Angel Jem's City Cottage

Today should be Ballet and swimming. Actually we will go swimming at midday, then go to visit my Ma, but we're playing hookey from ballet. Is that bad? It gave me a chance to read all the blogs I haven't for a while, to leave a lot of comments, to see what is out there in the creative zeitgeist and to pump the well of inspiration. We'll go see Ma, but we need to go to the Market. I want some cute buttons, some cotton yarn, some pretty material. I feel a sewing & knitting fit coming on. The princess needs her new summer dresses.... and a white cotton cardy. And then the boys will need some shorts, and I need some new baggy trousers and I need a new cushion and I want a summer house with gingham curtains (red) and an outside socket for a kettle and a sofa....... Inspiration, he? And now I'm off to take some pictures, to download a whole load of the computer onto my external hard drive and to fight (tooth and claw) with my children for the right to keep the computer un...

My husband's Uncle Arthur died last Wednesday and the funeral is tomorrow. Yes, we are sad in that we will miss him, he was a regular Christmas guest the past 4 years and we did treat him as a surrogate grandpop, eally, but I refuse to go in for heavy mourning. You see, he was 83 which is a good innings, really, and he wasn't massively ill ever so to be carried off by a massive stroke with little/no pain sounds reasonable to me. He was such an independant man that to be disabled would have been anathema. My goodness! he didn't want to ask for help if he could help it ever. Stubborn and self-willed, this was a man who had been through WW2 and the events in Palestine until 1947. He had been a scout messenger during the blitz, he knew what war was like...... and he could keep the stories going for hours And hours And hours. I wish I'd made him write them down. Now who can tell me about the sand in the tent shifting because of the scorpions? Who can remind me that 60 years ...

Gratuitous shot of reasonably tidy front door area. (Note baskets of living stuff and lack of letters piled up on mat) My e-mail isn't working. So, because it's not working I don't check it. So, if anyone I know has e-mailed me....... I haven't ignored you on purpose, I just haven't been able to get through to the stash waiting for me on Virgin medias e-mail shelves (Don't try and fool me that it doesn't all get stored on pieces of paper somewhere. I know it does.) Apologies then for any unintentional rudeness & offence that I may have caused. The other downside of this is that I am loathe to do any online shopping because I don't know what to do about an e-mail address. Which is a pity as I actually had time on my hands today to browse and added some more pretty stops to my favourites list. Sophie Perks Ward , a name I recognise from magazines The Hen House. Look at those cute baskets! I love french style shopping baskets and will be getting one......