Butter wouldn’t melt……..2

I often write about my cat Pebbles but I’d like you to meet the puppy we once had - we called her Saffron. As you know Pebbles can wreak havoc with the mice population in our garden but this puppy wreaked havoc throughout our house. It was the cutest thing and we fell in love with her instantly BUT to say she was boisterous is putting it mildly!

For all the dog owners out there - you know what it’s like with a new puppy and probably if I had the patience we could have kept her but we found we couldn’t in the end  - so we returned her to the breeder within 48 hours and when we returned her she trotted happily back to her mum and siblings. According to her she’d just had a holiday!

The list of things she did in a short period of time is immense:

1.The breeder thought she would be off her food to begin with - Saffron ate everything that was food and wasn’t food - even the cat litter!

2. Toys, shoes, carpets, the sofa were chewed - we still have the marks on a door where she chewed the door frame.

3. She ate her food and Pebbles’ food.

4. She screamed and barked all night very loudly. She even screamed when we went upstairs and she was left on the bottom step so we ended up carrying her up and down stairs.

5. She bit everyone including Pebbles.

6. She had a stomach upset on the carpets several times - once pulling the clean washing off the utility room washing line and treading it into the mess.

Pebbles was lying under one of our chairs within 24 hours, it was the only place the puppy couldn’t reach her. We were concerned because Pebbles hadn’t eaten or drunk anything since the dog arrived - did I tell you Pebbles is a timid cat with anything bigger than a mouse?

So reluctantly we returned Saffron to the breeder with all the toys we had bought her and peace reigned once more in our house and we told Pebbles we wouldn’t do that to her again as she is ‘Top Dog’.

I can only imagine all you dog owners saying what did you expect? I guess in the long run I am a dog lover but not an owner.

See you soon.

xx

Holidays in the UK - your turn!

I was just thinking isn’t it about time we had some decent weather this summer so that I can go out without carrying wet weather gear? I was looking through photos of past summers and they are dominated by beautiful blue skies.

- with the odd cloud thrown in…..

I thought it would be good if you left a comment to tell me where you are spending your time in the UK this year - are you going to the sea, the countryside or the mountains? Let me know I would love to hear.

See you.

xx

Netley Marsh Steam and Craft Show

Last weekend I was at the Netley Marsh Steam and Craft Show near Southampton. Welcome to this blog to all those people who visited my stall. Friday had heavy rain for a time while Saturday was really hot. Sunday was cloudy, but on the whole the weather did nothing to discourage people.

There was even a parachute display.

There were large and small steam engines on show.

Netley Marsh is well worth a visit, but you’ll have to wait until July 2010 now.

See you soon.

xx

How are you feeling?

I came across this photo today as I was looking at my Silver Wedding Anniversary memories - I can’t believe I have been married that long! My wedding anniversary is at the end of July and I was just thinking of how to celebrate this year.

In actual fact I am recovering from Swine Flu and I am getting into the bored stage now - I am still infectious but well enough to be thinking I should be doing something other than lying in bed. To be lying in bed sounds wonderful for so many women, but it does get tedious and I know I will have to organise things that have gone by the wayside over the last few days. I think one of my clients thought I was a fake caller when I rang her with a husky voice (sorry if I frightened you Anthea!).

There is a lot of media hype over Swine Flu and no doubt it can be dangerous for some people, but it started for me by feeling I needed to clear my throat and the following day I couldn’t have moved from the bed  - even if a million pounds had just been delivered to my door - well maybe twenty pounds - even I have my limits!

So all of you reading this, clients, customers, old friends and friends to be, who aren’t feeling well - I hope you feel better soon and don’t get too bored.

See you soon.

xx

A Tom and Jerry Moment

I must tell you about the Tom and Jerry moment we had - unfortunately no photos to prove it so you’ll have to take my word for it!

We spotted one of the wood mice, in our garden, about to make it’s way up a slender branch towards the peanuts left out for the birds. The mouse was having difficulty holding on as it was raining and the branch was swaying in the wind. Pebbles, our cat, spotted the mouse, pushed her way between our legs and leapt up the tree. She clung on for as long as she could, but the bough was just too unstable and was bending under her weight. As she slipped off the mouse was launched into space - reaching a height of about 10 feet before it landed safely and disappeared under the shed before Pebbles could catch it. Tom and Jerry in real life!

