The Cottage Smallholder

A small woodburner in the sitting room to replace the stupid gas fire ( never used as might as well just burn folding money) and a King Sized bed so the other two  (Sir and Andrew) can get on with taking up too much space without disturbing me quite as mucha s they do at present.

Dear Santa,

Thank you for taking the time to read my wish list, I promise I'll make it brief.

All I'd like for Christmas is one thing.

I'd like to win the lottery.

Then with that money, I will open a "proper" hardware store. One with wood floors that creak, good lighting (but not too bright), and have things that you need and a staff that will help the customers without making them feel stupid.

I will put a large wood stove in the corner of the store, near a coffee pot that will be always clean and always have coffee in it. And also in that corner I will ensconce my "Honorary Old Man" that the staff can go ask questions of when they get stumped, and he can tell stories to everybody when things are slow. I'll probably out a couple of rocking chairs and a checker board in that corner too.

Thank you for yout time in considering this matter.

Merry Christmas,

Michelle

I forgot to mention the small printing press.

Michelle, might you have one of those in stock?

Ooo that hardware store sounds wonderful.

Have you guys heard of the shop/cafe type things that have been opening up around the UK that have sewing machines people can borrow, and people to give lessons on how to hem trousers or fix seams and things? like a drop in crafting type place with coffee and cakes. I keep thinking it might be fun to set up such a place in one of the many empty units in Cardiff centre.

I think you've got the right idea in many ways Michelle, winning the lottery would be a great christmas present, it would enable so much!

More modestly, I'd really like a jam funnel. I know they're not massively expensive things to buy. But I manage ok with the little plastic funnel, i just have to poke marmalade shreds through it with a chopstick. And a recipe book for paperchase, that you can move the leaves around and add more when it gets full. Again, these are usually less than £10, but I have a functioning recipe book, albeit one that isn't quite in the order I'd like to be and only has 5 sections (currently labeled cakes, jams, booze, meat and other, an insight into my baking preferences perhaps?).

And more storage boxes, or just a big gift voucher for hobbycraft, so i could go crazy getting snazzy storage things for my beads and ribbons and findings and threads and fabrics and cards and tools and glues and wools and needles and hooks.... oh I could go absolutely crazy with that stuff.

or book tokens.

Or, and this is the main idea that Sam is promoting to his parents on my behalf, contributions to the cost of a sailing theory course, and sailing theory books, and plotting instruments.

So I don't want much really

oh, and world peace