Christmas Came and Went (Part 2) ...

... The "Christmas Came and Went" post I did earlier was lengthy, amusing (at least I thought so), and was to give you an insight into the frenetic few days before Christmas and the calmer post-Christmas relaxation. But no, Blogger knew best and deleted it. Actually, it was my fault and I should have known better ... but thereby hangs another tale.

Anyway, the briefer version follows:

Friday: brought tree in its bright red pot in from the garden (too small for these high ceilings as it was bought for the festivities in our old cottage last year) looking half dead from 12 months' neglect. Decided it should go in the hall. Decorated it to within an inch of its life at about 1.00am - mutton dressed as lamb methinks! Faffed around with some decorations on the mantlepiece to make the sitting room look a bit festive at approx 2.00am.

Saturday: did the Father Christmas thing, collected turkey, got back 10 mins before Mum arrived, had lunch, did food shopping, had a stiff gin!

Christmas Eve: Moved decorated tree, lights and all to sitting room which meant the hall looked very unfestive. Day passed in a haze of going to the neighbours for coffee (Mum's new home to be) and wrapping parcels. After our evening meal I decided something had to be done with the hall, so down came the boxes of decorations once again and a couple of hours later I had achieved. Not the most artistic arrangements but they detract from the swirly patterned carpet that "came with the house" and the redundant coat hooks. Cards were bluetacked to the staircase and voila! Had another stiff gin!

Christmas Day: Turkey in, house looks festive, lots of parcels under the tree, Hannah arrived, had lunch (turkey cooked to perfection I might add), unwrapped prezzies (everyone was VERY lucky!). Look what Hannah gave Paul. She obviously knows how keen he is to get out on the veggie patch! Talked wedding plans and house moving.

Now there's a thought! The wedding! Only 4 months and 5 days to transform into a sylph-like mother-of-the-bride. Those of you who know me or have seen the dreadful photos on other blogs (no names mentioned!) will know that a slender m-o-b I won't be, but I can dream ... and starve myself!

(It was somewhere around here that I pressed a couple of wrong keys last time. I shall be extra careful from now on ...)

And thoughts of the wedding reminds me ... I need to tell you about my toe! My little toe on my right foot. The one that according to the nursery rhyme cried all the way home.

What have wedding plans got to do with my toe?

THIS ...

This is the link. This is where we're putting all our loose change for "The Wedding Fund". Luckily it was empty as I'd used it for the Remembrance Sunday window at the Antiques Centre and we hadn't started filling it again.

And it's what landed on my little toe about a fortnight ago. I caught it with my jacket and it fell off its perch. See that bottom front right corner? That pointy bit? THAT is what landed on my little toe, right where it joins my foot. Clare (Vintage Home) thinks I might have broken it (my toe, not the box). I think she might be right. The bruise has gone but I can only wear one pair of shoes comfortably, and it's quite painful if I stand on it too much and I've noticed I'm limping a bit. Not too keen on going up and down stairs either. Woops! I won't be including walking in my getting thin routine just yet.

Anyway, Christmas is over for another year and during the occasional resting my foot moment I've been planning the garden transformation. I won't be working from a completely blank canvas, but I have big plans. Roses, roses, more roses, clematis and herbs for starters. There's a greenhouse in Mum's new garden so I'm hoping I'll be allowed to use it. I do so miss the one I had 2 houses ago where I propagated and grew a gardenful of plants. When I can find the CD with the photos of that garden I'll show you some of my favourites.

I think this is probably enough for you to cope with today, so I'll leave you with the thought that there may be more tomorrow!

Christmas Came and Went ...

... and I've just typed a long post telling you all about it ... and just deleted it by mistake. And it had photos, too. I don't believe it. I'll try again later.

Nearly there ...

No photo because the house is nowhere near ready for the festivities yet ... there's still time! BUT ... the cards are posted and Mum's sale and purchase are going through (although 3 weeks later than anticipated), so relief all round.

In case I run out of time later I'll say HAPPY CHRISTMAS to you all now so you know I'm thinking of you. Thank you to those who have bought from me during the year, and thank you to all my new blog friends for your lovely comments over the last few months.

A Very Happy Christmas

and a Prosperous New Year

to one and all

Sue x

Christmas is coming ...

