The Magic of The Musicals at Shap Wells Hotel

Last July I took my parents to the Vera Lynn Tribute Show at Shap Wells Hotel.  They enjoyed it so much that I thought I would treat them again for Daddy L's birthday.  (which was 7th Feb)

This time, same performers, but a different theme - Music of the Musicals.

And this time I took along some extra passengers, Daddy L's sisters, Winnie  (back left) and Irene, (front  right).

We had a lovely dinner - they had either Roast Pork with trimmings, or poached salmon, and I had a most gorgeous mushroom stroganoff.

Finished with an apple bread & butter pudding - naughty, but very nice  :)

Or you could have mandarin cheesecake or choc fudge cake.  It was hard to decide!

Then we organised a birthday cake to be brought out as a surprise, only it wasn't a surprise in the end as the waitress came to the table to ask "what time we would like the cake brought out" - oh, we did laugh!

He liked it though, but honestly, he did share.

Then time for the entertainment, and a sing-along (if you so wished)  The entertainers are Gary Birtles and Lorrie Brown, and you can find their website HERE.

They really did get the audience singing and clapping, and generally having a really good time.

Daddy L got a personal song too, although not just for him, it felt like it  :)

A great afternoon, and cheap for what you get too.   Head over to the Shap Wells Events page to see what is coming up.  The Frank Sinatra one looks interesting.

A birthday hug for the birthday boy   :)   Got to keep these old guys happy you know  ;)

Upcycled Shabby Chic Mirror

I bought an old mirror last year at a car boot sale, and it has been hanging behind my workbench waiting for someone to come along and give it a new lease of life.

When I was moving craft rooms i came across it and thought it was time something was done with it.  

So off I took it to Daddy L's garage for some beauty treatment from the man himself.

Do you remember these from the 90's?  Floral frames.   Classy  :)

It came back to me yesterday, all shabby chic and looking rather nice.   Daddy L gave it a coat of paint, then scrubbed it slightly in places to allow the colours underneath just to sneak through a little.

It's now up on my craft room wall, and although it doesn't look very exciting in the photo, it is actually really lovely.

 Can you see my yarn stash in the reflection?   :)

Thanks Daddy L - what can I find him next to do I wonder?

Ruby's new activity toy.

A few weeks ago one of my friends on Facebook shared this video...

Video Source / You Tube / Eveline Poot

What a genius idea, I thought, that would be perfect for Ruby.   It would keep her amused, interested and make her brain work all at the same time.

So I made my eyes go all big and girly and dropped my voice to a sqeecky whine and said....

DADDY !! Make me one of these for Ruby  Please  

A few days later he was photographed rummaging around in my Brother In Laws trailer for supplies.

Then he got to work, with the help of the before-mentioned Brother In Law and built Ruby a new activity toy.

She has not quite yet got the hang of it.  Well perhaps she has in her own way, she nudges it a bit, makes it swing, then looks at us with her puppy dog eyes, we then kick the bottle into action releasing the treats.   Maybe she is just a bit cleverer than us!!

Vera Lynn Tribute at Shap Wells Hotel

Father's Day was last month and I have the type of parents that have everything they really need and apart from wine (Daddy L that is) don't really hanker for anything.  So when Birthdays, Christmas's and other special days come along it is often a struggle to figure out what to get them.

Recently though, I have found that "experiences" seem to be worth more than a bottle of perfume, or a garden ornament, or a box of wine..... actually, maybe not the wine!

So, as Father's Day approached this year I found this...

A Tribute to Vera Lynn by Lorrie Brown.

It was to be held at the Shap Wells Hotel, which incidentally was the same hotel that Hubster and I married in nearly 9 years ago.

The price of £12.95 included a two course lunch and the show.

It was a bit secret though, after picking them up Daddy L speculated on where it would be that we were going  ("Do I need my Camera?", "Are these shoes suitable?", "Am I dressed ok?" - IF YOU LIKE, YES, GET IN THE CAR!!)

All the way through the city he was trying to guess which venue we would be lunching at - as it was bound to include lunch as I had collected them, along with my sister, just after 11am.  When we approached the roundabout to leave the City, he guessed it might be a favourite Indian restaurant.  When we hit the M6 Motorway, he decided we were going to Penrith.  When we missed the Penrith turn-off, it must be Kendal.  

He was wrong, it was Shap.

When we got to the hotel and the event was displayed on the welcome board, he seemed quite chuffed.

Then he had wine and seemed even chuffed-er.  ;)

After lunch  (Salmon for them and cheese salad for me) and desert  (fresh fruit salad) the show started.   The "warm-up" act was Lorrie Brown's husband, Gary who did a (quite) cheesy, but equally funny comedy stand-up routine.

Then Lorrie came on and sang not only Vera Lynn songs, but other war-time entertainers songs too.

Daddy L sang so loud that he even got a stint on the microphone!

I knew some of the words to some of the songs as I remember my Nana, and of course my Dad, singing them when I was young.  But even though I didn't know them all it was a good afternoon and most enjoyable to watch loads of .....em.... older folk, having a great time.

Lorrie is doing a "Doris Day" event in October.  Might book for that one too :)

This old cupboard

.... was dug  out of the gardening shed at the weekend during a big "tidy up" event.  (We had a tick list of "to do" jobs and everything!!)

It is wood, no chipboard in sight, so it seemed a shame to chuck it away.

Now Daddy L has been messing about with bits of old furniture and tins of Annie Sloan paint, he made this - isn't it grand?

So I thought this draw unit might be a nice little project for him  (and he can give it back to me when it is all nice and lovely and useable again).

