Vegetable Steamers And A Special Day

 We decided yesterday morning we would go back to the garden centre and try and find a little round table to put with our two chairs by the aviary, and use the last of the money on my Christmas garden centre voucher. I had planned to buy a little folding garden table we could put our cups of tea on while we have a sandwich at lunchtimes like my Dad has in his garden. Although my Dad always has a wine cooler and a bottle of wine on his! I was shocked when we saw the prices though, you could only buy them in sets and they were over £200! We did buy a cute little solar bee. It looks enormous in the photo, like something from War Of The Worlds descending on our garden but it's actually only a couple of inches long. I'll take another photo when it's in place. I think I'm going a bit bee crazy! 

We decided we would drive to the charity salesroom and see if we could find a small round table I could paint. Sadly nothing was suitable but I still found an old 1950s steamer. I have been looking for one for a long time but these old ones have always been too expensive. I was so pleased as this was only £3.

Another item I just couldn't resist was this Snowman ceramic money box. I thought it would be lovely to use as a Christmas decoration. He's so sweet I think I will leave him out until Christmas, Scarlett will love him. He was only 50p! I also managed to buy another Ladybird book for my collection of old matt covered books. 

I used my steamer last night and we had sweet potatoes and steamed broccoli with our salmon, accompanied by the  second bottle of wine our youngest son bought us after our disastrous evening the other day. It was lovely and I'm already planning all the other meals I can have now with my new steamer. 

Today is a really special day. It's Scarlett's 4th birthday and we are meeting up at my Dad's later. We are hoping to be in the garden but Tom and I are going a bit earlier to get my Dad's conservatory ready so we can sit with the doors open if we need to dodge the showers. I hope everyone has a lovely day and you manage to enjoy some nice weather after this rain stops. xx

Organising Photos And Forgotten Weddings

 It was not a very nice day weather wise yesterday but the promised storm didn't arrive until the early evening. I sorted through some of my collection of old photos, I have thousands! I'm trying to work out how best to store them so they are safe for the future. I have rescued all these photos from car boot sales, auctions, ebay and charity shops so I feel it is important to keep them safe but also make them available, as well as any information I have with them, for other people to view. What I don't want is someone contacting me and saying "How marvellous that is my Great Granny!" and then I have to say I can't find the photo! At the moment this would be a distinct possibility! It's how to organise them in the best way. Probably albums but that isn't cheap and then it is storing them. I have photos dating back to the 1860s and one of my favourite group of photos to collect are wedding photos. It is so sad they have become separated from the family. These are a few of my favourites. 

It isn't just the photos I have "rescued" it's family photos too. It's very hard to find the best way to organise and store the photos after they have been scanned. I'd love to hear people's ideas how they tackle this problem. When I was first married and when eldest son and daughter were little I carefully put  all our photos in albums but you can see over the years how I ran out of time and later photos when youngest son and daughter were little are all stored in boxes. Interestingly I found a box of reject photos that hadn't made it to albums, I can't remember the reason why, I didn't like the way I looked probably. I think I look fine now when I look back, in fact we really laughed at some how funny they were and I wish I could add them into the albums. I did hear once that in history there is no such thing as a bad photo so it seems a shame that today what we consider bad photos just get deleted.

I managed to get the first curtain cut and pinned for the awning. There is so much fabric in the old curtains I bought, I think they must have been for French doors, it was a difficult job. At least I feel as if I am getting under way now though. 

It was a terribly windy stormy night last night and the garden is looking the worse for wear today. My little crab apple tree in a pot is leaning in a worrying way. There is no point in sorting it all out yet as I think there is more wind on the way today. I'm going to my Dad's today to do his shopping with my sister. We've been told we have to help him get through all the cakes he has been given by neighbours over the weekend. It's a hard job but someone has to do it! I hope everyone has a lovely day what ever you are doing. xx

