My wish...

...is that everyone has a wonderful new year, and the happiest of coming years.

May your life be full and glorious...

May your business succeed, may your home be happy...and may our team win.

Happy 2010, one and all...

We are...

...on the whole a resilient bunch. When you live in the middle of nowhere, you don't expect to see the gritter lorry pass your door, so you're not disappointed, you just get on with life. The local farmer gets his plough and digs a way through the top layer of snow, you go for walks, meeting neighbours, following tracks, until the sun is shining enough to venture into cars and travel.

We don't have anything as easy as snow chains, we just slide our way out.

Now the main road you do hope the grit lorry might have found that, but here...no, no such luck, so you slide your way, albeit a little faster, towards the lights of town.

New snow I can deal with, it's the ice and the promise of cold nights and bitter mornings that keeps me huddled in my village.






So I'm discovering delicious sounding paint colours for the rooms in our cottage, thinking of kitchens(we're moving it), the one we have at the moment is the only room that doesn't get any sun, so is naturally dark, with dark brown floor tiles, and dirty wooden units(and smells, however much I clean)...and warming myself on a reclaimed AGA sometime next year. It's going to the back of the house where the sun pours through windows and stained glass french doors...we're knocking a small sitting room through to a tiny utility room, to make one reasonably sized kitchen...having free standing furniture...reclaimed mostly...we've found a great shop in Dereham called Steptoes, who only sell second hand furniture...and pieces picked up as we go...

Then there's the outside to paint...and the sitting rooms...and the...oh, I've loved moving!

I should...

...have had a new electric meter installed today, alas he couldn't make it down our road...and this is why...

Our garden..

Our cottage

St Andrews and lane

St Andrews

A rather beautiful reason...though next week would've been nicer, and we would have had an "official" white Christmas...and as I type, the snow is falling again.

Our cottage...

...I promised some photos...and gradually I'm getting there...


When the drawing room extension was built, the owner had the wonderful idea of placing this in the corner, it looks out over the entrance to the house, and sparkles in the evening...



We have no idea who and when this was placed in the cottage...a "yet to be discovered" element...I love puzzles...



And our fireplace...or inglenook, and in this weather, a warm refuge.

Several...

...weeks ago, or rather months ago, I was asked if I'd make some bracelets as presents for a wife and a mum. With the move and some photos of colours coming, the making was delayed, but now they've been sent and approved, I'm happy to say.

My brief was to complement a ring and necklace of sparkling gems, so gathering the colours together I made the below crystal charm bracelet...

I do love this silver heart chain, it just gives a special touch...don't you think? Especially for a wife...

And Mum, I was told, likes bold, black and white and chunky...so the two below were designed and made...




And I have a happy camper...hoping the recipients are as happy...

Thank you...

At last...

...I've met another neighbour. The couple who live on the corner, which is next door. They have the post box outside, and when I had cards to post and saw the lady of the house hanging her washing...I had to say hi.

They were very nice...we had a chat about this and that in the village, which houses are holiday homes (which seems the majority are). I'll be interested to see who comes for Christmas...and about the Carol Service on Christmas Eve and all back to the manor house for nibbles after. One thing she did hint at though, our lady of Norfolk has put her house on the market! And yes, sure enough it is.

My home is beginning to sparkle. I've got my tree all decorated and lit, and anyone who knows me will tell you, this is early for me...and the logs were delivered earlier this week, and now I have fires in the evening, keeping us all snug...

How happy and contented life is, when you know you've done the right thing...

Yesterday...

...was the first visit to Norwich since we've moved. It's strange how being a "local" gives you a whole new view of a city, and you don't feel as though you've got to cram the whole city into one visit, that you can make another visit next week.

In our visiting around we were looking at sofas, for next year you understand! Ha...it doesn't work like that, now does it!? We have two sitting rooms, one has beams, and our current furniture is great for the traditional feel, the other room is a newer extension...and that's where we needed the sofa for....and this is the one we've found...it's not as matt grey as this photo, it's more slubbed and mottled greys...and is in fact a sofa-bed with a proper mattress...
It's coming early February...so I need to get my pots of paint out! The fabric for the blinds is(at present) going to be..."Silver Birch"...again not as grey as this shows, but with a more creamy grey background.

The windows are reasonably large and give views right through the garden. With wooden flooring, a large chunky rug...and splashes of colour brought in...it wasn't going to be the first room thought of, but you just have to do these things sometimes, now don't you!