So .... Small Things Please Small Minds ...? I Really Don't care a Fig ...!

Hello there ...

thought it about time I caught up with you all ....

So ... whats been pleasing me this last couple of weeks...

 small things really ...

but they mean a lot to me ... isn't that what its all about?   

How about this for a super snazzy vintage-y washing basket .....

and its such a dinky size too ... half the 'normal' size.

I'm finding my average one a bit too heavy nowadays... a bit dicy when navigating myself and heaped up basket of laundry past .. and over.. ancient dogs...flighty cats and Hubby P's 'useful things'  ... out of the door and to the washing line.

So I am delighted with my cheerful dinky basket ...its just a case of two trips ... and a little longer to dilly about in the garden!

And the sunshine ... hurrah for the sunshine!

Its so nice to get outside ... get the washing on the line ... and drink in the fresh air.

Hubby P managed to do a bit of upcycling ... I know ... its the new word.

He did a bit of what we have always done ... freshened up a lovely little cupboard ... and gave a nice old mirror a lick of paint.

I do so like to give Preloved ... there you go another trendy new word... items a rosy new future in a new home.  

Looking ahead to growing veg in containers I found these ... seen better days but still fab!... little metal wastepaper bins.

How cute are these...

A bit rusty inside ... but arn't we all dear! ...

 ideal for a bit of lettuce or spring onions.

Whoever said we had to use boring plastic pots.

On the sewing front ....

Bit more rescuing Grannies old needlework.

I found bits of an old tablecloth ... already cut up into chunks ...someone had an idea they were going to do something with it .. and thats as far as they got.

I simply sewed the chunks together to show off the lovely embroidery ... and made it into a simple cushion ... and i added a button ....a girl has got to have a pretty button or two.       

 I had a little assistance from the 'very comfortable' cat.

 Another little project ... finishing off someones patchwork.

 There was just enough little patches to make square ...so I put them together to make a cushion .. yes .. I know .. it seems its all cushions and more cushions ....

 

But at least this way these little scraps ... some needlewomans time ... effort and creativity has not gone to waste... her efforts live on to give pleasure to someone else.

I take them with me to the carboot and hopefully someone will spare a little of their hard earned pennies to give a cushion a home ... 

Here's to the sunshine ... and washing on the line!

So whats been making you a happy bunny this week?

 

Cream Crackered Chicken ... An a Couple of Grannie Chic Cushions..

Hello there ...

 well .. Friday again ... where do the days go ... at least we had some sunshine today ... it was in fact a lovely day ... 

splendid .. super. 

Lets hope its a turning point and we have more of them ..

 it does a girl good ... 

to  have a bit of sunshine.

So last night I had that 'sewing itch' ... you know

 .. that 'making creating' thingy...

I had found a lovely bit of hand embroidery ...it was part of what once was a set of chair back covers or Antimacassars as they were called. 

The piece I had was for a settee .. a double width with two sprays of lovely wild/meadow flowers on it. 

What to do with it ... how best to display the lovely needlework?

Well ... what about a couple of cushions..

Just simple style cushion covers .. envelope backs ... the pads easily removed for laundering ... 

Pretty ... functional and the lovely work of the unknown needlewoman can live on .... and bring sweetness to someone elses home for a little longer. 

And I do so enjoy having a sew!

On to more practicle things ...and frugal ... I do so know how you love a Thrifty Snippet!

Whats for tea ... Ah ha ...

Same as yesterday ... veggie/potato -y/ cabbage-y curry ...with chick peas ..! Oh my goodness!

An explosive combination for Hubby P ... good job we were working outside today ... and there was a bit of a stiff breeze ...the less said the better.

But the curry ... lots left  to eat up .. in a Thrifty fashion... 

 So I found a chicken breast in the freezer ... I cut it into strips .. to share it between us ... and thought to coated it in some kind of crumb.

I was a bit thin on the old crumb front till I discovered the cracker tin ... do you like my little old Jacobs cracker tin ...nice garden birds on it ....

Anyway I bashed up some crackers and added a bit of flour ...and odd/old crust of bread .... 

 ...and the first spices that came to hand... paprika cumin ...and a touch of ginger I think.

Fried up in a knob of butter...

They went a treat with the curry and a blob of homemade apple jelly.

And as Hubby P said ....'that was rather good'!  

So .. what have you been up to ...enjoying the sunshine?

x 

Sacking Apron .. and The Smell of Freshly Baked Bread

Hello there ....

well ... the wind has howled and the rain has lashed ...

what a day.

Whats a girl to do ... housework is a bit of a bore.

I had a mind to make myself an apron ... but not just any apron..

