A Little Posy

My cornflowers have just started to bloom so I proudly picked my first bunch this afternoon.

Summer in a vase!

Stinky Stuff

Man alive but I love TK Maxx. I know the jumble sale inspired layout and quality roulette is not for everyone but I have bought some fandabbiedozie stuff from them (and a croc of plop too sometimes, I must admit!) The most frustrating thing about this shop is that when you do stumble across a product that turns out to be a little gem it's practically impossible to repurchase. Having said that, I did manage to track down another of these candles by CIR, in the scent 'Bay'

They are currently on sale for £5.99 (originally £23) and although they don't burn quite as cleanly as Jo Malone candles (£39 eeek!) this fragrance is equally as effective in filling the room with it's lovely whiff. 

The Talkies

THEY DON'T MAKE EM LIKE THEY USED TO

Eeeeh, when I were lass we had none of this High School Musical nonsense. It was back to back honest to goodness 80's styled fantasy adventure. Disturbing, ridiculous, amusing and the ultimate in escapism. Here's my top 5 in no particular order.

Labyrinth

'You remind me of the babe!'

David Bowie in a pair of leggins that still haunt me to this day.

Ladyhawk

'Find her and the wolf who loves her'

Two lovers cursed to only glimpse each other at sunset, accompanied by man child Matthew Broderick.

The Dark Crystal

'Smells like gelfling, must be gelfling'

A procession of creatures each more horrifying than the next (even the goodies!)

The Never Ending Story

'Call my name Bastian, please!'

So the horse was named after a dubious effect in 80's home decor, I still cried when Artex drowned.

Legend

'I only wanted to touch one!'

The irritating female lead triggers a demonic shift in the balance of her world because she can't keep her bloody hands to herself. Also notable as the film that 'introduced' Tom Cruise.

The Princess Bride

'You killed my father, prepare to die!'

 Adventure, romance, a Spaniard, a giant and speech impediments...genius.

Tasty

YUM YUM PIGS BUM!

Picked our first batch of strawberries today and they are sweeeet!

We also picked the less exciting combo of radish, rhubarb and spring onions.

I hate radish but hey, they take a good picture!

Puppy Love

ARE YOU LOOKIN AT ME?!

I've been asked to make some strange things in my time but chihuahua themed tableware has to be up there with the best. The star of the show is called J.C (Jean Claude - hey, who am I to judge?!) and a birthday tea was themed around this wee beastie. A few cocktail stirrers kicked off the party as I felt this little fella was probably more likely to endorse Piña Colda rather than Real Ale!

Ridonkulous.

Mr Printables

SAVES THE DAY!

Why do card companies assume that men are either interested in sport, alcohol or being abused on a day that is supposed to celebrate fathers?! I looked in a fair few shops before giving up and grudgingly acknowledging I was going to have to make my own Fathers Day card.
I was just racking my brains for ideas when I stumbled across a link to www.mrprintables.com and found this brilliant downloadable card which when assembled, folds out into a 3D tool box.
I think it's incredibly commendable and generous for people to give up their time and talent to create free downloads for everyone. It even came with concise photographic and written instructions which is helpful - especially to someone easily confused, like me!

I did have to point out to Moopa that the tools spelt out 'Happy Fathers Day' - silly Daddy! 

Surprise!

Unbeknownst to me my favourite chicken, a Silkie named Mrs Turvey, (after my old Geography teacher) was being left to hatch some eggs. I gathered said eggs up and put them in a tray for collection. I felt terrible when I found out that she had been sitting on them all weekend and tearfully pronounced myself a chick murderer.
Although the eggs had gone cold they were put back under her and she continued to take her hatching dutities very seriously. So much so, she had to be lifted out for a few minutes every day to be encouraged to eat and drink something.
Imagine my surprise and delight when after 3 weeks of seemingly fruitless dedication on her behalf I lifted her up only to find a beady eye regarding me from depths of the nesting box.
Named 'Kinder' because he was a surprise (geddit?!) I am very fond of this little puff of fluff and I just hope it's not a flippin cockerel, or, if it is, that it doesn't take after its hooligan father. Regardless, well done Mrs T and sorry for doubting you. (And for probably properly murdering your other two offspring)

Mrs Turvey shunning the chick crumb and trying to choke Kinder with big lumps of corn...oh dear!

The Little White Horse

This is my well loved, very well worn copy of The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge. It was my absolute favourite book as a child as so many aspects of the story appealed to me. I was interested to hear JK Rowling say that this book influenced the Harry Potter stories and looking back I can see the connection, especially in the detailed descriptions of buildings and food and animals which appealed to me in both books. Imagine Harrys dormitory at Hogwarts and compare it with this excerpt from The Little White Horse describing the first time Maria sees her new room;
'The turret stairs ended at a door so small that a large grown up could not possibly have gotten through it...it was of silvery grey oak studded with silver nails, and it had a knocker made of the smallest, daintiest horseshoe Maria had ever seen...Maria's room...was at the top of the tower, and the tower was a round one, so Maria's room was circular...it had  three windows, two narrow lancet windows and one with a a large window seat set in the thickness of the wall...in each of these windows stood beautiful silver branched candlesticks...The ceiling was vaulted and delicate ribbings of stone curved over Maria's head like the branches of a tree, meeting at the highest point of the ceiling in a carved representation of a sickle moon surrounded by stars.
There was no carpet upon the silvery oak floor, but a little white sheepskin lay beside the bed, so that Maria's bare toes should meet something warm and soft when they went floorwards of a morning. The bed was a little four poster, hung with pale blue silk curtains embroidered with silver stars...the fireplace was the tiniest she had ever seen...it was big enough for the fire of pine cones and applewood that burned in it, filling the room with fragrance...Over the fireplace was a shelf and on it stood a blue wooden box filled with dainty biscuits with sugar flowers on them, in case she should feel hungry between meals.

