.000-07:00

Hi there everyone! well I must say, it seems like such a long time since my last post, I have been a tad pre-occupied. As some of you know, it was a big day last Thursday. Can I just take some time to thank all you lovelies that left kind comments for Poppy in her new adventure, it was very comforting to me too, it was lovely xxxxxxxx When we awoke that day we were greeted with this lovely view. The mist had settled down in the valley and it truly felt like the first autumn day, I just had to capture it, and the smell! you know the smell I mean, the fresh earthy one that nips at your cheeks.
Here's my baby, looking so grown up in her school uniform, look at the shiny shoes! look at that grin! she was so excited and skipped down the road with me and Andy.
This is outside the reception waiting to be collected, Poppy is with two of her old chums, boy, they were excited! I was fine at this point and thought that maybe I had done enough crying over this, but alas, when they went in, hand in hand I crumpled, it was quite funny really:) I put my sun glasses on so Poppy wouldn't see her silly mammy crying and they steamed up, I couldn't see a thing!

It's been fine since, but Pops seems so incredibly tired, I suppose it's all the excitement and being with a bigger group of children.

We had a relaxing weekend. It was a neighbours 40th Anniversary and they asked if we would make one of our chocolate cakes. The writing's a bit ifie, but it was a bit early in the morning. Andy also made a carrot cake for Julian as payment for giving George guitar lessons ( he doesn't want money, he prefers baked payment) and one for us too. So yet again it was a cakey weekend ( definately comfort food ).

I must say, I have lots to tell you about, but at the moment I don't know where the time is going. I hope to catch up on things and show you the doll I am making, I need the feedback, to see if they are worth doing. I also need to do my Hobby Horses if I intend to get some ready for Christmas.

I recieved my very first award it's the ' YOU MAKE ME SMILE AWARD', from the lovely Kat (kat-in-a-flap) I'm afraid I haven't managed to drag it over to my blog yet :( but I'll keep trying!I do believe that I am to pass this on to bloggers that make me smile too, this would have to be each and every one of you lovelies that take the time to visit and say hello to me, it makes my day.

THE FLOWER.

2007-09-09T08:35:00.000-07:00

Arn't flowers wonderful ? more and more as I get older I seem to fall under their spell and am amazed by how seductive they are, not only to bees and insects but to us humans too. I haven't as yet met anyone who hasn't fallen under their charms, wheather it be as a love token, for their beautiful perfume or the part they play in producing food. Look at these beautiful flowers, they are growing on our butternut squash plant, and look what they turn into, a squash!

Now you may think that we named Poppy because we love Poppies, well, yes I do, but no, I feel that fate played a part in this. You see, Andy, Pop's dad loved the name but I was not sure, may sound strange, but I just couldn't imagine the name growing with her, I could only see a Poppy as a cute little girl but not as a young woman or old lady, I was not buying it.

One sunny Saturday morning in early July I went into labour. I can remember standing at the kitchen sink gazing in to the garden trying to breath through the pain, when something caught my eye, there was a beautiful pink Poppy bobbing in the breeze, all on it's own. It hadn't been there when we went to bed and there had never been Poppies there before. FATE I told myself, how could she be anything else. We still have that beautiful Poppy pressed intoan old ' Hutchinson Encyclopedia', our name. It's one of my most cherished things and I think Poppy will enjoy the story of how she got her name.
Poppy starts school on Thursday, she starts a new adventure, without me. I thought I would make her a kit bag using odd bits of material to make her name and ofcourse flowers are used, she'll know it's hers, Mammy always gives her flowers, xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxEnjoy baby girl.

P.S. I was watching the news one evening, a wonderful sweet 80 year old was being interviewed, her name came up as Poppy. I smiled to myself, my fears were very much unfounded. xxxxxx

SOME OF MY CORNERS AND CUPBOARDS AND MY POORLY BLOG

2007-09-05T19:59:00.000-07:00

I'm afraid I'm having a few teething problems with my blog, have lost two blogs that took an age for me to write so am reluctant to write very much until problem has been sorted. Thought I would put some pics of some corners and cupboards in my house, then try and post, wish me luck!

Do you like Emma Bridgewater? I love her bird and animal series.There is a story to be told about the little painting above the smeg, hope I can tell you someday soon, a little clue,' Country Living', May or June issue.

I love my old meat safes, discovered these in a cellar of a house my friend Lawrence had bought. I made some decorated bathroom cabinets in exchange for these two beauties, they took some cleaning and stripping I can tell you.

OK! OK!

2007-09-02T17:41:00.000-07:00

OK! I take it all back, I promise I won't tag you, It's gettin a bit lonely over here. Come and have some cake, come on. xxxx

I'VE BEEN TAGGED.

