Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Gudren Sjoden Opens In Soho New York



Would you like to see a splash of colour and some older faces, well this is Gudren Sjoden and her line of clothing, take a look here Gudrun Sjoden

I just thought you might like to see some colour in the Northern hemisphere, it's been a very long gray winter, and I am so looking forward to spring.

Gudrun is a Swedish designer, but to me the colour is pure India and some of the styles too.  I would so love to visit India and see all those vibrant colours.

I like the way she layers so many of her clothes.

Just when I thought I was done with the dreaded word Taxes, no I am not.  It seems after a conversation with my son that I overstated his scholarship money and now I have to file amended taxes, but not until this one processes through.  Such is life.

I am so behind with writing up reviews on the books that I have read.  Here is the list:
  • ***** The Fortnight in September 
  • **** Reuben Sachs
  • **** Brook Evans
  • *** Lady Rose and Mrs Memmary
  • ***** The Village
  • ** Operation Heartbreak ( an older book read last year)
  • *** Heat Lightening (actually not of the 100 because it came out this year with Persephone, but a friend sent me an old version and I read it last year) 
All Persephone books.  I have to be ruthless with my ratings or else I'd rate them all five stars.  The Fortnight in September and The Village are definitely five stars and I rated Reuben Sachs and Brook Evans fours stars.  Lady Rose and Mrs Memmary three stars.  As you know I am reading and rating the first 100 Persephone books.  There will be 20 in each star category five stars to one star.  My I'm going to have to be really ruthless for the one star but I do have one.
  • * It's Hard To Be Hip Over Thirty
Just not my style of reading, very short, very hip in a sixties way, some funny parts, but not a compelling read.

This Spring and Summer I'm going in for Sunny colours, when I sort my old wardrobe out.  Well I could always throw around a few of those Indian cotton scarves.

Change of subject, I was reading Christine's post in Writing From Scotland - Not So Good Old Days about the WC being outside.  Yes our WC, toilet, loo or what ever you want to call it, was for the first thirteen years of my life, at the bottom of the garden.  We had an inside bathroom, and the room was huge, plenty big enough for an inside toilet but no, it was in a little lean to shed attached to another shed.  In the winter we had to keep a little paraffin stove in there to stop it from freezing over.

To go down there in the middle of the night was not fun, especially after I saw Disney's Sleeping Beauty.  The Queen in that film scared me to death, so mum always had to take me down and stand outside the door at night.

We had a nice little house, Rayburn in the kitchen, bedrooms were definitely cold, Jack Frost patterns on the windows in winter, but always had an electric blanket, so was always warm, but no central heating.  Yes we have moved on, but such memories.  So I could totally relate to Christine's post.

Christy




Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Last Weekend A Baby Shower And Taxes Done

It was a busy but fun weekend, well one fun thing and one have to do thing.  Fun was a baby shower for little Wyeth yet to come.  It was held at Bertucci's an Italian restuarant.  I just read recently that two Italian chefs of BBC fame said that the best Italian food is to be found in London and New York.  I haven't eaten Italian in London but I have in New York and Philadelphia and I can tell you there is some good Italian food to be had.  I had the four cheese ravioli.






There were presents for his older sister Paton, she was very thrilled.



I had to get our Federal Taxes filed, they are due April 15th, but The Boy has to have all his College Federal and State applications in for funding before March 1st. So mum was under pressure to get it done.  But maybe that's good because I could not procrastinate on it and now it's a weight off my shoulders.

Christy


Monday, February 25, 2013

Pawnbrokers And The Three Balls


At work we had a discussion about Pawnbrokers.  I said that they are represented by three balls, nobody over here had heard of this, but this is common knowledge in Europe.

Most European towns called the pawn shop the "Lombard". The House of Lombard was a banking family in medieval London, England. According to legend, a Medici employed by Charlemagne slew a giant using three bags of rocks. The three ball symbol became the family crest. Since the Medicis were so successful in the financial, banking, and money lending industries, other families also adopted the symbol. Throughout the Middle Ages, coats of arms bore three balls, orbs, plates, discs, coins and more as symbols of monetary success. Pawnbrokers (and their detractors) joke that the three balls mean "Two to one, you won't get your stuff back"

Christy

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Finds are Fun


This is a metal tray or very large plate, a thrift find.  Love the roses so English Chintz.


