It's coming!!

You know it's nearly here when you are moved to make this.

Pumpkin, ginger, garlic, coriander & coconut milk in our love each other mugs. Yum!!

Autumn.

Hold onto your hats. And gloves & scarves.

My other favourite season besides Spring.

Loving it all

Lush x

Banking on the weekend.

Bank holiday weekend

Feeling a little better on the weekend meant that I managed to drag myself off the couch for a wee trip to the movies, we saw the 3rd in the Bourne movies series, The Bourne Legacy.  Not bad but a bit over the top on explosions & car/motorbike chases. Apparently I get to choose the next movie LOL.

Then on Sunday we made the trek to Battersea Car Boot sale. My wish list included a pepper pot, some trays & some small vases. The Prince was after a tea pot & anything else that took our fancy.

2 cup tea pot (needs a little mending on the handle) 2 pound, decorative plate 1 pound, lovely hand made vase 50p!!

This tin sign was not on the list but was there was never a doubt that it would not come home with me. 9 pounds

Assortment of allegedly vintage trims to go with the tapestries I have been hoarding collecting to make some bags & cushions

Lovely jug/vase/stein found by The Prince for I think 1 pound

Another of The Prince's finds for 1 pound

The elusive pepper pot!! Just the right size for white pepper. Has a little ding in the silver top. Hallmarks are too small for me to read. LOL I also bought a larger sugar caster but no photo.

The tomatoes have finally decided to go from green to red, all at once of course so we have a glut of them. We had lovely pasta with fresh tomatoes, garlic & olive oil. Simple but so delicious. A great weekend lunch. I am planning to make some tomato ginger chilli jam. Yum!!

Our bounty & some cat grass. I caught Flynn standing on the window ledge eating the grass. To say she loves this stuff is an understatement.

Gorgeous colour. There are this many again to pick today. Green for at least SIX WEEKS!!  Red overnight. LOL

Feeling a lot better this week, hangover of asthma but not as bad as last week thankfully. Planning to get onto the sewing machine later today, I need a quick project to finish so I feel like I can still call myself a sewer? sewist? sewster? Whatevs! LOL

 Today was washing & cleaning day & tomorrow afternoon/evening we are off to the opening of the Paralympics! We have tickets for wheelchair basketball & swimming. We are really looking forward to watching the sport & I am really looking forward to getting to check out the park & the gardens.

Loving what I do

Lush x

Cats & dogs & elephants

Well maybe not elephants but a load of cats & dog photos by request & just cause they make me laugh & bring me great joy.

Daisy, let me take your photo!

Come on, look over this way.

No, this way.

Give it up hooman!!

This is as good as you are getting. I am trying to enjoy the sun!!

OK, back to the free garden poppies.

Maybe Flynn with her yummy tray of cat grass?? Doesn't she look impressed with being disturbed?? LOL

 

 Maybe Diego?? No?? Too busy watching Bird TV. Bert the Turtle Dove is just outside this door trying to eat his morning snack of peanuts in some sense of peace.

So for those of you who have asked for updated pictures of the fur kids - forget it!! This is as good as it gets around here. We love them but they really don't know how to sit & pose for a photo. 

Either that or they do & they are just messing with our heads.

We suspect the latter.

Loving what I do.

Lush x

Sweating on it

With this stupid head cold hanging around & still running a high temperature & a sweating fever, I really shouldn't have been out of bed on Monday but some very important paperwork I have been sweating on arrived and had to be witnessed so off I went to the Australian Embassy.
Can I just say that after working in Australian government departments for around 26 years I was blown away by just how similar the office felt to all of my previous offices!! If it had not been for the view of London buses & cabs out the window, I swear I could have been back in Oz!! Especially with all the Australian accents all around. Very weird & kinda homesick making.
No photos allowed inside but the outside makes up for it. Does anyone remember the Goblin bank Gringotts in the Harry Potter films?? This is the building & you can see why when you look at the over the top statues & gilding.

As I was already out & The Prince's office was on the way home I called and arranged to meet for lunch. We had a lovely Chicken Pad Thai overlooking the Tower Bridge, Tower & the Thames. Tons of tourists milling around almost to the point of bloody annoying on the bridge LOL.
Despite all good intentions, I didn't manage to get to the bridge to see the Olympic rings lit up but as I missed the same thing in Sydney, I seem to have started a trend. However as I went across the bridge I did manage to get some pics of them in the upright storage position. Use your imagination & you can see them hanging down LOL.

Old London Style

New London style

Love this building & the sister Gherkin, the panes of glass are just gorgeous!

Just squint & tilt your head for the full impact LOL

 I love having spur of the moment dates with The Prince, it is so good to spend some time together that does not centre around the house. We are both looking forward to having more time to spend together where we are not both exhausted.