2007-09-01T09:31:00.000-07:00

Hi there, I've just discovered that I've been tagged by Kat (kat-in-a-flap), it's called 'The Name Game' where I have to use the letters of my middle name to describe things relevant to myself. It's not easy is it?I don't have a middle name, so I shall use the middle name of one of my best and oldest friends (i've used it before in other tight situations, but we wont go into that...)
L.ayers - I always wear layers of clothing, I have gained the name of "Annie two skirts" from some and it has been commented on many a time. I just love mixing different textures and colours and I'm always prepared for our British climate.
E.ngland - I have lived in England now for 21 years (!!!??!) I came to study sculpture back in 1986 and have been longing to return to my beloved homeland ever since, that being Wales. Don't get me wrong, I love where I live, it's very beautiful, but I have to have my fix of the Welsh mountains. I shall go back , I have a cunning plan..........
A.llergy - I have an allergy to eggs. I hear gasps from all the cake lovers out there, do not despair, for I can partake of various spongy delights, but the cakes have to be well baked, I cannot eat meringues ,moose or anything like that. I can tell now by the texture and smell of a cake if I can eat it or not, and if I'm in doubt I don't risk it, the consequences are too great.
Last week, Andy was making carrot cake, I walked into the kitchen, in a bowl was what I thought was the lemon butter icing for the top, I don't know why I did it! I'm usually Miss Paranoia when it comes to mixtures in pots, but before Andy could stop me, I put my finger in and put it in my mouth. He told me it was raw cake mixture, I ran to the bathroom and did all I could to remove any trace of the mixture, immediately I could feel my throat thickening, I tell you, I was scared. I had the biggest dose of Piriton I could have and waited.I took my mind off it by cleaning the bathroom (that is bad). Thankfully, all I received were stinging lips and mouth, I won't do that again!
H.air - I have mad hair. I started going grey at the age of sixteen, an inheritance from my mother, THANKS MA! As a child I never had my hair cut and it was very long, at fourteen I decided enough was enough and got it cut to shoulder length. When I got home, as you do, I washed all the products out of my hair. I remember being in my room and catching sight of myself in the dressing table mirror, had the shock of my life, my hair had gone incredibly curly!On showing my mother she calmly said," oh yes! you had curly hair when you were little". We didn't have any photos of me as a baby( I always thought this funny...) and my hair was sooo long it only had a slight wave in it, so I never knew.
Now my hair is 98% white, so i've been told, but, with the help of a fantastic hair salon, I choose to cover up this fact, for the time being anyway.
There you go, strange but true. I believe I am supposed to tag four people now, thing is, I think all the bloggers I visit have been tagged, so I will say, If you visit my blog and leave a comment ( you watch, I wont get any comments now will I, come on girls you know you want to really!)Your tagged! TTFN xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

SUMMER LOVIN

2007-08-29T17:11:00.000-07:00

No one could say that we have had a good summer this year, no, far from it. The summer I'm lovin is the one that I've spent with my children and the times when Andy could dip his toe in and leave the stresses of the daily grind behind him. Every year at this time, without fail, the same pangs of woe fall over me. I swear that I can even smell it in the air, the smell, that as a child I dreaded because it meant only one thing, Autumn is coming and with that, SCHOOL. I did not like school, I found it a hard place to be, I felt that there was no room for individuality, you had to become one of the crowd, like sheep, and I still have these concerns to this day.
My little girl starts school in two weeks! she's so little, and my pre - conceived ideas of what school is about does not help the situation. We had non of this with George, our eldest, as he entered into an independant curative Steiner education, where ' The Lord Of The Flies ' mentality just does not exist, he's been a very lucky boy!
Poppy is a strong willed, independant little girl, and I have to take comfort in that and believe that she will be one of the lucky ones too.

We like the school and they allow the parents to decide the amount of hours the little ones do before the age of five, thats good.
On a more positive note, Poppy starting school means that mentally I am now seeing my life back in my studio and am planning the way forward for my arts and crafts , Christmas on the horizon and ways to make some income.

My business used to be called ' Sculptural Skulduggary', but it's time for fresh pastures, so I've taken the name I've given my space, ' The Little Wren House Factory'. It's past life was as the old wash house , a lovely old brick building with stone walls inside, a really sweet space.I must say though, it does need a bit of a make over inside and hope to do it this weekend while the children go off with their beloved grandparents. I hope to show some before and after pics soon, wish us luck!

Meanwhile I shall have to be contented with washing all my bits of fabric ready for my new big adventure.

The last pic is of my Pops on her hobby horse that we made for her a couple of Christmas's ago, Andy cut it out and I painted it , have some more ready for painting, maybe could sell them at Christmas? maybe.......xxxxxxxxxx

BANK HOLIDAY

2007-08-26T20:49:00.000-07:00

Woke up to this early morning sunshine, the sort that makes you excited about the day ahead, mmmm, what shall we do?We could sit up here , relaxing, enjoying the fine start to the day ?

Naaah, lets go down and make some JAM!!!!!

Oh look , someone's stealing my thunder , should have guessed he would get involved , a sniff of food and he's in there.

