Sanctuary, Sanctuary!!

My ears need sanctuary today from the noise of the Flooring People removing the tiles downstairs in my living and dining rooms! (Not that the men themselves are making the noise you understand, just the machine they're using.) However, the sanctuary in the title is my newly refurbished bedroom.

 In August 2011 things had got so bad with my husband's alcoholism that I couldn't bear sharing a room with him anymore, so I bought myself a bed from a charity shop and moved into the tiny spare room. The main bedroom was just awful - food, urine, blood and faecal stains on the carpet, the bed broken where he'd fallen on it so many times, and the smell!!!! Urrgghh! This tramp, this unwashed, unshaven stranger who used to be my loving husband.....  

Anyway, a few months after God took him home for healing, I decided to reclaim the room as a joyous, peaceful sanctuary. I ripped out the carpet and dismantled the bed. I took down the built-in wardrobe (which I'd never liked) and gave it all a thorough clean. I decided to paint the walls a healing green, a Springtime colour. It needed several coats as the original colour was deep pink on one wall, and lavender blue on the others. I had new doors fitted on all the upstairs rooms - most of them used to stick or wouldn't shut properly. I had the beautiful wooden floor sanded, stained and sealed, and I vowed to furnish it with used items as far as possible - and to leave a big space in the middle for dancing prayers!!

So, at long last, here it is.....

On the outside of the door is this beautiful plaque 

which my daughter brought back from her visit to Ireland....

...and on the back of the door are some Shaker style pegs.

The head of the bed is in the niche that used to be the built-in wardrobe. During the day the bed is covered to protect against muddy paw prints.

This is a close up of the pretty coverlet I bought from Sainsburys.

Here is the bed without the protection - as modelled by Bramble, who wanted to see what I was up to. I made the duvet cover and pillowslip myself, using a beautiful yellow gingham with daisies  fabric, an old white sheet, and some little yellow ribbon roses. It doesn't really show properly in the picture, unfortunately.

The curtains are made of the same fabric. When the sun shines through it's like daffodils in Springtime!

Above my bed hangs this lovely cross, bought on a visit to Walsingham. It has the Lord's Prayer on it, and is so bright and colourful.

The bedside cabinet came from the shop at our local recycling plant. On it you see two Bibles (KJV and GNB), alarm clock, reading glasses, pen and paper - for thoughts that occur in the night!

Here is a chest of drawers for clothes, with a mirror, hairbrush and rosary on top - and Luna's back end as she passes by!

This beautiful old chest of drawers is another charity shop find. On top is an old dressing table set I got from Ebay a few years ago.

Here is a close-up of the back of the clothes brush, so you can see the embroidered (silk?) back.

My lovely little wardrobe, and a stand, both charity shop finds. I have to tie the handles together to stop certain kitties from trying to find their way to Narnia then getting trapped cos I haven't noticed they're there.

This Ottoman belonged to hubby's parents. 

My lovely, lovely wash stand!! It's actually a tea trolley that belonged to hubby's Gran. On the top layer is an enamel bowl from Ebay, enamel jug from QD, soap dish from charity shop and home made deodorant. In the middle is a towel and flannel, and at the bottom is a metal bucket for used water, covered with an old towel, dyed, and used to stand on when I wash. (Also useful to stop a daft Bramble from trying to drink the soapy water!) I soooooo love taking my time with my morning ablutions in my own room, and it will be really useful on a hot Summer's day to just refresh myself here.

Look how pretty the soap dish is!

I've always wanted a bureau! This is another charity shop find. You must think the charity shops near me are bulging with such bargains, but sometimes I have waited months before finding what I wanted.

Inside. The ink stand was bought from Ebay several years ago - it's good to have a proper place for it now.

On top of the bureau is this Willow Tree figure. I love the simplicity of the Willow Tree 'sculptures', the way feelings are shown by the inclination of the head and position of the body. When I had come to terms with being on my own, I bought this figure because she represents me in my new phase of life - she is thoughtfully sitting, contemplating God and the simple life He has given her, serene and content.

