Thoughts on Thursday...

At nearly 40 I have come to the conclusion I'm a cynical optimist... I don't expect things to go my way as I'm not that lucky... However should things work out in a manner that is pleasing to me ... It's a bonus!


I'm a planner... But I'm learning to be spontaneous...

However I think I might be just learning to be better organized incase of a spontaneous event occurring...



For example ...
I have a beach bag full of everything you'd need for a beach visit from first aid kit to glasses for drinks and lotion for sun plus wet wipes for sticky ice-cream situations... It's all cram packed into a reasonable sized bag... Beach towel too... Mind you I think this exists because Les rarely suggests a trip to the beach so a bag was put together so that he didn't have time to change his mind ...


When stuff goes wrong... I am learning to shrug my shoulders and think... Oh well ... Shit happens... And that's my way these days...

This way of thinking could be my saving grace this weekend... we can hear a water leak in the bathroom... But we cannot see a water leak in the bathroom... So the bathroom will be gutted (it really needs doing!) and the leak found and repaired... We surmise it is under the tilled floor... Which I don't like as it's really slippery when you step out of the bath...

However there will be much debris, dust and muck spreading into the kitchen and a skip needs organising and the kids will be at mums till it's fairly clear to come home... Thank crunchie for mums that help and other half's that can turn their hands to most DIY duties... Fingers crossed I end up with the bathroom of my dreams... However if I expect a functioning bathroom then everything else is a bonus! ;D

I will do before and after pictures... Lol

Better go ... Daniel will be finishing school in 40 minutes .... And I have to get there a little early otherwise parking is a pain in the arse...

Take care
Alex
Xx






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Freecycle fun and games....

Its been a busy Wednesday today...


Over the weekend I signed up for the Yeovil branch of Freecycle and while I was scanning through the reams of wanted and up for grabs listings I came across a request for a peddle tractor ... so I emailed her and asked if she was still looking... she was ... and she popped over from Sherborne this morning to pick up Daniel's tractor and trailer for her little granddaughter... Daniel is too big for it and to be honest it would have to be a tank with guns for Daniel to want it! lol

She was very pleased and very grateful....

I had enquired about a whicker hamper that someone in Yeovil had and a wooden standard lamp in Stalbridge... and although the hamper basket had gone she had another basket that she was getting rid of... and the wooden lamp was still available... so after the tractor had been collected we headed into Yeovil and picked up the basket...



Ideal for yarn storage... I think I will make a fabric liner and lid for it to keep the yarn dust free...

and off to Stalbridge we went ... I had directions and Daniel in the back as co pilot
and Jamie as map reader... what could possibly go wrong! ?

We made it there pretty easily.. the road was at times narrow and bumpy with the usual tailgating sports car firmly attached to the rear of my car... oohhh they make me mad! anyway we found the house... eventually and there was no body home! :(

No problem I thought and a car park was hunted down and we had a stroll around Stalbridge... and I love it .... I want to live there! lol

We popped to a charity shop and bought a couple of DVD's (£4) a TY spider called Spinner for Daniel (30p) ...


an original oil painting of dolphins... which are a little weird looking but I love the brushwork of the light on their backs... plus I love underwater images (50p)...



and a fairly large embroidered linen table cloth (£2.50) ...



which will look lovely on a table in the garden this summer... I am of course being very optimistic that the sunshine will return for more than an afternoon... ;D


It was nearing 12:30 and we had a choice of fish and chip shop or cafe... so we opted for the cafe which turned out to be at an independent supermarket called Dike and Sons... (which was a Nisa!) we use to have a wonderful little Nisa just down the road from us when we lived in Hazlemere (High Wycombe) and I do miss that shop... this one was amazing.. so clean and tidy and neat... a real mix of things and the cafe was superb... like a little chic cafe...


Daniel enjoyed a strawberry milkshake while I drank a black coffee and Jamie sipped a J20... then our food arrived... there was a little bit of swap se's that occurred ...


I had Jamie's side salad... with my cheese omlette (which was scrumptious)


Jamie had my chips with her Chicken Mayo baguette.... (which she thoroughly enjoyed)


and Daniel pinched some of his new found favorite... cucumber! lol
all in all it cost £17 and a few pence... I was very happy with the service and the quality of the food and it was such a lovely place to eat... no stupid little sachets of sauce each table had condiments and a holder with heinz tomato ketchup, brown sauce and mayonnaise...

