Cupcakes at Home

i am over here...

2010-09-07T02:44:00.000-07:00

olive and harry

click on the link and come and say hello

t x

changes...

2010-07-08T11:00:00.000-07:00

it would seem that a few changes are happening around me at the moment...

little things taking me in new directions craft wise...

how i look out at the world and realising who i can trust and who i clearly cannot...

and one huge change that if all goes well in the next few weeks looks set to change mine and stephens life forever.....

so

one of the small changes is how i feel about what i sell... in the days when i had my bricks and mortar shop i loved going to trade fairs and choosing mass produced items that i would buy in to sit next to the handmade..
i carried on my cupcakes shoplet and joined not on the high street when we moved and just transferred all goodies to online selling - it was a great way to stay in touch with old shop customers and it of course paid some bills..
now i live so far North and have the life that i do, it is not possible for me to gad about at trade fairs looking for the next delight, and browsing through endless brochures is a chore i could do without...
so
i have slowly started to wind down cupcakes.. it will still remain over at NOTHS but will have a smaller more select range - i am undecided if i will keep my own website for cupcakes active..

with my mind shifting firmly from the mass produced to the handmade i have made the decision to start blogging over here

olive and harry is the name of my handmade company that has been pretty much just sitting around doing nowt for the last few years - now is the time to start looking after it a little more and hopefully watch it slowly grow

so

that's where you will find me

t x

catch up #1 ... dogs and ducks

2010-07-04T12:34:00.000-07:00

as i have totally neglected my dear blog i plan to catch up on all that has been going on here over the next week..

the first post today will be a catch up on the hounds and ducks...

our group of bandits are all doing well.. two girls continue to guard a nest but no sign of any more ducklings as of yet....

the sweet pair of ducklings are growing at an incredible rate... the pale yellow one chats from the moment you open the door in the morning until it is put to bed at night...

the hounds have enjoyed some sunshine and the long grass

no picture of george or mcdog as camera run out of steam :(

back soon with catch up #2 ... makes :)

t x

2010-07-02T12:21:00.000-07:00

sorry to be away so long...
i have been poorly but am now slowly crawling out of my sick bed...

good to be back blogging
good to be back sewing
but most of all it is good to be back walking my amazing hounds through our field...
the grass has grown so much in a week!

long update of all the news from here very soon

t x

sheep for the sheep raffle

2010-06-18T12:55:00.001-07:00

vintage and recycled fabrics..

sheep merrily grazing along the velvet hillside....

available as a raffle prize as soon as the powers that be manage to finish testing the payment pages...

in other news....

a gross act of bullying took place yesterday evening....

this poor hooded crow was attacked by its own kind, at least fifteen other crows took him down in one of our sheep fields..

the screaming alerted us enough to reach him in time - it looks as if he has a broken wing...

he has spent today in a rabbit hutch, eating duck food soaked in warm water and gazing out to sea...

this evening a very kind and sweet inspector came and collected him - he is off to a rescue centre where they can assess the damage and see what his chances are....

we have everything crossed for our hooded friend

t x

excuse me madam .... i seem to have something on my foot....

2010-06-14T14:48:00.000-07:00

ahhh..

that's better...

managed to get all the poo off by rubbing it on your trouser leg.....

will you just look at my shiny clean feet...

i can almost see my face in them....

perfect for a spot of lamb dancing....

now
do excuse me while i rush and tell my friend about the disgusting mess left on your last pair of clean jeans....

oh
how
we
laughed

t x

the banana splits....

2010-06-13T15:38:00.000-07:00

our sweet ducklings are lucky ducks indeed....

they get to drink from a rather lovely old banana split dish...

they also have vintage china plates for their food and a sandwich dish for a very shallow paddle...

seriously cute.....

and growing so fast

t x

the summer according to george.....

2010-06-10T04:52:00.000-07:00

so
the summer begins....

warm and light evenings perfect for lots of hound adventures...
walks with my hound family and the two people i love most in the world..

life
is
good

i shall spend my days eating and relaxing gearing myself up for my evening jaunts and high jinks...

bliss....

whats that you say?

big brother has started?

oh....

on every single night you say....

for the whole summer?
really truly?

oh...

still

only one of my very favourite people will be watching so if i attempt a quick calculation....

that still leaves one of my most favourite people to spend evening whippety adventures with...

hip hip hurrah....

whats that you say?

the world cup?
really truly?

then there is simply no hope....

meh

g x

surprise!

2010-06-07T13:05:00.000-07:00

look who we woke up to this morning....

two perfect ducklings....

we honestly thought our duck was sitting on failed eggs and we were just planning on when we should remove the nest in the hope that the girls would lay a fresh batch....

thankfully we planned on leaving it another week which we will now obviously do just in case any of those other eggs plan on hatching :)

t x

a super weekend...

2010-06-01T10:41:00.000-07:00

sunshine, veggie bbq, garden sorting and much planting out of vegetables, reading, sewing , laughing, and playing with hounds and lambs...
not bad eh?

now
a book suggestion for your summer reading...

if you are going camping this summer then take a copy of this book..
perhaps refrain from reading it before you take off for your trip under canvas especially if you have a slight fear of camping toilet facilities (or lack of)....
never have i laughed out loud so much whilst reading
real howling belly laughs
i love emma kennedy
she is also on twitter making me laugh daily

the book also prompted me to finally make these badges which have been floating around in my head for the longest time....

and the badges in turn made me think about the badge machine dilemma i am having...
i used to make badges years ago in the days when i was a nanny and then a dress wearing shopkeeper...
i made them for children's parties, weddings and for the shop...
when we packed up and headed north the badge machine was shoved in a box and that is where it has remained...
with so many other beautiful badges being made i felt totally unsure of bringing out my dusty machine and having another go.....
i have carried on making these by hand and they have sold reasonably well ....

- my panic only rises when i receive a wholesale order for them as they do take time, but as i am hopeless at finding shops to supply and wholesale orders are few and far between i have not worried....
now my mind is turning to getting back to promoting myself and my wares a tad more i have to attempt to streamline a wholesale range..
my hand embroidered badges have to be part of the collection so i have to accept that the old badge machine will cut down making time a great deal...

i have checked that the part needed for rectangular and square badge making will fit my old girl and they do - now i have to just swallow deeply and invest the ridiculously large amount they want for the extra parts...

in other news...

poor bella boo has cystitis and is totally miserable as you can imagine - treatment is working but as far as she is concerned it is taking its time :(
she is however enjoying the extra cuddles, being allowed to be first in line for the best bed right next to the Rayburn and tuna.....

... and joy of joys i have found a recipe for Vegan coconut macaroons...
and folks they are good

very

very
good

t x

the rather lovely rescue sheep raffle is coming....

2010-05-31T12:11:00.000-07:00

and here are a few pictures of just some of the prizes ...

hip hip hooray
so much loveliness all under my roof...
fleetingly thought of running away with the entire lot but was stopped by the thought of being hunted down by folk that already have there eyes on certain prizes :)

lots more available to see on the raffle page and for the kind folks who have contacted us worried that they may be too late to donate prizes then worry not... prizes will be accepted for awhile longer

t x

we are slowly weaning .....

2010-05-28T12:41:00.000-07:00

... the milk is getting less and less in the bottle as super cute jimmy lamb takes in more grass, hay and lamb feed....

it is not going well..

this is what he thinks of it all....

lots of headbutting to try and make more milk.. (him not me)

chewing of wellingtons in anger (him not me)

lots of crying at the fence... (him and me)

but each day it gets a little easier...

t x

thrift....