Seriously though, it was great fun and we were like small children in a sweet shop when the plums magically turned to jam. Andy said this was our finest hour! I do hope he's joking ( he'll deny it now after all the excitement, tee hee )

Ah look, there they are, all safely tucked up in their bonnets.........
Plumb chutney tomorrow!! xxxx

THE BATHROOM

2007-08-26T10:46:00.000-07:00

I would like to talk about my favourite room in the house, our bathroom. I think I have always been pleased with it because it was produced from nothing, that is, it started it's days as a dirty dark coal cellar that showed no promise whatsoever.
I remember all the hard work it took to transform the space, evenings digging the dirt floor up with a pick axe while our little boy watched with wonder. I'd always dreamed of having a big bathroom with a free standing bath and it was very exciting seeing my dream come true.
As you can see from the pics, it's not what you'd call a subtle colour. I went out to buy a beige shade and came back with this Designer's Guild paint, you should have seen Andy's face! but I knew it would be right. We love it and everyone that pays it a visit gasp at the fantastic glow it gives off. It desperately needs redecorating but we want the same colour, we haven't had enough of it yet, if I cant find it I will have to get a colour match done. In the pic with the cupboard, you can see where we have had plaster work done, it REALLY REALLY needs doing!

I don't mind bits of chipped paint, infact it's what I like , but this is going too far. Everything we have in the house seems to come with a story, for as much as possible, we have exchanged or bartered for the things we've wanted or they have come from charity shops or sellers of vintage delights.
The bath is a lovely old french claw footed beauty that we exchanged a french day bed and some cash for. The lovely overmantel I aquired from a friend in exchange for some child care, it's one of my favourite things in the house, it's where I keep my small collection of perfume bottles and there is always an image of my maternal grandmother watching over us, don't know if she would approve?

The last pic is of a ceramic Bast Cat , it is very special to me because it was the last cat I made and I was heavily pregnant with my son George at the time. The cat has spent most of the time in the garden in various positions, lastly used as a monument on my cat Margo's grave before I decided to put it in the bathroom. Andy was a bit unsure, for it was well weathered and a little bit green, I just explained how it was just perfect because of that, he just gave up.

A pre-occupation with food

2007-08-23T13:17:00.000-07:00

It seems to be a busy time for us at the moment, and all based around collecting fruit and vegetables. I didn't see much of Andy last night as he marched off to the allotment to collect some veg. He appeared an hour or so later carrying these little lovelies. He spent the next few hours stringing them together, dont they look great?!!

As you can see from the kitchen pic, we do have a bit of a storage issue to address , we have onions hanging from everything!
We, that is, me and the children spent some of the morning picking plums in the garden, there were twice as much again that will be ready on the weekend. I plan to make jam and have picked up a few good tips from the more experienced jammy bloggers out there, thanks Gena at ' These Foolish Things' ( how do you do links anyway?) and Niki at ' Nostalgia at the Stone House'. Wish me luck , TTFN,Annie x

Bees Knees, Chicken's Elbows, Rasher Winds And Fried Snowballs!!

2007-08-19T15:08:00.000-07:00

The rain is falling quite heavily yet again today, it's getting to be a little bit tedious now, don't you think? The children are restless and so am I. What to do? What to do?
When I'm feeling like this I always find it best if I go in the kitchen and make something. It is always to the sound of music, today it's the blues, Billy Holiday.
George had informed me yesterday that I hadn't made a Lasagne for a while, so I decided I would make a pasta bake ( no Lasagne I'm afraid ), it would give me the opportunity to use some of the courgettes that seem to grow like magic beans over the allotment.
I always find that this time in the kitchen always puts me in a better place and the rest of the family, strangely enough, find things to busy themselves too, it's like setting an example.
George without fail, every day, will ask me, " what's for dinner today?" Today I replied with, " bees knees, chicken's elbows, rasher winds and fried snowballs ". When I was very young, under five, a neighbour used to look after me , her name was Magan and her husband was called Cledwin, they used to say this to me and it comes out of my mouth when I least expect it. That old couple are gone now, but their expressions live on. I've never heard it used by anyone else, have you?
Even Rufus has had enough today, he's taken to his bed, or should I say, my basket. Never mind Rufus, tomorrows another day, maybe the sun will shine for us.

Look ! My Name

2007-08-18T17:21:00.000-07:00

The knitting Circle And Other Knitting Tales.