Clearing Out And Snoopy Pennants

 It was a cold, rather miserable day yesterday. We had rain but the only really substantial rain we had was when I went out into the garden to feed the birds and change the ducks water! I had a few jobs planned but the main job was clearing out all the drawers in the living room. It took much longer than I had imagined it would and I threw out a bag full of items. The trouble is with clearing out drawers after all that work there isn't much to show for it. I did find a few interesting things though. These old Caravan Club badges from the 1960s I had put a way a while ago after my Dad found them and gave them to me. We used to collect them and they were all displayed in our caravan on a board. He is still looking for more we had. I want to put them up again in our caravan now but I'm struggling to find the best way to do this. I'm trying to find a retro looking board, something a bit 70s but not too large. I remember when I lived in the nurses home in the late 1970s we all had cork boards with photos pinned on them, I'm really looking forward to Car Boot Sales starting up and maybe I will be able to find something suitable. 

The other items I have put aside for the caravan is something I bought on ebay for just a few pounds. I am trying to make another flag for the flag holders and wanted something to reflect what I would have had in the 1970s. Everyone who knows me knows how much I have always loved Snoopy! My old school friends laugh at me as they say I used to have Snoopy all over my books at school and now I'm still sharing Snoopy post on facebook  50 years later. It has been pointed out to me I've never grown up! I looked at old Snoopy pennants but the cheapest I could find was for £35 and I'm not going to pay that! Instead I bought these old 1970s Snoopy patches, do you remember when we had patches on our clothes like this! I'm going to make a flag using the old Caravan Club pennant as a template and sew one on each side. My sewing pile is growing!

It looks like a nice bright day today and Scarlett will be here soon so I better start getting her breakfast ready. I hope everyone has a lovely day what ever you are doing. xx

Fondues And Family Bonding

 It only snowed for about an hour yesterday morning and then graually cleared away. Tom came back from his hair cut very cheerfully and we packed our five boxes of items I have managed to clear out in the last three months into the back of the car. When we arrived at the charity salesroom we were told they had too much stock and could we come back tomrrow morning! Tom was all set to drive off but there was no way I was leaving without a quick look round! I managed to find a few items and Tom was very quick to point out that after all my clearing we were coming home with more items than we left with.

I found the most wonderful 1970s bathroom set. I have thought a lot that our little shower room, toilet at the caravan is very dark and drab and needs brightening up. I couldn't believe my luck when I found this set for £2. It certainly won't be drab now! They were still sealed in their original packaging from somewhere called Rodmill of Liverpool. All these years waiting for a daring person who loves colour!

Another item I couldn't resist was a 1970s Swiss (home of the fondue!) fondue set. It was all in it's original box and I wondered if it had come from the same home as the bathroom set. I was over the moon, Tom less so, this is how the conversation went. "Look at this wonderful 1970s fondue set!" "Very nice." I think we should get it" "What would we do with it?" We could have fondue evenings when we are sitting out in our caravan awning." Long silence. I kept trying "Didn't you have fondue evenings in the 1970s?" "In Brixton!" "I'll set it all up when we are away, I'm sure you will love them!" Another long silence. As you can see from the photo, I managed to get my own way and it was only £6 but I know I still have a lot of work to do to win Tom round. 

I remember so clearly the fondue craze in the 1970s. My Mum would set it all up, with methylated spirits in the little burner and we would sit around it at the dining room table with our fondue forks and little pieces of food to dip in and cook. It was a lot of fun for a while but like all crazes very quickly it passed and fondue sets all over the country were put away in boxes. I should imagine my Mum's one is away in a box somewhere. I can't wait to give it another go, just for the fun and the nostalgia. Tom I fear will need a lot of convincing!

By the afternoon the sun had come out and it made dog walking much better than I had imagined in the morning. The only other excitement of the day was enlisting youngest son's help for the family bonding session of us getting out the caravan awning in the dining room to measure the dimensions and the windows so I can order the poles and start making the curtains. It was the hardest of jobs and no matter how hard we tried we couldn't get it back in the bag the same way as it was before. We left it in the end, it's still in their hanging out of the bag, too much family bonding for one day is probably not a good thing! We're going to have to have another go today.