2010-05-26T12:06:00.000-07:00

six plates
six cups

very, very pleased :)

t x

2010-05-23T13:18:00.000-07:00

the rather lovely sheep raffle should, with a little bit of luck, and a good wind behind it.. be ready to go, go, go on the 1st June....

if we knew it would have taken this long to have the script written and put in place and the legal side of things finalised we may have said nothing until it was all done!

hey ho

almost there

t x

rather hot here today.....

2010-05-18T12:36:00.000-07:00

:)

t x

the misfits.....

2010-05-17T13:34:00.000-07:00

today i thought i would give you a general update on our group of misfits...

they all seem to be doing o.k, we have had a few issues with sore feet but a quick trim and clean up seems to have solved all hobbling :)

they are still wearing their huge coats as the weather is not quite warm enough for shearing yet - it will be an incredible shock to them as they are carrying a good few years fleece....

they are all eating very, very well, both hay and sheep food and little jimmy lamb is merrily working his way through bags of lamb milk powder!

dear hilde still shows no signs of giving birth ...

she spends most of her day resting and looking so gentle and sweet..

she will now eat happily out of my hand x

jimmys mama has had a really sore foot :(

lots of limping which was not helped by the fact she spends her day watching and running after her lamb....
we have given her feet a good trim and the foot spray has helped hugely...

she is still a little wary but will eat out of my hand but backing away if i even move an inch!

her little chap jimmy (named after the man who assisted in his delivery in to the world) is growing at an alarming rate...

life is one huge adventure for this boy...

he now leaps up on my lap at bottle time and is just starting to enjoy solid lamb feed too x

jimmy's best mate is jack....

oh boy - what a character this boy is..

i sit for ages in the field watching his antics - the whole flock adore him and he gets away with being so naughty!

today he was sunbathing and i watched as he slipped in to a deep snooze...

slowly, slowly he started to tip over...

going
going
going

and then he was down!!

he will now play around me and even stole a chocolate wrapper out of my coat pocket today..
will not accept food from my hand yet but i can stroke him without causing him any alarm x

jacks mama is a funny girl...

you can see that she desperately wants to come closer but she is just not quite brave enough yet...

and as for nora?
well...

she took a pee right in front of me the other day and it would seem that nora is in fact a norman...
hey ho!

here is a picture of the two lambs together..

it shows that even though jimmy is being bottle fed it is not affecting his growth at all...
they are such great pals x

the raffle is still in motion..
still waiting for Everyclick....
still accepting any prize donations *ahem*

prizes received so far can now be viewed on our website ..

back soon

t x

hello, hello....

2010-05-15T13:06:00.000-07:00

today i watched as my two sisters boarded a plane home....

they have been staying with us and we have done all the things that three sisters that have not been all together for such a long time do...

we talked a lot.....
often all at the same time....

we ate lots....
we laughed lots....
we even argued as only sisters can do....
knowing that whatever is said the bond and love between us remains.....

we had a few trips out where scenery and history were admired...

and tea and cake was consumed....

jimmy lamb suddenly had two extra mama's....

and the mad ponies put on quite an entertainment show.....

but now they have gone home and our house feels a little empty...
cricket is moping outside there bedroom door....
ghillie mcdog thinks he has lost his very best friend :( .......
and i am moping in front of my lap top knowing that i now have to get back to work....

so many new treats to upload to my website....
so many gorgeous raffle donations to photograph and show....
so many people to thank for their support...

but i think for the rest of today i shall just think about the whirlwind that rushed through this house filling it with love and laughter..

my two sweet baby sisters....

i
miss
you

t x

whilst i have been away from blog land....

2010-05-04T13:41:00.000-07:00

a sweet duck has taken to her nest.....

there has been much playing.....

... eating

and growing....

and our drive has been dug up so that our permanent water pipe can at long last be put in place...

back soon with raffle news and sheep update

t x

settling in....

2010-04-30T12:15:00.001-07:00

sorry for the lack of blog posts..
i said it would be a massive thing that would stop me from my mission to post everyday this year..

to be honest i have been struggling to get my head around the newcomers...

i have been spending as much time as possible just sitting in their field quietly..
watching
talking to them
reassuring them that they are now safe

we knew very little about this groups history before they arrived, just that they had been through a pretty tough time...

sitting with them and gently observing i can see that they are so scared, so wary and all carrying wounds that are proof of their horrible start and how cruel we human beings can be towards animals...

you all know that nora has no ears, her ear tag was handed to us to keep safe as there is literally no lobe left to put it through...
bitten by midges and left to become infected, eaten away by infection until only bone remained...

this beautiful lady is the mama of lamb number one... she cannot feed her own baby as the idiot who sheared her years ago took off not only the fleece but all but one of her teats....

but she still adores him and protects him more than any other ewe i have ever seen...

she also has numerous holes in her ears where her previous owner decided that rather than using the same hole if her tag fell out they would just re- pierce it time and time again...

the same owner thought it would be a good idea to cut a huge chunk out of one of her ears just so he would know for absolute certainty that she belonged to him....

the lady at the back of the picture above is our ewe yet to lamb..
we have named her hilde
she so desperately wants to come close as i sit on my wooden stool but she just cannot be sure that i can be trusted...
out of all she has the most soulful eyes...
i am more than a little in love with hilde but i know it is going to be a long road before she trusts us...

she has not been sheared for many years so is carrying around a huge extra weight ....
i cannot tell if she has any external wounds as her fleece covers her almost completely....

this is mama to lamb number two and to be honest i have very little to tell of this lady as she is the most worried, the most wary, the most scared of humans...
she has apparently killed her previous two lambs which we think may just have been down to the lack of security and care she was being given - an animal will often kill its own if it cannot provide for it - often they abort early due to lack of available nutrition...
thanks to the lovely lady who saved this group and gave the correct nutrition and safe home in the latter stages of pregnancy, this mama now has the chance to love her baby..
and she truly does love him

they are all living happily together in a field getting used to other sheep in adjoining fields, passing dogs and ponies and us....

we are bottle feeding lamb number one which is a joy but it is always tinged with sadness as his mama flits around bleating for her boy...

today she came close enough to touch my trouser leg with her soft nose..
i am hoping that she is starting to realise that we are only doing good things for her precious baby...

i am of course overjoyed they are here but it will take a long time for me to get my head around how someone could have mistreated this group of beautiful creatures so much

but
they are all here
and we are so very, very glad

t x

anxious.....

2010-04-26T13:07:00.000-07:00

i am anxious....

you can tell this by the large amount of baked goods that i have made today....

when i fret
i bake

i am anxious about the new sheep arriving and how they will settle...

how our sheep will respond even though i know that they will be in separate fields...

i am anxious that the raffle tickets are still not on sale....

everyclick seem to be taking ages to sort it all out - apparently we are their first online raffle....

i am anxious that after the great immediate response to the raffle that it will be shoved under the carpet so to speak....

time goes by and folk will forget...

so

between helping with the fencing and shelter building i baked...

i am a truly terrible cook but i am a rather good baker...

white loaf, onion bread, fattayers stuffed with squash, spinach and pinenuts...

and a giant vegan chocolate cake...

it was when i suggested a quiche and cookies that stephen ushered me out of the kitchen..

apparently i was actually gibbering....

tomorrow i hope to turn my gibbering wreck of a person towards the sewing machine!

t x

decisions made and more good news..

