Taken into Mustardy

I know, I know, it's a bad pun, but you don't come here for comedy!

How are you today?  Well, I hope!! I am fine- well and happy, just rather tired.  I think I should probably head straight off to bed when I finish typing this.

Sometimes, I wear an outfit which I want to photograph. Even if the light is terrible, even if it is dreadfully late when I reach home.  This was one of those occasions. 

This vintage blanket skirt was bought a long, long time ago for £5 from the jumble-sale style stall at Spitalfields market, East London. It always looks different in photos to real life!

This is the first time I paired it with this charity-shopped mustard jumper.

Here's the view of the landing in my new house.  I'm giving you taunting, sneaky little views, aren't I!?   I did try taking a picture with the ostentatious chandelier our predecessors left for us but alas, it cast a blurry halo around my head, so you get the spare bedroom door!

And what resplendent outfit would be complete without a wise owl? None, I fear!

I seemed to be having a colourful skirt week but then I spoilt it all today by donning a boring breton striped jumper and black pinstripe trousers (with toothpaste necklace!) 

I hope all is well with you!

Much love,

Kezzie xx

TARDIS Tuesday - The Bells of St John's 2 in reverse

Evening,

This evening's TARDIS Tuesday is a Clara outfit in reverse colours.
This is her outfit from The Bells of St John's, series 7.  This is where the Doctor first met Clara Oswald Prime- the real Clara Oswald as opposed to the echoes.

She wears a Silence and Noise burgundy fish-tail hem dress (Urban outfitters) with an Aztec eagle necklace.

Image borrowed from Bimbampop.com

She later dons a grey marl Cardie from Sparkle and Fade (also Urban outfitters)

Image borrowed from Doctor Who TV.

Here is a version I have done of it in reverse! The colours swapped around! At some point, I will dye the dress the correct colour, but have been putting it off! It is extremely comfortable to wear  but I have much longer legs than Clara so it rises a bit higher than hers!

The reason for the tea cup is that Clara spends a rather dramatic scene involving trying to stop a plane, clutching a white china mug!

 Here, you can see the first views of my new house. The living room is bereft of a sofa yet- we still haven't chosen one!

 And here is the Aztec bird necklace I bought. I haven't changed the colour of the stone!

What do you think?

x

Display throwback- Seed dispersal

Here is another early photo I found of a display from my first few years of teaching.

This was from the Summer term when we studied the Life cycle of a plant.  

My ultimate favourite lesson was that on Methods of Seed dispersal.

The lettering was made out of black lettering which was stuck to folded clear thick plastic which was stapled only one side down (packaging- recycling as always!)  with rice stuck on as if the letters were seeds dispersing in the wind- as you can see the folded plastic has led the letters to stand at different heights.

I had collected together a beautiful set of various seed cases, pods of many different types, carefully preserved in cases which I distributed amongst the tables- Teasel, burrs, bean pods, acorns, pine cones, sycamore keys, chestnuts, conkers, coconuts and many more....  After being taught identification clues for methods of seed dispersal, the children carefully sketched the seeds in pastels on black paper which they then had to write with details of the method of seed dispersal next to it. On a separate sheet, they had to give reasons as a back up. It was a nice mixture of Science and Art which made a really pretty display. I do wonder if year 5 still use my seed collection or if they got binned like many things do. I even sacrificed a few duplicate seed to be stuck onto the display.

I never forget that when OFSTED came to our school for the second time, the day before they unexpectedly arrived, I had actually got this very lesson (with a later class) ready for my termly observation.  It was meticulously planned. But alas, the call from OFSTED came at lunchtime and the observation was cancelled. I carried on teaching it but I was sad that I would not be able to get it observed.  Luckily, a teacher in the other year 5 class was coming back from maternity leave for the first day of OFSTED (bad timing eh?) and her class hadn't done this lesson yet so I passed on my detailed lesson plan, resources and seeds etc to her and luck of luck, OFSTED came in as she was teaching this very lesson. They were very impressed with her planning, resources etc and asked if she was the Science Coordinator. I'll never know if that was down to my planning, her teaching or a combination of the two, but I like to think I had a hand in her getting such a compliment.

