The Vintage Magpie

All Grown Up

It wasn't long ago that these four little kitties were running riot round the house.  And now three have flown the nest, and we have held on tight to Maggie.

As motherhood goes, I think cats get it pretty easy.... the kids are walking within 2 weeks, can wash themselves and 'be clean' in 4 weeks, hunt for their own food and pretty much take care of themselves by 7 weeks... job done by eight weeks old.  Not bad going.   The downside, obviously, is the possibility of having 7 or more at one time :o

The last of the kitties to leave left two days ago and I can assure you there is no empty nest syndrome going on here, Tess is very much enjoying her regained freedom. She was a wonderful mum to all of them, patient and kind, and very playful.  But now she has no school worries or uni fees to plan for, no boyfriend/girlfriend worries on the horizon, no 'but so-and-so is allowed to watch tv ALL DAY' complaints to deal with ..... she's  just a very contented mum with her very grown up daughter!  No wonder she still looks beautiful after 7 children!

So what, I ask myself, does nature teach us from this parent/child evaluation? 

Teach them well and let them go into the world knowing you did all you could in the time you had with them. 
I guess that about sums it up.

Have a great weekend everyone. xx

More Joy of Colour!

The dull weather is definitely having an effect on this household, and we are all being drawn to colour to feed our souls.

I couldn't resist this Jaegar Merino wool in one of my favourite colours, petrol blue.  I haven't got a clue what I'm going to knit with it yet, its more of a centre piece at the moment in my sewing room... just cheering me up at its possibilities!

and then James decided, whilst colouring, he was going to wear his favourite colours too!!

Genuis! x

The Joy of Colour

I've been lucky enough to stumble upon several gorgeous vintage items of late.

Today's haul included the pink teacup, to match my blue one, and a whole bag of gorgeous vintage threads.  Oh ... I could have wept.

I have painted eight out of the nine rooms in our house various shades of white, including the hall and landing, because I am very much a 'light' person.... I need light.  Dark rooms really make me feel low.  So, as I have a white background for most things it means I can go slightly mental with the colour inside the rooms.  And so I do.  I love to be lifted by colour, and these vintage threads give me so much joy I can't tell you.  I'm sure the woman who served me in the little vintage shop called 'The Snug' in Ashburton (you seriously can't imagine the joy in this shop) thought I had lost the plot when I spent quite a fair time ohhing and arrhing over the colours.

Magical aren't they :) x

Just Me and My Girl..

Sometimes, with three children, I find it really difficult to please and concentrate on everybody... especially every day throughout the summer hols.  So we called a meeting and decided that it would be good to have a 'Mama' day each... where each of them chose what they would really like to do, and then had a day out on their own with Mama doing just that.

It was Lauren's turn first, since it was her idea in the first place.  We kicked off by going swimming, so she could show me exactly how much she had improved since swimming at school.

Then we went to China Blue in Totnes to paint some pottery for each other and talk, just the two of us.  It was blissful to be able to concentrate on and listen to one conversation only!  Most days they drown each other out with their constant bubble of conversation.

and then we headed to the beach to rest for the afternoon, to read some of her books, have ice-cream and watch the Regatta at Shaldon, which is now going on for the rest of the week... weather permitting :0

We watched the row boats set off on a race round the coastline to Maidencombe and back, and wished we could hop on a boat and join in!

So nice just to be in Lolly's world for the day...

I wouldn't miss it for anything x

Enchanting

Since we have been lucky enough to live in Devon we have become more and more acquainted with horses and ponies. Living in the suburbs near London there was little chance for this, and I remained very scared of anything resembling a horse. But now I am definitely coming round! 

A little while ago I mentioned that we had been invited to a hog roast on Dartmoor on a Saturday evening prior to and in aid of the Dartmoor Hill Pony Society. We had the good fortune to be introduced by our friends, Sarah and Keith, who also own two beautiful ponies and have a wonderful website called Horseyhorsey.com selling horsey greetings cards which you can find here. Please take a look if you get the chance, the cards feature some lovely images that will appeal to horse-lovers.

When we arrived we parked in a nearby field and were led by the smell of the hog roast over the lane to this...

