Thursday 25 June 2009

What big teeth you have!



"Who me? I'm just tired & bored of you taking photos!"


Tuesday 23 June 2009

Latest Finds



Vintage books



Vintage sewing


Vintage teaware



Plates


Vintage tins


Retro kitchenalia


Covered coathangers


More china


Yet more china


Cute stuff

Monday 22 June 2009

From The Sublime....


.....to the ridiculous! Looks like one of the girls was on strike & the other on overtime!

Sunday 21 June 2009

Floss's Garden Party

We've all been invited to Floss's birthday bash - a garden party!

The garden is all beautified & the prettiest china has been set out....



...the paper chains & bunting are strung up.....




....a chair is waiting for the birthday girl
(Pippa is keeping it warm in the mean time)......




I've bought a bouquet of flowers.......




....and a gift......




The cakes are baked.....chocolate.....





....Victoria sponge.......




....and muffins......






....so, come out into the garden & enjoy (but mind out for the bumble bees!)

Friday 19 June 2009

Dressing Tables



I was wafting a duster & some polish around my bedroom (not my favourite occupation I might add!) and started thinking about dressing tables.

I remember my mum having a sleek 60's/70's one when I was a child. A long one with a knee hole in the middle so you could sit down while preening, applying your make up or completing your bee hive hair do. It had various drawers containing fascinating lotions & potions, brushes & rollers etc.

My sister & I had our hair cut on many occasions while sitting in front of it & probabably experimented with applying my mum's make up too!

I had a little white painted kidney shaped one with a free standing mirror on top & a curtain around the front - a "Dolly Varden" I think!
It went very well with my fringed pink candlewick bedspread in the days before duvets.

You don't see that many dressing tables in bedrooms these days do you? Once an essential part of a lady's life it seems they have become a little obsolete.

Having said that, I do have a dressing table - my mum bought it at auction for me when I was about 15 & it has travelled to various houses with me & across the sea too - it probably originated in England before being taken to South Africa & now it is back here.




It is such a practical item of furniture, one wonders why they ever fell out of fashion.

It holds lots of things in it's various drawers & I keep some pretties on display too.






Above the dressing table I display my small collection of Victorian silver purses & a chatelaine which holds various useful items such as a tiny hand mirror, a propelling pencil, a coin holder & a button hook.


I'm always impressed with how even practical, useful things were always pretty as well as functional - perhaps that is the attraction of vintage? The effort put into even the simplest item?

So....how many of you still have a dressing table or have memories of one?

Tuesday 16 June 2009

Let's go for a walk

" Wait for me!"

I thought you might like to walkies with us today - we are fortunate enough to live on a lane which goes nowhere except to a farm so the dogs don't need leads. If we walk out of our house & turn left this is the road that we follow. Toby is running to catch up with Lucy (you can just see her on the inside bend at the top of the photo). They are both very good on walks - although they love to run around & sniff interesting smells they always come back & don't go off too far.

The photo below makes me laugh - can you spot the dogs in the field?
You can just see Lucy's head & Toby's bottom & tail as he bounced through the crops.

(Click on it to enlarge)




"Come on....I'm waiting!"




"Wheeeee! This is FUN!"


We stop to pat the pretty grey mare on our way - she's very friendly.



"Can I take this home Mum? Can I? Huh? Huh? Huh?"

Monday 15 June 2009

The Strawberry Thief



I have been a very quiet blogger for the past few days as our phone & internet connection was down all weekend, but the nice BT man was out bright & early this morning & has reconnected us to the outside world.


I do have various things to share with you but I'll start with a complaint about my stolen strawberries.

You all probably know the William Morris print called "The Strawberry Thief"?
Well, I have one such feathered thief myself - he or she keeps feast
ing on my strawberries (they do make a nice breakfast I'm sure) so we netted the strawberries so that we could try & beat him to it.

Seems the little thief was far too clever for his own good & managed to get under the net to eat the strawberries but couldn't get out again & that's how I caught him red-handed (or is that red-beaked?)




So, instead of sending him off to prison I had to release him - his head & wings were caught in the netting so I had to cut it off. He was not very pleased about his situation so was shouting insults at me all through the rescue operation.






And just for good measure he had a go at pecking the hand that was rescuing him....ungrateful yob!


Eventually all the netting was removed & he hopped off in disgust, none the worse for wear, but hurling abuse over his shoulder as he went....rural crime really is a big problem these days!


Wednesday 10 June 2009

Lovely Lucy



I haven't been blogging much this week as Miss Cottage has run off to Wales for the week & has taken my camera with her, so this will be a rather se
lf indulgent post using some older photos.

My lovely Lucy will have her 9th birthday tomorrow - she was a M
illenium Baby & just a teeny handful when we first brought her home.
She has turned into the most wonderful dog - I have had dogs all my life & she is far & away the smartest & most intelligent dog I've ever met. She loves everybody, but adores me (and who can help being flattered by that?)




You'd never think she was 9 years old though, as she is just as energetic & full of beans as ever - I don't think Springer Spaniels ever slow down!


So, here are some photos of my very special birthday girl....











This photo was taken when Toby was a puppy & she gladly accepted him cuddling up to her & looked after him by washing his face & ears!