To wish you all...

Hello folks,

I've just popped along to wish you ALL a very happy and healthy 2013.

(image from http://bing-gallery.com)

I'd  also like to sincerely  thank you for your continued support, friendship and wonderful comments and emails especially from my last post.  You have made me smile and have buoyed me up over a difficult time.  I'm afraid that I just haven't had time to catch up with you all and I know I have missed out on a lot of fun....

Though hubs and I are (mostly) recovered well my Mother continues to have some problems that I feel I cannot share at this time, and consequentially I shall be away for at least another couple of weeks whilst I try to sort things out.  

I hope you have a wonderful time at all those parties!

With my very best wishes,

Christmas IS cancelled.

Hi all

I've just grabbed a few moments to wish you all a Happy Christmas and hope you have a peaceful and healthy holiday.


Please forgive this post, but I have had to let you know what's happening here as I'm AWOL (again).

All is not well here, Hubs and I are still far from well, this chest infection has really knocked us off our feet.  No decorations, no tree - no-one feels up to bothering.  Mom now has it too (despite I have kept well away from her).  Today I have had to get her to hospital to get sorted by 'out of hours doctors' as she was having difficulty breathing.  Then tonight, just when I though she was settled she rang and told me she'd fell and couldn't get up.  Dear daughter ( thank goodness, she is now home for the holidays), so we both went down and have sorted Mom out and put her to bed.  No damage done, other than she was confused and shook up. 

I had a lovely package from the US last week that bought me to tears, but I'll have to leave that post for another day.

Best wishes to all

Deeply shocked

This morning I am deeply shocked and stunned at the heart-breaking news from America,  innocent children and teachers gunned down...
My thoughts are with the families and friends of those injured and lost.

Wow!

Hello Guys and gals!

I had a package arrive yesterday from the very dear Leanne  at Tales of Simple Days, and when I opened it I was delighted to find this beauty.

With his gorgeous frosted wings :o)

and there was also this 'magical' card

Thank you, thank you Leanne!  I shall treasure him and think of you each time I see him..

There are REALLY lovely people in Blogland :o)

Very best wishes

P.S.

I have been nursing my OH who is quite poorly at the moment, he is asthmatic and has a really bad chest infection....and then this morning I awoke with a retching cough, temperature and feeling dreadful :o(  Oh well, we do share most things!  It's just putting me FURTHER behind with other plans..my Mom is 90 on the 21st - no cake or card made yet.  Christmas decorations are still in the loft, and it looks like they'll be stopping there for another few days too.  No cards written, no gifts wrapped.  Looks like Xmas will be deferred this year!

Good news and goodies.

Hello folks, and a big welcome to my new followers - good to see you here!
Thank you for your moving comments about Dad's medal, you made my day.

Yesterday (Tuesday), I collected Octavia back from the hog rescue as she is now up to weight :o)

When I 'hog-napped' her she was around 232 grams, well underweight for winter,

 but she is now 641 grams :o) thanks to Joan's tender care.  

As you can see she's grown somewhat, and I've marked her with a nice stripe so that I can easily ID her.

She was snuggled into a hog box, freshly filled with lovely sweet hay around 10 pm last night. 

(I covered her over after taking this image)

I leave fresh food out every night anyway, so there was plenty to tuck into.  When I checked around an hour later she'd disappeared, and only a little mealworm had been eaten.  I kept a watchful eye until I went to bed at around 2 am, but she never re-appeared, and this morning the sleeping box was still empty :o(

I'm sure she'll be about for a few nights before settling on a nice warm place to snooze...I really wish she'd choose one of my hog boxes though.

Over the last few weeks I have of course 'popped in' to my local 'suppliers' and found a few things that called out to me ;o)

This pretty Caithness paperweight 3" high £3.50.
I have visited the factory where they are made on few occasions when we have been in Scotland.  Paperweights have fascinated me since I was a young girl, my Aunt had a collection and I spent many hours looking at them.  I started my own collection as an  adult, then I inherited hers, and now have a collection of  75 paperweights!

I also spotted someone else's collection, especially this item.