Have I mentioned I am so over being sick?? I have had several yucky side effects you can imagine from the steroids & antibiotics & I can't even read or watch telly comfortably cause my eyes are still streaming like open taps. I know a cold is not the worst thing I could have but gee they are annoying! Between the sneezing, coughing & crashing from the medication I have been completely unproductive. Well unless you count still cooking, cleaning & washing etc. Must be Femme Flu. LOL

Hoping tomorrow is a better day & I can get onto the bee blocks & charity quilt.

Would love to be loving what I do.

Lush x

Gold Lush!!

Well Bob here we are at the Stain-O-Lympics & today's contest is between Lush & a very nasty purple ink stain on a white duvet cover courtesy of one of the students.
Yes Bob, how do you think she will handle this one? She has had failures in the past but she has a great deal of persistence in her kit so let's drop in and see how it's going.
Oh look Bob, she has pulled out all the stops & gone straight for the magic yellow soap. What a stroke of genius!!
Yes Bob, it is looking great, wet the stain with cold water, rub in the magic soap, leave to soak for 10 minutes and repeat as many times as necessary. Oh yes and she has stuck the pike finish, the stain is gone & it's Gold, Gold, Gold!!! & the crowd goes WILD!!!!
Brilliant work don't you think Bob? She has really come a long way since she used to just use that useless spray crap.
Yes Bob, it just goes to show that the right kit can make all the difference. Definitely proving that she has moved up to superior Domestic Goddess status Bob.

Well Bob, that's all for today's for coverage, come back tomorrow when we see her tackle the endless annoyance of the freezer that needs to be defrosted each & every week!
Gee how does she cope with the excitement??

Loving what I do

Lush

Today's coverage was bought to you by Exit soap & Thames water.

I think I'm going to need a bigger pot.

We were very lucky we moved in to find a Bramley apple tree in the back yard. It is a lovely tree & makes a great addition to the garden. It has been trained to droop so you can easily pick the apples without the need of a ladder. Clever!!

 Last year we harvested around 25 apples & thought this was great. I think this year the tree has excelled itself!! This is our second picking. The first was about one quarter of this size & it took me 2 hours to peel & chop for sauce.

 If I ever want to do any more washing I had better get cracking. If anyone needs me I will be on the couch in front of the last of the Olympics.
Please send fluids.

Loving what I do

Lush x

Dog Earred Afternoon

OR

How I spent another hour cursing the fine white fabrics from the Fat Quarter Retreat, leftover uglies pile.

I would love to move on from these however I am persevering with these damn ugly fabrics cause I promised I would make a charity quilt out of them but I gotta tell ya - they are pushing my buttons!!

Gritting my teeth & loving what I do. LOL

Lush x

PS: yes I kept the confetti pieces. Help me!!

Big Shout out to the Olympics!!

This weekend we decided to try to catch some of the Spirit. Well The Prince had to do a site check & I went along for the ride. LOL.
Off we went to Victoria Park one of the "Live" sites, ginormous screens, rides & opportunities to try different Olympic sports. We sat for a while & watched a Judo display which was great as it answered lots of my questions of how they scores points. I may or may not have described Judo as, a couple of three year old's fighting over a toy but I now have a much greater understanding of the sport.

Really wanted to but didn't. LOL>

Little ones introduction to Judo

Cool dino skeleton thing that you could pull apart & build again

How many bits got taken home I wonder??

Art project on the walls - this was a photo that had been embroidered (the rainbow) then shot again.

It has been fun watching the sport but I would like to see more of the Aussies.

Loving what I do.

Lush x

Ta Da!!! The Famous Singer.

I have been having so much fun with my new baby. She sews such a beautiful seam and after my pain with Gretchen it is lovely to be able to achieve some sewing around here.

That is a 60 mm Olfa cutter across the bed.

Here is her pretty side face

Hey Lee, this is the lovely bag you made me, shows how tiny she is.

This is her being dwarfed by a 1000 metre spool on the spindle.

I am so resisting the urge to call her Dusty, Petula, Patti or Doris LOL. Mind you she will let me know her name in her own time I guess. Ohh she just mentioned that her name is Eartha!!! 1950's Singer, petite, ebony, glamorous & smooooooooooth!!!

Edited to add: this reminds me of when I went to see Ms Kitt in concert & was invited to the VIP drinks area after the show. I was sitting chatting with friends and looked up to see the crowd parting & Ms Kitt came straight towards us & asked me where I bought my earrings!! We ended up sitting together having a lovely chat about jewellery, clothing & shoes. She is gorgeous!! So petite & the longest false eyelashes I have ever seen!! It's a wonder she could open her eyes.

Yep, Eartha it is.

Speaking of Singers from the past, check out what was parked in our street the other day. I have never seen one of these & didn't even know they existed.

Love the modest bat wing back.

This is a Singer Vogue apparently made in the 1960's. This one needs a bit of renovation but just beautiful.
Loving what I do

Lush x