The Modern Household Fairy and The Sewing Room

Oh dearie me, do you think that you can actually "catch up" on life?
I am always busy & doing things but I just never seem to get "there" & wouldn't I say it's just because there's not enough hours in the day. It's just that there's always so much more to do...sew, make, create, invent, read, visit, gather, write or cook & that's not even to mention garden!! That's where blogging is very useful since it's difficult to write a blog without taking photos, well, unless you've got an awful lot to say for yourself & nothing much to show! And photos are very good for reminding you of all that you may have done or accomplished, after all.
It was still very hot & profoundly summery only a few weeks ago when I bought this wardrobe from the Saly's..

The best way to tackle things for me is bit by bit...just doing the next thing & then the next until..

you only have the inner window frames to paint, only by then it may be a lot colder than when you began & there could be a lot more rain. This little room has been an extra bedroom/sewing room for quite some years now, but as I may have mentioned before, there was a slight crisis about the time that nobody could actually walk around in the room any longer! I still have a huge Trade Me pile to process but the little room is now looking fresh & pretty & I can get to everything once again.

Just as we were moving things back in after painting, I finally found a set of shelves for the wall from The Mart for a very reasonable price. I have literally been keeping an eye out for just such a thing for years & years & had almost given up hope of actually finding anything suitable.

The bottom shelving is very handy & pretty with my vintage sheet collection tucked in to it's shelves...usually cotton, bright & gay, vintage sheets are so useful for a myriad of purposes.

Lots still to sort out, but now all fresh & clean.

Quite a contrast from the yellow & blue that we began with..

We even managed to put down some secondhand carpet that we bought several years ago & that has been sitting in our neighbours garage all this time..oh the dear long suffering Margaret..we owe her a million dollars in rent by now! I had scavenged a good lot of almost new underlay that was being discarded in the interim, so the carpet laying cost us $9 for the tacking board & $17 for the hire of the knee-kicker (never heard of such a thing until the other day!)

Our bright summery skies have quickly become wet & sodden this past week, not that we didn't need the rain after a very droughty summer, mind you..but what to do on a rainy Sunday afternoon?

Ah ha just the ticket.

Would be useful if we could remember how to play more than Last Card & Fish, of course. Ok, so we stuck to Last Card this time around & no Rob, we can't play solitaire!

 Not sure that I'm thoroughly comfy with this..yes I love the plates...made in China, but the "Cathy" brand is pretty cheeky..

  & at $3 each they really are ideal for caravaning.

I found three pretty little tea cups at St Vinny's this week & then a lovely inspirational picture over here.

So, while sorting the sewing room I fluffed with lace & the cake stand...

not presently in cakely use.

I can hardly believe that I have not yet killed my african violet & it is even producing more flowers.
Don't know what happens with me & indoor plants..at least they do grow outside for me.

The next "Good" has just arrived in the letter box.

Not quite as sparkling as the last issue (hopefully yours will reach you soon girls).

Since most of you don't have access to the magazine I thought that I would share this wonderful back page with you. I think I might have to copy it & put it on the cupboards in the kitchen (so I can see it a lot) & I'll take it over to Audrey, my lovely learned friend across the road. Her whole world has always been books, history, cats & learning. Oh she is such a dear 84 year old soul!

The Modern Household Fairy, not to be confused with The Garden Fairy, of course!

After posting the little poem "Forgiven" last week I remembered that Melanie Safka sang the poem in a little song called "Alexander Beetle" in the 1970's. Here 'tis:

Thank you so much for visiting me.

Have a lovely week dear ones & do let me know if you ever figure out how to catch up, won't you!

Much

♥♥♥♥♥

Nestling Into Autumn In "My Cool Caravan"

No, no I'm not skiting, truly.

I was just going to tell you about these books that Rob came across at the library on Tuesday afternoon.

You know, sometimes a great book just cannot be beaten.

 These three have been keeping us well entertained.

