Teapot spout stains

I do like my cups of tea and mainly use tea bags but every now and then I like to make a pot of tea, seems to turn having a cup of into something special.   Irish Breakfast is my favourite.

 One thing I find is that after a while the tea leaves stains in the cups and teapot too.  I usually turn to good old trusty bicarb soda to get rid of the tea stains which always works a treat.  Come to think of it bicarb soda is great for lots of things like deodorizing the carpet, cleaning the toilet and many more things I'm sure everyone knows about.

As I was cleaning the teapot the other day I was frustrated as I couldn't get the spout clean.  Light bulb moment...use a dampened cotton wool bud/tip dipped in bicarb, a little scrubbing and voila, a clean teapot spout.

It's gross isn't it?!

Nice clean teapot.

On to other things.  I'd like to say a big thank you to everyone who has left comments about hubby's French clock.  He was really chuffed.

Before I go I can't resist posting a photo of Sophie using hubby's feet as a head rest, SOOOO CUTE!

Notice the dog hair on hubby's work socks, no amount of vacuuming can remove it totally.  :(   Hubby is in outside work trousers as he has started working on the second side of the drystone wall down the front driveway.  A subject for another post.

Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to read my blog.

Anne  xx

Books on my coffee table

One of the many things that make me happy is to be surrounded by books.  I'm an avid user of the local library and trundle down there frequently.  Belonging to the local library gives me access to oodles of books from many other libraries as well and since I made this discovery, I've been in book heaven.  I can sit up in bed, electric blankie on, laptop on lap and trawl library websites to my heart's content.

I borrow books on crafts, house decorating, gardening, cooking, sewing and I especially love them if they have beautiful photos that inspire me.  Last week I just happened to pass another library close by and couldn't resist the urge to take a quick peek and see if anything caught my eye.  Browsing in the craft section, I stumbled across a brand new book "Homemade - Gorgeous things to make with love" by Ros Badger and Elspeth Thompson.

It's so new I don't think anyone has borrowed it yet and it's just my sort of book filled with how to make or restore things in a gorgeous country, homely, comforting kind of way. 
Looking at books is such a relaxing thing to do especially if you have a hot cup of tea or coffee nearby to make it into a proper break not just a quick sit down.  I think I might be having rather a lot of tea/coffee breaks in the next week as I have thirteen gorgeous books on the coffee table to look through and be inspired by.

Lucy at Attic24 has inspired me immensely in so many ways from learning to crochet to injecting colour into my life.  I was introduced to a fabulous book (via Lucy's blog), I just had to borrow from the library, "Creating Vintage Style" by Lucinda Ganderton.  Also on the coffee table are books on crocheting and a gorgeous book by Tricia Guild "Private View"

with these sumptuous images.  Love the colours!!!  I hope you find time in your week to take a break with a hot drink and some beautiful books.  Au revoir, Anne