... and I've ordered the turkey! I've even bought a few prezzies and started to write the Christmas cards. But I started to write the cards back in November at the 3-day Shepton Antiques Fair on the quiet Sunday afternoon, and have ignored them ever since. So ... will they be posted before Christmas or after? I ask myself this every year, and somehow I seem to manage to pull out all the stops. As far as I know they usually arrive at their destination in time to wish the recipients a Happy Christmas.

This year I have to include our change of address, and also wanted to let people know that Mum's coming to live next door, but we're still waiting for exchange of contracts on her sale and a completion date, so I don't want to tempt fate. Consequently I can't possibly post any cards yet!

No Christmassy photos to hand, but I thought

you might like to see what we left behind when we moved. We had an uninterrupted view of some magnificent sunsets and this is just one of many that I have photographed.

The Fairs are finished now until mid-January so I have no excuse for not getting on with Christmas, although we're off to Northampton on Thursday afternoon to pack boxes ready for Mum's move. Perhaps I should be in panic mode, as it's suddenly occurred to me that I should be taking the prezzies for family and friends with us ... and I'm out all day tomorrow, Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning. Woops!

It's a good thing I work well under pressure ...

Sunday's Fair

I forgot to mention yesterday how the Fair went on Sunday! Not a good one, I'm afraid. The weather may well have put people off - torrential rain for much of the day. We didn't get off to a good start as the carpark at the rear of the Hotel where we were supposed to unload was waterlogged and we had to go 'the pretty way' along about a mile of farm track and approach the venue from a different angle. The muddy slope down to the patio doors was hair-raising with all our stock, but at least we managed to get everything in during a dry spell.

There were quite a few browsers, but we spent quite a time buying from one another! Consequently, low sales and high spending! I came home with a few Christmas gifts, and 3 eiderdowns and 4 bags to sell on.

Packing up to go home was even worse, as it was dark and the slope was even squelchier than in the morning. Two dealers set off and then returned while I was still loading up (I always take far too much) as they had taken a wrong turn off the rough track and ended up in a field. Four of us finally set off in convoy and found the main road - relief all round!!

Despite all that most of us knew one another, and any that didn't soon joined in the chatter. We all had a laugh and caught up with the gossip that we usually don't have time for. From a social point of view it was a lovely day, and I'm sure the charity will receive a good donation.

Downstairs Loo!

Remember a couple of months ago I said the old coal-hole was going to be transformed? Well, it's getting there. The loo and basin were put in soon after that post, but that's as far as it got as neither of us had any time to get it beyond the basics. But today I played!

As you can see, the walls aren't plastered and we decided not to have them done as it's narrow enough without giving up precious millimetres to plaster! So the brickwork has simply been painted white. I unpacked the box marked "bathroom bits" (not viewed since we moved in July), and found all sorts of goodies. My long-suffering husband finally put up the shelf and I began to fill it. He also put up a mirror but he'd had enough by then, so all the other bits and pieces which need to be fixed to the wall are piled on the shelves or left in the box (for the time being). Anyway, this is the start of making the coal-hole more user-friendly! I thought you might like to see how I utilise my precious free time when I finally have a day off!

Most items have a story to tell, apart from the shells, which I purchased recently from another dealer. Knowing my passion for beach-huts and seaside-related things, Hannah has given me most of the other bits and pieces. The tiny espadrilles were sent to me by Han's 'best friend' who lives in Australia. She saw them in a shop window and burst out laughing as they reminded her of the time we - she, her mum, her sister, Hannah and I - went to Palavas in the South of France for a fortnight. I'd bought some turquoise espadrilles on the beach one day and wore them constantly. One particular day we went to visit some friends in Marseilles and they took us for a walk. The Heavens opened and we got absolutely drenched. When we got back to our apartment my feet were turquoise and I spent the next 2 hours sitting on the loo with my feet in the bidet scrubbing them with a pan scourer. The girls thought it was hilarious and there's a photo somewhere to prove it!! It took about 3 days of sea, sand and showering to finally remove the colour! Twenty years later Emma saw these and thought of me! I bought a box frame, printed off a photo of the sea and shingle at Buddleigh Salterton, and framed them. Whenever I catch sight of them I'm transported back to 1984!

