Do you qualify?

Now I need to know at what age does one qualify as a grumpy old woman.....50/60/70.....hmmmmm!

Do you at times find yourself.

Telling speeding motorists to slow down.

Retort back when knowone thanks you for holding the door open.

Started saying "well in my day".

Want to spend more time at home than in company.

Shop first thing in the morning at supermarket as cannot stand being among crowds.

Shout at the television. hehe!

Mouth at motorists "thats illegal" when driving using a mobile phone.

Get annoyed when motorists don't signal their intentions.

Sound familiar....so how many do you answer yes to...me ALL OF THEM........TA.DAAAAAA... so then officially I'm now a grumpy old woman.....but hey hang on old at 54!!!!.....hmmm! I think I prefer to see myself as a red wine.....ripe/mellow with a slow warm taste....no acidity....something that gets better with age but with the occasional BITE. . x

Love is...buying some pretty glassware...and knitting hubby a pair of socks

Oh don't you just lurve these two little pretties.....the marbled effects are so nice and as for the fluted rim.

My hubby thinks the orange/red one would have sat on a dressing table with one of those powder puffs in it.....me I think for now it looks pretty on my dresser and I may use it to put jam in at times.

and then of course...when one knits...one has to knit the occasional pair of socks for hubby...he keeps asking "when am I going to get a jumper"......hmmmm!!! can you see the pigs flying hehe. ...seriously though I don't know whether I would have the patience but we shall see. Anyway these are knitted in Regia Design Kaffe Facett colours...and I'm chuffed as the stripes match. ....nothing like wool socks...keeps those tootsies warm.

My own thoughts provoked after reading Bargain Hunting at Lauries posting

I have been reading this....http://bargainhuntingwithlaurie.blogspot.com/.....and thought it a very interesting read and made me wonder about my own house and style and the reasons why we feel we have to feather our nests. Styles I suppose are a very subjective thing and what draws our eye to one style and not to another....what makes one comfortable with minimalist and yet another person run a mile from it. I have also noticed that younger homemakers (late 20's/30s) are very much into vintage with all the pale pinks and pale blues and beautiful rosy patterns....but the problem being as much as I love them...I've been there done that. Maybe that is it.....actually have been there, done that......I've done the geometrics in the 70's with the thick pottery coffeee cups....I've done the dralon corner sofas...done the yorkstone fireplaces......done the burgundy carpets with fleur delise pattern on them...done the mahogany furniture.......done the vintage look where I had to have roses everywhere....done the swags and tails for curtains....done and made the festooned blinds.....done the constant going round the antique shops and flea markets...done the minimalist decor...which I must say was my least favourite. I know I just went out and brought vases and plonked a flower in it and have nothing around that said anything at all about me/my life/our family. Well going back to my bit about flea markets and the such...don't get me wrong I still love doing it but I am more restrained now.....in fact I did have so much that there wasn't a shelf that wasn't full...but for more funnily enough it started to make me cross and cause stress. I know this might sound strange, I just wondered why I was collecting so much paraphenalia which albeit was nice but really I just didn't need. In the end it was in boxes in the loft and strangely decided to have a clear out...I kept a few of my favourites and the rest went. It was very uplifting having this sort out, this stuff stuck in boxes and for what...to get out occasionally and look at and go "Oh yes...I've got that and that and that. Nowadays I much prefer to have things that mean something to me...O.k it may be a jug or piece of glasswear/pottery....but I can relate as to when/where/why I purchased it....or something bought as a present. I also find that my house like others is now a mixture of styles.....my new breakfast room is now my favourite room in the house, as it is so comfy cosy and I don't have to bother much with it, it seems to look after itself, it welcomes me. Whereas my dining room is for dining.....you could no more sit there and have your breakfast than do a puzzle in it. Its a room that really isn't needed much knowadays....surplus to requirements one could say. But could I be without it hmmm! I think the jurys out on that one...otherwise where would I use by beautiful Villeroy & Boch dinner service, it certainly wouldn't look right in the brekkyroom. Then theres my lounge....which is my 2nd favourite room...this is the room in the heading photo.....I love my Tetrad sofas, you just sink and flop into them....this room I would prefer to have made more casual looking but again...funnily enough...the room dictates the style....and also I suppose the coffee table...I could I suppose change the coffee table to a more unvarnished pine one and the carpet more country...but then my curtains wouldn't look right. But strange to relate this room lends itself to smart and tidy and also cosy and lived in (hehehe!!! you just don't plump out the feather cushions) and just leave magazines laying open and my knitting around and my hubbys kit woodmaking project on the table.....simple... sorted.

