Not waving but drowning

Good Morning Lovely Readers and the hugest of welcomes to new followers sbmillesfeuilles, Sooze, Jo, Ileana and Pickle-Lily.... great to have you on board. Please do let me know if you have a blog so that I can follow you too (If I haven't already found it).


Now do you know this poem by Stevie Smith?

Not Waving But Drowning


Nobody heard him, the dead man, 
But still he lay moaning: 
I was much further out than you thought 
And not waving but drowning.
Poor chap, he always loved larking
And now he's dead 
It must have been too cold for him his heart gave way, 
They said. 
 Oh, no no no, it was too cold always 
(Still the dead one lay moaning)
 I was much too far out all my life 
And not waving but drowning.

This is how I have felt since coming home from Canada. All out-of-sorts. Unable to settle to much at all. Really not sure why. My brain has even felt dead when it comes to blogging .... no inspiration.

I have been pulling the house apart. It doesn't work as it is. It is a strange house... a detached house built in 1966 with a weird lay-out and no storage space! We Mr Thrifty bought it for the location and I have spent the last 5 years trying to make it work as a family home. If we had money we could extend but just for now it has to work as it is. So (yes, you guessed it) I have been de-cluttering again and trying to figure decent storage into every room. Moving furniture, changing rooms around and generally getting into a mess!!!


This is what I did to the kitchen last week..

See what I mean? Anyway, please be patient and I'll post the "after" photos. 


Tell me, do you get times when you are all at sixes and sevens with the world? How do you shake yourself up? I'd love to know..... am feeling like a bear with a rather small brain right now!

Have a wonderful day and I WILL get around to reading blogs - I promise

Love Mrs Thrifty

xxx

Crochet Crazy

Hello Lovely Readers


I'm back and grovelling apologies for my absence. A huge, warm welcome to new followers Rae, Literary Ladybug, Jamie Hanna and and Angeliki - if I haven't managed to find the link to your blog then please do send it so that I can join you too. 


I am now back to feeling human (as much as I ever am that is) again after my laser eye surgery last week and Mr Thrifty had his eyes done yesterday. I feel that we have been rushing backwards and forwards to Norwich getting check-ups and the like, leaving little time for other things.

My distance vision is now 20:20 which is wonderful, but I am having to use glasses for reading. They have said that should improve as the swelling goes down ... so watch this space. I hope it does! This has been the main reason for my lack of blogging - I have found reading or using the computer quite difficult.

As you know I started crocheting in January and I just love it. So I thought I would show you what I have achieved so far:

 I am rather pleased with myself. This is just 6 months of crocheting. I also have a granny blanket that is very much "a work in progress."  This reminds me that this gorgeous book is waiting for one of my lovely followers... have a look at the tab above for details.....

I know some of my followers are amazing crocheters and give me such wonderful inspiration. What about other newbies.... how are you doing?


I am off to catch up on all the blog news I have missed over the last week... please accept my apologies again for my lack of commenting. It might take me a while to catch up with you all. 

Love Mrs Thrifty

xxx

Absent Without Leave

Good Evening Lovely Readers

Yesterday I had laser eye surgery and as I am somewhat sore, I can't blog or comment as normal... so sorry in advance....

Love Mrs Thrifty

xxx

PS. You might find this amusing given the circumstances!

http://eternally28.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/cake-sneak-preview.html

Liebster Blog and Thrifty Shopping

Good Evening Lovely Readers 


.... and a warm welcome to new followers Deborah and Magie.You will notice that the lovely Lena at http://frugalandthankful.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/3-prize-giveaway.html is hosting a giveaway, so if you have a minute do pop over and have a look at her sweet blog.

I was thrilled to be awarded the Liebster blog by Sue Marie - what an honour! Thank you Sue Marie and keep going with your delightful blog http://www.home.suemarie.co.uk/ I have seen different rules for this award and found this on google:

I also found a few different images:

 So, the rules I am going with are:
1. Linking back to and thanking the giver
2. Post the award on your blog
3. Pass the award on to 5 bloggers with less than 200 followers:

Liebster means dearest in German - isn't that lovely? I think it a great way of encouraging new blogggers with less than 200 followers. I follow so many gorgeous blogs that choosing just 5 is going to be hard! Some of the blogs I love are also award-free or they have more than 200 followers. I would happily award this to everyone with less than 200 followers because if I follow you, then I think you are a lovely blog, but after HUGE thought these are the ones I recommend to you: 
Sue at http://sftandthe101challenge.blogspot.co.uk/
Kay and Sime at http://thesmithsontour.blogspot.co.uk/
Jane and Chris at http://swiftsuresongbird.blogspot.co.uk/
Debby at http://myblog-nannysplace.blogspot.co.uk/
Cindy at http://justnorthofwiarton.blogspot.co.uk/


Now, on to being thrifty. I had a bit of time today so did a charity shop trawl with a task in mind. Next year I will celebrate my silver wedding anniversary ( and 30 years together) with the wonderful Mr Thrifty and I thought that a vintage tea party would be just the thing. So I have started looking for old china cups and saucers. Now this has proved to be far harder than I thought and evidently they have become very popular. Anyway, I did find these today:

£3 - Royal Albert

£1 for the pair

£1

50p

20p

50p

20p

So, we can have 1 guest at the moment, but my lovely friends at the Salvation Army are going to put aside any cups and saucers that they get in for me. When I was in Canada recently, I was helping Ruthie to prepare for her 50th Birthday and her vintage tea party and we found it relatively easy to find lovely china in the thrift shops. I think dealers are buying it all up over here and then selling on at silly prices. On Sunday, I noticed that the Tally-Ho tea shop was selling cups and saucers with a single tea bag for £12.50 each!!!!!


