Happy New Year

Hope everyone has had a lovely Christmas?

Anyone got plans for this evening, it being the last of the year? 

We're going to the neighbours  so we haven't got too far to walk home after a tipple or two!!

I shall be donning a bit of sparkle and these two will be accompanying me

"Bertie and Bella"

along with  a high heel and a "moon boot"!!

Happy New Year to all my lovely bloggy friends, see you in 2013

Lucey x

Christmas Eve

There's something magical about Christmas Eve... 

After  a "full English breakfast" we'll have a lazy morning  then we'll get dressed and spend the afternoon at the local garden centre feeding the reindeer as they have a busy night ahead of them.

 Then we're all meeting up for mugs of hot chocolate and toasted marshmallows before walking to church for the carol service at tea time.

So that's the plan for today and I can never decide If I should have an early night  or to wait up and hope to catch a glimpse of Santa and his reindeer......however much I try I always fall asleep just before he calls.....

Round guy
red suit
so cool
so cute
big smile
full pack
St Nick
he's back.

It's Christmas day in the morning...

Wishing you all a very merry Christmas

Lucey xxx

Gingerbread House

What could be nicer at Christmas than a gingerbread house, so I got myself a kit from IKEA and set to with the icing sugar 

after I'd stuck the walls together I filled up the icing bag and I was off.


I think the hardest part was trying to make the icicles, then just when I'd finished Alexa come in from school and said
"I've took all the hanging  bits off for you grandma"!!

I don't think it will last until Christmas tea as she's itching to eat it now, I knew I should have bought two!

Lucey xx

Shall We start At The Front Door

Not many people bother but I do like a nice wreath on the front door,

this is mine with Mr Robin nestled in the middle.

I managed to hobble upstairs to the snug where I decorated the tree with all my little socks I'd  embroidered in the summer,

some have cheeky little mice in them and others have jingly bells sewn on,

and some bigger stockings with....

'Twas the night before Christmas"

 sewn on them, 

I really enjoyed making  them and it didn't take me long.

I love sticking cloves in oranges, they're on the kitchen windowsill where I can smell them as I wash up...not my favourite pastime!!

And we've celebrated a birthday Mr Lucey loved his card from the dogs,

I've been buying them from  e bay, they're about the same price as a modern card but twice as nice.

This time next week it will be Christmas Eve and excitement will be running high, all the last minute jobs will be getting done and a few sherries will be sipped!!

Lucey xx

Advent Swap And Busy Needles

Well hello Jack Frost!!

You've certainly been out and about last night with your long fingers, turning everything in sight, white,  cold and frosty while I'm all cosied up indoors opening more lovely advent gifts.

Day 10's were mother of pearl buttons and some gorgeous green ones on their original card,

next were sticky notes, a bit of CK yumminess,

a gorgeous "holiday cheer" garland that's now up the stairs, I'll take a pic when the day is a bit brighter,

and today's gift is a bangle covered in pretty fabric and tied with a bow, such a lovely idea.

"Clickety clack" the needles have been busy lately,

this purple and cream scarf with reindeer's and snowflakes on is for my uncle,

I've also got him a little "tipple" so he'll be warm both inside and out!!

And this one is for me when I''m out riding "Poppins"

I haven't made pom poms for years and had to look on the internet to remind myself....doh!!

You can just see the cushion covers I run up from a "log effect" fabric I got from IKEA, 

and there was just enough left over to make a tablecloth.

"very rustic" me thinks!!

Lucey x

AdventSwap

Hello girls,

My "bloggy" friend Mandy  (Daisy Moon Blogspot)  and I decided to do an advent swap and my beautifully wrapped

 "brown paper packages tied up with string" 

arrived in plenty of time for Dec 1st.

When  I opened day 1 I found this beautiful advent calender inside,

it's now hung up with little chocolate santas and coins in it's pockets.

These are days 2 to 8's presents, I did mean to take a pic of them daily but didn't!! 

Some lovely xmas fabric, lots of jingly bells, some EB hankies, and fabulous covered CK buttons,

and today, some lovely red spotty jam pot covers and tags, 

this is so much fun thanks Mandy.

Well that's week one over of the "dreaded moon boot"!!

I'm so glad I started Christmas shopping back in October getting things when I saw them, buying cards and gift wrap and organising food as now I can only go out if someone ferries me about as I can only stand for a short time.

Briefly what happened was, back in June while on holiday you may remember we went parascending and I landed on my bum, as I got up my right foot ever so slightly slipped and I thought nothing of it until the next day it was a bit sore.

Back home I was in so much pain in  the Achileas tendon that I went to the hospital where I was told to take paracetamol and ibrupen.

A couple of visits to the Drs followed and 6 sessions of physio, then at the 6 week check up I told the "very young physio"that  I was in so much pain and the tendon  was so swollen and she said "well it's just age and wear and tear" so I said "can't I have any more physio on it" and she replied "it wouldn't do any good"!!

So I asked if I just had to put up with it and she said "I'm afraid so"!!

 Then she said I could get a scan and a steroid injection if I wanted,  to ease the pain but I'd have to go on the waiting list of about 6 weeks.

I wasn't happy at waiting so long  so off she went to get the senior physio to have a look and she managed to get me an appointment for the scan in just 4 days....amazing eh?

After the scan the Dr said it was the worst injury to the Achilles tendon he's ever seen and it was so inflamed and he showed me the scan and it  was bright red and orange just like a flame.