I, on the other hand,was teaching Music the day OFSTED came and got observed twice in one day with separate classes, first and last lesson.  Some of my colleagues have never been observed in the 3 OFSTEDs we have had, but I have been observed every time.  Sigh. 

January, January

Oh January, you are the hardest month! Life is gloomy, the weather is terrible and the glow of Christmas is long-gone!  I often hear from people that they find January hard and indeed, I would say I find this to be true also.  The interminable darkness, the cold and the gloom.  It sounds morbid to say it, but I tend to find I am often frequently very delayed on my way home on the train in January and February due to people not being able to cope with January, need I say any more. 

BUT, if you are feeling like that... remember, the light is coming- slowly, but slowly, inching its way stealthily, stealing back the hours which darkness thought it could claim irrevocably.  Spring,the greatest gift will be back on its way soon.  Snowdrops are tentatively finding their way back to the garden, the daffodils WILL return, even if it is a little while yet.  Remember, everyone feels like that.  There is hope, there is light and there is joy yet to come.  Aslan will return and Spring will come again! :-)

x

Throwback Display memory

Hello there,

Thank you very much for your kindness in your comments on my tribute to WOMOTM. I really appreciate you taking the time to read a long essay on my most happy memories of him. 

The funeral was yesterday and whilst it was very sad and hard to say goodbye to him, it was a fitting tribute to him and a good number of people turned up to pay their respects- at least 70.  It was nice to see some people I haven't seen for a while and also to see some lovely pictures of WOMOTM over the years.

We returned from Northumberland today.  It took a tedious amount of time and we have returned home to a boiler that is not working.  We had issues with the same stupid Valant boiler at our old house but at least we had an electric shower there so warm showers were always possible.  Here we don't have that option.  Oh the joys of winter and boilers.  I honestly believe these companies make these devices with built in faults to make you call out an expert. Sigh.

Anyway, I thought I would share a post to a picture that I found when I was looking for photos of WOMOTM. It is a photo from my first year of teaching. We started by studying the Ancient Greeks in Year 5 and so I framed the display board with pillars and Greek inspired architecture.  My LSA made this Greek-looking lettering in gold for me and I loved it.  It made me smile to find these images and remember the utter dread of making these papier-mache masks- not my idea I hasten to add, but my parallel year group partner. I loathe Papier-mache and I remember the utter mess it made- door handles and all conceivable surfaces had a layer of wall-paper slime.  Utterly disgusting! I've pretty much avoided papier-mache ever since thankfully!

I found one or two other pictures too so I might share these memories at some point.

Wise old Man of the Mountain- a farewell.

I wanted to say thank you SO MUCH for all of you that left such kind comments regarding the death of my Father-in-Law.  His funeral is to take place on the 22^nd of January in Hexham.  As I sit and write this on Sunday 14^th January, his brother is trying to write his obituary for the local paper and CBC has written the eulogy for the funeral.  I wanted to so much to share my love for him and key memories connected to him. Please don’t feel compelled to read this but it is something I really wanted to write.

WOMOTM stood for Wise Old Man Of The Mountain. This became his blog pseudonym because I am reluctant to share names of family members- the reason for this name will become apparent. I remember when I first met him he seemed to me, to be such a sweet, kind man. He would not necessarily come across that way in all situations as he could be quite brusque and not the most talkative, but if you got to know him, he was such a kind, gentle soul. I always think of him as being fiercely loyal and fond of his family.  He loved everyone coming up to see him.  He was extremely generous yet always careful with money which is a stance to finances I respect greatly. 

I remember back in February 2010 when CBC took me to Northumberland, when I said goodbye to him and he gave me a big hug (bear hugs only when you arrived and left- he wasn’t one for affectionate hugs every day), I knew that I loved him and wanted to be part of his family.  It was bitterly cold that year and I lived then, in my childhood home which had no central heating.  But in Northumberland, the bed came with an electric blanket. It was a revelation! I had never experienced such luxurious warmth at bed time! I remember the Christmas or was it that Birthday,  that they bought me an electric blanket for home and winter freezing was no longer an issue.  Last year, he sent us an electric duvet as a Christmas present to keep us warm as he thought that was much better than the blankets!

