a 'dottie' give away...

it would appear dear readers that i am not alone in the 'receiving gifts that miss the mark' issue...and as i got to reading a few of your comments, enlightening me of your own 'what were they thinking' gifts, a little thought struck me...

it has been such a long time since i did a 'give away'...so long in fact i can't even remember what it was (pause, while i recollect...ahhh, that's right it was this), that it's time to throw caution to the wind and give away a 'thing or two'...

it's so easy, all you have to do is leave me a comment telling all about your most 'horror of horror' gifts (if loved ones names have to be changed to avoid hurt feelings, i quite understand)...in return i will enter your name into a mitten...if i get too many and my mitten becomes bulgy (oooh, that would be something eh!) then i shall go onto my other mitten.

up for grabs, out of my little mittens are

(drum roll please...)

1st prize: a nora cushion cover

measuring 20" x 20"

(here's the back for your perusal)

2nd prize: a nellie book bag

12" x 15"

(close up of nellie bag for your perusal)

so there we have it, quite simple, nothing too stressful for the old brain cells on a monday morning (actually it's the afternoon, but i liked the sentence with 'morning' in it)...

i shall leave this little 'give away' open until Sunday 5th Oct and on Monday 6th, a lovely little assistant will pick the winners.

"what lovely little assistant would that be Tif?", well since you asked, i am very excited to say my besty oldest pal from way back when (okay from when we were 11, sometime in the nineteen hundreds) is coming to stay and bringing a 'wee child' with her...

in a few hours, i must summon up my courage and drive to the airport in rush hour...i have managed to avoid the 'airport pickup' for eight years (quite a feat i can tell you), but alas my man has put his foot down and told me now i am of a 'certain' age i need to branch out and over come my fears.

so there it is, i hope to enjoy a lovely week with my friend (that's if i don't end up in Oregon, never to be heard of again) and with a bit of luck will be back on Monday for the results of my

'dottie give away'

she's practising her deep breathing skills for freeway driving ~ Tif

me and my panini maker...

it is the first day of being alone with my panini maker, my in-laws have flown east and 'the shed' is quiet...i am busy cleaning toilets (what is it about me and toilets these days) and wondering if my undies had been in better shape maybe i wouldn't have been given a panini maker...

in the meantime, i must find my 'gift' a place to live.

there is no room in my kitchen cupboards for they are full of other 'kitcheny things' lurking and mocking me from behind closed doors...i need to get creative with my hiding place. then when a child pipes up "oooh, Mum how about a panini?" (i have to tell you my kids were thrilled with my gift, couldn't see what was wrong with giving a kitchen appliance for a 40th), i will be able to say "well i'll be, i know i put it somewhere but for now it escapes me. why don't i get out my crock pot instead?".

at that point, said 'child' will run for the hills crying to all other children in ear shot "run, get out while you still can, Mum's getting the crock pot out". and all thoughts of paninis will be banished, (clever eh!)

and so it would seem, my panini maker has forced me to become a 'doily abuser', it's just down hill from here...

she's got a competition up her sleeve, stay posted for monday ~ Tif

post party mortem...

having trawled through my little selection of party pics, i have discovered that the majority of them are extremely blurry...which comes as no surprise really, so here's a sample of 'the best' of a 'bad lot'...

i must thank you all for your lovely supportiveness in my 'week of crisis'...i am now fully recovered from my 'under the weatherness' and have sworn off cocktails mixed by 'well meaning friends'...at least until the next 'big number'.

and so dear readers, i am starting my first full week of being a 'grown up'...it is just fine, much better than i thought it would be, of course that does not include the moments when i catch myself remembering i am 40, then i am not quite so good...

this week i have my in-laws back to stay, plus the pressing need to read my panini maker instructions (for crying out loud, i've never been a 'diamonds' kind of girl, but please 'a panini maker' for one's 40th...i ask you) to keep my mind from drifting towards 'forty thoughts'...with such a thrilling week ahead, i am going to take the next few 'days off' from my little blog and will see you on friday...

she's thanking you so very kindly for the 'birthday wishes' ~ Tif

saturday, fortysomething...

dear readers, i have found the perfect way to get through one's first day of forty...

