29 May 2007

Email Problems ...

... Just a quick post to let you know I AM receiving emails but my replies are going to tiscali and no further. Apparently a lot of people are having the same problem and eventually you will be inundated with my replies! So, if you have emailed me and think I'm ignoring you ... I'm not, honest! But it IS incredibly annoying!

Normal service will be resumed ... hopefully!

Quick update from the Fracture Clinic - the sling thing is OFF and physio starts on Friday. New bone is growing and the X-ray looked good. Mum's delighted, as you can imagine.

Sxx

26 May 2007

Photos ... and Another Busy Week

I don't have any more wedding photos to show you, but so many of you have so kindly asked to see more, so please feel free to browse on the photographer's website (this link takes you straight to H&R's photos) where you can look at as many as you wish! For those with a strong constitution there are about 400, but for those of a lesser disposition, fear not. You can scroll down the screen quickly and see 30 thumbnails per screen, simply clicking on any you wish to look at more closely. There are one or two that I'd really love you to see as the whole day is epitomised in the expressions on the faces, but until we make our final choices I can only direct you to the website: www.lovegrovephotography.com (click on Weddings and Hannah and Rob's day is currently at the top of the page).

The weeks are rolling by so quickly, and I don't seem to be achieving much at all. I'm still waving goodbye to P about 11.00pm with my little overnight bag (does anyone remember the television series "My Wife Next Door" from the late 1970s with Hannah Gordon and John Alderton?) and returning once I've got Mum dressed and downstairs in the mornings. It's been another hectic week - last Saturday was spent at Semley Auctions, I don't remember what happened on Sunday, but I used a lot of electricity on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, washing and ironing the linen purchased at the auction. Thursday saw me back at Dairy House (and the start of the marathon painting session to cover up the blue), Friday I viewed a chattels auction, and today didn't start all that well, and then I went shopping ...

To Bath, first of all, to the Cath Kidston shop to get Hannah's birthday prezzie from Mum. But on the way I decided not to adhere to the 40mph speed limit along one stretch of road and guess what ... yep ... mobile speed camera thingy! And my last offence doesn't get wiped off my licence until August! We get a lot of the camera-out-of-the-back-of-the-van speed checks in Somerset, especially on the A303, so I'm always careful, but this wasn't on the A303, and was in a spot I've never seen one before, and I had other things on my mind! Serves me right, of course, but it made me very annoyed with myself, hence some additional shopping in CK's. Whilst in Bath I also shopped in the Bartlett Street Antiques Centre (woops!). Then I moved on to Bradford-on-Avon to the monthly Antiques Fair/Flea Market. I used to stand here every month for a couple of years, but stopped when we moved house last July. However ... the time has come to rebook, and I shall be attending the next Fair on 30 June. I bought a few items which I can thankfully call 'stock' and won't need to keep (I'll endeavour to take a few photos over the next day or two).

Tomorrow should have been Han's annual birthday BBQ but because of the major threat of rain they've decided to postpone it until Rob's birthday at the end of June, so I actually have a 'free' day. Maybe I'll be able to sort the piles of stock currently in the sitting room. Or shall I iron the freshly washed linens, or wash more (there are plenty of tablecloths, sheets, traycloths etc still to do)? Bank Holiday Monday should see P and me wielding paintbrushes, rollers etc in an attempt to finally lose the blue paint at the Dairy House. Tuesday is Bath again, to the Fracture Clinic with Mum. Han will be coming over to collect her gifts after work on Tuesday evening, and on Wednesday a friend is coming to lunch. I haven't seen her since well before we moved, so we have a considerable amount of catching up to do. And then it'll be Thursday and Dairy House again. And probably more painting (it's a large room!) and rearranging everything.

I realise the clock is ticking and it's time I left home again for another night. Do let me know if you view the photos. I'd love you to see the cheese tower (in lieu of a cake) with the little mice on top, the shepherd's hut where they stayed that night, the jar of wiggly worm sweets and the flying saucers with large "Eat Me" labels and all the other little touches that H put together in her inimitable fashion. Did I mention I was a proud mum?!!!

Till the next time ...

22 May 2007

Corners of My Garden

I've just been out to photograph a few flowers - I should have done it an hour or so earlier as the flash has distorted the colours slightly. However, I hope you'll excuse the error and share in my enjoyment.


The cup and saucer in the last photo are from a Paragon bone china coffee set I bought at auction at the weekend. The pot has been glued back together (badly) but is pretty, nonetheless, and the cream jug has several hairline cracks. Mum loves it, so she has the pot, jug and sugar bowl on display (the repairs don't really show), but the set of six cups and saucers (perfect) are for sale - £15 plus p&p.


Enjoy!




18 May 2007

Progress Report ...

Thank you everyone for your lovely comments re the wedding, and for your good wishes sent to Mum.



Han and Rob are now back at work and life is 'back to normal'. I don't have any more photos yet, but will post a couple official ones once I get them, or will point you to the appropriate place if they end up online.



