Santa's On His Way

 

Giddy-up reindeer, nearly there!

 

My night-time photography skills leave a lot to be desired (!), but here is a photo of Santa flying overhead!

Actually, it is the International Space Station.

"Howwwwwaaaarrrd"

 

Happy Christmas all my lovely bloggy mates!

Zxx

& Modern

 

Our Christmas pressie from one of Mr Bs' past "angels", Chlo-Ro.

 

A pretty bauble found last year at Homesense.

 

Ditto the owl; but I daren't take him out of his case to hang on the tree, so this year he's on the window sill.

 

So, Christmas Eve tomorrow. Nearly done everything. Fresh produce and turkey crown to get tomorrow and my fave stuffing to make - sausage meat, prune and sherry. Oh yummy!

And mustn't forget to whip up some brandy butter.

Then ...done!

 (Or, is that all done in?!)

Zxx 

 



Vintage Deccies

 

The angel was probably the first decoration I bought for my own tree, that my dad made for me, in my bedroom.

Nearly 50 years old!

 

 

These baubles were one of the first things we bought on our first meeting of the wonderful Bryony who does our local vintage fairs. We met her on the steps of the hotel, where the fair was be held in Market Harborough, eating chips.

A lady after our own hearts and, she has found, over the years and fairs, a place in our hearts.

 

 

The other item we bought was a vintage meat safe.

Still, kept the baubles safe on the bus journey home!!

 

 

We bought these other vintage beauties from her as well.

 

 

 

She keeps a stall at Kibworth Antiques.

Hurrah for Bryony!

Zxx



Winter Solstice, 2014

Lucky to be able to capture the sunset this evening.

The sky looks on fire!

And now we're going to get longer days.

Hurrah!

 

 

I celebrated by making my first batch of mince pies!

Zxx

My Coca Cola Ad

 

The Coca Cola Truck paid a visit to Northampton yesterday.

 

 

I went to meet Mr B at the rail station and then we went off in to town.

 

They had the set-up in a different place this time, outside The Guildhall, (or Trumpton as Mr B calls it!), which was a brilliant setting for the fake snowfall mixed with the teeny tiny bubbles.

 

 

But the highlight for me was the small group of singers; they were fantastic!

Totally fabulous.

 

 

Thank you for your words of support on my last post.

Once I was out it was fine, it's just getting out of the house!

I dunno, mad innit?

Zxx



"Madonna" & "Child"

 

When Mr B comments on how good it is that I went out in the back garden the other day, you know things aren't as good as they could be!!

Zxx



On The Second Day Of Christmas...

...an angel delivered a sachet of Tanzanian Kibo Dark!

OK, a bit of a psychotic looking angel

To be fair I was in my jimmies and hoping that the bus wasn't going to go past As I stuck my head outta the door!
And I was having 'a bad head' episode.

It's all in the eyes, y'know!!

Check out my 'new' leaded windows. Neat, huh?
Zxx



On The First Day Of Christmas...



 

...Tabby helped me open my 'Advent Calendar of Coffee'.

 

 

25 different flavours of my favourite brew.

 

 

Todays flavour was "Peru Treasure of the Andes".

 

 

I bought this online from Imperial Teas (!) of Lincoln after reading a Facebook comment from a friend of a friend. So glad I did! A cafetiere of classy coffee every day for the next 25 days.

Heaven!

 

 

Zxx

Tra-la-la-la-laa La La La Laa

Not the most explanatory of titles, I have to admit, but I dusted off the old Chrimbo CD and have been warbling away ...
 

...whilst washing up.

Wiping up with this.

And wiping with this as well!

(Sorry, 'Vulgar Woman' is back!!)

The Coca Cola ad has been on TV since the 9th November. (Do you think that was much too early?).

This could be taken as a bit of Vix love; but I also had Prancer but he got put in the recycle bin last night, so I'm guessing it's just reindeer names!

I haven't been out shopping today, but when I do go I will take my dusted off M&S shopper.

Need to use it as much as I can in the allotted time.

(Tucked away again after Twelfth Night)

So, not very Christmassy yet, (have you seen that bloody awful weather out there?), but little touches are creeping in.

(Phone photos, so excuse the quality. Put my camera away somewhere safe.)

Zxx



Waaay Back Wednesday

My life is not particularly riveting at the moment and I haven't felt up to posting, so, when thinking about clearing the mantlepiece to 'Christmas-fy' it, I thought "let's scan my photo". 



 

Taken c1981 at a friends' flat on the seafront in Worthing.

(Yeah, I am in there somewhere!!).

 

It's fascinating to trawl thru' Facebook and the like to see what they are doing..."W", the lass in the centre in glasses, is the one person I have kept in touch with, a mother of 5 now!!

 

"N" made the Edwardian hat the POW wore on her trip to Canada, whilst working at Cosprop; "S" worked in the making wardrobe at Glyndebourne; "R" is no longer with us (RIP to the greatest bloke); "J" has more or less retired to the Isle of Wight, having been amazingly successful as a maker...The Roly Polys, David Bowie et al have worn garments made by him; "A", I believe was married to Ruby Wax at one time! (Tho' he wasn't actually a student, but the partner of one of us!).

picture from here, which has some really interesting info on the  Klondike dress

We were a mega-talented bunch, each of us proving that you can do a vocational  course and not have to do a degree course to be successful. So many ran their own businesses, as I did for some time, and still do; theatre set designers, product designers, costume and the like.

 

 

I was amazed and somehow self-satisfied when this article, https://www.gov.uk/government/news/creative-industries-worth-8million-an-hour-to-uk-economy

 came into my sightline.

 

I mean, 8 million quid....an hour!