2010-04-25T12:30:00.000-07:00

look who arrived today :)

another little boy which kind of helped make up our minds regarding where these guys will live forever more, and more importantly with who...

they will both be banded (castrated) and will eventually join our happy group of last years lambs :)

how cute is he?

and the really great news is this mama has milk and is very protective of her baby...

lamb#1 also has good news to tell...

his very own mama has decided that even though she has no milk she would still very much like to be his mama..

so the plan is that they will stay together and the lamb will just be bottle fed by us...

i had my first feed today xx

we now have one ewe left to lamb....

and it seems that nora no ears is not in lamb...

the plan is to bring them all here on wednesday..

we have been fence erecting today and will be building shelters and buying lamb milk tomorrow...

the raffle is still good to go, we will be speaking to everyclick in the morning and if they are not able to help immediately then we will change it all to paypal..

either way we hope to be up and selling raffle tickets next week before everyone forgets about our sheep rescue!

and tomorrow i promise to post on something other than sheep :)

t x

we have good news and bad...

2010-04-24T11:51:00.000-07:00

look who arrived in the early hours of this morning.....

a beautiful little boy....

and now for the bad news....

sadly his mama has no milk and as such just got up and left him ...

the lovely lady took him to her neighbour who keeps sheep and he was given a bottle of feed and artificial colostrum...
this will be good for him but he really, really needs milk from a ewe as it will carry so much goodness and antibodies..

the plan is to try and get one of the sheep ladies other ewes to take him on for a few days, he has been put to one ewe but she really did not want him...

one other ewe is due anytime now so as soon as she gives birth and if she has only one lamb our boy will be rubbed in the necessary and placed at her side...

we then have the tricky situation of what to do with him?
he cannot stay with the sheep lady as hers are meat sheep and will be fed very differently, and she would rather her lamb had all the milk understandably...

stephen and i have been chatting about very little else all day...

we think the best situation is to have him castrated with the view to him joining the crew of last years lambs we have here...
he will then at least have a merry band of forever playmates :)

the only other option is to keep him entire and pop him in with boris or rodders but the thought of angry rams fighting makes me wary...

and adding to it all we will never use him for breeding as he is not a pure shetland....

so
we are basically still thinking about it!

tomorrow we hope to visit at feeding time so i can partake in a little lamb cuddling...

or even better we hope to visit and see him suckling at his surrogate mama..
receiving all the nutrients he so needs..

t x

crashed...

2010-04-23T12:06:00.000-07:00

it would seem that today has been a day for crashes...

our Everyclick account for Caithness Rare Breeds seems to have gone down...
typically it has happened on a Friday night when all there offices are closed...

also our dear friend hit a pot hole and crashed his MG in to a ditch today...
thankfully he is fine apart from bad bruising....

so
i am very thankful that this gift arrived :)

i have been walking past it all day and breathing deeply...

thank you lovely lady
you know me so well already!

i am not the only one to have been spoilt today...

a parcel of treats from my hounds very favourite girls Molly and Daisy..
i think you can see from beans face that they were much enjoyed!

needless to say i quickly whipped away the beautiful flower necklace and doily before their pointy noses could grab them!

thank you my wonderful friend..
i am not sure what we would do without you x

the plan for the weekend is to complete the fencing and building of shelter for the rather lovely rescue sheep...
still no signs of lambs...

but we have decided to call the dear girl with no ears... Nora :)

i will also start the process of putting the pictures of the donated prizes for the raffle on over at caithness rare breeds... beautiful things are starting to arrive x

sorry to be a little like a stuck record yet again but thank you, thank you, thank you for all your continued offers of help..

if you have emailed or left messages here and i have not got back to you...
i am on my way!!!!

t x

we have a new whippet... and we have been sheep visiting :)

2010-04-22T11:17:00.000-07:00

he is tiny, quiet, very well behaved....

in fact all the other hounds are a trifle suspicious....

he arrived all the way from Worcestershire...

made by this very, very talented and unbelievably kind lady ....

alex...

i cannot believe that you have sent me one of your amazing hounds... i am totally smitten with him...

thank you
thank you
thank you

he is truly beautiful and is certainly raising a few whippity eyebrows here!

if you have always thought how nice it would be to own a whippet but maybe do not have the time, then i suggest you hop on over to Alex and re home one of her doglets... :)

in other news....

we have been visiting!

all ewes are o.k - no sign of lambing today....

the other ewe was too far away to be photographed and we did not want to chase her...

but we did get to see dear old no ears x

the raffle is moving along - prizes are still being donated but we would love to have more to offer, so if you could all spread the word we would be very, very grateful .....
i will be adding the html code to my sidebar in a mo which you will be able to copy and paste to your blogs

for those who have contacted to ask how they can help long term then can i suggest this....

www.everyclick.com/caithnessrarebreeds

at the bottom right of the screen you will see "make this your homepage"

if you follow the instructions and do make it your homepage, caithness rare breeds will obtain money each time you search the internet!

the best thing is that it costs you nothing - yay :)

do shout if you have any problems loading the page

thanks so much folks

t x

i would stay and chat but....

2010-04-21T13:25:00.000-07:00

the dastardly ponies broke through rodders the rams fence which resulted in a mad romp around the fields rather like the old benny hill sketches....

stephen and i chasing rodders, rodders chasing the ponies, ponies over excited and fighting with each other whilst running....

all this going on whilst lentil chilli on rayburn becoming charred, badger eyeing up handmade loaf and other hounds attempting to break in to a bag of mini eggs...

e.x.h.a.u.s.t.e.d

all is well now except for the stinging in my chest and my aching legs!

so

i shall just say that the rather lovely rescue sheep raffle button is now on my sidebar...
it takes you directly to the charity website...

we are still trying to work out how you can all copy and paste it on to your own blogs.. at the moment all we can do is email the code to you
hoping that some genius will come up with the answer of making it easy to copy straight from my blog..
anyone?

raffle news is that prizes are continuing to be offered which is amazing, we are waiting for everyclicks tech person to build the buttons we need and then we should be good to go..

we are thinking that we will give it a month for prize collecting which will also give us time to publicise it a little more

aiming for raffle draw to be mid-late June before school holidays...

hope this all sounds good :)

do email me if you have any questions

tracy@cupcakesdirect.com

we are hoping to go and visit the rescue sheep tomorrow so pics and update on its way

t x

crikey.....

2010-04-20T11:29:00.000-07:00

we are somewhat overwhelmed by the amazing response we have had from so many wonderful, generous people...

we, this little gang of sheep and all our other rare breed animals thank you from the very bottom of our hearts....

we have spent the day talking to everyclick who we already use to raise funds through - we are hoping that through them folk can purchase raffle tickets
they will then manage the money and complete the raffle draw...

one of our biggest worries was the responsibility of making the draw and proving that it had be done fairly....

so

all being well we will have a blog button available tomorrow that we hope as many of you will pop on your own blogs to promote the raffle :)

the immediate plan is to say yes please to all that have offered such amazing prizes and over the next month gather them all here...
my email is at the bottom of this post so if you do feel that you really can offer a prize then send me a message and i will get back to you with our address and no doubt an email full of thanks and hysterical weeping!

the prizes will then be photographed and popped on the caithness rare breed website - each item will have a link to the generous givers own website or blog (your choice!)..

the tickets will be on sale as soon as everyclick confirm that all is in place - we are thinking of a cost of £1.00 per ticket...

as for allocating prizes... this is where we are unsure...

our feeling is that as we have such a wide range of prizes on offer it would be impossible to have a first, second, third place etc prize draw..

instead our first thought is to draw all winning tickets on one day placing them in the order that they are drawn
the first winner will get to take their pick out of the prizes and so on down the line until all prizes are allocated...
this will hopefully mean that someone who has no children will not end up with a childs item...

the main worry is that if a winner is away/unavailable for a few days this will then hold up all the winners behind them....

ack

any thoughts on this would be welcome :)

this raffle is for all of you too - a chance to win some amazing things from amazing crafters, artists and just generous givers!

we want it to be enjoyed and talked about...

our ultimate aim is to raise funds for our charity but some fun along the way is a must :)

our charity is tiny, tiny at the moment but we have so many plans for its future...
plans we have had in our minds for years and years....

a wildlife hospital..
an education center to enable the future generations to learn about these amazing animals and teach them that if we do not save them now then their children will only be able to look at them in books....

and if we can rescue and offer a glorious forever home to moth eaten abandoned sheep on the way then we shall be even happier...

and we would also like to say massive thanks to those that have come up with amazing suggestions for future fundraising..

we will very soon have a sponsor a sheep (or one of their friends!) page on the website..
it was an idea that we had considered but we were not too sure how popular it would be - seemingly it could be quite good :)

t x

if anyone needs to email me then here i am
tracy@cupcakesdirect.com

time to put your thinking caps on....

