May Scavenger hunt

Thanks to the delightful Kathy at Postcards from the PP for this fun challenge! Go and have a look at the other fine offerings here. 

Here is the list for May that were sent to seek:
Good Things
Small packages
Fragrance
Station
Currency
Nose
Beverage
Nine
Do you see what I see?
Historic
Yellow
Front page

I didn't find this month as easy as last month but I LOVE the challenge!

 Do you see what I see?

Seriously, do you?!  I'll reveal what I see at the end but please tell me what you saw, if not what I saw!
(Spotted during a car journey to Oxford playing my favourite car game - Spot the picture in the clouds)

 Yellow 1- delicious Virgin cocktails with lychee at LoveJericho!

 Yellow 2 - Happy hanging baskets in Hexham!

 Yellow 3 - Gorgeous fields of oil seed rape in all directions along the Military road up in Hadrian's wall country

 Nose:  This is supposed to be a shield with fancy feathers round it, but I saw it as a lion with a big nose! (also a bit of a Do you see what I see?)

 Historic:  Hexham abbey.  Built at least 400 years ago! You can even go in the crypt which is SO Enid Blyton it's untrue!

 This shot of Newcastle Station covers both Nine and Station!  So annoyed that I failed to take a picture of the gorgeous new King's Cross atrium! Still, this grim, uninspiring one at least covers them!

 Small packages!  Little people ruling the dance floor!

 Good things 1:  Community gatherings!  The Hexham gathering, a fab local folk festival!  I think these are such good things!  An occasion where the community unite in a common love! I also love the fact that these kids are morris dancing!

Good things 2:  A little taster from our jubilee picnic day today which was amazing! We ordered 450 cupcakes for each child to have amongst other things. Our deputy head is a genius!

 Beverage:  Champagne at the wedding!  CBC is trapped inside it!!!! Mwa ha ha!!!

Fragrance:  Mint or Lemon Balm (I can't tell the difference by touch OR smell but I like both!)

 Front page:  technically a front cover but I just couldn't fathom this one!  This is the front of a darling Edward Monkton book I have!  I adore his ideas and cartoons!!!

Currency:  A page from my coin album

Look, it's Miss Piggy!  With her hair in a bun!

Do take part if you can?  It's great fun!

Ding dong the bells are gonna shine! (LTEH 35)

This weekend heralded a much anticipated return to Northumberland for THE wedding of the year!  J, CBC and I were forming the Penguin musical trio to entertain the masses!

The day began with some last-minute practising back home then we dressed up in our finery to head off to the historic Hexham abbey for the ceremony.

 CBC and dressed and it was nice to be able to have a photo together!  I decided (thank you to everyone for your advice!) to go with the white ribbon Coast dress in the end, based particularly on Vix's thoughts, that 'How often do you get to wear something like that in English weather'- I concur, especially as I realised that I could wear the Joy spotty Peterpan dress to more varied occasions.

The hat is from the RIP 'Hat Box' shop, the handbag from some swanky boutique on Totteridge High Street North London, the shoes from Aldo, the blue sparkly cardie from Primark.  Pearl necklace- vintage thrifted and pearl earrings - craft fair.

In typical Kezzie 'hat obsessive' style, I present to you another hat, one that I haven't featured on this blog before, my 'Judy Garland at the Lousiana Purchase exposition white chiffon hat, bought for my Mum's wedding (She insisted that we all wear hats!  Fine by me!)

 The abbey looked wonderful, decked in flowers and cool despite the hot sun outside and the flock of shoppers milling around the streets

 WOMOTM and J looking lovely!  It was SO nice to see them!  They really feel part of my family and I miss them lots when we are not there! 

J in a beautiful shade of orange! I'm so into seeing orange on people at the moment!  It looks great!

 Straight after the ceremony, we headed off to the reception venue, a brewery with marquee up on the Roman road, with beautiful surroundings- fields. Rural and lovely.  We set up our music stands and realised we had forgotten a crucial element of playing music outside- PEGS!!!!!!  The music tried its best to escape at many a moment- we improvised with small rocks from the ground and poor WOMOTM had the terrifying ordeal of being page-turner for J at the piano (I've been a page-turner, it's on the edge of the seat stuff!) That said, he seemed pretty chilled!

We had great fun playing a selection of Palm Court Piano trios- the type of stuff you might have heard in the Ritz in the 1920's, a set of Klezmer wedding music and some little bits and pieces.  When CBC and J had a break and I played Moon river, Take 5 and a couple of other pieces.  Strangely and slightly irritatingly, it was this that the bride remembered hearing!  It was a good 1.5 hours before we stopped but we were pleased and people seemed to enjoy it.

 It was also a chance to christen my new lace parasol I bought in Bruges as we haven't exactly had the weather for it so far!

