House and garden

Good evening

Thanks to those who've visited since I dipped my toe back into blogging this month :)

Still getting the hang of taking pictures on a camera and especially for here. Had a crash course at the weekend on how to upload them onto my new toy and also how to use a programme to edit/resize - the one I used before was very very old and not compatible with this new lappie of mine.

In recent weeks its been very domestic here at times at No6 - my dining room was looking shabby, overstuffed and the radiator had sprung a leak :( Time to give it a makeover. Coats of fresh paint in a neutral cream, new curtains that actual fit, a new non leaking radiator and tomorrow a new carpet in a colour I like and that won't show every mark, thread or crumb.

Here's what we've done so far - very happy with it and also the fact I've not gone over my limited budget :)

 The room had felt overstuffed so when big son was home at Easter we sorted out the two bookcases that were in there and condensed them into one - bookcase was sold and I sold lots of the books at a boot sale this weekend.

New tablecloth from Aldi which the boys actually quite like - they were worried it would be a very floral room but so far they approve.

 The two huge paintings were done by one of my sister for her GCSE and A levels exams many years ago - I love both of them and they will always feature somewhere wherever I live.

One of the first things we bought for this house - now rehung and filled again with clean china - still have the stuff from my dresser to do tomorrow so once the carpet is down that too can be refilled.

The arrival of spring and sunny weather made me look at the garden and realise it needed work doing on it. I spent hours weeding, cutting back and sorting out. Then when S was over we went to a local garden centre and I chose things to fill gaps, tubs and new tiny veggie plot. Here's just a snapshot of what I've been doing;

 Just a few strawberry plants - this year in pots but hopefully next year in a proper bed.

 Tiny tomatoes appearing - we chose varieties which crop heavily.

 Trying to disguise the less pretty bits with tubs of geraniums.

 Waiting for this one to flower - it's called Apple Blossom and the petals look beautiful.

 Bargain hanging baskets filled with car boot find bedding plants.

 It was so sunny when I took these pics you can't see this one too well - must get the hang of my camera again - anyhow its full of pink, blue and purple and a as one lot finish another should burst into colour.

A practical bit - storage with strawberries and a few leftover geraniums on top.

Just realised I forgot to take pics of the little veg bed and the raspberries behind it - they are looking very promising this year - handy really as we've run out of raspberry jam!!

Right that's probably enough for today - there's dinner to cook, washing to get in and of course things to water later too.

See you soon - we've been productive this weekend and there's the first foraged make of 2015 to share with you.

xxx Vintage Vicki xxx

Monthly Mosaic & Monthly 'Makes' - August

Good evening

The end of another month is upon us - Autumn starts tomorrow! Not surprisingly the weather forecasters tell us that this summer has been the wettest for 100 years - I think we've all sported the drowned rat look at some point since 'summer'  began in June!

Here's this months mosaic picture - as you can see there were plenty of lovely days;

Ice-creams in Southwold, Campsite donkeys, trips in Bertie, Stunning sunsets in Yorkshire, August blooms, Steam train rides, Exam celebrations, Festival time and the hint of Autumnal colour change on the cherry tree leaves - that's my August - how was yours?

Now I've failed yet again to produce anything crafted for the Monthly Makes group - I promise to try harder in September! However there a few things to show - things that I've grown! Now I'm not the most green-fingered person so I was thrilled when my first lot of chillies not only grew but are producing loads of fruits which should see us through the winter months;

I've also had some tomato success too - no greenhouse growing and carefully fussing here. Just planted out, watered, side-shooted and fed and left to get on with it! Here are the first ripe ones (they tasted wonderful);

More have since followed and any that haven't ripened in a few weeks will be picked and turned into Green Tomato Chutney.