There's a little glass jar of shells from Han's holiday in Cuba a few years ago and a lighthouse. "The English at the Seaside" is a lovely vintage book with illustrations. This isn't the end result, more a work in progress! I still have to finish painting it out and need to find something for the floor. The door is currently a fairly bright green which doesn't really go with the seaside theme, and I still haven't painted the ceiling! But I have plans ...

Charity Antiques Fair - CLIC

Tomorrow, Sunday, I have a stand at a Charity Antiques Fair organised in aid of CLIC. There will be about 14 dealers and if anyone is in the vicinity of Warminster, Wiltshire tomorrow, then it would be good to see you.

The Fair is being held at Bishopstrow House Hotel, which is on the eastern outskirts of Warminster, on the B3414. The Fair is open from 10.00 am until 4.00 pm.

I'll let you know how I get on!

My Mum - a PS to yesterday's posting

This is the photo of Mum that I couldn't post last night. It was taken about 18 months ago. If you read the Memories post you'll be able to work out her age (and I know she looks years younger than me ...). I was hoping to edit the photo but couldn't for some reason. The two little boys are my cousin's twins.

I'm obviously never going to be able to post the photo of Hannah that I was hoping to show you. Each time I upload it the end result in a plain green box - no piccie.

Memories

At last - the very nice man at the computer shop has managed to get everything off my old deceased computer hard drive and I've now loaded 642 photos onto my new computer. I've had fun browsing through them this evening, and decided to add a couple of them to this posting. Niki (Nostalgia at the Stone House) posted some lovely shots of her former shop under the heading 'Memories' and suggested we should all find some memories to share.

Here are some of mine ...

The first is my paternal grandmother long before I knew her of course. What an upright Edwardian figure. By the time I was born she was quite rotund. At least I have the excuse that 'it's in the genes'!!


This is my Dad in the mid 1960s. I was just a few weeks pregnant when he died in 1973. I have wonderful memories of growing up and all the jolly times we shared ... Sunday mornings in the garage being shown how to use hammer and nails, screwdrivers, saws, paintbrushes etc; picnics in the country; learning to drive in my uncle's fields when I was 13; maths homework (how could a bank manager's daughter NOT understand basic arithmetic?). And trying to be quiet during the cricket scores at lunchtime (not easy). Life was always fun (apart from the homework) and I am only sad that my daughter never knew him, although he knew she was on the way.

She's 32 now and getting married next year. I've tried 4 times to load a couple of photos of her, circa 1976, but it looks as if they'll have to wait for another posting as I'm not having much luck. This one is 'early Christmas' 2004 and just a tad worrying. I'm glad to say she seems to have made a full recovery, which is quite a relief!

I took the stickers photo for Mum. She has just agreed a sale of her house and would very much like to take the doors with her. She used to look after Hannah while I was working and they "played stickers" for several years until one or other of them (not sure which) grew out of the sticker phase. There are even more stuck to the end of one of the kitchen wall cupboards. They've been there since the late 70s and it'll seem strange not to see them around any longer.

I hope you've enjoyed my little trip down memory lane. Part of the story may be sad, but the memories will always be there and all being well Mum is coming to live next door. She's nearly 86 (and would be very cross if she knew I'd told you!) and looking forward to moving the 150 miles to be near to us. She's fighting fit, thankfully, still goes into uncontrollable hysterical laughter at the slightest thing, and I think we're going to have fun. It'll be so nice to have her near after 18 years of being so far away. So, fingers crossed that nothing goes wrong with her sale or purchase and roll on the first week in January which is the anticipated completion date.

A Day at Home!

I can't believe it! I've actually stayed at home ALL day, and I think I might be able to manage to do it again on Friday!

I've had an achieving day of sorts. I've put a patch on a double eiderdown that has been folded up on top of the armoire for months; mended the small tear I created at Shepton in a small eiderdown (I caught it on my display shelves - woops!); darned another damaged eiderdown. Just how many damaged ones does a girl need? Luckily I have another dozen or so which are in excellent condition!

I washed and tumble dried another eiderdown which had been lurking in a bag in the storage unit we rented when we moved house in July. I'd forgotten it was there, and found it a couple of days ago when I was hunting for some warm jumpers. Because we have work to be done on the house we decided to continue renting the store so that we didn't cram the house with boxes of unnecessary items just for the sake of it. Far better to keep it all in the store until all the dusty work has been done and the new carpets fitted. Consequently, winter clothes are hiding somewhere and we're not sure where! Unfortunately the timescale for the works isn't quite what we had envisaged and we're still waiting for the builder to come and knock down the wall between the bathroom and loo. Meanwhile I'll continue to search for warmer clothes!