He always said he liked it when I came up there because I helped him with the washing-up.  I often tried to get there before him to avoid him being chained to the washing up sink.  CBC used to laugh and say that his dad used to hum the tune form the ‘Slaves Chorus’ as he did the washing up in previous years. This always made me giggle. He was meticulous about cleaning and the housework and could be a tyrant over his routines. Many a time, I came towards the kitchen and didn’t dare enter as the mop stood like a rigid sentry to stop any entry as the floor was mopped clean! We used to laugh at it because it was such a clear signal.

DO NOT ENTER THE KITCHEN

Maybe mocking the mop!

Any memory of going to Northumberland is always integrally linked with the excitement of seeing him. He’d always send emails saying how much he was looking forward to us coming up.  And I remember the excitement at arriving at his warm house in Haltwhistle- the sofas with the Latin writing on, the enormous Apple screen, the photos to see, the enormous shower with its squeegee, the poetry book which sat on the shelf in the toilet which I would sit and read when in there- how I learnt to recite Jabberwocky and Daffodils whenever I was up there. He used to smile when I came down to recite what I had learnt but was also able to correct me and/or complete it if I failed. He was greatly fond of poetry and had memorised a great deal.  

 

At our wedding with a friend. Wearing J's, not pictured, hat.

One thing I loved was his willingness to always stop and smile for a photo. Most of CBC’s family always groan and hide when I try to take a picture but he always put on his friendliest smile for me. As I write this, I am gutted that I recently lost my portable hard-drive which was from my old lap top which houses all my photos from the past- it has many happy photos of our times with him. I was sad because I wanted to share this hilarious photo from CBC’s sister’s wedding in which he wore his wife’s bright pink hat, but look, I found one from our wedding where he wore her purple one! 

Hindscarth 2011

Photography was a great love of his- apparently he founded the Photography society at the school he worked at in Hexham for 29 years. Most of my memories of walks with him and any occasions involve his enormous SLR camera attached to his Berghaus rucksack- he let me have his Berghaus rucksack last Summer which I shall cherish.  He always generously allowed me to use his photos on my Blog posts and told me that I didn’t have to acknowledge them as his.  So many beautiful photos were taken and shared. He would upload his photos at the end of a day and would take great pleasure in editing them in Photoshop, lightening any shadows and sharpening images and I would await the great sharing of these with bated breath! For our wedding, he printed out and made some lovely collages of photos of CBC and I and.

Ridley Hall 2013

And how could I forget the infamous Wedding Invitation photoshoot. We went with him to the grounds of Ridley Hall in Northumberland to take photos and had great fun taking photos until the three of us were asked to leave the grounds as apparently it was now private property with kids on site!

In addition, he was the great benefactor to this blog of not one, but two tripods! He knew I wanted to take outfit photos and gave me his spare which I used until I misplaced it and then he gave me his good one! I use them to this day!  His other great contribution to this blog was also the Pink Canon Ixus Camera which was a 31^st Birthday present. This marvellous camera has taken thousands upon thousands of photos for this blog and has lived in my handbag for 6 years, taking photos on a daily basis. He was always really pleased when he mentioned this camera saying with a smile, that I had really made good use of it.

Hindscarth 2011

My latter-life love of walking is down to CBC and him.  Every time we came up to Northumberland in the early years of mine and CBC’s relationship, he would plan a walk in the Lake District for us. He always said he liked walking with me as I walked at his pace (CBC and his brother were mountain goats who would speed on ahead.). He always loved planning where we would go next.  The first walk was in July of 2010- he chose Catbells as my inaugural peak walk and the three of us walked on Catbells in perfect weather. It was a wonderful walk and many breath-taking views were seen.  Other walks followed- Robinson and Hindscarth, Castle Cragg and my personal favourite- Rannadale Knotts.  Following his heart-attack on Summer when we were there, he found it harder to climb and this was a good walk with a burst of short uphill and then glorious ridges and downhills. We repeated this walk in glorious weather which we planned in advance as it was such a pleasant journey.  One other glorious walk I remember taking was in December 2014- we walked from Steel Rigg to Halsteads along Hadrian’s Wall.  The weather was utterly stunning- we were bathed in golden light as we reached our conclusion and he, CBC’s brother and I were so utterly delighted by this experience.

