We're Off !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi all - just to tell you this am we got a phone call - the house at the bottom of the chain has been bought by first time buyers (who are renting) so we are off the starting line!!

Just had a break to watch Move Over Darling with Doris Day and now we are off upstairs to start sorting out - Whippeeeeeee.............................

A lot of work has been done already for our buyers and us and for our buyers buyers! So I dont think it will be that long in happening.

The last of the pics!!

Having problems with uploading pics so I am going now - hope you enjoy these so far - will put the rest on later in the week.

These samplers were done for us in 1991 when we married by my Mam and my friend Wendy

Hearts for the Bower Birds in Australia

Decided to carry on whilst Alan washes up!

My lovely glass handle on the shower room door and for Carol a tassle!!

Pics after Tea!!............

This is my printers tray full of lovely bits - lots of metal letters that Alan found in a skip - perfect!

For those who looked at earlier blog pics these are the wardrobes we recently completed in Kates room (see estate agents pics earlier)all in LA duck egg.

This is another little shelf unit - full of vintage again

This the top of the shelves - the faux vine goes round the top of the wall and actually looks good

These shelves are in the garden room as well as you can see I like chickens NB the bottom shelf

The shelf is in my garden room - I love chickens

This a shelf over my kitchen door NB the jugs Claire!!

The chintzy bits are on my windowsill in the bedroom

Some lovely vintage plates - the tiny table and chairs are bakelite and the little flowers are a lovely brooch and earrings from one of those oddments boxes for £2 the lot

My side with books, the alarm clock or we would never get up and you can't see the untidy pile of mags!

This is Alan's side of the bed with his tapes

Here are more 'round the house' pictures

Pics Galore!........................

Time for tea - will post some later in the meantime this is how my husband cleverly incorporated the meter cupboard into the dado and decor! We couldnt work out how to put the dado up the stairs when we did it and then we were watching Groundhog Day and there was the answer so we bunged a tape and waited for it to show again. Theproblem was actually on the opposite side to the cupboard but I havent taken it as it is boring!!

My landing is difficult to explain - we put stairs into a bungalow so the window that was normal in the bedroom downstairs is on the floor of the landing! so I decided to treat the wall as full length it does actuall work well when you see it!!

Lamp on the landing

Car boot bargain - lovely house tapestry

A very old sampler of mine - I love the words they are so true

Chintzy bits on my bedroom windowsill

Botanical pics for Carol to see!! -Laura Ashley calendar pics - used later as paper/fabric by LA

Barbola mirrors aforementioned bargains in another post earlier

Here goes with pics taken today

Flexi Heaven

I am at home today on flexi time that I have acquired so this is sheer heaven I am watching a homes programme on BBC and reading blogs - bliss. We viewed the other semi on Saturday and dont know why we didnt go for it in the first place. We have put an offer in this morning not quite full asking price so we will have to wait now to see what they say. Then we will back out of the other one - its six weeks today and we are no further with the purchase of it and six weeks down the route of selling this one.

Watch this space!

TGIF!!!

Hi there - I dont think many of us have blogged over the last few days - I have sneaked little looks in my lunch break and its been fairly quiet out there this week. This morning I got a letter for an interview for another job. Its a Ward Clerk in the Stroke Rehabilitation Centre in our local hospital. Actually its based in very old building called the Rutson or it was when I applied for the job - a couple of days later the newspaper announced that it would have to move into the main hospital because of work that was needed to the old building! Anyway I have an interview in couple of weeks time. Less money than I get now (so we need to carry on downsizing!!) but it sounds like a worthwhile place to be working and I think I might like it. I have been at the County Council for 8 years this month and it is not the place it was.... I could go on but I won't. We have arranged a viewing for my second favourite house tomorrow am as it wil be six weeks soon since the people who's house we wanted accepted our offer and they have told the solicitor not to release any papers or start proceddingings yet till they find somewhere. So in the meantime we have merrily going along selling ours. We are convinced they will pull out so we are looking elsewhere - I arent as bothered as I thought I would be about walking away from it. My daughter resigned from her job at the County Council with our blessing yesterday. She is floating she is so pleased she has done it. She is going temping whilst she finds something else. She works very hard in her job and I envy her being able to walk - Yes I know its not sensible but she is too young to be unhappy in her job - she has been there 5 years and has given her best - she is very confident and I dont htink she will have a problem getting something else. I have just got my newly upholstered chairs back last night. They were only cheap and I had coveted the gentlemens chair for a couple of years! then the shop changed hands and it was vastly reduced so I bought it and them found there was another upstairs in the storeroom -it was a matching ladies one. So we got them both for £45 together. They are gorgeous and over the weekend I shall photograph them. I think I have a before photo as well - will check. I have still not started my new Robin Pilcher book - tonight I have to think of the viewing tomorrow! My buyers who lost thier buyers have 3 couples viewing this weekend so fingers crossed.

Hi Bloggers this has not been a good day for those of us with hot flushes. I spent ages doing my thinning hair this morning and by the time I had had two severe flushes prior to going out, my hair was as flat as a table top - not very flattering when you dont have much on top!!

So apart from the heat - I am a bit peeved today - we took a huge quantity of top quality stuff to Oxfam today - it took two of us two visits to carry it all to the shop. The woman on the counter scowled as we struggled past her and Alan knocked on the door at the end of the shop once we had put it all there and said "Hi just didnt want you to come out and fall over this lot" - she peered at it all and said 'Well I hope there's not electrical items in there". Alan said 'No we know you don't accept them' and she shut the door. No thanks - no nothing! If it hadnt been so damned heavy I would have picked it all up and taken to another one - I don't expect then to fawn all over us but I was taught to say Thank You. This was a middle aged lady who should known better. I am cross! I am going to get my son to add the play list and a blog counter as well. Still no photos taken today - didnt get in the loft but did the big cupboard in my old workroom - called 'the study' by the estate agent!

I keep looking out for the new re issue of the Victoria magazine - did you all know it being reissued?? Has anyone seen it a shop shelf yet? I have about 60 copies of mine and they have no pages missing - which any mag I get my hands on usually does after the third reading. I squirrel away all my coveted houses, rooms, things, ideas..........I have spent the late afternoon and evening sorting out my old workroom cupboard and found the details I have kept from magazines on the house I would have if I won the lottery - its not big- its not posh, it's just simply lovely.

The houses are by Border Oak - http://www.borderoak.co.uk/ and the daughter of the owner of the company has a build diary on the website. Her house has featured in many magazines and I just love the simplicity of it. Her kitchen is so wonderful ( it would look better with my stuff in it! ) if you look on http://www.devolkitchens.co.uk/ you will end up salivating over the gallery pictures of kitchens they have completed. Right, it is now 11.20pm - time for my bed - its too late to start my Robin Pilcher book - bargain £2.25 dont think its even been opened. Tomorrow I hope to be baking some cakes - I am inspired by all these cupcakes I keep seeing. Night night

Acers high!! some garden pics

Apparently according to Alan I shouldnt have had the flash on and thats why its too light but as its almost 4pm and I havent even opened the cupboards yet I must press on

This is the arch that goes around to the raised garden at the back and behind the adirondack chair are the steps up to the raised area . To the right is the side window where I took the pix of the garage from

We have a vine in the garden which was covered in black grapes this year so I thought I would take photo of them for you - these are the only ones left I guess I was first after the birds!

This the view from one of the side windows explained below - we had a huge pyracantha along the side of the garage till last year and we couldnt believe how much lighter the garden was when we took it down. The wall underneath was so clean and new looking. We then added some flower beds and they are just establishing themselves now - these pictures are not good at all.

Apologies for the glare from the glass but its raining out there and I have dried my hair!! There is loads of colour out there but its not captured here today - sorry

Its difficult to describe how my garden is positioned - our lounge is at the back and the back garden itself isnt very deep but is raised and the window in the lounge is low so - when you are sitting there you look out and it very close. It gives a good description of a 'picture window'. Anyone coming into the lounge is always wowed by the greenery before them. Its hard to see in a picture but the wall at the front of the raised area was covered by us with ivy two years ago and it looks lovely now its grown. There is a wide path in front of the window where we have a bench and Alan's plant nursery is under the window - there is a french door as well so you can really bring the garden indoors in the summer. There is then a garden to the side again not very deep and there are two more small windows either side of the fireplace that look onto that. All this makes the room very light and green. Alan grew the red acers from the same size as the ones in the pots and finally planted them last year - they are really sturdy specimens now - he is heartbroken to leave them. We have steps leading up to the raised area and we have added trellis to try and make garden rooms as the tele says! The first red acer is in front of the second with a gap of about 7 feet but its hard to see - they just look like one here

I cannot get the text to go next to the pics so here goes again...