And finally, I ironed two Irish linen single sheets with beautiful cutwork borders. They'll be going with me to the Charity Fair on Sunday, and if they come home again they might just have to live with me for ever. If not, then they may come up on the website which might be ready in 2-3 weeks' time!

It doesn't sound as if I've done very much, but believe me it's 10.30 pm and I've no idea where the day has gone. A few business phone calls, a long call to my Mum regarding her impending house move, and a visit from another dealer used up another couple of hours. I'm sure that leaves 4 or 5 hours unaccounted for, but not to worry.

Still no photos I'm afraid. The new computer is up and running but we don't know where to look for the CD relating to the camera and consequently I can't upload any photos for the time being. I'm sure when we packed everything from the office when we moved it was put in a safe place ... maybe it's hiding behind the eiderdown bag in the storage unit!

I am not stressed ...
I am not stressed ...
I am keeping calm ... !!

Shepton Showers!

Well, it rained again on Friday when everyone was setting up for the 3-day Shepton Antiques Fair. There were some wet pitches and stallholders once again but, despite the wind and rain, most of Friday's buyers were in a cheerful frame of mind.

It was good to see Clare and Mike and Kelly and Paul - and quite amazing how Clare and Kelly managed to arrive at my stand within minutes of one another. Hopefully they'll be pleased with their purchases!

I was sad to hear that it was Niki's last Shepton Fair for a while, but hopefully she'll still come along and find some bargains, even if she's not there in an 'official capacity'. If you are a regular visitor to her blog you'll have seen the lovely angels she made. I was delighted to find she still had a few left when I went to her pitch on Friday, and I bought two - and one of them is wearing a skirt made from some fabric Niki purchased from me at the Giant Flea Market a few months ago!

I'm afraid there are no photos to show you this time as my old computer died last week - totally - with no hope of reviving it. Consequently I've had to replace it and as yet haven't loaded the camera software on this new machine. However, there is hopefully 'joy in anticipation' and I'll endeavour to post some soon.

The website idea is taking shape and I have commandeered someone to try and sort my ideas into some semblance of order. Meanwhile I'll continue selling at the Fairs and in the two Antiques Centres where I rent space. Next weekend there is a small Charity Antiques Fair at Bishopstrow House Hotel in Warminster. I'm one of about 14 dealers taking part. Let's hope for good weather and a good turnout to help boost the funds of CLIC.

Where has the last month gone?

I have been suitably reprimanded by cityfarmer! Apologies for staying away so long but I seem to have lost October!!

There are so many items to photograph - especially quilts and eiderdowns - but finding the time when the light has been good enough has been a difficult, and I've been travelling up and down to Northamptonshire several weekends running for various family occasions which has meant I've had no time to bring you up to date with all that's been going on.

Just to keep you going, this is a wonderful pair of quilts (not eiderdowns) with what I assume is a cotton batting filling. They are large, heavy single size and are quite possibly Danish. The colours are rich, with no fading that I've seen so far.

With luck I'll have some time before the next Shepton Fair to add a few more photos, and I'm also planning to set up a website for sales, although this may not happen until the new year.

Enjoy!

More Photos of Shepton ...

These are the two that I couldn't add to the other post:

Shepton Mallet 3-day Antiques Fair

Well, what a day! I was so lucky to have unloaded the eiderdowns and quilts and got them under cover before the Heavens opened. There was THE most torrential downpour and unfortunately quite a few dealers were caught in it, and got absolutely drenched.

I heard on the grapevine that one of the buildings had a torrent of water running through it so I'm not sure how the poor people in there coped. It lasted for a couple of hours and then this afternoon we had beautiful sunshine, blue skies and plenty of happy smiling faces. I went to see Niki and whilst the water had drained away when I got there, she had had a lake in front of her pitch!

Up in the eaves of the building where I stand is a window and suddenly there was a blinding light - I thought someone had switched on a huge arc light - and I realised the sun was shining through, right down onto my gleaming copper moulds and pans. Hopefully you can see in the photo.

