Passion Projects

In a parallel universe where I have won the lottery or come into a large inheritance, I would have a little tea shop to serve tea and cake and preserves, and sell little sewn, beaded and knitted treats, all made by my fair hand.

A girl can dream,  can't she?!

What would you do in an ideal world? 

Weekend Morning Routine

My weekend morning routine depends on where we are. If we're at home in London on a Saturday, it's the daily smoothie first thing, then a leisurely breakfast watching James Martin's Saturday Kitchen. Then plan for the day, a quick visit to the charity shop treasurehunting, a rehearsal for a concert that evening, into town for a museum, gallery, mooch about.

Sunday, smoothie, then church, then a late breakfast. Enjoy the Grand Prix if it's a race day, hoping that the McLarens do well, or a little blogging, knitting, stitching or card making. I try not to do any school work at the weekend, but at exam or report time I sometimes have to break this rule.

If we are in our little house in the West Country, as we were this weekend it's up early to attack the garden! We are clearing the undergrowth of brambles as much as we can, so we can see what we have. Apple trees, berries, many trees, rhododendrons, camelias, honeysuckle, primroses, bluebells........ 200 metres of it! And the last section is woodland where deer roam! It feels like a fairytale place.

About a third of the way down .......

Still a long way to go, but we feel we have made a god start; at least we don't have to fight our way through the thorns.

Five Favourite Posts

Apologies for the delay posting and glut of posts over the next couple of days. We were in Wiltshire for the long weekend without television, internet or technology, which was blissful, but put paid to my blogging every day in May.

For this post, we are asked to pick out five favourite posts from our blog, I'll choose one from each year. Tough choice, but here goes:

An early one, from November 2010:

Teddy Axtell goes to school

It was "Bring your teddy to school day" last Friday, so Teddy Axtell came to school with me, and was by far the most mature student.  He was kept busy in my classroom entertaining the children with his musical skills. We raised about £500 for Children in Need, which was a great effort.

Bravo, Teddy! Your musical skills were much appreciated!

A creative one, from August 2011:

Cool Britannia

I've been collecting red. white and blue fabrics from various sources, mostly given to me, or liberated from its fate as landfill.

So today this:

    

became this!

In celebration of my favourite colour, from April 2012:

In the Pink

Of course, I adore pink, and the wonderful  Radio Days on Lower Marsh, on the way to Waterloo Station, (wherein I only trust myself to window-shop, for obvious reasons!) has the most gorgeous dolly pink window display! Check out the bath skirt and the pink telephone! The ultimate in glamorous pampering!

This one of something I love doing to preserve the summer for the colder weather from August 2013:

Hope you like jamming too!

Making the most of a glut of soft fruits in the greengrocers, I had a good jam session!

Strawberry 

 

Nectarine and blueberry
 

Some as gifts, some for us when the weather is chilly, for a memory of this hot summer.

I am off for an Antipodean adventure to visit my sister and family - see you in a couple of weeks!

And a 'lucky finds' one from this January:

More lucky finds

Back at school a week now, so I am a bit behind on the blogging front, both active and passive, but time to catch up this evening. I took my Urban Scholars to a Study Day at Brunel University on Saturday and whilst they were hard at work on a Forensic Science Murder Mystery Challenge I snuck into Uxbridge to have a look at what treats the charity shops had to offer. I wasn't disappointed!

This rather lovely sugar bowl with gilding will complement some other gold trimmed cups, saucers and plates I already have. Bargain at £1.50!

And this great old-school satchel! I have been looking for one for ages without the £50+ price tag! £9.99!

 

Thankyou, Oxfam!

I hope you enjoyed my selection!

 

Cinco de Mayo

Feliz Cinco de Mayo to everyone in Mexico! My aunt found this pretty candlestick for my birthday a couple of years ago, Mexican in style, I think, with its hand-painted bright and cheerful colours.

Also, happy Liberation Day to my Dutch readers, especially Madalief and Francis. Enjoy the celebrations, ladies! And next year will be a bigger one, I expect, as it will be 70 years since the end of WWII.

Star Wars Day - talk about Sci Fi.

Science Fiction is really my husband's thing rather than mine, but I do like Dr Who and am glad the latest incarnations, the 10th and 11th Doctors are as compelling as my favourite Timelord, Jon Pertwee. I look forward to Peter Capaldi as no.12.

I spotted this Dalek in the window of a charity shop in Wimbledon when it was closed, on the way to a rehearsal one evening. I wrote a note begging it to be reserved for me and not sold in the meantime, promising to come and buy it at the weekend and popped it through the door. The Dalek was waiting for me with my name on it when I arrived to collect it the following Saturday! It was worth the 12 mile round trip!

Blog every day in May: 1. What is your blog all about?

Happy May Day! The new page of my Mollie Makes calendar captures lots of my favourite things - pink, birds, piano, books.

Elizabeth over at www.rosalilium.com is hosting 'Blog every day in May'. I enjoyed the challenge in November, so here goes again. Topics are suggested for every day, or you may choose to write as you feel. I think I will stick with her prompts.

What's my blog all about? I share with whoever cares to look, things I do, find, like, play, sing, make......with a photo. I love it when I have kind comments from those who have taken the time and trouble to read and respond, and I try to repay their compliment, so a big Thankyou! to my loyal readers - I love reading your blogs too! And a big Welcome! if you are visiting for the first time, do come again!

Some more treasures

I have been lucky with some pretty finds in charity shops recently.

This stilton jar from my favourite, the Cancer Research in Hounslow, spotted during the holidays, can add to the other two I found a couple of months ago, and these pretty blue pots had yoghurt in them, from France.

Also from the same shop, this Japanese MTK China cup and saucer. I have candle plans for this beauty, so watch this space!

A pretty cup and saucer by English Regal China  and a sweet conserve pot and spoon to add to a gift of jam or marmalade, or to keep for my tea table! Both from Age UK in Winchester on Saturday.