Joyful

With each passing year on the ageing clock I seem to find more joy than down in the dumps blues.

I remember trying to will myself into a melancholy state when I was a teen. Didn't everyone know I was an artist who should be living a devil may care life. Instead tea arrived on the table not long after my mum got in from work, my folks played loads of golf all summer long and a little bit less in the winter, relatives and friends visited and it was all very regular and happy. 

To a teenager it was so dull and so I did lots of stupid things to test my parents sanity. Sometimes my eccentric auntie Annie would visit to liven things up. Life and a bit of drink added to her strange charm. After one visit she left The Happy Hooker under her bed which I was shocked and delighted to find. It sure was a real eye opener to my twelve year old self as my parents just didn't discuss any of that sort of stuff  with me. I pretty much learnt all I'd need to know about sex and more besides from that book.

I had a few years in my late twenties when I wasn't as happy as I should be. Nowadays I refuse to let whatever life throws my way hit me for too long. Sure I get down, but I never give up fighting. I do my best to seek out all the happiest bits in life and just enjoy.

I ended up thinking about joyfullness and happiness when I looked over these pictures.
They're just a few of the wonderful moments of the last week or so. In fact I realised each one captures some of the things and people that make me really happy.

I love having flowers in the house. I'm definately no gardener, but I can weed and dead-head roses. I added a few of these sweet smelling blooms to my cutting and tidying pile after work one evening.

Fresh seasonal food has made mealtimes bliss lately. Fresh veg from a friends allotment and then this gift of sweet strawberries from another ended up as a risotto and Eton Mess the other evening.

Yucky drink, gorgeous bottle. I've always been a sucker for lovely packaging. Miss Millie and her daddy drunk the contents.

Now I do love a bit of lace. In a typo error on Instagram I ended up saying "I tend to come all over lace" which really isn't true at all you know, but I do like it a lot.

I loved this Modflower barkcloth and was holding on to it for a while. A friend really really wanted a Happy Shopper bag made in it so in the end I though what the hell. Spread the fabric joy around I think, I still have enough for a teeny bag for me.

I was thrilled to make another Annual Top for the lovely Laa Laa lady.

In fact I've been so busy sewing, knitting and making lately my fingers are on fire when I'm not at work.
It's a real juggle around family, keeping house and cooking when we get in at the end of the day, but it makes me so happy and I just need a fix every day or I feel I'll get all hissy with everyone.

Mind you I gave up my making time tonight for an evening stroll down the lane with my man and Alfie Blue. Sunlight on green fields, clean air and utter peace after a day in the city and teaching in a non-descript room. Yay that makes life feel good. We talked about childhood a bit and both decided we'd go back to 1975-77 because it was always sunny then! Life was just happy and simple at seven or eight.

Last night I watched the BBC Land Girls on DVD and fiddled with felt.
I'd made a purple brooch with a cluster of these flowers, but fancied trying single blooms this time.

 

I quickly stitched on the brooch back at seven this morning so I could wear this one to work. I wear a brooch every day, it's another part of my happy making ritual.
 

I just had to include this picture as it makes me smile each time I see it on my phone.
This is post being a bridesmaid at a pretend Hindu wedding at school.

I also treated my man to a large cup to replace the beautiful Meakin one he broke. It's by Midwinter and has got a fabulous name. Quite Contrary  just sums us up pretty well. We decided long ago we were were well suited because we doubted anyone else could cope with us.

At the same time I treated myself to the Midwindter Queensberry jug on the far left. All bought from a  lovely lady selling Midwinter who chatted to me as if we'd known each other for years.

I don't ask for too much really. My home keeps me sane and calm, my family fill me with joy, being creative is what I've realised I need and as for food - a friend said recently that it's how she sees me showing my love for others. I like that.

footynote: I was so thrilled you enjoyed reading my last post and thankyou for all your lovely comments. I used to be able to tell who visited me, but now my sitemeter is broke and tells me no one comes this way any more so who knows who pops in unless you say hi.
 I really appreciate all the connections and comments left aswell as those of you who've stopped by lately to follow- hello to you.

Speak to you again very soon.

