Wash Day...

To those of you living in the UK, you'll know that we've seen bucket loads of rain over the last couple of weeks. I really haven't bothered trying to be a 1950's starlet by pin curling my hair, as one step out the front door later, I would just look like I'd been dragged through a hedge backwards. Wet, windy weather and curly hair is a very tricky combination! Not even an expertly wrapped headscarf would help! It has rained a lot, but I'm not complaining. Parts of the UK have been under a hosepipe ban, so we need it. They are showers of blessing! So, amidst what feels like the 40 days and 40 nights of Noah, I thought I'd make a cheerful collage as a reminder of hazy sunny days...you know, wash days, the kind where you can step outside with the laundry basket and peg it on the line whilst whistling 'Oh what a beautiful morning'!

A perfect wash day is my favourite kind of day. The sun shines down warm and bright, a little inoffensive breeze is blowing ever so gently through one's cotton dress, and cheer abounds everywhere! On such a day one can always hear the happy chatter of birds in the garden, and somewhere in the distance there is the productive humming of a lawnmower, eagerly chomping on the long grass that signals summer is here. Oh, I do love the smell of freshly cut grass! And of course, on such a day one can inhale the sweetness of honeysuckle and jasmine, or lingering lavender. It's a day when one truly feels happy to be alive, a day that calls for all the senses to be pleasured!

I dream of having a white goose (a friendly one!) in my garden, or a waddling duck...That would make my wash day picture perfect!

It is about 6:45am right now, I have not long got out of bed to the quiet of this Sunday, and guess what I can hear right now? The steady pitter patter of raindrops against the window! Well, today I can still sing 'Oh what a beautiful morning', just for different reasons. After all, summer wash days will get here...eventually!

Happy Sunday to you!
Blessings xxx
Tania♥

Friday Fairy Tales

When I was a little girl, we lived in a tiny town in South Africa, called Zeerust. Back then life was simple. We used to walk to school barefoot, fish for tadpoles in the river, and explore the graveyard whilst making up ghost stories to terrify each other! As it was such a small town, the local library was a stone's throw away from our house. I'll never forget my first trip to the library. It smelled of glue and paper, was serene and quiet, but the best discovery was through it's back windows. Whilst choosing my books, I spotted a crystal clear, blue swimming pool. As it turned out, it was the public pool, and was free to use for all the residents. You can imagine my delight! Every afternoon from then on, was spent either in the pool, or next to it with a good book. This is when I fell in love with Ladybird books. I would read the same fairytales over and over again, and one of my favourites by far was 'The Princess and the Pea'.

I used to love the idea of sleeping on so many mattresses. And I didn't like peas then! The idea of squashing one under all those layers appealed to me in a big way!

I've been wanting to make an applique collage of this quirky tale for some time now, and last night I stayed up until 3:15am doing just that!

Do you have a favourite fairytale that has had a special little nook in your heart since childhood. Do tell us about it! Childhood is so precious. I would love to hear a little about your fond memories!

Happy Friday!

          Tania ♥