just drink a 'Tifini' or 'two' the night before and wake feeling so hungover that you mistakenly believe you are '22' again. except one is not because if one was '22' again, one would most definitely not be standing in the pouring rain watching two kids soccer matches and trying very hard not to 'throw up'...it's just perfect, i was so busy focusing on feeling 'rather crappy', i forgot to focus on 'feeling forty'...

now the evening is upon me, i am feeling slightly more 'human' (as long as no one squeaks louder than a mouse) and have even mustered up some energy to unwrap my gift...quite frankly, after cremating a grilled cheese sandwich earlier in the week, i have no idea what my man was thinking...

i am now the proud owner of a 'panini maker'...

she's keeping a stiff upper lip about being forty and counting her blessings ~ Tif

footnote: please note photo was taken in my heady 'carefree youth' of last week and not in my 'maturing years' of today...

friday, thirtysomething...

on my last 'friday of youth', okay...let's just get it out there, my last 'day of youth' (deep breaths) i am feeling sick...sick with nerves, what made me think it would be jolly to have a '40th birthday party' in those 'lazy hazy days' of this past july, i will never know...i can only imagine it was something to do with being 'carefree' and 'young'...

today the 'mizzling' has turned to 'drizzling', (good job i am made of british genes)

to add to this, i have discovered our #1's music player is not functioning as it should (i.e. broken)...i had visions of a never ending play list of well thought out music choices that my guests would marvel over (how i would have achieved such a thing, i don't know as i am not 'technical minded' but one can dream)...alas this is not to be. i will stick in a CD and hope i remember 30 minutes later to change it. (mental note made to one's self, stay off the booze for at least the first 30 minutes)

my 'party' frock which i was planning to wear has been removed from the closet, and horror of horrors i have discovered that my 'lotion with a hint of summer' has done wonders at adding a nice tan line to my little frock's neckline (and yes i had washed it, i'm not that bad...but it's linen and thus requires gentle attention which obviously does not remove fake tan stuff)...there is only one thing i could do at this late hour, delve into my lace stash and do a bit of customizing. interestingly i think i like it better now...

i have also had a thought...shouldn't a birthday party have a cake? now if i was Nigella this would not be a problem. but i'm not lovely 'Nigella with a magic mixer', no i am 'Tif with a crock pot'...i am hoping this little detail will be over looked by my polite guests and also put paid to 'happy birthday' being sung by some 'tipsy' types that are bound to come...

i am now off to decorate my canopy with the help of some lovely friends who are stopping by in my 'hour of need'...

in a few hours i will be slugging a 'Tifini', thanks to my friend Jeff (life must be pretty good to have a drink made after one's self)...

and so it just leaves me to say...

it's a little bittersweet to be celebrating my 'big day' knowing all my family and some good friends are so far away across the pond, they have watched me grow from a skinny little scrawny kid with frizzy hair, through some interesting teenage moments and a crimping iron...onto my years of populating the earth with mini me's and an 'annie lennox' hair do.

and now i stand here on the eve of 'growing up' holding onto my youth, sporting pigtails...i thank them all kindly for 'loving me' just the way i am...

and you, dear readers...where would i be without you in my day to day life, i wish you could be here as well, oh how we would have a blast. so do me a favor...have a little drinky on me and let's toast 'the good times ahead'....

she's breaking her 'vow of silence' on a weekend and will see you tomorrow for the big day ~ Tif

thursday, thirtysomething...

i knew i could rely upon my lovely readers to appreciate my 'nipple' issues...

today, i have other issues to be addressed.

it is all very well and lovely to imagine a outdoor party to which we all drool over when flicking through magazines, but i believe it is quite a different thing to actually 'pull it off'. my first issue for the day is 'cleaning' and 'squirreling' away the house...i have so far put in three hours of hard graft and have not noticed 'used dog' being the slightest bit of use...quite the opposite, as fast as i vacuum up the dog hair, she kindly comes behind me to deposit another little bundle...i also realize it is completely pointless and a waste of time to 'clean' and 'squirrel' when in a few hours the kids will come home and all my work will be undone...but none the less it must be done just incase a 'guest' at the party takes a wrong turn and ends up in my laundry room...