A delightful Swarofski large hedgehog, which as you can imagine had my name on ;o)
I purchased this for £3.75 but left the other items in the shop.  When I came home and washed it I realised just how gorgeous the refraction was I HAD to have the other items too.  I rang the shop and asked them to keep them until the next day, here they are:-
(Sorry, they are difficult to photograph)

A blue-eyed tortoise

this dear squirrel with an acorn

a 3" cat, which is MUCH nicer than shown.

and the owl and the pussycat in their crystal boat.
Most of them were £3.50, but this one was £2.50 :o)
I was pleasantly surprised when I checked the prices on Ebay...
A few days later I found this crystal handled letter opener.

in it's original box for £7.00.  It is 11" long, and the handle is beautifully cut.

I was amazed to find this Spode Christmas Tree dish for £4

Last week I saw a side plate in another shop for £10.  I think I had a bargain :o)

I read somewhere that if you have three of something it's a collection..
This is the third Babbacombe Pottery cat masked string holder I have found over the years (all in different colour ways)

The back is hollow which holds the ball of string this is then fed through a hole in the mouth, and the scissors fit into the bow.  I also have an owl one.  Having just checked there web site I see there's a hedgehog one - I may be leaving BIG hints around the house about that!

And finally,

This wonderful deer candelabra which stands around 12" high and cost the princely sum of £2.75
Guess who's Christmas table this will grace?

I'm sorry that I'm behind with making visits, and leaving only few comments.  Things have been hectic here lately and I cannot see things getting any better for a while, so my postings will no doubt continue to be sporadic.  Please bear with me, I really do appreciate your visits, comments and friendship.  I endeavour to catch-up with you as time allows.

Sending you all my very best wishes.

My Dad really DID deserved a medal!

Today, my Dad would have been 91 years old.  We lost him 17 years ago next month, and all still miss him terribly.

Here he is in a school group - Middle row 3rd from the right.
(Dudley Grammer School around 1935.)

 Dad - my favourite photo :o) that some of you may remember me posting before...

Dressed as a pirate for a local carnival float long before I was born.

And finally on our wedding day 34 years ago - far right hand side.

During the war Dad was in a 'reserved occupation'.  A job that was deemed vital to the war effort, and because of this he didn't serve in the armed forces.  He did however join the Local Defence Volunteers Force, which later became The Home Guard (otherwise know as Dad's Army!)  Which was in fact part of the British Army.

In truth, I know very little about this part of my Dad's life as it was before he and Mom met ( they met on V.E. Day) other than he was a signaller, but I recently found out that he was entitled to the Defence Medal during family history research.  I down-loaded the relevant forms and filled them in on behalf of my Mom, and after she signed them we applied.  There was no certainty that Dad would get it as many of the Home Guard records have been destroyed.  I have got a couple of certificates that he was awarded during his service with dates and his service number on though.

We waited with crossed finger for many weeks, and them received a letter from the MOD (Ministry of Defence) asking for more details.  I was able to furnish them with copies of his certificates, and again we waited and waited.....

Then, finally on Saturday Mom received a letter package from the MOD.

So here's to you Dad on your Birthday....it's just so sad that you aren't here to receive it in person.

All my love.

Rose 

xxx

Here's a link should you wish to look into applying for the Defence Medal from Home Guard Service for a relative.

(Click on question 12 for help and links.)

The Eleventh Hour, The Eleventh Day, The Eleventh Month

We will remember them.

My thoughts are again with all the lost souls from periods war....

Taken yesterday at Cannock Chase War Cemetery.

Commonwealth war cemeteries are common on the Continent, this one at Cannock is quite unusual as it is one of only a very few military cemeteries in the UK.
It was built by and is cared for by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, and was originally established during the First World War when a large military camp nearby became the base for the New Zealand Rifle Brigade.  There was also a POW hospital with 1,000 beds.  Both the camp and the hospital used the burial ground.  This cemetery is open all year round and there are 97 Commonwealth burials (most of them are New Zealanders), along with 286 German burials  from the First World War.
There are 3 burials from the Second World War.

It is one of the three War cemeteries/memorials within 5 miles of my home, set in the area of outstanding natural beauty which is Cannock Chase.