See you soon.

xx

Living here

I haven’t always lived in a rural location, in fact I was a city girl until I moved to the New Forest 20 years ago. I wouldn’t and couldn’t go back to living in an urban environment now because whenever I go and visit family and friends I feel hemmed in by houses and brick walls and noises. Country living is peaceful - yes - but it does have it’s disadvantages.

The first month of living here was quite a shock. I found I couldn’t just go and buy shoes for my growing boys who seemed to need new shoes on a regular basis. Clothes shopping involved trips to the city which took at least 2 hours, so we would make a list of all the things we had to buy, that we couldn’t get locally, and my whole family would then have a whole day in the city.

Supermarket shopping for bulky items was another bind and when the bigger stores started delivering, they wouldn’t deliver to me as I lived too far from anywhere. So supermarket shopping was done on a monthly basis - something I really hated as it took forever.

Shop locally has always been my mantra - and I do as often as I can because the local shopkeepers and producers sell fresh items and they are much better as the items do not have to be transported far.

So apart from shopping what is it about country living that appeals?

Well people are much friendlier. I can’t walk into the village without at least four people stopping to talk and tell me how they are and the latest news. Neighbours watch your property and get up in the middle of the night when another neighbour’s house alarm goes off. We once had three families up at 3am as an elderly neighbour’s burglar alarm went off and we were all worried about her.

Just last week we had a Roe deer jump the cattle grid and run into our street and was trapped in the gardens - everyone came out to help - unfortunately we weren’t able to stop it from hurting itself and dying of shock in the process.

We have animals that walk the streets - horses, donkeys, pigs  - and deer are in the depths of the forest. When our local shop was taken over by Tescos, it came as as shock when a pig walked through the automatic doors and a horse regularly does.

As I mentioned before we have 5 types of deer in the forest and they are wild. They are usually timid creatures but when trapped their kick can be dangerous, due to their strength.

Tourists in this region, like tourists everywhere, stop and look at the wildlife - you can always tell a holidaymaker as their cars are either causing traffic jams as they pull in anywhere when they spot a horse, or they flash their lights to say there’s horse in the road - something we are so used to we don’t need to know. Yet at other times tourists can be so silly - trying to feed the animals and getting bitten or kicked as a result - and when they are on hired bikes they act as if the rural roads were meant for only them - many a time I come across cyclists who have either never ridden a bike or haven’t ridden one in a long time - I give these people a wide berth.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind tourists as they bring money into our area - something which rural businesses so desperately need as the locals cannot now provide all the economic support local shops need. Many of our houses are now second homes so shops do not have a regular customer base and they are closing. Since I moved into our village we have lost our bakery, hairdressers, haberdashery, bookshop, greengrocers, electrical shop, Post Office and, most recently, our local pub.

If I could change anything I would love for local businesses to have more support from the government and to stop the gradual concreting over of our rural landscape as the urban jungles expand. Our rural life is worth preserving - we need to before it is too late.

I think tranquility and community spirit are the two attributes worth preserving in the country.

And when all is said and done, large skies and nature’s picture shows are worth it!

See you.

xx

New Stock

We have wonderful new jewellery designs now in stock, inspired by leaves of the New Forest and garden colours. As well as stocking our contemporary range of gemstones we are now stocking Charoite and Carnelian.

Latest fashions indicate that colours are cooling down and shades of green, blue and purple are the new trends.

Designers are now making larger rings based upon floral designs and pendants are becoming intricately made, with smaller gemstones.

Milford Designs continue to stock the latest jewellery fashions as well as the more traditional jewellery shapes and colours. We are confident that you will continue to love our unique styles.

See you soon

xx

Pink Flowers

As you may have noticed I love pink  - especially pink flowers and roses. I hope you like the new photos of my garden flowers. Roses grow well on my heavy clay soil and they are a delight to have at this time of year.

See you soon.

xx