Happy 50th, Bear!!

Today my ex-hubby, John, would have been 50...

Sadly, he died on the 12th of January...

I just want to say Happy 50th John...

Thinking of you, with love...xx

Braided Chair Pads...

Just thought I'd let you know that I found some American Braided Chair Pads...in England!! I bought some and they arrived yesterday (they use Next Day Delivery Courier) I put them on and they look superb! If you're interested in some...to Prim up your kitchen chairs, then ring

Nicola on 01942-290140

They come in different colours, but as they are made of a mix of colours anyway, there's not a lot of difference!

They are as cheap as chips...£4.00 for TWO!!! (obviously plus postage!)

Have a look and see what you think...

I've shown them on 2 different sized chairs that I've got...

This is a close~up, so you can see the colours...

I've only ever seen them in the USA and as they are pretty heavy, they would cost a fortune to get shipped over...plus the tax if they got stopped at customs!

Another little purchase that I'm made up with this week...hee hee!!!

Chat soon,

Love Karen xx



The Pumpkins and The Ivy...

I bought some faux Ivy, which turned up this morning...

I put it around the Pumpkin Patch, but I'm not sure if it looks better with or without it?!

With Ivy...

Without...

I'll have a play around with it and try winding it in between the Pumpkins...

Watch this space..!!

The Pumpkin Patch...

Last week, I ordered some Leaves and Pumpkins from the USA...they have just arrived and are amazing! I put them on the table to take pictures and they look soooo good, I think I'll leave them there for the time being! Here they are, what do you think?! (personally I just LOVE them!)

This is the view standing in front of the table...the Pumpkins are in 2 shades of orange and white...the Leaves are in 4 or 5 shades and are beautiful Autumn colours...they look soooo real too!!

 

This is the view as you walk into the living room...what a welcome!!

They were made by a very talented lady in the USA called Kathy...I bought them direct from her and you can e-mail her at captncrew1@verizon.net 

All this lot cost around £59 including the shipping...I actually got 36 Leaves, as my mate Lin wanted 15...2 big Pumpkins and 5 small ones. I think that's a great price, considering the amount of work in them! You can't see the beauty of them in the pictures, but believe me, they are absolutely superb and I would recommend her any day of the week!! (oh and they smell sooooo good too!) 

I'm off to help my mate Deb now...she's opening a shop at a local Antiques Centre at Battlesbridge. Her shop name is Milly Molly Mandy! She's got really good taste in things (friends too!) and I want to wish her every success!

Have a good week and chat soon!

Love Karen xx

More Changes!!

I think the I've had the 'Changing Bug' this week...I pulled out the whole of my Toy Corner and changed it round!

This is what it was like before...

And this is it now...I moved the Wall Cubby from behind the living room door (the screws were rounded off, so I just yanked it, leaving 2 big holes! Terry will be so pleased when he comes home tomorrow! I'm putting the Shelf that was over in Toy Corner behind the door, so all is not lost!) The little Cupboard was one I had in my shop...I could have sold it 50 times over! The door closes and has chicken wire on it...

I moved my Arts & Crafts High Chair over to the table...only Dollies, no babies!! I put some old toys underneath it as well...the Dolls were made by

Maggie of Saltbox Primitives in Ireland...I love her work!

This is a close~up of the Dolls. The stitching on her apron is lovely. I'll take another picture and post it...

I've just taken the close~up of big Dollie's lovely Apron...

I had put my Shaker Rocking Chair behind the door, so I moved it and grouped my black Bears on it. The biggest one was made by

Jane at Gingerbread Cottage...

She's renowned for her Halloween Witchy Washing Lines...

I moved my Dolls around...the one on the left was made by

Kerrie Moody of Simple Pleasures of Maine...

I have got loads made by Kerrie, I love her work! The Lincoln Pillow came from my lovely friend in the USA, Elaine. She sells on e-bay and is called

Catspaw Primitives...her e-bay ID is 6stringbluesman (I think she stole the site from her hubby, who is into Blues music!) Check her out, you'll be amazed at what she does with an old Tin or Dough Bowl..!! I love everything Elaine does, but can't actually pick a favourite piece! I've got a lot of Firkins that Elaine's painted...Christmas Tins are close to the top of my list...hmmmm, it's hard to decide!! I'll take some pictures and post them over the weekend...

These 3 are by Kerrie too...I love them!

One of Kerrie's Penny Runners...I've got 9 now, plus one on the way!

The red one was made by

Maria Broadhead of the Cinnamon Shack...

I've got a few of her things too, another very talented lady!

The new Table and Chairs have made such a difference, it made me want to sort out Toy Corner! I haven't put anything away (I hate leaving things in cupboards!) but it seems a bit less cluttered now...I think!!

