MOTHERING SUNDAY

I hope you all had a loving and happy mothers day. I had a really peaceful and relaxing day . Car boot sale in the morning , which did,nt yield any treasures, but on the way back in the car I was listening to the Aled Jones show on radio two, and he did an interview with Kate mcCann , I was so moved by her, Her pain was so raw and she just seems rather broken and fragile ,I shed a tear for her, if you can listen to her on i player, I defie you not to be moved. When I got home I gave my son an extra big hug, He just had that get off me you mad woman look on his face !! But having said that in partnership with his dad they cooked me a lovely Sunday lunch , while I read the papers , pottered in the garden and caught up on lovely blogs I follow. I also received lovely chocolates,( I am going to have one a day ..) flowers, and the above lovely flowery heaven heart wreath! But the best present was spending time with my family and getting a huge hug and I do love you mum off the fore mentioned teenager! Ahhh... sniff ..

BRING ME SUNSHINE

This morning some friends came over for the day and we all went for a walk ,to enjoy the wonderful warm sunny day ,Fergal sun bathing
The river Swale and beautiful wood land close to our house , look at that sunshine....

WE found this deer scull on the moors, bit grim but interesting , I will put it in the garden..What we had for lunch ,sausage casserole cooked in ale with Herby dumplings served with Stilton mash...nice even though I say it my self.
This is my every day pottery

After a long day and waving good bye to our friends , I then retired to the bathroom to gather my thoughts and relax ,and Look what was waiting for me to read in the bath country living ,English and the USA version, I subscribe to booth, one of my little pleasure's. This I bought at a car boot in Normandy ,2 euro es a bargain I think!
D hates this picture , He says she looks miserable! I rather like her , its quite a old picture and I think she looks serene,what do you think?
I spent a lovely hour in here relaxing , after a stressy night and busy day don't you think I deserved it? !
This is the base of an olds gas lamp that we adapted in to a soap dish holder.
This is my Press where I keep all my linen and towels , the wire basket filled with loo rolls I bought in Honfluer last summer , it brings back lovely memories of a fab place.

Last night my 16 year old camped out with a group of friends ,boys and girls, Yes I know its early March and still officially winter . I did,nt want him to go for many reasons , the cold, the dangers that my mothers mind sees, I don't know about any of you with teenagers of this age , but I find it so hard to juggle my feelings of protectiveness with letting him have his independence and to gain life experience ... So he went ,kitted out with enough provisions he could barley carry them, Supplied by a fussing me , his words as he headed to the door were ! " no mum I don,t need a flask of horlicks ", . They camped about 1/2 a mile away in some open fields, At about 11,o,clock , after me saying too many times , do you think he,s OK, ...D gave in and SAS style crept along the river bank in the dark and peered at the camp site to make sure they looked OK, his comment on reporting back to me was ,I could get bloody arrested for hiding behind trees in the dark peering at children!!!! I spent a sleeplessish night ... half listening for a phone call or knock on door( to be fare he as camped out before ,but in high summer and 200 yard from home)H e was fine , had a great time and came home covered in mud this morning with a group of friends, who got feed bacon sarnies ,but they didn,t seam keen to drink the huge flask of horlicks I prepared earlier!!!

HORSE RESCUE

MY two boys when younger there now 16 and 20, they were dressed for the village fete fancy dress comp , don't worry this is not normal dress for Yorkshire Children , they came second and third , the clown out fit took ages to make... the things us mums do.

A case of neglect the RSPCA should know about!

I got the saddle and bridle and loads of kind free advice from rocking horse restorers and makers Stevenson Bross ,they make fab horses and are often featured in country living.
my dappled old beauty made about 1890
At least some one rides DO Do, they often canter round the Green!!!


This morning the fire brigade were practicing water rescue at the waterfalls near my house It was very entertaining and a pleasure to watch as 8 firemen in Wetsuits do there bay watch routine!!, and as I plodded around with the furry babies in the LOOOVELY sunshine ,I began to ponder on the old question " what would you save if ( god forbid) you had a fire" ... I thought I would do a monthly post on my most treasured possessions,.the thing's I would rescue , of cause after my family, human and animal, in a fire , first up ... My rocking horse. When my two boys were small I really wanted them to to have a rocking horse , I had a real pony when I was little ,but never a rocking horse, and I wanted my boys to have some thing to remember and treasure and to hopefully to be come a heirloom to pass down the family.( I often have my rose tinted glasses on) old antique horses were out of the reach of my budget and my boys were two and six at the time and I was a stay at home mum, but then I found a rather ramshackle antiques center just out side Dundee ( we were living in fife ,Scotland at the time ) and in a old shed I found a rather distressed rocking horse ,It was still a little beyond my budget , but I rambled on to the elderly man about my rocking horse dream , he knocked a load off it price wise , and he said I could pay for it over three months, and he let me take there and then! how trusting was that.. he had never seen me before. So I took it home with the daunting task of renovating it in secret for Christmas for the boys present .We lived in an lovely old house rented from a big country estate ( my husband was.. is .. in The RAF and we have lived in 17 homes in 26 years, I have refused to live in married quarters so we have rented and bought all over this country ,more of this latter) Any way luckily the loft was huge, and its where I worked. I bought a book on rocking horse Restoration and over several weeks I kept disappeared in to the loft Or the stables as D and I called it to work on the horse . Several times I nearly poisoned my self with fumes off shellac ( vanish) etc I used . The boys asked why mummy spent so much time in the loft and D told them I went up there to meditate, Apparently at play school eldest son told his teacher I went up into the loft to medicate.... !!!... she always looked on me with suspicion after this... Any way Christmas morning came we hid horse under blanket and tied bows on it.... at right moment daa derrr.... They were totally under whelmed , they rode it a bit and used to pretend they were knights and stab him with there swords but on the whole it was,nt there bag..., I swiftly came to the conclusion rocking horses are a girls passion , friends with girls come to the house and they love it, comb the main ,feed it custard creams , and bestow affection, .... any way I love Do Do, the boys named it( why Do Do ? think it has boyish rude humour involved but name stuck!!!!!) , and I treasure him( he looks like a boy!) and I will just have to hope for grand daughters in future ...