Have a good weekend all - here's hoping September starts with some sunshine. Its been a rough few days here for me - I've been rather unwell with the most awful migraine / dizzy spells and have spent today at the hospital being prodded and poked and generally checked over. Seems I might have a problem with my inner-ears and need to go back for more poking on Tuesday! The good news - the CT scan showed I have a brain! Nothing untoward has been found but the ENT people should be able to help me more next week. 

Hoping the weather is kind enough and I feel well enough to watch my menfolk play a brass concert on Sunday afternoon - its in a lovely location.

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx

3rd Pause in Advent 2010 - Simplicity

Hello

Blimey we're now halfway through advent - it does seem to go quicker and quicker each year. How are your Christmas preparations going? Cards written & posted, turkey ordered, tree up, presents bought/wrapped/delivered, sprouts on to boil???

Just seeing that sort of list can drive a person crazy. What about all the TV adverts, the Christmas magazines and of course the God & Goddess of Perfect Christmas's, dear Kirsty & Phil? Did they whip you all up into an orgy of spending, making and general perfection??

STOP

Just think...

Is it all worth it for just one day?? Does it matter that you've bought your mince pies & just tarted them up rather than spent hours making them using a special recipe and 57 different ingredients. Will your children care if you've spent hours wrapping their presents in hand printed paper?

Remember the Christmas episode of the Good Life? Where Margot sends the tree back coz its a few inches short. They then wake up Christmas day with no provisions or decorations. Poor Gerry gets 'chicken pox' because they can't admit this to their 'friends'. They instead go and spend the day with their truest friends and neighbours Tom & Barbara and join in with their homemade Christmas and have far more fun than they'd ever do if everything had been 'perfect'.

Just remember this in the next week or so - when you are having a total melt down or queueing in the supermarket - perfection is stressful - simplicity is fun. After all what will your family remember of the day - the specially sourced sprouts from the same farm that the Royals buy from or the fun you had telling silly cracker jokes and just having a good time??

Sorry I didn't want to sound 'preachy' - I guess Kirsty & Phil wound me up this week. I mean just how many of us have their budget??

And breathe!!

Just think in 2 weeks time it will all be over - a pile of paper/cardboard to recycle & enough cold turkey to see you through till mid Jan ;)

xxx Vicki xxx

Somewhere over the rainbow

Good evening

How was your weekend?? Ours was mixed. We never made it to any bonfires or fireworks - blame the weather and a less than 100% little son. Instead we watched other peoples fireworks from an upstairs window. Of course we also managed to watch SCD on both nights - definitely the wrong result this week :( I said a sad goodbye to Downton Abbey last night - so many questions remain so I shall be looking out for series 2 next year. I cheered when William flattened Thomas - he had that coming.

We did manage to get out as a family yesterday - yep that's right - all 4 of us went somewhere together!! We opted for Southwold - a perfect mix of peeking into the gorgeous shops and dropping hints for next month and also a lovely long walk from the harbour to the Pier and back.

The weather was mixed - one minute sunshine and then showers - at least it meant there were several of these;

At one point the end of the rainbow was tantalizingly close - like big son commented - Where are leprechauns when you need one ;)

The sea was gorgeous and rough - coming over the seawall in places and leaving the beach covered in what looked like the remnants of a foam party;

We stopped for lunch at the cafe on the Prom - warming fish and chips all round - scrummy :) Of course we had to walk along the Pier - quite easy as it really was not busy yesterday at all. In fact we were able to watch the water clock without anyone in front of it;

However many times we watch that, I still think the boys will find the toilet humour amusing.

Today has been a blustery one here in Suffolk - my cherry tree is now almost bare. It was far too windy to cycle into town today instead I had to walk. It gave me a chance to spot lots of ivy's & berries which hopefully will be there next month when it comes to making a wreath for my front door.

Don't forget the Good Life with Sue Perkins on BBC2 later - am hoping its as good the reviews suggest.

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx

Busy shopping, busy making....

