Cat Language, making stock & tea drinking . . .

A wilting hot Tuesday "good afternoon" dear friends & readers

Do you find yourself putting on a special tone of voice when you speak to your pets ???

The Mr has commented to me several times lately "do you realise how you speak to those kittens, have you actually heard yourself??"

Usually I take no notice of him . . .  but a comment from my Mum while staying, forced me to listen to myself somewhat . . .

"why helllooooooo my boooootifuuull  Blaaaackie Boy"

"Hellllooooooo my preeeecious little Jinxy winxy girl .... howwww aaarrrre yooouuuu mums preeeecious wee girl "

 Ha ? ? ? ? ? ! ! ! ! ! !        yes I Know, I hold my hand up ! !

AND the Mr tells me I (apparently) use a special "sing songy voice" when talking to them too

Believe me, I wasnt using a sing-songy voice this morning . . .

If you are wondering about the stupid expression on her face, its because she had some of the nest in her mouth & was trying to hide it!!!

This was the "gift" little Jinxy deposited on my dining room floor right after I had vacuumed

If she can't catch the actual birds, she is happy to take their nests away.

It has been so very hot of late that I try to work outside early in the day & then come indoors to the cool of my sewing room.

I packed away my christmas table in the Cottage which left it feeling a little empty with some gaps to fill.

I realised I had no "double ender oven mitts" left so appliqued this bright cheery set last week

When I packed away the Tilda Santa that I wrote about here I thought I might be able to revamp the cute little Santas Elf somehow & keep her out all year round

I decided to try to make her into a kind of "gardening angel with raggedy anne legs"
(does that make sense?? actually, No Julie, it doesnt)
I gave her some wire angel wings first,  then I removed her snowflake embellishment & replaced it with a wooden mushroom button, then I unpicked her "Joy" decoration & gave her a rusty tin birdhouse to hold

She hung on my wall for a couple of days & then, just this morning, after cleaning up rascal Jinxy's demolished birdsnest, a thought came to me  . . .

I fashioned her a nest from the remnants, glued a tiny artificial bird in it & then hot glued this to her wings

She appears most content hanging on my angel wall in the Cottage   :-)

As mentioned last post, I have been endeavouring to fill the gaps on my golly ladder with some new stock
I finished this sweet little girl last week also - she is a pattern from "Angels in Disguise" called Baby Annie & Mammy

I decided to dress her in this pretty lemon floral fabric from my stash, & made her some pink polka dot bloomers
(incidently the actual pattern has no bloomers but I never like to think of them getting cold in their nether regions!!!!)

I often give my gollys a toy to hold in their hands & this little teddybear (cut off a keyring) was in just the right tonings - I added a crochet doiley collar & a cute ceramic dolly button.

Sometimes I make things for the Cottage that I think are just wonderful & spiffy & gorgeous & will sell like hotcakes 
. . .  & then they sit ... & sit ... & don't sell . . .
This was exactly the story with the bath bags I made way back here

Then just prior to christmas I sold 3 jars of them   :-)
Oh what excitement as I still had lots of the mixture left & also 3 of the jars I had bought originally

It didnt take long to run up some more of the little muslin bags & fill ... the lids have plastic stoppers which are removable & I like to fill them with either dried rosepetals or lavender - interestingly enough it is the rose petal lids that are proving the most popular.

Because it is so dry here now, I am finding I need to water every evening.  Usually I am tired & not enjoying an added chore, but late last week, as I came around the corner of the garden a wonderful scent engulfed me

The lilly that my Mum had been hoping would open while she was staying, finally popped open its massive buds
Gosh the fragrance was heady ... I have decided to just enjoy it in the garden & not cut it to bring indoors

Well friends, time to go put the kettle on . . . one of the most thoughtful gifts I received at christmas was from my stepson & his girlfriend.  They gifted me the latest issue of Frankie Magazine along with a tin of tea - "Chamomile & Lavender" 

The tin reads " a floral rapture ... a superior blend of chamomile, lavender & cornflowers artfully blended"

They wrote on the card that it was "enforced relaxation" ... & it certainly is!!  
 Each afternoon, while escaping the heat, I make a cuppa & enjoy a few more pages of the magazine.
I hope you get to enjoy some enforced relaxation in your coming week dear friends & readers,
thanks so much for stopping by today, I hope you are managing to keep warm or cool, wherever you may be
much love & friendship,
Julie x0x