Weeks have gone by....

So much for my resolution about blogging more often but I do have a few excuses.

1: Puppy

2: Painters

3: Puppy

4: Plumbers

5: Puppy

Let me explain....for the past few weeks our house has been invaded by painters and plumbers. We are doing some home decorating and completely redoing our en suite bathroom. I didn't mean to have them all at the same time but that's the way it worked out. My sole job has been keeping the dogs away from the paint and from under the workmen's feet (we have had about 5 at a time). It means I have had to move stuff from room to room to enable the painters to work and trying to keep a bouncy puppy away from slow drying gloss paint is not easy. The painting and decorating should be finished on Monday and the bathroom by the end of next week. 

As you can see, the dogs are not too impressed at being confined to the kitchen.

  

Piles of dolls and toys that had to be taken out of my big cabinet so it could be moved.

80's wallpaper discovered behind the radiators.

Hanging wallpaper above the stairs...quite a precarious job!

I'm thrilled with the finished result.

It is a wide width wallpaper by Lewis & Wood called Royal Oak. It depicts local landmarks such as Tetbury Church, the River Avon and various wildlife and trees.

It's all looking so smart and fresh but it's not finished yet....

Almost Mid Summer!

Well, here I am, the second week in and I'm writing a post!

Hopefully the summer solstice tomorrow will bring a return of the lovely weather we had before the rain this past week.

I picked some lovely David Austin roses from my garden...the roses are flowering like crazy at the moment.

I visited the outlet at Clarks Village and bought two skirts...now, I don't usually have much luck with skirts as I think they can look frumpy on me, plus you have to find a top to go with them. I find they often don't fit well as they fit on the hips but are too big on the waist. This time I was in luck...this appliquéd horse design with Pom Pom trim was from White Stuff and fits a treat. Plus it was marked down from £55 to £20! One for the Autumn/Winter with a jumper, tights and boots I think.

The second one was from Seasalt and is a longer length, reduced from £60 to £25, so two good buys!

On Tuesday Michele and I enjoyed a delicious afternoon tea at Tortworth Court Hotel. It was a decadent treat which included Pimms...two happy V&H organisers. 

A view of the roses from my bedroom window.

We have a long and very fast growing hedge along the back of our garden. There are about 60 Leyllandii trees...they truly are the devil's trees. They never stop growing... I don't know why anyone plants them as they need constant cutting. Mr Cottage has started work on reducing them, removing some and cutting back others. He has to check each tree for birds nests first of course. If you consider that the platform in the photo is about 6 foot high you can see how big these trees are. Just cutting back a few reveals our view across the farm again.

On Saturday we held one of our Vintage Jumble Sales in Box, Wiltshire. They are always such fun and you never know what you may find. The next one is on the 16th July in Rangeworthy.

See our website or Facebook page for more info.

www.vintageandhandmade.co.uk

Finally, another puppy pic....we will be bringing him home on Friday. There is much excitement and preparation going on here at Cottage HQ! 

Trying to Blog

I really used to enjoy writing my blog and interacting with other bloggers and readers, but it seems that I have ended up hardly doing anything at all. This morning I was thinking about it and was wondering if I could get back into it again. I have come up with a plan (a cunning plan perhaps?). I think the most enjoyable part of reading blogs is looking at the photos that are posted of houses, gardens, pets, vintage

 finds and outings etc so I wondered if I should try and do a weekly post of the photos reflecting what I have done the previous week? I wrote some posts like that in the past and it encourages me to take photos too.

So, if anyone is actually reading this after all this time, do you think? 

Shall I start one now as it is Monday morning...a good time to reflect on the past week and perhaps think about what is happening this week....

Last Monday Mr C and I had breakfast at The Canteen in Nailsworth.

I am working on a new flower bed and look who moved in!

I bought a new waffle maker so had to try it out for breakfast.

The Boy earned his keep by mowing two acres of buttercups that had exploded like invading zombies while we were away on holiday.

My garden roses are looking so pretty.

Our big exciting news is that we are getting a new puppy. We went to visit him again on Saturday, he is 6 weeks old now and Mr C is in love! 

There was manic puppy love for 10 minutes and then he promptly fell asleep upside down. He is a little Italian Greyhound and he comes home in two weeks time so brace yourself for lots of puppy pics.

We bought the puppy a little igloo bed and look who managed to squeeze himself in! 

Finally, this week I am looking forward to the next V&H Vintage Jumble Sale in Box where there will be vintage bargains galore. 

Aga Saga

This week I had the 18th visit from an Aga engineer. In human terms, 18 is an auspicious number - the number when you become an adult, it represents independence & freedom. Sadly, for my Aga it just means yet another rescue mission. Since this baby was created & delivered to my home it has been a very poorly child indeed with constant visits from the engineer to resuscitate & revive it. Now, while J the engineer is a very fine fellow I would prefer to not see him quite as often as I do! This past Christmas the Aga has once again been out cold in a coma awaiting J's expertise in the New Year. This is not the first Christmas that the poor thing has been dead & in need of a 'heart' transplant (or burner as it is known in Aga circles). It has been purely decorative!

