All Through the House

 It is a busy week here...as it is in most homes at the moment....and there is sooo much to think about and so many lists to make and keep checking.......i ran around the house with my camera, taking pictures here and there of the decorations ......the mantel above is in the lounge, which is painted in pale colours......

 .....the year it was painted i bought lots of pastel coloured tree decorations and we add a new one now and then....the look is frosty and icy and the tree has white lights...it looks pretty at night when the old glass ware i keep in that room reflects the lights and the candles, and when the log fire is lit in there.....

 ....as i have mentioned (many times) before, i love red and white decorations, and red and white textiles too...the whole Scandinavian look has been my favourite for a long time and this year the dining room dresser has a lot of red and white along with the usual simple white china that i keep there.......

.....and the sitting room is where we have the red and white decorated tree, ( the merry hearts red and white felt decorations always hang on this tree too)....last year i made a new mushroom merry heart but so far this year i haven't had a moment to make another but i might yet....

 ....lots of baking plans going on in the kitchen..... and i have been enjoying this wonderful book.... Bake & Decorate.... which was suggested to me by the lovely Madelief who kindly thought i would enjoy it, and indeed i do...it has so many lovely decorating ideas for all the seasons, including some charming xmas ones.....

.....and here are some sweet new tiny red and white baubles ready to go on a very small tree.....i hope to show you some more Christmas pictures very soon....
Thank you for popping in to see my Christmas house.....and thank you for taking time to read and comment when things are so very busy.......i hope you are enjoying the countdown to Christmas and finding time to relax and enjoy it all too......have a cheery cosy week....back soon xxxxxx

Home Sweet Home

 Hello to everyone after yesterday's blogger blip when strange things happened and treasured comments disappeared...all seems to be back to normal again now....and things are also getting back to normal in my own home sweet home too after all the weeks of having builders here, replacing the roof and doing a few other repairs while the scaffolding was up...the work is finished and next week the scaffolding will come down....home will seem truly sweet again....

 I'll be able to potter about in my usual way without encountering 'the men' here and there all the time...go picking flowers, painting the beehive composter and even sit on the terrace with a cup of tea...now that would be nice....

 Home is where my heart is - it's always been a part of my work too, as the things I explore in design work I try out in my home and vice versa, it's where my studio and office are, where I craft, draw, sew and write, and the house itself has often inspired my design ideas. I like to think of the people who used to live here..we did a bit of house history research when we first moved in - my favourite previous occupant must surely be Lucy Moon who lived here in the early 1900's with her husband, three little boys and - according to the census - 'three resident servants'.....I love to imagine her swishing about in her long skirts, the lovely Lucy Moon.....

I stitched this little sampler here a few years ago for my Home Sweet Home cross stitch book...the flowers were picked last week, I just loved the pink and lime green colour combinations....

...and this is the latest wool for my next cardigan...I love the colour so much I had to have it....

.....currently on the needles is this little pink cardi for Daisy Dot....

 I'm loving the summer colours and the newly opening summer flowers...looking forward to lots of gardening this weekend, potting, planting, painting the beehive composters and enjoying a bbq with the family...

I hope you have a wonderful weekend, enjoying your time whatever you are doing...wishing you flowers, sunshine and the happiest of days....thank you for visiting me me here in my (hopefully blip free) bit of blogland, and thank you for the sweet comments, they make me smile...back soon xxxxxx

Merry Christmas

 It's so close now you can almost hear the sleigh bells jingling....I've wrapped up nearly all the presents, just a toy hamster with special armour to wear (?) and a very small cycling helmet left to wrap which I'll do tonight. Tomorrow we'll be dropping off a few presents here and there to family and friends so I have to make sure they're all ready and labelled properly....

 I've ironed the snowy white tablecloth today, reflecting the snowy outdoors, a family heirloom from my lovely mother in law. Assembling the things, organising the food, trying to make the long stripy candles stand up properly in the tall glass candle holders....tea lights like the reindeer here are so much easier...

And knowing that tomorrow is Christmas Eve and my younger daughter will be home, we can start the festivites and the goodies in the Christmas corner can be opened and enjoyed (apart from the ones we've already been enjoying this week...)

 Such a magical time of year - I do love the Christmas atmosphere, the special feeling - not just about presents or delicious treats, but a kind of magic in the air, a time of stillness and beauty, of peace and joy - I know other adults who feel it too - the sense of wonder is not just confined to children....

So I wish you all a heartfelt Merry Christmas - thank you for reading my blog this year, for commenting with such sweet, thoughtful, witty and amusing comments and taking the time to do so - I treasure every one of them. I've also loved reading your blogs too, so full of life and fun, ideas, creativity, humour and joy. I hope you and your families have a wonderful Christmas and all your merry wishes come true. xxx

This Old House

Our house is old - built in the 1870's - and has had many renovations over its lifetime, including some by us. People before us saved it from falling into complete dilapidation by sorting out the basics for which we're very grateful.

Some of the features have been left as they were originally and I like that sense of history you get when you can imagine people from maybe a hundred years ago moving around this space, running their hand down the banisters or opening a door in the dark cellar using that very same latch.

Most of the ceiling mouldings here are quite restrained, for the Victorian era, but there are two rather decorative ones tucked away on a turn in the stairs where hardly anyone notices them.

Old doors, old key holes, long lost keys somewhere.

Well, it wouldn't be a Victorian house without one of these, would it?! It's really quite a hard worn floor now and it doesn't usually gleam like this but the tiles are still damp from a recent mopping!

So, those are just a few pictures of the some of the old bits of this old house, and I'll post a few more another time.

Hope you're having a great weekend. x