I was almost frowned upon at school for being 'arty'; doing one year in 6th form, when I had very few lessons early in the week, but every thing 'art', (art, needlework, various dance classes etc),  all crammed into Friday and Saturday morning! Damned stupid that was! But see how much the likes of 'me' can contribute.

 

Hell, yeah!

 

Zxx

Stir Up Sunday, er no, Mix It Monday

Oh my goodness; what a palaver!

 

 

Got Mr B to 'shake' the festive mix bag of fruit and nuts from Aldi for a mini version of Stir Up Sunday as I hadn't measured out the ingredients to make my Christmas cake yesterday.

 

 

It was a bit of a shame I hadn't checked my cupboards because come yesterday I only had about a third of the dried fruit that I needed!

Arrgh!

 

Had a look through my large recipe collection in the hope of finding something I could do to salvage what I had already measured out.

Step up a print-out from Kirstie & Phils' Chrimbo programme, which was along the lines of x amount of dried fruit of any type and so forth, so that I could get the wet/dry/fat mix OK.

A very large amount of cherries, the remains of the mixed peel, some old dried apricots and even older crystallised ginger and 'hey presto' enough mixture to make a cake!

 



 

This was the final piece of last years. It was the Marion Keyes recipe, which, although very nice, was much too sweet for me.

What's the betting that this years' cake is the best ever and I won't ever be able to replicate it???

 

Zxx

What I Bought (not a lot!) & What I Wore

Other than my favourite homemade meringue and coffee I managed to restrain myself and just bought this great collection of knitting needles and bits.

 

 

Those pretty green needles are exactly the right size for my sock knitting. Having decided the 'what'll hold a lot will hold a little' idea really doesn't work for knitting needles (the phrase of being poked in the eye with a big stick comes to mind!) I am sure am chuffed to have got these; and just as I go from knitting on 4 needles to 3 too. (Which, if you don't knit really means you need 5 or 4 needles ie. your knitting is spaced over however x needles but you actually need an extra one to knit with!!

 

 

I bought this wear-around-your-neck magnifying glass from Hobbycraft, when down in Plymouth, as even with/without my glasses I am finding it increasingly hard to see the stitches. I haven't used it yet but it has 2 LED lights as well, so should work a treat! I take embroidery away with me but couldn't even suss out what I'd done next to the pattern, so gave up on it!!

 

And this is what I wore.

 

My baby scorpion earrings were a gift from one of Mr Bs' work colleagues a couple of Christmases ago. Never worn them; they were just waiting for me to get the Gudren cardi I think.  The 'fur' stole was a sale buy from Dotty Ps from a while ago.

 

See, this 'if-you-don't-wear-it-for-a-year' rule really doesn't work. If you buy it cos you love it, wear it a bit, don't wear it for a long time then bring it out again, sometimes those 'bits' just really come together. These items weren't bought separately with the idea of wearing them together; but somehow my eye just alights on things that 'go'.

 

(And please ignore the 'walker', ironing board and other assorted paraphernalia in the background. Hastily shot photos in the one bit of space I could find!)

Zxx



Saturday Diary Date

Looking forward to this tomorrow.

One of Trevors' specials and on my doorstep more or less.

Lucky me!

https://www.facebook.com/VintageInTheShires

I stopped halfway through writing this as the village pub was having a firework display that I had forgotten about, otherwise I'd have wandered down there.

 

 I think The Saints Rugby Club also had their display too, because I could also see a whole stack of rockets going off down the end of the road!

  A proper couple of displays literally viewable right from my front door.

Pretty darn good, I'd say!

 

Lucky me again!

 

Hope you all have a lucky weekend too!

Zxx

Holiday On A Plate

So, a week in Plymouth, been and gone. As always, much too quickly! Especially when I didn't get down there earlier in the year when the railway line has disappeared into the sea overnight at Dawlish!

 

 

Better weather than had been forecasted meant that a couple of these were consumed at the café on The Hoe at the end of our road.

 

 

This cute little fella was a logo maybe, on the alarm box of the building next to the café.

 I do like a penguin!

 

 

Freshly cooked haddock at the other end of the road.

 Bloody lovely!

 

 

Mr West Hoe Fryer himself in the black T-shirt. Always calls out 'Hello Ballet' when we come in! Which this week was three times!!!

 

More fish, this time smoked mackerel and spring onion doorsteps at The Boathouse, down at The Barbican. 

 

OMG! I wore a skirt! By the steps at The Barbican, from whence The Mayflower set sail.

 

 

Christmas lunch in a sandwich box, at the café in Dunelm. Going there was 'my treat' for the last 2-3 years, until I found out they had opened a store at home. It's good, but not the same and old habits die hard.

 

 

Sorry about the picture quality of these shots from The Walrus; dark interiors and the flash just about kills the colour, but you'll get the gist!

 

This was a proper roast beef Sunday lunch. Mr B got double mashed swede as I really don't like it, but the rest of the meal was perfect.

 



 Liver and bacon for a teatime meal. Again, totally yummy.

 

The pub has new owners and I wish them well. They deserve it!

And they have the pinkest ladies loos I have ever seen!

 

Thank goodness I tend to walk quite a lot when I am in Plymouth...otherwise I think I would have to be rolled all the way home to Northampton!

Zxx



A Skeleton Is For Life, Not Just Halloween



A favourite bracelet that hasn't had an airing for a while and has never been photo'd for my blog.



 



 

A Butler & Wilson piece of art, in my book!

  

 

You can't beat a bit of 'skull-duggery', can you?!

 

Twisted in with my homemade bracelet.



 

Such a wild necklace by Kreepsville 666, (check out that coffin-shaped name tag!), bought from Rockers England in Manchester.

 

Have a ghoulishly lovely weekend!

Zxx