Random Tuesday

Thanks for all your comments on my last post, and a huge welcome to yet more new followers!

Well, I did manage to spend some time in my sewing room and I made this cushion cover from two different vintage floral linens, a homespun and a vintage red check tablecloth, very soft and worn and washed.

Logan likes the new cushion I think

Sweet peas from the garden - I am guilty of having totally neglected these yet they still flower in spite of this, albeit with fairly short stems - I put them in late, and then apart from the occasional watering they have been left to fend for themselves

They smell glorious

I also managed to stitch a cross stitch monogram

and then stitcthed some corner borders

Not sure how I will use it yet though, but I have a few ideas bubbling away 

The blue floral fabric above is some lovely new thick floral cotton that arrived this morning - very Cath Kidston, very pretty - I usually avoid making things from these pretty fabrics as there are already so many similar things out there but this was such good value I could not resist.

Bella made refreshing iced coffee yesterday afternoon - we are having a few "at home" days after a busy week last week being out every day for some reason or other ( including a trip to London for Bella with a friend to see the latest Harry Potter ) and so once I got back from the vets and the farm shop yesterday we holed up for the rest of the day.

A shabby chic bird I made a few years ago from ticking that I tea-dyed - I made a few of this sort of thing which I sold at fairs a few years ago.

Rhubarb from the garden, the marrow still waiting to be eaten, and a few more french beans

Pretty Polish pottery I picked up from a craft fair a while back - they have a wonderful stall at the Country Living Fair selling blue and white Polish pottery, it is hard to leave without buying some.

And some of my fav cookbooks in the kitchen close to hand

Have been buying on DVD some old  favourite films that I had recorded on video years ago and hence terrible quality - I love anything with Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau in, likewise Cary Grant and Grace Kelly.

The lemon tree is finally doing well outside now that I have moved it to a shadier spot - new leaves that came through in May and June got sun scorched, and few flowers appeared - now it has lots of new foliage and flower buds, so hopefully we will get some more lemons after all.

The courgettes are flourishing still - picking one or two nearly every day

The sweetcorn seems to be doing OK - many of the plants have two cobs forming now

The largest of the outdoor cucumbers

New peg bag from the local charity shop last week - yes I actually bought one even though I have several "in stock" but I'm hoping to sell those rather than use them for myself!  At £2.99 I felt this was a bargain!

And I am as excited as a child as I have just booked a holiday for us all in a farmhouse in Pembrokeshire, Wales

We haven't managed to have a holiday for two years now, what with moving house last summer and then Bellas mock exams etc, so it will be lovely to have a change of scenery and head back to a favourite area of ours.

We have had many brilliant holidays all over Wales over the last few years, but one of my favourite areas is Pembrokeshire, with lovely coastal places like Laugharne, Amroth, Saundersfoot, Pendine, and then further west there is Manorbier, Stackpole (NT), Dale, Broadhaven and Little Haven to visit, as well as the Pembrokeshire Coastal Path.

We are taking both pets - Bessie is a seasoned traveller and has already been to Wales before, but it will be a first for Logan, and as he moans and howls all the way to wherever we are going in the car, it might be his last!

Actually, its usually only when I'm driving and once we've stopped somewhere and he's had a walk he's usually fine. So we may stop at the village green, give him a turn about and then hopefully (!!) he will be quiet for the rest of our journey to Wales, with plenty of stops enroute!

Start 'em travelling young I think is the answer if you want a good traveller!

Bella has always been a brilliant traveller, as we first took her by car to both Cornwall and the Norfolk Broads (when she went on a boating holiday) when she was only 3 months old! They are so portable and easy at that age in retrospect, especially if breastfeeding!

Then at 11 months she had her first trip to France by ferry (a nightmare 9 hour ferry crossing with a fidgety child who couldnt yet walk - I luckily found a long, deserted corridor on board leading to closed restaurants and she crawled up and down it for hours!) and car, and for the next 7 or 8 years we did a car journey to Europe, by ferry or eurotunnel, often twice a year, and she was always fine as long as we kept her amused with plenty of food and drinks, CDs, books, colouring and car games.

So something to look forward to in a few weeks time! The last holiday we had in Wales it rained solidly for two weeks - fingers crossed for a bit of sun this time!

If you are lucky enough to be going away too, where are you off to on your hols?