Thursday 2 May 2013

My name is Jenny and I am a minimalist....with cheap firewood

Starting off with my usual no Pinterest request - please - not everyone feels the same.......perhaps don't pin this to show that you do read blogs too


Inside there really is a minimalist trying to get out.  I love it when I have a clear out and there is SPACE.  I like SPACE.  Problem is SPACE is also whispering to me: 'Fill me with something'  in that naughty way SPACE does.

Just after Christmas we had a radiator moved - it was a long horrible looking thing that offended my sensibilities greatly.
Moving the radiator created a lovely bit of SPACE.
The other day I popped round to my favourite junk shop (a proper old junk shop which is full of junk...the one where I got my old trunk from...yes, that one).
Outside was a chair....
I do not need a chair....
I had only just created a bit of SPACE.
Chair was £2.
I went home.
I do not need a chair.
Saw the SPACE at home.
Oh,  a chair might fill that bit of space nicely.......


Chair just needed a little bit of freshening up (I don't think that this is the  pastel shade from that book is it  Hen ?)

I managed to add a few bits in....Clock bought from Greenwich Market circa 1989....was one of a pair but at 14.99 I could only afford the one at the time....used my bus money to pay for it...kept perfect time ever since.

I have also managed to go back in time...!


I am rather partial to a nice bit of crochet...


Vintage crochet post coming up.....


Artful display.....................


  There is still SPACE....just not so much of it.
We shall call this colour 'Bird Cage Blue'  - ha ha


 I am trying hard to be a minimalist


Sadly junk shop had two of these chairs.....and I wouldn't wish one of them to be lonely.....


 £2 for an Ercol chair -  it was cheaper than firewood!

I know that I have gone about this before but my NUMBER ONE reason over the decades for buying vintage/aka (and better known as) 'second hand/used/damaajed/shop soiled' goods is that they are either  CHEAP or CHEAPER than new. There is no doubt that DIY and second hand has resulted in us savings thousands of pounds over the years.  Whilst we/I can now afford to relax the grip on the household budget old habits die hard (I STILL have only the one pair of shoes....but I have a few tablecloths...).    Second reason being is it usually well made.  Third reason is that it is often unusual...I like to be different. Fourth reason is that it just makes sense.

 My sister Gail tells me that car boots and junk shops in my area are much cheaper than in her neck of the woods - that of course is my undoing.....but, as I have consistently spouted here, saving money on X means that I can spend money on Y.

Let us to the maths here - simple schoolboy stuff - where 'V' is vintage and 'mc' equals money/change, square that and of course it results in : V = mc2 




Please apply the 'Theory of Spending Thriftily' - V = mc2 (Pat. Pending) whenever and wherever you can **!!

 My name is Jenny and I am trying to be a minimalist......

PS:** Unless you see something really lovely.... that you know you might never see again..... in which case you can merrily justify the expense to yourself in that convoluted way of thinking that we/I have....."Well I only spent £2 on a chair so surely I can spend X on tablecloths Y"....

PPS: Writing book as we speak.......

PPPS: TV series in progress...

PPPPS: Holding off blogging for a while as I feel I am getting a bit boring: 'Oh here is another beep, beep bag', 'This is a tablecloth', 'Here is car boot treasure'. YAWN. A bit like the SWAMP of magazines and books on making stuff and 'crafting' - talk about cashing in...leaping onto a band wagon...  I don't buy magazines much anymore but recently decided to splash out a hard earned 4.99 (could have bought two and half chairs with that money - momentary lapse in the THEORY OF SPENDING THRIFTILY!!!) on what seemed like a nice one the other day.  It was wrapped up so that I could not scan insides - I stupidly thought that would indicate NEW ideas beyond my imagination.  WHAT A WASTE OF MONEY THAT WAS.   It is all getting very samey, some ideas are just plain DAFT and in fact very similar to all that stuff I was making back in the 70s !!!!  I will direct you back to this post here to illuminate you further on my thoughts about such matters.   If I am boring myself then I must be boring the pants off you too.  Thinking of re-inventing myself and coming back with an entirely new theme. Also don't like the fact that I have not got the time to visit your blog  and that then becomes too one-sided and expecting everyone to LOOK AT ME....I don't like that either..if you are kind enough to read this then I should be kind enough to read yours....reciprocity Timothy!

PPPPPS: 'We did not realise that you were so sour Jenny...'

PPPPPPS - got that off my chest

PPPPPPPS - we are all different....

PPPPPPPS - I may delete this......

