Corsetry and Calamity

It is the time of year for all pieces of work for my daughters textile design to be handed in. Oh how I have tried to instill the need for forward planning......all to no avail!

So Thursday evening saw the 2 of us (I didn't realise my sewing skills would become a life-saving technique but according to her 'I saved her life!') work for 7 hours to complete the 'dress' she had created in design.

The skirt part took so much more time than she had ever planned for and so it was up to Mum to make the 20 tiny loops and attach the 20 tiny cream and gold buttons the corset bodice. Friday brought great relief as it was handed in complete and I got a real buzz out of doing it! I wonder if I will get a good grade!

Wedding Bells

This is Nana and Grandpa's wedding picture taken way back in September 1923. The matriachal lady seated in the dark outfit is my Great-Grandmother Berridge. The 2 flower girls must be friends or cousins of the bride and the rest of the group are my Nana's sisters and their husbands.

I have memories of 4 out of the 5 sisters, Ethel, Sybil, Peggy and (Nana Edith known as Dolly) but of course in my mind they were all elderly ladies who smelt of lavender water and insisted on smothering us with kisses as children. How I would love to go back in time and ask them now what they remember about this beautiful picture ..........

Willow and Water

This willow has been in place all my life, at the bottom of our lane, over the hump-back bridge and onto the path that runs between river and canal. It has been the spot where many years ago friends had 'tarzan' swings over the water nd where my own children have fed ducks and scrambled about.

The row of willows there were many years ago dug into the ground as twigs, as supports for shrubs...unknown to whoever 'shoved' them in the earth that willows growth is prolific by water and they soon became living entities in their own right.

I love the way the shapes and bark catch the wintery sunshine.....

Swan Song

Yesterday when I woke I decided to go for a walk. Having received a text message the night before from my best friend to say she would see me for coffee in the morning I decided to invite her to join me.

I am lucky enough, although living on the very edge of what is geographically the city boundary, to live near what (if you ignore the hum of traffic) could be mistaken as open countryside. Both the river and the canal come almost to touching point very close to my home and a disused railway cutting has been converted into a public walk that runs from out in the county right to the heart of the city, it is used for joggers, dogwalkers, cyclists and horse riders (as well as middle aged friends wandering out for a head clearing stroll)

I took my camera and the sun blessed us with some wintery rays. It was a lovely morning and I came home feeling relaxed and invigorated.

The beautiful swan we spotted swimming upstream on the river and we clambered over a fence to take a closer look at him (luckily I had a little bread in my pocket to make his posing worthwhile).

Hope for Haiti

This, obviously isn't a photograph I have taken. I am safely in my 3 bedroomed detached house on the outskirts of a city in the UK. But when I logged in this morning this photograph was the first thing I saw.

Harrowing. This is Anna Zizi and she has been pulled from an earth-quake wrecked building in Haiti a full week after the quake struck. It portrays the human will to survive in devastating circumstances. Not one of us, however far removed from this, whatever problems we have ourselves can fail to be touched by the horror and destruction when natural disasters strike various parts of the world.

So my picture of the day is not my own but of Anna Zizi, wishing her continued survival and hope.

Sleeping Partners

As I haven't been out of the house today except for my hot date with the Doctor this morning, my photo of the day is from inside my abode.

This is Jeremy, my wonderful bed-partner. My gorgeous teddy was bought for me only about 16 years ago by my darling Aunt (and Godmother) Doffy. She is sadly no longer with us but the bear she bought me is always beside me at night, forming a barrier between 'us' when things have been dire, hearing my woes as I have wept into the pillow and giving me a 'constant' to wrap in my arms at night.

I love my Jeremy.........

Waiting for Colour

Todays picture is a small brick cottage I pass each morning when I drive my daughter to work.

Both the front door and gateway is framed by a Wisteria, a beautiful soft lilacy-blue shrub that has an abundant display later in the year. It is at the moment bare and devoid of colour but creates wonderful shapes against the white paintwork.....

My task shall be to remember to post a sequel photograph when it is blooming and beautiful.

A Sparkling Party

I went to a party last night.

I didn't know the lady whose party it was but I was invited to by my best friend who didn't wish to go alone. I had a lovely time, danced more than I have done for a long time and drank far more than I should have done!

But before I got to the point of not pointing the camera in the right direction, I snapped this pretty little chandelier which is one of 5 suspended the length of the bar......

Now where's that alka-selzer?...........

Lost Train

This train made an appearance in a field not far from my home. It is a 1929 engine named "Bullseye" which was rotting in a farm on the other side of the city. The farmer who owns the land adjacent to the now defunct local railway station has a love of British engineering and a collection of tractors and lorries from the 1930's to 1950's.

It has become quite an attraction to people in the area and is situated on original railtracks and took 6 men and 5 hours to transport it across the city and get it in situ.

It makes me smile each time I pass it. It is a train waiting for a station which locals are calling for to be re-opened.

The Missed Days

1 Jan ~ These are 2 of my 4 cats, namely Cookie and (Fat) Smudge......

Cookie is 8 yrs old and the matriach of our feline family, she 'tolerates' the younger 2 cats but she seems to have called a New Years Day Truce and she shares the footstool for an afternoon nap.






5 Jan ~ A few days into the new year we find ourselves laden with the white stuff. This was taken in the landscaped car park at my place of work. I love it when the snow or the frost manages to cover every tiny limb and leaf.

9 Jan ~ The coming of such cold weather brings about the need to keep cosy and so I don my bright and snuggly toe socks

10 Jan ~ I had lunch with my neighbour and work colleague and as we sat in the staff restaurant this was my view from the window. It doesn't seem so many weeks since I was sitting out there in my lunch break with the sun on my back.

11 Jan ~ One of my favourite flowers is tulips, sadly this particular bunch didnt fair too well but I still adored the rich warm colours of them.

15 Jan ~ The eldest of my cats, Treacle giving me a morning hug today, her fur is the softest and silkiest I have ever felt on a cat and she places her paws either side of your neck and head butts you for a kiss......the downside? ooh you end up smothered in pale ginger fluff and it can get up your nose!

A Picture A Day

I went to visit my chiropractor yesterday, a chirpy little man who always makes me laugh and who I love to bits for 2 reasons. One, he makes my back feel easier (eventually when the soreness of his manipulations wears off!) and two, he finds my bones (something of a challenge these days) and just for a moment or two as he grasps my pelvis he makes me feel boney!

While chatting away during my treatment yesterday he mentioned that he and his wife had decided to find a "Photo of the Day". They take pictures of things that they see and put them in a file on their pc and at the end of the year they will have 365 pictures of the year they have spent.

I thought this may be a lovely way for me too to re-awaken this poor little Velveteen Days blog which has been sadly neglected and also to make myself get used to looking for the good, the beautiful, the interesting in my surroundings and daily life.

I have of course missed 14 of the days and so I am going to start with a few from the previous 2 weeks. Welcome into my world...........