..how sad.....

........no matter what you might think about jade goody you must find sadness in your hearts about her death. even though i knew she had little time left i felt quite stunned and so sad when i heard the news.

.........i don't how well she is known across the world but she came to the fore when she was a contestant on the british big brother programme. she was not very well educated but she could laugh at herself as she made so many gaffs with her lack of knowledge.

........but she won affection in the hearts of the people as she was willing to have a giggle, make a fool of herself, be straight talking (which did not always win her friends) and always have a go. you always knew where you stood with jade!

........unfortunately she was diagnosed with cervical cancer last year and she died at 27 years of age, which is just too young. even though weak and suffering with great pain she continued to smile.

..........she leaves her two young boys whom she loved very much.

i will leave you with a picture of jade in happier times - god bless jade and i hope you are out of pain and at peace. farewell.

...i love catalogues..

...........do you look forward to a catalogue dropping through the door?
................i do and i love them. the lovely r thinks i am mad and says why do you need to see so many catalogues and i must admit that together with home and interior magazines, craft magazines and fashion magazines the house does become rather overladen.


..................... i rather like shopping on line too from those catalogues as i look forward to the item arriving - the anticipation is part of the whole scenario. the items often arrive rather better wrapped than in the shops (my sister and i have a thing about things being crushed into the bag - we like things wrapped nicely in tissue paper or folded nicely)


...............sometimes there is a little extra something or a nice little thank you card which to me sums up good service. i think the our american friends are rather good at this as the craft items i have purchased from the states have been beautifully wrapped, often with a free cross stitch chart or a skein of thread and a thank you card.


............liz earle is fantastic as her items are beautifully presented ( i understand she employs disabled persons in her company who are involved with this process) and she is very generous with her free samples.


................the catalogue that arrived today is the plumo catalogue which does have some lovely things to tempt. i do find some of the items a bit expensive but they are often unique.


..................do you not love these tin pear decorations?




............or what about these pretty doilies - we do like heart shapes - i know i do!



..................are these glass containers soooo cute.

.......................and who wouldn't like their cake and biscuits served on these plates for afternoon tea?

..................gorgeous bunnies and chickens - easter gift? i am sure it would be truly appreciated.

.......similar to the tin pears but birds this time - aren't they great!

.......pretty little hair combs - what colour would you choose?

.....................and clothes. i rather like this scarf.

................ a fish dress anyone?

...................oh what pretties. these are venetian glass.

......................i do love a ballet pump and have amassed quite a collection - perhaps i shall show them to you another time. these are very summery.

.........i do like this bag and i think the colour is gorgeous. don't you think it would make a lovely pressie for someone - me?

........why don't you go and have a browse on line but be prepared to be very, very tempted......

ps. i haven't bought anything yet - i did say yet!

....absolute chaos....

.......my poor home is a very untidy mess at the moment with dust everywhere!

......................i mentioned that we were planning to build an extension to our house - well at last we have begun.

.....................the actual building begins in march after we have waited over a year for the architects, the planning department and the builders to organise themselves. in preparation we needed to empty our conservatory and find a place for that furniture, which is incidentally in what will be the new dining room and will eventually go to ireland.

the conservatory was pulled down this weekend and this too has made a lovely mess of the garden. i am sure it will only get worse!

...............as the conservatory was attached to the kitchen we had to block the entrance (which makes the kitchen very dark at the moment) and therefore, impacts on that room too.

..............dust, dust and more dust is all i seem to see and i must admit i do think what is the point of clearing it up as more will appear very quickly again.........

BUT we can begin to plan the decor which is the part that i love - that is if we have any money left after the actual building is erected.

....... i want the room to be very light and airy and there will be french doors directly opening to the garden which will be lovely in the warmer months. i will use a soft light taupe on the walls with white paintwork (i must buy some paint sample pots from farrow and ball) and a soft taupe colour in the furnishing. i would like the windows to be edged with a white architrave and have white shutters set in the frame. to soften these i thought i could add a fabric pelmet in a taupe and cream/white check with matching cushions mixed with some other designs too.

............ i do love this fire but lovely r says we may have to wait for this and perhaps substitute it for another cheaper model - we shall see!





.......we have already bought two of these chairs and footstools from riviera maison (there was a ten to twelve week wait so i thought i should order them quickly (how wrong can you be) - they too are now stacked in the to be new dining room)



...... we have also ordered two rattan square chests from riviera maison to act as tables for side lights which will sit beside the two cream sofas we plan to have (with removable covers because of oska and finn)

........ i have bought two lovely lampshades from jolie (i will tell you more about this shop another time as it deserves a post of it's own) which are cream and taupe check and ordered a similar check throw (greengate) too.

..........i can imagine what i would like it to look like and hope it becomes reality.

..................i will show you more piccies as we proceed.

