Tuesday, January 12, 2010

The Good Life

Let's start with the Man of the Moment - Son 1, who chipped a bone and tore the cartilage in his ankle on their second day of sledging. He's being utterly noble about the whole thing, although this may not continue when he has to go back to school, on Thursday. He has watched a lot of films, read a lot of books (in that order, sadly), built a lot of models and played half a game of Trivial Pursuit with me. We were pretty even, with him using a mixture of adults' and childrens' cards! To be continued...
Now to the title - a number of you commented on Ben's plan to mend his ski-boots with the car tyre I found while out and about before Christmas.
On our snowed-in Sunday he took over one end of the living area - too much snow to work out of doors!He broke his second-hand saw cutting the tyre, but he got two pieces...and got the first heel shaped and fitted before going sledging, and then heading for the hospital! He tells me that everyone was wonderful at the hospital - Son 1's was not the first sledging accident they'd seen, by any means.Still on the Good Life theme, perhaps, I wanted to show you two of my best Christmas presents, both of which were thoughtfully given from someone else's collection, rather than bought. This is something worth considering!My mum gave me this beautiful jewellery bag, which I well remember admiring on her dressing table as a child. Inside was this string of beads, which she made up when bead shops became popular in the 1980s. Wasn't it a good choice? So very Floss.Then California Shelley, about whom I've written before, sent me a parcel to open on Christmas Day. A lot of Brits will probably recognise the pretty scene on this etching...... and I've been there! It's Clovelly, the north Devon seaside town with such a steep main street that donkeys are used to carry loads (and tourists) up and down it.This was such a thoughtful gift, and particularly special as we used to live in south Devon with my grandparents. Giving a present that hasn't been bought is something that we could probably do a lot more often.

21 comments:

Lululiz said...

Very clever, that man of yours, that looks like a job well done!

Oh dear, poor son No. 1! I hope he manages to get around without too much pain.

Marigold Jam said...

Sorry about son no 1's accident - he's young and he'll mend no doubt. How ingenieous is your husband at mending he ski boot. That's one advantage in having tiled floors throughout isn't it that you can do work and not have to worry about the carpets! Loved those gifts and what a good idea it would be to do this more often especially if the gifts are things that the recipient will really appreciate as you did.

Jane

Serenata said...

Oh dear, he certainly did hurt his ankle didn't he?! Hope school isn't to much of an ordeal for him ;-)

Well done to Ben on the ski boots mending.

Lovely gifts Floss, so much the more thoughtful as well.

Michela said...

Best wishes to Son no.1..be better soon!
Your mum's presents are really fabulous! Lucky you!

Rubyred said...

Hope your son gets better soon!My son's eye is so black from the fall on the ice!
Love your gifts Floss, so thoughtful! That's the bit I love about gift giving, the thought that goes into it!
Rachel x

Lola Nova said...

Oh dear, poor lad. Hope he mends quickly. I love your special presents. I gave a couple of presents like this to friends this year. It is indeed a good thing.
Excellent job on the boot mending too!

Selfsewn said...

Oh dear!

Big thumbs up to the re-use of that tyre! What a splendid job, my husband will be like that!

Selfsewn said...

OH bum!

it should say 'my husband will like that!'

whoops

Glenda/MidSouth said...

Sorry to hear about your son's accident. Your Husband did a good job repairing his boot.
Nice gifts.

Unknown said...

Ouch! I hope Son 1 feels better soon- cake always helps. :)

VintageVicki said...

Hope Son1 is up and about soon - things like that are so easily done :(

Well done to MrFloss or should that be Tom Good??

Love the picture of Clovelly - makes me knees ache just thinking about that climb up through the village - beautiful place though.

BadPenny said...

so funny Floss - glad your son was so noble - they are aren't they when they can watch films all day ?
I just love the tyre repairs - we wear sandles with tyre soles from Menorca.

I love the thought of passing on gifts and have done so as my mother does too and I remember bead shops being all the rage in the 80's.

Thanks for popping over to see me. I just loved your story of the dances in the village hall !

Andi's English Attic said...

I'm really impressed with the boot repair. There's an abandoned tyre just up the road from us....
Sorry to hear about the sledge accident. xx

Thecraftytrundler said...

Poor DS1, Hope it heals quickly. That's a great idea of your DH, to repair his boots in that way. Things don't have to be thrown away with a bit of thought.
Love the presents! Again, you don't have to buy new, although some people wouldn't understand that! They are not the peoople who appreciate lovely antique/ vintage items, that are beautiful, and have a history to tell!
Take care : )

Sharon xx

Heloise said...

Hope your son will soon be feeling much better. The repair to the walking boot that your husband carried out is very impressive.
Giving a gift of ones own possession is something special and to be treasured.

Mami said...

Poor boy son1.Get better soon!

they are so thoughtful presents,arent they? good for you,Floss.Amazing

Sarah - Red Gingham said...

Oh your poor boy!! What a shame when he was having such a great time and now it's all ruined. Never mind at least he won't get a cold leg now. I'm sure he'll bounce back in a few days.

Love your gifts! My Gran likes to gift her old things too which can be really lovely - but not always!

Sarah said...

The perils of being a boy! Fortunately my two have done everything but broken a limb. We've spent many an hour in A & E! Those gifts are lovely - Clovelly is such a pretty place.
x

Anonymous said...

What a shame about you son's accident. Re-using items as gifts is so sensible. I also love the idea of people giving a token of a promise, such as "I will babysit for you this month" or "I will help you with your decorating" etc. So often these days what we need most is time and if others are happy to donate theirs as a gift I for one would be so grateful!

The Curious Cat said...

Boy son 1 - hope he gets better soon! I once chipped my elbow so I know how it feels! Poor thing but at least he is putting on a brave face! Love those beads - what lovely presents! xxx

Olga said...

I hope your son is feeling better by now! (and that you will still let him go sledging :P) That purse looks great! Those presents from our moms are always the most precious, aren't they?