Sycamore Gap. Christmas 2014

WOMOTM by Cawlfields

The end of the walk at Halsteads when all was golden.

It was around 3 years ago that he was diagnosed with Pulmonary Fibrosis and it restricted his ability to walk more- we had fewer walks as time went on but I do remember possibly the last happy walk we had in October 2016.  He had said that his walking days were over as he just struggled so much to walk but we managed to persuade him to take a short walk around Haltwhistle. I kept stopping, ostensibly to take photos but in reality in order to allow him to catch up and not feel he was holding us up and it worked- he had felt gloomy before that and after that walk, which was a real halcyon day in the autumnal gloom- he was pleased with himself for having managed to have a walk and not feel he was holding us up. I remember the delight I felt then as I had felt really bad about how gloomy he had been before that.

Haltwhistle

Two other walks or moments stand out in my mind- one was when we walked to the Prisoner of War camp near Haltwhistle.  We got caught in absolute torrential rain on the way back and since he and CBC are fairweather walkers, they were both game not to get annoyed with me for having pestered them for a walk.  As we had walked, he told me a personal story connected to that PoW camp which he had never shared with the family and they were astonished to hear it.   The other was when we took a family holiday to Sarlat in France in July 2016, before CBC went off to Costa Rica for a month. He had not had a holiday in years and he was so grateful, effusive and thankful over it and I remember him planning that we would go to Avion the next year, alas unfulfilled.   We went to this Chateau and he couldn’t hear the words very well, so the pair of us sneaked off and walked in the grounds and found a Bamboo maze to walk in!

 

Hiding from the heat in the Bamboo maze

I can see you! Me in the moat- WOMOTM on the bridge!

He was a retired Maths teacher and taught me about Binary numbers- I remember the Christmas we had the epic Christmas quiz- there was a Maths round that was very hard! I remember his making some 3D shapes out of straws and then subsequently I bought him some metre-long straws in order to allow him to make something like the Great Stellated Dodecadodecahedron!  He had this amazing book which had all these complicated shapes I had never heard of!

His mechanical calculator!

He was a good and kind man who always made me feel welcome, maintained a kind interest in my interests- be those blogging- he was a silent reader of this page; Doctor Who (he used to record it for me when we didn’t have a TV; card-making, and books I read- I remember his saying we could watch The Hunger Games when we went up there as I had recently read them. Whilst it was harder to spend time with him in recent times, since he was ill, he was not very sociable and found it hard to cope with company, he was always humble and never wanted to cause anyone any bother.   Writing this and looking for photos, I have shed many tears and I feel so sad at the years we will not get to spend with him- despite his illness, despite the fact he was receiving Palliative care, he was such a determined guy, that I really did not see him dying when he did- I imagined us going back up there in February half term and watching Blade Runner which we had pre-ordered for him for Christmas.

I am gutted and sad that this horrid lung-disease robbed him of many more years- we all imagined him going strongly into his 90’s since he was walking fells aged 80.  I don’t know how I shall feel going up to Northumberland without him. He was who and what I immediately thought of whenever I knew we were going up there. I regret that we did not go up there often- usually around 4-6 times a year and although he was not a man who talked about feelings and things like that, I wish I had told him how much I grew to love him and was grateful so much for his friendship and kindness.  WOMOTM, know this from the very centre of my heart, that I am so, so glad I knew you and I will miss you greatly.

Goodbye and thank you old house

Dear All,
Now we have finally completely moved, I thought it would be nice to reflect on the things I was grateful for in my old house, a sort of goodbye.  Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of things I won't miss such as it being freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeezing in the bedroom, the carpet moths, the annoying cold tap that was incredibly dodgy and stiff, the hard-to-clean hob, the gate that was so stiff it wouldn't open, the door handle I always got caught on and I am very happy about my new house, but I thought I'd remember while I could.


