Weekending

Good morning

Oh what a difference a few days makes - we were so lucky here in Suffolk at the weekend, sunshine and shorts weather. Yesterday was yuck - wet, very wet for most of the day - I managed to get out to see my Grandma during a break in the showers and timed the walk back well too.

I love weekends - always have done - as a child it was a break from school and now as an adult its a break for work and housework. Weekends for me are for nicer stuff - time with friends & family, a spot of gardening, more time to cook different things and of course a good wander and rummage around the car boot sales and charity shops.

Here's a few bits from recent weeks;

 I think you've seen the little painted tray on the right before? I found the little one with daises on a few weeks ago and finally yesterday both were hung on the kitchen wall. Had one of those minor diy days - hanging pictures, attached hooks to doors and hanging new curtains.

 Sundays boot sale was great - big without being too much. The vintage Famous Five book was a must - my favourite story of theirs which I remember reading over and over as a child during the school hols. 

Brand new Cath Kidston flip flops - just £3 - ideal for slopping around the garden in.

This little enamel pot was a CS find - it will be perfect for when come Autumn it will be often just me and little son for dinner - might help me learn to scale my cooking down from dinner for 3 to just 2!!

Another weekend favourite thing is when the boys and I are all at home - happens less and less these days as we all have busy social lives. However the other weekend it happened AND the weather was lovely - time to drag out a new toy of mine - a fire pit;

 As you can see this was before the garden had a jolly good tidy up!

It was lovely sitting there - cooking dinner and then afterwards toasting marshmallows.

One last favourite weekend thing this time of year - sitting in the sunshine with a book or magazine - and when it all gets too warm - time to retreat into the shade of the apple tree;

Thanks for reading. Time to have a wander around blogland then get myself sorted. Off out later today - one of my favourite things - a gig with friends.

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx

52 weeks of Vicki - week 4

Good morning

How did it get to be Sunday again? I had planned to write a mid-week post but it just never happened. Another busy week, working, having work done on the house, family stuff and birthdays.

So instead of 2 posts this week - I've condensed everything into on 52 weeks of Vicki post - or I'll never get caught up!!

Starting with the last thing first!! I went roller skating yesterday - for the first time in at least 6 years possibly more. I use to skate loads when I much younger and even when the boys were very small, I'd take myself off to the local leisure centre at the weekends for a couple of hours of skating fun. Sadly they stopped offering that service and I sold my skates after I tore my achilles a few years ago, thinking I'd never be able to skate again. Well it seems I was wrong - after a very wobbly start the muscles remembered what they should be doing and I was happily whizzing round - avoiding small children who had even less sense of direction than me!! I do ache a bit today but nothing to bad.

This week I've had a plumber here replacing a radiator in the front room - I meant I had to clear some stuff away - including a few christmas pressies that remained on the coffee table. This gorgeous box was painted by one of my sisters;

I also had a tidy in the dining room - there was a pile of recent CS buys I've been meaning to photograph before putting into the right places;

 I love Lucie Atwell's  illustrations - my Mum has a few of her childhood annuals and when I was a small child, I was occasionally allowed to read them - very carefully.

Another Ladybird book for my collection - that elusive copy of Cinderella is still hiding out there waiting for me I am sure!

Lastly for this post - another CS buy - cake/pastry forks - so cute and in their very 50's style box.

Another busy week beckons - music at the pub later, more work, a very special belated birthday treat for little son and most excitingly, my little nephew is being christened next weekend.

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx

Pretty and Practical

Good evening

Wow a week since my last post - where has the time gone? Mainly in a sea of unpacking, sorting, tidying and dealing with lots of work that's happened on the house this week (more on that in a while).

Pretty stuff first!! It makes for a better opening photo!!

When I was in hospital I was lucky enough to be given yarn & a hook by a friend and a book by a sister - putting the two together I started making a little string shopping bag. I continued for a while when I came home but wasn't happy with what I'd done. I re-read the instructions, swore and pulled more of it out!! In the last week in the evenings I've sat and crocheted a lot and finally I finished my little bag;

I love it and everyone who has seen it has too - I've started on another as a pressie - they are lovely to do and the pattern - if you read it carefully and not in a morphine induced state as I was when I started - is quite simple!! Its from the wonderful Granny Chic book which if you haven't got it you need in your collection.

A few weeks ago I went out with my friend Dawn and whilst we were browing a local vintage shop we spotted some kitchen stools - we both said we wanted one but at those prices it wasn't going to happen! Well I was working in the charity shop the other morning when I got a text from Dawn. She was across the road in another charity shop and had spotted 2 stools - utterly perfect and just £2 each!! Did I want one!!I downed tools and dashed across the road and met her just as she was paying for them both!!