PPPPPPPPPPPS - I will calm down shortly

PPPPPPPPPPPPPPS - Need my breakfast............

A mountain of other things in the world to worry about






75 comments:

  1. Great post!
    I clear spaces in my house, but I have a problem! Space cleared, space then gets filled a day or so later. We call it Flat Surface Syndrome!
    Julie xxxxxx

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  2. One thing you are not, Jenny, is boring! I love how you write and all the gorgeous things you share with us. Change if you want to, but don't feel you have to for our sakes, we love you just the way you are! Have a lovely day lady. xxx

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    1. Awww - thank you kindly indeed Rachel
      Best wishes
      Jenny

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  3. I do hope you enjoyed a splendid breakfast... it is my favourite meal...
    I love those chairs Jenny, what a supper find! I've got the perfect cushion... not ever seen that design before, I could really do with a high backed chair so I can support my spine, not been able to sit for more than 15 or so minutes for months which does make for a rather challenging day. Liking the throw too! As for paying £4.99 for magazines... on the whole daft as you say !! Cx

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    1. Dear Greenorchid - these chairs are very comfortable indeed to sit in and are supportive. Sorry to hear that life is not too comfortable for yourself though - I hope that things are better for you.

      Take care
      Best wishes
      Jenny

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  4. Sweetheart, even if you NEVER visited my blog I would still pop over to your, you know for a cuppa and a little nosey around your abode! You can throw all the bags at me you like, I love 'em. What you shouldn't ever feel is pressured, that's not what all this blogging malarkey is about...it's about having a little harmless fun, isn't it? So DON'T put yourself under any pressure. It sounds like you've got a lot on your plate, if its getting too much, give yourself a break!
    I love your chair, you can throw as many of them at me too, that's obviously in the virtual sense, I may complain if you actually DID throw them at me, of course!
    I tried minimal once, was a miserable time, never again! Take care :) x

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    1. Dear Ada Bea
      You are very right - it is all harmless fun and it is daft to put pressures that don't really exist in place.

      Never fear I will not be chair throwing!

      Thank you for your kind words Ada
      Best wishes
      Jenny
      PS: Much as I like looking at it minimalist is really me!

      Delete
    2. PS - that should have read NOT really me!!!

      Delete
  5. Jenny,please don't stop blogging, you could never be boring, and everything you say is so like what I think anyway! I agree with Ada above ... I don't care whether anyone reciprocates by reading my blog and leaving comments, I just love to look at everyone else's.

    Absolutely love your chairs, Ercol is so aesthetically pleasing haha, but the style and quality is amazing! Please don't get me started n the magazines, I'm going t rein myself in and stop buying so many.

    Take it easy, and enjoy your rest

    Love Claire xxx

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    1. Dear Claire - I do indeed find blog reading far more interesting that magazine reading. A truly creative, imaginative and supportive group of people - a binding that a magazine can never recreate.

      Thank you as always for calling in Claire
      Best wishes
      Jenny

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  6. Boring ... you ... no way ... I love your posts and all your lovely things ... I am in love with your new chairs too ... what a find ... Bee xx

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    1. Dear Bee
      Thank you for dropping by and for your kind words - the house is a bit of a mess today sadly but the chairs are glowing!
      Best wishes
      Jenny

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  7. I too love your posts, all of them! I also think magazines are getting a bit much, and finding the same photos in multiple mags makes my blood boil!

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    1. Indeed Jille - I think some photographs come from agencies so they are in a central 'bank' somewhere in cloud land. There is a certain popular magazine that I notice uses photographs that have been in their magazine several years before...mmm

      Thank you for calling in
      Best wishes
      Jenny

      Delete
  8. Oh Bless your heart boring nooooo....Lovely and entertaining yes :-) I love your blog after only just finding it and I have been writing for 6 years although I had to delete it last month and have only just started to write another one and feeling sad that I couldn't let the lovely people that followed me know for reasons I wont go into here. But I love your blog your finds, your upcycle style your colours your patterns your love for all things vintage I love it all. Please don't change a thing. And those Ercol chairs look amazing £2 I cant believe it I bet you skipped out of that shop :-) Keep going just the way you are, dee x

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    1. Dear Dee
      Thank you kindly for calling in and your kind words. Sorry about your old blog but glad that you have started a new one. Mr Ercol Chair man often sells his things for about 20p so £2 was pricey!! Yesterday Mr Ercol Chair man gave me a 1960s straw hat for free..I have a few hats....