2007-08-16T20:04:00.000-07:00

I like to try my hand at different crafts, sewing , rag rugging , felting , I even made a huge crochet blanket as a teenager , but the one that got away was knitting. The reason for this I think was that my Ma was a fantastic knitter and did all our jumpers and cardigans. I think I always felt that it was her baby and what was the point when it was already being catered for. That was until Poppy was born. My Ma could no longer knit due to a touch of athritis in her fingers. Luckily, i had kept some of the little baby knits she had done for my first born.
In February this year, Betty, one of my friends, suggested starting our own knitting circle, just a gathering of five or six to meet in one of our houses one evening a week. I always intended to learn how to read patterns and make something one day, but I hadn't lifted a pair of knitting needles since I was eight, a very long time ago, I was not alone, and we were up for the challenge,and all the goodies we would bring to each circle.
I love vintage knitting patterns and scoured ebay for any that grabbed my attention. A lovely pattern of a childs zipped cardigan came up for auction, and I made it mine.On delivery of the pattern it became obvious to me that it was beyond my capabilities, but desperate to have the little cardigan for Poppy, I set about finding a whizz with the needles. Audrey Mitchell, what a star! lovely retired lady who spends her time lovingly producing beautiful knits, for the cost of £8!
As you can see from the pic she did a grand job, and just in two weeks, I was very pleased, and insisted on giving her more for all her good work.
Meanwhile I started gingerly with a pattern of tea cosies ( I love tea cosies! ) and enjoyed the knitting evenings with my pals, not so much stitch and bitch, more bake and binge!The tea cosy in the pic I've made with left over wool and some of my lovely vintage buttons, also aquired from the wonderful Ebay.
It's a friends birthday, so I decided to give her a cosy, I found a lovely teapot for £4 in an antique shop, there you go, sorted!
I think I must try knitting something a bit more challenging now, there's a lovely little cardigan with ducks on, maybe that? or should I phone Audrey?it's too easy is'nt it!
Thought I would put a pic in of the lovely cupcakes my mate Lianne made for her Birthday, arn't they great colours, very fifties. Lianne is on a baking frenzie at the moment ( it's all that breast feeding! ) she brings all sorts of delights to the knitting circle. I got her the cake stand from the same antique shop, the biggest cake stand i've seen! Keep baking Lianne, I'll keep eating!!! xxxxx

Three friends and a wedding.

2007-08-14T16:50:00.000-07:00

I want to tell you about what was happening in my life exactly a year ago. A very old and dear friend of mine had decided to get married on August 20th 2006. Cath, the dear old friend, as dear as she is, is completely bonkers!she not only had started a new challenging job, she had undergone IVF for a much wanted baby, got pregnant and said baby was due at the end of June, yes, six weeks before the big day!
Cath asked me to be her ' Maid of Honour' which I was all too pleased to do, bit nervous, not too keen on too much attention, but hey! this is my old mate....
THEN, they ask us to do their WEDDING CAKE! three tiers, chocolate, carrot and small fruit.It's one thing making cakes for fun and enjoyment, but making someones' wedding cake? the nerves kicked in.
It has to be said that we were getting a bit of a name for ourselves and our late night baking sessions, Andy baking, me decorating. We didn't have a mixer at the time and Andy was a whizz at beating up the mixture. Midnight would find us in the kitchen beavering away, it was great fun.
Ebay came to our rescue, I'd longed for a kitchen Aid and this was just the excuse I needed, Andy wasn't arguing, he looked more worried than me!Aaahhh, voila , our fine friend, brand new and half the price, not red, but hey, we had to get our priorities right.
July found me in the library and book shops, looking for cake decorating books. Cath was having Roses and Freesias with variegated ivy. Everything was discussed over the phone, Cath lives in Wales and I live in England, I had to guess the colours, and bought the flowers from the flower stall to copy.
I found the most fantastic cake book in the library, so we were ready for the meg baking session of our lives, crumbs!
The thing to mention is that at this time we were in the thick of the school hols and we were the proud new owners of two gorgeous new baby kittens who were very lively and naughty.
I juggled my days with making sugar paste flowers and play dough with Poppy on the old scrub top kitchen table, while the kittens climbed and creaked their way into the table draw, my nerves were in tatters by the end , each day being a midnight/1am finish.
We pulled it off though, a hundred mile journey , down some ropey welsh mountain roads, on to the stands, GREAT! now just the Maid of Honour bit to get through and the guests EATING the cakes, Andy's turn to worry, would they taste ok?Yep, Cath and Jeff loved the cake, thank goodness.By the end of the day we were exhausted, we'd spent weeks working on the bloody thing and it was a VERY expensive wedding gift, but their worth it. Don't ask me to do it again in a hurry though.
P.S. I was amazed by how well the cake matched the wedding bouquets, lady luck was on my side. xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Allotment Love

2007-08-13T09:31:00.000-07:00

This is our allotment, which is situated at the end of our road, two minutes from our house. We had an allotment before Poppy was born, but reluctantly gave it up for time was needed for nurturing our new offspring and renovating our cottage. Last September I aquired a new allotment for Andy, stress was getting the better of him with work commitments and the allotment always seemed to do a good job of putting him in a better place. Also, all the organic veg would be a fantastic bonus too. I try to buy as much as I can organically, but find the cost shameful.