I wanted one like you read about in novels ...when the children ran indoors to find.. 'mother enveloped in her large apron smelling of freshly baked bread'....

Or 'half pint' ran in from the Prairie and Mama scooped her up in her large apron .. who remembers 'Little House On The Prairie' ..?

Anyway ....

I had these nice.. good strong linen vintage tea towels that I wanted to use for something... just loved the vibrant vintage-y colours .. and the quality of the fabric is amazing.

So in the spirit of 'Make Do and Mend' ... 

'Waste Not Want Not' ..

and all that ....

and the fact that out on the Prairie aprons would have been made from any old sacks and what not....not that we live exactly on a prairie ....well ... not at all really ... but anyway ...lets not let a little thing get in the way of me wanting a big 'enveloping' apron!

So I made an apron from the tea towels.

Its very large and 'enveloping' ... and certainly very jolly...

and it will keep me clean when baking .... less flour down the front of me jumper ... not a good look..

Whether I would get arrested if I walked down the street is another matter ... I don't think they would understand about 'half pint' and 'enveloping' garments. 

Probably lock me up and throw away the key.  

This little lady came to stay the other day ... I found her dumped in a box .. unwanted .. unloved.

She is in need of some tender repair and a good wash .. then she can while away her days with the rest of our gang..

Don't know her name as yet ... she is very shy

...any ideas?

Well I've had enough of this wind and rain .. I'm off to bed.

Take care x 

A Penny For 'Um.....

Hello there ... just thought I would drop by and say Hi..

 

Hows your garden doing ... any signs of Spring yet?

I had a bit of a wander about this afternoon .. although it was wet and rather dark and dismal today.

 

 Cheery sights non the less ... 

the old boots ... a lifetime of work over ... 

but bursting with new life and vitality...

never give in .. never give up..

 And of course Snowdrops .... who doesn't just love Snowdrops..

Whilst I was faffing about outside Hubby P was sorting though stock he had picked up yesterday ... its always a surprise ... the things that turn up when clearing attics and the like.

There was a whole bagful of this.. 

 

 Who remembers this?

 ... its like ... real money ...

real heavy solid ...jingly jangly in yr pocket money!

 Oh ... how I so loved a thrupenny bit.... what a girl could do with it ...a solid little thing .... and the shape .. so tactile.

Sixpences of course went in the Christmas Pudding... and Grandads made them magically appear from behind your ear!

And what of these ... that darling little Wren .... its all so ...

British..? 

 I must admit I really don't remember the Farthing being used .. I think it had been phased out .. or whatever ... but they were still around .. I just loved that little Wren.

I was reading the other day that the Wren is now the most common of our garden birds ... and yet so shy ...

As a child I don't remember seeing many.. except the perfect one on the coin. 

 

This was a 'biggie' in my childhood days ... my Spending Money/ Pocket Money seemed to be fixed at a shilling for years. Given out on a Friday night ... providing all my jobs had been done during the week ...

Saturday saw us (my friends and I) haunting the market for the best buys .. the best value for our hard earned shilling.

We always treated ourselves to a fizzy pop ... something just not seen in the home ... except ... if you were very lucky .. and Mum was feeling rich ... at your Birthday party.

But once we were 'young ladies about town' with our shilling clutched in our sticky hand ... we could buy our own pop.

We would climb up on the high stools of the market cafe... and order creamsoda or shandy (very racy).. with a dollop of icecream in it ... it came in big tall glasses and we would eat with a long handled spoon and slurp with a straw! 

Think I would be sick nowadays....

So here we are..

 

... here's a big handful of pennies for you ..how did you spend yours ...

who remembers the sweetshop having a penny tray...

what was your favourite?

I liked the pink shrimps....  

And here's a few Snowdrops for you.. from the hedgerow .... they grow on top of and through the wall ...

.. everyone loves a snowdrop.

Take care x

The Magic has begun.....

Hello there ....

Well.. it's begun ...

the magic that is Mother Nature

 ....how exciting is this ...

 Life is springing from the seeds I sowed the other day.

Itsy bitsy tiny shoots ... 

but they are there ... 

a promise of Spring.

 In celebration I brought home this pretty little jug and tray..

 

Its just begging for some spring time flowers ...

perhaps Lidl will have some cheap and cheerful Daffs.

Bitterly cold here today .... although dry ... that's something.

I had my moment of magic with the seeds ... so I had to make the magic happen for Hubby P too.. 

 

So what better than a nice warm chocolate sponge pudding and custard.

Real 'fill ya boots' stuff...

So whats makin the magic happen for you this week?

x