...the host's 290 year old farmhouse... :o  My jaw scraped the floor from the moment I arrived, and after staring pleadingly for quite a while Keith took me through the house. We entered through the original granite doorway, to be greeted by the freshly cut logs for firewood stacked in the hall. The floors were all original stone and led through to the smallish kitchen where the Aga sat in a great big hole in the wall where once an enormous open stove would have been. 

The house was split on two sides with the walkway in the middle which led out to a courtyard out the back, and then the stables, the boat and trailer and the open fields.  I walked as slow as I could possibly walk, soaking it all in, the history of the place was amazing.

There was so much to explore, this archway led through to the vegetable garden and hen house.

And out past the courtyard were some handmade swings and frames...

The next day, despite the weather, we went back for the Dartmoor Hill Pony show.

where lots of children rode their Dartmoor ponies and competed in events,

and some had as much fun pretending!

Trying On Mother's Pearls

Introducing Gracie. 

Gracie, whilst resting in my bedroom, has been trying on the pearls.  And I have to say I think she rather suits them!

Gracie, sister to Mabel, has a beautiful faded rose fabric in her ears, which sets her pearls off fabulously!

Gracie will be added to my shop later today, once she has finished riffling through the jewellry box :o

Have a great weekend everyone xx

Seven Random Things

I was tagged, quite a while ago, by Lisa at Vintage Sweet Peas to list seven random things about me.

This was harder than I thought... 

1.   In my dad's youth he was a research scientist and has strong beliefs with regard to creation.  As a result I was brought up agnostic, so I do not have any strong beliefs either, although the older I get the more I want to learn about my spiritual side. 

2.   I'm terrified of fish.  The living and breathing kind.  If I see a fish in the sea I stop breathing, and if I see one in a tank I feel faint.  Totally irrational.

3.   I have visited Australia, Greece, Spain and France, but I haven't been on holiday for nine years, and my passport has run out.  I would dearly love to go to Italy next, but only when the children are much older.   Especially since we will have to remortgage the house to pay for the passports!!

4.   I'm not a great cook.  I'm an averagely good cook, but I would love to be better.  I would love to be someone who could just throw a wonderful dish together without even opening a cook book.  I don't understand the science in cooking, and would dearly love to go on a course one day.

5.   My favourite quote : 'Tomorrow is the beginning of the rest of your life'.

6.   I am a 'glass half full' type of person, rather than a 'glass half empty'.

7.   Star sign:  Capricorn  Moon sign : Cancer.  I am typical of both these signs.  Ridiculously typical. 

Phewww.... I'm off for a cup of tea. x

Top of the List

In defiance of the blasted weather (pouring with rain for days) we packed up a flask and Isabel's freshly baked cake, and headed for the moor!!

and I found a new place to put top of my list of places I want to spend the rest of my life!  Lustleigh.  To die for.  Packed full of chocolate box cottages and beautiful scenery.  Oh my... I could be happy there!  The winding country lanes, the cottages, the wildlife... every corner we turned it just got more gorgeous.

We stopped outside a local farm's barn to pick up some 'bum fresh' eggs for tea, and say hello to the chickens

and some other wildlife along the way.

And then I spotted this, now what girl wouldn't want this as her studio to while away the hours in???  Hmphh.. not fair!

Then the rain came again...

So we had tea and Isabel's cake in the car...

whilst someone looked wistfully out of the wet windows!

Thankfully it was just a heavy shower (again) so we were able to get out of the car and run for a while, breathing in the fresh air.

Then home for tea.  I had to capture this moment...when we got in Lauren sat me down and said she was making me a cup of tea.  She boiled the kettle, warmed the teapot, and came out with a plate of biscuits for me.  Then she poured my cup of tea, (can you see the milk has been added to the pot and not the cup?) LOL... genuis!  I could have cried... bless her little heart.  Ahh moments like these you have treasure don't you.

Then we all sat down to the beautiful bum fresh eggs for tea.  So despite the weather all in all it was a glorious day.

Oh yeah, and Lustleigh.... save me a house... I'm a coming!

We are off to a hogroast tonight somewhere on Dartmoor, so we have our fingers and toes crossed that the rain keeps away.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend... whatever the weather xx