Home again, home again, jiggety jog

Mr S is back from his travels, and I must say it's nice to have him rattling around the house again. He travels light, one backpack for an entire month, but he did tuck into it little "I'm thinking of you" gifts along the way.

I love blue and white china/pottery, so from Delft there is a little heart shaped box.



From Scotland, a very wee Heeland Cu (that's Highland Cow to us.) Lapel pin included for scale.



Now though I've never been in Scotland, I have been close to real Highland cattle (some folks around here raise them), and they are absolutely charming looking shaggy little beasts - seeming almost more toy-like than the toy.

And from England:



A little edition of a book that Jane Austen wrote for her family when she was fifteen. The opening line of the first entry reads: "Henry the 4th ascended the throne of England much to his own satisfaction in the year 1399..." Wonderful Jane, characteristically herself at 15.

When Mr S asked at the knitting shop whether they had anything I wouldn't be able to find for myself here, the owner said they probably didn't. So he decided on the knitting spool because the ladies in the shop started reminiscing about how they played with these as girls, only the spools had been ones their Dad's made. The story is as sweet to me as the gift, Mr S seeking out a yarn merchant, and then having a little chat with the patrons.

**************
As I was trying to take the pictures, Ms Gato most insistently kept getting in the way.
I had just finished a sandwich, and I think she smelled ham on my fingers.


Ham now, if you please.