They need a sand and paint/varnish and perhaps a new seat cover but otherwise they are perfect - mine has already found its spot in the kitchen - perfect for sitting on when dinner needs a close watch!!

Now for the practical - just really for my records. When we bought the house we knew we needed some work doing - one of the major tasks was a new boiler - the old one was ugly, very old and most likely uneconomical. Well work started on Monday and the has been mess, strange smells and some disruption. Lots of the plumbing work has taken place under little son's bedroom floor so he has decamped to the front room during the day. We've been without water and power at various times as old plumbing/wiring have been replaced with new, safe stuff.

The old boiler - trust me it was so useless it could barely cope with one bath full of tepid water! Though that might have been the hot water tank too - which rattled well when it came out of the airing cupboard and into the rubbish heap earlier in the week!

 Its replacement - modern, efficient and very cheap to run. The first night 3 hot, deep baths happened in quite, quick succession - it handled the task without a murmur!

I am now left with a space in the kitchen - I think I will clean it up, paint it, get shelves fitted and probably cover it with a curtain - am thinking patchwork because I've rather a lot of fabric!!

I mentioned a rubbish heap - well at one point the back garden could have rivalled Steptoes yard;

Lots of things from the utility room spent the week outside too as their space was full of plumbing and plumber!! We finally got rid of the last of it yesterday - a huge trailer load - luckily Big Son and his mates arrived just at the right moment and between them soon got the garden clear.

We are feeling rather chuffed and smug with what we've achieved this week - boxes are all unpacked and most things are now in their permanent places. We've recycled, sold and donated more 'spare' things. The best bit was when I finally got to unpack my china collection - I've kept as much as possible though some things are heading to the charity shop this week as there is simply not enough space and I don't want things living forever in a cupboard wrapped up - I'd rather they were being used/loved by someone.

Right I'd best be off - more photos next time - I've just realised I meant to take some more today but completely forgot! Instead I went to visit Bertie the caravan to let him know he's off on an adventure in a few days!!

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx

PS - Thanks for all the lovely comments on my last post. The boys and I are loving our new home. We have got relatively straight so quickly as we'd measured and planned where furniture was going after one of our many pre-move visits! We also decided as the year has been so disruptive we didn't want it to continue once we'd moved. Instead we'd work very hard and get things normal as quickly as possible. Meaning instead of boxes we can fill the house with family and our friends instead. Its lovely for the boys to have their mates over and I enjoy hearing them having fun and being so happy. Once I've got my new oven this week I look forward to making sure the cake tins are always full as its amazing how much 6 extra teenagers can eat!!
 

18 of 52 weeks of happy

Good evening

What a difference a week makes - much chillier today than last Sunday and rather soggy at times too. Never mind I've found plenty to do indoors instead.

I must confess at times in the past week, happy has not been my state of mind but as ever wonderful friends and family have been there and picked me up and dusted me down. Of course those daft boys of mine help too - I am still the butt of so many of their jokes but they've worked out the signs and can now leap in if they think I'm wobbling and soon make the corners of my mouth turn upwards.

One thing I've been focusing on lots is my house move. It is all slowly coming together - paperwork is being signed and sorted. A date of early August is most likely as it suits all involved.

Some packing has started as lots of stuff will be moving to P's new house at the end of the month - I will end up with a couple of very bare rooms but there is plenty others we can use and we've changed how some are used and they seem to work fine for us for this short time we've left here.

Apart from the practical house move stuff, I've found myself collecting things for the new house - both new and charity shops finds - here's this weeks happy picture;

1 - A mini chest of drawers - in need to sanding and repainting but too lovely and cheap to leave behind. Luckily I bumped into my Dad in town that day and he brought it home for me - I was then pondering how I could fit it into my bike basket with the pile of proper shopping I'd got!

2 - A painted enamel tray - this I think will end up on the wall - its too pretty to use.

3 - A hearts picture - I fell in love with this when it came into the shop - but the 24 hour rule meant I couldn't buy it straight away. I thought it was gone the next day when I went in but it was in the shop window and soon became mine. 

4 - Two little purchases from Rochester last weekend - I found a gorgeous little shop in the High Street and went back after we'd finished dancing to buy these - I can see them hanging from somewhere in the new house.

Right six weeks of exams starts tomorrow for my boys - AS levels for Big Son and then some GSCE modules for Little Son. Both have been revising hard and I hope we get through this all with confidence and not too much stress!

Oh and there's a dance out with the Morris lot on Tuesday night - in a pub!!!

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx

A bit of spring in my step.

Good evening

Well spring finally seems to have sprung a bit here today - its been lovely. Mostly sunny and warmer than I can remember for quite some time :) Washing has been hung out to dry and windows have been flung open. I spent most of today spring cleaning the conservatory - I'd given it a quick tidy before the estate agent took pictures but it needed its spring clean to cope with closer scrutiny.