I've been faffing about this week, so haven't got my washing and ironing done! I'll have to do it tonight, as Terry's back home from France tomorrow! It's our wedding anniversary today...we've been together 15 years, but only got married 5 years ago! This is us on our Wedding Day...ahhhh, bless!

(5 years younger and a few pounds lighter LOL!!)

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, TERRY!

LOVE YOU LOADS xxx

Ok, off to do some chores now! I'll try and post the pictures I mentioned over the weekend...

Take care and see you soon!

Love Karen xx

Time for Change!

On Friday, it was 5 weeks since Terry fell off that darned ladder!

Progress report:

Elbow - cut healed, but it now clicks every now and then and makes me jump!

Hip - bruises gone, no further trouble...

Leg Gashes: 1) Became infected (don't panic, no pictures!!)

2) Was red and very swollen

3) Hospital gave antibiotics

3) Doctor gave 2 lots of antibiotics - still red and swollen

4) Doctor gave THREE lots of antibiotics together

5) Still red and swollen - took a swab to the hospital

6) Turns out he had a Staph. A infection

7) Is now on the right antibiotics for 2 weeks!!

Terry went off to France on Friday, fishing for a week, armed with his pills and dressings for his leg. He won't be able to drink while he's away due to the pills...and...when they catch these big ole fish, they jump in the water and pose for pictures...he won't be doing that either! The good thing is, he'll be resting for a week, so it will help his leg heal. He only took 3 days off when it happened and I think that's why it's taken longer to heal. When he's been resting at the weekend, his leg's not been too swollen...so fingers crossed, this week helps!

It's our 5th wedding anniversary on Friday, but it's postponed until some time next week, as Terry's not back until late Saturday night!!

My son Dan and his girlfriend Danni (yeah, Dan & Dan!!) went off to Ibiza tonight for a few days. The closing parties are this week, so they are now in 28* heat...it will be a bit cooler tomorrow, only 27*, then 28* again on Thursday...oh, my heart goes out to them!!  

Last week, I decided that I wanted to change my dining room table and chairs...the ones we had were tall, brown leather-type ones, which made the dining end of the room look really dark. I looked on e-bay and found a set...the only thing was, it was 70 miles away! Ever-impulsive, I drove off to Clacton to get it! When I was on the way, just up the road, I saw 3 Shaker-style chairs outside someone's house...with a note saying 'Free Help Yourself'...forever the junker, I stopped and asked them if I could collect them the next day, which I did!

When I got home with the new table and chairs, I told Terry what I'd got...he thought he had to drive down there to collect it in his van, so was much happier when I told him it was in the car! Anyhow, we took the old table apart and put the new one together...it's a really solid, heavy table and the chairs are quite heavy too...

This is the old set...where they were tall and closed in, I think they made the room look smaller... 

This is the new set...I LOVE IT!!! It has really opened up this end of the room! The Colonial style Chairs came with the table...the ones with the cross on the back are the 'adopted' ones! (the one with the USA flag on it is an adopted one too!) The 3 Dolls on the table and the Penny Runner were made by Kerrie Moody in the USA (simplepleasuresfrommaine on ebay) The USA flag was a birthday present from my friend Fiona. The checked Pillow and matching Runner were made by Maria of The Cinnamon Shack and the flowers, candle and photo on the right are for Dan's dad, John, who sadly died on the 12th of January this year, bless him x

The Chair on the left is the original colour...the one on the right has been sanded and varnished...

The Chair on the right has been waxed...it doesn't look much different in the picture, but in real life, you can see all the grain and knots in the wood...and it feels sooooo smooth!! I prefer the waxed one, so the varnished one needs to be sanded again and waxed...the one I waxed took TWO days to sand!! There must have been about 15 layers of varnish on them...AND I've got another one to do!!

I was watching Eastenders tonight...and Tanya has got the exact same chairs!!

I bought the sign you can just see in the picture above from e-bay...it says:

'Please Close The Gate

The Penalty Is Forty Shillings

For Leaving This Gate Unlocked'

I think it's superb! It is made of cast iron and weighs 6kg! It's now up on the wall by the gate...of course!

No progress report on the garden...Terry has only done a little bit since I last posted pictures. He did a few cuts and pointed Darcie's side...he'll get it finished when he can. It's SUCH an improvement on how it was before, I'm not worried...and it's so easy to clean up after our Darcie now too!!

Oh, Darcie...she sleeps at the top of the stairs now...and stays there! She doesn't come into the bedrooms or play up. It's like she's guarding us and it's lovely to think that she's upstairs with us! She lays on her own fleece and seems pretty conent there too. Some days I look for her and there she is, at the top of the stairs, snoozing away!

I've got some fabric Pumpkins and Leaves coming from the USA...I got 2 from Karen at Old Cottage Primitives...

They are fab, just like everything Karen makes! Her work is superb! Here they are...