Back in the Saddle

Life did an about turn recently. A couple of weeks ago I was just finishing my mornings class when my phone rang. It was my mum's friend calling to tell me not to worry, but mum was in an ambulance heading to hospital. She had had serious chest pains and nearly passed out. This same friend was with her when dad died and had called me to come quickly. I felt calm when she called, but sick in the pit of my stomach. Luckily my man was teaching there that day too, so we both headed off. Fortunately no heart attack was detected, but mum stayed in overnight as her blood pressure was too low. I took the next day off and mum stayed with us. She only had a week to go before her angioplasty op so we told her to stay off work and not overdo it. For once she listened (she's stubborn).

The night before the operation was the girls school carol service in the Cathedral. It was a beautiful candlelit service with the various school choirs singing throughout. Afterwards I stayed the night with mum and took her to hospital the next day. I only realised how worried she was when she made sure I understood her final wishes and had promised to carry them out. I'd seen it as a fairly routine procedure, but afterwards a friend told me of her friend who had had a massive heart attack after hers. 

I was left feeling exhausted by it all and so blogging just fell by the wayside. I feel a bit out of the loop with it at the moment as I've not read any blog posts either. Today I just felt like stepping back in, so we'll see how it goes.

Around all the emotional hoo ha, I've been feeling pretty calm with the Christmas stuff. The girls broke up last Friday so we got our tree at the weekend. Grandma then stayed all weekend after she came out of hospital, which the girls loved.

Lately I've finished one major knitting thing which completely took me over for two weeks. Now I've got this jewel bright Rowan tweed yarn on my needles to knit me a christmas hat. Once done I'll be embroidering knots and flowers over it. It's a joy to knit with, I just need to plan some yarny thing for after christmas knitting cosied up with the choccie tin.

My big knitting thing was this beautiful textured shawl that I saw on Harmonie and Rosie. I used up some Rowan Cocoon I had so it's extra thick and snuggly soft. I fancied making it for me, but as I went along I decided my mum would like it more. No decent shots of me modelling it I'm afraid as they were all blurry. Just a snoozing Lily cat and a sofa to give you the general idea.

Other makes have been the secret kind that happen when girls are in bed and some Santa stockings for classmates. Each class has a secret Santa and the girls asked me to make something special to put their gifts in. In my head I fancied bright fabrics, but the lazy me wanted something I could sit by the fire and sew so the felt came out.

Other quick makes have been inspired by a picture in this months Country Living. Jam jars, rock salt, a bit of ribbon and three pretty night lights were ready to sparkle.

 I took advantage of an offer and grabbed new toadie plates for christmas too.

 Next in my head is an idea to make a shawl from this tartan I bought years ago to make a dress. I also love the feathery crown which has got me thinking. Usually we make crowns for Epiphany, but Christmas crowns would be ideal.

Around the time my mum went into hospital we had someone new come to live with us. 

Let me introduce you to the lovely Marmalade Monkey.

I first saw Marmalade on Ellie's IG feed. She was posting different lovelies for sale and when I saw a pink monkey I was smitten. Others asked if they could buy him, but luckily I was first to ask.  Poor Marmalade is missing a hand and foot at the moment and so limb surgery is booked for after christmas.

Ellie also really kindly popped in a couple of lavender pillows for Miss Rosey and Little Bun. An Alfie Blue look alike and a lamb are spot on and very loved.

Now as I write this a cooker mending man has just finished with my broken oven and it looks like we'll be back to making more yummy things again. These Peanut and Choc cookies from the Hummingbird Bakery book were very scrumptious indeed.

Now I'm off to watch films, do some felty sewing and eat sweets with my lovely girls. Later on we're meeting friends for pizza. Can't be bad can it.

A Bit of a Sing Song

You're such a lovely lot sending me all your kind thoughts and good old fashioned pratical advice. You'll be pleased to know I'm starting to act on it and am now taking a whole load of B vitamins, starflower oil and Iron (for just in case). That's not to say I'm not trying everything else too, just some at a time.

I also got taken out for some cultural therapy too. A friend, who enters every known competition and wins a whole load of them too, won a pre-theatre meal and tickets for a Royal Opera House screening of Turandot by Puccini. Listen to me trying to sound like I know what I'm talking about. I've never seen an Opera before, but I have heard of Placido Domingo because my mum had him and Daly Thompson on her fridge for quite a while. Anyway's she took me along with her last night and I must admit I was a bit apprehensive about the opera part. I loved the wine and eating scrumptious food bit though.

We ate at a fabulous place called The Black Dog Restaurant in Bungay. Although it's been there a year I've whizzed past and never noticed it before which made it more of a treat to find such a gem. The staff were great and the food was just delicious. I've told my man we're going there no question.

