He's got the key of the door, never been 21 before...

Last week, our son Jono turned 21, and to celebrate, we went off to the local Chinese restaurant, where they played 'Happy Birthday' extremely loudly - and in Chinese, which was rather bizarre as we are English and live in France!

Needless to say, everyone else in the restaurant - and it is a large resto and was packed with French families enjoying Sunday lunchtime - all turned to look and clap.  Poor lad!  He really is one of life's gentleman, fairly reserved and certainly hates being the centre of attraction (unless playing his guitar on stage, but that's another story). 

Anyway, he enjoyed himself, and we did too, and reflecting upon the last 21 years, I can't say where those years have gone - flown past in a flash - but he is such a wonderful son, a great person and of course, we wish him the very best for the future.

Now, what went on behind the scenes was that the cake, complete with candles and secretly hidden in a bag on the table, was munched on by Charlie the poodle while my back was turned for ONE minute.  I could have cheerfully strangled him!

Fortunately, birthday boy and his Dad had popped out for 20 minutes , and with some speedy use of some butter and sugar and my trusty old Kenwood Chef, I managed to dollop some butter icing on the top to disguise the three large missing chunks!  (Having carefully cut out all traces of dog munch for hygiene reasons).

So I turned this pathetic offering:

into this slightly better, if very amateurish, offering:

OK, it would never win prizes in a beauty contest, but decorating cakes is not my finest point, and I did have only 20 minutes to do the repair.  Jono thought it was hilarious when I told him and didn't care at all - he loves fruit cake, and has been happily tucking in all week apparently - I packed him off with it back to Uni on Monday.

I am now speaking to Charlie the poodle, but I have told him that if he does it again, I will have all his teeth removed.

(only joking Charlie...)

Cat's cradle

You know the saying 'a cat's cradle'?  Well, I'd never seen a real one until this morning.

 
And the culprit?  Little Minnie.

Games people play - Bezique

This is such a dinky little thing - a counter to keep score when playing the old French card game, Bezique.  I have absolutely no idea how to play Bezique, but snapped this up at a local brocante - now sold.

The little metal flaps flip over to reveal the score - you can just see the numbers impressed into the wood.  It does need a gentle polish to enhance the wood - mahogony I think, but not too much as it does have a great patina.  As rare as hen's teeth - they are usually cardboard, or have metal sliders, but not the little flaps.

I love it - and if you love it too, it is for sale here.

Wet and windy Christmas

Hope you all enjoyed Christmas!  We had a lovely day, but the weather took a turn for the worst so we didn't get a walk with the dog in time.  The heavens opened for literally one minute, resulting in hailstones - here is a piccie showing the stones after a few seconds of rain so it isn't really as impressive as it was at first.

Charlie has really got the hang of opening his presents (usually just a chew) and here he is doing just that.  Trouble is, sometimes he buries them under the cushions on the sofa.

 And here is the Christmas cake our daughter made - the first Royal iced cake she has done.  I think she made a great job of it, but we still don't know what it tastes like as we never seem to have any room to eat it.  It weighs nearly 4 kilos...should keep us going in cake well into spring!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all my friends, family and blog pals -  and best wishes for 2014 - may all your dreams come true!

Our little wood

We're very lucky to have a little piece of wooded France - about a couple of acres of mixed woodland, deep in the larger Perigord-Limousin forest.

Our wood is crescent shaped, running by the side of a neighbour's lake, with a little lane running between - perfect for walking the dog and getting some fresh air -  and gives us plenty of opportunity to hunt for mushrooms, collect a bit of firewood and gather holly and ivy.

Having a bad hip for some months I'd stopped long walks, but now the hip is much better, we have started walking again - about an hour a day if we can find the time.  Winter is actually my prefered season - in the summer, there are always far too many other things needing attention - and, it's too hot!

Our little poodle, Charlie, loves it here - but he won't sit still long for a piccie, so this is just a black blur as he jumps up to investigate a large hole in a tree - there was obviously something living in there but Charlie couldn't reach it!

 

Our neighbour has put up a scarecrow to keep away the heron from his precious fish - you can just see it

We don't take any prisioners either - the kids are dragged out with us, plus their respective boy/girl friends

and I get them to look for edible goodies

But all too soon, the sun goes down, time for home

Toys from mid 20thc

 I have been having a rummage through the loft, and came across a box of old toys most of which were in OH's family.  I showed them to my kids, who are not really interested in keeping them - yawn - and OH doesn't want them so I've put them up for sale.

A great money box - put the coin in the slot at the back, and he sticks out his tongue!
Money box now sold

He is called 'Happy' as his title says, but my daughter thinks he should be called 'Spooky'

And here is another version, with a blue and red colourway.
money box now sold

 She's right though - what is it about clowns that is ever-so-slightly creepy?

A great friction sports car, made in Germany.  Very smart - wish I had the grown up version!
 

A fox in hunting pink!  A great joke - I wonder what he is hunting?
foxey now sold
 

This was actually my brother's, and if I remember rightly, he was always known as 'Basil Brush' even though he doesn't have the laughing mouth and huge white teeth.  He is from the late '60s and I do think he was an early Basil.

This golly was loved, dearly, and hugged so much.  Not very PC I know, but do kids care - they just love their toys.
golly now sold
 

Can't see it from the photo, but he is wearing spats on his feet.

Three little 1950s plastic egg cups - making breakfast a fun time.
egg cups now sold

A pink Scottie...

A green Scottie...

And a pink rabbit!

This is a lovely little toy washing mangle - just perfect for a dolly

Another savings tin - this one is King George V1 and the Queen Mum (gawd bless 'er)
 

And this one is from their daughter's reign, obviously our current Queen Elizabeth

This plastic penguin has an Australian registration mark - does he actually come from down under?  OH says he doesn't have any Australian connections
penguin now sold

Wind him up and he still waggles his bottom - we always wondered if he was supposed to swim, but he is too old now to put him in the bath.
 

Remember these?  A gyroscope - I think everyone had one of these - they made a great stocking filler

And finally, a little sewing machine, made in Britain.  How many girls learn to sew these days?  Sewing was an essential lesson taught at school when I was a girl.  Still can't sew a button on straight...

All these items are for sale, some are already listed (see right hand side bar for my shops above) but if any difficulties, or you would like any info, just comment or send me an email.

Have a great week!

As at 24.6.14, if it isn't marked as sold, it is still available:  I haven't listed them anywhere - a fit of nostalgia stopped me putting them on Ebay!  If you would like any details, just message/email me.