Once I'd finished this afternoon it was time for a well earned cuppa in the garden;

Just five minutes of sunshine and a mug of peppermint tea (my new favourite).

Once the tea was drunk it was time for a few photos to be taken - even managed one towards this months Scavenger hunt as well!

 Just look at that sky - and the cherry blossom buds - can wait for these to flower - it looks so gorgeous.

Hunting for other signs of spring I spotted a few catkins high on the branches - thank goodness for a good zoom on my camera!

Lastly something I bought last week which I've been meaning to snap. I needed a new picture for my bedroom to replace one that I've taken down - I spotted this in our shop the other week and luckily it was still there when I had some spare money;

Its a proper oil painting not a print - the note of the back says it was painted as a present in 1977. I love it and its not something I plan to part with - yellow roses grow in the front garden here and they are something I will miss when I move.

Right thats enough for tonight - I've a few more pictures but I'll save them for a post another night. Trying hard to get back into proper blogging and not just the Scavenger Hunt and Happy posts - if this sunshine continues I can't see it being a problem!!

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx

3 of 52 weeks of happy

Good morning

Whilst life here in the VV household isn't to great at the moment, I am determined to be British and keep calm and carry on - I will tell you eventually but its just too tricky at the moment to write it all down.

However I am determined even with all the less nice stuff to find happy things in my world and take pictures and share them - trying the glass half full approach ;)

Here's what has caught my eye this week;

1 - Gorgeous new fabric which I will turn into a dress for me - red is also a cheerful colour and if you add roses what is there not to love :)

2 - A charity shop find - a not-vintage-but-still-lovely printers tray - just needs a few coats of paint then attaching to the wall and filling with little pretty things.

3 - A sunny day and the first washing on the line for 2013 - here's hoping it won't be too long till I can do this again.

4 - Online scrabble - playing Little Son and various friends - I'm not particularly good at it but its great fun.

I have something else lovely to show you but that deserves a post of its own, so that will have a wait until next time.

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx

2 of 52 weeks of happy

Good evening

Just a quick post whilst waiting for teenagers to vacate the bathroom so I can have my turn in there!

Week 2 of 52 weeks of happy - here they are;

1 - My Ipad mini - I've been saving for one of these for ages and finally had enough money and ordered it. It came last week and I am in love - great for watching tv in bed when those brass players of mine are at practise and for checking for school closures on snowy mornings from the comfort of my own bed!!

2 - A pretty ceramic cottage jam jar bought from the CS for just £1 - I want a cottage just like this one day.

3 - Homemade bread - my breadmaker is dying and no longer produces more than dough. When we had our snow day on Friday I decided to try something other than the normal rolls - this came out brilliantly. Next task to try making bread entirely by hand.

4 - Ladybird books sent by another blogger - love the kindness within blogland :)

We did manage playing outside in the snow on Friday - there are pictures to upload and sort. I think there will be another tomorrow as its been snowing here for most of the afternoon/evening and the roads seem worse than last time. Only time will tell - I will be checking online from my bed tomorrow and if school is closed I'll leave those boys of mine for a longer snooze!

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx

A Pause in Advent 2012 - No4 (Fun)

Hello again

Just how quickly has this month gone by? Here we are at the last Sunday in Advent and time for one final pause before the main event on Tuesday.

I think we're just about ready here - a bit of veggie prep to do and another batch of mince pies to bake - one more session of carol playing for my brass players and then its time to hang stockings, leave a drink and mince pie out for the bearded fella.

My last pause is all about fun. The boys have had some fun things at school this week. Big Son's 6th form centre hold a charity dress-up day each year. Batches of 16/17/18 year olds forget their usual 'coolness' and dress up in silly costumes and visit 3 local towns to collect money for charity.

Big son along with 2 of his mates were the Thunderbirds - here he is as Brains;

The 6th form raised over £1,000 in about 3 hours which is pretty amazing.

Next it was Little Sons turn - his school were doing the Save the Children Christmas Jumper event - a week later than everyone else but a rather fun thing to do on the last day of term. Quite simple - wear a Christmas jumper - either bought, knitted or made - and pay 50p for the privilege;

Little Son hoped I'd be up for the challenge and between us ( he cut out - I did the sewing);

He jingled rather nicely!

I spent one morning this week in the kitchen - Christmas songs playing and a cloud of flour/icing sugar in the air - time to decorate my Christmas cake and make a batch of mince pies;

Vintage plaster carol singers were just 50p from my favourite little charity shop!

Now this is going to be my last post for a few days so I shall wish all my blog followers, commenter's and friends a very Merry Christmas;

See you soon

xxxx Vicki xxxx

A bit of festive sparkle

Good afternoon

Hurrah just 3 more school days left - looking forward to 12 alarm clock free mornings starting from Saturday.

