The ghost of Christmas past ...

My mind has been wandering down memory lane once again, and as I carry out my Christmas rituals I remember the way things were done when I were a lass ...

Thank you Google! xx

The build up to Christmas was always so exciting, at school there would be end of term competitions, guessing the number of sweets in a jar, raffles and of course The Christmas Party.  A new dress and shoes would always be bought, these would be worn for every special occasion over the Christmas period ... we didn't have drawerfuls of clothes then, and with four of us to clothe it was an expensive time for my parents. On the last day of school it was 'toy day' and I always took my favourite doll, Patricia. My Mam would make her a new dress specially for the occasion and I would wash her and do her hair the night before so that she looked beautiful.

Putting up the decorations was always a big event, and we would ooh and aah over the bubble lights which I so wish I still had ... we would get straw and set up the crib with the figures which my Mam had since she was a child and make paper chains to hang from the ceiling.

Spot the deliberate grammatical error! Grrr ...

On Christmas Eve, when my Dad was collecting The Turkey, my Mam would clean the house while me and my sister and brothers were becoming frantic with excitement ... I would help her to make the trifle and loved crumbling the Cadbury's Flake on top of the cream ... I still make my trifle exactly as my Mam did all those years ago. We would go to bed after putting out the mince pie for Father Christmas, and hope that sleep would come ....

The excitement of waking up and realising that it was Christmas Day ...

One of my best Christmas presents was a Tressy doll ... You pressed her belly button and her hair grew, wound her up with a key in her back and it was short again ... I can remember unwrapping her on Christmas morning, and she came with a wardrobe of hand knitted clothes, a pink and navy skating suit, jumper and skirt and a turquoise lurex evening gown with matching stole.  My Mam will have made these when i went to bed, and hidden them away. I played with her endlessly ... when you see what children get nowadays, Tressy would probably be just another stocking filler, but she was my best present.  

From Google - thanks so much! xx

We would each get a main present, usually a doll for me, a selection box, 2 annuals, and maybe 2 or 3 other bits and pieces. Probably a carrier bag full ... always with the Pretty Peach bubble bath from Avon sticking out of the top.  My Aunty always gave me a Bronnley gift set, soap, bath cubes and body lotion ... this made me feel very grown up, I remember.

So this year, once again as I prepare for the Big Day, my mind goes back to those carefree days, not so long ago, when Christmas was more about sharing and a time for families to get together, than the feast of consumerism it has become, where we all worship at the great God, Tesco ... It was a proper holiday, shops were shut for days, and the January sales were a big event, not starting until after 12th night ...

Along with the traditional favourites, new things are tried ... Peppermint Bark, yum yum!!

But Christmas just wouldn't be Christmas without a tin of these, now would it?

Whether you are traditional or modern, at home or away, I'll be raising a glass to you, and wishing you the very best Christmas you've ever had!

(and so does Ruby)

Have a fabulous time my lovelies, and looking forward to hearing all about it!

Love Claire xxx

Wake me up, when September ends ...

Autumn is now in full swing, the long, heady days of Summer are finally over, and there's a distinct 'nip' in the air. The nights are drawing in, it's getting dark much earlier, and it's time to snuggle up and batten down the hatches.  I've been making a few changes indoors too ...

Bye-bye, Summertime

The Summer shelves have been taken down, dusted, and stowed away until next year ...

Hello,  Autumn!

...  and replaced with more seasonal objects ...

Is the weather good when the pine cones are open? I can never remember ... though I think it may be something to do with rain ... if the rain gets in they will rot, so they close up ... I may be making this up ...

Not a very good pic, but I just love this amazing tea set.  I think it is from the 1930's, when my house was built, so it fits right in!

Thrifted granny blankies are piled on the sofa, along with the hooky bag ... my evenings are sorted now!

All are safely gathered in ...

and turned into the most unlikely things! Chocolate Courgette Cake ... absolutely amazing ... please just try it, even my veggie hating lil sis was fooled!

We've been foraging amongst the hedgerows ... They are absolutely brimming with voluptuous, purple-black bounty this year.  Lots more to come too, as there were many unripe and still some in flower ... my freezer will be groaning this year ...

The old jam pan has seen a lot of action this year!

I think I've cheated, and this picture is of Strawberry Jam, but I've been making that too, with the last of the British strawberries.

The treacle tins come into their own at this time of the year ...

And old faithfuls come out of hiding once more ...

 I've even brought the garden bench in, to get warm by the fire!

Thinking fairy lights may be needed here ...

A really lovely book to snuggle on the sofa with ... Vintage Home from Sarah Moore ... only £5.99 from The Works ... my heart skipped a beat when I saw this, as it was on my wish list!

