August 2020: visits and days out

 I hadn't realised that it had been such a long time since I had written a post for MillCottageRetro - six weeks or more; I can only think that I had a post in mind and had written it in my head but not actually written it down. Anyway, here I am now! I am planning to reopen MillCottageRetro next week having had a short break to enjoy my birthday (at home) and the lovely sunny weather - possibly the last we shall have this year unless we get an Indian Summer in September or October. I am still adding items to the shop as well as renewing - maybe one or two new items on most days. When I have added the larger homewares items I still have a lot of vintage and retro jewellery and perfume bottles, so that will keep me busy for a while!

Yesterday we had a trip to Cheltenham (about 12 miles away) to see our son and his girlfriend who live near Pittville Park, so we walked round to the park and had a picnic lunch which was all vegan as they are too. I had managed to get some vegan doughnuts from The VeganKind Supermarket (online) which are as rare as hen's teeth so we sampled a few different flavours - lemon drizzle, chocolate hobnob, maple pecan etc. They are only on sale from 2.30pm on Wednesdays and sell out quite quickly. We were lucky with the weather which, although quite cloudy, didn't drench us with a shower or blow our picnic away in the blustery wind.

A week or so before that we had a day out to Buscot House, Buscot Weir and Buscot Lock on the River Thames (all National Trust) topped off with a refreshing cold drink at The Swan at Radcot. We didn't have to book for the House which, although NT, is a less busy destination, The Weir was popular with younger folks and families who found the river tempting as it was one of those very hot days we had. Here are one or two pictures:

It was probably our most adventurous day out so far as previously we had only been to a National Gardens Scheme open Garden near Tewkesbury which was for a couple of hours.

I have discovered all sorts of new products during lockdown: when there was a shortage of soap I started buying handmade soap which has the added advantage of not adding palm oil to the ingredients - as we all know we should avoid products that include palm oil! I also use vegan skincare products including this Vitamin C range from Superdrug - the facial wash has a very refreshing effect. There are many small producers on Etsy that make handmade soap and skincare products and I am sure that is worth giving them a go.

This is a selection of colourful ceramic jugs that I have and which reside on the bedroom window sill of my daughter's old room. I acquired them a year or two ago on a collecting spree when we visited antique fairs and flea markets (remember those!) and they make a cheerful display, They are a mixture of old French jugs, WadeHeath, BurleighWare and fun Victorian majolicaware in the shape of ears of corn. On the left are the more subdued tones of the blue Hastings Pottery bowl which lives in the kitchen (which I have had for decades) and a small beige and brown studio pottery vase which moves all round the house ( I have had this for more than five years, probably)

These are two pieces of Toni Raymond ceramics - the 'Mops and Things' sink tidy I purchased a few months ago from an Etsy seller which, along with the wooden soap holder, was my attempt to make the sink area more eco friendly instead of using some old plastic pots which had been there for ages. It's the small things that make a difference, eventually. The pot with the orange or peach on and which I use as a candle holder would have originally been a preserve pot but now missing its lid. I have had this for ages and don't recall where it came from, but I love the design. I find that some Toni Raymond pieces I really like and some I don't like at all, but they mostly date from the 1960s and were made in Torquay in Devon. Apparently the company also acquired the Babbacombe Pottery in 1967. The Pottery Studio website has examples at: http://www.studiopottery.com/cgi-bin/mp.cgi?item=219 and sellers on Etsy also have various Toni Raymond pieces.

I think that is all for now - if I carry on much longer I probably won't get it posted until too long after I began and there is only a week left in August,

Stay safe and Staycation, Julie