Minnie the Moocher

There is a song being sung at every available opportunity, in our household. Call it a kind of fanfare for the expected arrival of our fine furry friend.. Minnie the Moocher. It is impossible not to think up a host of nicknames for this beautiful little girl who will be coming to live with us in just over a week's time. Minnie the Minx, Minnie Moo.. Minnie Ha Ha.. Minnie the Moocher.. and there will be many more names in time.

Pickles the cat has his own set of names for his imminent sibling.. but probably not wise to mention them on this blog. He is mightily unimpressed by the arrival of a dog bed, crate and a new set of toys that have little cat appeal. I mean... what good is a tennis ball and a chew rope!

 Minnie is now seven weeks old and we have been very fortunate indeed to have known her from 10 days of age when she hadn't yet opened her eyes or even barely resembled a Border Terrier.

So here is our gal.. full of fun and mischief and already loved so much!

Notes from a Country Convert....

After moving out to the wilds of Wiltshire, nearly three months ago now.. I have fallen head over heels in love with our new life amongst the leafy lanes and pastures that surround our home. It didn't take long to become bewitched by the rural treasures on our doorstep and after investing in some rather stout footwear and much needed wellies.. we soon settled in to a daily routine of walks.

On leaving the house we have to decide on a left or right turn..

The left, taking us up a hill into woodland just a few minutes from our door.. and further on to lofty fields that gaze down on village life...


 The right turn takes us down to the Bybrook and fields where we have gathered new friends along the way.. Margot the solitary Swan and Henry the Heron who we often see fishing for frogs in the marshy fringes of the fields.

The greatest thrill for me is discovering the Kingfishers that flash like neon darts along the mill stream.. Such a treat to see these dazzling little birds.. and miraculously I managed to spy one sitting on a water duct pipe.. and with hands shaking I took this blurry photo. It looks all the better if you squint at it...

It had been our dream for at least ten years to move to a quieter world.. a less frenetic pace and a place to watch the seasons change before our eyes..and we have surely found it in this beautiful corner of Wiltshire.


Instead of the traffic drone from city streets at night, we now have an owl that sits in the tree opposite and actually says.. To wit, to whoo... Something I always thought of as some kind of pastoral myth. The hedgerows are ripe with Elderberries and Blackberries and foraging has started in earnest.. with our freezer slowly filling with berries ready for a spot of jam making.

The garden has had a bit of a makeover with cottage garden plants replacing the shrubs we inherited which hid this beautiful stone wall..

The climbing rose has already romped up the old dead apple tree, closely followed by a Clematis Montana..

 I can't wait to see the plants burst into life in the Spring and fill up the gaps.. with a whole host of Narcissi, Tulips and Alliums which have recently been planted.

Life is good.. life is rich and there is so much more to look forward to.. Christmas for a start! Sorry to mention the C word so early.. but one has to think about where the Christmas tree is going to stand this year. Isn't that one of the first things people think of when buying a new home?

There is something even more exciting on the horizon.. something with four legs and a little wet nose.. Next month we will be welcoming a new member to our family and I will be busy refereeing a very disgruntled cat with the arrival of a Border Terrier puppy called Minnie... She is only three weeks old so has a lot of growing to do before we can bring her home where we hope to have primed Pickles the cat in how to get along with a new sibling!

 Life will never be the same again .. but it will be better and we hope to be fitter with even more reason to go walkies!

  The summer was eventful to say the least.. with a house move.. a visit to the wonderful Homespun Fair down in Portscatho, where old friends and new friends mingled amongst a host of vintage treasures. Hello Mandy if you are reading this.. It was lovely to meet you at the fair.

Then we had The Vintage & Handmade Jumble sale in Rangeworthy.. a popular event with bargains galore to be found. On September 2nd The annual Biddestone Boules tournament was a date firmly etched on the calendar and in true Gallic style, team Cowboys & Custard embraced the bonhomie of the games and had a wonderful day.. lobbing boules.

 I am beginning to feel a shift in the gears even though the season is slowing down for hibernation time.. This move to village life has given my creative flow a good kick where it was badly needed.. and I have recently revived my bookbinding skills to make a collection of books.. ready for The Vintage & Handmade Textile fair  next week.

It should be a wonderful day .. one I am very much looking forward to with new and old friends gathering to showcase their fabulous talents and vintage wares amongst 40 stalls.
Do come along if you can.. Chipping Sodbury Town Hall.. Saturday 29th September 10.00 a.m - 4.00 p.m.. Hope to see you there!

P.s Thank you for all of your warm and friendly comments on my previous post.. They were greatly appreciated!

A Jumbling we will go.....

I am not sure there is such a word as jumbling but it sounds just like the kind of thing that will be happening at  The Vintage & Handmade Jumble Sale at Rangeworthy Village Hall this coming Saturday .. The hall will be awash with oodles of lovely vintage wares and when the rummaging has got too much for everyone.. the wonderful W.I ladies will be administering tea and cake to revive the eager shoppers.

So.. if you want to dodge the rain and find an alternative to another soggy Saturday afternoon indoors.. come on down to Rangeworthy village hall from 10.30 a.m until 2.00 p.m to hunt for that vintage bargain item you have always wanted! Admission is free ... so even more pennies to spend on some jumble!

Butter on paws...

There is a belief that if one butters the paws of a cat when moving it to a new home, that it will not stray from it’s new abode as it is so busy licking the butter from it’s paws. Well, I managed to forget this little tip and it was some days after we were ensconced in our new home that Mr Pickles found himself daubed in best Anchor Butter.. much to his delight and bemusement as he had already tasted his new environs by escaping on day two of our move and legging it down the lane despite my calls and bribes with a box of cat munchies.