While the feijoas have been falling by the bucket load in the back garden.

I have under planted-the big feijoa tree with violets, that are just beginning to flower..the feijoas quietly slip their way to the ground & nestle amongst the violet leaves, waiting to be found.

Our long hot summer has been great for most fruiting trees, the figs have been prolific & have had plenty of time to ripen. They are delicious in a fruit salad along with passionfruit & blueberries.

The birds adore the figs too, but there seem to be enough for us all to share.

Rosewater & honey make a lovely addition to the fruit flavours.

The persimmon tree is laden & just colouring up now.

I needed to make a very lemony dish to take to a celebration the other night.
I remembered this lemon pie. I first made it when I used to babysit for a family when I was 17 & it's still as good as it was then. You can find the recipe here.

Kaitiaki loved meeting Lucy last week & he had a grand idea.
He suggested that we might like to put a coconut in the palm tree, then we could feel that we were on holiday all the time!

It's amazing how Lucy can sit plonked in the middle of the driveway & right beside the house (well more or less) & yet seem completely private & not in the way at all!

I found a nice bright geranium in sale.
 Isn't red so cheery!

This little retro glass holder wouldn't normally appeal to me terribly but it really is very sensible for the glasses in the cupboard & traveling.

A dear retired Welshman came to visit & gave Lucy a well deserved electrical warrant of fitness on Tuesday morning. His name was Taffy..how perfect was that!

Rob bought all the power cord bits & made up a safe & sturdy connection cord & now Lucy has lights & the little fridge goes too.

My friend Ruth came for a wee birthday cup of tea yesterday morning.

 Raspberry, cranberry & elderflower tea is delicious, have you ever tried it?

On Sunday morning we were out the door bright & early by 9 am..& found just the spot to wait for David, who had entered himself the Hastings half marathon. I was all set & ready but there's obviously quite an art to the business of "running" photography & I rather missed my queue. Still, he was glad we came to see him & was very pleased with himself, finishing 30 seconds under his goal time.
Afterwards, on a bright sparkling autumn day, we headed south for a bit to have a pot of Earl Grey tea at the Paper Mulberry Cafe once again.

 It's such a lovely rural spot, yet only 20 mins from home.

So rural, in fact that, the cat under the washing line was having a rabbit morning tea all to himself.

Charlie has very silly lately (borrowed cat) playing "you can't see me" up on the arch way.

At this time of year there are so many insects & "things".
I was fascinated by this little black beetle.

So I put him in a match box for a little while to watch him.

Do you remember the poem by A.A. Milne called "Forgiven"? It was in the little book "Now We Are Six"

"I found a little beetle; so that Beetle was his name,
And I called him Alexander and he answered just the same.
I put him in a match-box, and I kept him all the day ...
And Nanny let my beetle out -
Yes, Nanny let my beetle out -
She went and let my beetle out -
And Beetle ran away.

She said she didn't mean it, and I never said she did,
She said she wanted matches and she just took off the lid,
She said that she was sorry, but it's difficult to catch
An excited sort of beetle you've mistaken for a match.

She said that she was sorry, and I really mustn't mind,
As there's lots and lots of beetles which she's certain we could find,
If we looked about the garden for the holes where beetles hid -
And we'd get another match-box and write BEETLE on the lid.

We went to all the places which a beetle might be near,
And we made the sort of noises which a beetle likes to hear,
And I saw a kind of something, and I gave a sort of shout:
"A beetle-house and Alexander Beetle coming out!"

It was Alexander Beetle I'm as certain as can be,
And he had a sort of look as if he thought it must be Me,
And he had a sort of look as if he thought he ought to say:
"I'm very very sorry that I tried to run away."

And Nanny's very sorry too for you-know-what-she-did,
And she's writing ALEXANDER very blackly on the lid,
So Nan and Me are friends, because it's difficult to catch
An excited Alexander you've mistaken for a match."

