Signs Of Springtime

"It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light and winter in the shade."

- Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

March is my favourite month by far (not just because it's birthday month - honest!) but because it's when if we're lucky, we get our first solid signs of splendid springtime! The snowdrops are now giving way to daffodils, crocuses and irises, the grass starts looking a fresher shade of green, and the birds are chattering away more in the garden. Throw into the mix a chance of more sunshine, fluffy lambs and easter bunnies and no wonder it's such a lovely month to find ourselves in! I have taken time on my lunch breaks to wander around my little town of Farnham (Surrey) and appreciate how very pretty and quintessentially English it is, as I feel I take it for granted! It's full of character properties like these little cottages and their charming wonky doors, sited just next to Saint Andrews Church, where I often perch on the benches to get some fresh air, it's a very pretty churchyard with some wonderfully detailed victorian graves (I find such things interesting...maybe not to everyones taste!)

Whilst walking in the woods this week I spotted my first bumblebee of the year sunning himself on this comfy looking moss (I have been corrected on Twitter to say it's actually a SHE Queen bee looking for a nest site - but to me, all bumbles are boys and that's just the way I see them, stubborn!) This was my most cheering sight as if they are braving it to be out and about, I should be too! I cleared the two large raised beds in my garden so they will be ready for my first lot of seeds very soon, can't wait to get growing! We visited The Packhouse for lunch and I found the green shepherds hut sitting outside, I liked the addition of the stained glass window very much.

It felt so good to be out working in the garden again, and my neighbours chickens were chattering away to each other, such a happy sound, it's a proper suburban homestead over here, I'm telling you! I love how Hilda's popping her head up in the photo like 'OH HEY!' hehe!

Mollie has been loving the longer woodland walks with beautiful Bader who loves nothing more than water and playing ball, it's those simple things in life - THOSE EYES!! Mollie had a well needed haircut this week so she went from a scruffy old sheep to a gleaming, Crufts standard Cairn again! She really doesn't like any fuss or brushing, but that winter coat had to go, she only ignored me for a few hours after ;).

Hope you've been having a good weekend, It's pretty mizzly and misty here today but fingers crossed it'll be back to springtime sunshine this week! Thanks for reading,

Katie

Monthly Wish List - September

It's that time again! September has certainly sped by, but I have enjoyed the colder mornings, a chance for proper cooking, and the return of knitwear, hooray! The wish list this month should be called "It Takes Two!" really, as there certainly is a recurring theme here...

Mum and I visited The Bourne Mill Antiques Centre last week, our first visit back in nearly a decade - no idea why it's been so long?! It certainly is as full of interesting and authentic vintage and antiques as ever (unlike other so called 'Antique Centres' in the area I could mention...but I'll be nice!)

The building is an adventure in itself (apparently there's even a few ghosts about!) you can very easily loose yourself in such a cave of treasures, i find attacking it with military precision the best approach for success. Here are my picks:

First up, a rather err, flamboyant(?) Lion and Unicorn which caught my eye, brilliant positioned with the ugly-but-nice Sadler vegetable pots, quite a contrast! The display cabinet also had a very pleasant Orla Kiely wallpaper background, it's the little things!

 Around the corner were these VERY happy Kitty's, which i am rather kicking myself over not buying, they remind me of how you would draw cats when you were younger - anyone else agree? I might have to run around and try to find them in the maze of rooms next week, and on reflection, those bird plates behind are also rather nice...(oh dear, it's escalating!)

 A terrible photograph (Iphone says no!) but you get the idea, a hilarious green lady teapot which I can't imagine with go with anything you already own...but would certainly be a talking point! She reminds me a little of the 'Bird Lady' in Mary Poppins, I do love those big chunky overcoats, such a perfect shape for a teapot!

 Here is where the "It Takes Two" theme continues, a very nice pair of Staffordshire TYPE dogs, they vary greatly, but I think these are nice (and cheaper) examples.

 And finally, an item that i DID buy this month, not from Bourne Antiques, but from Phyllis Tuckwell charity shop in Farnham, an adorable pair of owl bookends! Hard to say what age they are, there's no makers mark, they feel quite brittle, which tells me they could be from at least the 1940s, I think they are just perfect for my nature "pocket guide" books, I won't overload them with anything bigger!

And that was Septembers best pick! Hope you've had a good start to the Autumn, expect a more constant approach to blogging from now on, lets just say I will have slightly more time (and less coffee) on my hands so need to throw myself into my reading and writing! I also want to give the blog a bit of a re-vamp soon.

Thanks for reading!

Katie