The ORIGINAL Ted and Bunny

Many of you have asked about the name ted and bunny . . .

I found the gently dog-eared 1910 postcard at Alexandra Palace antique fair many years ago, instantly enchanted with such an adorable old Steiff Bear gently pushing his bunny friend in the ancient wheelbarrow.

Ted looks so handsome in his knitted suit!

When I registered for eBay back in 2002 the card was on my desk
and I could think of no nicer name than tedandbunny.

After their sedentary beginnings with a handwritten message and halfpenny stamp, this dear old bear and his companion have been beamed all around the world via the internet.

When I launched my website nothing seemed to sound better than tedandbunny.co.uk

Ted and Bunny are now firmly "part of the family"!

Bruce the Brave

Bruce the Horse has an absolute hatred of flies

which, as a horse, makes his life very difficult,

 and for me as his owner,

makes summer a very trying time.

On vet advice I trim the little hairs inside his ears

so if midges get in they're not trapped,

but getting near his ears is easier said than done

when he works himself into panic mode!

Previously he's spent days in the cool of his stable

and nights in his field, but this year

I decided to try a mesh anti-fly rug, which I bought

secondhand on eBay (of course!)

It has a neck cover and tail flap,

comes low over his legs and under his tummy

and to complete the outfit he has a matching hood

(yes, he can see through it!) to cover his eyes and ears.

I have been tempted to sew bells on the ear tips!

It looks a bit strange I know,

but he grazes happily even in the heat of the day

and isn't axiously pacing as soon as he hears a fly come near.

If only we could all have a protective suit of armour to face our demons!

I'll leave the last word to Bruce. . .

Our quirky garden

I love my garden, but due to surrounding woodland

blocking sunshine most of the year

(and those two careless hens rampaging through in search of snails!)

it's not conventionally pretty with flower borders and beds.

Luckily I like the cool solitude of trees and ferns

and appreciate lichen as it silently creeps,

leaving a trail of softened silhouettes in it's wake.

As the lawns are full of moss they stay verdantly green

even in times of drought!

The garden is on three levels with stone steps to the top

where the chicken coop is sited, and the side woodstore,

with logs cut and stacked ready for winter woodburning.

These are my "wild" steps, quite beautiful as you weave

through paper-thin self-seeded yellow poppies,

and wild foxgloves grow in abundance.

This ancient chaffcutter is covered in moss and lichen;

our old cat used to while away the sunlight hours

asleep in the wooden trough.

Outside the back door is a worn circle in the concrete,

where once a Victorian copper laundry boiler stood-

how many Washday Mondays were spent toiling here!

We were given this pair of chimney pots as a wedding present

by a dear friend who knows my taste VERY well!

               So much better than the set of Pyrex dishes!

Ironically, they stand on sentry duty

either side of the chimney breast, their sooty appearance

lending an air of authority to the rambling creepers

planted within!

Stone pillars give the entrance to our tiny house

an air of (sadly mistaken!) grandeur.

I often wonder about the many people

crossing the slate porch since 1879 when the house was built. . .

Demanding Diva

Fluffed-up with success from drawing the winners in my

Very Vintage Giveaway,

Hennypenny has become an overnight Diva and demanded her own blog.

Anything to keep an old hen happy in her dotty dotage

so please would you pop over and visit her at

Sunniest Side Up

I know she'd love to hear from you!

PS, I've told Bruce the Horse and Kit not to even think about it
and in future giveaways, Ted draws the winners!!

Hennypenny draws the Very Vintage Giveaway winner!

This morning was the draw for my Very Vintage Giveaway.

We wrote all the names on pieces of folded paper,

(so Henny couldn't read them) and placed them in a punnet.

Hennypenny was going to do the Grand Giveaway Draw

and had preened herself especially.

She wouldn't wear the gingham bow, so it went on the punnet instead!

Once Henny realised nothing in the punnet was edible,

we knew she'd throw the paper out onto the grass

(we did a trail run yesterday without names!)

and so the first paper out was our winner

and 3 others would be runners-up!

Martina realised she was missing something important

and came to "help"

Henny popped her head down and threw the winner out

and both girls went to investigate. . .

it's DEBBIE at LALABIBABY!!

and the runners-up are . . .

Tilly Rose!!

. . .in no particular order. . .

. . .Ilovemyhouse. . .

. . .and last but by no means least. . .

Sylvia from Cosiness.

This bunch of sweet peas is for all of you who took the time

to enter and leave your lovely comments;

I wanted you ALL to win!