2010-04-19T11:48:00.000-07:00

as we are a registered charity we have been approached by a lady who has sheep that need help

she became aware of this sad moth eaten crew when they migrated down the hillside in to her own field of sheep....

it turned out that her neighbour just one day got up and left, leaving behind cats, dogs and sheep...

this in itself is shocking and of course the "pets" were rescued and re homed - the sheep being outside and classed as being able to fend for themselves were just left...

the fact that this small group of sheep had been abandoned by a previous owner once before makes this sad tale even worse .....

the lady who contacted us has cared for them well and when stephen visited they were in reasonable condition and certainly not thin...

there was one that pulled at the heart strings as she has no ears ....
when she arrived down from the hills it became clear that her ears had been bitten by the dreaded scottish midges and as their was no one to help they became badly infected and fell off :(

thanks to the lovely ladies care the infection has all cleared up but you can see in this picture the difference between the two ewes...

the reason this group need a new forever home is that they will not settle with the lovely ladies existing sheep - upon visiting it was very clear that her much larger commercial sheep simply would not tolerate them at all and the worry of fighting was very apparent...

sheep bicker and fight amongst themselves all the time - ours are often locking horns but all being the same size no serious injuries occur - thankfully

the biggest worry at the moment is the fact that the ewes are in lamb and should not be under any stress... this fact also makes it impossible for us to move them right now..
judging by size and shape one ewe may give birth within days...

we have made the decision to leave them where they are until they have lambed - the lovely lady has agreed to hurdle them off for safety..

as soon as each ewe gives birth we will move the little family as soon as bonding has taken place - hopefully after only a few days..

over time they will all be here :)

now
all this will cost money

this is where i need you all to come up with bright and breezy fundraising ideas!

my first thoughts are based around the possibility of a handcrafted raffle of sorts..
hopefully prizes could be donated by talented and generous crafters :)

what do you think?

could it work or are folk sick of charities asking for help?

any comments and advice very gratefully received

t x

it snowed today.....

2010-04-18T13:36:00.001-07:00

so tallula and the rest of us stayed in and did this :)

t x

today....

2010-04-17T11:04:00.001-07:00

i have been working on a new adventure!

t x

bake

2010-04-16T15:16:00.000-07:00

in moments of crisis, despair or happiness i bake...

it has been a happy but very busy week here at sea house but i seem to have baked up a storm...

here are but a few..

ugly cookies - spelt, honey, cinnamon and sultana

spelt and basil loaf

olive oil, chilli and garlic bread

also enjoyed.....
chocolate crispy cake, victoria sandwich and a tea loaf

thankfully all worked off with house building, garden making, sheep dog training and sheep rescuing...

more about our first sheep rescue very soon

t x

mcdogs progress...

2010-04-15T14:05:00.000-07:00

lets get it out there right at the start..

turning mcdog in to a sheep herding genius is not progressing at any great speed...

it would seem that the great and good mcdog has developed a rare condition called

sheep blindness.....

"who removed all the sheep?"

"i have looked everywhere"

"someone call the police
i think they may have been stolen"

"which is actually very lucky as i am far too busy playing with my bit of old pipe to have
a proper job"

ohhhhhh
mcdog
be prepared

the dog training dvd has arrived

and there is a rumour that an actual real life sheep dog trainer may be
paying us a little visit....

t x

you would think...

2010-04-14T11:10:00.001-07:00

.....someone would tell the lambs that the weather man has forecast a cold wintry spell for next week...

if someone had told them then maybe, just maybe they would have put off the annual shedding of cosy warm fleece....

it gets everywhere....

you would think that their neighbours in the field next door would have mentioned it....

but they seemingly are way too busy eating, swimming and getting to know each other better *ahem*

as for me?

i shall just enjoy my pile of books that i requested online from our rather fabulous library...
even if a few books that i did not request turned up too!

so

snow in April...

seriously?

pah..

t x

yellow

2010-04-13T13:15:00.000-07:00

i have never been a fan of yellow...

being fair skinned with dark hair and green/grey eyes, i have never found a yellow that i could wear
sadly...

however..

i have noticed yellow creeping in and around the house along with the Spring sunshine...

***

i am not sure how long it will stay..

but i shall enjoy it whilst it does...

t x

cat + chair

2010-04-12T13:41:00.001-07:00

***

t x

special purpose

2010-04-11T14:03:00.000-07:00

as regular readers of this blog will know we keep sheep..

we adore our sheep and are planning great things for them....

however
regular readers of this blog will also be aware that our sheep herding skills are a little poor..

*ahem*

so
one evening stephen was chatting to a fellow sheep fan who convinced him that our own dear sweet mcdog could, should, might have a special purpose...

stephen then convinced me....

we then braced ourselves and called in the mcdog....

he could tell by our tone of voice that we had something very, very serious to discuss with him...

he was understandably worried..

dare i say....
a little suspicious of our dastardly plan.....

but also a little curious....

you see
the lady that convinced us of this special purpose is a well known sheep dog trainer..

yes folks

sheep.dog.trainer

her thoughts are that as ghillie mcdog is a scottish deerhound he should in theory have some herding instinct inside him..

we think it is
deep
deep
deep inside him but have agreed that it is worth a shot...

she is sending us a dvd
i have found a whistle
stephen has dusted off his flat cap
we are good to go

we will keep you all informed
wish us luck

t x

late nights

2010-04-10T15:28:00.001-07:00

23.27

yet again i find myself rushing to get a post done before the day escapes me..

the reason for this for the last few nights is partly down to knitting - i am trying to complete a tank top so i can start the next knitting project, but i am at the neckband stage which is just hateful..

this is the worst part of a pattern for me..

time disappears as i sit and curse and then suddenly my eyes droop and i realise that i have not posted...

i am determined to complete my post a day for a whole year project and will only miss days for serious things and not bloody neckbands!

however..
tomorrow i must find time around the neckband saga to explain how we have discovered
ghillie mcdog's special purpose..

and how the great hound reacted to the news when i sat him down and explained all...

t x

crappity crap giveaway # two...

2010-04-09T15:03:00.000-07:00

yes indeedy folks it is time once again for a crappity crap giveaway...

i have rummaged through stock boxes and found a selection of ends of lines that are just crying out to be loved and enjoyed...

here is a list of all the items you could proudly own...

1... a traditional wooden cup and ball game

2... a wooden knitting doll

3... a mini farm which contains amongst other delights a cross looking farmer with a gun.. crikey...
you may want to re home him in the dustbin if your kiddies are of a delicate nature...

