Its simply tonight in the UK and i am sat here typing...

its not really any different to any other night...apart from i was just looking at the girl above my bed in her Mothers heels with a rose in her hair and was transported back to my Mum and Dads landing some time in the 1970's i was looking up and thinking she is so pretty and i love her sparkly shoes and feather cape.....my mum gave me this picture along with a matching young boy dressed up in his Fathers clothes that you can see at the end of this post,they were hung on my parents landing....

Growing up we had as many did hard times and our parents struggled to make ends meet....my parents would be given old furniture that no one else wanted and my dad who trained as a carpenter would restore these chosen pieces to their former glory,we had beautiful old sideboards with the drawers lined in old velvet just like in the old movies that we would watch,mum was a seamstress and would make our clothes and beautiful cushions from scraps....we had a chicken and a duck,rabbits,pigeons,doves,a dog,a few cats here and there,dad even dug us a swimming pool in the back garden and lined it with plastic,we had an old metal wendy house with lace curtains, an apple tree and vegetables growing in rows,a green house filled with salad and grapes,we would spend the summer holidays playing in our garden completely unaware of how mum and dad worried and struggled to make ends meet.....

the old sofa in the back room that would pull out into a bed we would spend afternoons laid under blankets with the curtains drawn watching Doris Day and Marilyn Monroe sparkle and shine,it was all so pretty and glamorous.....

Sometimes i find the harsh reality of life a little too much,am i sensitive? yes i am very,sometimes too much, a lot of things going on in the world today bring me easily to tears....i think that is why i sit here reading your blogs in a delicious land of make believe and friendship,a place where we can make everything pretty and glamorous and lose ourselves and forget about bills and illness and loss of loved ones....

I am blessed with a wonderful Mother and partner,my boys and friends who i call Sisters and they all believe in make believe and i feel lucky to be anchored to them in the storm which can be life....above his side of the bed is the boy with his bowler hat city shoes and umbrella and underneath sleeps my guy who runs his business and is kind and goes out of his way for his customers who often become his friends and on the other side is a girl in sparkly shoes with a rose in her hair and underneath sleeps a girl who has old shelves no one wanted that she painted just like her mother did and hung them on the wall,they are filled with old china some pieces chipped or cracked that no one wanted....she arranges them with china cups and perfume,the things she loves and that remind her of home...In her wardrobe she has sparkly shoes and roses to wear in her hair on her Wedding day,
My Mum and Dad gave me everything...simply the power to dream and live in make believe and i love them for the selfless way they raised us,the lessons they taught us and who knew that Blogger would come along and let me makes friends with you and your own worlds of make believe?

my mum is coming in the morning and i am cutting and coloring her hair..i think i might let her read this post.....she knows i get it but i just need to make sure,

Sleep well,

Love Kristina XxX

Fire 'part two'

The following weekend the concrete hearth  was nice and dry so on went the tiles......it was shockingly colder than the week before and i worked with a hot water bottle stuffed down my overalls..... 

Later as i under coated the wall the rapid set tile adhesive was dry enough to put the fireplace together..... we quickly built the fire and threw on a match...ahhhhhhhh heavenly we had heat and i was so happy i was finishing under coating right by the fire side........

Trying out our Victorian fender which fit perfectly..i don't really like brass unless its old and knocked a bit like this piece...we bought this about sixteen years ago when we lived in an old Victorian house that had been made into apartments...who knew it would fit our fire place all that time later?

I scrubbed the room and then placed our blow up bed right in front of the fire and this is the view from my pillow....oh my it was so cozy and romantic,it was  like being in an old film....

Sunday morning at seven o'clock i walked to the top of the hill to look over the sea as i always do....hot water bottle in one hand and a nice cup of tea in the other...... it was freezing as i looked out to sea i thought i saw a seal...click on this picture and look to the right...see the surfer? brrrrrrrrrrrr!

Back at the house i wrapped up and headed into the back garden...i moved the gravel late last year and dug a flower bed....it was lovely to see snowdrops and daffodils peeping through...it must have been a flower border at one time as the bulbs run right around the back garden...

Off i went with my box hedge's one after the other,i think these will be so pretty when they are clipped into a small hedge with roses on one side and the gravel on the other......

He dug a border line across the back of the garden and i followed planting box hedge...i love how it has defined the gravel,see the flowering cherry tree in the middle of the gravel? it was on its last legs but a good prune last year and some feed have resulted in buds...next week i am going to dig a circle around it and plant a circle of box hedge,i would have done it this weekend but my fingers were numb...in between the trees to the right of the picture i have planted dark green holly bushes which will give us a nice private lush hedge....you have to use your imagination here girls as i know its not very inspiring at the moment.....

It is really nice to work in the house but we need to have  a little break from the big picture and spend some  time in the garden too... next weekend we are fitting the ceiling in the room with the fireplace which is going to be wood tongue and groove,cladding? bead board? that kind of thing and i have another two kitchen cupboard doors to remove for dipping and stripping,

Fingers crossed its warmer so i can potter in the garden.....

"If winter comes,can Spring be far behind?"

percy bysshe shelley (1792-1822), 'Ode to the West Wind'

 

The End XxX

Fire 'part one'

Oh my what a weekend!

He told me to remove the old lime grout with a chisel,i think? you know when your not really listening? anyhow with a chisel i was getting scratched and knocked so i went out to the garage and found this old hand fork which worked perfectly and no scratching and bumping,he laughed and i smiled sweetly.....

Then i had to clean up and re-point the whole wall.....

We lined the chimney.....i had to pull it down inside...

While he pushed it down the chimney he re-built the week before outside.....

When in place he built the chimney and popped a pot on,i love the little ledge he built it looks really sweet and adds a bit of character.....

Woohoo i finished my wall and we had to decide how big we wanted the hearth....."wall to wall please" i said.....

For this curvy baby to sit on.....

Then we chose which tiles we would use for the hearth...we have more than we needed but they were on offer for £60 so we bought the whole pile.....

Love all the little holes they look so time worn almost like the tide has washed over them......

Oh did i mention it was freezing cold and we have no heating?

Love Kristina XxX

Vintage Valentine

A Vintage Valentine question i put together using glass,shells,buttons,pearls in shades of white to sweetly send to Sandy HERE for her to use in her first 'Vintage Video'

Love Kristina XxX

A Hearth Is The Heart Of The Home

This is how the main room walls and fireplace looked.....

I loved this old mirrored dresser back.....

and he loved this old Victorian mantle piece........

and together we made this......

There are lovely beveled edged mirrors to go in and once fitted it will be painted in white and chipped and crackled to a nice weathered finish....the cast iron back panel was a steal on Ebay...we had seen the same one for £695 new and i won this one for £150 and the owners had used it for display only.

We removed all the walls in the main room over the weekend and dry lined them,between the houses is a double brick wall well after my eyes saw this i knew it was staying,can you imagine it cleaned and painted soft white? i sure can i think it will make a really nice feature,so this next week we have to line the chimney and build the hearth for the fireplace,

Its all go and we are loving it,

Love Kristina XxX