Naming things

Some things come with names, others name themselves. The dog, for example, was intended to be a Rufus, but came with the name Thomas, and could clearly never be anything but a Thomas. 

Definitely not a Rufus!

The cottage also came with its own official name, but for the purposes of internet anonymity and a desire not to have any more weirdos on the doorstep than already live here, it needed a new one.

We tried several on for size. Brick Cottage seemed a bit industrial, Victoria Cottage too formal. Puddle Duck cottage was a blatant lie, and 6 Inches Of Chicken Shit Cottage, whilst accurate, was vetoed by Seumas on the grounds of possibly putting people off.

The final choice was Magnolia Tree Cottage, partly because there's a bonny little magnolia tree in the back garden, and mainly because I seem to spend most of my free time painting things that colour.

Unfortunately some no doubt lovely bloggers over the pond had bagged every possible iteration on the theme of magnolia and cottages, so it was back out to the garden to see what else was growing out there.

Fortunately, there is a whopping great hazel nut tree out the back. Phew, problem solved.