03 July 2009

Caroline Testout Revisited ... and The Cheese Room

Remember Caroline Testout? These are all my posts relating to the purchase of the tablecloth bearing her name and the follow-up information about her.


You may recall that I bought the rose from Peter Beales as a bare-rooted bush last autumn. Well, here she is in all her glory.







The perfume is very fresh, not a really heady, intense old-fashioned rose scent, but beautiful for all that. The individual flowers are incredibly heavy and droop down almost as soon as they begin to open, so catching one to photograph isn't easy. It could be that I haven't looked after her very well, and not fed her sufficiently (at all), resulting in her stems being rather less than sturdy. I have to say that she has had to fend for herself rather more than be nurtured, and so top marks to her. She obviously has a determined streak as we have been rewarded with several blooms, and she has also fought off an attack by this caterpillar. Pauley looked it up and told me what it was before seeing it off, but I'm afraid I've forgotten. It's yesterday's news and I have other thoughts occupying my mind at the moment.



And here, for your delectation, are a few "before" photos of what will become known as "The Cheese Room" at Dairy House. Work begins on Monday and with a lot of luck and a fair wind as they say, we hope to have it up and running in about a month's time. We're having a reallocation of space for a few dealers, and once we've sorted that I shall know what space I have available to rent out to new dealers. This new ground floor area is fully allocated, and there's quite a buzz of excitement as you can imagine. Hopefully everyone will be happy with the end result, but as you can see ... there's a fair way to go yet!! All it needs is a little vision ... and some elbow grease!















18 comments:

Sal said...

That's a very beautiful rose.
Looking forward to seeing the Cheese Room when it is transformed!
Have a great weekend ;-)

hens teeth said...

The Cheese Room looks wonderful and how exciting for all concerned. It looks like a great space and all that history too.

Niki Fretwell said...

Hi Sue,
Your Caroline Testout rose is a beauty - even with her fuzzy resident...

What a gorgeous addition The Cheese Room will be to DH - I love the old tiled floor...and up and running in a months time? Quick work! I'll be there for the grand opening! (Perhaps you could ask your favourite chap from 'Flog it' to open it!!! haha!)
Good luck with it all and don't get too stressed!
Excited is good...
Niki x

Redwoodhouse said...

Hi Sue, what a fabulous rose the colour is amazing. Sounds like exciting times for you I am off to catch up with your posts.
Jan

Country Cottage Chic said...

Pink roses are my favourite!

Congrats on the expansion & I'm looking forward to seeing it in its new glory!

Jayne

Sammy Girl said...

Miss Sue --
Can hardly wait to see the Cheese Room ... and please show us some "in progress" pics, too! Rest up for the work ahead ...
Over here we are having 4th of July celebrations all weekend, (today a holiday for many) and maybe a little thrifting thrown in for good measure!
Hugs -
Betty :)

Heloise said...

Beautiful rose. The Cheese Room looks like a great space to be developing. good luck with it all.

Cowboys and Custard Mercantile said...

What a wonderful space.. I particularly love that floor!
I am sure it won't be long before it is stuffed to the gunnels with your treasures..

Do show and tell when it is finished please..

Michele x

Rose&Bird said...

Hi Sue

How exciting! I've yet to make it to visit you at Dairy House, but I certainly will soon x

MarmaladeRose said...

Very exciting! Can't wait to see the cheese room finished. I bet you can't either!
Thank you for the kind comment about the embroidered bunny, it made me grin from ear to ear.

Shammickite said...

I hope you are going to post some "during" and "After" pics as well as the "Before". Very exciting to say the least, you are really making a go of the Dairy House. And I hope you are going to keep the name Cheese Room.... it seems so appropriate in a Dairy houise!

the homely year said...

What an interesting space...look forward to seeing what you do with it. Gorgeous rose too!
Margaret and Noreen

Fiona said...

The rose is gorgeous and I love the look of the new cheese room. That floor is fantastic. Thanks for your lovely comment. Sorry, I've been a very bad blogger and emailer of late. Dealing with something very difficult right now but I have my up and down days and today is an up. The sun is shining and I have my new Country Living. The interview went well so am waiting to hear about a second interview and I have the prospect of a possible long term temp role so suddenly after months of gloom, the job situation is looking a little better. So I hope to find a little more inspiration for the blog again very soon. Hope all goes well with work on the cheese room and look forward to seeing photos of the finished space.
Fiona x
ps. I thought of you while taking those sky photos. Knew I'd have at least one reader who would appreciate them.

Hannah said...

Hi there,

thanks for stopping by. My vintage blog is currently under construction which is why I've switched it to invite only but it'll be back online very shortly!

Hannah

Annie said...

Hi Sue, I think your premises look wonderful it would be my dream to have a business like yours. Many thanks for your comment on my blog. What a coincidence that you recognised St Matthews. I live on The Drive near the church so very close to Park Ave. I will look forward to coming to say hello to you at the V&H fair in Nov. I regularly look at your blog and website and will be adding it to my favourites.
Kind Regards Ann

Annie said...

Hi Sue, that's amazing I moved to Northampton 22 years ago to do my English and History degree at Nene college. I ended up staying and we bought our first house on Cedar Rd just before our daughter was born. I ended up working for the county council , qualifying as a social worker and now I still work for NCC as a Service Manager in Adult Social Services. My hobby is collecting, buying and selling vintage items and the numerous charity shops on Kingsley Park Terrace are some of my favourite haunts. My dream would be to give it all up and move to Devon or Cornwall and do something like you. We have had lots of wonderful holidays down in Combe Martin in a cottage owned by a relative and I just love the coast in north Devon. Maybe one day once my daughter has finished school and has gone off to university we might think again. Our house is on the corner of Oakwood Rd and The Drive, it is one of the 1920s semis and luckily still has a lot of the original features including windows and stained glass. My mother in law lives nearby on the Kettering Rd not far from the roundabout at the top of PAN.
Northampton has changed a lot in the time I have lived here with lots of new housing developments and a rapidly growing population.
Ann x

Linda said...

Well done Sue and goodluck Ticky has been reading my blog so expect she has found your too I must ask her.
I am really excited for you , let me know if there is anything I can do xxLindy

Duchess of Tea said...

Can't wait for the end results. I wanted you to know, I placed a link to your blog on my beau-TEA-ful friends page.
Duchess xx