I am very proud to show some of the produce collected by Andy yesterday, spinach, onions, beetroot, beans and courgettes that seem grow to giant proportions overnight!We have a store of raspberries and gooseberries in the freezer waiting for me to do something fantastic with them, Oh the pressure! must find some great jam recipies, I've never made jam.....
The great thing about the allotment is that the children can witness how food is produced and how magic it is to be able to go pick some beans and be eating them off the plate at tea time.

As for my man, he's not stressed and it fulfills the hunter/gatherer in him.

What can I do with all those courgettes? xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

How green is my valley?

2007-08-11T18:28:00.000-07:00

Today on this beautiful summers day I want to write about a part of our house that is very important to us. It's the balcony that we wisely had built three years ago onto our back lounge.As I have mentioned before, our house is on three floors at the back, our lounge being on the first floor and kitchen in the basement.

Needless to say, we thought the back of our house resembled a block of flats while the front looks like a quaint cottage, something was needed! The balcony was just what we needed, and as you can see from my pics, the views are pretty good too.

The picture on the left is the view we have down the valley towards the picturesque village of Slad. this little village became famous for one individual who was born and grew up there and later wrote a book called ' Cider With Rosie ', his name was Laurie Lee.

When we first moved here, I read this book and the books following his adventures in the Spanish civil war, and it made me fall in love with the place. Our elderly neighbour, Mr. Woods told me of some of the charecters in ' Cider With Rosie ' that he knew from his days working in the co-op in the thirties, I loved that.

The balcony has had it's uses in other ways too, great for hanging baskets on and swings to keep the little one amused while we potter.

The last pic shows the balcony with it's awning, don't know why, but it always reminds me of a mad sailing vessel, like something out of Swiss family Robinson, no?oh well, must keep taking the pills...

On the left is "the little wren house factory", my workroom ,it was the old wash house in it's original state. I'll blog about that another time.

Time to go and enjoy the view one more time before making dinner. TTFN Annie x

THE FLOWER.

2007-08-08T21:29:00.000-07:00

Arn't flowers wonderful ? more and more as I get older I seem to fall under their spell and am amazed by how seductive they are, not only to bees and insects but to us humans too. I haven't met anyone yet that hasn't fallen under their charms, wheather it be as a love token , for their beautiful perfume or the part they play in producing food. look at these beautiful flowers, they are growing on our butternut squash plant, and look what they turn into, a squash!

Now you may think that we named Poppy because we love poppies, well, yes I do, but no, I feel that fate played a part in this. You see Andy, Pop's dad loved the name but I was not sure, may sound strange, but I just couldn't imagine the name growing with her, I could always see a Poppy as a cute little girl but not as a woman or old lady, I was not buying it.

One sunny Saturday morning in early July I went into labour. I can remember standing at the sink gazing into the garden trying to breath through the pain, when something caught my eye, there was a beautiful pink Poppy bobbing in the breeze, all on it's own. It hadn't been there when we went to bed and there had never been Poppies there before. FATE I told myself, how could she be anything else. We still have that beautiful Poppy, pressed into ' The Hutchinson Encyclopedia', our name. It's one of my most cherished things and I think Poppy will enjoy the story of how she got her name.

Poppy starts school on Thursday, she starts a new adventure, without me. I thought I would make her a kit bag using odd bits of material to make her name and of course flowers are used, she'll know it's hers, Mammy always gives her flowers. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxEnjoy baby girl.
P.S. I was watching the news one evening , a wonderful sweet 80 year old lady was being interviewed, her name came up as Poppy, I smiled to myself, my fears were very much unfounded. xxxxxx

The Big Chill

2007-08-08T12:02:00.000-07:00

This is Andy at the 'Big Chill' music festival last weekend. Andy and the children had never been to a festival before, and I hadn't been since my late teens, so it was quite a new experience for us as a family. We went with some good friends of ours, Lianne and Rich and their two children. It has to be said, a good time was had by all. the weather was great for us, and it was very much geared to families. We particularly enjoyed taking Poppy to the daily puppet show, I love the traditional puppets and hope to make some some day, but the stories can be a bit savage!

I'm not what you would call a born camper, the first night was sleepless but luckily it was a one off and everyone else slept well.We would have a night cap of hot chocolate with brandy(just us grown ups) and that would set us right for the night.

It's surprising how quickly you grow accustomed to the constant music and sleeping with 27,000 people. It was a welcome break and a great experience for the children, where's the next one? It's a bit quiet round here. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

BEAUTY IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER.

2007-08-05T17:40:00.000-07:00

Arn't flowers wonderful!!!I don't know of anyone who doesn't fall under their spell, do you ? Not only are they seductive to all bees and insects, they're seductive to us too.

Look at our Butternut squash plant, the wonderful flowers that are produced and then develop into the squash itself, I think it's magic! and this is something that has really dawned on me since growing our own veg and fruit. We take flowers a bit for granted I think, can you imagine a world without them....dreary.
This is our flower, Poppy. I love poppies as I love many flowers, but it was not my choice in naming our baby girl, I believe fate had a hand to play, let me tell you why.

