Some interesting objects in my house

And now for something completely different. I thought I’d tell you a bit about some objects in my house I find interesting, hopefully you will too.

Above is a little cross stitch box that I made several years ago. It’s really tiny and it serves no other purpose than to sit in a display cabinet and look pretty. I do like looking at it because it is cute and also I feel proud of how well I made it. It was a bit fiddly but I like the detail of the design and how it turned out. An ex-boyfriend once told me I was pernickety, and then changed his mind to say I am very detailed. It was not meant as a compliment. This box reminds me that sometimes being detailed is a good and beautiful thing. I am very good at starting craft projects but not completing them so I am also very proud that I finished this one. I bought it in kit form at a craft fair with my Mum.

Object number 2: our poinsettia from Christmas

One of the first things I liked about my husband is how good he is at caring for plants. Here is our poinsettia from Christmas that’s still going strong in May. At this rate we will be using it for Christmas 2020 but it doesn’t have many red leaves any more, only green. We bought it from Marks & Spencer’s garage shop in Crowthorne when we were also buying one for my mother-in-law. Hers didn’t last very long at all, maybe it was too hot in her flat, who knows.

Object no. 3: some sand in a bottle with a “G” on it

I like this because my parents gave it to me and it is a personalised homemade gift. The “G” with a rainbow is just a company logo but for my parents it means “G” for Gail. The sand inside is from Daymer Bay in North Cornwall which is one of my favourite beaches in the world and where I spent all my summer holidays playing as a child. I like the fact my parents went to the effort of filling up the bottle for me when they visited Cornwall one summer without me.

Object no. 4: a postcard from a photography exhibition we visited in Antwerp, Belgium

This usually sits on my dressing table with just the right hand picture on display. We went to this exhibition in December 2018 on our last trip to Antwerp. We have visited the city many times as David used to work there, still has friends there, and we like to visit the Christmas markets and drink gluhwein and Belgian beer. The cobbled streets of Antwerp’s old town and the oldie worldie bars are great. The photographer is Samuel Fosso who apparently started his own photography studio at the age of thirteen. He is big into self portraits dressing himself as famous people such as political leaders. You can read more about him here.

Well, I hope you liked my objects. I could do a few more tomorrow if you like. The best conversation I had today was with a lovely little blue tit in the garden. I said “hello” and he just gave me a contented, friendly little vibe hopping along the wall right next to me. I wonder if it was a young one who started its life in our bird box recently. What’s on the menu tonight? Spaghetti carbonara which I think will actually be linguine, I do like linguine, from the Good Housekeeping Express cookbook.