Goodbye dearest Nana ♥

My lovely Nana died on  Saturday 19th March, she was 83 years old.  It was expected, as she had been very ill and in hospital for some weeks before, but she came home a few days before she died. Nonetheless it was still very sudden, sad and emotional.
She was my last remaining grandparent, and the last of her generation, so it feels very strange, that there won't be any old folks in my life any more..

My grandparents have been such a massive part of my life for as long as I can remember, I talked about this in a blog last spring here  strangely a year to the day that I posted that blog, that was the last time I saw her. I can't imagine not ever being able to go and visit either of them again, My grandad died 8 years ago, so the house must be so empty, now she has gone too.

So it is with great sadness I make my way to the house for the last time tomorrow for the funeral , it's going to be so emotional, I will need plenty of tissues, my mum has seen to it that she has the send off that she wanted.

My grandparents were childhood sweethearts, and at the end of the service they're song 'Always' by  Harry Nilsson will be played.

I made my own flowers for her today, in her favorite colours, and I felt so sad that this will be the very last thing I ever do for her :(

I hope she approves, always thrifty she never wasted money and loved a bargain, she will be pleased that I didn't line a florists pocket {these wreaths can cost up to £75} and my own love and thought went into it..

She loved her garden so much and had  requested  that it be kept up until the house was sold. The though of it going to wrack and ruin upset her deeply. I will take whatever I can, and keep it alive in my garden.

I already have lots of her treasures to remember her by, as in last years post I mentioned she was always giving me stuff every time I visited her. These things are a great comfort to have, and will be handed down to future generations in my family, namely girls!  But most of all  my head will always be filled with happy memories of her and my grandad , throughout my childhood and a big part of my adulthood, I'm so grateful to have been blessed with that.

Treasure your grandparents while you have them, they are precious and there is much you can learn from them.

Thank you so much  Nana, till we meet again... RIP XX

Spring wreath

Time for a change...

Well, this exactly how I feel at the moment, wanting and needing change. I don't know if it's the time of year, as I'm madly spring cleaning albeit a bit prematurely, just want to declutter, why do we feel driven to do this with the spring approaching?   It makes me feel better in my head anyway.

I'm feeling quite restless of late, like I want to sink my teeth into a big project/renovation?

Another big change on the horizon for me is learning to drive, I had some lessons 14 years ago when I was pregnant with my second son, which probably wasn't the best time to learn, as my head was all over the place, so gave up, and haven't had any lessons since. If truth be known I'm terrified of the roads, because they are so busy,  its scary, so have been putting it off for too long.

 I really want to be driving this before I hit 40, {2 years away} and am determined to conquer my fears and be driving by this time next year,  the freedom will be bliss!!

First things first, I need to save up to buy a cheap car to learn in, and have proper lessons for a good 3 months then the husband will take me out for practice at the weekends {time willing} as we are always really busy. 'WHAT!!?' I  hear you saying, your husband? Trust me he is very patient~ so he tells me, watch this space.....

In the meantime I'm practising my theory online with mock tests and am doing really well with that, my only weak spot is the braking/stopping distances, so need to focus on that a bit more, but I will get there.

When I eventually pass my test, this would be my dream car....

My Red mini!

I don't think I will be driving one off the showroom floor, unless I win the lottery! But hope to find one at auction. :) A cheap little run around is all that is required for now.

Had a little change in my lounge too, have just bought THE most gorgeous vintage chesterfield sofa, these babies cost a small fortune to buy new, from £1000-2000, that would burn a hole in your pocket, but  I prefer them old and worn, they have much more charm and character,  and  it was a real bargain.It has taken pride of place, its very squeaky, and not quite as comfy as my old leather couch but , will get used to it, stunning colour isn't it?



In all it's glory

 


 


Tarted up

 I'm a lover of antiques markets, boot sales , junk shops,  flea markets, I much prefer old furniture, its properly made to last a lifetime, and you can always make something old look great again with a bit of imagination. I don't like things matching, much more interesting  having different pieces from different eras {although I love the Victorian era the most} all mixed and  matched, eclectic I believe they call it, so roll on bootsale season, I want to find some more bargains!

 A nice BIG Victorian property with all period features intact would  pretty much fit the bill too, then I could fill it up with lovely finds, ok dream on...