.............i know i have also promised some photographs of some of the crafts i am doing but find it very dark to take them, but will persist.

......as you can imagine i am not living in the best situation to craft with any satisfaction.

........i hope all is well in blogland and look forward to reading your fab blogs over the coming weeks.

...it's me again

....... don't fall down with shock - i hear you say we don't hear from her for weeks and then there are two posts in one day!

.......i just wanted to tell you that one of the first trips i made after feeling better was to buy some craft materials and i saw a range of scrapbooking supplies designed by laura ashley.

.......i then popped in to tesco's to find out if there any more cath bags (to feed my craving) and i saw a box set of a plate, bowl and mug which highly resembles emma bridgewater's pink heart design for 7 pounds.

...........sorry no pictures as battery gone on camera and i am short on time.

take care lovelies x

hi folks

...........i did hope to be back before now but i have been feeling quite poorly..................
...... my op has been done and it was not as straight forward as presumed and then i got an infection which required returning to the hospital every couple of days for redressing ................ not easy when you are not allowed to drive.

........................... then the wound refused to heal and which necessitated further hospital trips.

so i have been virtually housebound until recently, but these little chaps have kept me company but are beginning to sulk when i get ready to go out as they want mum to stay and play.

................ they have been great company and i am so pleased i have them

........................ lovely flowers were delivered which also brightened my days

........................ cups of tea were welcome with the occasional cake or biscuit to make me feel better, while listening to the radio or watching dvd's or the tv. it was fortunate i received the sex and the city box set for christmas.

................ i've read books, which i also received quite a few as presents, which yes, did include cookbooks (i am running out of storage space for my cookbooks but i cannot resist them)

.....................i also have spent quite a lot of time here - i love my bed! i have also started some red and white cross stitch for the kitchen and a stitchery which i want to frame for my new dining room ( i mentioned the building works in my last post).

................... i am also planning a hanging which i wanted to do with fabrics, beads, embroidery and buttons. everything i craft seems to take me so long while other bloggers make things so beautifully and very quickly.

.............. as i have been so unwell and because the building work is due to start on the house i am going to ireland for a few weeks so will be absent from blogging for a while - there is no broadband in old parish i'm afraid!

........... on my return i hope to be a better blogger and comment giver (thank you so much for yours by the way especially the lovely beverly and melmel) and i will hopefully show you some of the crafting i have done.

.......... i have things to look forward on my return - tickets for the spring (i love that word and all that it means) country living fair and i shall be going on holiday early in april. we have been asked by some very close and lovely friends of ours to go on a three week cruise visiting spain, italy, croatia, gibralter and greece. .................can't wait as i need the sunshine!

take care and keep writing those wonderful blogs - will be back before you know it!

.....it's christmas time!

......as you know from my last blog entry i have had health problems which has resulted in lots of tests and scans and eventually an operation.

.......we always think we are invincible but it is times like this when you realise you cannot do it all, so although the present buying has been done and i am trying very slowly to wrap up each gift, the rest of the arrangements have gone by the by.

.........i usually enjoy dressing the house but i cannot do that this year as i am resting and I do not have the energy to do very much. i should begin to be getting back to normal in about three to four weeks so i can then get into the things i love doing.

..........although i have been inactive i have been reading, especially the lovely christmas edition magazines which the lovely r has been buying for me. i have also been planning - i am keen to do some red and white embroidery, particularly some french designs. i also intend to make some more use of my lovely sewing machine which has not had much use this year. one more thing, i want to have a go at making some things with fimo - have any of you had a go and do you have any tips?

..........a good part of 2008 has been spent obtaining planning permission for an extension to our house (we think this would be to our advantage when we eventually sell and move to ireland). the plan is for a new sitting room and a bedroom cum study cum workroom above. as you can imagine i have lots of ideas in my head which i hope to put into practice. hopefully building will commence in the new year.

...........if i am well enough we plan to go to our family in ireland for christmas where i can rest and hopefully do some sewing. mum is very keen for us to go and she has said I must take it easy!

...............i want to wish you all a very merry christmas and a happy and peaceful 2009; especially beverley over at teatime and roses. who has been especially sweet in her comments.

i hope to be a better blogger in the new year and be able to share nice things with you and of course, share your nice things by visiting your blogs more regularly.

......take care and be safe everyone x

....a little respite

...... sorry that i have been so remiss in my blogging posts. i do continue to read other bloggers posts when i can but not to the extent i did in the past as i have been feeling really poorly. i do not want my blog to be about illness so i am going to take a blogging break.

i will be going into hospital on thursday for further exploration so hopefully i will have some answers and begin to feel more like myself.

i love reading your blogs and appreciate the amount of effort that is put into them - i feel i am letting the side down as i cannot offer this commitment at this moment.

take care everyone and keep up the good work x