I'll post pictures of the other ones when they arrive...

Well, that's about it for now...hope you are all keeping well and chat soon!

Night night!

Karen xx

 

And nearly another one!!

I can't believe how fast the weeks are flying by! The kids are back at school, the Summer that never started is well and truly over, with rain and gale force winds, the nights are drawing in...and everywhere you look there's either Pumpkins, Witches or Christmas starting already!! It's enough to depress anyone!

Terry hasn't managed to do much more in the garden...his leg is healing well (hardly surprising...he was taking 5 lots of antibiotics at one time!!) But when he gets home from work, his leg's been swollen, so I've made him sit on the sofa resting it. Plus the rain hasn't helped and when his leg has been ok, the weather's been crap!! I'm beginning to think that maybe we will be having barbecued turkey this year and sit on the patio with our dinner & crackers!!

He's off to France for a week's Fishing next Friday, so hopefully his leg will be alright for him to go...when the bloke books it, he doesn't take out any insurance, so if he can't go, he'll lose his money, unless he can find someone to go at the last minute. If he can't go, he'll be gutted...so will I, as he loves it and needs the rest (and the week away from me LOL!!!)

I've just bought an old Railway Sign for the garden...it will be here early next week...maybe not everyone's cup of tea, but I love it!

I'm not sure if it's an original one...it looks like it, but these days it's hard to tell old from new!! I know it's a bit wacky to have in the garden, but then that's me...you should see my house!!

I want to make the garden rustic/country/quirky, so am on the lookout for things...if anyone sees anything they think I'd like, give me a shout!!

I've seen some old enamel Signs in the USA, so might get a couple of those...

Watch this space!!

I've got a few goodies coming from the USA...not loads, just a little 'Retail Therapy' to keep me going! This is what's coming:

Toy Washtub and Washboard

Tiny Tin Pail

Tiny Shoo Fly and Pan

Wooden Masher

Toy Dustpan

And an old Photo of a Homestead

These are all coming from my friend Elaine...she gets old things and makes them look like 'old~new'...check her out...she sells on ebay under the name

6stringbluesman ...

I've got LOADS of her things at home, they are all unique and I love them!!

Elaine has a passion for old Dough Bowls...her painting is excellent!!

Can't wait to get it now...I'm like a kid at Christmas when I get a box from America!!

I've also got a fabric bag coming, which is insulated...it's a Potato Bag for the microwave...I'll let you know what it's like. Did you know, apparently, when you bake a potato in the oven, when the skin gets crispy, it turns into sugar 300% MORE than if you do them in the microwave...Terry is diabetic and we never knew that!! Geesh, you think you're eating healthily LOL!!! I bought some Coasters too, so will post pictures when they get here...it's been 10 days now, so they should arrive any day...yippee!!

Off to town now to get something for dinner...then run the hoover round...Darcie is shedding her Summer coat, so it's back to hoovering more than once a day now!! Still, not as bad as when she sheds her Winter coat...I was doing it FOUR times a day!!

Oh, check her out...she's such a doll...

I tell you, if she was human, she would have such a wicked sense of humour! You should see the things me and Zoé do to her...I'll post some more pictures later...

Got to dash, so bye for now! xx



Another week gone by!!

Firstly, no new garden pictures...Terry's leg has been too bad for him to do anything out there. He's been going to work, as he's self-employed, but when he gets home, I've made him rest. The swelling and redness have gone down, so taking the next TWO lots of antibiotics the doctor gave him on Tuesday, it should be much better by next week...if it's not, the doc said he's going to refer Tel to a specialist...

So...another week gone by and one nearer to Christmas! I can't believe how fast this year has gone by. It's coming up to a sad time for us...my son's dad found out on the 22nd of this month that he had cancer. Sadly, he died on January 12th...bless him x

I wanted to brighten up my lounge/diner...Most of my Prims are in the dining room end and it was looking really dark. One idea I thought of was to Shabby up my dresser. It's dark wood, so with dark Prims on = dark, dark!! I got 2 tins of cream paint, mixed them together, emptied one shelf at a time and painted the back of the dresser. I'm pleased with how it turned out...and hubby and the kids like it too...bonus!!

Here are before and after pictures...

We're having Sky installed on Saturday...everyone's been raving about how good it is, what you can do, how much better it is than Virgin, so we've signed up for it...it had better be as good as people say!! Zoé's not very happy, as she like the Virgin for the 'Series Catch-up'...ah, well, you can't please them all LOL!!!

I've got to give the cupboard where the TV boxes are a bit of a clean before then! Dust...gets everywhere! Plus Darcie's moulting her Summer coat, so the floors are getting a bit hairy at the moment! Still, it's NOTHING like when she shed her Winter coat...I was hoovering 3-4 times a day!!

Have a great weekend...