my second issue of the day is the weather, isn't it sod's law that after two weeks of non-stop (so sorry, dear brits) blooming sunshine, today it starts to 'mizzle' (is there such a word...i feel it was 'too light' a drop of water to say 'drizzle' so i felt 'mizzle' fitted the bill)...however, dear readers we will not let this put a damper on the proceedings.

the 'tent men' have arrived, i am ever so hopeful that a small marquee (sounds grand) will be put up against the back of the shed. of course i don't actually know whether this will be the case as i couldn't understand a word of what the guy said to me and it soon became apparent, he didn't understand a word that i was uttering (along with lots of arm waving, in the hope he would understand me better if i flapped a bit). only time will tell whether i have a small 20ft by 20ft canopy out the back or a cirque de soleil number...

to reward myself for spending way too much time up close with several toilet bowls and some stainless steel appliances...i defy anyone to tell me that they don't have a 'love/hate' relationship with stainless steel. i am way too lazy to spend each day polishing my kitchen appliances, therefore quite frankly if you were to drop by unannounced it would be true to say they 'look like crap' on any given day. but not today, oh no...today i got down on my hands and knees and polished the little buggers (dear god, my language this week is atrocious...forgive me, it is my age) till they were gleaming. of course 'used dog' followed behind leaving 'snotty' marks, good job i love her...okay, so i have totally digressed to the point of having to start my topic sentence again...so here goes,

to reward myself for spending my last 'thursday of youth' scrubbing loos i have set aside a quiet hour to catch up with my 'UK County Living' (september issue)...it's really rather lovely this month and well worth a 'ganders' if you come across it...i am coveting (is there such a word?) several things...

the raised beds,

the clothes,

the dahlia garden...

and the radio...

she's off to do a 'sun dance', possibly in just her undies...after all she's nearly 40 ~ Tif

wednesday, thirtysomething...

i am on my own for the first day in 'yonks'...our #2 has recovered and is back at school, she didn't look too great when she left this morning...i have a feeling she is still sick but would rather go to school then stay home with her mum. i don't think it is anything personal, just a survival thing, i surpassed myself yesterday on the old 'culinary' front when making her lunch...

luckily i didn't make a mess of the peg bag...it seems to have worked out fine, i can't tell you how i made it because i often just figure these things out as i go along. however i can tell you that now i 'step back' and examine it, i see that the pink doily and button, resemble a 'nipple'.

now that i see it, i can't stop 'seeing it'...

i shall add a few more buttons in a day or two and with a bit of luck it will help to disguise my 'nipple' dilemma...

and so on this last 'wednesday of youth' i shall put aside feelings of panic knowing that my 'birthday do' is only two days away and i am not at all organized (i believe the magazine did know what it was talking about after all)...

i am trying hard here to recall (my memory is not what it was...darn the aging process) if i have ever actually thrown a birthday party for myself or anyone else for that matter...to calm my nerves i have been busy with the old crochet hook...

oh how i love crochet, i can not believe that i waited 38 years to learn it...

she's off to enjoy a little of the sunshine before the herd comes home ~ Tif

tuesday, thirtysomething...

i will be celebrating my last Tuesday of 'youth' by having the crawlspace people in, this is the final stage of 'fixing' for mossy's 'upper' and 'under' bits...samuel whiskers and his friends have been sent packing and with some wire grills, liquid nails and 'a bit of luck' they won't be back for a while. after today, i hope to hear cries of "oooh, mum...my toes are so warm i have to take my five pairs of socks off"...

i am also going to be making a 'first' for me...a peg bag.

i have never attempted such an item but i know it is of the utmost importance, you see dear readers i have 'a little niece' (i actually have an abundance of nieces and nephews but this little niece is my 'one and only' who lives in the states)...she resides with her mother in Colorado and has turned the very important age of three. (oh to be carefree and young again...)

now my sister-in-law lives on a housing estate where one is not allowed to hang laundry out to dry (i paused a while for you to digest this bit of info). indeed i too, for seven years lived amongst such rules...i am not quite sure why this 'rule' exists, i am only guessing it has been put in place so that ones 'nearest' and maybe 'not so dearest' neighbors do not have to deal with the trauma of seeing personal 'bits and bobs' swaying the wind...

