Sunday Update

Saturday was a good day at the Craft Fair, firstly because I had some good sales and sold out of  lavender bags and a lady asked if she could sell some of my goodies in her shop, an order for a card, another asking why I wasn't being at Eype Makers Market and secondly Sarah came to visit me from the lovely blog  Down by the Sea, Sarah always has super photos on her blog and they make you feel you are really there in the picture, it was really good to meet her and her hubby and put a face to all the bloggy photos and thank you Sarah for purchasing some goodies and she also brought me some lovely plants, all my favourites, pressies like thank are always the best! my garden is now filling up....

Sarah's goody bag of plants

garden starting to fill up, hubbys sweet peas, these are only scratching the surface, we have loads and loads all over the garden, he didn't grow them from seed but bought tiny little plants and there were lots in each and every single one survived, not that I'am complaining they are lovely.

Daughters vintage take on a trowel

Lilac

Pinks

Sweet Williams, just coming into flower and waiting to be put in a vase in the window!

Next doors meadow, their lawn of unmown grass! does look rather pretty though from this angle



Also managed a trip to the car boot at West Bay, not much

Daughter did find these two lovely old books of birds and gardening

Just a quick look at the sea and home

and we've had 9 eggs from the girls over the weekend, so its goodbye from

Olga and me

Updates and Craft Fairs

Sorry havent been round, what seems like weeks, but getting over a bad case of the sickness bug, which hubby delightfully transferred to me!  so haven't been blogging much, anyway feeling a bit better now, but very tired and could literally fall alseep, not a bad thing hubby says, its kept me quiet.

So the henny girls have all settled in and making quite a name for themselves Tatianna (Bluebelle) we think laid her first egg on Monday, but it was very tiny and broken, but she seems to spend a bit of time in the nest box, I suppose they will get into the routine of laying eggs soon, hopefully.

Have been trying to get ready for the Craft and Gift Fayre at St Marys Church Hall, Bridport on Saturday 26th May 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Had to make quite a few as there is another fair on the 9th June so not leaving much time inbetween to stock up, heres a bit of what I  have been making

These cards were inspired by an old photo album I purchased here in Briport for a small sum, all the pictures were taken around West Bay and area in the 1920s, some even have the names on the back, so getting to know these people and how they spent there holidays!  I wanted to create a British seaside theme, so hope I've managed to capture that....

Jubilee inspired, didn't make many of these, just to get into the spirit!

Some Lavender bags and pincushions made with Liberty fabric and felt

So hope I can shift a bit of this on Saturday as hopefully want to do a different themed card every month, dont know it this will happen or not!

We did manage a trip to Bournemuth last week as eccentric daughter said she would like some new summer clothes, hubbys face was a picture when she arrived with a huge bag full, but soon settled down when she told him it was from Primark and 3 pairs of jeans were included!

Just show you this piccy of the mad dog with a spit face  having just enjoyed licking the McFlurry icecream carton from MacDondalds! 



Here Come the Girls

Finally, finally the girls are here, what a week though to actually get them here, firstly the trauma of the hen house, delivered on Monday, nice man phoned to ask where we lived as he couldnt find it (we live right on the road, so he had driven past it, and ended up at the little cottage hospital, which I might add isnt visible from the road! but he had managed to find it.  So gave him directions of just before the corner shop on the right is where we live, nothing - phoned him on his mobile - nothing - then he phoned, Iam still looking for you - I said I will come outside and jump up and down!  how hard can it be to find a house with the name of the Terrace above it and a big number on the door, is that not what Sat Nav is for... but at the same time hubbys concreate blocks arrived so double delivery at a very busy schools out time, so a bit of a hold up on the road!

The henhouse was put together and put into the pen, so Thursday saw us up bright and early and off for the  girls to Siston which is between Bristol and Bath to Annie Halls Poultry, which is the most beautiful place ever, very neat, tidy and clean, more than I can say for some of the establishments of poultry we went to see!, the girls were at the top of a lovely green field with a beautilful waterfall, with pens of  little chicks and goslings quietly squeaking or whatever they do (sorry no pics of  here because eccentric daughter forgot  her camera in all the excitement of going for the girls) so five beautiful hens were put into boxes and loaded into the boot and off we went.  Getting through Bath was another story, there are no road signs to tell you which way to go, but decided that Bath would make another lovely day trip when we didn't have cluckings in the boot.

So here are the girls

All Five

Maria

a Goldlink (henny penny)

Olga

a Silver Sussex

Tatianna

a Bluebelle

Anastasia

a Rhode Rock(or Rocky Road as eccentric daughter likes to call it)

All named after the last Grand Duchesses of Russia

and finally

Miss Lemon (who is Poirot's Secretary)

a Silver Link

feeding time as you can see Miss Lemon isn't  there as she is a little bit timid at the moment!

Hopefully they will all soon settle, I think Olga is going to be the bossy boots!

I will leaveyou with a piccy of the Mad Dog who can't understand why these dreadful birds have arrived in his garden

Bye

Big Grandma and Weddings

This is my great grandma, known as Big Grandma to me and the baby is my Grandad born 1903, before she was married she was a Wilson, the reason I'am rattling on about this is because when doing my family tree, I noticed that somebody else had her in their family tree, called Wilson from Merrick, New York, now the story goes that one of her brothers Angus Wilson went to America to make his fortune, he wrote to Big Grandma and his mother for a few years, then the letters stopped, no more were written, nothing came to say if he was dead or alive, Big Grandmas family tried in vain to find him even getting the Salvation Army involved to find him, but to no avail, there might be hope that this man in New York belong to Great Uncle Angus, I have sent him a message through Ancestry and now waiting hopefully for a reply, I do hope that he is a relation!

