Seasons Greetings?

Northern Man received this email.  I thought I'd pass it on to you .....

Dear friends.

Please accept with no obligation, implied or otherwise, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non addictive, gender neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday practiced with the most enjoyable traditions of religious persuasion or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all . 

I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2012, but not without due respect for the calendar of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make our country Great Britain (not to imply that Britain is necessarily greater than any other country) and without regard to the race, creed, colour, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee . 

By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms : 

This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for her/him or others and is void where prohibited by law, and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher. The wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year or until the issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher . 

Best Regards (Without prejudice) 

Name withheld (Data Protection Act).

Merry Christmas (I think)!

 

Joy to the World ....

and to me in particular as I have a wonderful two and a half weeks off work.  Big Girl and Youngest Child are back from university which makes for a surprising, sometimes startling, lifestyle.  Northern Man and I never know how many bodies may be strewn across floors when we get up, who we might meet on the stairs, or whether there will be any food/soap/loo roll/hot water left when we need it.  I wouldn't change it for the world.

The weekend before last was Shepton Mallet Flea Market.  I had a wonderful weekend - wine and chat with the Aged Parents on Friday evening, a  trip to Sherborne Antique Fair early on Saturday, a break, a walk up the High Street to do some Christmas shopping, a break and then a trip to the garden centre.  I had not realised how much I missed these simple pleasures working every day.  On Sunday we went to Shepton Flea, an enjoyable if not particuarly profitable, day out.

I bought lovely things at the Antique Fair in Sherborne.  Here they are ...

.. a Chinese carved panel, a blue glass vase with greens and greys drifting smokily through it and an embroidered wool panel which I shall probably make into a bag.

This pretty silk covered box is painted with pansies.  The embroidered box is modern, but has a feeling of the 1940's about it.

And a beautifully painted Victorian papier mache box.  A great haul!  The knitted Christmas fairy, who looks as though she's been at the mulled wine and is a little unstable about the knees, is an adaptation of my knitted doll pattern done in silver yarn with dove wings added.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all.

A crepuscular life style ....

Just another two weeks and it will begin to get lighter again.  I don't like going to, and coming home from, work in the dark.  I think it may be the reason Northern Man has booked flights to Iceland at the end of May - it will never get dark while we're there!  

So the constant gloom is the reason for the lousy photos of my latest work which will be going to Shepton Flea Market with me on Sunday....

This little vintage table is actually painted a very pretty shade of green but it is fairly difficult to make that out from the photos.  Roll on 21st December ......

Remind me: have I told you about my failing memory?

Now, I always thought that my inability to remember things from one room to the next was a fault of my advancing age, but apparently not!  A professor of psychology at the University of Notre Dame, says that "Entering or exiting through a doorway serves as an ‘event boundary' in the mind, which separates episodes of activity and files them away" and that  "Recalling the decision or activity that was made in a different room is difficult because it has been compartmentalized."  Phew! What a relief!

But this leave me a little puzzled.  As most caves do not have doors, does this mean that cave men never forgot anything?  Did we only become forgetful when we built houses and nailed some planks together to keep out the wind, rain and travelling salesmen?

But I do remember that some weeks ago I said I would show you some of my Christmas knitting projects.  So here we go ....

... plush chenille knitted birds with fluffy tails and wings ...

... and sparkly Christmas tree decoration birds knitted in jewel colours. 

How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have a thankless child!

Last weekend the girls came home for a few days so I didn't make any plans - no buying or selling expeditions, walks, drinks, meals or coffees.  On Saturday morning we went to Westfield (with my credit card) and then?  Well, I scarcely saw them because it was very important that they catch up with friends - the friends they speak to every day on Facebook, Skype, BBM and all the other methods of social networking now available to anyone who doesn't find a peddle bin a bit of a technological challenge.

So, having no plans I could get up on Sunday morning and do a little bit of much over-due painting.  These little vintage boxes are destined for Shepton Flea on 11th December.

Now they need a coat of polish.

Also, to show you a few things I found at the back of the garage when I had a turn out ...

Painted wood...

