Hello there
What  a wonderful but time and penny consuming thing ebay is?
  I have even begun to do something my younger (but not wiser) self vowed never to do,  re-reading books. I used to think life is too short and that it would be boring or I would remember all the plots and stories!
I did have one exception to this though as I have read "Wuthering Heights" several times. I find that as you age in years and experience that you can understand and empathise more with the characters.
This week I have read Joanne Harris's " Blackberry Wine" and enjoyed it immensely, even though i have read it before several years ago. It was bought second hand via ebay and the funny thing is it has pencil marks and underlinings on several pages - I do this myself !  only in books that are not valuable of course and those you would keep and refer back to.
Second hand books are a wonderful thing if you read a lot as I do - and I got four last week and even then it was buy one get one free :) - how lovely

Above is my latest purchase of a hare by Kate Wyatt - I have re-decorated the lounge and decided another picture was needed - call it an early birthday present to us and the house.  The dining room I thought had sixteen pictures but when checked it has eighteen!!   If I ever win the lottery there will have to be a library and a gallery amongst my early purchases. 

Now to take Little Bess for  a walk in this wet and windy weather ... we don't mind, we each have our waterproof coats and love of fresh air,

Until next time, take care in all that you do

Angela x

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Time

Hello there
I,  like most other people often wonder where time goes? I am lucky enough to only work part-time and that is also in my little home office. Maybe that is part of the problem - too many distractions.

I do get a lot done to be fair, I have painted the sitting room which is known as the "Red Room" and it now has green walls. The chimney breast had a couple of other colours but is now a deep crimson to bring the room together as I am stuck with the red carpet and sofas.
This is a photo after dark so the green walls don't show very well. The house was actually built in 1975 but my cottagey taste takes over in here!  My husband prefers the rest of the house more modern and clutter free - the dining room does happen to have sixteen pictures up though , they are a weakness of mine whenever I go to a car boot or antiques fair. I bought a lovely print of Pendle Hill ( of  Lancashire Witches fame) from ebay last week too - now where on earth is that going to go? There's still a pile on the floor in the hallway as they didn't go back up in the red room when I had a change round.
Can you see the little gourds on the chest?   such a simple idea and they make me smile :)

Also treated myself to an old american style rocking chair I saw the other week in the antiques shop at Salmesbury Hall, it looks perfect in the red/green room and little Tana seems to agree >^..^<
Take care
Angela xx

Buying bits and bobs

Have been very much into the "vibrant vintage" stuff just lately - making things, going to fairs etc. In fact I will be helping with a Vintage & Crafts & Christmas Fair" at the local church at the end of November so am quite enjoying myself getting some bits together. I will put a couple of photos on of some of the things I come across later.

Vintage seems to be 1920 - 1949 and Retro is the more modern groovy stuff from 1960 - 1980s ish I believe.
In this photo are some books from my own childhood/teens that have recently come down from the attic.I can't imagine parting with any of these ones though. May even indulge myself over the winter re-reading them - what a treat in store !
Angela x

Rug rats !

Hello again - you can see I have been rather preoccupied with furry purry newborns !!   Lots of fun and hard work with these bundles of fluffy fun >^..^<

English summer

Beautiful June - sunshine and showers and rainbows and swallows. Light and shade, leaves and hedgerow flowers. I am always amazed at the lushness of an english summer meadow. I think there is too much doom and gloom about here being no green or open spaces left these days. There's certainly plenty here in the northwest.
Up early as usual but it was too cloudy to see the transit of Venus - to be honest I am rather more concerned that up to now I have only seen one magpie today and that's one for sorrow. Hopefully there's time yet for one to show himself this evening.
Whilst on my walk along the canal there were two young men running with ropes and sticks, a young heifer had fallen in the water on the other side!!  They just shouted and banged the stick and somehow the cow got itself onto a shallow overflow bit and heaved itself up!  I congratulated them and he said well it was better than going in as well. Drama on the canal bank!
Only yesterday I was leaning on the gate watching the swallows swooping inbetween the cattle, a lovely swishing of birds so close to the animals and the ground but never touching. I do like cows - the grassy earth smell of them and their long balck eyelashes.
Also I have been to the antiques fair today - had to restrain myself as I have three family birthdays this week so I actually only spent ten pounds though there were lots of things that tempted me. Would you like to see what I bought?