A box of hankies, there is no telling on pricing at the thrift because sometimes they sell hankies individually for a $1.25, but here was a whole box for 0.55 cents.

An old suitcase that I need to get the Goo Begone one, that will take off the old gum residue.

Love the old handle and a kind of a grey linen finish.


Large stand embroidery or crewel work frame.


Inks a gift from a friend, many scrumptious colours.
 

Some of the wonderfully named ink colours, Borealis Black, Blackcurrant, Baked Apple, El Lawrence, (I just wrote that name while watching Lawrence of Arabia, one movie I remember going to the cinema to see with my father)  Rome Burning, Oriental Red, Cherry, Zhulong and Majestic Purple.




And the President's Day sale of 5 patterns for $5.00, so I could be frivolous and get what took my fancy.  One idea I saw in a bead book was to combine a collar with a necklace, I thought it was a lovely idea.

Chrisy

P.S.  Here is a sample of one.

Necklace Size Guide

Choker - 14 inches
Choker necklaces lie snugly around the middle of the neck. Chokers work well with v-necks, boat necks and off -the-shoulder fashions.
 
Collar - 16 inches
Classic and versatile, a collar necklace lays perfectly around the base of the neck. A simple collar necklace matches any outfit and nearly every neckline. Collar length is most flattering for slim to medium build women and men.

For those with broad shoulders or a full neck the princess length fits like a collar.
 
Princess - 18 inches
The princess, falling just below the throat, is the most popular necklace length and is best suited for crew and high necklines. You can wear the princess length as a contrast to low, plunging necklines.
 
Matinee - 24 inches
Matinee length is the right choice for both casual and business dress.


I thought that this was a great necklace length guide, and especially handy if you make jewelery.

Christy


Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Canonsburg Wild Clover


I've always loved this pattern from the Canonsburg, PA Pottery.  It's called Wild Clover.  You see odd pieces now and again at the thrift shop, the difference with these is that they have a little platinum edge most pieces you come across are just plain.


I came across the cup and saucer and a dinner plate.  To me it looks more like a pine cone pattern, but everyone calls it wild clover.


Just right to sit a bowl of tomato soup on, followed by a nice cup of tea.


Click Here Look Canonsburg Pottery up, they do have some nice patterns.  Another to add to my list is the Poppy one, but I have not ran across any pieces in that pattern.

Christy

P.S.  


I have six of these, large rim soup bowls the name is American Tradition.


I have one dinner plate in this Temporama, which I think is my very favourite, very sixties Jetson's.


This Poppy pattern I do not have and have not seen it around, but I do like it.  Always love the bright cheerfulness of poppies.

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

My New Reading Light


The other weekend my friend C and I met to do a little shopping together at IKEA.  IKEA isn't very far from me, but I only go for a special reason.  C. was looking for a clothes dryer rack and I thought I'd have a look for a little reading light.


Here is my light, it clips onto my bed headboard and does was I bought it for.  With my bedside lamp I could not sit up in bed and read, I had to stick my book right under the bedside lamp.  Now with my new little spotlight I can direct it to exactly where I need it for reading.  Plus it was reduced 50% from last year.


 

I like using a lamp the ambiance in a room is so much nicer.

We ate at the IKEA restaurant which I think is a pretty good deal.  I got my favourite Swedish Apple Cake and I tried an Elderflower drink, instead of coffee, I was thirsty for something cold.


My Boy very rarely uses my iPad, he's on my laptop all the time as he does not have his own computer yet, his finances didn't run to it.  So I open it up and guess what is on the background, Rob's favourite view of a city from Star Wars, I'll have to find out from him the name.  It's a neat picture.

Friendships shared are a wonderful thing. 

It seems we've been doing nothing but take both our cars in to be repaired.  The SUV needed the exhaust welded, it's cheaper than buying a new one, then Saturday we took it in for an oil change and inspection.  Mr Bit Brit did not have to work so after we dropped the SUV off we went to Jem's a local fifties style restaurant,  I got my usual, not that we go there that often, but I like their hotplate grilled cinnamon buns with raisins and walnuts, so good.

After that a little thrifting.