That draw still in there is stuck fast, the knob just falls off in your hand when you try and open it.

The drawers are lined with beautiful old lining paper, it's a shame it has to go really.

My Mum has promised to give it a good scrub with bleach and leave it in the sun to dry, then Daddy L will have a nice clean blank canvas to start on.

Mind you, his reaction when I showed him it was "chuck it on the bloody tip"!

I sneaked it into his car when he wasn't looking   :)

Watch this space.

Another tie-dye shirt for Daddy L

I am afraid I am a bit tardy, as most people already know.  Commissions just aint my thing, even if something only takes a few minutes/hours to make, it can take me WEEKS  (months) to get round to it.

As in this shirt for Daddy L.

He liked the previous one I did for him so much he instantly asked for another, so I have had this nice crisp shirt since the end of August.   Ahh, tis only 3 months.  It's not that bad!

The brief was 'red'.   So I got some Tulip Red Dylon dye, which incidentally is more of a dark cerise pink - but he won't mind.

Holding the shirt at one side of the collar, I tied elastic band diagonally down it.

And dunked it in the dye for a few hours.  Swishing and stirring now and then.

Then I gave it a rinse in cold water, and chucked it in the washing machine on a 40 degree wash.

Voila!

I think he will look rather smart in this.

My new dining room

You know when you have just 'done a room out' and you want too show it to people?  You even drag random visitors in to marvel at what a nice job you have done, when they didn't have the pleasure of the before image, so they just nod and politely say "it's lovely".

Well, now I am going to show it to you, so you can nod and say it's lovely, as you also will not have the pleasure of a before photo as I forgot to take one!

This is the original dining room of my house.  Although in the last 10 years or so it has been used at Hubsters office.  We used the conservatory, which goes off the kitchen, as a dining room instead.  But when my No:1 son moved out 7 months ago it freed up TWO bedrooms, which meant we could move the office (and make a craft room) upstairs, giving us this downstairs room.

It needed stripped right back and replastered - which is where the photos begin.

Nice fresh plaster, it has such a lovely smell when it is drying.

The flooring is concrete, we had no carpet in here, just a painted floor with a huge sisal rug - which is now on the tip.

Magnolia paint was my choice.  Now anyone who knows me from years ago will remember that my house would have NEVER had a splash of magnolia anywhere.  It would have all been dark colours - burgundies, purples..... yeah, just those colours.  Cream?  Heck no.

But I guess it's a sign of age, slowly but surely each room is turning magnolia.  At first it was "linen" and "mushroom" but then I realised you pay an extra fiver for a tin with a posh name, so Magnolia it became.

Couldn't decide on curtains or blinds, then remembered I have bought this lovely shawl, for just one shiny pound, on a car boot sale. I hung it over just to see, and liked it.  So it's staying.

Next was the flooring. I did consider carpet, now that the kids are older (all in their 20's) and tend not to spill as much food on the floor.  Then I remembered Dotty Dog and how old she is getting and how much easier vinyl would be too clean in the case of any accidents.   My neighbour, who is a carpet fitter, found me this gorgeous wood effect vinyl after I told him "I want it to look old, distressed and tatty" - I think he hit the nail on the head with this.

Time to move the furniture in from the other room.  The chairs were a suedette material in a minky colour, but looks more manky than minky so needed recovered.  Would you believe I found these chocolate brown covers on a care boot sale for just £10 for all 6?  Bargain.

Sorting out my massive stack of recipe books took all day, I tried to limit myself to one shelf worth of space - like THAT was ever gonna happen. 

And behind the door went the shelving for my kitchen gadgets - again I have been strict with myself and got rid of ones I have not used for ages.  The fondue pan, the Sodastream, the filter coffee machine - all gone to new homes.

Of course I had to find room for one of my most treasured possessions - my "Queen Of Curlies" clock by Mark Dally.

And this gorgeous picture is a series of postcards that I bought in Marrakesh for just a few pence each.  Daddy L mounted and framed them for me,  I love it.

While we are on the subject of Marrakesh, I love this salt & pepper pot that I bought in the souks there.  We use it all the time, it's just too cute.

Well, time to get on and do something with the conservatory now, seen as that has just been freed up..... I am thinking Magnolia?....

Daddy L's New Shirt.

Those of you who have the pleasure of knowing Daddy L will understand that his dress sense is amazing, quite flamboyant at times, and sometimes just crazy.  He likes bright shirts, lots of shirts, and the brightest socks you can find.

In Marrakesh they even matched the plant pots!

Jazzy jackets too.  (with Shona on her 18th)

So when he asked me to tie-dye a shirt of his I knew it would have to be slightly mad and colourful.

It started off a boring dull mushroom colour.  (forgot to take a photo, but it was so dull it would have bored you to sleep anyway)

I bought some marbles - actually, I sent Shona to the pound shop with a £5 note to buy marbles.  Thinking they would be small bags I told her to get 5, she did, but they were huge bags and I still have 4 bags left.  (quickly Googling "what to do with marbles").

I tied up the shirt with lots of marbles and elastic bands.  It took HOURS, honestly, those little blighters take ages to tie in.

Then we put it on our heads for a laugh!

Shona

It was so heavy once all the marbles were in, she couldn't keep it on her head for long, although I do think it suited her.

I then dyed half in one colour and half in another, before that though I dipped the back side of it in a third colour to make the marble  gaps stand out more.

Delivered Unashamedly un-ironed, which he grumbled about. 

I don't DO ironing.

Here it is after my mother got her hands on it :) looks better huh?

I don't think I have seen him without it on yet, he must just wash it and wear it again.  Mad I tell ya, and you wonder where I get it from!