2 days later I saw the orthopaedic surgeon who gave me the steroid injection, and I can't begin to tell you how much that hurt, and said I was to wear the "moon boot" for 6 weeks(in the old days it would have been a plaster pot and crutches) and rest the tendon as in this bad rainy weather if I was to slip over the tendon was now so bad it's ready to snap!!!

I don't like to cause a fuss but I'm not happy that I had to wait 5 months for a scan when I think the hospital should have x rayed it back at the beginning of July.

Anyway rant over, I'll show you what I've been up to while "sitting on my bum" next time!

Lucey xx

When I Met Julie Arkell

So I'm still in London and it's finally Sunday, the day I get to meet the wonderful lady herself....JULIE ARKELL.

(As this is an extra long post you might want to make a cuppa lol!!)

As we weren't meeting Julie until noon we had plenty of time to go to Columbia Road where there's a flower market on every Sunday morning and all the shops are open.

My favourite shop belongs to Jessie Chorley and it's filled with all the lovely things that Jessie makes,

the walls are full of hand made pictures,

and "frames" holding brooches.

Jessie displays her gift wrap in old prams,

and candles in tea cups,

I loved this old sampler with it's bow.

Jessie also has a selection of vintage clothing that she stitches patches of fabric, buttons and bows onto (not sure if this is called "upcycling" or "recycling"??)

Shall I show you what I bought at the end 'cose I know you all want me to get to the "meeting Julie bit!!"

As time was marching on we decided to get a taxi to Julie's studio but can you believe it the taxi driver got lost not once but twice, the poor chap was beside himself and insisted we got the ride free for messing us about ( I did give him a generous tip, the poor mite.) 

We arrived at Julie's studio to be greeted by these little creatures above the door,

and after a rat- a - tat- tat on the door knocker we were  met by the lovely Julie who showed us into her studio, if any of you have Julie's book some of the pictures were taken in the very studio that I was now standing in!!

Julie kindly let me take a "snap" of her.

Julie chattered away while I stood there with my mouth open, looking, touching and feeling all the lovely things that Julie had got out for me.

 Finally it was decision time.

I chose two lovely rabbit brooches

"no tea" is the lady rabbit who I've named Bella

and "a lost folk" is Bertie her young man,

both are now whisked off to santa!!

I shall proudly show you them both on Christmas morning.

So what else did I buy???

Two old Hovis tins, one I've put some silver baubles in and the other holds a candle,

a cream bell with merry christmas on, two big clock faces and a few little trees,

patterns for gloves and a hat knitted in alpaca wool

an extra large lantern that was reduced from £100 to £5  because it had a piece of glass missing, what a bargain!!

Did anyone see Kirsty last night? She was shopping in Columbia Road for flowers for the wedding and she popped into a shop where there was a lovely Irish Lady, well that's the very shop that I got these little ruby red decorations that  I've put in the glass jar.

I just had to have these three wooden pigs with their curly tails, I'll have to call in the charity shops to see if I can get the three little pigs ladybird book to go with them.

Gorgeous  "mice" buttons, I do love "mices" especially at Christmas time,

and finally, two brooches,

well you know how much I love a brooch and these were only £2 each.

We also got some food, flowers and a few Christmas presents, we were like a couple of cart horses on the train on the way home good job I'd taken an empty holdall with us!!

Lucey xx

London And An Accident!

Last weekend was spent in London, one of our favourite places.

We got the train on Friday morning and after dropping the bags off we headed to Covent  Garden where there's a very nice vintage shop called 

"The Vintage Showroom"

that we had a browse around,

the tree in the square was  impressive with it's hundreds of red baubles hanging from the branches,

and I loved the advent houses in Fred Perry's window, only a few more days and we'll all be opening door No 1, 

the house with the blue plaque is where he used to live.

On Saturday morning we were bright and early as we had a date with a "Pashley" bike!!

I'd read about "Tally Ho! cycle tours" around central London in Homes and Antiques magazine so I booked us on it and it was the highlight of the weekend.

Jack Harris, our guide kept us amused with his knowledge and stories, did you know  the story goes that the "nose" half way up the wall at Admiralty Arch is Napoleon's and if you rub it as you pass by on horseback it's supposed to bring you good luck?

We rode along some of the streets at the back of Westminster Cathedral where this house still had the signs painted on the wall pointing to the air raid shelter in the cellar.

If you have a couple of hours to spare I'd highly recommend a  "Tally Ho!" cycle tour on a wonderful Pashley cycle meandering around London and stopping off for a "wee dram" in one of the little pubs tucked away off the beaten track!!

In the afternoon we went to Camden Market, a lovely bustling little place full of street traders selling their wares and it's also where the lovely "Loop" shop is, I got some tiny  wooden mice buttons and a pattern for some gloves.

As it started to get dark we saw the Mayor and Brooke Kinsella (of Eastenders fame )walking along so we followed the crowd and it turns out they were there to switch on the lights in Islington.

After a quick change of clothes and a hearty "pie and mash" we headed over to Hyde Park for the "Winter Wonderland" that's held there each year, I'd got us tickets to go in the Magical ice kingdom that was full of ice sculptures.

It had taken 20 ice sculptures 4 months to carve them all.

WOW.....

brrrrrr it was chilly in there!!

I think I'd better make this into two parts before I bore you to tears but before I go when I said I wanted new boots this winter this wasn't quite what I had in mind!!

Back soon,

Lucey xx