Saturday, 28 November 2009

Leave of absence ..

There is a saying that one never forgets how to ride a bicycle.. I wonder if the same applies to writing a blog, as I seem to have forgotten how. Having neglected my own blog for some months, just nipping in to give a news flash and quickie update, I am now finding it a real struggle to put one word in front of the other. Where do I begin to pick up the threads..?
This year has been eventful in so many ways..and at times I feel as though I am being swept along on a rip tide of high waves.. and then to end up in the doldrums.spot the cat...Someone else keeping a low profile

It is a little premature maybe to start reminiscing about the year before it is out.. but with Christmas looming, one cannot forget that a new year is on the horizon. I will never cease to be amazed by how the years fly by, as if in the blink of an eye, and yet when I think of all that has happened this year.. I wonder how I have managed to cram it all in to 365 days.
So.. what have I been doing in my protracted absences.. well.. rather like those exercises at school that we were given each term..'What I did in my hols' .. I will attempt to thrill (read bore) you with the day to day minutiae of my life..
For all regular visitors to Cowboys & Custard.. you cannot escape the fact that we have just held our third Vintage & Handmade Fair.. a wonderful day.. planned for six months..over in a matter of hours... but leaving a good feeling that will carry me through to the next in May. Straight after the fair I managed to come down with a nasty cold virus that headed straight for my chest and has been sat there for the last 1o days. It has become a tradition for me to have a chesty cold in November, if I think back to years past, it always arrives in the run up to the festive season and is as traditional as Easter or Christmas.. the annual 'Hack' is up there with the rest.I have been honing the art of wrapping parcels in brown paper, tissue and string, as Milly & Dottie's Emporium has seen a steady flow of customers through the door, and I am fast wearing a path to the local post box to intercept our local postie at 5.00 p.m every evening, who obligingly takes all my parcels.. thus saving me a trek to stand in line with the good citizens of Bath, at the only surviving post office in town.
Today I ventured out to get some air.. having been incarcerated in a warm but hermetically sealed cave, since my lurgy struck. Mr Custard kindly took me on a drive to a local farm shop where my eyes grew as large as saucers at the sight of all the sparkly, sugary Christmas treats on display. There I bought my son and heir a delightful numbered selection of chocolate bars for his advent calendar and hid it in our ice-box.. otherwise known as the conservatory. I hope his chocolate radar will not sniff it out before the 1st of December.
Then on to a garden centre.. where I managed to scrape together 10 tulip bulbs from their remaining stock of bulbs. I have left it woefully late to start my Spring garden planting plans..in fact I haven't set foot in our garden for weeks.. work, weather and now cold have conspired to keep me from giving my plot a good nip and tuck! I am not sure what I will discover when I finally venture out to the bottom of our garden. We had several visitations of badgers during October, evident by their unmistakable calling cards... i.e Badger latrines. I am wondering what other beasties might be lurking in the darker corners. I feel very privileged to have these fine creatures in our neighbourhood... even if they do use our garden a their privie. I only wish I could catch sight of them.. especially as they loved to dig up our neighbours carefully manicured lawn and each morning after their visits.. I would see the neighbour at dawn.. rush out in nightie and all.. to repair the damage.
This week.. I joined some other designers at Lasso the Moon.. and took up residence alongside another of our blogging comrades.. Nicky from Vintage Magpie.. and her amazing menagerie of beautifully crafted animals. I am really thrilled to be part of this collection of designers and hope that this new string on my bow.. will play all the right tunes!The other night I thought there was a siege going on in the city below us.. loudspeakers could be heard, a helicopter hovered voyeuristically overhead.. and a male voice could be heard booming out a message to a cheering crowd. Was this the locals uprising against the shocking business rates in Bath..no.. it was one of my, secret, or not so.. heartthrobs.. Mr Nicholas Cage.. switching on the Christmas lights to a crowd of starstruck shoppers..and sightseers. I would have been there myself, elbowing my way to the front with stars in my eyes.. had it not been for the fact that it was cold outside and my stomach was more intent on eating supper. Sorry Mr Cage.. I hope I will have the pleasure of bumping in to you one day in Waitrose .. but please warn me if you are popping out for groceries, so I can put my lippy on first.