i have got so use to not seeing 'undies in the breeze' that now when i peg out my laundry i feel sort of 'risque'...not that i have to worry about stopping traffic with my underpants...quite honestly they have seen better days, my family often comment when we are on a plane or in a boat, "not to worry if something goes wrong, mum's knickers are big enough to hold us all until the emergency services arrive"...

my point i am trying to get to with the 'peg bag' (and failing) is 'my little niece' may never get to enjoy the art of pegging out laundry on a summer's day to watch the sun do it's thing (gulp and even a little sob, i feel wouldn't go a miss)...

until now that is (hurrah!), my sister-in-law is hanging a clothes line in the basement for 'my little niece' to practise the fine art of 'pegging out' with her dolly clothes and yes dear readers, it is a relief that we can all sleep soundly knowing that a 'tradegy' in the 'washing world' has been averted...(i think i am losing it on my last 'Tuesday of youth'...)

she's off to complain on the phone, as the crawlspace people have just announced they are not scheduled today to do my 'uppers', only my 'unders'...why do these things never go to plan? ~ Tif

FOOTNOTE: on second thoughts, i think my 'undies' would stop traffic, not for the right reasons though...

party planner...

there is only one way to deal with your last monday of being 'thirty something' and that is to not dwell on it...i have a few days to myself as my in-laws are on a boat trip and so i must prepare for the 'big day' on saturday...

last week 'passed by' in a blur of 'garden centers' and 'gardening' but sadly none of this...i know some of you will not want to hear this but we are going into our thirteenth day of blue skies and lovely temperatures...my sun dresses have enjoyed a revival from the back of the closet and my razor has been spurred back into action.

amongst the 'jollies' that i took my in-laws to was a 'u-cut' dahlia farm...i now know it is my destiny to fill one of my veggie patches full of dahlias so that i may 'waft' out of my shed each morning and cut a flower to put 'oh so effortlessly' into a vase whilst having little hens pecking around my ankles...in the meantime i placed the lovely dahlias upon my mantlepiece to remind me that this must be achieved before i turn 'forty one' next year (oh god, doesn't that sound scary...)

so this week i am planning a party, no point in pretending that the 'big four- 0' will ignore me and pass on to someone else...the count down is on, i have lived my last saturday and sunday as a young, care free 'thirty nine' year old and must face the fact that next saturday and sunday i will living as a grown up 'forty' year old...

i knew back in the summer that i must prepare for this up and coming event and so decided to throw a party...according to the magazine i was reading at the time (showing me beautiful pictures of what my party should look like), i needed to start planning two months in advance. apparently if i do this, the party is bound to be a success...sadly i started planning my party two weeks before the big day, i am hoping there was a miss print in the article and that it really meant two weeks...

whilst thinking about my list of 'to dos' for friday night i will spend my last monday of 'youth' buying weetabix cereal, returning a soccer shirt that was too big and nursing a sick child...i really know how to 'live it up'...

she's wondering if it's still okay to serve up cheese cubes and pickled onions on sticks ~ Tif

no time...

i have to tell you it is proving a wee bit difficult to find time to post on my little blog whilst being 'a good host'...i didn't want you to go thinking i had abandoned you again, so i mustered up some energy tonight just to stop by and let you know the latest goings on...

the shed is now looking most splendid in her new coat of 'prettiness' and i will be sure to show you pics very soon. i have managed to fit in a wee bit of thrifting with my in-laws but sadly i have not had time to 'craft' which i had hoped to do...my planned 'shop update' is looking further away than i had hoped but i must keep it in sight so i do not lose heart...

just before i take my weary body off to bed i would like to show you another little corner from my home that is shaping up nicely...the front hall

i managed to find an old stool (i think i am becoming addicted to little old stools) and used an old indian cushion cover, patched over with lace and fabrics to disguise a rather dodgy fabric seat...a bit of pink paint and "voila!" a perfect place to rest a while before heading out the door...

my little bit of 'hall wall' is only about four or five feet wide and i am thinking it would look very nice indeed with wallpaper but i have yet to find the right thing...although i do like the look of this

so there we go, not much to report, but the sun has been shining for over a week and it has really lifted the spirits round here...

she's sending 'sunny' thoughts to you ~ Tif

footnote: i have just read this all through and quite honestly it makes for a dull read...you are completely forgiven for 'switching off' halfway through :)

life at 'the pub'...

