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?"

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 feasting 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!

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 self indulgent post using some older photos.

My lovely Lucy will have her 9th birthday tomorrow - she was a Millenium 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!

Little Shop Update

Although I came home from the V&H Fair with lots of empty boxes there were a few things that hadn't found new homes so I'm in the process of adding them to my shop.

There are tins like the lovely one above & the cute puppies below.....


Pretty bits of china such as this shabby chic vase.....

....and this scrummy salt & pepper set.....

....a pretty 1930's cake plate with handle.....

.....and this gorgeous pink glass lemonade set (which would be perfect for Pimms on a hot summer day!)




I'll be adding a few more things later in the week so will let you know about those too.

Hope you can pop in for a browse!

Linen in the vegetable garden...

I thought these photos would make you smile!

After the V&H Fair I had to wash all the vintage tablecloths that we used on the tea tables. Some of them were quite tea stained & one had had an entire cup of coffee spilt on it.
Now I'm going to sound like a washing powder advert, but I just wanted to tell you about the merits of "Vanish". I sprayed all the stains with Vanish spray, then put them in my washing machine on a hot wash - I added a scoop of Vanish powder to the usual washing powder & I was amazed that every stain came out & they were all beautifully clean!

As there were a lot there wasn't space for all of them on the line so they ended up being pegged on the plant supports in the veggie garden!



On my way back into the house I took a few shots on the patio. If you click on the photos they will enlarge.

This is my favourite David Austin rose which smells wonderful.




My wirework stand which, as you can see, needs some more plants.




The honeysuckle next to the back door which smells lovely & the bees love it too!

News Flash!

Pop over to the Vintage & Handmade Blog for a peek at who made it to the front page of our local paper today.....

Sunday Show

After such a busy & exciting day on Saturday at the Vintage & Handmade Fair, you'd think that on Sunday I would have been relaxing with my feet up reading a good book & drinking lots of tea wouldn't you?

Well, you'd be wrong - it was another early start as Miss Cottage & Dylan were going to a horse show, so off we set at an early hour yet again to watch & cheer them on.

Here are a few photos to show you how smart they looked & how well they did!

It was a lovely day, so being out in the sunshine, propped up on the Landrover & watching the jumping wasn't such a chore!