The very idea of a four poster bed, fireplace and never ending supply of biscuits in a bedroom had a profound effect on my child psyche and afterwards, I eyed with dissatisfaction, the ET poster, pink and white curtains and conventional furniture that adorned my own bedroom (all chosen with great satisfaction pre TLWH by me I should add!) And don't even get me started on the carefully rationed Breakaway bars stored in a Tupperware box on top of the kitchen cupboard.

I suppose this book would be considered incredibly old fashioned by today's standards in terms of childrens literature but it's quaint language and rather wistful, bittersweet ending only makes me love it more.

Snivel

Elf , beloved lurcher of ours came in the bedroom and poked his snotty nose into my eye socket (his version of 'pay attention to me') TEN times last night.
We tried everything to settle him; took him out, made his bed up differently, tempted him with various tasty morsels and other such pacifying gestures but nothing worked.
It's hard to stay patient when you're tired and stressed so at 3 in the morning I try to remember that he's an old man and can't tell me what the problem is (being a dog an all!)
Consequently I've spent the day a little tired and emotional;
Clothes pegs all fell out of the bag onto the floor...snivel!
Bungee cord pinged back in my face...snivel!
Stapler kept jamming...snivel!
You get the idea - irrelevant first world problems that feel incredibly unjust on just 2 hours sleep!

Michelham Priory

I'm a sucker for moated properties and Michelham Priory is no exception.

Sat proudly in the beautiful East Sussex countryside the building is located on a site that has existed since 1229, now that's historic pop pickers!

Being a closet Cadfael fan I especially like the Physic Garden which, when I visited for the first time, inspired me to buy Culpeppers Herbal and learn a little more about herbal medicine 'back in the day.'

I was pleased that they left this little patch of orchids undisturbed on the lawn, a nice touch, I thought.

The Sculpture Park

We visited The Sclpture Park in Churt, Farnham, in the autumn. All the sculptures in the park are for sale and at that time there were over 500 exhibits. It took some getting round I can tell you.

A quintessentially English set up, you ramble through the wilderness stumbling across artworks tucked into every nook and cranny whilst navigating hills and little bridges.

I loved the apparent lack of concern for health and safety regs which spoil so many experiences these days, only the occasional sign saying 'Beware of slippery surfaces' before sending you over the wet planks which straddled the streams.

We spent a good couple of hours there and could have stayed longer if our stomachs hadn't started rumbling!

Denbies

OOOH, I COULD CRUSH A GRAPE!

I booked mummy and myself on a tour of Denbies Vineyard today. We were the only ones on the little choo choo which was a bit embarrassing but at least we got to sit where we wanted! It has been such beautiful weather this week that I thought it would be the ideal time to go, unfortunately it was cold and raining hence the photos are a bit murky.

View from the choo choo window

Sadly there was no one to wave to, much to moomas relief - just a few determined cyclists who flashed past before I could embarrass her. I learnt some stuff about wine which I have now forgotten (yes, I did say we went there only this morning!)

View from the top of the estate

As we bumped along in the carriage we were reminded of the time we got stranded up a mountain in Greece and had to hitch a lift back down with a kind farmer who plonked us in a trailer full of potatoes which was being towed by his tractor. This experience was rather more civilised though, obviously. 

I Covet Thee

This lovely red dress beckoned to me from the shop window, the glowing little temptress! Unfortunately I don't have the trim waist that many true vintage items of clothing require so I've had to reluctantly adopt the 'look but don't touch approach' to all things retro *Sigh*

Tunes

This week I have mostly been listening to...

Sandy Denny / Fairport Convention: 'Who Knows Where The Time Goes'
Fleet Foxes: 'Mykonos'
Bon Iver: 'Skinny Love'
Jason Mraz 'I Won't Give Up'

Best enjoyed admiring the sunset with a glass of wine in hand.

Polsden Lacey Walk

I've just realised that this blog is in danger of becoming 'bench heavy' anyway, I'm going to push on regardless! Another favourite walk, this time taking in the the footpaths surrounding Polsden Lacy. For some reason the view from this bench reminds me of a scene from Pride and Prejudice.

The ewes and their chunky lambs kept us entertained with their antics and seemed especially inquisitive, ambling right up to us and sniffing our shoes whilst we sat and admired the scenery.

We watched enviously while several people made their way across the fields to Tanners Hatch, a tiny Youth Hostel tucked away in the woods - the little indent in the tree line on the right hand side is actually the seating area. The plan is to stay over one night over the summer - imagine sitting out there on a summers eve, just you and the wildlife.

Derpy Hat

FELTED FOX HAT

I'd love to buy this hat from Etsy for one of my friends kids. Unfortunately I don't think any of them are dorky enough to be persuaded to wear it, though they also come in Adult sizes...hmmmmmn!