      Thank you again
      Best wishes
      Jenny

      Delete
  9. Jenny based on above post do give up blogging.
    !
    and.........Start your own Magazine.
    ?
    No on second thoughts.........DONT EVER GIVE UP BLOGGING.

    I LOVE YOoooooo...sooooo much.
    D J

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    1. Dear Miss Lazy Daisy Jones

      You, my dear, is the reason why I continue.

      You make me laugh muchly

      Magazine in the pipeline...

      Best wishes
      Jenny

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  10. Come now ~ you're not boring at all..... you take super duper pictures (that everyone wants to have for their own) and your funny, and you rescue good things from junk shops and car boots (which always makes me laugh, cuz being an American ~ our cars don't have boots they have trunks (for which to hold your booty?).(in a pirate's sense of course I mean....) if I had one complaint, *brrrrrr* it would be your schoolboy math example ~ letters equaling numbers, with those other little tiny numbers near them.... anything resembling algebra makes me shiver, and want to hide under a spectacular vintage afghan! *giggle*
    P.S. ~ I confess to loving magazines, there ~ I said it. So if you do as Daisy suggests, I'm on board. :))))))

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    1. Dear Melody
      Very sorry about the maths - a momentary lapse! I do have one or two more crochet blankets...oh dearie me....
      Thank you very much for your kind words
      Best wishes
      Jenny

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  11. YOU are not boring...I love the funny and the bit of wit that you add to your posts! hat is what makes you so interesting as well as your ability to be super crafty! Yes, a lot of the magazines tend to get all on the same track and then they all look the same, and they do start doing ridiculous things that only look good in pictures! Most of the time WE are where they get their ideas! You may just need a break, but evolution is not bad. Otherwise we'd all still be wearing those awful 70's and 80's haircuts wouldn't we? We are just new and improved versions of those people and ideas right? Love you dear and thanks for being honest about how you feel!

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    1. Dear Pam - thank you for taking the time to post this message and kind words. I had a terrible razor cut in the 70s...and I remember crying whilst they cut it!!

      Keep in touch
      Best wishes
      Jenny

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  12. Not boring at all. I get really excited when I see you've posted and frankly my growing collection of tablecloths is as a result of reading your blog. I love them I bought two this morning. I was also wondering what colour you painted the chair as I have an ercol rocking chair I want to paint and I love that colour. Paula xx

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    1. Dear Paula
      Always glad and heartened to read of another tablecloth fan - shall we start a club? I bought a delicious one at the car boot the other week - £2 (a common price for things I think!) of spendidness.

      The paint is just from B&Q and is the spray can Plastikote one - they don't have a wide range of colours but this one I have used a lots of things in the past. I am not very patient when it comes to making things so, though I do not use sprays for anything else, this makes it a very quick and easy thing to do. There has been an ercol rocking chair at the car boot for several weeks running - it costs £25 which I thought was about £20 too much...maybe I am wrong

      I look forward to seeing you chair
      Best wishes
      Jenny

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  13. Bargain chairs Jenny - am impressed, don't think could get as cheap here. Know what you mean about magazines, I've stopped all of mine except for Mollie Makes now though have just subscribed to Pretty Nostalgic which is glorious if you haven't had a chance to see it yet! Don't stop blogging, you make me laugh and Miss Daisy J would be inconsolable!!!! X

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    1. Thank you very much for calling in and your kind words - I realise that it would be hard for Miss Daisy so I am coming back fighting fit!!!!

      I will be more prudent in my magazine purchases in future!
      Best wishes
      Jenny

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  14. Your always make me chuckle! Those chairs were such a bargain did you buy them from Mr L, how could you not walk buy and not buy them! I always hated equations at school but yours makes such sense.
    Sarah x

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    1. Hello Sarah

      Mr L is a lovely shop to visit (and I have bought something from there that I will blog about eventually) but Mr L is not a cheap shop I think. However Mr R is indeed a very cheap shop - a proper old junk shop, full of veritable junk. Yesterday Mr R gave me, free, gratis, a 1960s straw hat. Frequently the price in Mr R's shop is 20p....that is why my house is full....
      Thank you for calling in
      Best wishes
      Jenny

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  15. Three short points please:

    1) Your Theory of Spending Thriftily should be taught in schools. Wouldn't that make the world a better place?

    2) One chair and one clock counts as minimalism, even with a crocheted blanket draped over it. The point is, hardly anything is obstructing your floor. Space is about Floor Freedom. You've got it, don't worry.

    3) I'm pretty sure, some time back, you assured me that you would invest in another pair of shoes. Sadly, I now find this is not the case.