Stairway to heaven ... another basic need ...

I'd like to thank you for all your concerned comments about my last post ... Harry didn't get the best start to University living, but I'm so proud of him, for coping so admirably with everything that life's thrown at him these last couple of weeks ... his unusual arrival at university, then a broken laptop, and to top it all his student account hadn't been activated, so he has had no (and still hasn't) access to cash, because of the bank's mistake.

He had to come home the first weekend (Fresher's) to sort the latter two out, and on the train saw little Minnie Micra on the top of the scrapheap, minus her wheels.  I have to admit, I shed a little tear ....

I've got lots of fairs coming up, The Pop-Up Shop in Ulverston is coming back on 5th October, which I'm looking forward to, and my calendar is filling up rapidly ... going to be busy, busy, busy ... but never, ever too busy to catch up with my favourite bloggy friends!

Hope you all have a fabulous, golden, week!

Love from Claire xxx

All I want is a room somewhere ....

Oh, what a beautiful morning! Today, as I approached 'my' beach, I had one of those heart-swelling moments of happiness, that this is on my doorstep, free to enjoy whenever I like ... how lucky am I?

 I don't know about you, but I could sit for hours, sifting through pebbles, at first glance they look alike, but up close and personal, there are so many different colours, shapes and sizes ... I wish they could talk, what tales they could tell ...

There seems to be a lot of yellow around at the moment too ... a very welcome antidote to the greyness we've been experiencing lately! The gorse is in full bloom, and I spotted lots of sunny dandelions, wild daffodils and celandines too.

Something else that I always welcome, is my Country Living magazine popping through the front door! Always a lovely read, it never disappoints and provides me with lots of inspiration.

A lovely friend treated me to Molly Makes and Steve got me the new Reloved magazine, as I had been dropping hints.  It is a lovely magazine, very aesthetically pleasing, but when I sat down to read it properly was quite disappointed to find that a lot of the projects had already appeared elsewhere, so I have them in books which I have already paid good money for.  Felt a bit cheated, really! However, there are other ideas which were new, but I don't think I'll be a regular customer. What do you all think?

I couldn't resist this Pippi Longstocking book, when I spied it whilst out treasure hunting.  I devoured Pippi books as a child, and Pippi in the South Seas was a favourite.

This cheeky chap appealed to me too, I think I might keep him! Eyeing up the girls while dragging on a fag ... probably a Gauloise, as it definitely has a French feel to it ...

These ladies caught my eye too, as they looked so cheerful! Must say though that inflation has reached an all-time high, as when this was published pre-decimalisation, it was priced as 6d, which is 2.5p in new money.  I was charged a whole ten bob (50p ... for you youngsters who don't know what I'm blathering on about) ... I could have bought 20 patterns for that in the old days (correct me if I'm wrong ... Maths never was my strong point).

Remember my workroom renovations ... I'm ready for the big reveal! I found a roll of wallpaper which was just enough to cover one wall (it looks a bit much, but it's over the workbench, so only half a wall really).

It features all my favourite flowers in one go! Roses, tulips, hyacinths, primroses and lots of other UFO's (unidentified flower others)

The focal point as you entered the room was a radiator, so decided I needed a radiator cover ... the one I wanted was £75!! I wasn't paying that, being thrifty (not tight, thrifty) but on closer inspection, if I bought an identical, unpainted one, it was £24! That was more like it, as I was painting it anyway.

On my travels I found this very old, warped, broken and splintered cupboard, but I knew it would be perfect to go over the radiator ... for £10, including delivery, I couldn't not, could I?

This is a rubbish picture as the sun was so bright, but this is another cupboard which was filthy and had been there for over a year ... £20!

This is the cupboard and radiator, after painting with Annie Sloan Antoinette ...

and lined with my favourite 'vintage' London wallpaper!

The corner cupboard is painted in AS Country Grey, and again lined with the London paper. I'm very pleased with how they've turned out ...

A home for some of my craft books ....

 I had great fun 'titivating' with all my sewing bits and bobs.  I really need to learn to sew ... I can't even thread a needle, but I'm determined and hoping to start lessons soon.

Old Sylkos ... reminds me of my lovely Mam, who sat at her sewing machine ever day, making curtains for a department store ...

Packets of press studs and hooks and eyes.

My little window, with a table to sit at and gaze at the view! I'm really pleased with my workroom, especially as it has cost less than £50, because everything other than the furniture, I already had.

Need to love you and leave you now my lovelies, just going treasure hunting for a high stool to sit at my bench, and a cupboard for my fabric stash and wool! 

Whatever you do this week, have fun!

Love Claire xxx