Mentioned in...

Cloth Paper Scissors

 as one of the twenty five finalists for the Artisan 2012 competition

 It's only a small piece; as one of the twenty five finalists i was asked by the cps team to send three pieces of work to them and as one of the runners up in the competition this is the piece they chose!

Glad to say that I've since received all three pieces of my work back and this complimentary copy of the January/Febrruary issue arrived today.

I've had an amazing christmas, albeit very quiet, which suited us both as we were so busy before, both in the shop and gadding around the country visiting relatives and friends, it was so lovely to relax, i did nothing for the whole three days.

I'm so excited, i've decided to spend some of my christmas money and have bought a Kindle!!!! 

It doesn't actually arrive until the 3rd January, Gav ordered it online, he's really good at finding the best deals and got it for 103.98 including P&P.  It holds 3,500 books...wow....

I know i've pledged to read the printed word and that will still happen, as i won't be able to take it in the bath and thats where i read most! he he!

I can get most of the classics free and there are so many i'd like to read and re-read.  I've got plans for using my time constructively whilst in the shop and will probably use the kitchen table to do various artworks on, but when i have to be in the shop it'll be nice to have a choice of books on my kindle to occupy me!!!

"A book is the only place in which you can examine a fragile thought without breaking it, or explore an explosive idea without fear it will go off in your face. It is one of the few havens remaining where a woman's mind can get both provocation and privacy".

~Edward P. Morgan

Beautiful Mid Wales, good music, red kites and a grubby pup

Pretty!

The roof tops and gardens of Montgomery last Friday morning from the Armoury top floor window.

...later, there were little bird footprints on the nearest one

 I love this time of year, especially here in Montgomery, it's a special place, with lots going on.  The square, or Broad Street, has been bustling today with people who've come here to visit family for or before Christmas, the market at the town hall arrive early on Thursdays and Saturdays selling all their wares and also the fish man and cheese man.  You can buy fresh baked bread and get hot coffees at the cafes as well, not to mention the other shops for a fab shopping experience, especially our lovely shop "Indigo Moon"!

We've been so busy leading up to christmas (which is good) with late night shopping until 8pm every Thursday and Nicci's been here helping us for a few weeks before going back home for Christmas...so we've been celebrating Christmas early, lots of nice food, drink and watching lots of films such as Jurassic Park, Life of Brian and Back to the Future 1,2 and 3...to name a few!

Gav and I went down to Swansea last weekend to Micky Jones' first annual jam at "the Club" in Morriston, it was a very late night and i struggled to stay awake, but we had a fab time meeting up with friends and the music was great as usual. 

(photos are courtesy of Pete Middleton and Allan Heron)

The journey down there took us over the Brecon Beacons, i'm sorry the photo isn't very good, i took it from the car with the light was fading, you can just about see the beacons covered in snow, they looked spectacular even in fading light, it's one of my favourite places and I love this road in particular, it has a kind of "Lord of the Rings atmosphere"!

...and...the Road back home on Sunday, Red Kites soaring in the skies above us on the road from Ammanford to Llandovery and these photos are taken along the A483 (Gav took these as it was my turn to drive!!!).   This is my favourite route into Mid Wales, i love this road up over the mountain from 'Dod to Newtown.  It was cold and there was snow still on the ground and hills, but the sun was shining and everything looked so beautiful and fresh.

 Our recent auction treasures. 

Gav got me this old ledger from Montgomery auction the other week, i love using the pages from these in my collage paintings.

 and some other old ephemera we picked up:

This stamp is a penny red and has Queen Victoria on it.

 and some old train tickets which are really lovely

 More old letters

 ...and an old Christmas card, which i've just started collecting, they're so beautiful and i have quite a few Birthday cards too

.....and Lizzie....
what can i say? 
she found a muddy flower pot in the yard, she was filthy, not to mention my kitchen floor!

 How cute is that face?

She's made us all laugh this week, she's been completely hyper since Nicci's been here, Lizzie loves her and goes mad when she's around, and of course Nicci winds her up too.  We bought a huge fresh salmon from the supermarket earlier this week and were slicing it up ready to freeze.  As Gav was chopping Lizzie was sat at his feet licking the tail of the salmon which was hanging over the end of the counter, after about ten minutes it was too much for her and unbeknown to Gav she grabbed the end of the tail and started pulling it - Nicci and I were laughing at them, Gav thought the fish was moving.  It was very funny!

