Posy of forget me nots

I found this gorgeous pitcher in a charity shop at the weekend!  My first great find for ages!

I absolutely adore the little forget me nots decoration - so pretty and delicate. Look at the pretty pink ribbon.

Better still - it matches a teapot I found ages ago - you can read all about it on my post Cornish Tea.

The pitcher does not have the same Cornish maker's mark - just says Made in England, but it is a perfect match in every way.

Joining up with Lets Talk Vintage - come on over and see some other great finds.

Love, Liz

History in a bottle

Over the years I've collected a number of vintage bottles.  This is my favourite - a ginger beer bottle.

W Pearce & Son of Innerleithen, Peeblesshire were aerated water manufacturers.  William Pearce used the waters of St Ronan's Well in Innerleithen (click link to read more about the Pearce family). St Ronan's Well is a historic spa and Sir Walter Scott wrote a novel of that name.

The company moved to Morningside.  Interesting to see the motto "ne plus ultra" on the bottle.

The second stone bottle has the name Burns Dockhead Dumfries on it.  I think this may refer to John Burns, another aerated water manufacturer who had premises at Dockhead in Dumfries.

I really love the pale colours of this bottle.

My third bottle is made of thick green glass and is for Younger of Alloa a very famous Scottish brewing company.

George Younger & Son were brewers in Alloa.  The family started brewing as early as 1746!

Quite a bit of history in these bottles.

Love, Liz

Sunday nostalgia

Sometimes certain photos just make me feel nostalgic.

Remind me of sitting in front of the fire at my Granny's house.  She would be reading the paper.  All that could be heard was the ticking of the clock.  Precious times.

Love, Liz

(From the farmhouse sitting room at the Highland Folk Museum.)

Tea cosy in regimental colours

For this tea cosy I was inspired by all the pomp and circumstance of the Queen's birthday.

I love the colours of the uniforms - reds, blues and golds.

I decided I just had to knit a tea cosy reflecting this.

I put some gold thread in the pompom.

I've used yarn with little flecks of other colours in it, just to give a wee bit of texture.

Do you like it?

Love, Liz

Hanging on to summer!

I thought I'd take these photographs of my kitchen dresser as it is now, because I know that once the days start to get a bit darker and more dreich here in Greenock, I'll get the urge to change everything around!

I usually group by colour and mix old with new.

But not always!

Sometimes I just get a feeling when things look right together (in my opinion).  Keeping this pretty summery theme for a wee while longer - got to hang on to the sunshine while it lasts and it is a lovely day here.

Hope you are having a good day.

Love, Liz

History on a plate

I had totally forgotten about these plates which I found in a charity shop ages ago.

They have fabulous historic views of Sacramento City in California, probably from the mid 19th century.  The details are amazing.  Sacramento City became important during the Californian gold rush.

There actually was an Eagle Theatre founded in 1849 - the first permanent theatre in California and situated at 925 Front Street.  Could this be it?

I wonder if this steamboat is the George Washington, which had a regular run from Sacramento to San Francisco?

These plates are part of the series "Historic America" by Johnson Brothers, England.

Joining with Let's Talk Vintage.

Love, Liz

Vintage Railway Nostalgia

I don't know about you, but it is the strangest things that make me feel nostalgic.  On our recent holiday we visited the Nene Valley Railway, a heritage steam railway near Peterborough.

Was it the steam engines that made me feel nostalgic?

No!  Was it the old station buildings that made me feel nostalgic?

No!  In actual fact it was the wee cardboard tickets that took me straight back to train journeys of my youth - how weird is that!  Do you remember the clunky noise made when the ticket was issued at the station?

Anyway, we had a lovely time wandering around looking at all the lovely vintage bits and pieces.

Lots of old engines lying around waiting to be cared for by the team of volunteers who do an amazing job at Nene Valley Railway.  (We didn't get to see Thomas as he was in for repairs.)

There's a great wee cafe and a lovely shop selling all sorts of wonderful things.

It was lovely and relaxing taking the journey on the steam train - no rush - just letting the noises and smells of the steam engine bring back lots of fabulous memories of trips with my parents.  Hope you enjoy this nostalgic video.

Love, Liz

Beautiful York Minster

Where on earth has this summer gone?!  Can't believe how quickly the time has flown ... yes, I know, a sure and certain sign of old age!  Really wanted to share these photos of York Minster from my recent holiday.

The evening sun was shining making the whole place glow beautifully.

Can just imagine what this place must have looked like when it was newly built, must have been really impressive to see.

Of course cathedrals were built to inspire awe and wonder - still works for me today!  You can read more about this beautiful building at York Minster website.  Such a beautiful place.

Joining with Inspired Sunday - come and have a look at lots of churches from all over the world.

Love, Liz