4... a wonderful snow globe which is made of plastic so is a little more child friendly than the usual glass ones

5... a little girls handbag which is a shocking bright pink - this is not shown as i forgot to photograph it - sorry..

sooooo

if this loot looks like it would happily fit in to your home then just leave a message on this post and i will draw a name out of the hat next Sunday..

many, many more giveaways to follow as i seem to be drowning in crappity crap ...

in other news...

our rat population seems to be increasing - tonight i spotted five adults and a tiny rat baby...

i am excited and cannot believe how lucky that they chose our giant compost heap to live in rather than anyone elses...

stephen is horrified and has announced plans for a mahoosive garden clear out in the morning...

i fear the rat baby and his relatives may be on the move

t x

nearly...

2010-04-08T15:49:00.000-07:00

23.49...

almost, very nearly forgot to blog...

this far in to my post a day challenge and i almost slipped...

i blame it on Russell Brand - when he is on the television i become a rabbit caught in headlights..

beautiful...

anyhoo

nearly but not quite...

here is a token picture as i have no time for anything more!

it is a sneaky peek at my next crappity crap giveaway which i will set in motion tomorrow...

23.53

over and out...

t x

the start of the growing season.....

2010-04-07T14:44:00.000-07:00

paper pots made...
filled with our own compost...
expertly riddled by me with the help of ghillie mcdog who ran off with the larger lumps....
and also left the teeth marks in my potter just so i knew he had helped in his own special way...
... and peed up the wheelbarrow...
and ran around field with the box of seed packets

summing it up mcdog is not what you would call a gardeners best friend...

yet more treasures being dug out of packing boxes...
completely forgot i had these old pastry cutters...

and....
contemplating wallpaper...
one wall in the kitchen only - above sink unit and deep band of wall tiles....

not sure...

a little too twee?
a little too obvious in a house by the sea?

ack
it does look kinda good but i am not sure...

what to do?
what to do?

t x

the fun you can have with a rubber duck...

2010-04-06T10:19:00.000-07:00

and the award for the most ugly face pulling goes to.....

t x

one chair

2010-04-05T12:11:00.000-07:00

we do have more than one chair in the house....

honest....

these three girls of mine just choose to sit together ...

thick as thieves...

plotting and planning their next adventure...

t x

slowly, slowly.....

2010-04-04T12:55:00.000-07:00

placing treasures in the almost finished utility room....

finding items that i packed away in boxes many moons ago....

and finally finding homes for a few of my handmade items that have been sitting and waiting for so long.....

a busy day
but a good day

t x

exhausted...

2010-04-03T12:10:00.000-07:00

the birthday lad at the end of a very exciting day..

love this hound

t x

one

2010-04-02T11:43:00.000-07:00

our cricket is one today...

our surprise whippet .....

our sweet boy.....

there has been carrot cake....

presents....

guarding of presents....
whilst showing how the wind can turn your whippity ears inside out in a second....

leaping with presents.....

running with presents....

chasing other whippets that have stolen presents....

and a little time for posing.....

***

dearest cricket...
you arrived and took us completely by surprise...
and now you are one...
a whole year, 365 days of wonderful you...
we are so very glad you are here....

you are our very best boy

t x

hello april

2010-04-01T12:49:00.000-07:00

we are very pleased to see you!

2010-03-31T09:59:00.001-07:00

in the early hours of this morning one of our Aylesbury ducks died...

March you have been truly hideous and i shall be very glad when you are over....

tomorrow i plan on opening all the windows and welcoming in April...

even if it is still snowing

t x

my annie

2010-03-30T11:01:00.000-07:00

i miss you with every part of my soul

i still struggle to believe that you have gone

happy birthday my girl...

t x

2010-03-29T13:25:00.000-07:00

***

t x

for elspeth....

2010-03-28T06:10:00.000-07:00

dearest elspeth...

this post is for you x

you made me laugh when i had given up all hope of ever laughing again..

you made me believe that there was an end in sight with this house build...

you gave me so much more than i ever thanked you for...

i will miss our chats on all things "hound"..

... and whilst we will now never get to fulfill our cunning plan of playing dog cupid i will always dream of the puppers that should have been....

thank you for being my truly magical, supportive and inspirational cyber friend...

t x

it is with much shock and sadness that Elspeth Thompson passed away on Thursday..
my heart is torn in two for the pain her dear husband Frank and sweet daughter Mary must be going through..
my love and thoughts are with you both xxx

2010-03-27T13:45:00.000-07:00

so sorry...

no post today as i am far to busy trying to break in to Dorothy Farm...

a start....

2010-03-26T10:17:00.000-07:00

i am at the start of giving Olive and Harry a voice...

a chance to push my tiny business forward ...

in order to do this i have been making, sewing, worrying at every spare moment on offer...

thinking, testing, throwing lots of samples straight in the bin...

i am full of ideas to the point of bursting...
all i want to do is sit in my workroom and create...

and whilst all this crafty goodness is going on i have not forgotten my own dear sweet website..

look whats newly arrived...
in the Vintage section...

pretty :)

t x

finally...

2010-03-25T12:38:00.000-07:00

the excitement is almost too much....

stephen and i are smiling from ear to ear....

as well as the good sheep news we had yesterday we have yet more glee....

after almost two years we think we have found girlfriends for our dear sweet old rodders...

he is a majestic castlemilk morit who is the only ram left in his particular line... in rare breed terms he is a v.i.p..

and today we had confirmation of a lady in Perthshire who has ewes available ... ewes from a great line..

we are happy..

and rodders will be very happy...

very happy indeed!

back to craft delights tomorrow

promise

t x

a little (badly photographed) peep....

2010-03-24T13:15:00.000-07:00

sorry...

by the time i remembered that my camera batteries needed charging the daylight had gone ...

all i managed is this tiny peep...

but to be honest sewing is not top of my list today...

we are working on how to get a sheep from down South up to us here..

needless to say we have fallen head over heels with him and to add to the perfect situation he is a Rare Breed that we have been after for sometime...

*sigh*

we shall see

fingers crossed

t x

nothing to see....

2010-03-23T11:44:00.000-07:00

sorry folks...

no peeps at new project as i have been too busy today to continue working on it...

this halt in crafty goodness can be blamed firstly on the idiot neighbour who allowed his dog to terrorise our sheep to the point where one bolted so hard in to the fence it left a weak spot that we failed to notice ...

that was until today when the rest of the famous five decided to lean, scratch and generally poke their soft lamby noses against said weak point to create a hole...

this hole was then spied by the pesky twelve who proceeded to gallop on their webbed feet through said hole and gallivant around next field like maniacs...

we are now expert in sheep and duck herding if anyone is hiring....

needless to say stephen was less than pleased as he had lined up today for non animal related things, as had i...

and now at 18.48 the dark is closing in and the ponies have decided in their wisdom that today of all days would be a good day to refuse to go back in to their overnight field...

i hope to escape to my work room this evening and actually produce something worthy of a blog post ...

until then i shall leave you with a picture of the pile of fabric that has so stolen my heart and revived my flagging creative mind...

shown here with one of my new signs that will be available in my shop very soon

t x

lordy....

2010-03-22T15:13:00.000-07:00

22.13

almost forgot

i have been too busy gazing and stroking a pile of the most delicious fabric that a fabulous friend sent to me...

not only has this wonderful soul managed to make me smile and shed tears at the same time, she has also inspired me to dig out a project that i started work on years ago...
i shall hopefully share pictures with you tomorrow..

22.15

time for a little more gazing before lights out

t x

making me smile today...

2010-03-21T12:03:00.000-07:00

i have been selling these little yellow chicks for many years ...

and each and every Easter when i take their picture they make me smile, smile, smile....