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Tummies full we rushed off to see the tale of Turandot. Thank heavens for the big screen because there were sub-titles all the way through, if not I'd have needed Mr Tumble mimimg at the side to help explain all.

The rotund bloke who was meant to be a young dashing Prince sang Nessum Dorma at the end and I thought, I know that one at least. I enjoyed his singing, but the women's voices made me wince. It was a daft tale where a prince falls for a bloodthirsty unhinged princess enacting the revenge of an ancestor who was raped a 1000 years before. I have to believe in the motivation of the characters to get truly immersed in the tale and I'm afraid I kept thinking the Prince needed his head felt. I did enjoy the experience though and I might even take up the ladies advice beside me who said I should try Mozart's Marriage of Figaro. Who knows where it might lead me.

Ironically when we went out to eat I had to order less crunchy food. One of my teeth had broken in half at work and so I had to cancel my Wednesday morning classes so I could get to the dentist. That meant I could fit in the car boot after dropping the girls off at school. Silver linings and all that. 

I came away with a mended, but oh so sweet Mabel Lucie mug, plums, dahlia's and a cream blanket. Not a bad haul for a chilly September morning.

The little lady fits in quite nicely with my other childrens china.  My favourite is still the Meakin dish with the babes in bunny suits. One day I hope to track down a matching cup and plate. 

The duck cup was gifted to my man as the exact same one was a childhood favourite of his.

 

This got me thinking about some of my other favourite things. Things that hold memories which make them just that bit more special.

My love bought this juicer for me one christmas knowing I'd love it and I do, very much so. 

 

 We bought this Victorian Pilchard dish in Brixham on our last holiday as two. I was heavily pregnant with Miss Rosey and kept fainting everywhere. Turns out I was seriously anaemic so lots of red wine and broccoli later and things started improving a bit. We had a fabulous time mind you in a very grand Georgian Hotel where my man ended up impersonating a freelance food critic.  We had a problem with the rudeness of the French Maitre 'd so lets just say we had a bit of fun and then afterwards we had the most fabulous service. This dish sums up more carefree and naughty times.

 

This silver and ivory teether I guess to be mid 1800's. It was given to Miss Rosey when she was born by my mum's oldest friend (by that I mean she was really old). It was her husband's mother's and she had no one else to give it to. She'd never liked me and used to be really rude, but went all soft with Miss Rosey. I forgave her as she had good reason to be bitter. Her baby son had died of meningitis and then her teenage daughter was killed in front of her when she jumped off a bus to grab the dog lead off the road.

 

 This ivory inlaid Crib Box is a very special thing to me. It was my dad's Grandmother's and after dad died mum passed it on to me. I used to love playing with my dad. It was during my pain in the bum teen years when it was one of the things we did without getting into an argument.

 Lastly, one of my favourite photos of the girls and I. Like most mum's I guess there's hardly any photos of me, just tons of their daddy. I sometimes wonder if they'll ask one day did you always stay at home?
I just love their cheeky faces, it was a carefree time in the last summer before Miss Rosey started school. A photographer friend came over and took tons of black and white pictures of us that day. The girls loved whirling and twirling for the camera, they still do.

 

Well  if you've read this far, then well done and just to let you know I'll be replying to your lovely emails and suchlike by the weekend either here or there.

Hope you enjoy the rest of the week.

It Doesn't take Much

Some days you just know are going to be easy going good feeling days don't you. First thing this morning there was a hazy mist hovering about which meant another hot one. It was an ideal rootling around in a field for treasure kind of a day, but I just wanted to enjoy having the whole day at home by myself. I really enjoy my own company and had plans for my day.

After dropping the Bun's at school I got home, threw the doors wide in the dining room and rushed through the morning chores.

A hot choccy and a dripping in butter teacake were the perfect fodder to get me ready for the sewing I had planned. After work yesterday I found a few gorgeous things that I had to bring home. My folks collected the Bun's from school yesterday and then stayed to eat with us so I hadn't had the chance to look at my buys as yet.

How I adore this fabric. I could make so many things in it that my wardrobe might start looking a bit too family von Trapp. You know when you've had a fabric in your head for an age. One that you don't know if it exists or not, but you hope it does. Then one day you suddenly find it and you feel so excited. Well this is that fabric. There was only a metre and a half left and a fat quarter which I bought too. Just so's you know, as I bet some of you will love it too, it's Liberty Marylebone collection Meadow for Rowan. It comes in other colour ways too, but this one was the one.