I'm going to see my Dad today and to do his shopping so I hope this bright start lasts all day. I hope everyone has a lovely day what ever you plan to do. I'm off to have a quick look on ebay before I go out to see if I can find a fondue cookery book! xx

No Housework Day And Sorting Books

 Youngest daughter and I chatted for a long time yesterday morning about her afternoon and evening out in St James's Park. She said they were the only daft people sitting in the cold with candles on a birthday cake but they really enjoyed themselves. They have been planning all kinds of things now resrictions are relaxing. She is the most cheefrul I have seen her in months! 

As it was so cold yesterday I decided I would stay inside and do a bit of sorting out in readiness for the charity shops opening again next week. I still have boxes packed ready for them opening. I have been ever so strong and not looked through them to rescue any bits that I have put in there. I decided to go through my books and see if there were any I could get rid of. Last week when we were eating our breakfast at the dining room table Scarlett was looking around the room. She said to me "Nanny you have so many books! It looks like ..." there was a long pause and she proudly added "a library!" So thrilled with her new word she said to me "A library is a place where you go to borrow books!" I do have such a lot of books and I can't resist them. I love history books, craft books and old childrens books. I could read history books all evening, I love those little incidental local history stories that you never learn about in history lessons. I'm not very good at borrowing from libraries as 9 times out of ten if I have borrowed a book I like I search ebay and buy it in case I feel like reading it again! I convince myself that as I always buy secondhand I am saving the world's resources.

My real weakness though is old children's books. I love them. I collect old annuals, ladybird books, Enid Blyton, Beatrix Potter, books about ponies (I used to love them as a child!) and hardback children's classics that are in really good condition that just catch my eye. All the time I was sorting I kept thinking I must get rid of something or I won't have any room for new books for my collection when car boot sales start up. In the end I managed to get rid of an enormous biography of David Lloyd George, I'm not sure why I ever bought that and an even more obscure biography about a naval captain who fought at Gallipoli! I thought and thought about my 1950s Train Annuals but decided I couldn't bear to get rid of them. That will do for now, at least there are a couple of gaps ready to fill and I had such fun sorting them all out neatly. I sat and looked through books I had forgotten about. Just as well it was National No Housework Day yesterday as what with chatting and sorting I didn't seem to get any done. Maybe tidying books counts as something. Here are some of my favourites. I know I should be stronger after all my clearing, but I am really looking forward to searching out new books for my collection.

Scarlett is coming today and youngest son and daughter are looking forward to spending a bit of time with her as they are both on holiday from work. It's not as cold today, a balmy 3C this morning, so I'm sure we will be able to get out for our walk. I hope everyone has a lovely day what ever your plans. xx

Kathleen's Purse And Ignoring Lockdown

When I'm out at car boot sales or jumble sales (pre-coronavirus) I'm always on the look out for interesting, unusual little items. I don't know what it is but sometimes something will just catch my eye and I think it is something I would like to photograph and put on my social history website.  I have memorial cards, old letters, Victorian birthday cards, diaries and certificates. I just can't help rescuing them from old boxes under tables at car boot sales. I always think one day I may find a family member who would be so pleased to have them back in their possession.  I can't bear to think these once precious items may end up being thrown out. Several years ago I bought from household auctions and sold many of the items on ebay or cleaned some up and sold them on for a profit in antique auctions.  I would buy large boxes of mixed items, often from house clearances, and then just sort them through. Sometimes it would make me feel so sad. Yesterday when I was looking through a drawer I found something I had put away from one of these house clearance boxes. 

It was a purse I had found mixed amongst old china and cutlery. I had forgotten about it  but when I saw it I remembered at the time I couldn't bring myself to sell it. Inside the purse were a house key, a library card and a hospital property receipt for this little gold locket made out to Kathleen Davidson and dated September 2000. 

The two photos inside are of a little girl and an Edwardian looking gentleman. Was this Kathleen and her Dad I wonder? I have photographed them and I'm going to add them to my website and they are carefully stored  with all the other items now in the hope one day a member of Kathleen's family may find them. I felt pleased all day this purse had turned up again.

