MIAM

MIAM

Sunday 31 May 2015

Prudy Cat

Very sadly last week I had to say goodbye to my beloved Prue. After her ill health earlier this year she rallied for a while, but for the last fortnight she'd been eating very little and on Wednesday I could see her breathing was laboured.  At the vet's she was pronounced a 'very poorly cat' and so there was only one possible thing I could do.  She came home for the final time and is now in her resting place at the bottom of the garden. She was almost sixteen years old and therefore had had a good life but nevertheless I still felt wretched. The house feels so lonely without her, especially at bedtime, when she bounded onto my bed before settling down. And first thing in the morning there is now no one to accompany me to the loo or race me down the stairs.


She was a dear little cat, so very affectionate. Indeed, she was the best of cats.
 I will miss her terribly.

Wednesday 20 May 2015

Two Wins

I've been away for a while, my apologies if I haven't visited you as often as usual but I've been having a mare with the internet.  After days of a sluggish connection, normal service was briefly resumed before my provider decided to 'work on the service'...and we're back to square one!  Reading posts takes an age and many photos are not uploading.  Plusnet, pull your socks up! 
Anyways, in other news,  it's finally finished!....the gargantuan decorating marathon that's been occupying my spare time for the last few weeks.  Granted, the hall, stairs and landing is probably the trickiest area in the whole house to redecorate but thank goodness it is looking smart again as I've just about run out of steam.  Note to self - next time, get a man in to wallpaper! 
  So busy have I been, that I've only ventured out a couple of times in recent weeks but once such occasion was a trip to The Weald of Kent Craft & Design Show set in the beautiful grounds of Penshurst Place.... as I'd won myself a couple of tickets.


Situated in the delightfully picturesque village of Penshurst in Kent, Penshurst Place is the ancestral home of the Sidney family and was the birthplace of the great Elizabethan poet, courtier and soldier, Sir Philip Sidney.  The original medieval house is one of the most complete examples of 14th-century domestic architecture in England surviving in its original location. 
The show itself was huge and craftspeople from across the UK showcased their talents... an almost never ending array of handmade gifts, ornaments, jewellery, glass and ceramics.

 In addition, there were plenty of artisan foodstuffs, woodwork and ironmongery galore...

 
 and a Birds and Beast Roadshow.
 

  
We sat and watched this talented duo Synergie, whilst eating our lunch

...even tots and teddy bears were digging the groove.


Most of the prices were too steep for my pocket, and as I didn't see anything sufficiently different, I came away from my day out with just a couple of pots of herbs.
Unfortunately after traipsing around the show for a few hours, time didn't allow us to visit the house but a visit back there before the summer's out is on the cards and if the queue outside the village tea rooms is anything to go by, I'll be stopping off there too.

My second recent win was a fabulous blog giveaway by Géraldine, an incredibly talented lady (she spins her own yarn from Alpaca fleece and crochets beautiful projects ) whose blog, Wool and Cats, I follow.  I was astonished at the size of the parcel when it arrived....look what was inside!


I was quite overwhelmed by Géraldine's generosity and reflected on the kindness and sharing nature of the blogging community.  There are a lot of lovely people out there in Blogland and I feel that my life has been all the richer for 'knowing' you. 

Righto, I'm away now to scrub off paint stains from my sandpaper-like hands...oh the glamour!



 


Monday 4 May 2015

April Scavenger Hunt

After promises last month of a better performance in April, I fear the following snaps are somewhat ordinary but as usual, I left my photo taking until the eleventh hour.  I am also up to my eyes in emulsion and wallpaper, redecorating the hall, stairwell and landing (a mammoth and laborious task) so photography has taken a back seat.



April's List

Upside down

 
 This garden spider appears to be upside down in his web

Clouds


Chair

 
Prudy snoozing in a sunny conservatory.... on a junk shop chair


Something sweet

A sweetie stall, I'm not keen on those blue bobbly Allsorts, are you ?



Growth

 new growth in the garden on Akebia Quintata

 
Glass

A recycled glass hanging bird thingy

Bedroom

 My bedroom is far too untidy to feature here at the moment, but lucky for me there was a staged bedroom at a craft fair I visited recently, showcasing local artisans work.

Rain

 Recent raindrops at the station



Egg

 breakfast

Fresh

 My friend Deb gave me these beautiful flowers when she came for lunch.

Feet

 mine will look a treat in these new sandals


Whatever you want

     
Why should Dad get all the glory? ....he's not the only one to do a Bungee jump! 
That's me dangling from elastic, in Surfers Paradise circa 1991. 


As ever, thanks to Greenthumb for hosting, pop on over to her blog for May's list of subjects
and of course, to see April's entries.

  My blasted internet connection is playing up, it is currently slower than an arthritic slug. Please bear with me if I'm absent for a while.