Kicking the habit

I have fallen off the wagon and I had been so good for so long.

Let me explain. I love magazines, country living, country life, country homes and interiors the list is endless. It's probably fair to say that almost any magazine can sway me with a beautiful front cover. It needs to have the lure of an hour of pure day dream escapism.

I get swept along with the colours, tempting me ever closer to those bright sunny days, meadows of of swaying grasses, dotted with wild flowers. Perfect vegetable plots filling the family table through the year. Spurred on to turn the pages with the promise of vintage discoveries which have been lovingly restored, carefully painted, then placed in the best corner for that dreamy effect.

Delightful recipes which encapsulate the essensence of an english afternoon tea, delicate china or the excitement of a new artist with their stunning pottery.

They beckon you to live your dreams as you skip through the glossy pages imagining the fun you'll be having while you camp in the meadow, next to the stream, in the Romany Caravan, while your scrummy man collects firewood and your angelic children roast marshmallows just before you drift off to sleep under the stars........

You see I am a hopeless case. But I have been so so good because now I can get all these wonderful daydreams and inspirational visions while reading your delightful blogs. I was kicking the habit.

That was until the very naughty Joules sent me their magazine, FREE, through the post. Well it would have been quite rude and very churlish to have committed it to the recycle pile before I stole a tiny glimpse inside, wouldn't it?!!


Oh the complete joy, vintage caravans, yummy fabrics, scrummy firewood collecting man, angelic children (in clean, beautiful clothes) and me sat reading my book while stealing glances at the free range children dancing around the fields (still in clean clothes!). Chickens in the garden, a vegetable patch to be proud of, really very unfair to put so much in just one magazine, don't they know I am trying soooooo hard?


The deal was done, I had sealed my fate, I know full well that one is just never enough, one bite of the cherry will never surfice.

So as with all addictions, one just leads to another..........!!!

Easter Reflections

I can't believe it has been nearly a month since my last post, it's lovely to be back.

We had a wonderful Easter I hope you have all enjoyed yours. We spent our time in Wiltshire in our old home, which is now a haven of tranquility and a magical place to catch up with much loved friends and family. Which is exactly how we spent our time.


Lots of tea, many many cakes and lots of fun and laughter. Just the tonic, it really did symbolize the end of a long winter for us.


I had quite a creative surge, for me, leading up to Easter. I made bunnies and little knitted bags to hold sweet delights for our spring celebrations. Hens, filled with lavender and crocheting flowers for garlands, it really was such fun.


My birthday just before Easter brought so many goodies. I had some lovely Emma Bridgwater goodness to add to a dwindling collection, due to my appalling clumsiness. Two of the most lovely knitted blankets to add to my collection of yummy things. Then there was the money from my grandparents which sent me on a mission! In our home in Wiltshire I have used my Nannie's old singer sewing machine on it's trestle stand in the small study as a desk, I had already found a lovely old folding chair to sit on when pondering over a pretty notebook, but it needed something more....... a Lloyd Loom to sit in the corner for those contemplative moments!


Well after much searching I found one in a local antique centre. It was a strange green which had to go, cream was the answer. I suddenly found I had lots of willing helpers to transform my lovely new chair - and a pretty good job they did too!! When I have covered the seat, I will show you photos in all it's glory, it will be worth the wait!

How can my angelic looking son, look like a demon with that spray paint in his hand? Please don't let this be a peek into the future!!!


We have spent the last month or two falling back in love with our home in Wiltshire, it had become bogged down with life and when we left it behind last October we were quite relieved. Then months on the market we found we were left with few options, it wouldn't sell or rent, really bad timing on our part or maybe a little bit of fate dipping her hand in. So the decision to keep it and play the economy at it's own game was a huge leap of faith (don't even mention the other "f" word, we have developed perfect ostrich syndrome when it comes to finance!).

We are still very much living our life in "cold comfort farm" here in our little corner of Oxfordshire, meeting lovely new friends, tentatively putting down roots. Life seems full of so many decisions to buy or not to buy. Such relief when we reached the conclusion we wont buy we will sit it out. Just to see that our dream cottage appeared on the market, why does that always happen? Thankfully there were so many people interested in this little shack of a place in a wonderful blank canvass garden, we knew our decision had been made, it would become a bidding war, not fun, it wasn't meant to be. So onwards we go, never quite knowing what will happen over the next months or years or quite where we will end up, here or there.


But for now the journey is enough. The excitement of what next month will bring, life has never been dull and I guess now is no exception. Enjoy the sunshine! hugs xxx