And, finally, a picture I intend to hang when I can find where I have put the hammer and nails. The picture itself was found by Google image search, and the quote is from an online story by my lovely web friend, Ember. In case you can't read it, here is a close-up...

So there we are......hope you enjoyed the tour, and may all who read this post find their own places of serenity and sanctuary  x x 

Belated Happy New Year!

Hi everyone! How's 2013 going for you so far? May it get even better as the year goes on.

Let me catch you up with some of the things I've been up to. The main reason I haven't posted for a while is that I got myself a Christmas job at Boots (Chemist and beauty shop). 

Sorry about the picture quality - it was taken on my mobile phone. I worked full time, 5 days a week, from 7.30 till 4.30. That 7.30 start was a killer! I was up each morning at 6, which is really difficult for this bed-lover, in order to feed my two cats, rabbit and wild birds before leaving. It was also really hard setting off in the dark and returning in the dark, so I made sure I went out during my lunchtimes to see daylight. 
As for the job itself, it was really manual work; lots of opening boxes, lifting stuff, loading trolleys, shelf stacking, shelf tidying, and helping customers find where things are in store - AND I LOVED IT!!! Having been a Primary School teacher for 27 years, it was so good to do such a physical job without all the mental stress and, best of all, no work to do in the evenings and on Sundays!
What I completely forgot to factor in for a Christmas job was that I would need to work at Christmas! I had Christmas day and New Year's Day off but was back there for the Boxing Day sales. When Daughter came home from uni for the hols I only saw her in the evenings and on Tuesdays and Sundays. Never mind. It was a really good experience, and a good thing for the c.v. They said they were really pleased with me for 'mucking in and getting on with it' and wouldn't hesitate to employ me again.

I must admit it's been lovely to take my time again now, and my cats love that I'm around to make a fuss of them. Here's Bramble, my boy cat, hiding under the doormat, waiting to ambush his sister when she comes down the stairs:

And here he is again, this time in the kitchen, having batted something under the mat:

Here's his sister, Luna, taking a nap on the back of the couch:

I've done a little cooking too - Spicy Roots and Lentils Casserole. From this.....

...to this:

And I used the Gooseberries I bottled last summer to make a yummy pie for dessert:

Flopsy enjoyed eating the ends of carrots and parsnips left over:

We've had snow here for the past week and my water butts have completely frozen up. Should have insulated them! I like to use the water to flush my toilet, so  I thought to myself "Now what would my ancestors have done for water in these circumstances?" I expect you're already yelling the obvious answer at the screen, but it took me a whole day to realise.....melt snow of course!!! Durrrr!!! So, much to the cats' mystification, I put three buckets worth next to the radiator:

 I was surprised to find it took most of the day to melt. I knew from science lessons, and milk bottles on the doorstep, that frozen water takes up more space than melted water, but those three buckets only yielded one bucket of water. Hmm....live and learn.

And finally, here's a picture of my favourite Christmas pressie, which Daughter got me from my wish list on Amazon - a hurricane lamp!!

Isn't it beautiful?  I had the wick too high at first, which has left a sooty stain on the glass, but I've got the hang of it now. I found almost odourless indoor lamp oil at The Range (nearby shop) so I am very happy!

Blessings to all who read this blog!  x x 

P.S. Oops! Just noticed I've posted pics of Bramble's ambush before. Oh well, it still makes me laugh every time I come downstairs and see that tail sticking out.

Mysterious Ways....

God works in mysterious ways....    Gotta love God's sense of humour:

 I went to the toilet as usual first thing in the morning and, as usual, my cat Bramble followed me in. (He likes to sit in the sink for some reason.) I looked at the floor and thought to myself once again "I really must get the mop up here and give this floor a wash!" I've been telling myself this for a week or more now, but I always forget again by the time I get downstairs.