So.. dear blog friends.. you can see that life is ticking along nicely.. peppered with some spicy moments here and there... but never, ever dull.

Sunday, 15 November 2009

All is calm... all is bright!

Hardly seems possible that six months of planning and waiting since the last Vintage & Handmade Fair in May, has been and gone in the blink of an eye... or so it feels.
Much has already been said about yesterday's event .. from the fabulous folk who braved the elements and queued in the rain patiently for our doors to open. The dedicated and professional stall holders, bloggers, friends and family..
I had a whale of a time.. meeting up with our ladies.. who travelled from all corners of the country to bring their finest wares to the fair.. and make it something special.. and certainly a day that many remember for all kinds of reasons.. but..mainly.. for the warmth and feel good factor that bind our team together.
Gratitude to all who made it a date that is etched in my diary as one very hard to beat.

Photos courtesy of Sal's camera.. Guess who forgot hers again!

To see the day from start to finish.. in glorious technicolour.. please visit our webpage at Vintage & Handmade Fair Mr Country Cottage Chic.. took some great shots .. Every picture tells a story.
The countdown to the next fair on May 1st 2010.. has already begun !

Friday, 13 November 2009

Fair Weather Friends...

click on photo to enlarge
Ironing board and iron are not included in sale


This time tomorrow I will be in a state of flux.. the doors to the hall will be opened for all the stallholders at the Vintage & Handmade Fair, to flood in to the hall to set up their stalls. Flood is a word I am using with caution as the weather report is not good..but us Brits are made of stern stuff and Jayne and I hope that you will don your galoshes and souwesters, inflate your life rafts, to make your way to the third Vintage & Handmade Fair in Chipping Sodbury, south Gloucestershire.
It promises to be our biggest and hopefully our best.. and whatever the weather.. all will be welcomed with open arms and a cup of tea and finest homemade cake...
Can't wait to see old friends and meet new friends and share some wonderful camaraderie amongst our beautiful blogging folk..
Hope to see you there..

Friday, 30 October 2009

F is for ...

Friday.. the end of a frantic week..and time to take a walk in one of our local National Trust favourites .. the gardens at Holt Wiltshire..Firey fronds and foliage dominate the landscape ..Clusters of fine berries ...Ginko Bilboa.. good for mental fuzziness ..Fire on the water ...A leafy frame to peer through ..A flutterby ... Foliage on fire ...Pretty frothy flowers ..Falling leaves...
Frilly lace caps...Fronds on fire ...A fine harvest...Finally.. my fella ..Before I say farewell.. Milly and I would like to bring your attention to our new Christmas Grotto.. full of finery and fun finds .. for the festive season.. We would also like to bring your attention to some features about our Emporium, to be found in various glossies this month.. Homes & Gardens, Sew Hip and Homes & Antiques..
Not forgetting.. the famous Vintage & Handmade Fair.. only a fortnight to go before we welcome our friends, family and folk from far and wide to come and shop in our third fair..
Fun for all.. hope to see you there!

Wednesday, 21 October 2009

Downhill run ...

