Tra La! And The Birthday Giveaway Goes To !!!

Well ! How's your week been? I've had a lovely time!

First of all I would like to thank you all so much for your nice Birthday wishes, I had some lovely cards and pressies too! Unfortunately I was so busy with people popping in, and family to stay, I haven't taken any photos. - I feel its all been a bit of a whirlwind!

But I did get myself organised enough this morning to do the draw for the Birthday Give away!

And the Winner is Jo, of Jojo Designs! (there's a link on my sidebar).

So this little parcel of goodies will be winging its way to you as soon. I chose something flowery - a bit Country Garden-ish, I do hope its your sort of thing!

As I said we had our son and his partner down for the weekend, so we played out all weekend, and had a great time.

I picked up The National Gardens Scheme booklet the other day - they often have them in the garden centres.

This is a great scheme where ordinary people open their gardens to the public for a small fee, which goes to charity. It has raised £23 Million in the last 10 years, and supports a whole list of Charities ( I am not going to list them - but it does tell you all about it in the book).
The book gives Opening times/dates and directions to the Gardens, there are so many to choose from. We try and fit one in most weekends during the summer.
I feel its such an 'English' thing to do - they usually provide tea and cake sat in the garden - I always wear a hat! Its a bit like a garden tea party!




Here are just a couple of the photos I took at the garden we visited on Saturday.

I just loved this mass of wild cotton-y stuff growing at the side of the pond.

Of course the children played on the swing!

The Lads had energy enough for the beach (with the dog!), where-as I came back from the Open Garden with lots of plants (they often have a little stall selling their own cuttings and whatnot), so I spent the evening planting them in my own little bit of Eden!
A 'grand time' was had by all.

Thrifty finds!

I found this lovely bag a couple of weeks ago, I've just got around to washing and pressing it. The fabric is just so lovely, and the bag is quite large. I don't know what I shall use it for - but its just pretty enough to hang on the wall!

This weekend I found this dinky little basket (£2 ) - couldn't believe my luck, is in great condition. The old tatty music I thought I could use for crafty stuff, that old worn, tatty always appeals to me - maybe the secret to Hubby P's charm!!

And just to finish, an update on the bunnies - mother and babies are doing really well. She is an excellent mother, they seem to be growing really fast, they are no longer pink and hairless - they look like rabbits.

Bit of a poor photo, but I don't want to disturb them, and upset Mum. Wont be long until they are out of the nest!

xxx Take care for now xxx

Pretty Roses and Baby Bunnies - what a Happy Birthday Week!

Its my Birthday tomorrow so I would like to treat you all to a pretty rose!

Thankyou for all your interesting and enlightening blogs, its such a treat to sit and browse through all your Special Days and Thrifty Finds!

To celebrate I would like to do a Birthday Giveaway! Leave me a comment telling me of your favorite flowers and if they have a special meaning to you, and I will do a draw next Monday, the 15th June.

Meanwhile enjoy your rose!

Great excitement on Sunday morning! I went to see my girlies (the rabbits) to give them their feed, to find this - a nest full of pink wriggly little baby rabbits!

How excited was I , I had thought Dusty was expecting, she has been 'nesting' for a few days. Never the less - its a bit hit and miss, especially with it being her first time! Anyway up to now she's doing very well, keeping them nice and warm. You can see the nest in the photo, its a mass of hay and plucked fur. They will soon be out of the nest and running about - all being well - keep your fingers crossed!

With all this girly, baby stuff going on, Dad has had to go and live with the chickens for a while ( I need more hutch space!) - not that he minds, the deep litter is great to dig in!






Good Thrifting finds too, at the carboot sale!

This little metal table I picked up for £1, I am hoping it will just sit outside the door and 'shabby up' some more.





Lovely floaty Hippy dippy, Flower Power dresses! I thought they were pretty spectacular - just imagine what it must have been like living through that era!

And dotty, dotty aprons! there are two of these!

Just look - a Grannie Apron!

This is as new, never been worn, its just the kind I remember my Gran wearing, it goes with the wrinkled stockings and hair in rollers!

Is your Garden blooming too?

Here are just a few pics of my pretty flowers.

This (below) is a bit fuzzy - the wind was blowing! But its so pretty, its a Cutleaf Elder tree, the nigra (black) and the flowers are this incredible chocolaty pink colour!

I bought and planted this Tree Lupin only a few weeks ago - and its just flowering its socks off!

What garden is complete without a Gooseberry bush (after-all - its where they leave the babies!)

Gooseberry crumble for tea!

That's all for now - remember the Birthday Giveaway!

xx Take care xx

Thrifting Finds to Pretty Cushions!

I seem to have got my sewing mojo back!

