Merry Christmas Blogland

A very Merry and Peaceful Christmas to all of you in blogland

Special thanks to everyone who takes time to read and comment on my ramblings and to those of you who have sent lovely cards and messages.

See you all next year !

xxx



We've been to the North Pole ...... brrrrr

I booked to take the grands to have breakfast with Santa at Barton Watermill this morning but after yesterday's deluge of snow it was looking doubtful that we would make it.

We telephoned to check that they were open and that the roads were passable and took the plunge!

It truly looked like winter wonderland and all the fake snow that was sprayed around the Mill was covered in a thick layer of the real thing.  The mill pond was frozen solid and there was no sign of the ducks.

It was such a shame because they'd got loads of bookings for the breakfast but it turned out there were only three families that made it and one of those was some friend of ours.  We were ushered into the restaurant were the children had a lovely cooked breakfast and there were home baked mince pies for us grown ups and then the man himself joined us and read stories to the children as they ate.

Excuse her rudeness .... I didn't realise she was doing this!

 Ellie then turned the tables and read a story to Santa before we went back to his little cabin to get Charlie's present .... on the way there DD1 remarked that we were going to were Santa lived in his grotto .... Charlie piped up no Lala he lives at the North Pole silly!  Never argue with a 3 year old ;-)

dropped off safely as close to home as I could .... they live at the bottom of a cul-de-sac which is impossible to get in or out of at the moment so the sledge came in really handy.

Pssst ..... don't mention the C word ..............

It seems blogland is split into two camps at the moment ..... those who are laid back and going with the flow and those who are stressing about how much there is to do.  So this post is a 'C' word free zone ! 

This life is not a dress rehearsal dear people so don't worry your socks off about the things you have no control over and concentrate on the things that you can do and changes that you can make.

One of my pet hates is waste.   Waste of any kind really be it food, clothing, possessions and most of all time. 

Since joining the world of blog and visiting crafting forums I have discovered Freecycle, Scrapstores and more recently Ecobees ... each has an ethos of avoiding sending unwanted items to landfill and offer a wonderful opportunity to recycle.  You know what they say about one man's trash being another man's treasure well it is totally true and I love nothing more than rescuing something from the past and giving it a new lease of life.

Over the past couple of weeks I have adopted this little Edwardian sewing cupboard and when the weather improves (we have a light snowfall outside as I write) it shall have a little session with some Nitromors to remove the peach gloss paint and then I shall decide on whether it shall stay as it was intended as a dark oak cupboard or give it a fresh coat of paint and prettify it a little.

A few days ago a vintage Silver Cross Dolls Pram was offered and my heart skipped a beat ..... I hadn't heard anything and presumed that another lucky freecycler was the new owner.  Until this morning that is when I opened my mailbox and there was a message inviting me to arrange collection.  It was described as a restoration project so I was expecting the worst but was delighted to bring home this little baby .....

 She isn't in too bad condition at all and with some TLC and elbow grease she will come up a treat

 The original shop sticker is still attached and the Queensway shopping centre was opened in 1959

 A lovely little Rose cartouche is on both sides of the pram

The hood and cover are in a brown suede-like fabric

 

I am really looking forward to starting on this one!

How do you like your eggs in the morning ......

My new girls have settled in really well and bless them they are still laying even in this freezing cold.

I've just got back from walking the dogs.  I live on the outskirts of a grot of a town that I try to avoid like the plague but am fortunate that open countryside is just a short walk away.  We've been to Stopsley Common which is on top of a hill and is very exposed to the elements no matter what the season.  Turning in a 180 degree angle you get views of the town then Galley Hill to the north and round to farmland and countryside.  This morning it was strangely eerie but so beautiful at the same time.  The sky was grey and a freezing cold mist hung in the air and none of the above views could be seen.  There was untouched snow in places and just the sound of crows echoing through the mist.  Empty, desolate, peaceful and a touch spooky all at the same time.  Just perfect for clearing the mind and getting life in perspective.

I took my camera with me but the flipping battery was flat so these photos were taken on my phone and I have know idea if there is a zoom function (make that homework for later)

 One scatty cocker spaniel and choc labrador oblivious to the cold !

 

I really must get on with some tidying up if I have any hope of getting the deccies and tree up this weekend.

 

Bye for now x