We were going through the baby name book with George one Sunday, late on in my pregnancy, now Andy is difficult to please when it comes to names, and I was reading through the names trying to stay positive amid the gasps and groans coming from the father. We got to the 'p's, and I was starting to lose the will to live. On announcing Poppy, Andy brightened and said," thats it! it's lovely". Now I had no such certainty rushing through me and all I could think was that I could only imagine a little cute child called Poppy, but not an old Poppy , it was not my first choice that was for sure.

Anyhow, one sunny Saturday in early July, while having breakfast, I started having labour pains. I stood at the sink gazing out of the window onto our garden, breathing through the pains, when something caught my eye. There was a beautiful pink Poppy bobbing in the breeze, I'd never seen one there before and it had'nt been there the day before it must have opened that morning. I thought how wonderful this was and how could I not call our baby girl after this beautiful flower, and so this is how Poppy got her name. We still have that Poppy pressed into an old Hutchinson Encyclopedia, Hutchinson is our surname, it is very precious to me. This sort of thing happens to me from time to time and this is why I believe there is such a thing as fate.

Poppy, my sweetheart, starts school next week so I decided that I would make her kit bag myself, just to feel like I'm doing something positive towards her new adventure without me.Ofcourse flowers were involved yet again, how could they not, it's what she is to me. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

P.S. I have since seen an eighty year old Poppy and all my concerns were unfounded, she was wonderful and the name does age well.

Dreeeeaaaams, dreams, dreams dreeeams........

2007-07-30T20:57:00.000-07:00

Hey, I know this looks bad ( but oooh so good in that glass goblet! ) it's all the fault of George Dylan and the play scheme organisers. Every year they insist on taking the kids to CADBURY WORLD!It's amazing how much chocolate he brings home for a few quid. Needless to say, all the lovely dreams are over, it was nice while it lasted.Maybe I should stick to making sweet stuff, but things I can't eat like my ' Angel Cake ' using vintage material and buttons, Far more satisfying at the end of the day.TTFN, Annie x

Ye Old Speckled Hen

2007-07-27T14:32:00.000-07:00

This is our old range in the kitchen, affectionately known as " old Speckled Hen". When we moved into our house ten years ago alot of the old features of our 1850 cottage had either been ripped out or covered up i.e. with hard board, but we could see there was a jewel underneath.
Our house sits on a hill, so the front of the house has two floors while the back has three floors. Our kitchen and bathroom sit in the basement. Where our kitchen is now, used to be the bathroom, where the bathroom is used to be the coal cellar, are you following this?
Anyway, alot of jiggery pokery went on . We wanted to find a lovely old black range to fit where the original once took pride of place so we went on the hunt. We came across the old hen in a reclamation yard in Cirencester, it was love at first sight, she is a lovely 1920's range, all brown with cream speckles, and amazingly she had been taken from a house down the road from our house, she had to be ours!
Andy put hen in, money was tight so I came up with the idea of using a piece of marble that I used to prepare my clay, this went above the range. We then used the old outside toilet doors for the surround, complete with carved graffiti from years ago and the handle to tie the airer onto. The range works a treat, but our table sits quite close to it, so it doesn't get used that much.I love it, it makes our kitchen , and I seem to have a thing for overmantels, plenty of space to put all our china and bits on. I shall do a post on the other mantels in my life at a later date, I think you can tell alot by the objects people display on their mantels, what's on yours?

Rufus Rhinehorn

2007-07-25T11:02:00.000-07:00

This is photo of my boy Rufus, he's half

Abyssinian ( is that how it's spelt ? ) but very Abyssinian in look and personality.

He is fourteen months old and the place would'nt be the same without him or his sister Mildred, can't show you a photo of her yet, she doesn't like the sound of my camera, so i'll have to catch her when she's relaxing.

Anyhow, just a quick preview, shall tell you their story another day.

A quick P.S. from my earlier blog, sorry JANE from "posy" spelt your name wrong xxx

What A Difference A Day Makes

2007-07-25T09:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we woke to find the sun shining and not a drop of rain to be seen. Things seem so much better in the sunshine don't they?While having breakfast we listened to the local radio station to find out if we are losing water-reality check, but no, not yet.

Andy went off to work in Gloucester carrying his lunch and eight pints of water, myself and the children planned our day together.Before anything else I needed to do our laundry, normally not something i'm desperate to do but hey, it's amazing what the threat of no water for two weeks does, and what a lovely day for pegging it on the line. I love washing on the line especially all Pop's little dresses, and you can't beat the smell you get on the clothes from dancing in the breeze.
It's ironic , today we had two deliveries, one being a new hammock with a stand, mmmm , the parcel man seemed to think this would be a good omen, summer had arrived.