 After snaffling some canapes and drinks (elderflower fizz for me!), it was time for the food, so we headed into a beautifully decorated marquee with elegant place settings cheered up with bright balloons and bunting made by the Mother and Father of the Bride.  Here's a sneaky shot of the Bride and Groom cutting the cake.  I didn't want to put one of their faces up here as obviously they wouldn't know about my blog and that's a bit naughty to put one up, but I thought this back shot might show you how beautiful the bride looked in a white dress (not ivory or cream)- it had a gorgeously ornamented front (V) and it was a halter.  She looked stunning and I was so pleased to see a wedding dress that wasn't strapless, as whilst I think every bride I've seen in one (every wedding I've been to in the last 10 years) looks lovely, I just like something different! Apparently, she was adamant that she didn't want strapless!  She looked cool and fresh all day and made a point of chatting to everyone in a lovely chilled manner!

 The food was a wonderful buffet with lots of delicious choices! Healthy too!  I liked it being a buffet rather than sit down meal! There was also roast lamb as part of it! (underneath in the shot)  The chocolate mousse desert was also delectable!

I managed to drink a glass of champagne for the toasts and speeches.  The Father of the bride was really great!  The best-man was cringingly embarassing and also included our being given individual pictures with shots of the groom!  Funny but embarassing and all I could think was "What a waste of ink and paper!"

After dinner, CBC and I decided to go for a walk as we were in such a lovely setting and we went for a wander, planning for a slightly longer walk except that we entered a field which had lots of cows up the other end and spookily, as we entered it, they all cantered towards us with stern reproach on their faces.  When we stopped, they stopped.  When we walked again, they menacingly headed towards us!  It was unnerving! CBC bravely stood his ground as I ran for the gate, then he ran too where he took shots from the safety of behind the gate!

 When we came back, my favourite part began- the ceilidh (for my international readers, this, if you don't know, is a Scottish dance.  An equivalent of your American Barn dance) had begun.

Many keen folks took their places for different dances, including CBC and I!  We had to perform a 'basket' move- one where two men and two women run quickly in a circle holding shoulders and the girls end up flying in the air with their legs in the air behind them!  It worked the first time but because our partners were so mismatched in height, we didn't get it a second time!
The final dance was a grand Orkney style 'Strip the willow'!
Here I am advancing through the set...

 Getting nearer...

 And nearer...  (note the sensible change of shoes!)

 We had lots of laughs including CBC and I messing around with silly photo shots! (i.e. the champagne glass above!)

 The cake, made by two incredible ladies!

 After the ceilidh, it turned into a cheesy disco which isn't so much my thing!  But it was fun to watch people and classy dance styles (e.g. the step from side to side, the backwards and forward, the chicken arms, the choo choo train, the lean and up etc!  My own one is 'train wreck'!)

 We even spotted Kate Middleton at the wedding! (tee hee!)

Finally, we headed home to Hexham town, tired but very happy and grateful to all the efforts of the family to make it what it was- a wonderful wedding!

 CBC will kil me for this (but he shouldn't put ideas into my head by saying, everytime I even contemplated a shot, "Meeeya, you only want to put horrid shots of me on your blog!" Well, I wasn't going to, but now I am!  Ha ha!!!!) but here we are, me in pajamas and cardie, eating cheese and rice-cakes at midnight!

How was your weekend lovely people?!

Are you off to any weddings!

What's your opinions on wedding dresses?!

It's hALLe Berry nice!

 Howdy!!! How are you on this balmy night?  I am great, I sit here tucking into a big plate of dinner as I type, much of which is salad- I love the saladyness of the summer!

Inspiration Monday today with the Two birds boutique and the lovely Halle Berry is wearing lots of white and grey! I took the Kezzie casual spin,big trousers spin on this!  I do like wearing white but as I am also very messy, it always gets stuff down it! As I sat here, I was smug that I had not managed to spill anything down my trousers!  Until that thought and tomato salsa promptly flicked onto them! Ahgh!

 Not really anything like Halle, but it's sunny so what better than linen trousers!
Worn with ruffle sleeved top (Primark), M&S long cardie, Tescos trousers, grey naval shoes and blue naval belt- Primark, crystal star necklace- Hexham craft fair, earrings- thrifted

 Yay, that's more Halle- er, maybe not?  More sari!

I hope you had a gloriously sunny, happy weekend like I did!  It was dreamy going up to Northumberland for the wedding, a wonderful time was had by all (post tomorrow) and it was lovely to see WOMOTM and J for a lovely time!

I just came home to a bizarre experience!  A man was sprinkling bits of broken biscuit along the end of my drive!  Apparently, he was feeding the ants as they come out for food in the summer and I am lucky to have ants!  I thought,"Er, yes,until they start coming in my house to find more!"

Hope you are happy!