This particular Aga (3 oven oil fired) has been such a troublesome child that Aga have stopped reproducing them & abandoned them. Now, you'd think that Aga, that great icon of the British country kitchen, would be concerned about the welfare of their offspring, but no, they have washed their hands of all responsibility & told us poor adoptive parents that it is our problem, not theirs, but we could have a complete change for a mere £5000! After spending a great deal to adopt this beauty & many more pounds to repair it, I somehow think not!

In the Aga publicity materials we are told that besides cooking, we will no longer need an electric kettle, a toaster, a tumble dryer...which is true when the Aga works. What they failed to mention is that we would need an entire other cooker to use when the Aga is out of order once again or else the family would starve!

Currently it is working after yet another new burner having been installed, but I fully expect it to give up the ghost again within the year.

So come on Aga...take pity on this ill conceived offspring of yours & come up with a proper & final solution for this problem child!

CHEERY THINGS ON A SUNNY DAY

 New strawberry bed made from a pallet that the horse bedding came on - the idea is that the fruit will grow on top of the wood & keep it nice & clean.

Morning cuddles...

Treacle tart...

Car boot buy...

Snoozing in the sunshine...

New shoes...

...and a nice cup of tea!

Hope you are all enjoying a lovely day.

Beautiful Balli

We have had lovely Balli for about 6 weeks now & he has settled in very well. He is a real character - as you can see from the first photo he is very inquisitive & will investigate anything left within reach. Buckets are thrown over the stable door, our hair & ears are nibbled, he will even grab the waistband of my jodhpurs while I am picking out his hooves & gives them a pull before letting go with a ping! Brushes are flung about with abandon & puddles are splashed in.


Despite his cheeky character he is very sensible & isn't fazed by cars, cows, lorries, tractors, sheep, dogs, bins, chickens or children. The only thing he isn't keen on is cyclists whizzing up from behind. Look at him sticking his tongue out in the next photo!


He is only 5 & has a lot to learn but has the most fabulous paces & jumps like a flea so he has a lot to give in the future. We are taking him to participate in his first dressage test this Sunday so that should be interesting!


He & Dylan are still the best of friends.....

All Quiet & Vintage Finds

At last the carpet is down & there is no more 'clip,clip,thud,clunk' on the stairs. It feels so thick & squishy & luxurious underfoot & we are very pleased with it.


Lucy had to do a bit of stair modelling....


As did Cowboy the rocking horse who is stabled up here....


This bit where the stairs split is one of the dogs favourite places to sleep - they can watch what is going on downstairs & sneakily attempt to trip up anyone walking up or down the stairs! As you can see Toby blends in quite well so is camouflaged in the dark & can get up to his naughty tricks....


This week I have been working on sorting out & pricing goodies for the V&H Fashion & Textiles Fair which is under two weeks away. I bought myself a rail & got to work on fabrics & tablecloths & a few items of vintage clothing including baby dresses. There is even a pretty blue girdle by Triumph - it is marked Medium but is sooo tiny!

For those of you on Facebook we do have a V&H page where we post updates & news if you'd like to 'like' us!


I also wanted to share a couple of vintage toys that I bought recently. I have collected antique & vintage dolls & toys since I was a child so am always excited to find something new for my collection.

I bought these little Edith Reynolds horses which are in super condition - they were made in the 40's & 50's & were sold through retailers such as Harrods & Hamleys. They are made from calf skin over a wire frame & filled with rubber. You could buy tack & riders for them too. They are a forerunner of the beloved Julip horses of my childhood.


Who could resist this sad looking Panda? He was just crying out to come home with me, so here he is flanked by two doggie friends! Isn't he cute?

Bad Blogger!

I have been rather lax about blogging recently but my excuse is that now that Tamzin has returned to uni my workload increases as I have to care for & ride her beloved Dylan so that he remains in the tip-top shape he is right now. He has had a clip for the winter & looks terribly smart, but has to wear his rugs now.

Anyhow, I had a traumatic morning - I went to the dentist for a replacement filling & ended up having the tooth out! The dentist tried to replace the cracked filling but the nerve was exposed & I could feel it even with the anaesthetic which meant it couldn't be filled. As it was a wisdom tooth right at the back & I didn't actually use it for chewing I suppose I won't miss it.
Wasn't painful as it was frozen but I could feel the tugging & twisting - ewww!
Bit of a shock though as I wasn't expecting it!

I cheered myself up by going to the hairdresser for a tidy up, buying chocolate & the November issue of Collect It magazine where The Vintage & Handmade Fair has a lovely mention on the events page - yippee!

If you click on the image it should enlarge so you can read it - of course this makes me realise that it's not that long until the big day!

Meet Rosy

Just a quick post to show you my new mannequin who is now known as Rosy.

She is a modern girl but with a vintage look - I couldn't resist buying her from a vintage clothing dealer who is moving to the USA & was selling off her display items - she looks quite at home doesn't she?

In case you are wondering....the push along dogs are Rollo & Patch & will be making an appearance at the Vintage & Handmade Fair in November.