I am glad to say he returned and has not ventured further than the wall at the top of the garden to flirt outrageously with the pretty kitty next door.

So… we finally moved home.. despite the months of fearing it would never happen, we arrived at our new/old home on 22^nd June. The day was predictably stressful and made more so by a timely phone call from our solicitor to say that the monies for transfer could not go ahead due to Nat West bank having a monumental cock up in their system. As the last item had just been loaded onto the delivery van we were pretty determined to go ahead with the move… come what may and were lucky enough to have had the luxury of an empty house to move into with the blessings of the vendors. So, it was that we arrived at our pretty house and set up home as squatters for the weekend until Nat West managed to rectify the problem on the Monday morning. 

Waking up to this on our first day in the cottage we pinched ourselves believing that we were on holiday and it was all a rather surreal dream....

Three weeks into our new home and we feel not a crumb of regret or backward glance to our time in Bath. We miss our old friends and neighbours though they are only 10 minutes down the road we have also gained some lovely new friends and neighbours here as was testament  by the mass of cards and bottles of welcome wine that were given to us on our arrival. 

  

We have swapped the nocturnal sounds of sirens and nighttime revellers for the din of a screeching owl and the morning racket of Sparrows and church bells. A good trade off I think!

The terrace which is a wonderful sun trap.. or would be if the sun shone!

The toy collection is feeling very much at home already..

So here is a glimpse of  some of our Hobbit house.. as we have named it. It was built in the early 1700's and we feel we are very fortunate indeed to be it’s custodians for the next chapter in it’s life!

Heaven in the rain

Every summer I eagerly look forward to the NGS National Gardens Scheme little yellow book of local gardens to visit in the balmy (!!!) summer months. Yesterday we took time out from the bubble wrap and cardboard boxes to visit one of these fine floral havens and donned our wellies and Souwesters to visit Hazelbury Manor in Wiltshire.

 Despite the weather's attempt to thwart any enjoyment outside.. we had a wonderful time wandering around the heavenly gardens of this beautiful historical home.

At every little twist and turn there were beautiful borders brimming with my cottage garden favourites, vibrant red Poppies, frothy green Alchemilla Mollis, dainty Aqualegias, dusky Lavender, perfumed Old English Roses, pompom Alliums crammed into every border to delight the eye.

Despite the more refined planting .. I was totally dazzled by this gorgeous display of the humble Foxglove.. hundreds of pastel spires filled with buzzing bees, intoxicated on their rich pollen.




 The rain added a new dimension and also brought out the jewel like colours of each plant against the grey sky.

Sadly this fabulous garden with it's stunning Laburnum archway topiary, rooms of roses and lily pond is only open once a year but as we are soon to be neighbours, I am hoping I can vault over one of the stone walls and pay a few clandestine visits to this special corner of Wiltshire!

The Original Vintage & Handmade Spring Fair

 

With little more than a week to go before the next Vintage & Handmade Spring Fair my boxes of vintage toys are being given a Spring clean and teddies and bunnies alike are being spruced up for their big day.

 Dust off your shopping baskets and come and join the happy throng on Saturday 26th May at Chipping Sodbury Town Hall.

There will be the usual tempting collection of stalls to please all purses at this next fair including our regular and very popular stalwarts such as Niki  from Nostalgia at the Stonehouse, Lizzie from The Washerwoman, Donna from Donna Flower, Elaine from Kitsch and Curious, Viv from Hens Teeth, Jo from Hesta Nesta,  Maud from Beyond France, Sal from Sal's Snippets,  Jane from Fanny Adams  and many more!

'Billy's Buns'  tea room will be providing delicious refreshments throughout the day to offer some much needed sustenance as shopping can be very tiring and thirsty work. The doors will open at 10.00 a.m sharp and close at 4.00 p.m. Mr Custard will be meeting and greeting on the door, entry being £1 for adults and children free. We look forward to seeing you there.

Joyful and Triumphant... with blisters.

We are home now.. rather red faced from so many hours in the dazzling sun on Dartmoor.. but with a great sense of pride and achievement.

Our boy done good and he and his team limped back to the finish line at 2.55 p.m yesterday, having walked 40 miles on their first day, camping close to their 8th Tor on Saturday night.

 To see them come over the brow of the hill on the last leg of their journey was incredibly exciting and  moving and yes.. we did shed a tear or two. It was impossible not to.

 The crowd that had gathered throughout the morning on Sunday were so supportive and stayed to clap every team that made it back to the finish line.

The Kingswood 55 miles team receiving their gold medals.. Well done boys.

 I wouldn't have missed this for the world. Well done to all of the teams that took part.. you are an inspiration!

Thank you all for your lovely comments of support for my boy's Ten Tors challenge.

Ten Tors 2012

If today was not an endless highway,
If tonight was not a crooked trail,
If tomorrow wasn't such a long time,
Then Ten Tors  would mean nothing to me at all.

At 7.00 a.m this morning, approximately 2,400 teenagers set off across Dartmoor in teams of 6, to walk 35, 45 and 55 miles over the next 32 hours for the Ten Tors Challenge. My son is one of them!  After months of training in all weathers, the gods of Devon are smiling down on the participants today as the skies have changed from every shade of grey, to skies of blue, for this weekend's epic challenge. Tomorrow I will be waiting at the finish line for my boy and his team to stagger home and collect their well earned medals. I will be clutching a hankie and trying very hard not to cry with pride and embarrass my boy, who will have walked an incredible 55 miles over some very challenging terrain, up to ten tors and camped out in the wilds to achieve his goal.

Something to make you smile...

I just had to share this with you if you haven't already seen it.. It brightened up a very dull and wet day and made me smile... lots!