Anyway, another thing Bramble likes to do is have a good drink out of the bucket of rainwater that sits in the bathroom, with which I flush my loo. The only trouble was this bucket was only half full, so said cat couldn't reach the water. Being a resourceful chap he decided to tip the bucket up......   

Well, my bathroom floor certainly got cleaned, though mopping with towels whilst still in my nightdress wasn't quite what I had in mind!!

The culprit, in the sink.

July goings on.

July has been a busy month so far. 


Inspired by this book:

I thought I'd have a go at bottling (or 'canning' in America) gooseberries. I bought some from a PYO farm I came across to eke out the ones I grew myself.

I used my new preserving pan to sterilise the jars and lids, with a tea towel folded at the bottom as instructed. 

Topping and tailing the gooseberries was rather tedious, but necessary. Miss Read, in her Fairacre series of books, says she uses a pair of nail scissors but I prefer my knife.

I packed each jar with fruit then added hot syrup (Just sugar and water). I screwed on the lids and slightly loosened them, then lowered them into the hot water and brought the water to 88 degrees Celsius for the amount of time it said (20 mins I think - it varies, depending on the fruit used).

The finished result. Now that the fruit has softened there is loads of room left in the jars!

 I was amazed at how the jar lids dimpled down, indicating a vacuum has formed. When you think about it this is just the same process as tinned fruit that you buy in the shop. 


I'm very excited about all this! I love seeing the pictures of Amish cupboards filled with jars of produce, and I love the thought of preserving food without needing a freezer. I've bought some smaller Kilner jars to preserve rhubarb, chopped peaches and chopped pears. I would like to preserve vegetables, soups and stews this way too but, due to low acid content and the danger of botulism therefore, I would need to get a special canning pressure cooker for these.


This month in the veggie garden, after weeks of rain:


First potatoes dug up.

Courgettes (zucchini) are forming. Had to pick these a bit smaller than usual due to slugs nibbling the skins off!

My one remaining Pumpkin plant is now flowering. It always amazes me just how big Squash flowers are! I caught this one in the morning; by midday it had curled up again.

The mint plants, which grow wherever the mower can't reach, are also coming into flower. The bees LOVE them!

And finally my 3 'helpers'....


Bramble,

Luna,

and Flopsy.

What have you been up to this month?

Some Piccies for May

After weeks of almost constant rain we've finally had some sunny times - between showers. Took the camera out yesterday in the back garden and thought I'd share the piccies with you.

Bluebells - the very epitome of England in May.

The gooseberry bush is showing signs of the beginnings of berries forming - an amazing feat since Bramble (my cat) keeps catching the Bumble bees that visit here.

Solomon's Seal. Look how the raindrops stay on the leaves, making little beads. I am always astonished at how fast this plant grows each year! Some years it gets completely eaten by grey caterpillars from an insect which only feeds on Solomon's Seal.

Jack-by-the-hedge (or Jack-by-the-compost-bin!), a wild flower which has decided to make it's home here.

Beautiful, beautiful apple blossom from the Jonagold tree I planted this year. Will they make apples this first time? No idea - we'll have to wait and see. The label said it 'probably' doesn't need another tree nearby to pollinate - probably??!!

The onion sets have shot up this last week.

The 'darling buds of May'. Hopefully they'll open out this week, as the nearby hedgerow ones have.

White dead nettles and stinging nettles. I allow some to grow for the butterflies but have to be careful not to let them overtake the garden.

Unfurling fiddle heads of Ferns - now there's poetic!

And finally some pics of the beautiful animals whose lives I am privileged to share. This is Bramble, probably looking for more Bumble bees to catch!

Luna, Bramble's sister, investigates the pond.

Can you see who's hiding here?

Yes, it's Flopsy the bunny!

Hope you enjoyed my May photo album! Blessings  x x