I found this little piece of Vintage cotton - a riot of floral loveliness, screwed up in the bottom of a box, at a carboot sale. I gave it a wash and it came up lovely - fresh as a daisy!

There was just enough to make a couple of cushion covers - very 'country cottage' meets 'shabby chic'!

I used a bit of broidery anglaise from the box of lace I found last week, and some vintage buttons, to add a bit of original 'fancy-pretty-ness', and finished with a bit of hand embroidery.

A bit of green cotton backs the cover and closes with poppers - buttons are just for decoration!

A nice fresh, touch of pretty florals to brighten my sofa!

Having just a very small house and lot ( too many really) of cushions already - I just can't resist 'saving' vintage cushion covers, especially the had embroidered ones - I have decided to keep just one of the two and put the other in my Etsy shop. I haven't had much luck with Etsy - I think its just so big nowadays, but I will give it another go. You never know, it might take someones fancy!

I hope it goes to a nice home where someone appreciates the materials it's made from, and the work that has gone into it.

But don't we all want that!

Whilst I was on a roll' I fitted Mucky Marge with her new frock, she looks a bit better, still a bit 'shabby' but I kinda like that!

On the 'finds' front - lucky me I found another piece of Better Maid ware - a cute little watering can - sort of thing. Its in the green form - I think its really quite cute.
I found it at the Tuesday carboot sale - just sat there for 50p!

xx Take care for now xx

Thrifting Finds and a Special Gift!

Hello! Hope everyone is well!

We are all enjoying the nice sunny weather, although I find it a little too hot to sit out in, I'm not complaining - its great.

Great excitement this weekend! It started with Hubby P asking me what I would like for my birthday (next week) - he was just stuck for ideas! I reminded him that he had built my rose bower - that was what I had wanted - but No, he was adamant, he wanted to get me a 'proper present'. Now usually at this point I would list a few plants I would like - he could nip to the garden centre and - hey - 'bobs yer uncle', one present for the wife!

'Well' I said, 'I've been thinking for a while now -You know what I would really like? A ring - a sort of Eternity ring'.

HubbyP 's face was a picture!!! - a) he doesn't know anything about jewellery, and b) He does know it will cost a bit more than a plant!

But of course I got the lovely, usual answer from him 'Yes, of course love, if that's what you would like'. I did explain that I wanted a ring I could wear - one that was not so expensive I would be afraid of dropping it in the chicken mash. Just really a token of our 16 years as a married couple.

So we went a looking - and here it is -

It was nice that we bought it from a Lady we know who deals in Vintage jewellery and fashion, wonder what kind of history it has.

On another note, just look at my Turks Cap Lily, blooming its socks off in this nice sunny weather!

On the carboot sale/thrifting front!

Three little metal buckets kindly 'shabbied' by someone else! They have has holes bashed through the bottom and soil still inside them, so whoever 'pre-loved' them before used them in the garden - which I think I shall do too. They will look nice on the table where we eat, when the sun shines!

I found these - apparently they are called 'Better-Maid' wear, I just remember them from my childhood. My Granparents had them as plant holders, anyway I saw them in a Charity shop and they took my fancy! I would quite like to collect them, I just love the colour. I think (looking on the web) the larger of the two was supposed to be a fruit bowl - but I have planted mine up with a geranium ( a special geranium, in that, it a direct descendant of the geranium my grandad use to grow when I was a child - it just has small very red flowers).
In the other pot is a small carob tree that I have grown from some seeds brought back from Portugal.

A few little waifs and strays I found - they have had a good wash and are drying in the sun!

I have had to make a new dress for the rag doll - she is still a bit stained so I shall call her Mucky Madge!

x Take care for now x

Back from our Adventures!

Hello there, hope you all had a nice weekend, we had a great time visiting family in Lancashire, and mooching around old haunts!

Nice as it was though its still nice to be home, its the garden I miss the most, and it seems to have gone mad whilst we were away just those few days, its absolutely blooming!

The first thing I did on getting home was have a wander around the garden and pick a few flowers for the house, just re-bonding, re-affirming myself with my bit of Eden!

Please do notice the new oil cloth table covering - its a first! That is, the first time Hubby P has ever shown any real interest in 'Home Furnishings'. Our Son's who live near Manchester took us - well me really - to a Home Furnishing & fabric Mill - Hubby P usually hates these places and spends most of the time - it must be said, Patiently waiting - outside!

What a wonderful place - of course I wanted 'Lots and lots' of the fabric but restrained myself to one length of gingham for a top - very Oklahoma, Annie Get Your Gun!!

It was then that Hubby P pointed out the oil cloth and said it would look good at home, and make him feel like he was in an old fashioned cafe' - don't know about that bit (wanting the home to look like a cafe??!) - but anyway we were all so surprised at the new found interest we bought it for him - and now Hubby P can play cafe's!

