Monday, December 14, 2009

Chestnuts roasting on an open fire...



Eighteen years we have lived in this house, yet I doubt  if we have lit this little stove more than five or six times.  Some early experiences involving a lot of smoke, and the presence of perfectly adequate storage heaters, have made it seem like a waste of time.  Still, as the temperature drops outside, what could be nicer than to bask in front of an open fire, enjoying buttered crumpets and mince pies?

Note, among the brassware, a piece of utilitarian laundry equipment, which I remember my mother buying new.  Called a "poss," it was in weekly use alongside the dolly-tub, boiler and mangle during my childhood.  And now here it is decorating my hearth.


Another little sampler from my collection.  In this case, a mystery item from a junkshop.  The imagery speaks of the Twenties or early Thirties, but it is still very much a sampler (click to embiggen)

Saturday brought an unpleasant surprise.  My husband having just collected a batch of timber destined to be our new dining-table, set off for his shed anticipating a few hours of pondering and pencil-chewing.  But, through night, a large, high, storage shelf had collapsed, scattering a scrow of debris over his workbench.  Thus began several hours of final reckoning and a trip to the tip.  When did I think I would ever complete a macrame lampshade, started in the early Eighties?  His shed is much improved by this enforced de-clutter.  Only this little owl survives from the macrame enterprise.



2 comments:

Jane and Paddy said...

We are looking forward to the end of our chimney work and the lounge window replacement to clear up the mess and light the fire again. I love your little stove.
Our local embroidery group is known as the PHD group - project half done!
Enjoy your Christmas break - Cumbria hopes people will come - it wasn't a washout everywhere!We fly to the antipodes on Christmas eve and return Jan 15th.Blogging and Facebook are displacement activities from getting ready, tidying up and finishing the big tasks!

Jo at Celtic Memory Yarns said...

LOVE your little stove, and yes, it is identical to mine. All I have to do is find someone to make me a slightly flattened chimney for little Gypsy and we're ready to go. Come to that, why don't I find some sheet metal and make my own? Yours really inspires me to get going.