The picture of a lion is a print by Rembrant it says?  Shall have to check this out some time, green shoes are another weakness and the basket is quite large and in very good condition - bought to hold kittens in that are due here on 19th June,
I'll keep you posted on those    >^..^<

Hello there Spring is here again and very welcome it is too. In between everything I have been watching a couple of old films "The Go-Between" and "The Hireling" both based on books by L.P.Hartley, I must say the books are far better than the films - rather flat endings to both I thought. And nowhere near as brilliant as anything H.E.Bates ever wrote.
In fact I have just read by him "The Feast of July" by Bates and then found the dvd on Amazon - I realise they are adaptations i.e. "based on" the novels but huge changes to the story are annoying - the ending of the book was far and away better than the film version. I won't spell it out here in case you read the book.
Have been out for an early walk today with Little Bess and the woods are thick with wild garlic (or ransoms), beautiful green glossy leaves and creamy fat flowers filling the air with the pungent scent. Must dig out Monty Don's recipe for nettle soup which is always to be accompanied by some ransoms. If you would like the recipe let me know and I can pop it on here,

Kindest wishes for a bright albeit still chilly springtime! Angela x

Spring ( or W E I L & F P T )

"Oh To be in England, now that spring is here!"
And at last I am going to write about books. I have had a little sojourn into the green and pleasant land that is H.E.Bates.  If you haven't read it then you must find a copy of "love for Lydia" and settle down. It is so very poignant and another one of those I think you can read again and find more and more in it.
Also I have it on DVD and have watched that also - you may wonder where I get the time - well I am blessed with insomnia!  That's the truth and how I choose to see it - always look on the positive side if possible.
The serialisation was so true to the book and the words changed hardly at all. How it should be, shouldn't try to  improve on perfection. I have two copies of the book - the one in the middle was bought last and probably because it showed the actors from the series and the DVD wasn't out then. It was 1977 and I would have been thirteen - an impressionable age for a young girl.

If you have read it let me know what you think - take care - Angela x

Hello there - I was up early as usual - today at 5.15am when it was just slowly changing from bluey purple to that greenish tinge before the dawn breaks.
The dawn chorus was so loud and beautiful too. I am sure there was a gathering of all sorts of birds, some surely I'd  never heard before and it sounded like hundreds of them.
 It was a bit chilly but I was wrapped up with a cup of strong tea leaning out of the bedroom window. A beautiful experience - I am often glad to be one of those people who only need five hours or so of sleep.
 It's a wonderful world we have.And watching the sunrise and listening to birdsong are free and happen daily - it doesn't get much better than that.

Hope you are enjoying the weather at the moment - uncommonly warm for March  - 20 degrees!!
My sister is picking me up shortly and we are having a day out to Lancaster with our mum too.
Shopping and lunch is in order methinks
Take care, Angela >^..^<
photo of DizzyMint - she's crazy about knitting !!!!!

Good morning - well it appears my blog site is here again?   I had thought of giving up as have had so much trouble being unable to access it. I have done, seen and bought so much since my last post !
Where to start?  I will gather my thoughts and put a little update on later this evening, off to work now Very busy time in floristry being Mothering Sunday this weekend
Here is a cute little teapot I picked up from my favourite antiques fair - good job it's on only fortnightly as I find it hard to resist little things that cost a few small pounds Happy days :)))
Chat to you later

Angela >^..^<

Hello - well I thought I'd just add this - sitting up in bed Saturday morning with a steaming cup of tea AND then..... "toot toot"  a steam train was coming through the cutting behind our house!  Fantastic !  and I took this photo after running downstairs  for the camera -it was a frosty morning so the steam was spectacular !   Lucky shot I think don't you?

Take care and Thank you for visiting xx

Hi there - well I have had a January full up with visits to the vet!   One daog and two cats have been - everyone okay for age then something wrong with three of them?  Poor Wolfie has been away to the small animal hospital in Liverpool for a few days but is scheduled to be home tomorrow I do hope so :)
Otherwise I have been doing the usual a lot of crochet and a lot of reading - in fact I have just finished "Cold Comfort Farm" by Stella Gibbons - very funny and very enjoyable.
What have you been reading?

Angela x

Fixed :)

Hello there - all fixed now methinks !
Now what on earth shall I write about?
Think will try a few photos to see if all okay Let's see what's on the table in the red room today....
Bye for now

Angela

I like winter. I like January. I know it's cold but it's fresh and invigorating. My collie Little Bess doesn't mind what the weather is doing as long as we have our walk and there is a stick or two. I saw a sttrange tree on the way home today - at first it looked grey and dead but as I got nearer the sun lit it up and it was an unusuaaly large silver birch and the bark was bright and silvery - quite magical and beautiful. I must go back with my little camera and get a photo to put on here. Some of the cold and frosty mornings turn into the most clear and sunny days it's not deep winter gloom at all. Hope you enjoy all that January can offer and don't wish any time away - we are always answered with Spring.

Lost gardens