... and think of all the cakes they will soon decorate!

t x

2010-03-20T10:57:00.000-07:00

.... busy knitting trying to finish this project as i have new, delicious yarn and pattern book waiting patiently ...

starting to wish i had walked past the yarn shop.....

must
not
give
in
to
the
call
of
the
yarn...

t x

today.....

2010-03-19T10:57:00.000-07:00

i drove in to town to the repair shop with my grandparents clock on the passenger seat...

the movement of the car made it chime gently...

i have not heard that sound for many, many years....
i cried all the way there...

today is my grandad's birthday...
if he was still here he would want no fuss, no lavish gifts...
just time with his family who he loved so very much....

today i have been filled with a sadness of all the time that i could have spent with my amazing grandpa but didn't....
too busy...
life took over...

today i remembered all the amazing times i was lucky enough to share with him....
endless trips to the beach with the entire family...

including toby dog.....

blankets laid out, vast quantities of picnic food,, and then still finding room for fish and chips...

today i have been thankful for all that he passed on to me....
his green fingered wisdom...
his love of growing his own food.....

but today more than anything...

i have smiled and thought of how this year, this birthday, my grandpa will be spending his special day with my nana...

hopefully on a beach ....

together...

my whole family miss him...
we miss how he held us all together....

i miss him...
he loved me...
quietly....
endlessly...
without any fuss....

t x

only a mama....

2010-03-18T14:40:00.000-07:00

would put up with this!

t x

the stool

2010-03-17T11:43:00.000-07:00

finished today at long last...

using up the granny squares made long ago..... at last....

placed in my nearly finished utility room...

yes dear readers..

my nearly finished utility room ... at last!

when he asked why it was placed in that particular room i replied...

so that it will not be sat upon...

he is thinking i may have gone completely mad...

t x

rebellion....

2010-03-16T10:40:00.001-07:00

it would seem that last years lambs have decided that they are now totally grown up ...

they are now of course a gang of five...

five lambs that have today discovered a way out of their field...

they have had a taste of the grass on the other side of the fence and decided that it tastes good....

i have lost count of how many times we have rounded them up - repaired yet another hole/escape route in the fence....

they have never made an attempt to get out before today - not even when we removed their mama's in to another field where they could rest whilst growing this years babies...

perhaps Spring is in the air....

perhaps they watched the new fencing going up yesterday and have decided that they would prefer to live there....

or perhaps they are just being rebellious teenagers...

whatever it is stephen and i are totally knackered after the numerous laps of the field we have done....

they have however taken our minds off of other things.. if only for a short time...

naughty, naughty gang of five - how we love you all

t x

worry...

2010-03-15T10:32:00.000-07:00

this week starts with me full of worry and stress...

worried about family members...

worried about certain friends...
worried about a certain beanie whippet that has another lump....

it is also a challenging few weeks ahead with birthdays of folk that i adored that are no longer here....

all in all i am dreading the next few days, weeks ahead...

i may lay low for awhile... i fear i may be very bad company...

there will be a post each day as i do not give up on a challenge easily... i just cannot guarantee that each post will be very big or very exciting...

we shall see

time will tell

t x

mummy..

2010-03-14T09:16:00.001-07:00

Happy Mothers Day

just look at how pleased i am to be holding tightly on to my mama's hand....

she made me feel special, loved and safe all the way back then...

and she still does now

love you mummy

t x

almost....

2010-03-13T12:53:00.000-08:00

eeekkkk....

almost forgot to pop by and say hello.....

hello

far too many things have demanded my attention today which i will bore you with next week!

so
for today i shall offer you only a picture...

twigs pigs...

in the sunshine on a family crochet blanket

t x

our boy george....

2010-03-12T10:32:00.000-08:00

two today

happy birthday you sweet, sweet little chap...

you are so good natured, gentle but full to the brim of fun

we all love you and are very grateful that you are one of our gang

t x

still taking things a little easy...

2010-03-11T12:30:00.000-08:00

luckily for me Stephen has taken on some of the work that i do each day with the animals... this has meant that i have been able to rest up a little, read a magazine, make a few new goodies.. and actually sort out Mothers Day treats for our own mama's - usually life takes over and important days have been forgotten ....

hopefully tomorrow i will be back with slightly more exciting tales to tell...

t x

slow

2010-03-10T13:50:00.000-08:00

up and about but running a bit slower than usual!

hopefully back on smiling form tomorrow :)

t x

sorry folks....

2010-03-09T09:57:00.000-08:00

not sure if it was the pushing of the landrover, but this afternoon i feel decidedly peaky...

i am away to my bed right now... 6pm.... where i shall rest my pounding head and weary limbs...

back tomorrow

over and out

t x

wares....

2010-03-08T10:40:00.000-08:00

its monday... let the shameless plugging of wares begin...

some items are already on site whilst the others are waiting patiently for their moment in the limelight!

so much more due.. just need an extra day in my week please....

t x

and the winner of the ta da crappity crap is......

2010-03-07T11:17:00.000-08:00

(please excuse the filthy hands of my farmer assistant...)

tillyboo

hurrah :)

email me your address and it will be winging its way to your little girl asap... yay x

tracy@cupcakesdirect.com

***

in other news....

i am broken...

pushing a landrover and trailer containing three sheep out of a muddy field is not a good idea...

but fear not...

for tomorrow is shameless monday... a day where i intend on shamelessly talking and showing the new wares that are appearing in my shop... including this little lady...

i will understand totally if you wish to avoid my shameless ways and visit on Tuesday whereupon i shall continue to chat about absolute rubbish .....

t x

tip top....

2010-03-06T12:05:00.000-08:00

firstly...
thank you for your concern dear readers regarding my slight blip yesterday... i do honestly blame it all on facebook... you see, the problem is most of my family use it and it is indeed a fantastic way to chat most days... but when they are talking about trips out and family days it makes me feel crappity crap :(
completely stupid to feel this way as it was my choice to move so far away.. apart from one auntie in new zealand all my family live very, very close...

but fear not i have picked myself off the floor of despair and loneliness....

secondly... thank you for all the emails about the postcards.. they are available in my little shop - link in my sidebar :)

sadly no pictures of pretty stock, new handmade delights or indeed cake...
although a cake has been made - my mama's foolproof no fat-no sugar store cupboard loaf.. yum, yum, yummy....

instead i have spent most of the day enjoying the bright sunshine, warm sea breezes and the company of these guys...

dillon and woody enjoying the warmth of the afternoon....

miss mabel moo and bean relaxing......

my dear, dear oldie bracken warming her bones in the sunshine......

and lastly....
quite honestly the coolest ram ever...

rodders enjoying the end of a baguette... his favorite treat....

look at that beard full of hay...
what a face :)

i know i should not have a favourite sheep but i just cannot help myself... he is my best boy :)

tomorrow i shall be pulling a name out of the hat for the ta da giveaway... still time to enter - just scroll to Monday's post and add your name..

t x

out of sorts....

2010-03-05T11:10:00.000-08:00

missing family....
missing friends...

moan moan
grump grump

back to normal tomorrow!

t x

surprises....

2010-03-04T11:36:00.000-08:00

two surprises for me today....

the sweetest treat from my mama who seems to have a built in radar that alerts her to when i feel blue... suddenly a special little something and a card arrives that makes me weep and feel loved all at the same time....

and then a huge box of totally unexpected treats from a faraway friend who truly has no idea how much her friendship means to me... thank you sweet girl ....

contained in the box of treats was a bag of the most delicious dog biscuits which were very much enjoyed...

i swear that one day the hounds will pack their suitcases, leave me a note and go and live with the mollycupcake gang!!

look out molly and daisy - they take up a lot of room on the sofa :)

t x

gentle warmth...