Anyway, I also found these treasures today:

Old cotton reels at 25p each

My heart missed a beat when I saw this beauty.....

A Kingsize quilt for £4!

Well that's all from me..

Have a great evening

Love Mrs Thrifty

xxx

How does your garden grow?

Good Morning Lovely Readers


My followers list is growing .... but I am not sure who is new. Now this is not quite as daft as it sounds and I don't think I have lost the plot (yet). If you have an image with your profile, you automatically get added at the front of the list. However, if you don't you are given a grey head and put at the back... that isn't very nice is it! Anyway. I know 2 wonderful readers have joined me, but I don't know who you are. so please leave a comment to say 'Hi' so that I can welcome you properly and if you have a blog then please do let me know so that I can follow you too. I did find a lovely blog this week - all through a comment left on mine.... if you have a chance, pop along and have a look at Chy at http://cottagebriarrose.blogspot.co.uk/ - she is well worth a visit!


Now for serious things!  We finally got around to sorting out  our wonderful wilderness garden. Actually, I should say that we have started ... it is very much a work-in-progress!
Do you remember this?

This was the remains of last year's vegetable container garden. Oh dear!  Well, Mr Thrifty dug it over and now it looks like this:

We think it would be too difficult to try and remove this tree trunk, but we are going to lay plastic sheeting and then cover it in wood chips. It should look better.

Meanwhile, I have been busy planting seeds and transplanting small plants into pots...

I have also tackled the pots and containers which were looking very sorry for themselves..

As you can see I adore geraniums - they are one of the few plants I can actually smell.

The lawn still needs tackling but with the mower still broken that is going to take a while. Parts have been strimmed but we are keen to leave it a little wild in places to enjoy these beautiful daisies:

I think this looks gorgeous, but as you can see, very much a work in progress.

What does your dream garden look like? I think mine would be a little like Elaine's from Pear Tree Log http://applebeesatpeartree.blogspot.co.uk/ - have you seen it?

Have a great day

Love Mrs Thrifty

xxx

Anyone for Tea?

Good Evening Lovely Readers and a very warm welcome to new followers Lucylastica2, Carol Crane and Islay Lass - thank you so much for joining me!

You may or may not be following my other blog, charting my successes (mostly) with the Harcombe Diet http://newbeginningswithfood.blogspot.co.uk/ .... well today I took the day off and we went out for afternoon tea. I should add that we had done a couple of days hard work in the garden (will blog about that later) and felt that we deserved it. Am I trying to justify myself? Mmmmm.....

Anyway, this little gem is fairly local and we'd never been so we thought we'd check it out.

Mr Thrifty and I are not of the hunting fraternity so not sure about the name, but inside is a veritable delight of Victoriana with tea served in bone china cups. Everything was presented beautifully and tasted pretty good too!

Pretty bone china with Lady Grey tea

How do you pronounce 'scone'?

Victoria Sandwich - my Nanny was the best in the world at making these - FACT

Mr Thrifty's coffee cake was almost gone before I could photograph it!

Ginger lemonade and a smoked salmon sandwich

Earl Grey 

 #3 wondered whether potato crisps were around in the Victorian era (1837 - 1901) and a quick look on google via a mobile phone told us that they most definitely were...


Our friend Mr Wikipedia revealed all....

"According to a traditional story, the original potato chip recipe was created in Saratoga Springs, New York on August 24, 1853. Agitated by a patron repeatedly sending his fried potatoes back because they were too thick, soggy and bland, resort hotel chef, George Crum, decided to slice the potatoes as thin as possible, frying them until crisp and seasoning them with extra salt. Contrary to Crum's expectation, the patron (sometimes identified as Cornelius Vanderbilt) loved the new chips and they soon became a regular item on the lodge's menu under the name "Saratoga Chips". Alternative explanations of the provenance of potato chips date them to recipes in Shilling Cookery for the People by Alexis Soyer (1845) or Mary Randolph's The Virginia House-Wife (1824).

In the 20th century, potato chips spread beyond chef-cooked restaurant fare and began to be mass produced for home consumption. The Dayton, Ohio-based Mike-sell's Potato Chip Company, founded in 1910, calls itself the "oldest potato chip company in the United States". New England-based Tri-Sum Potato Chips, originally founded in 1908 as the Leominster Potato Chip Company, in Leominster, Massachusetts claim to be America's first potato chip manufacturer. Chips sold in markets were usually sold in tins or scooped out of storefront glass bins and delivered by horse and wagon. The early potato chip bag was wax paper with the ends ironed or stapled together. At first, potato chips were packaged in barrels or tins, which left chips at the bottom stale and crumbled. Laura Scudder, an entrepreneur in Monterey Park, California started having her workers take home sheets of wax paper to iron into the form of bags, which were filled with chips at her factory the next day. This pioneering method reduced crumbling and kept the chips fresh and crisp longer. This innovation, along with the invention of cellophane, allowed potato chips to become a mass market product. Today, chips are packaged in plastic bags, with nitrogen gas blown in prior to sealing to lengthen shelf life, and provide protection against crushing."

Image courtesy of Google

So, diet again tomorrow, but I did enjoy my tea!

How have you spent your weekend? Doing fun things I hope.

Love Mrs Thrifty

xxx