    All the best,

    Shelley

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    1. Dear Shelley

      1.I am negotiating with Mr Gove re: Theory being put on the curriculum (managed to spell that without looking it up!)
      2. Floor Freedom is an excellent phrase and may be under copyright - I will check
      3. Sorry to let you down regarding shoes - I assure that by the next time we meet I will have bought another pair!!

      Happy Benching
      Best wishes
      Jenny

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  16. You are NOT boring. I love reading about your adventures. (If you ARE boring, then I am boring too and we are two of a kind.)

    I agree about magazines. They are worthless but I still look through them whenever I can do so without paying for them.

    I think you should buy another pair of shoes. Shoes are wonderful to look at and admire and collect. Having said that, I go barefoot whenever I am home.

    Your blue chair is beautiful. I think you should put a stack of magazines and a pair of shoes on it... joking!

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    1. Dear Jane
      I should indeed buy another pair of shoes - I looked back on previous posts and note that I have been going on about this for some YEARS!!! I am not a 'regular' shopper - I do not like shopping unless it is a certain 'type' of shop - a shoe shop would be bottom of my list of shops to visit. However unless I am to become a Hobbit I will eventually need another pair!

      Thank you for calling in and kind words Jane - it is very kind of you
      Best wishes
      Jenny

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  17. I couldn't have left those chairs behind. It would have been criminal.

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    1. Exactly! Hence a full house!

      Thank you for calling in
      Best wishes
      Jenny

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  18. No bogging. .. whatever would chalky white say! my dears
    I shall get withdrawal symptoms. .. What shall I daydream about making. Of course you realise that I never actually make anything just aspire to the level of the custards. .... my drawer of shame overfloweth. My head is busting with things I COULD make. .... Please don't stop. I am sure you could never be boring. You must have enough items to photograph one every day of the year.

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    1. That made me laugh Lisa - Chalky White has been a bit miffed by it all! You may well be right - I think on this blog I have shown less than 10% of stuff that I have made or have! Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear....
      Thank you for calling in and empty that DoS!!
      Best wishes
      Jenny

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  19. Aagh...minimalism! I read lots of minimalist, modern design blogs and drool over them....and wish I could have a sleek, pared down space but alas it is not possible chez nous. We like a bit of stuff, we do.

    Your empty space was nice but your chair-filled space is even nicer. Fab chair!

    Please do not stop blogging. You are so not boring. I love your posts. Thank you. :)

    Bring on the vintage crochet post.

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    Replies
    1. Dear wendz
      Thank you for your kind words - that large open, white space with a single objet placed oh so artfully is very, very appealing but 'stuff' is, of course, very appealing too...something has to give and it is usually 'space'!!!

      Wrestling vintage crochet blankets off everyone to photograph - there are used every evening at the moment to keep us warm in May!!

      Many thanks for calling in
      Best wishes
      Jenny

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  20. Who needs minimal when you can fill it with cheery chairs and vintage crochet. I love your P's and S's such a breathe of fresh air .... happy space filling ... Sarah x

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    1. Dear Sarah

      I love the phrase 'happy space filling' - not too much space left to fill sadly....

      Thank you for calling in
      Best wishes
      Jenny

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  21. Oh dear, my thoughts are in your head and you have just wrote them down!!
    Thing is, we are all doing samish things (overpriced mags included) because we are 1:likeminded 2: they ARE nice things and 3:we are tres fashionable
    I like your blog and I read it for that reason.
    Also, I did attempt minimalism only a few days ago. It is just aimed at the bedroom but it is going okay, at present.
    Of course I am already looking for things I don't actually need to add to it. It is an illness!
    Keep blogging Mrs C. Xxx

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    1. Dear Oooh Betty - let us agree never to try minimalism again! Neat and tidy mess is one thing - pared back nothing is something quite different!

      You do indeed have an illness dear Oooh Betty - I fear that it is sweeping the nation and some of us are leading the charge.....cripes!!!

      Thank you for kind words
      Best wishes
      Jenny

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  22. You'd be sorely missed if you stopped blogging. I rather like magazines although I don't buy any pure crafting ones. I just love beautiful photographs, food for the soul, and that's what they provide for me.