Evening

Well so much for going to fireworks today - its far too soggy @ the moment :(. Think we'll try again with another display tomorrow. Thank goodness for Iplayer - it will mean I won't miss Ann & Anton doing the salsa - that has got to be seen ;)

This afternoon before it got too soggy, I went over to Snape Maltings with Dawn. We decided to make a little start on our christmas shopping both for families & bloggy swaps ;).

The first part we went into was the Antiques centre - lots of lovely things at some rather lovely prices. We both were happily taking pics - think we've managed different items. It was only as we were leaving we spotted the 'Don't take photos' sign - ooops. We exited quite quickly giggling like a pair of teenagers!!

This spinning wheel reminds me - there's a new series on BBC2 on Monday night with Sue Perkins & Giles Coren, they are living the Good Life to celebrate the programmes 35th birthday!!

Loved all this floral enamel - I know there are lots of other bloggers that love it too.

You can't beat a bit of blue & white cornishware - I have a small collection of this that I've built up over the years. Fortunately at prices far less than they wanted today.

Did I buy anything? Of course I did but not in the Antiques centre but in several of the other gorgeous shops that are there;

Sorry - can't show you the contents - some of its for my SS swaps and also for pressies for a couple of others that read my blog ;)  Think the boys will love this years candy canes for the tree  :)

Lastly I've been frantically cutting out and making as I've booked a table @ little sons schools autumn/christmas fair next weekend - I did quite well @ their summer one so thought if worth the little outlay. Still got quite alot to make but so far so good - I think I can easily fill the table;

Thank you for all the lovely comments on my last post :)

Have a lovely weekend - don't forget the final part of Downton Abbey on Sunday.

xxx Vicki xxx

A victorian vintage bargain & some upcycling :)

Good evening from Sunny Suffolk - makes such a change to have blue skies again.

Its been a good weekend so far :)

The charity shops in town were well stocked on Monday morning - I got several items including this set of Cheery Familes cards;

They were a bargain at just £1 - the set is complete & apart from a few scuffs on the box & a tear in the instructions they look like they've not been used.  I was curious to find out more about them - isn't the internet wonderful ;)  They are Victorian and made by a company called delarue who seemed to make lots of cards & games.  This link tells you more about them. I've looked on some auction sites & depending on which one they have sold recently for anything between £5 & £50! I shall be keeping them as they are rather lovely.

I also got a couple more pairs of coloured needles for my ever growing collection - when I added them to the jug - I decided it reminded me of something we've seen rather a lot recently;

The BBC Election logo!!

Lastly for today, I've been busy recycling/upcycling :) Little son volunteered me to finish making a case for a friends brass instrument - the teacher had started but had run out of time/ideas as how to finish it! The main case is made from a vintage wool blanket & an old sheet. I had to add a handle (upcycled 'free' belt from a pair of big sons trousers - not one he wanted), drawstring  (carbooted cotton tape with an upcycled spring clip from an old swimming bag) and lastly hidden inside, a mouthpiece holder (spare piece of felt). My goodness it was a nightmare to sew - had to buy a special leather needle as it was so thick - I stabbed myself several times but eventually got it finished;

Very Tom & Barbara Good ;)

See you soon - I promise next time I'll add a recipe for the Banana bread and hopefully have some swap pics to share too ;)

xxxx Vicki xxxx

Happiness is......................................

For me last night it was a pint of homebrew, some knitting, a granny blanket & watching Larkrise to Candleford (though this series isn't as good as the previous ones);

For little son who came out for a walk with MrVV & I to Aldeburgh, it was;

And for both boys when they came in from school tonight it was the sight of a plate full of warm, chocolate cookies(though they weren't allowed to eat them all - evil aren't I! ;

Off for today's 20 minutes of crafting - though it probably be more like an hours knitting - might even have a picture of the work in progress later this week.

Oh btw the homebrew is good - not quite Adnams but definately better than Tom Good's peapod burgundy ;)

xxxx Vicki xxxx