My car was in on Thursday to replace the computer module, which had only just been replaced a month earlier, but did not fix the problem, ie all the lights on the dashboard coming on while driving and then the speedometer drops to zero, and if it doesn't reset itself before you turn it off, you cannot turn the car back on.  So we will see if this fixes the problem. 

It had been in before and they fobbed us off with probably a loose wire, how do you find that at $85.00 per hour, but after I had to have it towed in I was pretty upset, that was when they said they would put in a new computer module, so you can only conclude that the other one they put in a month earlier was bad.  Why didn't they offer to do that in the first place.

I Googled this problem and it seems there was a recall on this very problem but my car missed it by 2 months on the VIN number.  So I phoned Chrysler about this, of course no great help, just a lot of platitudes.  

We are hoping this solves the problem.  I've had enough of car repairs for a while.

My day off work on Monday was good, I got my hair cut, did some reading, one of Rob's college books he has to read, The Ghost Map, by Steven Johnson, which is about the worst outbreak of Cholera in Victorian London, very interesting. 

Did get one of the old Singer sewing machines that I found in the trash, from out of the garage and took it down to the basement.  The production number dates it as early fifties, it sits in it's own wooden cabinet, it's electric, and runs well.  The other one is still in the garage, I will have to look that production number up too, I think it's somewhat older.

The reason I bought it in was because I was looking at Poppy Treffry's freehand machine sewing and noticed that she had a slew of older Singer sewing machines to do this with.  She said you have to kiss a lot of frogs (old sewing machines) to find one that works the way you need it to for that type of sewing, without breaking the thread.  So I thought well I've got two just sitting in the garage, so why not give them a try.

If only I had more time.

Christy



Monday, February 11, 2013

Norway, UK And OK Smile

 
Some wonderful Bloggy gifts received over the weekend.  First Jo at French Knots from the UK sent me this lovely green velvet cushion with a crochet applique, along with a lovely little broach, and I think I know what I'm going to wear the broach with. Thank you Jo.


 



This little package all the way from Norway, Arctic Mum, sent me this vintage seventies fabric cushion cover. Just got to find the right little cushion for it. So that started off my weekend in a fun way.  Thank you Arctic Mum and always love seeing foreign stamps.



A couple of little thrifty finds a vase of flowers needlepoint, which I have asperations to make a bag out of.  And this little corn melted butter dish will be great in the summer when the sweet corn comes in.


I'm quite looking forward to Spring.  We missed most of the heavy snowstorm that came down over the weekend over New York and New England.  I did get let out of work an hour early on Friday, joy of joys only to go out and find out that my car would not start; which was rather the last straw as it had been in the dealership just that Tuesday to look at.

I had a problem which they were meant to have fixed by putting in a brand new computer moduel a whooping $775.00 so I was not a happy camper having to have my car towed in just before the snow storm hit on Friday evening, with yes the same problem, it's a whako electrical problem, where all the dials go crazy and eventually the electrical system stops you from starting the car. My husband had to meet the tow truck at my work place and have it towed to the dealership.  I know there will be more to right on this continuing saga.

But in spite of that I came home to some lovely things to smile at and also got together with my friend on Saturday.  Will post more on that another time.

Christy




Sunday, February 3, 2013

Lunch At Red Lobster


We decided on Saturday to take the opportunity to go out for lunch as a family.  Rob gets a 25% discount as he works for the group that owns all these restaurants, so we decided on Red Lobster.

Above is Mr Bit Brit's lunch, below is Rob's and mine at the bottom, with a mango sauce.

 


Rob and I took our cameras and talked shop.  It was nice to be together as a family.

After which I dropped the boys off at home,  Rob wanted to go to the gym and then he had to go to work.  Mr Bit Brit's back has been troubling him and then his knee, so he needed to go home a take it pretty easy.

 I decided to go the the Thrift, where I came up with a vase of flowers needlepoint, which I hope to take out of the frame and turn it into a bag.  Also a dear little corn shaped melted butter holder and matching brush to brush butter on your summer corn on the cob.  Plus a pair of capris, with a bold tropical flower print in a brushed silk fabric, very soft and should be nice for Florida this summer.

Christy

Friday, February 1, 2013

The Future of Car Sharing

The Future of Car Sharing.  Why access is better than ownership.

Click on the link it is very interesting.


The Bright
Future of
Car Sharing


Christy
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