Celebrating Home 2014 :: Part 4

Hello Lovelies,

I'm continuing to make a concious effort to enjoy time spent making our home a nicer place to be. It seems that focusing on one area every Thursday is the  way forward at the moment.

 Now I've realised that the best way to structure this day is to  spend the morning  cleaning and them do my weekly shop in the afternoon. When I shopped in the morning my enthusiasm for housework had faded by the afternoon. 

Yesterday I started at 9.30am and stopped at 12 midday. With no distractions it was easy to get quite a lot done.

This week  the front room got a good spruce up. Many small items were returned to their correct home and all the furniture was moved and vacuumed under.

It always makes me feel better to see it all clean and tidy, even if it's hard to keep it that way. 

I took the time to notice and appreciate the things here that make me happy, like the crochet made by me, and the stripy patchwork cushions made by my boys...........

I polished all the wood, cleaned the mirror...... and felt happy with the tidy room it reflected. Everything is a bit worn and mismatched but that doesn't worry me.

 Middle sons blanket, which was intended for his bedroom , still lives on the back of the sofa. I doesn't really go with anything in this room , but it's well used and I kind of like to see it here..........

When he was ill one day last week he laid on the sofa , under his blanket, and said "this blanket is really nice Mum" That made me happy.

While I was on a roll I tidied the kitchen and polished the kitchen sink with cream cleaner.....I do love a shiny sink..........

My Tulips are past their best but I hadn't the heart to throw them in the compost bin. The rest of my indoor bulbs are from Lidl. There are some strange stunted  orange tulips which have opened up in rather odd shapes. The hyacinths look promising and  The 50p pots of Tete-a-tete's are really nice .

I'm trying to de-clutter our space this year but I couldn't resist this huge stripy mug, spotted on the shelves of unloved things at the charity shop on Wednesday.
 It may not be as wonderful as the stuff made by T.G. Green , but it still makes me smile...

The day was dull and grey so I lit a candle while I cleaned to cheer up the room and scent it with cinnamon..........

On my mantle are some old postcards of Wales and Yorkshire that  Mum brought over to show me. I think I need a pretty memo board to display stuff like this.

She also brought these latest watercolours along to share with me. I know Mum has always painted  for pleasure, but it's also nice to share your handiwork with others isn't it lovelies...........

I liked this local scene of pretty cottages and a church.

And I loved this Lake district scene. It's of Yew Tree  farm which was purchased by Beatrix Potter to preserve the hill framing in this area............When she died she left 14 farms and 4000 acres of land to the National Trust.....

and I've just realised you can stay in this beautiful old farmhouse....details HERE 
Wouldn't that be wonderful.

Sorry about the delay with the wrist warmer tutorial lovelies. I was hoping to take some photos yesterday afternoon but the day turned even darker.

Jacquie x