These last few weeks have left me feeling like I am competing in some kind of ski event.. the momentum and pace has increased day by day.. and I must admit.. I can't wait for the apres ski to begin.. but there are many things to do before that is allowed.
I did however find time to leave the slopes and have a grand day out with Mr Custard to visit an event I had been looking forward to for some weeks.
With small brown suitcase in hand we had one stop to make en route to the event.. and our first port of call was this delightful emporium in Cirencester.. Lexi Loves. Now the whole world of cyber networking has brought me many many fortunes.. in the way of friendships and acquaintances.. and yes... I must admit business matters too. I do have a small confession to make.. for those of you who do not already know.. I have joined the nest of Twitter and have bunked off to join in the daily twitterings amongst this hugely popular network.
It is through this feathered fraternity.. that I made the connection with this lovely shop in Cirencester owned by the equally lovely Lexi.. Lexi's emporium in Cricklade Street, is a sight for tired eyes (as mine have been of late) and on entering the shop... one is immediately aware of the spectrum of colours from all the enticing items for sale.. from floral fabric alphabet letters arranged along a shelf..to the cheery bunting and assortment of gorgeous vintagey cushions with plenty more besides... so much to tempt with perfect stocking filler finds for Christmas.
I am delighted to say that Lexi Loves now stocks Cowboys & Custard Greeting cards... so I hope to visit this pretty emporium again soon.
On our way back to the car park.. we nipped in to the New Brewery Arts Centre to see the latest exhibition of Cleo Mussi's work. If you are not familiar with this lasses incredible talent with mosaics.. then I urge you to go.
It took two years in the making to create these, and many more, fabulous china mosaics that combine Cleo's wit and talent to transform broken china in to these..This photo really doesn't do justice to the detail and scale of these ceramic creatures. Having taken part in one of Cleo's mosaic workshops some years ago.. I am only too aware of how skillful it is to cut a piece of china to just the right size and shape with a pair of tile cutters. My efforts ended up on the other side of the room on the floor.. It takes great precision and practice.
These animals were virtually life size so they must have required hours in the making.. no.. make that months..We are BIG fans of Cleo's work in this household and are lucky enough to own a few of her pieces.. but there is plenty more wall space to accommodate a few more!
Back in the old jalopy and on to Stroud..where we were to visit this very exciting exhibition..
Having several of my favourite artists exhibit under one roof for the same exhibition was quite a lot for my little heart to take.. and my pace quickened as we found our way through the streets of Stroud to Sustain ...Once again Cleo Mussi's work was on display and Cleo herself was there to chat too..Edwina Bridgeman.. another much admired artist and friend had some pieces of work on display..and lastly..our very own Annie from Little Wren House.. or her blog a Saucerful of Secrets.. was there with these extraordinary felted characters... I couldn't take my eyes of this fabulous Pug dog.. marvelling at the detail in the face all created from wisps of needle felted wool.We are very proud to have Annie and her felted friends at the Vintage & Handmade Fair.. coming soon!!!
And on that note.. I have finally woken up to the fact that it is only 24..24 days until the fair and my mountain of boxes and vintage finds will have to be sorted, priced and packed.
I am busy making some of these Quite a few of these will be coming along too..Things in the Milly & Dottie's Emporium are getting rather frenzied too.. and Milly and I have been working like Santa's little helpers to stock the shelves for a new Christmas Department.. opening very soon.. so watch this space.

Sunday, 11 October 2009

Going to the Dogs..

Is there such a thing as Blogger's Block? I have been suffering from a complete lack of focus for the last few weeks and the idea of writing a blog post was akin to the days when I had to hand in an English essay on a Monday morning.
I would postpone this task until the 11th hour and then hand in some crumpled, grubby and illegible piece of work and wince when I saw a big red C+.. could do better scrawled over my efforts. I hope this very belated blog post gets a better mark!

It has been a while since I have managed to clear a space in my mind to give thought to the blogging world and I hardly dare look at all the blog posts of yours I have missed.. Will I ever catch up? Then answer to that is a resounding NO.. not until the current projects have been painted and glued, packaged and priced for the next Vintage & Handmade Fair and some tasty little vintage goodies placed upon the shelves in the Emporium. Spinning plates madly here and dropping quite a few along the way!
I am prone to mild obsessions..harmless enough I think, despite what Mr Custard and son say, I still have all my marbles..o.k one or two might be missing..but on the whole, my little fixations are all for a good cause I feel.
The latest of these obsessions is more than a passing interest in all things vintage, mohair, straw-filled and moth eaten..sometimes with wonky eyes or dodgy limbs..the more chewed the better!
I would like to introduce my new friends.. meet the gang..
First in the pound today is Winston.. Winston is true rough diamond but with a heart of gold and a bit of a dubious past.. Some rumour of him doing time in Battersea Dogs Home for digging up some prize petunias!
Next on the 'dogwalk' is Terence.. Terence has gone to a new home

