Wednesday 3 November 2010

Weird and wonderful Wednesday ....

What a beautiful start to the day .... brilliant autumn sunshine and some warmth in it too while I walked Molly and Ruby around the park this morning .... I don't know if the colours of autumn are more vivid this year or whether is it just me noticing and appreciating them more as I get older.

I stashed the Halloween resources back in the loft when I got home and had a quick look at the Christmas bits and pieces up there .... then remembered I had been quite organised last year and had Freecycled quite a lot of stuff that gets brought down from the loft each year but never used.  I'm quite pleased really because that means I can spend some money on Saturday at the Spirit of Christmas Fair at Olympia.

The fireplace has been cleaned and dressed for the winter .... and despite what Miss Allsopp thinks she has not just invented upcycling, re-using and thrifting .... the Victorian cast iron insert was acquired from a junk shop around 15 years ago for the princely sum of twenty quid.  It was covered in a coat of cream paint and after an application of stripper and some good old fashioned elbow grease she came up a treat.  The reclaimed Pine surround was in a sale and I think we paid around £75 for it, the Victorian style blue & white tiles were £1 each and the slate tiles on the hearth were from Wickes for around a tenner.


The brass candlesticks and my mantel clock are from a general auction sale, the glass lustre from the charity shop and my lovely stained glass wotnot was in a mixed box of junk from the auction too.  It is original Victorian in Art Nouveau style and I think it must have been two small window panes in a former life which have been joined together in a triangular shape ..... with a tealight behind it on a dark winter night it looks really effective. So again Miss A stained glass is not something new for you to twitter on about.  Sorry to sound so cynical but are you getting my drift?  She may well be a lovely lady but I somewhat doubt that she has ever had to thrift in her very privileged life and I do take exception to being instructed on the benefits of thrifting and make do and mend and I refuse to worship at her altar.

Right off my soapbox now ..... where was I??? .... oh yes the decorations hanging from the mantel are stock for the Christmas Fair that I am selling at in a couple of weeks.  My crochet icicle garland and some tartan bunting with little jingly bells.

A little bit more thrifting in the charity shop yesterday ....


Vintage glass bottle and cheese dome which is extremely heavy

Delightful Beatrix Potter postcards

It's our 31st wedding anniversary today and Mr Lala has surprised me with these young ladies ...


this was them arriving as it got dark this evening so I will take some better photos tomorrow (weather permitting .... the forecast has just been on and it looks like rain)

Five Rhode Island Reds who in no particular order will be known as Matilda, Sophie, Trunchbowl, Honey and Veruca ..... Ellie is besotted with Roald Dahl stories at the moment so this will please her no end!

He knows that I have really missed my girls since Mr Fox got them back in the Spring and one of them kindly laid an egg in the transit box for me on the way here so I think we are going to get on famously.

Mum sent me some lovely flowers too

All in all a weird and wonderful day which I am going to finish perfectly with a glass of red and my crochet hook to finish this ....

The yarn is by Katia .... a Spanish company and it is sold in that favourite little yarn shop of mine in Baldock .... it is a cotton/acrylic mix and is so soft and so reasonably priced too at £2.90 a ball


Have a good evening all xx

9 comments:

  1. Happy anniversary and what wonderful presents. I keep thinking about getting some hens but have never had any before. I love your stained glass wotnot,we have lots of stained glass in our house, some original and other windows that Mr C has designed and had made up.I totally agree with what you say about Ms A, I had the same thoughts when I watched last night.
    Ann x

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  2. Ah you could teach Ms A a thing or two ... fab post as usual and I'm in awe of your talent and energy.

    Happy Anniversary! xxx

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  3. What a lovely day and I do like your 'soapbox' speech. Just as well I haven't watched the programme by the sounds of it.

    Oh you are lucky getting some hens...feeling quite jealous. ;-)

    Just had a frustrating time hating how I'd appliqued my hexies on and have just had to rip stitch them all off, replace the edge binding and will now have to make another 16 hexies. Think a cup of calming tea is in order. Good thing I don't drink otherwise it would be a stiff whiskey!

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  4. Brilliant post!

    Agree re Miss Allsopp, whilst I enjoy the programme very much, I had the very same thoughts as you, let's face it, we've been doing this for years.

    What a fabulous present from your husband, he must have gained masses of brownie points for those lovely chooks.

    xx

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  5. I feel the same re Miss A........ How wonderful that one of the chickens laid an egg in transit, that bodes well, doesn't it? Re the autumnal colour, funnily enough I commented yesterday that I dont normally pay much attention to it but that this year it seems spectacular. Great finds re the cheese dome etc.

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  6. Happy Anniversary - belatedly. Lucky you to have such a nice gift - no room for hens here, sigh..
    I know what you mean about Miss A. Although I quite enjoyed the programme she's just another in a long line of people trying to teach their grandmother's to suck eggs. In the current rise in interest in knitting, for instance, I continually read articles and books written by people who have taken up knitting quite recently and are now considered experts because they know how to shop in trendy places and can afford the luxury of upmarket yarns, forgetting all those elderly souls who have knitted all their long lives and have to knit acrylic cardigans. Love the little cheese dome, by the way.

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  7. Happy belated birthday, and what a great present! I agree about Kirstie A. And sometimes her idea of a reasonably priced item is not mine at all! And it doesn't matter if we don't pander to her and worship at her altar as you put it, the television companies, book publishers seem to do that enough already! Having said that,I do watch because of the crafty ideas I can sometimes pick up!

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  8. Lovely post - I too have that pinky glass bottle - and some glasses that go with it (great for Sloe Gin drinking!) I'm not loving the Kirsty thing, but I didnt last time either. On radio Sheffield they said that shes like "your very posh and rich, but well meaning friend". I agree.

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  9. Your fire place and mantle piece look lovely, and I love the cheese dome. I too love your soap box speech, and I do agree with you.
    Jo xx

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