Eldest son's girlfriend popped round to pick up a parcel that had been delivered here for him as hadn't wanted to be out and miss it. With all the lockdown restrictions I hadn't seen her since last year so we had a lovely chat about all that had been happening. On the doorstep of course but it was better than nothing and still so nice to see her.

When Tom got in from work last night at 9 o'clock and had had such a bad shift. A whole crowd of about thirty youngsters had got on his bus in the evening, refused to pay and refused to wear masks. He had no choice but just to let them get on with it and they were on the bus for about half an hour skating up and down the top deck on scooters. So much for lockdown so many people seem to be ignoring it now. He was really fed up when he got in. I had cooked his favourite scampi and he bought a portion of chips in from the fish and chip shop down the road and after a glass of wine with it he had cheered up no end and was really looking forward to the four days off he has now. 

Scarlett is coming this morning so it will be a nice first day of the four off. It definitely looks nice enough to get out for a long walk and maybe even some seed planting in the greenhouse that I been promising her. I hope everyone has a lovely day what ever you are doing. xx

Collecting And Recycling Vintage Fabrics

There are other items in my clearing out I will not part with and that's my large pile of vintage fabrics. I  love old bright retro fabrics or just fabrics that are evocative of an era. I have saved bits I buy cheaply at jumble sales for projects I will get round to in the future. I have my old toy chest that my toys were stored in when I was a child. It has been in the loft for years after my children have grown up, but a while ago we got it out to keep it in our bedroom for extra storage. I am going to make a large cushion for the top covered in some 1960s fabric in keeping with the era of the chest.

I had been searching to find just the right piece of fabric and have found the perfect piece on ebay.  When I was very little, about three or four, I used to share a bedroom with my sister. We had curtains that I loved, of animals and insects dressed up in clothes. I would study every one of them as I looked out of my little bed by the window. I couldn't believe it when I found it, apparently it was made by Sanderson and called Hippity Hoppity. All these years later and it is still firmly implanted in my memory. I'm looking forward so much to making it. 

Sanderson Hippity Hoppity Fabric

The Ladybird

Another retro fabric item which seems to have disappeared but was such a good idea were calendar tea towels. We would buy my Mum one every Christmas and it would hang on the kitchen wall until next Christmas when it would be taken down and replaced then used as a tea towel. What perfect recycling. Why on earth did they disappear!

At a car boot sale a few years ago I found this one, the year I was born. Perfect, as coincidentally the days of the week fell exactly the same in 2016, the year I bought it, as in 1960. I kept it up all year and thought I would put it away for the next time the calendar repeated itself. I checked online to see when that will be and as it was a leap year it is not going to happen again until 2044 then after that 2072. Oh well I suppose it gives me something to aim for!

Tom and I watched the film "The Dig" on Netflix last night. It was quite good but rather sad and left me feeling down in the dumps when I was going to bed. Back to Minder tonight I think! I'm off to do my Dad's shopping today so it will be quite nice to be out and about. I hope everyone has a lovely day whether you are able to get out or not. xx

A Room Full Of Books And Paintings

 Well what a terrible day it was weather-wise yesterday. It rained and rained all day and it felt as if it hardly got light at all. Tom has started nine days holiday from work. Of course there is nothing really to do but go for walks, however at least he is getting a break and not having to go out early on cold dark mornings. If the weather gets a bit better we will really enjoy some longer walks. With the weather being so bad though  I just carried on sorting out cupboards and set about fixing a few of the pictures I have bought from jumble sales or car boot sales. 

There is a certain type of room I love. Occasionally they crop up now and again when they go to peoples homes for interviews on the television at the moment. Professor so and so an expert on epidemiology is announced and all I can say is "Oh look at his lovely room!" It's one thing I'm going to really miss when all this is over and guests are back in the studio, looking at rooms. I know exactly the type of room I love. one that is covered in books and pictures. If I had my way we would hardly have any spare wall space just books and pictures. I have little areas in our house that are coming along quite nicely in my view. 