I also bought some more pom pom trim. Goodness knows why, I just loved it and so I've stored it in the big sweetie jar and one day it'll get used.

On Monday night I started a spot of winter scarf knitting with Mustard Debbie Bliss Donegal luxury Tweed. Now doesn't that shade just look wonderful next to the florals. At the moment I can picture plumy grapey coloured tights and t-shirts under it.

The scarf pattern is from Jane Brockett's Gentle Art of Knitting by the way. I realised recently that I don't give enough information and that's frustrating if you see something you like on here, so I'm going to try to remember to be a wee bit more helpful. I love this book, just to look at and enjoy, but now it's all coffee stained and rubbishy looking in places as Alfie Blue jumped on the table to run at Mr Bun's lap the other day. He sent coffee flying as he raced past and I called him loads of sweet names.

Now I also brought a couple of delicious books home last night to add to my other lovely crafty books. I'll show and tell about them another day as I've loads more to show you here.

You know I made a tunic on Saturday and then I wore it on Monday, well that divine fabric I bought yesterday became another tunic today (a shorter one mind you).

I stitched and stitched until I had a new top. As my helpful camera girl happened to be at school you'll have to try and get the idea from my attempts to take my own photo.

I'll be wearing a t-shirt under it mostly and cardi's galore, but far too hot for that today. If you can spy what look like threads at the bottom then you're right as I've not hemmed it yet.

Just enough time was left to grab a very late lunch and then a race to school and off to basketball club. 

One last thing that I'd not managed to fit into my day was brewing some fruity gin. Little Bun helped me prick the sloes while I got the cheapo gin ready and the jar the dog biscuits had been in.

All ready to go and still some more sloes left so there was nothing for it but to use some Bombay Sapphire to fill up the empty gin bottle. I reckon December will be a good month for sampling it.

In case you missed my mention in my comments. My cardi in the last post is from White Stuff and I did go back and ask for 20% off and got offered 15%. So there you go. 

Finally hello to you new followers. I always try and find a link to visit my followers, but for the most part there's never a link in the box thing, which is a shame. Right I think I've talked enough, I still need to get on with re-designing a students CV yet tonight so best be off. Night night.

A day of Lemons

Thoughts of Lemons and Spring have been inspiring a lot of my making lately. Our home looks like it needs a lick of paint, a change of colours and really a good old bit of oooompaaah. I've been flicking through my folder of pictures for ideas and it's the zesty colours that make me feel most joyful.

Our bedroom is the room that's bothering me the most. It's the only room we've never touched in the four years we've been here. I've ideas for it, but no time at the moment apart from some quick fixes.

 

First quick fix I've gone for is cushion making. With thoughts of zesty colours and a spring freshen up I knew exactly which fabrics I wanted to use from my stash. After a large choccy Brownie and a mocha coffee I was ready to start cutting a few patchy squares.

It's a very big cushion I'm covering so lots of squares were needed. It took a bit of jigging back and forth until they were in a pattern that was just right.

 

I was in a hurry to get them all stitched together neatly in their rows as I have ideas for much more for this cushion. Once I have a plan I get impatient to get to the end to see how it all works out. Sometimes (well generally most of the time) real life means I have to stop working. School ends and I need to be there to collect the Bun's, work days come around, a Bun is ill or just the usual stuff of our days interrupts and I have to wait to start my making again. That's how it was with this cushion cover. Suddenly it was 3pm and I had to put my needle down for a while. That's how it's been with the skirt I started a while back and have been getting on with slowly around this and that. I can show you one of the pockets and I promise to show you the rest once it's all properly finished.

The same goes for my cushion. I'm all excited to get going again, but today was Pancake Day and I was needed to stand by a hot pan for what seemed an age when we got home. The Bun's were very happy that teatime was just tons of chocclately and lemon sugar pancakes. It turned into a sociable tea too as a friend stopped by with her daughter. Just as well I'd made a bucket full of batter. By the time the Bun's were finally in bed I was too zonked out to get my stitching head on again. So another day very soon my cushion will be finished. Along with the jumper, scarf, Polly Dolly, Elsie Elephant, Mister Rabbit, skirt and all the other stuff I seem to have started and then get interrupted from finishing.

When we curled up much later by the fire the only thing we had the energy for was to attack the Quality Street I'd bought yesterday.