2010-03-03T11:44:00.001-08:00

the weather is so beautiful at the moment, the welcome warmth of early Spring is finally here.....

today for my jaunt to the post office i thought i would pull a floral number out of the wardrobe - a change from my usual jeans and welly look....

note to self... never take picture from this angle again as it makes you look mahoosive...

it was so nice to wear a skirt again and i came back from the post office with a smile on my face...
however
it soon became apparent why i am always, always in jeans...
a sudden needed dash in to the duck field proved tricky as i threw my leg over the fence as i have done hundreds of time before... the skirt made it as it is A line and roomy... but the pretty net edging quite frankly is a no no.....

at least me stuck on a fence legs akimbo amused some ...... i aim to entertain....

turned out the ducks did not need me tearing in at great speed as the high pitched screaming was just a youngster laying yet another egg...

oh joy...

t x

my predicament is.....

2010-03-02T12:21:00.000-08:00

eggs....... too many of them....

now i know this is not a particularly bad predicament to find oneself in but i am at a loss..

i wished for ducks for so long and i love them more than i ever thought i would, and i of course knew that they would lay, but i just forgot to count up just how many eggs we would be getting

each
and
every
day

lordy what is a girl to do with so many eggs?

stephen is enjoying them immensely confirming that they are the most delicious eggs he has ever eaten...

i am not eating them at all as i do not eat eggs....

i know, i know what sane person gets ducks knowing that they are not going to eat the little gifts they give!

so
in order to use up a few more i have made a huge bakewell tart and tomorrow plan on making a quiche... luckily stephen is a skinny runt that could do with putting on a little weight :)

i would happily give them away but all the folks we know already keep chickens and when asked have said how lovely duck eggs would be but we simply must take some hen eggs in exchange.....

however

some members of our family are delighted with our current predicament.....

there are not many hounds that start their day with duck egg omelette's and then lounge in the sun....

t x

ta da

2010-03-01T08:30:00.000-08:00

before becoming a crofter/farmer/crazy lady, i was the owner of an emporium filled with many, many delights...

upon closing my emporium i was left with a certain amount of stock that i simply could not leave behind so i packed it in to brown boxes and carted it to Scotland...

it is only now that we are finishing rooms that i have opened the boxes and thought what the crappity crap did i drag all this stuff up here for???

so

in order to help me out dear readers i ask that you enter my collection of ta da giveaway's that begin today with a collection of goodies especially for little girls...

one handbag, one purse, one pencil case, one pack of pegs and one sweeter than sweet ballerina bear....

all you have to do to enter is to leave a comment on this post and own a small child, or know a small child that would love the goodies..

i shall leave comments open until the weekend whereupon a name will be drawn and the goodies will be sent...

best of luck

i shall be back tomorrow to discuss the current predicament i find myself in...

t x

2010-02-28T09:53:00.000-08:00

the most beautiful feather found in our field this morning....

perfect markings...

the wonder of nature...

tomorrow i will be having a giveaway for little girls...
that's a giveaway of treats for little girls and not a giveaway of little girls...
* ahem *
see you then?

t x

2010-02-27T08:37:00.000-08:00

grannies for a stool....

new gift tags available on my website later today....

two extremely handsome boys....

t x

bad blogger....

2010-02-26T12:04:00.000-08:00

this week has been a busy one.. lots to do physically with house, garden and animals and so much that is filling our heads - problems, offers, changes and future challenges yet to face....

i am exhausted and my poor blog has been dreadfully neglected ..

sadly this will continue all of next week as we are having a huge push forward with the house...

expect pictures and very little words from me each day, but with the promise of a huge picture post of our progress soon...

happy friday night folks

t x

we have....

2010-02-25T11:25:00.000-08:00

vegan coffee and walnut cake...

spring flowers and snow on the hills...

cats to snuggle...

and new projects to play with...

so the fact that the forecast is for a really big amount of snow yet again does not bother me one bit...

honest

t x

nowt

2010-02-24T11:12:00.000-08:00

sorry
life has taken over today so i have nothing to give except this picture....

because you are all lovely

t x

eye candy.....

2010-02-23T09:28:00.000-08:00

.... to make up for yesterday's post.....

george (aka georgina) sun bathing....

sparkly brooches and vintage glass bottles

peg ladies......

... dressed in their glad rags

bean and badger sleeping soundly

t x

a rude awakening

2010-02-22T09:56:00.001-08:00

this morning my eyes flew open at the sound of a screaming bird... really screaming, really scared, really loud..

i looked out of the bedroom window and looking right back at me was an enormous buzzard type bird

huge
menacing
and clearly trying to kill something a lot smaller than itself...

i rushed through the house and out the door - running in p.j's and hastily grabbed wellies - cursing myself for not being a little more clear headed when putting wellies on as i seemed to be in crippling pain due to them being on the wrong feet..

by the time i got to the deck the big bully had flown, no doubt alarmed by the screaming banshee fast(ish) approaching...

it was eerily silent and i honestly feared the worst as i climb the few steps and saw all the bird feathers drifting.. but upon closer inspection i spotted a wren (?) behind an old terracotta plant pot.. cowering and clearly in shock :(
i lifted the poor chap and was rewarded with the high pitched screeching again and a little wing action which made me glad that their was some signs of resistance still..
he soon quietened down as i held him against my chest and waited for stephen to find a cardboard box...
a little sawdust in the bottom and he was soon safely inside awaiting later inspection..

we happily released the gorgeous bird a good few hours later once we were happy that he was not bleeding, was bright and alert and that the bully was nowhere to be seen - he flew straight off on to our log pile, had a good shake and then flew off - hopefully to find his friends and family..

i am not sure how many lives a bird has compared to the nine of a cat, but this little one definitely used up one of those lives today!

the rest of the day has been spent moving sheep and checking their feet ..

which means yet another day spent away from my camera

sorry folks
no eye candy today!

t x

apologies....

2010-02-21T09:35:00.000-08:00

my post today should be full of images of new products but i have been distracted by...

a.. enjoying the sunshine

b.. making a large batch of fairground biscuits

c.. cheering my ducks for laying three pale blue eggs this morning

d.. eating large amount of fairground biscuits

see..

distracted

so to make up for the lack of handmade treats i shall leave you with a picture of hoola talulla...

this girl makes up for everything

t x

a crown and the man in the moon..

2010-02-20T10:20:00.001-08:00

the weather here for the last few days has been beautiful.. coats at last left indoors and just a woolly jumper and a scarf which makes racing around with the dogs so much nicer..

i have never known a whippet quite like our cricket - he is such a loving content little chap the whole time both stephen and i are indoors.. the moment one of us steps out in to the garden he goes loopy... wailing and running from window to window - if the escapee goes off in the car he is completely o.k with that, he just objects to someone being in his garden without him...

so
i have found it hard to be indoors today but i have found a moment to finish a wall hanging that i seem to have been working on for ages.. each part finally found its place today and i am hopelessly in love with it...

today i shall wear my crown..........

and here is that very crown....

it will be part of a shop upload later this weekend....
there are a few more hangings waiting to be finished and some bags with similar one off designs on...

oh
and a new crochet item too :)

i shall leave you tonight with a few pictures of the moon from last night..
i was popping out with mabel moo when i saw this..

the perfect man in the moon

** beautiful **

t x

still happy

2010-02-19T09:42:00.000-08:00

... but so busy...

better post next time

promise :)

t x

happy.....