I've taken a few photos of my stand - some of it looks a bit jumbled, but I was still in the process of setting up when I took them. I hope you like what you see! A couple of eiderdowns have sold today, along with some 19th century tapestry pieces, jelly moulds and the two Ruskin buttons I mentioned in my previous post!


What do you think of the blue vintage state of the art bucket? The original label states that it is an "Email" Toilet, Première!!

I uploaded 2 more photos but they seem to have vanished. Whether they'll appear when I publish the post remains to be seen - one is of a set of drawers full of lace, buttons etc and the other is the eiderdowns, quilts etc.

It's an early start tomorrow - I think the gates open to the public at 8.00 am. I know I need to be there at 7.30 ...

Goldfinches Galore

What's the highest number of goldfinches you've seen at any one time? Two homes ago a pair nested nearby and brought their young into our garden to feed. I think the total was 5 including the parents.

I grew some teazels especially for them, having read that they were attracted to the seedheads. Whilst we had none in our last garden, a number flocked to the teazels in the field immediately behind us and we saw probably 5 or 6 at any one time, often 3 to a teazel.

Within a couple of days of moving to our new home I noticed a couple of goldfinches on the telegraph wires crossing our garden and our neighbour's. As the weeks have progressed the numbers have increased. They are a delight to watch as they fly jerkily from tree to tree, or wire to wire. They've hopped along the well-manicured boundary hedge, and up and down the drive, but today I realised that our telegraph wires must be where all Somerton's goldfinches flock to. I counted TWENTY-TWO - and one pigeon (who has his own spot right by the post, and woe betide any other bird who tries to pinch pole position). I've taken a photo but you will just have to take my word for it that the blobs are goldfinches and that there were actually 22 just before I raised my camera! Don't try to find the pigeon. He reappeared just after I took the piccie.

A few more ...

These are the eiderdowns currently on display in my unit at the Antiques Centre - there are a few more piled up on the spare bed at home. I'm busy packing everything for Shepton, so a number of them will be piled into the car tomorrow, along with the jelly moulds, French and Irish linen sheets, tablecloths, huckaback towels, vintage French and English fabric pieces, some handstitched quilts (French and Welsh), buttons (including 2 Ruskin and 2 attributed to Ruskin), ribbon, crochet edgings, braid and anything else I can get in.

Oh what fun! One day I really will get a quart into a pint pot!!

Just a brief update on the coal-hole-soon-to-be-a-loo. Not a pretty sight, but here's a 'before' although we had cleared the coal, hoovered up the coal dust and painted the block wall with oil-based paint to stop any coal dust seeping through before I took the photo.

The walls will need several more coats yet, but the plumber has been busy today and has drilled holes through walls for waste pipes, soil pipes, water pipes and endless other pipes, and so progress has been made. The new loo and basin are sitting in the utility room beside the double Belfast sink (hidden in a box so I haven't seen it yet!), and with luck they could be in their rightful places by the end of the week. Perhaps I'll come home from Shepton on Friday evening to find everything in working order. But there again ... maybe that's just a tad optimistic!

What a lovely pair ...

... of eiderdowns! This is a pair of singles which I left a bid on at a chattels auction last week. I was told about them by a friend but didn't get a chance to view. I was guided by the auctioneer, who knows what I like to buy, but when I collected them today I found several small holes or tears on the plain reverse side of each. Consequently they will need repairing, and definitely need washing, before I can offer them for sale, so sadly I won't be taking them to Shepton this weekend. It just goes to show that you should be really sure before you bid. These were a gamble, and not one of my best buys I'm afraid, pretty thought they are.

No photo to show you, but I bought another good jelly mould today. This is a small one (about 4" long and 2½-3" deep) depicting a cob of sweetcorn. It's a 19th century one and looks to be in near perfect condition. After missing out on the copper ones at the weekend I'm happy that I've now acquired one or two more unusual ones.

More Sketches

I promised a few more photos from the sketch book I bought yesterday - and here they are! Enjoy ...

Car Boots and Auctions

The car boot last Sunday was sooo warm and my pitch was facing the sun. It was a rather smart venue, as you will be able to tell from photos posted by both Niki (Nostalgia at the Stone House) and Kelly (Vintage Lifestyle). It was great to meet Kelly (I already know Niki) and I look forward to seeing them both at Shepton next weekend.

