My Favourite Things



My Favourite Things.

	Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens..........





		The love of my life, my darling Persian cat Mollie when she was but a kitten herself. She’s my office helper and sits next to me in my study to keep me company and generally ‘helps with the packaging’ of customer orders. She’s 5 yrs old now and a bundle of mischief but I wouldn’t have her any other way.


	My Dolls’ House

My bridal salon ‘Pumpkins and Butterflies’ is my second pride and joy. My first dolls house which I built from scratch is my first pride and joy. Six floors including the basement with the large kitchen and laundry, music room (too noisy for the main part of the house) garage with a beautiful carriage and the conservatory above it, plus an attic roof making seven floors altogether of sheer and ultimate enjoyment. To the right of the house there is the gardeners cottage with his potting shed above it and related garden paraphernalia, to the left of the garage there is my little haberdashery shop with a beautiful garden above it leading from the conservatory. How I lasted throughout my life without it I’ll never know, life must have been a little boring.


	The haberdashery shop (left) has a bridal department with bridal fabrics and small items for the bride. Since building my bridal salon this building is now being redecorated and restocked as a haberdashery shop only. The beautiful car on the right was a Christmas gift from my daughters.




		Muffy Vanderbear

	I have collected these darling little bears for several years since I bought one at the Disney Village in Florida to use up some ‘last dollars’ before coming home. I became hooked and have over forty now. pictured is my latest love Muffy Frost - a limited edition bear for Christmas 2007. She is adorable.




	Judith Durham

I grew up with the Seekers and have shaken my tambourine and sang along in my bedroom with the best of them. Then, as I grew older leaving my youth behind me, there my tastes were banished alongside it. Until quite recently I watched the most delightful performance by Judith filmed during a 2003 60th birthday tour. I hardly recognised the still very pretty lady but she seemed so frail. Yet I marvelled at the power of the voice which still retains it’s pure crisp tones and as she sang the words of the songs I’d known and loved so well, I soon found myself singing along and tapping my foot, it was a truly uplifting and satisfying experience.


	Isn’t this the most beautiful cottage painting by Thomas Kincade. It is entitled ‘Juliannes Cottage’ It’s the cottage I would like to live in more than anything. I fell in love with it as soon as I saw it and just had to have a print for my wall


	Julianne’s Cottage

It became even more special when I learned of the origin of the cottage. Thomas made the following notes in August 1992.
‘The cottage is actually situated on a farm in the Lake District, England and it belonged to Beatrix Potter, the creator of Peter Rabbit. The painting is named after the daughter of Ken Raasch who owns the original painting. There is a small heart on the door with the initials JR for Julianne Raasch’.
Thomas and his wife stayed in the actual farm cottage, he recalls ‘the chickens around his feet’ as he painted.


	Beatrix Potter.

	The beautiful painting leads naturally onto my next favourite thing - the Lake District which is near to where I live in England and the place where I have spent many happy holidays. It is also the place where one of my favourite authors lived: Beatrix Potter. I don’t mind confessing I own a full set of the 23 books she wrote plus a wonderful collection of china and porcelain figurines plus a few cuddlies too.




	My favourite story is ‘The Tailor of Gloucester’ perhaps because of my love for sewing but also for my belief that magical things can happen.


	Daisy & her Kittens

My daughter’s four new additions to the family were born on 4th April 2007 after an emergency caesarian which had us really worried for some time.

Are they not just the sweetest little things. Mum Daisy doesn’t take her eyes off them for one minute.


	...and wow just look at them now at ten weeks. They came to stay with their mum and dad whilst my daughter and her fiancee were on holiday and they had the time of their life in their own little room which was just bursting with toys and climbing frame, bed etc etc....I loved every minute they were here. I was so sad to see them go. I desperately wanted to keep little Mole (far left) but Mollie wasn’t having any of that.

No home is quite complete without the pitter patter of kitties feet.

from ‘A Little Book of Sentiments for Cat Lovers’


	Cats are a mysterious kind of folk. There is more passing in their minds than we are aware of. Sir Walter Scott , also taken from the book above.

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