Mum is progressing quite well. We went to the fracture clinic on Tuesday morning and the X-rays showed that the arm is shifting towards the right angle and they were quite happy with her progress. We have to go again in a couple of weeks and for a bone density test the week after. Being the 'mind over matter' person that she is, she thought she no longer needed painkillers. Wrong! She wasn't very comfortable last night so has returned to 4-hourly doses.



I'm still sleeping there, just in case, but I'm so tired that I don't hear if she gets up in the night!! Oh for a week of sleep! I did the Shepton 3-day Fair last weekend and it's always bad enough getting me up and dressed at crack of dawn. Getting Mum dressed as well, so she could be downstairs for the day, and still leave by 7.00 am one morning tested my abilities! Still, it was a brilliant weekend. I promise I didn't do a raindance, but the rain was torrential nevertheless, and I had my second-best ever Fair which was great.



Here are a couple of photos so this post isn't totally devoid of piccies. The paler eiderdown is one of a pair of singles I purchased recently. They are on display at Dairy House Antiques but should any bloggers be interested, they are priced at £95 for the pair (plus p&p). As far as I can tell they are in near-perfect condition. The other one is a gorgeous satinised cotton, heavyweight single, priced at £55 (plus p&p). Condition is again excellent, apart from a water stain which I'll gladly photograph if anyone is interested.



I hope to be blogging more regularly again soon, but I'm sure you'll appreciate I haven't too much spare time at the moment! Have a jolly weekend, everyone!

Edit
I've been meaning to post the website for Suzie Albu's fantastic catering. Her company is called "Feast" and you can find her here or on my sidebar. And Hannah's friend Jo produced some wonderful flowers for us - find her here and on the sidebar.

09 May 2007

A Day to Remember - Part III



A couple more for you!

The first one is outside the Church. I'm not sure what everyone is looking at/laughing at as I'm looking very serious behind my mafia specs and obviously not connecting with what's going on! But H&R just look so happy ...

The second photo shows the top table. I think I mentioned the gingham runner down the centre of the table a few posts ago. There were 2 to each table, who didn't know until they got there that they had been nominated. My uncle is the nearest one and Rob's dad is the one in the distance. At their place settings were a striped apron and chef's hat, together with a card stating that they were specially chosen to carve the beef for the 12 people closest to them. Everyone joined in as Han hoped, and it all worked perfectly.


07 May 2007

A Day to Remember - Part II



Before ...

Preparations in full swing ...



And after ... follows soon!


... flowers by Johanne Shippe (www.flowersbypassion.com)


A Day to Remember ...



... a fabulous day from start to finish. Sunshine, happy laughter and jollity - even in the church! Han couldn't wait for the 'you may kiss the bride' and the vicar had to point out that he hadn't finished yet.


This is our little family - petite in pink Gran (note the right arm), happy Han, tall Rob, matronly me and father of the bride, Pauley. So much to tell you but I'll bore you with it all over the next week or so as I rather have my hands full at the moment ...


Well done mother! No sooner had we got to the B&B we were staying in on Friday night than mum fell down a step and fractured the humeral head and the neck of the humerus of her right arm. ECP (Emergency Care Practitioner) Gavin turned up, took her to hospital and said you'll get to this wedding by hook or by crook. After 3½ hours at A&E we get back to the pub/B&B and all sit down to a meal, mum included. Suddenly, there she is in a dead faint bolt upright in her chair and back comes our favourite medic who did all required and insisted that she'd be at the wedding if it killed him. Next morning a dear friend managed to organise the hire of a wheelchair and so Gran went to the wedding. I'm so relieved she is next door. She's OK now she's on home territory, but I'm sleeping there and then popping in and out all day. (I've found a novel way to lose 4 more pounds in 48 hours!!!)


Disregarding that little hiccup, everything else was wonderful. The church (best vicar ever), the reception (superb food by Suzie Albu (more on her another day)), the flowers by Passion (Han's florist friend (another person I'll be promoting for ever more), the speeches (Pauley excelled himself and Rob's was amazing), and absolutely everything. Han organised the lot, so we can't take any credit, but you'll see some of what she did as I post more photos as I receive them.
I think it will be a case of a little and often if you can cope, as I know more and more photos will arrive by email and some are going to be such fun that I'd hate to overload you too soon.
Life will be back to normal this coming weekend though, as it's the May Shepton Antiques Fair and I will need to be there. Hubby will be on Gran duty for 3 days!
More soon ...


03 May 2007

Less than 40 hours ...

... Just to let you know that everything is hunkydory. I've spent the afternoon at the farm tying raffia and name tags onto napkins and generally being part of the preparations for Saturday. Han's dress is wonderful, I'm delighted with mine after a totally unnecessary anxious moment or two, the father of the bride has prepared his speech, and the groom was still smiling at 6 o'clock this evening. Apparently the weather is set fair, and all seems well with the world.


In case you would like to share the day with us, here is the Church


and here's the Reception


I took plenty of photos of the preparations today, but can't really post those until after the event! Pop back sometime next week for a few wedding photos!