Nanny Mabel and next door's cat.

This photo is "Nanny Mabel". She stands in the hall next to the downstairs toilet. When people visit us for the first time they are intrigued by her. 
So we ask them to guess what they think she could be.....
When we acquired her years ago from a local craft centre, she came with her name tag. 
A lady used to make them out of old hessian sacking. 
   She is an upright vacuum cleaner cover!
It is such a novel way of concealing it and she is very much part of the family! 
   It was icy and cold this morning so next door's cat came in when his owners went off to work. (Photo in extras)
    He sat in the window, before gravitating to the back of the  settee.  Eventually going out late morning once more, probably for a "bathroom break"! 
    I am out this afternoon, being Thursday, which is designated to go and take my friend to the Garden Centre, for a little break. 
It is a glorious sparkling day.
I broke the ice in the birdbath earlier, but it has refrozen. 
Time for lunch.