About Scuffed Granny

You may be surprised to learn that Scuffed Granny is not my real name.

It is, in fact, Rachel and I currently live in the Cotswolds. For those of you not in the know, the Cotswolds is an area of outstanding natural beauty in England, with golden stone buildings of varying proportions, from quaint cottages to Georgian mansions. I have lived here for a couple of years, after having lived in Canada for seven and a bit wonderful mountain-, bear- and snow-filled years.

Before Canada, I lived in Ottawa, Calgary and Montréal. Before that, I lived in Perth, Western Australia. My amazing husband and I have dragged our two boys with us on this worldly adventure, not always willingly although I like to think that they are reasonably well-adapted and certainly well-travelled.

As a result of all this global gallivanting, I gave up my job as an English teacher and became a stay-at-home mum, which in some ways is far more challenging than teaching Shakespeare to a class full of 30 teenagers.

Living this life has allowed me to travel extensively, something about which I am passionate: seeing new places, experiencing new things, exploring this world. It also means that I have the most fabulous friends in lots of different places – I am very lucky.

I like words: using them to express myself as well as reading those of others, whether fiction or non-fiction, poetry or prose, song lyrics or plays. Here, you will find reviews, analysis, maybe even stories and poems that I have written and want to share.

Being at home a lot, albeit lots of different homes, has also meant that my dwelling has become my own creative studio and I have taken full advantage of this to indulge in my passion for making stuff: knitting, painting, sewing, reupholstering, upcycling, baking- you name it and I’ll give it a go. Check out my Etsy shop to see the things that I have made and that you can purchase.

I am passionate about things being given a good life and as a result, like to reuse and revamp.