2010-02-18T12:05:00.000-08:00

a happy day.....

reeling from the kindness of a friend....

the excitement of starting a new project.....

staring at beautiful george and thinking that he is far too pretty to be a boy :)

hope you have something making you happy today

t x

a magnificent visitor....

2010-02-17T09:04:00.000-08:00

took my breath away

scared the ducks rigid

t x

waiting for the snow....

2010-02-16T10:09:00.000-08:00

yet more snow was forecast to arrive with us today but it is now 6pm and nothing... so fingers crossed it has passed us by - we could see it drifting out over the sea..
despite the lack of snow it has been so cold and windy which has put a stop to my plan to empty the veggie garden of all the raised beds - this breaks my heart a little but work is about to start on the driveway and other lovely things that i will show as they develop which means that the veggie garden has to be relocated...
it will all turn out good in the end!

so
due to the weather i have avoided being outside as much as possible and have instead completed a few orders and worked on new Easter designs..

whilst walking past my dresser and smiling at the sight of my sweet card received from this lovely friend...
another lucky person who is owned and ruled by a beautiful whippet - pop over and say hello and admire Ede whippet for she is such a pretty fawn girl x

and my two thrifted pots... sadly one in cracked so is destined to hold yet more Spring bulbs..

also making me smile from ear to ear today is bella boo enjoying her crochet blanket....

made extra special this morning with a touch of cat nip added as a way to brighten any kitties cold grey day!

t x

thrifty finds....

2010-02-15T09:23:00.000-08:00

oh me

oh my

what thrifty delights i spied at the end of last week (and hastily purchased...)

of course the new cups and plates had to be displayed so that i could look at them often - another dresser change took place..

leaving one cup which was just perfect for my coffee...

whilst i cast on a new knitting project...

it has not been all treats and knitting though...

a little work took place..

letters which are a very popular item and just needed a new photograph in readiness for Mother's Day..

and new to my little shop..
numbers......

ohh
how i love thee...

t x

love to all of you.....

2010-02-14T09:56:00.000-08:00

from all of us

t x

the day i explained Valentines to Miss Mabel Moo...

2010-02-13T10:46:00.000-08:00

yes indeed ...

today i had the Valentine love chat with my youngest girl... you know the chat... romance,
flowers, chocolates....

she was delighted with the prospect of gifts and extra licks and cuddles from secret admirers....

she could not wait to see the queue of young beaus waiting to delight her with so many treats....

in fact she was so over excited by the prospect of all the love and romance that she could hardly take it all in......

hoping all your wishes for love come true

t x
and mabel

xx

2010-02-12T10:38:00.000-08:00

bean kept on and on with the ear cleaning.....

talulla was less than impressed but hated to complain.....

happy friday folks!

t x

today i purchased.....

2010-02-11T11:01:00.000-08:00

three balls of string .....

which i have spent far too much time playing with and photographing when i should have been uploading the huge amount of Vintage goodies on to the website...

which will include this sweet little picture.....

in other news it would seem that i have failed in purchasing a valentines gift for my valentine - this was the reason for my trip out today whereupon i purchased string....

must start thinking up a good excuse or a way to fashion three balls of string in to a worthy man gift....

t x

lamb # two

2010-02-10T10:20:00.000-08:00

here he is!!!!

it has been one hell of a rocky road for this little chap but we are thinking that he is back on track
whoop whoop :)

he is finally back with his family after spending nearly two weeks away from them..

today he even jumped inside the hay feeder - good sign that his appetite has returned :)

we are of course over the moon with the little guys recovery but the guilt we feel about not helping the other chap will never go away... he was one of a pair that were instantly rejected by their mama when born... it was pure luck that another ewe who had a still born lamb took both the babes on...

this is the surrogate mama with her one remaining lamb...

we are on the cusp of putting dear boris in with the ladies for this years lambs... he is raring to go but has to wait until a new area has been fenced off this weekend - all very exciting but i am not looking forward to separating last years lambs from their mama's :(
they will be in an adjoining field so i am hoping that it will not be too traumatic for anyone - it makes it very clear in my mind that i could never send any of our livestock to market or slaughter....
so
with tupping next week we will be on track for lambing on my birthday - what a treat!

t x

the website......

2010-02-09T10:51:00.000-08:00

my website is out there for all to see....

cupcakes.... click on me :)

it is by no means finished and to be honest i am not at all sure i like the new format which was recommended by our web guy down South...

we shall see how it goes and how it grows....

i have so many items that i want to put on but i really want the site to remain clean and clear.. what to do, what to do....

if you would like to take a peek then please do and feedback would be much appreciated...

that's all i have for you today as i forgot to take any pictures due to the fact that i have spent as much time as possible outside in the sunshine..
yep
the sun has arrived in the Highlands although they are still scaring us with the prospect of yet more snow...

t x

jeez... being grumpy is exhausting...

2010-02-08T10:48:00.000-08:00

i have spent the day recovering from my major grump...

all the chores i refused to do yesterday seem to have just sat around and waited for me today - of course those cheerful chores invited there friends along for the Monday ride and before you know it my little feet are racing around like crazy things...

so
the shower horror has had to go to a lower place in the list and therefore i have no horror pictures to show you all...
shame because it will be horrible - perfect for a Monday....

anyhoo
to replace the horror pictures that will come shortly i am in no doubt, i thought i would show you a few shots of my shelves..
what again i hear you all cry..
yep
those shelves just keep on changing .....

they have changed from shelves built to hold our hundreds of books, which to be fair they did for a little while, to now being more stylish.. dare i say modern....
perhaps even fit for a person who has had an item in a high end glossy fashion mag

*ahem*

also making an appearance today in place of the horror pictures is a rather lovely love heart..

perfect for a perfect mama on mothers day....

or of course it could say anything at all..

marry me..
love you...
i am leaving you for the man next door....

you get the idea..

back tomorrow

pip pip

t x

Sunday Grumps....

2010-02-07T10:01:00.000-08:00

yep

it would seem that i woke up this morning and hopped out of bed on the wrong side... the seriously grumpy side...
stephen has avoided me for the entire day which truly is the safest option...
so i have sat in my deep dark grump pausing only to eat cake and hula hoops...
the grump diet - you know it?

anyhoo

the bright spark (and it was only a little one) came when i decided to sew a little...

i also finished a fox, a rabbit and a bird which is just waiting for its crown...

i think they are going to all find there way on to bags.....

tomorrow i plan on getting out of bed on the other side and stripping out our shower... but that is a horrid tale that must be told after the event...

pip pip

t x

how we laughed.....

2010-02-06T09:00:00.000-08:00

this month one of the items i sell made it in to a glossy magazine.....
of course i am very pleased and a little proud that they chose me over the huge amount of other folk that no doubt sell this item but it is not a handmade by me item so i am not at the point of whooping and skipping......

what i did do when i found out which magazine it was going to be featured in was snigger...
ok
ok
i did a little more than snigger - i told Stephen and we then proceeded to laugh and laugh...

you see dear readers my union jack postcard is featured here....

a highly fashionable, finger on the pulse glossy magazine.....

i picked up a copy and flicked through it whilst wearing the dregs of my wardrobe....

for this month i, possibly the most unfashionable person is actually in one of the most fashionable magazines...

what a hoot!

t x

a little short of time today......

2010-02-05T09:05:00.000-08:00

so no real blog post from me.....

we are all fine but the day has been taken up with the huge amount of water that is running through our fields now the snow has melted... animals, shelters, feeders all needing to be moved....

and of course some of us are still recovering from birthday celebrations.....