I managed to get a quick look at the other booters' wares and found this lovely hen and chicks jelly mould. It wasn't easy to get the light right, so you may not be able to see the pattern too clearly. Those of you who visit Shepton will know that I always have plenty of moulds on display, and I'm hoping someone will come along and fall in love with this one! I also bought some super fine linen sheets - one has a laundry mark for 1833 and is perfect!

Today I attended an auction hoping to buy a superb Lot of a dozen or more copper moulds. I'm afraid the price went too high for my pocket this week (but well worth the final price), and I also lost out on some wonderful Victorian wooden grain measures.

However, not one to go home empty handed I bid on three textile Lots and won two. There are a couple of linen pillowcases, a couple of early tablecloths, huckaback handtowels, a Victorian paisley shawl (some damage but still worth having), numerous 'interesting' textile pieces, and among other things an early 20th Century unbacked patchwork piece. I haven't measured it yet, but at a guess it's probably about 4ft x 5ft. The pieces of paper are still tacked in and they look to be from books, official letters and handwritten notes. One Lot came in an old suitcase which had seen better days, but the other Lot was contained in a small tin trunk. These goodies will be going to Shepton, along with the book on Patchwork that I found in the bottom of the trunk.

I also did a deal afterwards on an Autographs and Sketches book which didn't sell. I've taken photos of the watercolours and drawings and thought you might like to see a few. Unfortunately it would seem I'm only going to get to upload one photo for the time being! Anyway, all the paintings and drawings are signed, and are dated between 1902 and 1910. Can you imagine anyone producing such lovely work in a friend's album in 2002 or 2010? I'll try and post more pictures later.

I'll also endeavour to take a photo of the patchwork, but I think most of this evening is going to be taken up ironing last week's linen sheet collection which I've just brought in off the clothes line, and sorting today's pieces to see which need laundering and whether they can go in the washing machine or whether they would be better in the pot which is almost permanently bubbling away on top of the hob!

As if all that wasn't enough, tomorrow I have to go and collect the remainder of the kitchenalia bulk purchase from a couple of weeks ago. Never a dull moment!!

Oh, and just to update you on our new home ... we've had a builder in churning up the floor and the drive to put in the pipework for our new downstairs loo and utility room. Plenty of concrete dust everywhere but the end result will be worth it. The order is in for a double Belfast sink for the utility, which will make life so much easier. Our kitchen has looked like a Chinese laundry ever since we moved, and I can't wait to be able to hide it all away. Buying and selling antique linen is great, but can be quite time-consuming - it usually needs washing (at least once), and has a tendency to take over the whole house if you're not careful!

Yarlington 10.30 am to 2.30 pm

I'm sorry I didn't give you the times when I posted the information about tomorrow's car boot. Entry (£2 - remember it's for the Blind Association) is from 10.30 am until 2.30 pm.

If you decide to come then please say hello. I shall have a mixture of kitchenalia, fabrics, eiderdowns and a small amount of linen. There will be some flyers for the Antiques Centres so they should identify me if everything is sold!!

Yarlington House Car Boot Sale - Sunday 10 September

On Sunday I'm taking a pitch at the Yarlington House Charity Car Boot Sale organised by the Somerset Association for the Blind. All pitches have been pre-booked by invitation and I'm led to believe that there are likely to be some exciting items for sale from some quite important attics and cellars. So, if you have nothing else planned for Sunday ...

Hope to see you there!

Kitchenalia Corner

This is another corner of my room at Somerton. I collected another carload of kitchenalia yesterday, and have spent the day washing, logging and pricing it ready for an army of customers to march into the Centres to buy! I took a couple of photos, but had already unloaded the top layer. The bread bins are full of smaller items


And here is a selection of jelly moulds for those of you who aren't enamel fans!
Thank you to those who have posted comments so far. I've now managed to add Links - despite having typed and word-processed for more years than I care to admit I realise that I am no longer in control of the machine in front of me. It has a life of its own and the instructions might just as well be in a foreign language. But heyho, I have linked to both Niki's and Clare's blogs (I think!) - both of which I'm sure you already visit.

My first attempt ...

Well, I've managed to set up a Blog and have uploaded a photo of some recently acquired kitchenalia.

I think it's going to take me a while to get used to blogging, but bear with me and pop back again. It can only get better!

Wish me luck!