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 

Decisions, decisions

Hi everyone. (Hi Dr. Nick! Oops sorry, slipped into The Simpsons then for a minute...)

I haven't left the planet, I've just been busy sorting things out in the house. I have, at last, completed the main bedroom and moved in but I want to tell you more about that when I've taken some pictures, and I want to take the pics on a sunny day so you can see the room at its best.

I shall be very busy this week too, as I have to move everything out of my living and dining rooms so they can be re-floored. I've enjoyed ripping up the old, grotty carpet - very cathartic! As Facebook friends will know, I found an old local newspaper beneath the carpet, dated February 1976!!!!! Even more bizarre was the fact it was the very issue which had a birthday greeting for my cousin's 18th in it! Under the carpet are some old tiles ('Marley' tiles, according to the flooring chap.) which are a very uninspiring brown colour. They are also very cold on the feet! I've been using a folded blanket by my feet, or a footstool, when I relax in the evenings. Tiles also have less friction, as my cat discovered when he ran through at top speed (as is his wont) and went skidding across the floor! Hee hee!

Hopefully, in two weeks' time, I shall have a beautiful wooden floor. But the decisions that have to be made....!!! Did I want real wood or laminated? That was an easy one - real. Which shade? Which width? Which stain? Pre-treated? (And all this accompanied by a long history of how good France is at growing wood.) I'd just got my head round it all and got a date fixed, when he suddenly launched into skirting boards. Apparently they have to rip out the existing ones, which are then rarely good enough to be re-used. So do I want this one with all the ridges in? Or this one with none? Round edged? Straight edged? Wide? Narrow? What have you got already (No idea!), as it needs to match the rest of the house (Why? Doesn't bother me!). Aaaaaaarrrrggghhh! I don't know! Just bung a bit of wood round the edges for goodness sake - it's only there to stop the hoover/carpet sweeper bashing the walls!!!!

Deep breath now, Hawthorne. Calm. Trees gently waving in the summer breeze....

It had better all be worth it, that's all I can say!

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.

Mon Beau Sapin...

Hi everyone! Last time I showed you the little choir people I made for our church's first Christmas tree festival. Thought you'd like to see them in place, along with some of the other trees. Local schools, churches, businesses and societies were invited to decorate a tree - 27 in all. I haven't got pictures of them all, but here's a selection....

Church choir tree.

Closer up.

Tree by a local Primary school.

Submitted by local Catholic Primary school; the tear drops have prayers on them for the healing of the world.

From a nearby church. They copied pages from a music hymn book and shrunk them - why didn't I think of that?!

Angels from the realms of glory....

A simple but effective idea from the church run playgroup - artificial flowers dipped in glitter.

Our church Prayer Shawl group meet weekly to knit, crochet, weave and sew items, praying as they are made, to bring comfort to those in need. 

Angels and stained glass biscuits from our Footsteps (Sunday School) and Messy Church groups.

Angelic close-up.

A hole was cut in the centre of the shortbread biscuits, crushed boiled sweets filled the hole and these then melted during the cooking.

The scouts made their own tree, as well as the decorations.

The body of this life sized angel (Or, rather, human sized - surely angels can be whatever size they want?) is made from lots and lots of paper bun cases. 

Another Primary school's tree. Brought back many happy memories of past Christmases in schools in which I have taught. Who can forget those happy, excited children whose faces and hands had more glitter and sequins than the things they were making...

The east end of our church. These two trees will stay up till Epiphany; the rest were taken down after the festival.

The bellringers' tree. 

And, finally, visitors were invited to write a prayer request on a star and tie it to this tree.

Take Me Home, Country Roads

Had a lovely drive out the other week (14th November) in the country lanes around the Norfolk villages of Shernborne and Anmer, and thought I'd share some pictures with you. It was a really still day, not a breath of wind. Just beautiful!

My eye was drawn to a flash of bright pink in the otherwise bare hedgerow - a Mallow!

Beautiful Autumnal tree - Beech or Oak I would guess.

So peaceful.....

Deserted road....

...which was just as well, since it was too narrow for two cars to pass each other!

Gateway to a field. There were hares in this field, but too far off for my little camera to pick up.

All of a sudden there was a great cacophony of noise overhead, as hundreds of geese flew in.

They landed in a field and, after a little chat to each other, settled down to eat. I wish I'd had my binoculars so I could tell you what sort of geese they were.

And finally, to finish the post, a few random photos....

Goodness, my doormat is awfully bumpy!

Ah, it's Bramble, waiting to pounce on his sister when she comes down the stairs!

Our church is having a Christmas Tree Festival. I made these for our Church Choir tree, in the colours we wear. Everyone drew their own faces. (A few were missing at this stage, including our conductor and organist.)

This is me! Do you think it's a good likeness?

Advent blessings to you all!!!!   x x x