Daffodils

My parents visited this past weekend, and brought with them some lovely old furniture which used to belong to my grandparents. Gran died the summer before last, aged 92, and Grandpa, who will be 94 on Shrove Tuesday, now lives in a care home close to my parents' house. When their house was sold, all the furniture was put into a storage locker and it is Grandpa's wish that as much of it as possible is restored and kept in the family.

Ben and I love old furniture and we love the idea of family heirlooms being handed down through the generations. We already own a gorgeous old chair, which was made by my great-grandfather, a gentleman of few words who was an keen gardener and of whom his granddaughter (my mother) was very fond. His chair sits in Joshua's nursery at the moment, and this weekend we have added to our collection a bookcase, a coffee table and a hall table. They have been duly placed with great pleasure and fond memories in our house, and as can be seen from the photograph above, Mandu has been quick to try out the hall table, posing obligingly next to my National Trust duck and a beautiful bunch of daffodils which Mother Muir brought for us. Gran and Grandpa, who owned many cats themselves during their long marriage, would surely be delighted that another pussy cat is sitting on their table in such a civilised fashion - hopefully she will continue to refrain from sharpening her claws on it!