The second delivery was our ' The Big Chill' tickets for next week. The festival is held in Worcestershire, currently under water, so dont know what 's gonna happen there
Later myself and the two lovelies decided to take "Doris" into town to collect a few groceries. We love "Doris " there seems to be a big debate in blogland about trollies i.e. cool or not very cool , apart from being a necessity with the hills round here, they've become the thing to have and " Doris" is not alone. The picture is especially for Jayne at ' Posy ' who would love one but I think is a bit unsure how it will be received, Look , how can you resist ?

TTFN, Annie x

The end of term Festival with an indoor BBQ :(

2007-07-20T21:58:00.000-07:00

' The Shieling School ' Festival has come around once more, this is G.D.'s seventh at the school. I look forward to and dread them all at the same time. I love seeing how much effort the children , co - workers and staff have put in to the Festival for the pleasure of all us parents, but I always cry when we say goodbye to the senior students. There are only seventeen pupils in this fabulous school, it's a very close knit community so when we lose a couple you feel like your losing part of the family.

The up side is that these young adults have been given the perfect grounding to help them through the everyday challenges they will encounter - Not too many we hope.

Anyway, the majority of the festival was to be spent in the hot summer sun, well, we all know what happened next, the most rain in July i've ever seen!So, it was spent indoors, the students taught us some folk dancing moves and each class performed a small piece. G.D.'s class did 'The Blind Men And The Elephant' by John Godfrey, it was lovely.

We later went and had our BBQ in the gym hall while the rain came down in torrents outside. We then collected all G.D.'s work from his classroom before saying our goodbye's to everyone, especially the lovely co - workers who had shared the past year with the children 24/7. Most were going back to their countries to carry on with their studies and their lives.

It took us two hours to get home, a journey that normally takes us half an hour. The floods were incredible! and we kept having to turn round and try another route, but hey, we made it and are comfortably cacooned in our little house, thinking of all the poor people who have not been so fortunate tonight. Hoping you are safe and warm this dreadful night.

SUNSUNSUNSUNSUNSUNSUNSUNSUNSUNSUNSUNSUNSUNSUNSUNSUNSUNSUNSUN SUNSUNSUNSUNSUNSUNSUNSUNSUNSUNSUN, thats enough of that............

TTFN X

' The Angel Cafe'

2007-07-19T17:11:00.000-07:00

Thought I would write about ' The Angel Cafe ' today. This is where a small group of us meet on Friday mornings, there's a small market where the W.I. have a stall selling cheap plants and cut flowers and a lovely lady called Mary shiner sells bric - a - brac and some real gems can be found on her stall. There is always a lovely atmosphere in town on Friday's , maybe it's the thought of the weekend stretched ahead of us?

Anyhow, we meet in ' the Angel ', we drink our favourite bevvies while the children are offered sugar free lollies and have the run of the cafe and small courtyard garden.

Angie and Joy run the cafe and are mad about angels. There are a few of us in the group who are artists but have found that motherhood has taken priority of late, we saw an opportunity that ourselves and the ladies could benefit from.We asked if we could set up an exhibition based on "Angels", they loved the idea.

This was great for me, because I had'nt exhibited or sold any work for three years!

I loved getting back into my art work, but it was quite difficult at times with looking after Pops and keeping everything together around here, but i enjoyed the challenge .
The result was rediscovering my love for printmaking and incorporating vintage finds into my fabric collage pictures. As far as I was concerned, the exhibition was a success even before the opening day because i'd managed to get enough work together and proved to myself it can be done even under difficult situations.

Poppy starts school, part time , in September ( oohh! my aching heart...) so i'll be able to concentrate on the direction i want to take with my work, wheather it's ceramics, feltmaking, printmaking or china restoration, it could be all of the above, why not? It'll be fun trying. TTFN, Annie x

Busy Hands Make Hours Fly??!!

2007-07-18T16:20:00.000-07:00

I've spent the whole of today avoiding something, CLEANING. I'm not talking about the usual type of cleaning that we do on a day to day basis, but the sort you do after a phone call from relatives saying their coming to visit, oooh poo! It's not that I dont want to see them, but my mother is very house proud and would give up the opportunity of a trip out so she can wash her windows, this is not me i'm afraid.

To say our house is eclectic would be a bit of an understatement, but we love being surrounded by all our "things". So, the place only really gets a good going over when we get such a phone call.

It's probably quite funny to the fly on the wall, we're usually quite layed back and do things at a leisurely pace, but on the morning of the visit both myself and Andy run around doing anything that catches our eye (we have been known to put dirty dishes in the cooker before now when the Estate Agent wanted to show someone around, how bad was that! ).

By the time the visitors arrive the house looks glorious, well, we think so, but we could sleep for a week!

I think that i'm trying to say that our house is not a show home, it's somewhere where we can all relax and play and sleep and dream surrounded by all the things that make it "home".