1.  The beautiful garden- it was SUCH a treat to be able to look out onto such a long and well-planned garden and enjoy it in the sun. Such a variety of plants and flowers that taught me a lot! Plus, fruit trees.

2.  The ease of being able to roam from room to room on one floor- I didn't get my usual, "Can't remember what I went up the stairs for.."

3.  The quietness of it. So quiet. It was set back far from the road and because of the garden length.
4. The wildlife- foxes slinking past the patio doors as I did my work and playing in the garden; frolicking squirrels; goldfinches, Robins, Blackbirds; Sally the Slow-worm in my compost bin.


5.  The long living room- it was nice having a room that long!


6.  The friendliness and kindness of the neighbours.
7. The ease with which I could get to town in 7 minutes walk.
8.  How easy it was to get anywhere from there- straight onto a major A road. Quickness of train.
9.  The fact I could walk straight onto the train platform without climbing any bridges or going up or down stairs or slopes (alas not so at my new station).
10.  Overly friendly Florence, platform staff at the station who effused loudly over the loudspeaker as we got on the train each morning.
11.  How Aldi was on my way home- no having to make diversions to buy food.

12. The pleasant straight walk to the station.
13.  Great charity shops in town!
14.  How it enabled us to save for our house.
15. The sheer quantity of Roses that I enjoyed over the tenancy. Especially these Love and Peace Tea Roses.


I will always remember our 23 months at that house and I will always be grateful for it.
Thank you Bungalow! It was nice knowing you!
x

TARDIS Tuesday- The Time of the Doctor- Naked Clara???

Hello All,

THANK YOU so much for your kind wishes towards CBC and myself. We really appreciate your kindness and generous thoughts.  I will write a little more on that soon but from the bottom of my heart, to know that 30 of you out there cared to leave those comments means a lot to me.

I was struggling to come up with something to write following my announcement and I figured I would be best just to launch back into my regulars and then try to write something when I felt ready.

I thought I'd share what I wore on Boxing day as a TARDIS Tuesday.

So, here is what Clara wears as her second outfit in The Time of the Doctor, Matt Smith's final story.  Clara and the Doctor are called to the Papal Mainframe, a space church orbiting the planet of Trenzalore.  Clara is wearing a festive red tartan outfit but you cannot enter the Papal Mainframe with clothes so she goes there 'naked' but this is what she appears in there.

Image borrowed from Shop your TV.com

I liked how bright this outfit was with the jolly yellow sweater though a leather skirt is not really my thing!

 So here is my version of the outfit. I have a dyed version of the same jumper (originally grey) but it needs another yellow dye layer to get it more mustard.  I was MOST overjoyed to get a green hat in my cracker on Christmas Day.  It has been carefully stowed.

The funny thing is, we watched The Time of the Doctor on iPlayer on Boxing Day as I've never seen it all the way through and CBC also wanted to watch it.  As she was 'changed' into this outfit, I laughed as I realised and said to CBC and his Mum, "Da naaaaaaaaa!" and J, my Mother in Law said, "But you've got the same outfit on!" in an amazed manner!! Ha ha !

IMage borrowed from Pinterest

I enjoyed the adventure as did CBC. He says that definitely liked it better with Matt Smith and Clara- he didn't seem very fond of the Capaldi and Bill adventures!

What do you think?

x

A brief update

Hi All,

I will probably be away from the Blogosphere for the next week or so for a few reasons.

Firstly, we moved house yesterday- well, we moved the bulk of the stuff.  We have been moving bits and pieces since the 16th December but yesterday we hired a van and moved a lot of stuff and since the beds and the suchlike are over there- we slept our first night there last night and will do onwards.  I won't be able to post as the internet is not beginning there until the 15th January.

We were both really knackered but thankful for the help from CBC's old housemate and his brother and fell asleep, after putting on a duvet cover and pillowcases, in our new bed. 