We had mooch around Bury Market, it doesn't change - it felt a bit like stepping back in time. The Local Council have invested a lot of money in promoting the market and kept it in the centre of the town - where its always been - and it was thriving. You can buy anything, and everything there - there was a great hat stall - but I resisted!

We did have some traditional Black Pudding - hot from the stall with lashings of mustard - it was really nice - I chose a lean one - not to much fat in it. Traditionally they had great chunks of fat in the puddings - to keep the mill workers energy up I suppose!

We brought some home - so I thought we could have some for tea!

Of course the highlight of the weekend was spending time with our Granddaughters. Hubby P - or Grandad P as he is to them, came in for a lot of rough and tumble! His braces were a huge delight!

We had a nice day out at a little place called Edisford Bridge, near Clitheroe. The bridge runs over the River Ribble, its a great place to play in the water, and there is a childrens play area and whatnot.

I remember coming here as a child to play in the fresh clean water. I will always remember my Dad lost a sock - just the one - we couldn't find it, must have gone down the river. Its funny the little memories that you have stashed away!

There was a little steam railway too, and of course Grandad had to take the Girls for a ride!

Children and water! what is it about the cool splashy stuff - they just love it!



On the thrifting front - we went to Clitheroe carboot sale. It was a reasonably big one, and made a nice change. We found prices generally to be higher than at home, but I found a box of lace that I managed to barter down to a more reasonable price.

Here is a selection, drying in the sun - there is quite a lot so I am only half way through washing and ironing it - I find ironing so boring!

Of course I've no idea what I will do with it yet, although the little girls wanted some more Fairy dolls' so some will be used for that. I'll stash some and sell some on ebay probably.

I found some pretty Vintage scarves, I've given them a wash - here they are drying in the breeze! I thought they are so pretty - they remind me of my Grandmother, she was never without a scarf, and they always smelt lovely - of her I suppose!

Leave you with a pic of the first of my climbing roses. I do so love yellow roses!

x Bye for now x

Looking Up!!

Stationed as I am, snuggled in my new Steamer chair, in my 'magic circle' in the garden - at least I am when the sun shines - and intend to be there for most of the Summer!

As I was saying, lounging in the chair yesterday I noticed what a completely new view I had of the garden, the plants had a new bright vibrancy where the sun shine through them, and looking up through them gave them an almost appliqued look as the blue, blue sky backed them.

I took a few photo's to try and capture the afternoon!

This (above) is one of the first stems/spears of my Giant Golden Oats - it was my Mothers, and when she passed on she had left written instructions for us to dig up and take, and care for, her precious plants! Not a mention of ordinary 'boring ' household stuff - it was her plants she treasured most. This clump of a plant grows enormously tall spear shaped stems - then out pop these tassels of delicate oats. They wave gently in the breeze all summer, and can be cut and dried for winter decoration.

Can you see the first of my poppy heads just peeking through - soon it will burst into wonderful bright red perfusion!

The Alliums I put in last year have done so well, don't they look striking against the blue sky!

And how pretty are each of these little flowerlets! - this reminds me of a magical fairy carnival carousel

That 'fresh' green that you only get in summer.

And pretty, pretty pink aquilegias!

Just wanted to show you this incredible moss that is thriving on some old rope. We found the rope years ago on the beach, I think it had come off some ship or other - I remember it was very wet, and very heavy, but we lugged it home. Over the years it has graced the garden in many guises, but the last couple of years it has been kind of strung or looped along some beams around our little sitting area.

The moss has grown and spread along the rope and a whole little forest of -moss flowers? or whatever you call them - has sprung up! Its like a magical little world, the photo's don't do it justice.

This is really what I was supposed to be doing - weeding! Well I got as far as getting my trug and gloves - but the sun was shining - and well you know - it just didn't happen!

First of the rhubarb - well I tell a lie really, the first of the rhubarb didn't last long enough for me to get the camera out -it was so delicious!

As was this we had for Tea last night with cream of course! It was Sooooooo Yum!


Off to Lancashire for a long weekend to see our family, so I will try and remember to take the camera! We are going early Friday so we can have a mooch around Bury Market, it supposed to be one of the best in the country - according to Hubby P - where no doubt he read it somewhere!

Of course growing up around that area its just 'the market' - when I was young most of the towns (Accrington, Bury, Blackburn, Haslingden, Clitheroe etc) all had regular markets, its where you did your shopping, and got your first job, as a Saturday Girl!

Anyway it will be nice to re-visit the place and of course see family.

Bury market - um lets see? that will be Black Puddings all round then!!

xx Take care xx