Blog giveaway at 150 followers

Just realised I am at nearly 150 followers which is amazing and thankyou to everyone who takes an interest in Red House and all our shenanigins!! well being the sort of person who likes to celebrate the moment... when that moment arrives ( come on only two more...) I will be having a giveaway which will be posted to wherever the winner lives so keep an eye out!

Fog spoils my day!

Well, I'm just so cross I can hardly blog! the greatest opportunity I have ever had to see the Northern Lights in it's full glory on my own doorstep and it's foggy!! Grrr! What a huge disappointment I'll just have to wait for our trip to Finland in august and hope for the best.

 Have you seen the new Emma Bridgewater mugs? I was putting in an order for the shop and hovered over the fox mug and then came back to it and do you know I just couldn't bring myself to order it. They have killed so many of our chickens ( Ethel and Edna RIP) it just seems to glorify foxes and I know it's their instinct but they are sneaky nasty if you know what I mean ? so I shall be ordering the squirrel mug instead and maybe the hedgehog , a rat with a tail and a flea ridden spiky rat you might say! but somehow they've  got the x factor.

 I have discovered a new blog Eline Pellinkhof from the Netherlands. The beautiful book below is by her and somehow I knew that I would love everything about this book, do you know what I mean? the colours, the choice of projects, mmm I can feel a major wanty on it's way. Has anyone got this book and what did they think?

Are you following Brenda's thrifty thursdays at cozy little house ? she is such a lovely person, blogs every day (phew!) and really makes my day, just what blogging is all about really! take care!

Northern Lights Alert

 Quick, quick have you seen them? these pictures are from Northumberland I think this one was taken last night on the Holy Island Causeway, it's just amazing ! We get glimpses and flashes all the time here in Scarborough and you have to be on the beach early in the morning but it's quite unusual to get a display as good as this as far south as Berwick. I don't know how long I've had a fascination with this phenomena when I first heard about it as a young child I couldn't believe that something so magical could exist and it is purely astonishing!

Here's another pic, I wonder if could brace the cold tonight and do a bit of skywatching up at Robin Hood's Bay or Ravenscar; you have to be somewhere facing north with no light pollution.Mmmm we'll see how the temperature goes today, not looking too hopeful at the moment, it's supposed to be a mild winter but I'm always freezing even with my thermals on as well!!
Meeting Suzanne later on at Mr Milos for a coffee we always have a good natter, that's after I pick up my knitting needles and buttons from a very nice lady from Freegle. Do you subscribe to your local Freegle or Freecycle as it used to be? It's brilliant and if you're the sort of person who doesn't like to waste anything and can repurpose most things it's right up your street, and totally free!! yippee!! have a good day everyone xx 

Boring cupboards!

 Now don't you agree these lovely wooden cupboards which I used to think were the bees knees would look so much better in Farrow & Ball's Old white or Parma Grey. I think it would be a crime to rip them out in fact in our old house 'Ashover' I inherited an ancient habitat kitchen which was then painted four times in different colours! over sixteen years though. The house previous to that we put a new kitchen in and I remember being bitterly disappointed about the lack of value for money. So now we make do with our cupboards and spend money on decent paint and tiles.

This is my school cooker. It has six burners and the hugest oven which is far from economical and puts you off turning it on actually, though not a problem at the moment as we are microwaving weightwatcher meals en masse; but that's another story as they say! 

 Here is a sneaky look at my mantlepiece revamp introducing some blue elements (encouraged by Mia) the hyacinth just will not stop flopping it  has a really strong scent and makes me dream of spring! the plate I got from a charity shop as was the jelly mould and the blue candle was a special buy from the Blue Door swedish shop in Barnes, I wonder if it is still there?

Here's a funny pic of Miss Bee I just found on my phone, she's not sure is she if the hat is doing it for her is she? ha ha, in the background is Aunt Eva the fifth generation member of our family who is ninety six and holds the world endurance record for wearing a paper Christmas hat!!! bless!I hope you all have a lovely sunday, Stephen has just got back from a funeral in Denmark and is need of tlc and Theo and Rachel are coming from York for dinner so lots of lovely homemaking today!

kitchen inspiration

 It's taken a long time for me to fall in love with my kitchen at Red House. Firstly, I inherited the units, a kind of light wood I have promised not to paint! the tiled floors are cracked where the previous owners dragged their dishwasher out! the cooker is like a school cooker it's so big!!! and it has a breakfast bar and bar stools - just not me. So Steve and I sat down last weekend to do our annual list of  'jobs in the house we are doing this year' we always do this and fix a budget, when the work is done we always make sure we can spend a bit on ourselves for a mini break or something. Big old houses certainly eat your money but we've always loved transforming them into homes for our expanding family. This year is the turn of the kitchen , phase 1, the floor will be sorted, a new kitchen table will be made from the old breakfast bar, chairs repainted from the shed and dare I hope phase 2 will be a paint job!!! Phoebe and I often sit at the kitchen window watching all the birds and squirrels  it just feels like time to wave a bit of makeover magic!`

To encourage my kitchen efforts I have invested in this book with my precious Waterstones voucher. I love Nigel Slater and drool over his house as much as over the food, so a diary of month by month food from the garden and cooking  seems right up my street although I have to admit I might have something similar from River Cottage, mmm might keep that one quiet. So I am anticipating a pleasant evening reading and planning (got my Farrow and Ball swatches in the post) creating my renovated dream kitchen ! can't wait!

Craft Party

 Last night we kept the doors open at Bespoke Country to hold a craft party for Eleanor's twelth birthday! we had a very productive two hours of hard work  and they all went home with three finished items which I think they were all chuffed to bits with! I must admit I'd forgotten how giddy twelve year olds can be but they were all lovely and it went well, phew! boy was I ready for a cup of tea when I got home!

 Following on with the little house theme, you do remember don't you? I bought this little tealight holder in Bruges on the famous 'mini break'! that phrase so reminds me of Bridget Jones, did you watch it on telly last week? the little teddy which is exquisite was made for me very kindly by my friend Marilyn.

This is a tin of biscuits from Victoria which she gave me for Christmas, she knows me so well - two of my favourite things combined!!! It has been on the mantlepiece now for what, three weeks and was finally rumbled today by the scavenging Slades who suddenly realised it had biscuits in it!!!  fortunately the tin is not edible and I wonder how long I can keep it displayed as it is rather christmassy. Spent quite a bit of time redoing the mantlepieces today so will take some pics tomorrow, if only the hyacinth would stop flopping everywhere! enjoy a lovely sunday evening I'm looking forward to 'three hungry Boys' but then I love, love ,love River Cottage!

oops!

There was me trying to be all clever and put in a link except it went into completely the wrong place, doh!! did you spot it ? wish all this stuff came to me naturally!!