... and more painted wood.  Don't know what this handsome couple were for.  They look as though they ought to be handles for something but the bottoms are solid.

Remember these?

To Farnham and beyond .....

First of all a belated welcome to my latest follower, Lynne.  Welcome!

Now, last Saturday I went back to Farnham Maltings to do the monthly market.  There I met a very clever lady called Sarah Dodd who creates the most beautiful cards.  When I return to the market next year (there's a frightening thought) I shall stock up for all the birthdays that come along from March onwards in our family calendar.  Sarah is at a market at the Guildhall in Winchester this Saturday so do see for yourself if you are in the area.

Here are some of the things I took to Farnham ....

Some painted bentwood boxes which have gone off to be Christmas presents and ...

these pretty things.  I didn't paint these;  I bought them from a Japanese lady at Chiswick car boot sale who had a stall raising money for the tsunami victims.  She painted these herself and I thought they were beautiful.  Here are some more pictures ....

When I have a chance to take some photos in daylight (big 'aaaaahhhh' please) I will be back with a post about my new adventures with knitted birds ideas - sparkly ones, rich jewel coloured chenille ones and angora ones all done with Christmas in mind.

The rain in Spain ....

fell mostly on Ronda on Monday morning, which was a shame because I really wanted to have a good look round, especially at the spectacular bridge crossing the gorge.  But instead, we took shelter in the bullring - not that I in any way approve of bullfighting, but it was dry under the stands.  Ronda was the birthplace of the modern corrida and they have a museum celebrating their part in the development of bullfighting.  Among the mounted, stuffed bull heads, posters, and instruments of animal torture were some stunning capes ....

and fans, painted but not folded ....

And then on to Seville (much drier) where we explored, among other places, the Alcazar.  There I found another wonderful collection of beautifully painted fans ....

made from painted silk and mother of pearl ...

Bone? ...

and paper.

We also visited the extraordinary Plaza de Espana which was built in 1929 for the Spanish Americas Fair.  The whole thing is a feast for the eyes - ceramic lamposts, balustrades and bridges, a canal and tiled seats on which to sit to enjoy the sun and the colour.

Then we headed for Cordoba, somewhere I have long wanted to visit to see La Mezquita.  Now we are home and Northern Man, having endured all those 'crumbly old buildings' can play golf and watch football again.  You can take the boy out of the north .....

The Great British Public (bless them all) ...

Well dear RRs and OVs, Shepton was not a great success for me.  The Great British Public was in a non-buying mood and nothing would shake them from it.  They picked up, turned over, opened, admired, asked the price and put things down again.  So it was as I thought - we are between seasons.  We all like to believe that we are individuals but the years have shown that actually we are herd animals.  Something affects us on a particular day - the weather, the economy, the time of year, bad news, good news - and we all collectively buy or do not buy together.  Hence I was not alone in having a slow day but at least the outside pitches managed to set up this time, unlike the last two fleas.

I did, however, get one piece of classic rudeness to add to my collection;  a lady picked up a knitted mince pie and showed it to her husband - 'lot of work in that' she said.  Then she noticed the label with the price on it (£4.50), harrumphed, and put it down again.  'Too much for that' she said and walked off.

That wasn't quite as irritating as an incident at Farnham.  Three ladies stood by my stall next to my green painted butler's tray (which I have decided to sell as I've bought several more).

 

One said to her friend 'you could rub that down and paint it over with Farrow and Ball paint'.  She's right, of course, flowers are not to everyone's taste, but sometimes I despair at how rude (a very few) people can be!

Now to recent purchases ...

My mother and I had a trip out to Bridport last Saturday morning and went round the street market.  I bought this very pretty brooch there.  I'm not sure what it's made from - fimo possibly - but the modelling and painting are lovely.

 Then, by chance, I came across this one at the Flea which is also made from the same material.

Also at the Flea I bought these wax flowers, probably from a Victorian or Edwardian bridal bouquet ....

And, as we seem to be on the theme of bunches of flowers, here are some vintage wired wool flowers which I bought at Shepton Flea a few months ago ...

I hope those give you all some inspiration for the long autumn evenings. They make me want to start off a whole new hobby!