it would appear that we no longer reside at mossy shed but instead an old english pub...to complete the 'pub makeover' i only need to add some hanging baskets with red geraniums and a pub sign. i am thinking "the queen's head" but my man feels "the red lion" would be better.

i have no idea whether to laugh or cry at this point...across the pond no one would blink an eye, but here where i have planted some roots, an old english pub is not the norm...i shall leave the final verdict until the end (isn't that just a silly thing to write, of course it 'the end' i just typed 'final'...) anyhow, then i will post a pic of the 'before', way back when in January and then we will assess the 'after'...and i am quite sure you will have lots to say about it...

we are now onto our 4th day of school and getting into the swing of things...the early starts (for all those lovely UK readers, i do mean early...high school starts at 7:30am...i can't imagine being a teenager and expected to have a brain engaged at that time in the morning)...anyhow, i was saying, the early starts are a little hard to adjust to but at least this week the sun is shining so getting out of bed isn't quite so awful.

tomorrow my in-laws come to stay at 'the pub' for a wee while, i plan to put them to work in the back yard and then if they have earnt the treat, i will take them thrifting...yes it's true, i know how to show our guests a good time :)

but before i sign off from another frilling week in the life of 'little old me' i must share my internet purchase from a week or so ago...

i found them here...after their arrival, i looked at them for a while (i don't mind admitting 'hugging' them from time to time as well).

soon it became quite obvious that my little towels were way too lovely to be stuck in a cupboard and not be noticed by passing folk and so i was inspired to finish off my laundry space, which i know for some is true luxury but for my busy household and three cats is a necessary little space.

i was fortunate to inherit with our house purchase a lot of 'eighties' formica kitchen cupboards in the laundry space...of course i would have loved to inherit something not from the 'eighties' but as all of you lovely readers out there know, it just takes a bit of paint and fabric to fix things up...so i lovingly took down my inspirational 'tear outs' and then lovingly stuck them all over my desk to keep them safe, then i spent a few hours swearing at trying to remove the doors (i'm a bit of a weakling i must confess) and then the fun began...

i'm most happy with the space...everyday since the transformation a cat or two thanks me for cheering up their little space and i have to say the laundry doesn't seem quite such a chore anymore...

she's wishing you a lovely weekend and will see you next week ~ Tif

school's in...

and so dear readers you may recall at the beginning of the school vacations i was not embracing ten weeks with my little brood as willingly as i should have been...today is the first day back to school and i have to tell you that i am aching inside.

the summer with my little sprogs has passed in the blink of an eye and now my little nest is cold and empty...it has been a big morning for three of my 'dears' starting new schools...i am quite sure they are perfectly okay, it is their mother who requires a 'stiff drink' to make it through. i told my man that i am not cut out for these moments in motherhood...he doesn't get my need to run out the door shouting "don't go, come back...stay with me forever...", he is most definitely the 'hard center' in the candy box, i am the soft one...

and so today i feel it fitting to show you what our #4 got up to last week...

my friend Suzanne is a crafter extraordinaire and even more fabulous, she has a rare gift of knowing how to teach children to sew. i'm not talking the 'hand sewing thing' here, but the 'sewing machine thing'...and even better she runs summer camps for all the budding crafters of the next generation to learn some skills.

our #4 went for three days and in that time he learnt to use a rotary cutter, an iron, an unpicker (his favorite thing) and a sewing machine (without his mother hovering)...some other impressive skills he acquired...to put a zipper in and applique. by the end of the camp, he was the proud creator of a patchwork, appliqued pillow and ugly monster...i was the proud mother of a boy with sewing skills.

i have to tell you, i get a kick out of knowing my ten year old can put a zipper in a cushion cover, something i have never achieved...i get a kick out of the fact he is a 'boy' taking sewing lessons (whether that's right or wrong) and i get a kick out of him coming home and saying "i feel it's time you got a Bernina like Suzanne, i think i'll save up for one...they run so much better than your machine, no offense."

it's not even nine in the morning, i have been awake since four...thinking about my kids and their first day, making new friends, getting to know a different school...and then dear readers it happened, the unthinkable...my brain started to drift towards more crafty thoughts and by golly, i do believe i have found what i lost a while back...

yes it is true, she has found her crafting mojo ~ Tif