Have spent another day working my way through my to-do-before-Christmas-list - nice things such as buy cake ribbon as well as the dreaded hoover the entire house! Another thing on there today was take photos - I made that task the last one so it was a treat to look forward to.

I think we're now finished on the festive decorating though I may still add things if I find anything else on my wanders this week!

 The top of the piano

Something new for this year - this nativity set was greatly reduced in our shop as one of the Kings had been beheaded! Luckily I'm a dab hand with superglue and he's able to join his friends. This set reminded me of the primary school nativity plays the boys used to do - all home made crowns and tea-towel headdresses.

 The hallway - complete with stockings on the banisters and an eight foot tall snowman! Please notice an almost tidy dresser - just the last few cards to deliver sometime this week.

 My collection of Santas & Snowmen - haven't managed to add to them this year - however there's still a week left!!

 One tree with almost every decoration we own on it!

Fireplace with stockings hanging already!

Even the mirror got a tinsel scarf and a Christmas banner.

I'm rather looking forward to tomorrows to-do-list it includes mince pie baking and Christmas cake icing - there's some ironing on there to but not much!!

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx

Faith, Hope and Festive Charity Shopping Swap

Good evening

Almost in the home straight for next Tuesday - I've a long list divided into daily tasks - if I stick to it, we will have pressies to unwrap, a scrummy dinner to eat and a tidy house to cover in wrapping paper!!

I do love it when you know that a swap parcel has arrived and been well received - an email last week told me that my swap parcel to Marina at Evelyn-May Vintage had arrived safely and I was happy to reply to her the next day saying mine had too.

Now it was dark when I got home to find my parcel had arrived but I so wanted to open it. So not in the best of light here are all my parcels and the gorgeous stocking that some of them were in;

The stocking has joined the rest of my collection and is hanging from the banister and making the hallway look very festive. The chocolate coins had a very limited life!

Inside the parcels were;

 A vintage tea-plate - just big enough to hold my elevenses!!

 A pretty cushion cover, some 70's napkins (that pattern is very familiar - we must have had that on something in my childhood) and a knitted angel.

There was also this gorgeous table cloth covered in the most amazing cross stitch - so, so pretty.

Here's what I sent;

A vintage Christmas book as I knew Marina collected children's books, some thrifted chinese lanterns, some CK smellies, chocolates, a Christmas tealight and handmade reindeer and toadstool house decs.

Thanks as ever for Lakota for organising this swap and to Marina for being a great swap partner :)

We spent part of yesterday turning the VV household into a colourful, slightly kitsch, Christmas explosion decorated house - the tree is up, things are hanging on shelves, windows and pictures (not ceilings - I live with 3 giants). No subtle, tasteful, colour co-ordinated stuff here - its so dark this time of year and we need colour/light to brighten things up.  Anyhow I tried to take pictures today but my big camera struggled and my little camera had a flat battery. I shall try again tomorrow and bore you all senseless with the pictures sometime soon ;)

xxx Vicki xxx

Thank goodness for Daniel Craig!

Good afternoon from chilly and damp Suffolk.

Thank you Daniel Craig - all 3 menfolk are big Bond fans and they've gone out together to a late afternoon showing of your new film 'Skyfall' - it means I get the house to myself and time to blog :)

The weekend started wintry;

Hailstones - least it wasn't snow AND they didn't last long.

In the afternoon MrVV & I went to Southwold for a walk and wander along the seafront. We stopped at the pier cafe (outside)  for a pot of tea for two - all rather civilised. Just as we'd finished drinking the heavens opened and we dashed into the arcades whilst the shower passed over. We had a quick play on the penny falls - amazing how long you can make 50p of tuppences last!

We wandered through the town on our way back to the car and I might have popped into a CS or two - just one thing - another Ladybird book for my collection - one of my childhood favourites;

I woke up at my normal time this morning and try as I might I couldn't get back to sleep - I thought I'd take advantage of the extra hour and get some crocheting done.

So far I've finished off 3 new dishcloths - I prefer these to the shop bought ones - easy to make and after I'd done a Granny Square one I thought I'd make a couple using other stitches - whilst I can Granny Square almost in my sleep I find other stitches require concentration. Since then I've started on a cowl scarf for me using a gorgeous Rowan Aran yarn I bought several years ago. I just need to sew the ends in and then I can take a picture - that will have to be tomorrow as already its getting dark - the downside to the hour change.

First thing this morning - the sky was blue and the rooftops were covered in frost - perfect for taking this weeks Autumn Views Challenge photos;

The trees and plants all have less leaves than last weekend - most of them are on the lawn waiting for a willing volunteer to rake them up - might see if a teenager wants to earn some money tomorrow!

Right time for more crochet I think - as well as my scarf there's at least 2 blankets on the go that I can add to for an hour or so till the menfolk come home.

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx