The past couple of weeks have been a constant headache caused by the snails pace of the french postal system.  I have been awaiting many supplies to complete some fantastic bespoke fascinators, for some wonderful occasions.  Nothing has come.

As the work in the Head Full of Feathers fascinator design studio has almost ground to a halt, we found small pockets of time to get outside and get some work done on our beloved Blooie Scampette, our 1995 VW Transporter van.

We managed to borrow a jigsaw and cut out all the plywood panels for the walls.  Then we covered them all in the same sand coloured carpet, and screwed them in.  A pretty big job, but one that really changed the interior of the van.  Mmmmm, very very cosy!

Next to go down was a big thick layer of insulation for the floor.  We put in extra wood supports for where the rock n roll bed will go  and covered the whole lot with plywood board.

Then for a bit of personality; the black and white checked flooring!  A classic!

We got very very excited in the hardware store looking for the perfect colour to paint our cabinets that will be going in next.  Nothing came close to what we had envisioned - so we had this FANTASTIC green mixed for us.

And so this is where we are up to.  Ben has been painting and repainting the cabinets to get the perfect cover and sheen.   I'm about to get to work on the cushions for the seat/bed.  The apartment has turned into a Blooie Scampette workshop, but we are VERY happy with the progress so far!

Oooh, I think I just heard the post-lady.  I hope she has packages for me.
Back to feather fascinators for a while!

A few days ago I received a letter from an old friend.

From being great friends at school we went our separate ways for college, but stayed in touch by writing letters, pretty much every week. 

Having a handwritten letter plop through the letterbox of my student house was a great feeling., especially as most other mail would be uninteresting bills, which would largely remain unopened, and TV license reminders.

In the years since then, our lives took over and as we each moved from place to place the letters stopped coming.  Naturally we had been in touch by means of Facebook, but it’s just wasn’t the same.

Knowing that a friend has taken time out to put pen to paper and to tell me her thoughts of the day is a very special thing.  Learning she has suffered an aching arm, a cramping wrist and a hand that has almost seized up, just because the stories she wanted to tell me kept on flowing, really made me laugh out loud.

 

Now we have a pact.  We will keep on writing, not every week I’m sure, but we will keep the tradition going, we’ll keep in touch by the handwritten word, because it makes us both feel good.  (Hopefully our poor, weak writing hands will get stronger)

Oh yes, the gingerbread…

Inside the package, along with the letter I had been sent a gift.  It was an ENORMOUS jar of gingerbread mix!  Of course, gingerbread mix can’t sit about in the house for too long, so I got baking right away.   (erm…I think it goes bad, or something.)

So, my pictures tell the tale of the gingerbread, and my message to everyone today is; if you have a spare moment, grab a scrap of paper and write a little letter to tell your friend some thoughts and musings of the day (the sillier the better!) Stuff it in an envelope, stick a stamp on and send it on its way.  I guarantee warm fuzzy feelings!