THE ICE MAIDEN AND THE QUILT

My furry baby Fergal, taken today on one of our usual gentle walks, so fit for a pensioner ,can,t bare to think of a time when he wont be with us..... my little love bug.......
flowery over the top ness,so pretty,and only £3...how could i resist????

cabbages and roses .

Just realised you can just see me in mirror, red face hidden behind camera, luckily for you!!!!
This is an old French chair , one of a pair , Keep wanting to cover it with different fabric ,but a bit scared of ruining it if I do it my self, any tips , any one else tackled similar project?

think i will put in in to my sitting room as a throw over my sofa, looks nice on my old french chair , but do,snt fit in with my colour scheme in my barn room , or may be the bedroom,decisions, decisions... love the faded , muted shadeds of the quilt , my poor mans cabbages and roses!
fergal and I resting our weary feet, ..... just realised I have odd socks on, better not let my son Nat see this picture as I,m forever telling him off for odd sock wearing.....

Yesterday I walked 10 miles , no .. the car had,nt broken down and I had heard a car boot sale was on , I went hill walking with my husband and his Friends but not intentionally..... see on Friday evening he asked if I wanted to come for a couple of miles gentle walk, I was hesitant to accept my Husband,s kind invitation as he is seriously in to walking, climbing and outdoor pursuits , don't get me wrong I love walking in the country side ,but not marathon yomps! Some of the guys he walks with are mountain rescue so I reckoned I was in semi safe hands and said I would go as I am still trying to loose the last 7 pounds and need SOME exercise....... well we walked and walked and walked up mountain and dale, I was accompanied by my 16 year old Norfolk terrier Fergal, I made D promise to carry him in the rug sack if he got tired , after walking ,puffing ,whingeing my way up one particular steep fell side ,I begged D to carry me in the rucksack!!! On the fell top it was so cold there was 3ft of snow, and cold.. my god.. I try ed to eat a banana and it was ice Lolly like, my green and black,s choc bar ( small erm ) was so solid after sucking it for 5 Min's still hadn't melted, are you getting the picture ... sorry no photos as no way I was removing my gloves, think the blokes were sick of me as I kept quoiting Scott of the Antarctic.... D had more sense than to ask me if I enjoyed it....( but secretly proud of my self i managed it!!) Is the beepy wind burned ,frost bitten red face look attractive ? This morning I was rather tired , but hay the car boot sale was on and walking round a car boot sale is VERY different..... there was quite a few stalls , the boot sale is an indoor one about 4 miles away...... but recently I hav,nt found many treasures, but this morning I found a fab quilt, I spotted it under some cushions under a stall , and as soon as I saw it I knew it was me. I think it is very cabbages and roses, faded reds and creams and in great condition, I hugged it to me and asked how much? £2 , yes two pounds .. , sold to the lady with the red frost bitten face! I love cabbages and Roses , When I was in York ,there is a fab department of cabbages and Roses in Jigsaw ,I always go and look, but seldom buy any thing because out of my price bracket., but still drool ( not literally ) over the fabric and clothes, so am delighted with my poor mans cabbages and roses. Also managed to get vintage Italian flowery candelabra light fitting, but I will adapt it to put candles in, when I showed D , he said WHERE are you going to put that... I think he dis pares of my flowery passions, its hard living in male household.

SPRING IS IN THE AIR

Because I was loving the outdoors today I thought I would show you .......This is the view I wash my pots up too from my kitchen window, it will be great when its finished !
This is the view from my front door step ,note the shadows from the sun, take a close look as it might be a while before we see more. not a bad view eeh?
This is my sitting room window sill with more silk flowers , I try to keep them seasonal , so come Autumn I have cupboards stuffed with daffodils and tulips, at the moment geraniums and roses are waiting to come out of the closet.. erm...These are some very real looking silk flowers in my dinning room as I had spring on my mind I made a little arrangement with my shabby chic Easter bunnies , they are so sweet ,they make me smile every time I look at them , I love fresh flowers , but silk ones last a bit longer!