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    1. Ah yes - the photographs are indeed enchanting in some magazines - in the magazine that I bought even those were sadly lacking. I think that is how Country Living magazine for example has drawn people in over the years. A nice photo is uplifting and inspiring too

      Best wishes
      Jenny

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  23. I love your sense of humour Jenny, so don't stop!
    I'm just as bad with buying chairs- I gumble about my lovely man buying too many things for packed lunches and then go and buy three chairs in an auction (they were SUCH a bargain and SO beautiful...)
    Have a happy weekend
    Jane xx

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    1. Ah yes indeed - it is the bargain that drives us I think (well it drives Dom round the bend....)
      Thank you for your kind words Jane
      Best wishes
      Jenny

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  24. Love your chair/s and granny squares throw Jenny + humour - a perfect match :)
    x

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    1. Dear Barbara - I like that equation very much!
      Best wishes
      Jenny

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  25. Jenny you always make me cry real tears of laughter. What on earth would I do if you reinvented yourself? What could possibly be good about that???

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    1. Thank you again Linda - we always aim to please
      Best wishes
      Jenny

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  26. PPPPPS you did once actually leave a comment on my blog. I have printed it out, blown it up and framed it in an appropriately fancy gold gilt ornate frame, which now hangs over my computer. So there, dont feel bad about not visiting often enough. (Although if you did leave a comment this month you would be entered in my great totebag giveaway, but nevermind that!)

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    1. Dear Linda - your comment has made me laugh indeed. Sorry that I missed your great totebag giveaway - I trust that it was a great success.
      Keep in touch
      Best wishes
      Jenny

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    2. Actually the giveaway is good until the end of this month--for each comment you leave your name will be entered!

      Delete
  27. Over 205,000 page views, boring? really? I don't think so! EE xx

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    1. I think that 204, 999 may have been spam!!

      Thank you for calling in Ethel
      Best wishes
      Jenny

      Delete
  28. The chair is totally beautiful and you were right to buy it, of course you were! I know what you mean about the crafty mags out there, they often recycle stuff from blogs then charge a fortune for it. As someone who's only recently come across your blog I have to say that I would be disappointed if you stopped sharing your thoughts, idea and creativity with us. :-) xx

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    1. Dear Gillian
      Thank you for your kind words - I fear that I may have become a little (a little!!!) bitter and twisted over the years but I have decided that the show must go on!! Ho ho!

      Thank you again Gillian - it is greatly appreciated

      Best wishes
      Jenny

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  29. Wondering if the £4.99 magazine is the same on that I just bought and wished I hadn't...

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    1. Mmmm - I don't like to put down other things too much here but it began with m and ended with g and rhymes with baking!!
      Best wishes
      Jenny

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  30. ~ Jenny pleaseeee don't change! I almost always come away smiling and almost always come away agreeing with YOU too..~ But not with this...Just have a little time to be....~ We would miss you! ~ with kindest thoughts...Maria x

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    1. Oops of course I love the chair and the vintage crocheting too!

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    2. Aww - thank you Maria. Blogging is a very positive thing to do and I wish I could spend longer doing it!
      Have a lovely day
      Best wishes
      Jenny

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  31. Dear Jenny, this is Johanna from Ohio, USA.I have been looking at your blog for a while now and I think it is marvelous: I like your style and sense of humor.My sons talked me into blogging recently and I am having loads of fun with it. I also finally figured out how to become a follower on your blog (yes, that's the level of computer knowledge we are talking about;0)) I wonder if I may quote you in my blog with a hyperlink to yours? I laughed out loud with this remark:'Let us do the maths here - simple schoolboy stuff - where 'V' is vintage and 'mc' equals money/change, square that and of course it results in : V = mc2' Please more of this and thanks for sharing your beautiful 'stuff' Love, Johanna.

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    1. Dear Johanna
      Welcome and thank you for your kind message - I am glad that made you laugh. I sometimes make myself laugh and wonder who else shares that same sort of humour. Please do use a link - that is very kind of you to ask. Could you please send a link to your blog too as I cannot find it

      Best wishes
      Jenny

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  32. Jenny, you may be many things, but one thing you won't ever be is boring!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Annie...I hope not..
      Best wishes
      Jenny

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  33. PS I'd have raced you to that chair ... it would have been more like £20 here!

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    1. Indeed - £20 is probably about right and a 'proper' price for a good chair....but then I wouldn't have bought it!
      Best wishes
      Jenny

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  34. Missing your posts, all your stuff is so fabulous.

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    Replies
    1. Daw...blushing now....lots of hidden mess in our house too!

      Best wishes
      Jenny

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  35. It's half past May, is everything okay? Missing your posts. EE xx

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  36. Thank you Kindly Ethel - that is greatly appreciated.
    Best wishes
    Jenny

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  37. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  38. Nice blog thanks for sharing. For more information about best office chair go to myfumituregoals

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