my photo

a lovely mug ...

I am a mug of tea sort of girl, not a cup and saucer one.

What pretty mugs these are, my recent bargain buy from Ponden Mill. I very rarely buy new kitchen china, everything I have bought over the years is still going strong and I am a stickler for getting wear out of things and will only throw anything away if chipped, but I couldn't resist these for £2.99 for the set of four.

My perfect brew:
Use a good quality teabag.
Teabags must be stored in an airtight container at room temperature.
Always use freshly drawn boiling water, not water boiled more than once.
Allow the teabag to brew.
Add milk last.

I shall be off now to make myself a nice cuppa in one of my new chintzy mugs, lovely!

Oooh, just opened up one of my kitchen cupboards and there was a house spider looking up at me, it did make me jump, luckily it seemed a bit dozy so I coaxed it into a plastic jug and managed to get it out in the garden, although I have read, that as soon as you put them out it doesn't take them long to find their way back in again!

Why is there more house spiders racing around your skirting boards at this time of year, well it's because they are males looking for a mate, this is fact!

my photo

kenwood, streptocarpus and sylvac bunny ...

My mum bought this Kenwood mixer from a car boot sale, it was in good as new condition. My mum became ill and couldn't use it anymore, so she gave it to me, if it is well looked after it will last for ever. I remember my granny had one of the original models in her kitchen back in the 1960s.

The Streptocarpus below originally came from a cutting which my step-dad bought at a jumble sale, the ladies on the stall didn't know what it was, but he did!


my photo

Rain has stopped play at the moment, so I am going great guns with my housework, of course finding some spare moments to take some photos too.

As promised for Joanna at Higglety Pigglety, with whom I have recently been swapping correspondence with, two of the subjects being mixers and plants. I mentioned I may post photos of mine, so here they are.



my photo

... not a good day for bunny rabbits!

my photos

cornish yellow ...

My love of Cornish Yellow started with a ‘bargain buy’ at a local auction by my lovely late mum, thinking it would be for herself, but true to nature like many a thing, ended up in my possession – a lidded salt pot. I now have 50 original pre-war items after making frequent visits to collector’s fairs, flea-markets etc, I hasten to add no great finds at jumbles or boots, but some items I did buy ‘at the right time’ for ‘the right price’. These days the older pieces are really too expensive to buy so I have resorted to buying modern Cornishware which I use everyday, storage jars, pudding bowls, pestle and mortar, a great clock and a cafetiere (now only brought out on special occasions since seeing one sell on ebay for £70.00)!

I don't keep salt in the pot as I don't use table salt at all in cooking, it stands empty.



Yellow Cornishware is generally unlettered. The lettering is transfer printed even though the letter spacing is sometimes erratic and suggests hand-painting. A number of styles have been used, including at least two serif faces typical of the 1920s. Later, a sans serif face began to take over, with the last serif names disappearing in the 1960s.













Cornishware no more ..?

The sole survivor of South Derbyshire's once proud pottery industry has gone into administration. TG Green was established in 1864 by Thomas Goodwin Green and the distinctive Cornish Blue kitchenware was introduced in the 1920s. TG Green was the only manufacturer of the world famous Cornish Blue pottery range, which is avidly sought by collectors across the world and I for one will really miss not having the opportunity to buy Cornishware be it old or new.