For the first time this year the sun shone for most of today, it really, really , lifted my spirits and as I walked my furry babies this morning in the woods it was lovely to linger and sit a while on a old tree trunk ,listen to the birds and be glad about small things like the snowdrops I found , I took them home as I wanted to to take spring inside with me!

THE DELIGHTS OF YORK

my bargain vintage find, I don't know when i started been drawn to purple,but i am......
St Michael's church, Spurrigate, lovely in side , they remove all the tables on Sunday and still have services,
this is what I had for lunch at the spurrigate centre , bacon ,potato and cheese slice with the choice of three salads , yummy ,

my NOA NOA skirt ,cant wait for warmer weather , so I might wear it with layers.my little purchases, the handcream smells so good, it encourages you to use it ,with its fab smell.
The divine miss Kidstons!
love this red table ,what do you think, could you live with it.....?

well yesterday was trip to York day, living in a little Dales market town I so enjoy an escape to the city( there could be a TV program in there don't you think!). I live about 50 miles from York and I picked my friend Wendy up who lives mid way,we both were so looking forward to shopping , lunch ,catching up with each other and numerous coffee stops! We parked and rode, and hit York about 10 ish, We headed strait up Stone gate to the heavenly Cath Kidston shop.so many lovely things..... bags ,ho I LOVE the bags, mugs , bowls ,fabric ,toiletries , clothes , honestly could move in, there was this huge farmhouse table painted poppy red , I would have never dreamt of a painting a table red, but you know what it was Divine. As I have four ( yes I know ... what can I say !) cath handbags , I fought with the inner bag demons and only bought a small cloth bag which I really needed ... really, plus some wonderfully scented blue bell hand cream for the side of my bed ,some button badges to brighten a tweed jacket, see self control ish... . Further up Stone gate there is a wonderful interior /home wears shop called Wild heart ,great primitive American things ,french, danish maileg figures ect ,vintage and new stuff, lovely shop, but boy it was freezing in there , hardly made you want to linger,, so we rushes on to lower peter gate..... I started to hyper ventilate as we got closer ... Wendy told me to take long deep breaths remain calm..... and there it was my very favorite shop.....NOA NOA, as I may have mentioned in passing..eh...erm.. I love the clothes and accessories, beautifully feminine , they have a slightly vintage timeless fell to them ,and the staff are so friendly and helpful. so many covet able items in the spring collection, but I was very good (are you listening D ) I treated my self to a fab light purple cotton tiered and embroidered skirt from there 70% off sale rail . We (ok I needed to collect my self) both needed a well earner lunch. We headed to the Spurrigate centre ,which is a christian run centre and they serve Delicious wholesome food in the fantastic setting of the St Micheal's church, if your in York you must go, Its really popular and once been you will know why. York never fails to impress with its architecturally beautiful buildings , from the medieval to the Georgian at every twist and turn ther is some thing to admire, theres such a huge sense of history. one of our last stops was at a great little vintage clothe shop called Priests vintage in Norman court of grape lane ( an area behind stone gate full of great restaurants and unusual shops) this place is great for a browse , and i grabbed a real bargain ,a genuine 50,s frock for £10, it will look great to wear for our 31/2 days of summer we will get!!!! so coffee,d out , Horst with all our chat and bank balance depleted we wound our way back up them Dales, bags a rustling ...

BIRTHDAY BOY

Barbie and ken cupcakes!
My treasured Victorian turquoise and white dinner service, all ways feel like i have found the holy grail when i find another piece for my set...
The table set for the birthday boys celebration lunch

Culloden tower, I think its a stunning building, very fairy tail like.

The sun was shining in Swaledale today, after days of gloom ,it was so good to see the first real hint of spring Iwas,nt the only one , my two elderly dogs Fergal and flora positively zipped about on our morning walk, I just stood and held my face up to the week rays like a moon gazing hare! I think I mentioned in a past blog that 50 yards from my front door i am lucky to have fields and park land that belonged to a Georgian mansion ( long demolished such a shame), the land is privately owned ,but i have access, and on a hill there is a folly called culloden tower( built by the Yorke family to commemorate the English victory at battle of culloden ).It was a ruin till a few years ago, and had sheep living in it , bought by the landmark trust and restored as a holiday rental. I have been in it a few times, its stunning and the views are amazing, so romantic. I once went on the roof as there is a balcony and I had to be talked back down as have a stupid phobia of spiral stair cases.( I'm sure in a past life I met a grizzly end on a spiral staircase!!!) Its quite pricey but look it up on there website! It was my husband D,s ,birthday yesterday, I cooked a special birthday lunch, and got out my best dinner service, I have been collecting ,bit by bit for years , its made by wallis and gimson and dates fron 1884,I try to use it for high days and holidays , and I always wonder who owned it before me and what celebrations its witnessed in the past, and think of who treasured it before me. I hope D had a lovely relaxed day eating ,drinking and watching rugby with our two boys, Will and Nat. I certainly enjoyed the cupcakes , specially pink ones as the males in the family didn't want to been seen eating barbie buns( there words!). ...... tomorrow I am off to York on a lunch , people watching and shopping jaunt with my lovely friend Wendy, watch out cath Kidston we are on our way. will tell you all about it soon.