I love original old art work. There is something about the thought and effort that someone has put into it that makes me admire it constantly. I picture the artist carefully painting with the canvas or board on an easel and it feels as if I have a direct link back to the past. Every little brush stroke is someone's hard work. There is a saying that when you buy an original artwork you are not just buying a painting, you are buying a piece of the artists heart and soul and I can really feel that. My favourites change over the years but at the moment this is my favourite. It's an oil painting signed by an artist called E M  Tapping and I bought it at our local charity saleroom for £2. There is just something about the little ballerina that I love. I also love the light outside the window. It always makes me wonder what is out there. It's one thing I doubt I will ever get tired of buying and no matter how many clear outs I have I'll always have room for another painting. 

It's a much brighter day today thankfully. It's cold but the sun is shining. I hope the sun is shining on you and you have a lovely day what ever you are doing. xx

Fixing And Repairing Vintage Toys

I managed to pin and tack one pair of curtains for the caravan yesterday but the day just whizzed by and I  ran out of time. On the bright side my decluttering is going brilliantly. I wish I had tried this 15 minute rule years ago! As I know I am up against the clock I dash around like the Duracell Bunny. If I'm not going to use it or it doesn't have sentimental value it goes in the box. My only concern is if lockdown goes on too long I  may weaken and start taking things out of the boxes. Much as I love car boot sales and jumble sales I wonder if a year off from them has actually helped in me reducing. I have bought so many really useful things but frankly, as my eldest son loves to tell me when he comes round, a lot of tat too! I've bought piles of broken vintage toys as I love fixing things but often don't get round to it, watercolours and oil paintings in broken frames to reframe, piles of retro fabrics to make things with (I'll get round to eventually), the list goes on. There's a part of me that thinks when all this is over, and I am living in a clutter free house, should I really go back to all that temptation of clutter. I'm definitely going to use this time to fix up the things I have been meaning to for months, or is it years! Scarlett is so thrilled with the painted and repaired dolls house it has given me enthusiasm to keep fixing. I have the most wonderful toy farm I bought a few years ago when Scarlett was only a baby. I put it away as I knew she was too young for it, but time has sped by and I know she would love to play with it now. This is just a tiny part of all the farm buildings I bought.

    When I was seven years old I had a toy farm my Dad made me. I remember it very clearly as I loved it so much. It had a base with farm buildings and I collected lots of farm animals with my pocket money. Most of these farm animals were made by the company Britains and it says a lot for the quality of them as not only did they survive me playing with them but my four children as well. Sadly the base of the farm was thrown out years ago but we still have a lot of the farm animals. Just waiting for a farm! This is my next project.

  I hope everyone is managing to find things to keep themselves occupied during lockdown. It was much easier the first time in the lovely weather we had. I find there is always something to do but youngest daughter is so fed up she has taken to tweeting about our neighbours "They're burning another bonfire". Oh dear. God help us if they ever find her twitter account! I hope everyone has a lovely day what ever you are doing. xx

A Most Desirable Residence

 It was a lovely sunny day yesterday. It really lifted my spirits and made me feel so much more productive. In the morning I pottered around the garden tidying up with my little friend the fox sitting at the end in the sunshine watching me obviously enjoying the change in weather too. Later on after my lunch I set to on a job I had been planning to do all week. I love collecting old vintage toys and doing them up. I have bought so many at auctions, car boot sales and jumble sales and I get so much pleasure to think I am giving a new lease of life to a child's once precious plaything.

I've always had a love of old dolls houses. When I was little my sister had a lovely dolls house our Dad made for her. It had electric lights, a little bathroom, a kitchen and even a little toy 1960s television in the living room. We would play with it for hours. I remember when I was 10 years old and in the top class of primary school, two of us would have to go to the kindergarten class to look after the little ones on our own when it was wet play. (Yes really!). It was such fun we did what we wanted. I would spend the whole hour sitting down on the rugs with the little girls playing with the dolls house. It was enormous and such fun, they hardly got a look in! Our dolls house is long gone sadly, though I have some bits of furniture given to my daughters to play with when they were little.

  I had been looking for a replacement for a long time without success until I found this one at an auction for only £25. It is from the 1940s or 50s and is just wonderful. All the metal windows and door are intact with a little number 9 next to the front door.

