Molly

I had hoped to have blogged before now but in all honesty I've just not felt up to it.  Last week I experienced a very sad day.  We had to take my cat to the vets and say goodbye to her after a very happy 19 years together.

It is by far the most hardest thing I have ever had to do. 

Walking in with her, holding her for the last time, as she took her last breath and then feeling her slip away, it really was heartbreaking.

She was still living with my Mum and Dad so I suppose it is harder for them, at least I am able to step into a home where she has never been around.

Going back to Mum and Dad's now feels strange.  You can tell there is something missing.  I keep feeling as though I can see her out the corner of my eye, only to turn and realise it is a bag, or the hoover, nothing remotely cat like at all.

At times I forget and then remembering brings it all back again.

It's going to take a long time to come to terms with it but knowing that she is no longer suffering makes me feel much better.

She was getting old and her body was starting to fail her more and more, it wasn't fair to see her that way any longer and the vet agreed that it was the right thing to do.

She will be dearly missed.  I just hope she is having fun catching lots of mice in heaven.  Rest In Peace my little angel.

Love Gem x x x x

Home Sweet Home

So here we are, a month on.  There is still work to be done but we are getting there.  We have settled in nicely and are enjoying everyday life, getting used to the new routine.

So do you fancy a little tour?

First up is the Living Room.

We are wanting to open the fire up.  The place can get pretty cold so this would really help to warm it up on those cold winter evenings.

See that table in the above photo.  £1.99 from a charity shop.  I sanded it down and painted it and am pretty chuffed with how it turned out.  I may have to do a post on all my charity shop buys, there have been quite a few.

The living room is probably one of the rooms that still needs the most work doing to it.  We still need to buy curtains and a light shade for this room but I want to wait until the seat covers are delivered before getting them as the pattern we have gone for is quite fussy. 

I love that every window we look out of there is an incredible view, no matter what the weather is outside.

Now onto the Dining Room.

The work that is needed for this room are the dining chairs.  For the time being I've had to borrow some chairs from my Mum and Dad.   The ones we have bought are in need of being sanded down, painted and re-upholstered.

Oh and you see that there in the background.  Yes we have a dresser *squeal*

This I know is going to take time to get it how I want it to look.  Lots of collecting of pretty pieces.

James has been having a play around with the dresser too, notice the beer bottles haha, now those I'm not so sure about.

I've been displaying my favourite pieces of china.  It feels nice to be able to see it all at last, after being packed away for goodness knows how long.

It's also meant picking up some new bits.  I picked these beauties up from a charity shop for £1.48 each.  It would have been rude not to.

Last stop for today is the guest room.

This room has been used a few times already which has been lovely.

We both fell in love with this 1950's wardrobe which was in the place when we moved in.  It's like something out of The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe.

I love the small touches when I visit places, so it's important for me to be able to offer that when we have people to stay.  I'm hoping to get some kind of dressing table in here too at some point, if not then at least something similar.  I've just got to keep my eyes peeled for the right thing.  I know it is out there somewhere waiting for me :)

Another little charity shop bargain.  £5 and just perfect for the guest room.  The only thing missing is some bedtime reading material, keeping my eyes peeled for that too.

There is still more to come, but I'll save that for another day.

~ Gem x

Heybridge Basin

I'm still here and am loving life in the country.  We are settling in nicely, making the place our own, although there are still bits and pieces that still need work.  I'm just waiting for some good light so I can take some photos of the place to show you my new home.  In the meantime I thought I'd try catching up on a few posts that I have fallen behind with. 

A couple of weekends ago me and Mum went to a craft fair in Essex, not far from Tiptree.  It was Mum's first craft fair so I thought I'd start her off with a small one, the ones at Ally Pally and Olympia can be a bit overwhelming, they are just so big.  The fair was OK, I doubt I would go to another one of theirs, there was a lot of stalls selling materials for paper crafts  which isn't really our thing but it was an afternoon out and being so close to Tiptree we thought we would drop in to the Tiptree Jam factory for afternoon tea.

A lot of other people must have had the same idea as the queue was pretty big.  Time was getting on so we decided to drive back to Chelmsford to grab a cuppa closer to home.  on the drive back though we had a slight change of plan and stopped off at the Tiptree Tea Room in Heybridge.  I'm so glad we did.  

It is a lovely little tea room with such beautiful views across the basin.  I was pleased to see that the tide was in.  I'm not so sure it would look so pretty when the tide is out.  I loved all the daffodils too, a sure sign that spring is not too far away. 

Heybridge is. only about a 20 minute drive from Chelmsford if that, yet I have never been before.  But now that I have been I'm sure I will be going back again.  It really is a lovely place.

It just felt so peaceful.  I could have spent hours just looking out at the water and the boats.

I fell in love with the lock keepers cottage. 

In fact all the houses along there were something pretty special, each in their own little way.

The lock keepers cottage is still my favourite though :)

It was the perfect way to end a lovely day.  I can't wait for the weather to warm up so we can have more days like this.

Love Gem x x x x