Charmed I'm Sure.

It's been a while since I last blogged I've had that combination of being too damn busy and feeling like I had nothing to blog about.

Also I have finally found out that I do indeed have a table at a craft fair on the 13th October so I'm sewing like a woman possessed every evening to get enough stock together for my stall!
Sunday was perfect for that as it poured with rain all day which meant I felt justified to catch up on all my I-Player viewing (Bletchley Circle, Parade's End and The Wartime Farm) whilst stitching away.

Anyway I still don't really have anything to blog about, work's been slow, I've had a crick in my neck all week, I've had a fab night out with the girls drinking cocktails and talking new jobs and wedding plans before feeding our faces on lovely Italian food, and I've finally booked a doctor's appointment to get my knee looked at.
I forgot to add these pictures to my previous post. I was very good with my pennies in Bournemouth but I did buy these few things.
Some lovely stained glass birdies, I was actually at the till waiting to pay when I spotted this in the basket of the lady in front of me, no I didn't nick it! but I did ask her where she got it and then run back and get myself one. I love it.

These mad cats eyes were 50p each = result!

A lovely green gypsy top from a charity shop for £3 and a pair of Acorn and Will earrings from a craft shop.

 
I loved the earrings so much I went to their website and ended up treating myself to these

Anyway on to the title of this post!

Last week Liz at Shortbread and Ginger did a post about her charm bracelet here and as it happens I had come across my charm bracelet recently and the post reminded me of that fact. I have decided to follow Liz's lead and post about my bracelet.

 I got mine for my 7th birthday from my Mum and Dad with 7 charms on it. Every year after that my parents and or my Nan bought me a charm for either my birthday or Christmas until it was full.

The crab was for cancer my birth sign, the teapot needs no explaining! The little Mexican was found in the street by my mother long before I got my charm bracelet, for years she kept saying he should be added to it but every time it was ready to go in and get more charms added he always seemed to mysteriously disappear. Finally after about 20 years he was caught forever between a crab and a flower fairy!

A beer tankard and a beer pump for my love of real ale. The gypsy caravan was from a childhood love of them triggered by the book 'Charlie' by Joan G Robinson and the t.v series 'Kizzy'.

 An elephant, well what a surprise! The globe was from my brother when I was off backpacking. The penny goes in and out of the piggy's back, much like my finances in my bank account!

The cat was for good luck and the owl was when I passed my exams and the egg that opens to show a chick because my Mum loved it and knew I would too.

A boot because I LOVE boots and shoes.The bear was the first charm my Nan bought me and I have a lasting reminder of him from the time I fell out of the back door and put my hand out to save myself and his little legs and arms went straight into my palm as I landed, ouch!

Piglet because he was my favourite from Winnie the Pooh, which was my Dad's favourite book as a child. I love the little mouse and the penny farthing too.

The wishing well was one of the original 7 charms, another charm for good luck. The cat climbs in and out of the rubbish bin and is one of 4 cats on my bracelet.

 

Finally a bunny and a little kitten in a basket which my Mum bought me to represent my little real life cat Benjie (called Benjamin before we found out he was a she!) She was the runt of the litter and never grew any bigger than kitten sized. When we first got her she was so tiny she fitted in the palm of your hand which was why we couldn't tell which sex she was at first. For the first few weeks my Mum used to keep her in the pocket of her apron all day to keep her warm and I used to put her in a tiny wicker basket and carry her round the house.

Basically she chose me, I think she knew a soft touch when she saw it!

I was at my friend's house standing in the kitchen drinking a cup of tea before having a look at her cat's new kittens before they were re-homed. As I stood there this little thing stumbled across the kitchen floor and clawed it's way up my trouser leg, up my side, nestled into the crook of my arm and went to sleep.
As you can imagine she had won my over from the moment she first started to clamber up my jeans!

I rang my Mum and told her she would have to come and collect me because I had a kitten asleep in my arms and I wasn't going to put it down. I think what swung it with her was the fact my friend's Dad was going to drown in a bucket any kittens that were still left when he got home (he really was not a very nice man) My friend was frantically trying to find them all homes and Benjie was left unwanted.
My Mum arrived with the cat basket thinking Benjie was going to be a normal sized kitten, instead she was presented with this teeny tiny wizened monkeyfaced black scrap!
We booked a vet's appointment that same evening and found out he was she and that the wizened face was due to conjunctivitis.Sure enough after only 2 days her eyes cleared and opened properly and her little face became furry and cat like. He also said she was so tiny she would either die in the first few weeks or live to a great age. Luckily for us she did the second and she ruled our house like a tiny benevolent dictator for 17 years!
Everyone who met her loved her, even Himself who does not do cats was soon under her spell.

Anyway I digress this wasn't meant to become a cats tale! Does anyone else have a charm bracelet? I'd love to see it if so and hear the stories behind your charms.