A 1950s Dollshouse

The original heavy embossed wallpaper is still on the walls in perfect condition. The floor has a covering that has been made to look like 1950s lino. When you look through the front door you just want to walk up the stairs. 

The Interior Of The 1950s Dollshouse

I have a few little bits of furniture but have been promising Scarlett I will get some more. She loves it and spends so much time playing with the few little bits we have. I have decided all the furniture must be vintage 1940s or 50s and I picture it just like the one in the Kindergarten classroom of my primary school. I really wish I could mooch around at car boot sales to try and find some but it's not to be yet so I will get some bits on ebay which of course is easier but more expensive and not so much fun.

Today I stuck down the corners of the flooring and scraped off the ripped brick effect paper on the bay at the front of the house. I'm trying to keep as much of the original as possible so decided not to replace all the paper but just the damaged part and painted the bay cream. I remember ours used to have a little red and white table and chairs in the kitchen and I still have one of the white chairs and a highchair. I have managed to find some old Barton red and white kitchen units and a table on ebay so it will soon be on it's way to becoming a very desirable 1950s residence again!

The Newly Painted Dolls House

I phoned my Dad at the end of yesterday afternoon to see what sort of a day he was having. He can't really get out to do any gardening at this time of the year and like everyone is getting fed up with the same old local walks so I thought maybe me, asking him advice about restoring the dolls house would cheer him up. He had anything but a dull day! Apparently there had been a car accident outside his house. Four university students had been in one car and the the young girl driver skidded on some ice and collided with a lorry. He had been outside helping the people involved, luckily no one was injured just shocked. It had taken hours to sort out and clear all the debris away and being the kind person my Dad is he was involved in it all. Isn't it terrible all I could picture when he was telling me the story was all those people breathing on him! He's so close to having his vaccine on Monday and I keep worrying now. Oh dear.

It's not such a nice day as yesterday today but it is dry. I'm meeting my eldest daughter for a walk this morning which I'm really looking forward to. I hope everyone has a lovely day what ever you are doing. xx

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Happy Birthday 50p!

  Good news yesterday my Dad was discharged from hospital with some back up at home. He's not very happy to have outsiders coming in telling him what to do but is happy to be home with Millie who I swear was smiling when we left in the evening.
  Yesterday was also the 50th anniversary of the 50p coin. A very interesting young man with an enormous amount of knowledge of coins was talking on BBC Breakfast all about them. I found it fascinating as I had always loved collecting different coins. I have carefully hung onto this 50p from when we joined the European Union in 1973 and now find out there were nearly 90 million minted and are worthless. All these Beatrix Potter and Paddington Bear 50ps I'm hanging onto are probably a waste of time as they have had millions produced. The only one he said was worth looking out for was the 250th Anniversary of Kew Gardens which only has 210,000 produced and is now worth £70 to £80. I had one of these in my collection but it has disappeared.I probably bought a loaf of bread with it on a day I was short. I found him so interesting I was thinking about 50ps all day!

  Although I was excited when these new coins came were introduced in 1969, I quickly realised how much I missed the old 10 shilling notes. I would often get one in cards from my Grandad who lived in Liverpool. Birthdays and Christmas a lovely crisp 10 shilling note would fall out of my card and he would send one in a little letter when we went on holiday for spending money. I felt so rich with one in my purse, 50p coins just didn't feel the same. My Mum must have had the same feelings for them as we found these in her dressing table drawer.

 Our eldest son came round yesterday evening and we talked about his new flat which he should be moving in to in about four weeks. It is the bottom floor of a three storey Victorian terrace he bought back in May but it was a complete wreck that had been empty for over twenty years. Trees had grown right through the walls in the kitchen extension and it smelt as if every local cat had moved in! Totally unfazed he has worked and planned with a builder since then and it is completely unrecognisable to the flat we visited back in May. He  has only let us see photos of the progress and now we are getting close to the big reveal. I can't wait. 

  Slightly better day today weather wise I hope. I'm off to deal with physio appointments, tablet changes and stocking up my Dad's fridge. I hope everyone has a great day. xx