A retired air steward for Dan Dare airlines... traveled the world and then some ..He enjoys reading Mutt Monthly and ballroom dancing.
Jock is a very fine pedigree pooch.. He is a veteran model for a pyjama case manufacturer.. made by Merrythought. Jock loves nothing more than to lie around all day and strike a pose! Currently, he can be found lounging in the nursery department at Milly & Dottie's..
I know I shouldn't have favourites.. it is a bone of contention amongst the other hounds.. but I am rather fond of dear old Angus.. Who could resist his jaunty legs and sharp nose... I wonder if I could train him for the odd bit of truffle snuffling ?! Angus along with some other muttley crew will be joining me at the Vintage & Handmade Fair and any offers of adoption will seriously be considered. They are costing me a fortune in Bonios!
Well.. I think this blog post proves that I have lost the plot.. totally barking some might say.

P.s Thank you so much for all your kind thoughts and commiserations about my old tooth problem. Much better now thank you and getting my gnashers well and truly stuck in to some projects for the festive season.
Wishing you all the best of Sundays.

Monday, 21 September 2009

Abscess makes the heart grow fonder....

Rag heart courtesy of Ragged Roses

Well.. I have to admit that last Friday's milestone of being another step closer to my bus pass.. was a strange mixture of denial.. and elation.. the elation brought on by a colourful little penicillin pill washed down by a large glass of rather nice fizz..The denial of course was the getting older bit and realising that the glint of silver running through my hair.. probably amounted to 99% sterling, under the veil of Clairol hair dye!
The day started off with a rendition of Happy Birthday from beloved ..heard through groggy ears and head as I reluctantly gained consciousness at 5.30 am, having spent several hours awake during the night, trying to hide from nagging toothache..Nowhere to run nor hide when it's in your head!
As soon as the awaited hour arrived..i.e opening time at the dental surgery, I rang to see if I could get an emergency appointment.. to be told..if I could reach the surgery in 10 minutes then I could have a date with my dentist. Never have I walked, rolled .. tripped down the hill in to town so fast and arrived in a breathless .. sweaty heap at the reception desk to be told.." It's OK.. you'll be lying down soon.. you can get your breath back".. oh such words of comfort !
To cut a long, dull story short.. after X rays and a prescription for penicillin.. I was wished a "Happy Birthday" by my dentist and his smiling assistant.. and I left to face the remains of the day..
The best possible medicine was from all your lovely comments which really buoyed me along.. it is STILL such a wonder to me that so much goodwill can be gathered from the folk in blog land.. So Thank you so so much.. for your lovely comments and wishes on the day.. I unwrapped each one with much gratitude and a lopsided smile !

Friday, 18 September 2009

Once more with feeling....

If you aren't all partied out already.. please put on your finest and come join me for one last cup of tea and a slice of best.. for today is my Birthday and I intend to celebrate with lots of this..
I will return once I have emerged from all the wrapping paper to share my goodies with you..
Do excuse me.. just have to go and find the polyfilla... I have a few cracks to fill!

Wednesday, 16 September 2009

The Return of Happy Returns ..


Birthdays are like buses.... nothing for days.. then WHAM... 4 in a row!!
As promised.. I am here again to wish another good friend very many happy returns of the day..
SO fill up your tea cup.. and cut yourself another slice of cake.. and please come and celebrate dear Carol's Birthday today.... Many many many Happy Birthday's to you my lovely friend xxx

Tuesday, 15 September 2009

Birthday Bonanza...



This week is a very special one on the calendar.... lots of days with big circles around them..
First there was Lizzie... celebrating in 1960's style with jelly and ice-cream (how else)!
Today is the Birthday of a very dear friend of mine.. not only a friend but a partner in crime.. so please raise your cup of tea, or whatever tipple you have to hand.. and wish dear Kim aka Milly.. a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY.... celebrate and indulge my friend!!!
As you can see.. I have my best red party shoes on for the occasion!
P.s Do pop back tomorrow for more cake and jelly when we celebrate another!