I had so much fun I'm going to do it again next month!

If the winners would contact me with their addresses,

little parcels will soon be in the mail! xx

Very Vintage Giveaway ENDS TUESDAY!!. . .and Happy 50th Julie!!

Tuesday is the LAST DAY to enter my Very Vintage Giveaway, the draw closes at midnight with the winner announced Wednesday!

I've found some other little Vintage Goodies in the store cupboard, so there will be runner-up gifts as well. Yeay!

Someone special will be making the draw; she's been preening in readiness for The Grand Occasion.

My dearest Best Friend had her birthday today. She came and rode Bruce the Horse
(bet you'll ache in the morning Julie!) and then we tootled out into the countryside for a gorgeously girlie lunch followed by a spot of impromptu strawberry picking. . .although I think we ate more than we gathered!

Julie's husband gave her a beautiful bracelet (well she had actually chosen, purchased and presented it, as we wise women do ;o) so I found this cute Gisela Graham cake-shaped cache pot to keep it in, and baked a batch of cupcakes to match.

Julie and I have an agreement that we simply stay at 50,
so (yet again) Happy 50th my lovely friend, and thankyou for always being there xx

Milkmaid Memories never fade

I love yellow, painted on kitchen walls, shining brightly in the sky, blooming in  flowerbeds.

The last time I wore yellow was back in the 70s when, even in an era not reknowned for it's sartorial elegance, I managed to excel in the role of Fashion Victim.

My Yellow Moment came in Biba's Department Store Kensington High Street, when I was totally smitten by a buttercup-bright cheesecloth pinafore smock, perfect for my lacy layered Milkmaid Look. A fashion faux-pas of larger proportions is yet to be seen!

Still cringing at the thought of resembling lemon curd on short legs (believe me, there are NO photos to share!!) recent yellow-flavoured posts from the fabric of my life and ilovemyhouse got me thinking that maybe enough time had passed to dip a toe in the sunshine waters once again.

This pretty little 1980s dress bought in my local CS would be a gentle re-introduction. . .pink centred primroses tempered by a vintage green background and soft 1940s styling- as far removed from a jaundiced Milkmaid as one could wish for!

Washed and pressed, I slipped it on in the quiet of my bedroom, opened my eyes in front of the mirror. . .and cringed.
I swapped flats for wedges, tied hair up and hair down. Necklace bracelets and brooch. A cardi, a denim jacket, stiff petticoats wide belt and pumps, nothing made any difference.

Ted loves the dress, my best friend loves the dress. Even I love the dress- just not on me!
We look in the mirror and see what we see.
Sometimes it's really there
and sometimes it isn't.

And the dress. . .I've listed it this week on eBay- for someone who shines in yellow more brightly than I do!

Very Vintage Giveaway!

Having been lucky enough to win giveaways from

Winnibriggshouse and Andi's English Attic

I want to reciprocate the pleasure received, with my own

Very Vintage Giveaway

                                

All the pretties in these photos are included-

I think you'll like them!

Hand embroidered linens, trimmings,

unused vintage greetings cards,

girlie accessories, 1920s cherub prints,

travel kit and folding hangers, old needlework books.

So. . . to go into the draw to win it all, just leave a comment!

If you want to put a link back to me or grab the

Ted and Bunny button at the side to display on your own blog,

then that would be very much appreciated.

Closing date is midnight Tuesday 15th June.

The winning draw will be on June 16th

Thankyou Andi, it's gorgeous!

Oh Andi, thankyou!

I was lucky enough to win the giveaway at Andi's English Attic

and found the daintiest-wrapped parcel waiting in my letterbox.

Andi had even included a cute little vintage chick embroidery,

and yes you're quite right, it's "me to a tee"!

Two beautiful Fat Quarters of patchwork fabric

printed in a limited edition for the

V & A Quilt Exhibition

and a pewter thimble, reproduced from

a commemorative design marking Queen Victoria's marriage.

I don't have a good thimble, so this is destined for my sewing box.

I tried patchwork only once;

it looked like a Crazy Quilt even though I'd aimed for squares,

but I'll make very good use of the cottons as background

fabric for my ebay photos- the colours are just perfect.

A Victorian themed card with sweet sentiments-

thankyou so much, I love it all!

ps- I'll be posting details of my own
Very Vintage Giveaway later this week!!

pps- just so you can see how well the fabric works
I'm listing some buttons on ebay tonight

and it made an ideal Victorian background!