While rooting for this picture I came across lots of wedding photos, some of family, some not and thought you might like to share in the different styles of dresses and flowers through the years.

This looks like a posh affair, dosn't it, bit hat, big bouquet perhaps she wanted the biggest wedding, this is a relation of Aunt Jane's,  I think she was called Susan and is this ones sister below

 Aunt Lily, I love this picture, the wedding looks so pretty, her dress and flowers, very simple but elegant, these two were totally devoted to each other, I have letters that they wrote to each other, and you can tell from the letters that they were very much in love and they had a very long and happy marriage, we have lots of photos of them and feel that I know them intimately.  Such a different wedding to her sisters.

Next up is Aunty Bunty, here she is with her father, and she is daughter to Big Grandma and sister to my Grandad, she was called Evelyn but because she was the youngest of 8 she was Baby Bunting

Now these two I don't know, there on my husbands side, but he doesn't know who they are or where they come from, perhaps there not family at all, don't know if they are man and wife or father and daughter, but she has a really cool hat on!

Heres another one that I love, Uncle Harold,  my Grandmas brother and his wife Aunty Jessie, I'am beginning to love these really simple weddings

another simple dress, but wow those bouquets are very large! the girl on the extreme left of the picture is my husbands Mum

 and her she is getting married another large bouquet, given away by her brother 

This one is my Mum on her wedding day, still quite a large bouquet, my Grandma made her wedding dress and the bridesmaids

This pic is going to a wedding and it is of me and my Mum and Grandma and Grandad, the little baby sat on his Mums knee in the first pic.  The dress I'am wearing was very finely knitted, a pale pink skirt and white bodice and gorgeous white pom poms around the middle and I carried a posy.  My Mums suit was Lilac and her bag matched the suit and it had, or has because I still have it, bamboo handles, my Grandma also made this and the suit.

just had to show you this lot, Alcapone or what, don't they look like gangsters!

if I had my wedding all over again, I think I would choose Aunt Lily's style because she looks so nice and some simple garden flowers for my bouquet, little Village Hall, bunting, mismatch vintage teacups and plates, egg and cress sandwiches and a victoria sponge, you can imagine it can't you...

Bye until next time

Crafty Tales

Sorry for no updates again feels like ages since I 've been here but....  last month I visited the Gift and Craft Fayre at St Marys Church Hall here in Bridport to have a bit of a nose, as I make cards and trying to break into the craft scene, so asked the lovely lady there, Monica if she had any spaces, she said not for next month April, but will put your name down for next available space, so had a look round, had a cup of tea and cake and went on my way, not thinking anymore about it until a week last Sunday, when I had an email from Monica, I have a table for your at the Craft Fayre! as much as I wanted to do it I hadnt got enough things to sell, but said yes I will come with pleasure, thinking OMG what have I done,  so beavered away making cards and bits for the Fayre and yesterday Saturday did my first Craft Fayre, not as nerve racking as I had thought and had a good time and sold quite a few, enough to have to make more to replensish stock, as I have signed up for the next 7 months! can you believe it! I can't....

So here are a few pics, sorry non of the hall as eccentric daughter took these and she has a different approach at taking pics, so I just let her get on with it

excuse the lovely Lidl bag in the ackground!

So everything was done in a bit of a rush, but hopefully it looked ok, had very positive feedback from people, one woman said you should approach Waitrose, dont think Iam quite ready for global selling yet! and did get condemed for using 1940's buttons on cards instead of 1940's clothes! ... fiddlesticks...

should have realised that... cant please everybody!  It did go a bit quite in the afternoon but it was cold and the Grand National.

Update on the chicks, the run is now up and enclosed, still waiting for the house though, hopefully soon!

See you all soon



Outing to Swanage

Hello everybody, dosn't time whizz by, I have been meaning to update this blog all week,(isn't it always the way) with a birthday outing that I had last Monday, but various things have happened through the week that have prevented me doing so, supervising of the gardening project, starting a little job, ordering more paving as the project is getting bigger, hopefully less lawn to cut, sorting a henhouse out, which is now on order, we were going to use a shed we had and hubby was going to have a new one, but at looking at the price, and my goodness sheds are expensive, found a henhouse already to go for half the price of a shed, job done, just waiting now for it to be made and delivered about two weeks I think, so hopefully we can get everything ready before the lovely girls arrive.

Anyway back to the Birthday outing  to...

Swanage reminds me a bit of where we used to live in Cumbria, we were on the coast, but the coast there was an estuary and of course Swanage has proper sea as I call it.  But the town of Swanage is like the town where I lived, built of grey stone.

I first came to love Swanage as a little girl, when holidaying in Bournemouth, which we visited for many years and have very fond memories of it, the Winter gardens where we saw Tom Jones and Englebert Humperdink in their prime, I know a bit risky for an eight year old girl, I did get to see the Sooty Show though, but Mum absolutely adored the pair of them, don't know if she would now, if she were with us!  anyway going back to Swanage my Mum and Dad bought two little wicker stools, from shop on the front, sadly not there now, we still have one of them!  I love the way the bay sweeps round and how close you are to the sea as you walk round and the pier, which you can have little name plaques put in the floor of the pier, remembering loved ones, perhaps I could have one there, feeling the sea breeze and spray, lovely.  Sadly we didnt go on the pier this time as they were lifting some boats into the sea.

Stop for Coffee

Plain, basic and cheap



but did the job!

Lovely vintagey, antique shop called Smiths, absolutely devine things for sale inside, but terribly, terribly expensive, but so nice to dream, love, love, love this shop.

want, want, want it all but can't have it!

Oyster Bar, but not brave enough to try!

Lovely Swanage Railway, no steam trains today though

Lovely old suitcases



and of course a trip to the seaside has to have a doggy paddle

a good day was had by all.