Moletraps and mustard pots . . .

Those of you who visit here regularly, will know that I have a passion for auctions and car boot sales. Most Sundays we visit our local car boot sale, and whilst I have been to better, it satisfies my love of a bargain. We usually get free range eggs from one of two stalls down there; we also buy excellent organic meat from one of two farm shops which also regularly have stalls there. I trust their produce, especially the local farm shop which we have visited, and seen their livestock and poultry living in excellent conditions, and with excellent stock husbandry. I would far rather the farm had my money than the local supermarket and I would far rather eat meat that I knew had lived a good life and died a good death.

It's usually books I am looking for, but though I cast my cosmic wishes on the wind this morning, there was little to interest me. Having given away a copy of Mary Webb's Precious Bane recently (I had it for 20 years and never read it), forum friends were discussing it and one of them, Leanne, has kindly sent me a spare copy (stamps are in the post Leanne!). Now I am looking for more of Mary Webb's books. I also look out for costume jewellery for our eldest daughter, who collects it and wears it with great style.




The weather was absolutely foul, but there were a few hardy souls who had arrived late and had to set their stalls up outside the big shed where most stallholders had set up this morning. It depresses me to look at some stalls - especially the "Manly" ones where someone is getting rid of the contents of their old barn and all that is on offer is a selection of rusty chains, rusty garden tools, chipped earthenware bottles and - this morning - mole traps, rusty of course! On another stall I was quite taken with some pretty patterned china salt and mustard pots, in Imari colours, but the lids were nickle plated and spoilt beyond saving. I bought peanuts for the birds - they still need feeding with this dreadful return to winter weather - hailstone showers every hour or so - two craft magazines and a cookery book for one of my girls. My husband got some classic brass handles for one of his restoration projects, upholstery pins for one of mine, and a little brass reproduction kettle crane which I've polished up and will be fitted to the solid oak upright of the oldest doorframe in the house (off the kitchen and dated to about 1700) to hang my aprons on. All money spent to support a local and not a global economy, buying things which are largely 2nd hand and giving them further useage - not chucked out for landfill. Even broken furniture is sometimes of use to us, because my husband restores furniture for our use, and sometimes needs barley twist legs, or a piece of old oak or a back splat from a chair. We have no time for this throw-away society we live in.

Here's my next upholstery project!