I have a lovely friend called Teresa (same as me) who has a gorgeous flintstone cottage........she has plain pine furniture...rattan dining chairs....baskets with her wool ect in......dried country flowers....lots of different material patterned cushions on her sofas.....a beautiful open fire with a very sweet mantel. She has her art work done in watercolours and pastels over her walls and the whole place looks wonderful. I have my watercolours and pastels but they just don't look right being out...so they are kept in a folder. Her work is lovely. She thinks her home style looks shabby....I tell her "No" its warm/homely/inviting and lived in... her dresser is full of Portmerion china....and strange to say its the sort of look I love and would love to emulate....but it just doesn't work in this house....so again I suppose we must go back to character of property. Our new was a new build in 1994.....and I changed it so quickly I couldn't stand the fact that I had the same kitchen or bathroom as every other neighbour (albeit different colourways)....I had along with hubby to put our own stamp on it and I feel we have done that. I feel this house has a character (well I hope I have managed to impart some in it). So I must thank Laurie for her posting and making me think.......I know now that my house is essentially my home.......sometimes I wonder that I am too houseproud.... but then again I am proud of my house..so???....there is a saying that I have seen... saying that "houseproud women are boring"......dull me...never....got too much chat and too many things I love doing..."now where's that duster". hehe. Cheerio for now....mex

My new breakfast room

Woo hoo...I am one happy bunny and pleased with my new breakfast room.
Found this Welcome sign and just adds a touch to one wall...and love the sentimental hanging plaque. I think I will collect some more of these and hang them alongside.


The table just needed a touch oif something...so what better than some artificial countryroad side like berries and such. The lovely vintage type ironwork tray was a snip for £6.00

So here is the room (albeit small) but its cosy and next to the kitchen so I tend to spend my time here during the day etc. As you can see my knitting awaits me on the sofa. The table pulls out from the wall and we can sit 6 and there is a centre leaf for even more....

aren't these just the nicest cushions? I purchased two for now to put on the chairs for the small of your back. Lovely embroidered mugs/cups and jugs.

Lastly my new fire all painted black...much better than than yeuck brass....and one sorrowful looking dog. Oh the two small plates you can see are Johnsons Friendly Village...I'm trying to source this pattern piece by piece at the moment, have a felling its going to take a little while even with ebay.

Oh the before pictures of this room are a couple of posts down titled "Yeuk dust"....all for now.x

Whats in the box?

Oh my goodness did I so fall in love with these mugs today. Even the box they came in is gorgeous and will be on display somewhere. I was browsing around the British Homes Stores...home store at Chichester in Sussex. This is a brilliant store, just everything for the home.....lots of vintage decor too. So I spied these mugs and they said "buy me...buy me"....well whats a girl to do eh! Next thing I was at the till and parting with the money. At present they are still in the box...Monday our new table and chairs come from Ikea, so the new breakfast room will be sorted out.

So chocolate drink anyone...mind you tea and coffee will also go into these. They are a good size, just right to wrap your hands around on these very cold days.

The backs are just as pretty as the front. In the box there was a bit of info about the designer...her name is Rosanna Bowles and she has been recognized as a leader in tabletop design. She was awarded Pretigious Gift of the Year award by the British Giftware association. Her products are designed in Seattle, Washington USA. This is the website if you fancy a looksee http://www.rosannainc.com/

There are lots of beautiful tableware there....there is a distributor for the U.K........so hopefully we could see more of her collections over here. As for me I quite like the teaplates that go with the set and Oh! of course the jug....maybe on my next visit.

Yet another knitted tea cosy.

I think I must be on a roll the last few days...yet another tea cosy. Well the real reason being I have lots of oddments of yarn around and thought I really must make an effort to do something with them. But actually at the same time, knitting these cosies has been lovely. This is done in double knitting Rowan and Sirdar. It is called Rosy Posy and is supposed to have twelve roses all together on the top...ah well I plumped for one.

Hubby had today off and we went to our local Ikea...I say local its generally about an hour and 15 mins or so. We have a good browse around and I purchased some cushion seats for my new ladderback chairs, which now won't arrive until Monday due to the inclement weather.

So there was I browsing at everything and lo 'n' behold what did I spy in Ikea............packs of crochet doilies (5 in a pack)....exsqueeze me!!!!!!! but did they not, if my memory serves me right produce an advert a few years ago extoling the virtues of "throwing out the chintz". Hmmmmm!!!

We got snow...well 4"....

How wonderful to wake up this morning to some beautiful serene glorious snow. Albeit it has brought most of the country to a standstill Me and hubby were talking about our childhoods when it really snowed....I mean 6' drifts, my Dad used to open the front door to face a huge bank of it, he used to clear a pathway and me and my two brothers would force our way through 3' deep pavements of the stuff. It used to stay around for weeks and refreeze and then the pavements would be thick with 4" of ice...oh those were the days hey? Mind you we did have local shops then in my childhood home. A local greengrocers, a grocers that sold a bit of everything and a sweet shop. So with these 3 stores if one was snowed in everything was catered for. Nowadays with more cars/traffic/people....out of town supermarkets, how things have changed....so 6-10" of the white stuff brings total chaos. But hubby is off work this week and we have just been for a walk locally with the snow biting into our cheeks, we stopped by the local church which looked so pretty and then the park where all the children were playing so nicely together, it did make us smile. Also the number of people actually walking, well I haven't seen it like that for ages.
It has been years since we have seen any serious amount of snow on the south coast of England....but I would imagine with our weather it will all have disappeared by the end of the week...but for now I and hubby will enjoy. x

PS....Out of interest if anyones also into cooking/baking....I started a blog with my attempts....actually its nice to have piccys to look back on...so if you enjoy this sort of thing...it can be found here...http://lovingmyrangecooker.blogspot.com/.....bye for now.