February is a bit of a nothing month, so am keeping  busy,  The time has come for me to put to put brush back to canvas too, its been too long, I haven't really worked on anything significant since last year when I was working on  a commission, to so need to get back into a regular flow, its good for the soul.

Glad its half term in a couple of weeks, looking foward to visiting, catching up with old friends, and its good for little daughter as she needs little people to play with, as no siblings of similar age, so will be fun!

B and I are going away to Rye in week or so for a day's break which will be lovely, such a beautiful town, be a nice breather and a change of scene is as good as a rest, will post some pics of the town when I get back.


Happy weekend everybody! :) xx

                       
 Things to make you cheery, on gloomy days ......
                                            

                           I'm finding it quite hard to be enthusiatic, and motivated, with all this cold, gloomy weather, takes a big effort to step outside my front door, as I go everywhere on foot as don't drive, it's not so much the cold, I hate the RAIN!!  So I have been baking a lot and I mean a lot!, as well as doing lots of crafts with my little girl, to keep her occupied, we especially liked making the paper lanterns, and the puppet theatre and finger puppets, with nanas help, why is the glue so crap with these sets? had to buy stronger stuff, even now there  body parts keep falling off :\

Can't wait for the spring, we have had a few teasing days where you can smell it in the air, I am itching to get out there and start tidying my garden, my lovely tulips are poking out from the soil in the big pot they are in, they were stunning last year, and brightened up the otherwise drab decking in the spring, Shame they don't carry on flowering through to May, as i'm getting married and would have loved them in my bouquet, but have decided on roses, peonies, and lots of gorgeous dark green foliage.

I need to brutally lop my Eucaylptus tree, its grown four times the size since we planted last spring, and is swaying all over the place, i have to keep tying it to the fence. I have lost lots of plants because of the harsh winter conditions we have had, still I managed to bring some in to the conservatory, in the autumn and they are doing well. Am looking foward to strolling round local gardening centre on Sundays in the spring, summer, growing some  tomatoes ( my man insists on this even, if he's not that good at it-we try try again!) and  I want to try peppers,this year, and lots of  fresh herbs again, yummy!

Well back to wedding plans, can't belive its only 11 weeks to go, lots of fine tuning now, but as my other half keeps reminding me 'the journey is all part of it! ' Ive been planning it for two years now! My main worry is trying to squeeze into my dress, yikes!!

Thing that have cheered me up this past fortnight:

Watching my eldest  son play his first school concert, he is learning to play bass guitar, he was a star! I was brimming with pride:)

Finding a lovely little lunchbox for madam,to take to playgroup,  she feels all grown up now,and  stays the whole session, which means 2 and half hours of blissful freedom, to do what I wish... We love Hello Kitty!

And a lovely orange windmill chosen by little S  at our garden centre. 

Lovely lillies,for my table, I prefer them when some are shut, they look more elegant, can't stand the fragrance though, reminds me of TCP!

Some proper cake tins, fed up with storing cake in old sweetie tins, and these mugs, I love animal prints, thought the colours are really bright and cheery!

My man has layed some stunning dark laminate flooring on top of our original floorboards, they were all oddly cut, broken and bumpy and kept chipping, and  old nails kept snagging all our socks! they looked so scruffy, they now look fab! still look like wood, so that has cheered me up! Still lots of projects to be getting on with though..never enough time..

As you can gather from my Blog page title, im a bit of a fan of the film The Wizard of Oz, have been ever since childhood, and adore Judy Garland... Well the other day I snapped this rainbow from my front door, and have been thinking about the film, and wanting to curl up with my daughter, get cosy on the couch, and watch for the first time, which is just what we did at the weekend...with breakfast im bed made by my lovely man, watching it with her me so emotional, i'm sooo sentimental! She didn't even flinch at the witch, the tin man, or the Lion, all of which sent me into a screamimg fit, hiding behind my grandparents couch, when I was little. She has now watched it about 6 times , and is singing 'We off to see the Wizard......Love it!

I got my little S some little shoes that are very similar to the Ruby slippers except they are pink and glittery, she loves them and thinks they are magical...When i was pregnant I bought a Dorothy doll from the US, its like Barbie, has the gingham dress etc, but I will save it for when she is older, I bought it for me really ;)

Anyway, my daughter is off to her Nanas for the afternoon, so I best get on with painting a commission i'm working on...

Talking of gloomy days, the sun is shining now!!

Happy days, there's no place home! Jenny xx