▲ HAPPY PERSON ▲

Happiness is . . . . . . . .

A husband who knows just the right gift to give me

Oh, and a new sketchbook 

Valerie

xxx

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▲ NO SNOW YET ▲

Everyone here has been talking about snow for the last 4 days. We haven't had any snow yet this winter which is fairly normal for the coastline here in Scotland. My eldest son supports his studies by working part time in a sports shop and he told me that sledge sales shot up yesterday.Oscar's sledge is waiting and ready, and Duncan is keeping his eye on the forecasts because often the trains stop in heavy snow and we wouldn't want him stranded at work.

Despite the lack of snow, yesterday was bitterly cold and the wind was howling up the little streets off the sea.

This is an aerial view of our street

We cranked up the heating (after nursery) and cozied in with our favorite things. Oscar watched a Disney movie, and ate some of these

And played with his action man toy (his first one ever, £1 from the Save The Children shop).

Telling his Papa on the phone about his new toy

I had some little treats of my own.

The December edition of the Church magazine, finally turned up (I don't know why it was late)

Some sweets, Ginger Creams yum-yum-yum

A new knitting project (details later in the week)

And some lightly scented candles

All in all it was a fairly good day, despite wearing 4 layers of clothes and having the heating on full tilt. I still havent gotten around to painting the lounge and the sewing project is still in a bag, but I will get them done eventually. I am quite contented under a crochet blanket on the sofa for now.

Valerie

xxx

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MONDAY MORNING

HAPPY Monday !

YARN

KNITTING

 an 'Angel Pocket' 

▲ A WEE NOOK ▲

With Oscar back at nursery this week, the inevitable post Christmas sort out/spruce up has began. I have a pot of paint at the ready for the lounge (fireplace) wall, but with a migraine threatening (again) yesterday I decided to go for something a lot less strenuous.

I began a sewing project last week, which I will hopefully be able to show on the blog some time soon, but in the midst of the sewing I had to acknowledge to myself that my sewing stuff was in a real mess. Things were scattered around the house and the sewing kit box contained a giant ball of tangled threads with random sewing objects trapped in among it. It took me much longer than I had expected, an hour and a half, but I eventually sorted it all out and made myself a wee sewing nook at the desk in the dining room. Duncan uses the desk when he is working from home so the less desk space used the better, this is how it turned out.

I am fairly happy with it. My sewing is very much at the beginners stage so a whole sewing room (or even a whole desk), isn't warranted, but this will be just fine for an easy tidy up after 30 minutes of glaring at my wonky stitching ;-)

Valerie

xxx

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▲ SAME OLD SAME OLD ▲

I am under no illusions that my love of vintage things stems from a happy childhood, and most of the things I find myself looking for or have obtained already hold some link to a memory of the past.

This painting of The Crying Girl hung in my Grandma's spare bedroom when I was a little girl. My sister and I slept in that room when we stayed over with my Grandparents and they were very happy times (I rescued this painting right before my brother slung it in the skip when we were clearing Grandma's house, he obviously has a different sentimentality from me). She is now in my bedroom above the fireplace.

This little Cinderella is currently sitting on my sewing shelf, but she originates from the 1960's. The watch company Timex gave a whole load of these little figures away free with their watches in the 60s. My Grandma worked for Timex and so we all wore Timex watches growing up. My Mum had 2 of these Cinderella's, one on each end of the mantle piece ( I have one and she has one now).

When I saw this drinks decanter in the charity shop today for £2.50 I knew exactly what to do with it.

Fill it with bubble bath of course. I remember a huge box of decanters filled with bubble baths being sent over to my sister and I from my Nana (my Dad's Grandmother). They were probably all cheap as chips scents and I am surprised they didn't bring us out in rashes, but we had great fun mixing them in our baths. This is now sitting pretty in the bathroom (perhaps still needing a foil bow tied around the neck though).

Sometimes the same old same old really is the best, and speaking of which, its Saturday night so I am off to have some of this -

Chana Saag recipe HERE

Paint my nails with one of these old favorites

And watch a Tom Cruise movie (something I seem to have been doing my whole adult life).

Happy Saturday

Valerie

xxx

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▲ HAPPY NEW YEAR ▲

Hello! and Happy New Year. I hope there weren't too many sore heads out there in blog land. Being alcohol free (for religious purposes) sure has its advantages. As an adult, New Year has never been a big deal to me and I have always preferred Christmas.

When I was a child New Year was a whole different thing than it is now. My Dad's family were a 'bunch of extroverts' (according to my Mum who is fairly shy), and so HOGMANAY signaled the start of a 2 week party period. It seemed that every family member took it in turns to host a New Year party, night after night, and what wild parties they were, with singing and dancing and games and heaps of food and drink. Since it was the 1970's all the women wore brightly coloured maxi or midi dresses and the men wore wide lapel suits and kipper ties. The music was a crazy mix of Abba, The Osmonds, traditional Scottish music and bagpipes. Everyone told BILLY CONNOLLY jokes and the men drank BELLS WHISKEY and McEWANS LAGER and the ladies drank Bacardi and Coke or ADVOCAAT and lemonade. My sister and I used to serve the nibbles to everyone in 'Party Susan's' which were tupperware compartment trays used to hold heaps of cheese and pickles and beetroot and pineapple. We loved it, because it meant we could eat as much as we liked and no one ever noticed.

New Year for us now is a lot quieter, but we still had fun.

vintage Tupperware Party Susan, 

the contents of which were mostly demolished by the missionaries

I hope you guys had fun, however you rang in 2014

Valerie

xxx

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