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