When the cascade had just begun -the tumult of events that lead to so much busy-ness & change-I had bought this wardrobe thing-a-me-bob at the Salys for $70..

well, the almost finished result looks like this:

And my new sewing room is looking so lovely.

I am just delighted & very grateful.

I'll share it with you next time.

I hope that your week is rich with creativity & filled with friendship, hugs & a sense of true well-being. Thank you so much for visiting.

MUCH

♥♥♥♥♥

Lucy Meets Alice and the Good Comes Through..

 Hello!

It's so nice to see you here.

Thanks to you all for your charming suggestions...our portly, benevolent, comforting old tea pot now has a name.

 It was ever so tricky to choose.

There was: Ima (I'm a little tea pot) Mrs Potts (Beauty & the Beast), Alice (Mad Hatter's Tea Party), Beatrix T. Potter (clever!), Old Silver (25 cups/25th anniversary), Tempest (in a tea pot), Twinkles, Tea Mother (shall I be mother?), Mrs Potts or Chester, Maude, Eliza, Agnes (after Agnes Barnes from CWA) Ava (as in 'ava cuppa tea), Mrs Tupperton Tea (of Tea Pot Lane who belonged to Agnes Smith who had a brood of 25 children!)

Thanks to Max (new mother & all!) our tea pot's name is "Alice"..the zany thought of an endlessly laid tea party appealed to us both. We will now be pouring tea all day long!! So please do come to visit!!

I rummaged for my lovely old copy of Alice in Wonderland in the book case..I love these Margaret Tarrant illustrations.

And especially ...the most beautiful garden Alice had ever seen! Remember to click on the pictures if you need to see them bigger. 

So now, a wee peek inside dear Lucy.. 

This is how she looked in those first few days..

  and then I added a lovely old checked blanket & some bunting,

gathered up some colourful duraware in a vintage basket for the cupboards.. 

and settled in to enjoy her charming company.

I just can't help popping all day long! 

 Then along came an Easter sale at Spotlight & so did a 70 percent discount on these adorable cafe curtains that I have been admiring for about the last 6 months.... after a little adjustment & re-hemminmg they are just quite utterly perfect!

The Swan Lake picture went up in this corner & I am still fiddling with the pink candlewick..almost-done-cushions.

I have found a great radio station on the Bush called "The Breeze"

 and have been experimenting with using live plants & lavender oil to help get rid of the musty, closed-up smells. Interestingly, baking soda & vanilla weren't much help at all. Any other tips please do pass them on.

There are two sweet pink creatively made lampshades...still waiting for the power, but tea light candles do just fine, meantime.

So should you need a nap or would like to come to visit, Lucy will be ready to welcome you with open arms & comfy wee beds..

Funny how a caravan could be a healing place & a friend, but it's true...Lucy is a place of calm & peace & truly the best purchase I have ever made. 

I think she's going to change the world..well yes, my world at least.

How perfect it was to find this little retro stool out at The Mart ($14), soon after Lucy's arrival...fit's in very nicely at the end of the table as an extra seat.
And as you see, Lucy & Alice are now well acquainted!
You would be well plied with tea when you arrive!

"So how are you going to do it?" asked my fine helper.

"Well I thought I would write out each name on a little strip of paper & pop them all in to a bowl, swirl them all around & you can pull one out & that'll be the winner (where's Charlie when you need him!?)" and before I could say "Jack Robinson" (whoever he might be) my helper had numbered you all, shaken & rumbled the dice & ta-da! 

Pom Pom you are the other "Good" winner!

I also found two other back copies in an op shop so if you would like them..

Betty (the Wood Fairy) I would love to send you one & Jenny, the other is yours.

Max, please do email me your address & I shall send your Alice copy.

Pom Pom, Betty, Jenny & Max... I'd love your addresses please, when you have a minute.

Have a wonderful week!

With much love, a Lucy hug & friendship

 ♥♥♥♥♥