About A Boy

2007-07-17T09:11:00.000-07:00

Today I would like to introduce you to a very special person, this is George Dylan, my boy.On seeing the few blogs I have written, George asked me why there was nothing about him on there, the truth of the matter is that I could write a novel on the twelve years we've shared with this boy, and I've been building up to it, so here goes.
George is the kindest, gentlest person you could wish to meet, yes, I say this as his proud mother, but truthfully, if you met him you would agree.
You see, George has not had an easy time of it, complications were noticed at the age of fourteen months, and it was'nt until he was four that a diagnosis was made. Basically, George was hearing too much, Hyperacusis, the consequence of this being that he could'nt talk and carried alot of autistic tendancies.
To cut a long story short, we got George in to a 'Steiner' camp hill school called ' The Sheiling School' as a day pupil, and he has'nt looked back ever since. He has such an enthusiasm for life and loves meeting all sorts of people. He amazes everyone with his ability to remember dates and can tell you what happened on a particular day, years previously!
It has to be said that he is hypersensative emotionally, add that to premature puberty( George looks sixteen ) some days can be a bit challenging, but we would'nt change him for the world and his little sister adores him, they make such a funny pair!

A bit confused? I should say!

2007-07-11T11:29:00.002-07:00

Well I dont know about you, but we're gettin a little bit fed up with the state of the weather. We wonder each day, is it going to be sandals or boots?, sun glasses or woolly hats? Poppy has given up and taken to wearing both because her mother invariably gets it wrong.

We are getting a little bit concerned that summertime as has been is not going to show itself this year. This would be just our luck as we have purchased tickets for 'The Big Chill' a three day music festival at Eastnor Castle at the beginning of August, a family orientated event that should cater for all our needs and wishes - BUT NOT IN THE RAIN! I'm not an experienced camper, not with children anyway, and my mind is rapidly switching from romantic notions of little brown berry children skipping around dressed in very little, and us lazing in the sunshine drinking wine listening to great music to grey skies, miserable children ,wellies and wet bin liners. I must say, I love our climate, I love the fact we have four seasons, but I definately think our summer has gone on holiday.

Elizabeth Price 1909 - 2007

2007-07-11T11:29:00.000-07:00

Today, I would like to do a post about someone who has been very special to myself and my family. This photograph was taken in 1927 and it's of my great auntie Bett, when she was eighteen. The story goes that her older brother Howell had, whilst walking along the river bank one day, discovered a sack in the water. on closer inspection he found four little ducklings in the tied sack. Without hesitation, he took the ducklings home to be cared for by the family. My auntie was one of six, two boys and four girls. The eldest girl being Gwynneth, my grandmother.

Now, it has to be said, the bond between the sisters lasted more than ninety years. With the exception of Gwynneth, all lived a wonderfully long life ( Gwynneth died aged 38 ). Ronwen died first aged 89, then Ceinwen aged 90, and lastly, on the 2nd of July my dear auntie Bett, bless her, left us to rejoin the sisterhood aged 98.

Now I know you will be all thinking this is a good age, innings etc. but when someone like Bett is in your life, you never want to believe it will ever end. There is so much I could tell you about this simple, funny lady, and one day I will tell you some of the little treasures she has left with me and my sisters deeply inbedded in our hearts. I just want to pay her tribute right now for being the strong matriach, who was there for my mother when things were grim, and making her home one that I shall always aspire to, my love of all things old with history has come from auntie Bett and her sisters, they have played a major part in who I am today.

Though I didnt get to see her very often, I have come to realise these last few weeks how much my thoughts return to her house, Maes -Yr - Onen, in my day to day life.

Happy Birthday Dear Poppy

2007-07-06T20:26:00.000-07:00

Today is the greatest day, it's Poppy's fourth birthday. We had a really nice day, not earth shatteringly exciting, but lovely all the same. Andy took the day off work and after opening cards and presents we made our way into town. It's market day on Fridays and we like to go and buy some flowers off the W.I. before meeting friends for a drink in a favourite cafe. Poppy loved it, it's great meeting up like this every Friday, it's amazing how we feel enpowered to put the world to rights over hot chocolate and cake!
Later we had a birthday tea with george, Grandma and Grandad. Poppy loved the dolly cake we managed to pull together, Andy baking and me decorating,Phew! Happy Birthday sweet girl x x

At Last....We're off !!!

2007-07-01T05:47:00.000-07:00

Well hello there everyone, welcome to my first ever blog. I must say, it's been a bit like pulling teeth, what with not really having a clue as to how I set up a blog and the day to day running of this place, well, anyway I think I've cracked it, and here I am. My blog sat there with just it's name for company for four days while I tip toed around it, but I proudly announced to Andy that five people had visited my blog, he gleefully proclaimed that the five persons were beyond any reasonable doubt just one person, that being, ME. I think I'm in trouble.I think I need a lie down now, but shall try harder next time.
TTFN,
Annie x