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.

22 comments:

Rubyred said...

So happy to see you back! I have missed you! Just been on the Lasso the Moon website, it's beautiful, absolutely gorgeous photography of very talented designers makes!
Hope you are feeling better soon and that you son doesn't find the choccies! Hope you are enjoying your sunday!
Rachel x

Pomona said...

Princess Bunchy gobbled up all the chocolates for our advent calendar, so we will have to get some more! Perhaps I will have to put them in the pockets one day at a time! Hope you are feeling better now.

Pomona x

{Love, Love, Love} said...

If you would like to encourage the badgers to visit your garden and stop a while so that you may see them, leave some bread and butter sandwiches out for them; seriously, not joking! My Mum has badgers that visit her garden and both see and her naighbours pend hours watching them, facinated by them! x

Sarah said...

great to hear from you Michele and hope you feel better soon! At least it's out the way before Christmas!
I've been meaning to plant some bulbs but can't muster up the enthusiasm at the moment!
x

sarah-jane down the lane said...

Ah Michele, so lovely to read you!

I know what you mean about topsy turvey times. We are careering towards Christmas here Down the Lane and I shall be glad when the year turns as we have had an Annus Horribilus. I am looking forward to being with friends and family in Cornwall over the festivities.

I adore your Reindeer box, the red stamps are just perfect, lovely,

Sarah x

silverpebble said...

Hello hello! It seems to me as though words are flowing beautifully.

Mr Cage turning on the lights? Really? Hmm what are your thoughts - wig or no wig? Perhaps a slight weave?

I've only just bought some bulbs today too. On offer though - excellent bargainage. GW said planting 'em as late as Jan or even Feb is fine.

It's lovely to 'see' you Michele, I hope the nasty frog hops off soon x

Willow said...

Lovely to read your post - and I echo the sentiments about time flying by and not blogging. Having returned from a lengthy break where 'life' just got in the way, I'm enjoying catching up but, like you, can't beleive just how fast the time goes on the run up to Christmas!

Hope your cough is better soon & you can relax after all your hard work with the Vintage Fair!

Willow x

Teena Vallerine said...

How you manage so much is a source of amazement to me! If I'd been that poorly this would be a two line post - 'feeling unwell, back another day...'. Hope you're all better soon! t.xx

BusyLizzie said...

spotted the cat! Hope you are feeling lots better now. Lizzie x

Josie-Mary said...

Glad to hear you're busy & feeling better. I heard Bath was very busy that night, I think the habitat store has 20% all week! I love the pussy cat picture....of course!! :)

Callies Cottage said...

Get Well Soon and have a LOVELY festive December!
Warm Wishes,
Cally

Niki Fretwell said...

Hi Michele,
I think some generous person was thoughtfully sharing out germs at the V&H Fair! ;-)) I too came down with the cold and cough...hope you will soon be feeling much better and ready to enjoy the festive season as it fast approaches...can you believe its December tomorrow?
Take care and have a good week,
Niki x

Elizabeth said...

Yikes, only one post office left in Bath - that's terrible. The main post office there was always massively busy. I have very traumatic memories of having to queue for hours whilst posting things out for the Bath Chronicle (where I used to work back in the day.) God, that post office queue used to wind me up - and that was 25 years or so ago when there were lots of sub post offices still about.

Lovely to see you back Michele - hope you're feeling better.

THISNTHAT said...

Wow! The only time we get a helicopter overhead is when the loice are on the track of someone or the air ambulance is off to the rescue! Nicholas Cage sounds much better. I know what you mean re getting back into blogging. I spent all summer telling customers about it and then hardly posted anything.
I really enjoyed my visit to the V&H fair! Such a welcoming, happy event. Thank you.
Lesley XX

Garden Girl said...

I TOLD you I thought you sounded a bit sniffy at the fair, Custardo!! If it makes you feel better, we too have suffered the same 'November Lurgy Fate' for the past few years. I am taking shares out in Kleenex.
Team meeting going on this week re.May Fair, never fear, we have not forgotten!
Hope you're feeling much better, love to Mr C
x

Vintage Fairy Tales Rebecka said...

A spring garden is absolutely more important than Christmas preparations;)
Hope to see you in May
Have a nice weekend
Becky

prettyshabby said...

Nicholas cage? NICHOLAS CAGE?? ooooh you lucky things down there!! We mere mortals of Malvern had 'Daisy the cow' switch our Christmas lights on.
Oh the thrills, lol!
Hope you're feeling much,much better soon M.
I'm off to check out Lasso the moon now which sounds rather exciting x

SmitoniusAndSonata said...

That was a horrible cold and I'm sorry to hear you've had it too . The choking , wheezing , eye-rolling , arm-flapping cough that accompanied it was rather wearing .Still , surely we're all now immune to everything else till New Year , at least ?
Oh yes , how does the cat get up there ?

Louise said...

At last, Pickles is back on the blog! I hope you are by now feeling much better Michele. Comisserations for not getting to see the other Mr C in your life. Badgers down the bottom of your garden, how amazing! I hope you get to send out lots more little packages in 2010, and let's hope you get to keep that very obliging postman too! x

Anonymous said...

Lovely to find you. I have so enjoyed having a little meander in your beautiful world
Kindest Regards Linda

Suzy's Vintage Attic said...

It's not easy fitting everything in is it? It has been a busy year!

I hope that your cold has cleared up fully and that you are able to enjoy the lead up to Christmas.

My 13 year old niece is a BIG fan of Nicholas Cage so I entered a competition in the Shepton Mallet Journal. Two VIP tickets to meet him on the night that the Bath lights were switched on. I didn't win them for her sadly, next time maybe!

Take care
Warm wishes
Isabelle x

Conversation Pieces said...

No not dull at all!

I've never seen a badger either... even that time we went to centre parcs and they had badger cam (all we saw was a few rabbits!)

Do let us know if you do bump into Mr Cage! ;)