Memories of raiding my Mamgu's jewellery box

 Hello!  Greetings from a warm evening!  Many children have memories of raiding their Mum's jewellery boxes and wardrobes to play dress-up. Do you?  I always think of my Nan, who we called Mamgu (Welsh for Grandmother because they had a house in Wales).  She had several jewellery boxes on her dressing table including one of those boxes covered in shells!  I  have a tactile memory of it! I loved all her costume jewellery- blingy gold chains, pretty necklaces.  My sister has a lovely ring of hers- it was crystal hearts (I am slighly envious in a sense although this is silly as I don't really wear rings, which we always used to try on.  When she died in 1996 (I think?), I ended up with most of that costume jewellery.  Her life was a terrible loss and it always seemed so sad, because she had suffered from hepatitis for over 20 years (via blood transfusion) and had survived all the horrid steroids she had to take and the end seemed so unexpected at the time since she had defied all the odds.  I don't even know/remember what it was she died of in the end. She was so wonderful and supportive of my sister and I, in every way: emotionally, financially, musically, socially.  Even now, when I get the hiccups, I put my fingers in my ears and swallow, just like she told me to do when we were sitting in the car outside the Vets once.  I remember, just after saying this, her telling me at the time that she was just tired, so tired, so tired of her skin being so wrecked by the steroids and I still remember, at the age of 14, the pangs of compassion and intense love I felt for her at the time, in fact just writing this is making tears flow out of my eyes.
I felt like I was party to a secret tiredness that she hid from the world at large, she was always so positive and it felt like she had confided at me, was sharing a secret with me.  I was suddenly aware of mortality at that point.   How strange to feel so intensely, a memory like this from so long ago...

Anyway, I do digress, the reason this revelry comes to mind, is that last night, in my usual procrastination, I decide to do a bit of tidying rather than marking my grammar books.  As I moved objects around my pigsty bedroom, I came across her dusky-pink fabric jewellery box that I have, that contains many of the necklaces and chains that I have of hers.  There are some that I wear regularly, but these included things that I don't really wear, but keep for the sentimentality, and others I had forgotten about.  As I held each precious item in my hand, I smiled as in my mind's eye, I saw that young 5,7,11,13-year old who stood at that built-in dressing table and cooed at the treasures like that magpie that I was, am.   The necklace pictured above, always particularly makes me think of notably her, as I've never seen another one like it.  I took it out and put it to wear it today.   I'd like to offer that same sweet memory and delight to my own young relatives, perhaps my own young niece, in a few years, might come and visit eccentric aunt Kezzie and raid her jewellery box to play treasures.   Do you have memories of your grandparents like this?

 Today was so beautiful, so lovely.  It was serendipitous that I found Mamgu's necklace as it totally fitted with what I had planned to wear today, anticipating a Thursdays are for thrifters with the lovely Meagan at Brass in Pocket (Alas not!  Where are you my dear?!!) . As I wore Mamgu's necklace, I wore with it a mostly thrifted outfit, perfect for the sun.  This gorgeous orangey/pink silk floral kimono top was a charity-shop purchase, originally from a (for me) posh UK shop called Reiss. I bought it at a time where there were loads of pretty-looking kimono tops in the shops, but they were all synthetic material- I don't really like that type of thing, but I love silk- it's perfect for summer! It also reminded me of the lovely Agatha-Christie looking girl I loved at the Chap Olympiad, 2010.  I almost decided to put it in my 'cull' bag yesterday, but thankfully tried it on and decided that it was so unusual and pretty, that I'd keep it, despite it being a size too big for me!

 The skirt is also thrifted/charity-shop Gap. The mock-tortoiseshell hoop earrings another delighful find in Mamgu's box, that were also a charity shop purchase.
The boots are Tescos as are the tights.

 You may scoff at the black tights in such sweltering weather, but I didn't want constant comments regarding this:

Can you believe that this was just from standing up too quickly on a train and whacking it on the side of the seat?!  It even shone through black tights!

The day was lovely on the whole.  Despite waking horrendously late, with a headache, I had a good morning in Reception, doing estimating numbers of ants with the children, some phonics and enjoying being outside in the Knowledge and understanding area.  A lunchtime recorder club rehearsal was great.  Even the terrifying prospect of teaching Year 2 a medley of 9 songs from the 1990's (Chumbawamba, Steps, S-Club 7, Spice girls, Whigfield, Oasis, Britney Spears, Eiffel 65, and er- the Macarena),  as part of our Jubilee celebrations, was fun and successful!  It's always hard trying to sing pop with young kids, as the pitching is totally not suited to them! We watched my Year 4 class give a Cornet performance (brilliant), I enjoyed a cute picturebook about evolution  and my drumming club totally nailed a Samba practice for our Jubilee picnic next week!  Finally, I came home to mark books in the garden, which in itself was delightful.

Now, as I finish school prep and pack for the weekend, I have a favour to ask you.  Which dress do you think I should wear for the wedding? I can't decided.

Either this beribboned dress from Coast.  I last wore it for my Mum's wedding in 2008 or 9? (sorry Mum!) and that's the only time!

 Or, this cute collared mint with pink polka-dots pleated dress from Joy Louche.  Bearing in mind, I am in Northumberland, outside, playing my flute!


I've just suddenly realised why this wouldn't  focus! No flash!



Please help! 

I hope that you have a lovely day and that you enjoy the sunshine and take some time to relax and look at the clouds!