Unfortunately, we woke to the worst news this morning.  The wonderful WOMOTM, CBC's Dad, died this morning.  He has been deteriorating in health over the past few years with a degenerative lung condition and was taken into hospital this week but he deteriorated on Thursday. The pair of us are wishing that we had gone up now, CBC, of course, especially.   He phoned me this morning saying that he needed to go up there but his Dad died in the meantime.  He has now gone up on the train to join his Mum and sister.  I'm here packing up some more things. It's such rotten timing with moving- if we hadn't been, he might have been able to get up there in time to see him.  It is hard to believe that this wonderful man is no longer with us.  My heart is full of pity for CBC and mourning for this humble man and many regrets for times missed.  I expect we will be up there for his funeral soon.

I hope all is well with you.
xx

A whimsical "Not buying ANYTHING in the sales," wishlist...

Since Christmas is now over and this won't sound like a big Christmas list, I thought I'd share some really nice and cute items that I think are great and would gladly own! As we are now mortgage-payers though not yet moved (more on that soon), I won't be buying any of these, much as I would LOVE to!  Maybe you might like them too! Or at least be entertained by my novelty tat-likes!

Fox blouse from Sugarhill Boutique

Firstly, I saw this blouse on my IG friend Charrrlie a while back and I confess that I adore it!  It's now in the sale at £29 and I would dearly love to buy it- in fact it has hovered in an online basket about 6 times now but I have not made any sale purchases as finances are going to be limited for a while so I won't be getting it, but it is rather gorgeous!

Fox jumper from Sugarhill Boutique

The fox blouse has been accompanied every time by this delightful foxy jumper, £35 in the sale- I think it is really cute but I do already have a fox jumper so alas, I must resist!

Rainbow jumper from Sugarhill Boutique

This rainbow jumper is also from Sugarhill Boutique but is not in the sale! It is rather jolly! I do love me a good rainbow!

Lolly Jar from Lottie and Lu.

High up the novelty tat (but expensive!) stakes is this aaaaaaaaaaamazing sweetie jar brooch from Lottie and Lu! Oh my! What a clever idea!

Button jar from Lolly and Lu by Martini & Slippers

Similarly, this button jar brooch is utterly adorable and I can think of clothing this would go beautifully with!

Sausage Fox necklace from Little Moose

Continuing the foxy theme is this marvellou Sausage Fox necklace from Little Moose! It is a lovely tortoiseshell acrylic and very sweet. They also do a Weasel which I love too! It is around £27.99

Sausage Weasel necklace from Little Moose.

Oh look, here is the weasel!

Cheshire Cat necklace from Little Moose

Little Moose have had this Cheshire Cat necklace a while and it is one I always go and stare at lovingly, well, when I remember that  Little Moose exist!

Apatosaurus necklace from Little Moose

This Apatosaurus necklace is HUGE and I adore it!

Mountain range necklace from Little Moose

This Mountain and Cable Car necklace is really sweet- it's another one I occasionally go and drool over...

Firework necklace from Tatty Devine

Finally,no way could I ever afford this but I do think this Tatty Devine necklace is amazing! CBC would KILL me if I bought and/or wore this!

Any ones you like here or are they all a bit too novelty for your tastes!?

xx

TARDIS Tuesday outfit- Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS

Happy Christmas! I am so sorry that TARDIS Tuesday is a week overdue!  I decided to wear my favourite Clara Oswald outfit for Christmas day.

This is probably the outfit that made me want to dress up as Clara Oswald when I was watching Doctor Who.  It was just so cute and memorable and I have done various versions of it over the years.

Image borrowed from The Doctor Who website

The dress I am wearing is the same brand and model as the one Clara is wearing and has taken years of searching to find!  The dress has a curious-print. It appears to look different depending on how close or faraway you look at it and if you have different light but the print is actually of red sequins, yet it looks orange at a distance!

I wore it here with some boots I bought in TK Maxx which are super comfy with good grips- I had a pair like this around about 7 years ago  but they had no grip and I slipped in the snow in them so I decided to bid them adieu! As it was the 25th December, I wore tights.  The black collar is one of those dicky/fake skirts- it just has a bit round the top!

Image borrowed from Razorfine

This episode was a great one because Clara gets to explore the TARDIS. I always loved episodes entirely based in the TARDIS as it's like having a nosy round someone's house!

Other bonuses of this dress are that it has pockets, the sleeves aren't too tight and the skirt swishes in the breeze!

And there we have it! Clara from Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS.