Corners of our new home.....

And also once again, an apology for being away for so long, we have had so much going on since the beginning of December last year, firstly I hurt my knee, the findings from an MRI scan following the tripping on a dog toy was that I have torn my Cartilage and ruptured a ligament...ouch, I am at last able to walk up stairs in a moderately normal fashion now, 5 months later!! But boy was it painful, I think that if I had broken a bone it would have actually repaired itself quicker then what it did infact do, but hey ho, I have got now around 90% movement now so I am nearly there!!

And during all of this pain and agony we moved house!! Oh, and in between that we had the huge amounts of Snow and so I was house bound for around two weeks as we could not get out of our lane, and as I was hardly able to walk on normal surfaces, there was no way that I was going to be able to make it outside with snow on the ground!

But, doom and gloom over, we are now here in the warm month of May and settled in to our new home, and I have just had 12 days off from work, which was really needed, and things are looking good!!

Guest bedroom has now been decorated, here is a corner of it.....



Hubby did some deliveries in the City this week and look at what he found for me.....



It's brill, and our bedroom is going to be decorated based on this bag, Crisp White Cotton Bedding and gentle Cath Kidston soft furnishings to co-ordinate!

Due to the fact that we moved from a little tiny two bed cottage to a great big four bedroom farmhouse, I did not actually have that much furniture to put in it, the first visit from Mother in-law came with this wonderful treat......



her friend gets tired of things easily and was going to throw it out?!!

I personally think it is fabulous!!



Yes, another item of stock that is meant to be listed on our web site to be sold, but I thought that it looked quite cute hanging in my kitchen window, I know that you will agree really!!

Now, this is not a item of stock, my son actually bought me this around two years ago, it was filled with Chocolates from Thorntons and I kept wondering what to do with it as it was far too nice to throw away, so here is my decision on what to do....



Quite brill I think, I do love recycling!!

The only thing about where we now live is that is a little close to Waitrose, having lived a little sheltered life I had never been to Waitrose before, until one day last week when hubby suggested that we went there to get some dips to go with a glass of vino one evening, Oops, I think that he may have made a BIG mistake, because look what I found, and purchased of course!!.......







Ah, day off tomorrow, oh I do love Thursdays!! Well, it is not really a day off because there are web site orders to be working on, we have now added some Handmade Cushions and Doorstops to our store, and tomorrows plan of action is for some cath Kidston fabric Heart cushions to be made, here is what I mean by the doorstops...



And the cushions....



Oh, and not forgetting the bags...



Anyway, must go now as hubby is just about to dish Dinner up, I will, be back very soon!

Take Care for now,

Andrea

xx

So much snow!!!!!!

Monday morning,
Katy is moaning because she wants a wee wee, turn the outside light on and look what I see......(gosh that rhymes!!)



Well whats all that about then?! Sheer madness, thats what this is! It's everywhere!!

Up the lane...



Down the lane...



Our garden table!!!



Iccicles hanging from the shed, looking very pretty...



As annoying as it is, it is beautiful!





Our pond is under here somewhere? Poor little fish!



These are not happy hens! The run door is open, but they do not want to step outside, one half of the run has a cover over it and the other half does not and so is full of snow on the ground and they do not even want to step on that half, they are funny!



But this little one has been having the time of her life!!!!



Look, no legs!!!



Ah, time for a lie down me thinks...



Now I do not want to go indoors, shall I run off?! Best not, only get told off!



But now I think that it is time to go indoors as they are looking a little cold and wet, bless!!



I hope that you have all kept warm and safe today, there is not much sign of things getting any better here at the moment which is a little sad, I cant get to work, hubby tried moving our car today to get something out of the boot and away it slid with no control, luckily we live in a very rural lane so there was nothing else around, but it just goes to show, do not go out unless it is an emergency, like you need more wine!!!!

Tare care all of you! x

So sorry it's been so long.......

Why do I always end up saying that every time I post?!

I had hoped to have posted some really nice Autumnal piccies but it almost feels like I have missed Autumn and we are in to Winter!

Out with the Blankies time I guess.....



I hope that you are all well, and starting to think about Christmas I expect, talking of which....have you seen this months edition of Country Homes and Interiors? Well you must, it is just fab!!

We have been tidying around the garden, getting things battened down, covered over, chickens winter proofed.

The last of the apples had to be got down....



Out the ladders came....



(Hmmnn, not a bad view if I say so myself!!)

What we were surprised to come across was this little fella on the floor....



He's smiling at us....bless! Bet he bites!! And that red prong thing sticking out of his back end looks rather painful!



If you happen to know what it is I would be glad to here from you should we come across another!

Next job was to gather the walnuts....

So, up our lane we go....



In the tree they hung looking all lush and green....




Down they fell in their sappy protective coat....



A random one that has managed to shed it's coat and has not been whisked away by Sammy Squirrel....



The gatherings for today....



We went to Kingsbridge to collect a Table, advertised on good old Ebay of course!! But I needed it for my sewing machine, well, thats what I told hubby!

What a view....



Kingsbridge is gorgeous, if I could get my job transfered here I would certainly move, in the Farmers Market it was all warm and friendly, even the Charity Shops were posh!

Note to self....glad they have a large rubber ring at hand given that I can't swim!



Anyhow, look what we bought....



Just incase there are any of you that do like these little fellas, here is a fab recipe....

Mussels in White Wine and Garlic....

•1
Place the mussels in a large colander or strainer in the sink. Rinse the mussels well, taking care to remove any hairy growths on the mussels, sand, and other dirt. You may find it necessary to scrub mussels with a stiff brush to remove debris. Throw out any mussels that are already opened that will not close, as uncooked mussels that stay open before being cooked are a sign of being bad. Mussels are best for cooking still alive, or frozen while still alive.

•2
Mince the garlic for your mussels, and chop the onion. Fresh garlic will absolutely give the best results, but minced garlic out of a jar will also work well. Place both in a large pan with about a Tbs of butter over medium-high heat. Sautee until the onion is mostly translucent, stirring often. Add a few dashes cayenne pepper, or a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes.

•3
Add wine to the pan, and stir well. Chardonnay is a good wine to use for this recipe, as the flavors go well together. While a good vintage wine will certainly give excellent results, any decent white, excluding sweeter wines like Riesling, will work just fine. Let wine mixture heat through for a few minutes to properly incorporate the flavors.

•4
Add mussels to the garlic wine sauce, stir mussels to coat well, and cover to let mussels steam for about 5 minutes. Uncover, and stir mussels again. Repeat this process until the vast majority of your mussels are open. Any cooked mussels that do not open are bad, discard those. You will be cooking mussels for about ten to fifteen minutes total.

•5
To serve your mussels, place mussels shell and all into bowls, or over a bed of pasta. Ladle several spoonfuls of garlic wine sauce over mussels and / or pasta. Garnish mussels with chopped fresh parsley. You can use either appetizer forks or just your fingers to get the mussel meat loose from shells, and a good crusty bread will ensure you don't miss a drop of the fantastic garlic wine sauce.

Well did I have the shock of my life whilst doing a spot of weeding the other day....



Why is it that we are humongous compared to them but they scare us to death? I think that it is the shear shock factor that you do not expect them to be there, starring you in the face, what a beauty he is though! Even though he has got a bit of twiggy/stick stuck to his nose!!

On to other random things....

Strange isn't it, I was standing in the kitchen the other evening cooking our evening meal, come to think of it, this is becoming rather a regular thing, me cooking?! Hmmnn, need to have a re-think about that, anyway I happened to look up, and I thought to myself, well woman, that looks pretty up there! So I thought I would share my views with you too!


What is perched on the top of my freezer....



Whilst having a Ladies that Lunch day on Thursday in Topsham with my mum, I purchased (besides other things which I will show soon!) a new twiggy heart for my staircase, my plan is to have a selection of different twiggy hearts in a selection of sizes and colours winding all of the way up through the stair way, and this photo is just the start, note, I still have not managed to get hubby to actually hang the new heart as of yet, old heart No.1 is still hanging awaiting the presence of heart No.2....watch this space huh!!



Anyway I am afraid that I have to say goodnight now, have to be up early tomorrow, Monday, oh I hate Mondays! Moan, Moan, Moan!

I will be back, I know, I know, I always say I will be back sooner next time and then never do!! But, I will!

Here is a sneak preview of my next topic....

Big Gerbera....



Wow, so much flower power going on here!!....



All will be revealed soon!! Unless you can guess what my post will be about!!

Catch up again in a few days....

Andrea
x

Our Vintage Caravan

I have a very good reason for not being around very much lately, and I bring you my pride and joy!!!!

The outside......



Come and have a peek inside....







Complete with Cath Kidston Toiletries...



Strawberry bunting...



What do you reckon? I LOVE it!!!!! And I am going to do it all over again, if I can!!!

It's all go here at the moment as we have decided to re-instate our on-line business, with the hope, eventually, of giving up (or at least doing less hours anyhow!) our day job and concentrating on our own little business.

If you click on the picture below you will be able to go and have a nose around, let me know what you think!!



This week we have had a week off work to try and get as much done as possible, ordered in the first lot of stock, re-built our web site, and of course also had the occasional pub lunch, well you have to don't you, otherwise you would go a little bleary eyed on the computer all day, after the pub lunch I am a little bleary eyed anyhow, but that's the wines fault!!!

We did also get to spend the whole of Monday lazing around in the garden, which was really nice!

It's lovely to see all the produce coming on all of the tree's....

Hazelnuts



Plums



Pears



Damsons



Apples



But Katy developed a new trick....


stealing the apples direct from the tree, which, yes, then developed in tummy ache!!

Anyway, hopefully now that my little caravan is all done, all though I will be hoping to do another soon! I will be on my laptop far more now and so will be updating you with all of our weekly updates,

Take care and speak again soon,
Andrea
x