Here are links to the German War Cemetery post from last year, and also The Katyn Memorial.

May they rest in peace.

A reminder to UK Bloggers...Guy Fawkes night(s)

Sorry it's askew, but you get the message...

Thank you on behalf of the hedgehogs :o)

xxx

Welcome to new followers!

Part two of the catch up.

Hello folks!  

Thank you all for your lovely comments, you ARE a super bunch :o)

As promised I'm back with more catching up.  I have of course been out and about bargain hunting, here's a few of the things I found.  (Photo heavy post)

This delightful little Masons Cathay trinket box caught my eye amidst a shelf-full of boxes.  It stood out as quality and cost £6.  It seems to be a modern piece.

Then I found this linen Autumnal doily, around 5" square.  I loved the sweet acorns and oak leaves.

Can you believe it was only 20p?

A stoneware 'Dripping' lidded jar.

Made by Moira Pottery, who were established in 1922 and sadly closed in 1972.  £1.50.
I've only 'discovered' how much I like Stoneware fairly recently and have found it to be very useful in the kitchen.

The colour of this Royal Norfolk jug is a beautiful cobalt blue, sadly the light was not very good today and it looks almost black.  I think it will hold around 2 pints and its cost?  £1.75.

I spotted the next up last week.

This beautiful crystal handled cake knife and server, obviously made for the happy couple to cut the wedding cake was on offer for £3.  I just cannot imagine why you'd want to get rid of them after the wedding...maybe it didn't work out as happy ever after?

Then I found these two pieces of Arcadian crested ware for £1 each

If this had of been made by Goss it would have bee SO much dearer...

I have a few pieces of crested ware I will share with you another time.

I have finally found and affordable cloche, that I have got a bit carried away with!  So here are some photos of some Autumnal vignettes I've had a play with.  Most of the items I already had stashed away  Oh, the cloche is a bell shape and cost £12.

First a close up of my cloche.  Approx 9" high.

I got the cast iron squirrel on the same day for £6, oh and the single antler at the front £5.

(I just love the oak and acorn plate.)

There's always plenty of spiders about ;o)

Then I had another play around.

We had a dear friend visiting last weekend, who very kindly bought me the gorgeous Spode Chinese Rose platter as a gift :o)

Thank you Reg x  A very beautiful and thoughtful gift.

Conkers (horse chestnuts) oak leaves and another new addition, a cast iron hedgehog :o)

£3.50

A cheese dome with Mom and children hedgehogs (All made by Wade)

The Autumn leaves were kindly donated by my dinky little peach tree.

An Irish Bog Oak cauldron that was always a fascination for me as a child.

And the last arrangement I made.

A bit spooky for Halloween.  Tiny pumpkins, a spooky black cat, and the antler that looks like a magic wand!

And finally, you just knew there's be news on hedgehogs.

As you know I rescued Octavia, who is now happily putting on weight at West Midland Hedgehog rescue.  I thought that she was the last visiting hedgehog, but how wrong I was...

please meet Olivia :o) another juvenile

Found in my garden on the 25th October.  Here, I've just met up with Joan on the vets car park to pass her on to WMHR.

Sooo cute.  She too is well underweight to survive the Winter hibernation.

Then, would you believe on the 27th October I found...

Otto, a very sweet, friendly young man seen here perching on my (gloved) hand at the rescue centre.

(Just in case you're wondering all names beginning with 'O' as it's October.)

It appears that these three sweethearts are all from the same litter, as they are all around the same size.  All three have been quite friendly, opening up from their curled (VERY spiky) balls quickly on my hand.

I've had long discussions with Joan about the little dears and we are both convinced that they open up easily as my gloves smell of other hedgehogs.  Once they're relaxed they seem to enjoy being stroked immensely, once the spines flatten down they feel lovely and smooth and don't hurt your bare hand at all.

 I'm a sucker for their beautiful, moist noses.  Who couldn't fall in love with a face like that?

Thank you all for putting up with such a long post.  Hope you see something you like - please leave a comment and let me know.

Happy Halloween Everyone.