This is my nautical corner - the lady is from a Cosmopolitan magazine the the 1920's I think. I bought her already framed - she is so lovely. The little pix are of beaches and were a wedding present. The little boat was bought from a market in Pont Aven - the man made them himself

This lovely set was £3.95 which wasn't a bargain !! when you consider the price of the aqua pieces

Hope this text stays here when I publish the blog - this is the left corner of the sitting room with bakelite items and Alan's collection of military Dinky's - he has collected them all again 'cos him Mum threw his own out when he was a teenager - he was bereft............... The picture which has been spoilt by the light is Grace Kelly, the lady to the right of Grace is June Allyson and then Doris Day and a Busby Berkeley dance picture

Right here goes again with adding the pics to this blog - this is the left side of my fireplace - the framed picture is taken from a Studio magazine and is by May Morris (William's daughter I believe) and I collect the silver topped bottles. How do I get these pictures to go under my writing???? HELP - I think this has worked.........................here goes

More pics around the house..............

Right side of my lounge fireplace - the picture is a pencil drawing and it reminds me of the sands at Saltburn

Two jugs £2.99 & £1.50 and the books to the left were £1.99 each

Can you see all the embroidery?

Here are some more pictures around the house and as close up of Nana's embroidered picture which shows the detail a little better for anyone who might be interested. My downsizing move is now crumbling before my eyes. Our buyers as I said before had a hiccup at the beginning of the week and now their latest buyers have changed their minds and the first time buyers at the end of the chain have pulled out too. So its a stalemate at the moment. What concerns me as well is the fact the our buyers agents still have their property showing today (Sunday) as 'under offer' and it has not gone back on 'Right Move' as available to buy. That is appalling when it has been available to buy since Wednesday am - not a very good service considering how many people now do property searching on the internet.
Anyway back to the current property! here are some pics taken around my home of my favourite things as well as evidence of my latest charity shop finds......................... When these are on today I am going to sort out two cupboards and if I get on well the bathroom drawers. This is not just tidying - this is a 'do I really need this - can someone else use it' situation. I sahll go upstairs and do the bottom of my wardrobe. My son hired a cleaner this weekend to do his car seats so we have cleaned the living room rug, Kate's carpet (the marks of hair dye, tanning solition and goodness knows what else have come off slightly!) and our bedroom carpet. I fell cleansed!

Nana's Picture & redemption of the charity shops

It has occurred to me that the picture in the previous blog looks lke it was painted - it is in fact embroidered in wools and silks - it is almost 3D to look at and very lovely. I finished work early today ( I can do flexi) and I went to 3 charity shops and scored !! I shall take some photos tomorrow as I must tidy up now. My buyers lost their buyer yesterday but have resold today and there is no chain - so now I am panicking because the people we are buying off havent found anywhere still and now the chain is shorter -----aaaaaargh.............

Whiskers on kittens......pictures on my favourite things

Here are some kitty pix

- Phoebe has a sock round her neck to stop her scratching! aren't they lovely....

This house picture is something my Nana did for me a few years ago at the age of about 90 - she died when she was almost 99 - there is another picture but its packed away - this is my favourite - she always painted little pictures on our easter eggs when we little like little swiss mountain scenes...... the blue framed picture below is a jumble sale find - I love what it says - "sometimes at night a star falls and breaks into little pieces - and in the morning we find the gift of Forget Me Nots". The picture of the lady is so beautiful it was a recent ebay purchase for 14.99 - she is so lovely I couldnt believe it when I won her. She will be placed n the new house at the moment she is just propped in the spare room. Sorry the pictures are jumbled its so slow tonight I was just relieved to get them on.

The picture at the top - I am getting in a spin here - cant work out how to add the pictures at the end instead of the top!! - Is my husband's camera collection - mostly off ebay and a couple of charity shops. I sent him to a junk shop last week where I had seen to cameras in a mirrored cabinet - unfortunately when he got there, there was only one camera the other was a reflection!! How embarrassing is that!!??

I will add more tomorrow I am now off to bed to listen to the Paul McKenna weight loss cd's I bought last year and have never listened to but am going to attempt to take on board now - I am not mentioning them again !!

First digi pics attempt and naughty purchase!

Hi to all - I Took lots of pics last night on my own for the first time - fairly pleased with results but daylight might be better as the flash spoils some of them but if I delete them and try again it won't get done! On Saturday I was very naughty and because I had paid my car off last month I went to town late in the afternoon to buy a book as a treat to me! I was extremely bad and have never ever spent so much on a book and its doubtful if I ever will again - I am not checking the price on Amazon and seeing its nowt with free P&P!! I will never repeat the sheer pleasure of handing over the note and walking out of the bookshop with this volume again.

In the last blog I said I would photograph my daughters lovely wardrobes but I forgot. I am also adding the pix of my sons and his fiancee's kittens that we had the eternal pleasure of looking after a few weeks ago - thought you might like to see them - the tabby is Alfie and the white one is Phoebe they are rescue brother and sister. Here goes to my loading attempt..........Whoops pics are on first!! Sorry

I shall post again to put some more pictures on whilst I am on a roll......