Well Christmas is nearly here, we'll be working until 5pm on Christmas Eve and then it's feet up for three whole days....yaaaaaaaaaay, i can't wait.

"Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful"
~Norman Vincent Peale

I've been busy ,busy, busy, all weekend. 

This is the second floor corridor leading to the new living room (at the end).  As you can see it's still a mess with building debris and stored furniture....

 ...but the new living room is coming along nicely.  As you can see it's been newly plastered and the awful  reproduction  wall panelling removed. we also exposed this gorgeous beam. 

It's been painted and is almost ready for the curtains to go up and the furniture to be moved into place, there's another sofa to go along that far wall

 and we think the TV will go to the left of the post ,which will be painted a different colour by the way (gold was the previous owners choice).

 This is the art deco console table which will have our fab art deco garniture clock on it eventually.

Also, the new wall has been put up in the rooms next door to the living room, which will be Nicci's room and a guest room. 

Nicci's been enjoying herself this weekend scouting around the house to see what vintage furniture she can acquire for her new room, she's already persuaded me to part with a beautiful small round table i bought from the auction last week and she has her eye on a pretty mirror that is currently adorning the wall outside the bathroom.

 

Progress is also being made in turning the current living room into our bedroom.  We moved the wardrobes in last week, they look fab with these vintage suitcases on top

It was whilst pottering about the house doing this last week that  I was aware of a calm around me, it felt a bit spooky, My life is so busy and full that I (we, Gav and I) have to constantly juggle and skirt around (and worry over) things, but even so I still had this overwhelming sense of calmness and a feeling of being anchored.  The effects of this calmness has affected me by my becoming (perhaps) less highly-strung (although there are still moments!) being more thoughtful and being better able to kick back on occasion without guilt or self-consciousness.

I love my life

Happy Birthday to you...

"...Squashed tomatoes and stew

Bread and butter in the gutter...

happy birthday to you!

(remember when we used to sing that to each other?)

To my amazing sister

Karen

Have a beautiful, special day

Love you loads

xxxxxxx

On your birthday count your candles and count your years, but never forget to count your blessings.

I just thought i'd show you some of the lovely things we have in stock at Indigo Moon at the moment.  Our Christmas trade is getting busier and it's lovely to see so many things going out.

 I love these giant pegs to hang things from

 and these cute glass baubles

 little wooden branches from East of India they make gorgeous hanging decorations

 Birdy candle holders

 Vintage telephones - i'm still amazed at how many of these sell, Gav can barely keep up with demand

 Key hook

 gorgeous jewels

 vintage ice cream sign (actually, this is in our kitchen now)

Glass baubles

 sleepy owls

 more glass baubles

 Gav and i had a mad dash up to Bridlington on Monday morning for an overnight stay with family.  It was so nice to get away from all the work going on at the house.  We all went out for a lovely meal on Monday night at a place called Raffles in the old part of Bridlington Town.  I never got my bracing walk on the sea front, it was just a tad too bracing!!!!.

Unfortunately, i forgot to take my camera out with me to the meal, but i couldn't resist these photo's on the way back to Montgomery in the car.  It was cold and beautiful clear blue sky.

 

 This is the M62 across Sadleworth Moor to Manchester, it's a nice, but busy, drive across the moors which look so barren and desolate, it's always a reflective moment.

 Gav and i travelled back and forth this motorway regulalry when we lived in Leeds and were looking for property in Montgomery so i got to know it all pretty well.  This is Manchester up ahead but luckily (traffic wise) we skirt around it on the ring road and then it's a fairly easy route into Wales. 

I'm still thinking about my new bathroom design, aren't these tiles gorgeous?  This is a photo from the Welbeck tile site and i really have a fancy for these in the guest bathroom around the shelf.

Or this design on the wall maybe?

Or this, for fun!

....or... for even more fun, this perhaps!!!

I'm not getting any art work done at the moment because the i don't have a studio to work in with everything going on.  I have a small piece in the January/February issue of Cloth Paper Scissors and they're in the process of returning my art work, which is good as i have plans for it!