For someone that hates the big supermarket chains this was wonderful... an independent shop that has been going since the days of the horse and cart that has managed to keep up with modern times...


THe staff were so friendly and its been open for 4 years and I didn't have a clue...


It even has a horse tether area should you need some shopping while out on a hack...


Les has been recently asking me what area would you like to live in (he wants to move to a bigger house!) and until now I didn't have a clue... now I have more than a clue... this is a proper village that is still thriving due to being able to change with the times without loosing its soul and its character...

While we were there Daniel chose the mugs for his main teacher and 2 classroom assistants


and a gift bag for the teacher that they have on a Friday... and the teacher that teaches them Spanish...

Just have to wrap up the mugs and he can take them in tomorrow... I wonder how many mugs they'll get!? lol

well I had better get on... kids to feed, washing up to do and tidy the lounge ready for an evening of crochet ... oohh nearly forgot... I finished a crocheted sausage dog!


I think the yarn is a little to busy... some self striping yarn would have been better... but I quite like the pattern... and I need to use up this patchy yarn...

Les is out this evening beating a squash ball around a small room... lol ... obviously followed by a visit to the pub...! ;D

I shall catch up with you all very soon.. now I have this Ipad sorted I am back on top form! xx

take care
Alex
x


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Blogpress.... will it work or won't it?

Hello guys... its been forever since my last post and I'd like to say that I have been researching ways and means to upload pictures but I'd be fibbing.... I have of course been teaching Jamie... running hither and thither after Daniel and watching the chicks grow and grow... Les of course gets whatever energy and attention is left over... lol

The chicks are still of unknown sex .... I keep changing my mind and wondering every day which I will be able to keep.... I'd like to keep a cockerel, although im not sure if the neighbours would kick up. I however get to listen to their dogs bark, alarms going of and someone banging away on his drums in a shed in his garden... however thats acceptable! lol

I currently suspect this one to be a cockerel ... I was going to call it Daphne from Scooby do as the cartoon character has red hair... however I need a back up plan incase it is indeed a boy! any ideas?

Jamie has been having her up days and her down days... she's spoken about going back to school as she misses her friends but I am hearing more horror stories about the quality of the education over there from other unhappy parents and I'm obviously the bad guy for sticking to my guns for homeschooling... I have started looking into clubs and activities that she could join to get a crowd of friends that aren't necessarily at her old school... she has a webcam and chats to them online... Les wants to send her to a local private school but I'm not sure whose bank account he's been looking at as I'm pretty sure ours won't cover it! although it is a fab school... also the thought of rubbing shoulders with the hoy palloy really un-nerves me... don't get me wrong I can be a snob at times but I really can't stand people who look down their noses at others before they have even taken the time to have a conversation with them... and there is no way in hell I could or would be bothered to dress like a fashion icon... I'd rather wear something comfy and sensible than ridiculous and short term... so the verdict is still out on that front!

she's been doing well... she likes sewing and making things...

wonder where she gets that from! lol .. this is her third project, shes making a peg bag... its a pattern from a book but we've slightly altered the design to fit our coat hanger and the appliqué frog is all her own design...



ta da ... I bought the frog fabric on ebay to co-ordinate with her design... I think it works well.


she made herself a bag after she made this patchwork pillow.... the pillow was her first real project using a sewing machine that had a working light and a foot peddle that worked properly... I suppose school equipment gets a rough time of it and they probably cant afford to keep it maintained...


Nanny has given Jamie her old machine so once we've given it a service and some new needles she'll be able to get creative in her own time as well as school time...


In such a small house its not easy to organise everything and I am not an organised person by nature... its not something that comes easy to me... don't get me wrong I can plan and organise a Fete or event but to keep a small house in order seems to be my downfall...

anyway enough of that ... what have I been doing for the past 5 weeks.... I've been drawing and crocheting...


This will hopefully become a little bag... its one of those "stalled" projects thats awaiting the return of my time and energies... one its finished I think I might felt it as its being made with pure wool..


This was a biro drawing that started as a doodle and grew into an A4 sketch... it was just after I had suffered a bout of chest pains and stress related unhappiness... I think the picture speaks for itself...


I drew this one the following day while I was at the pub, I think of him as the little hobgoblin that resides on top of my creativity... as you can see he's sat on top of my sketch books... and he's knocked over my ink...


I drew this 6 years ago... and a few weeks ago I re-drew it and finished it off in pastels


The yarn was given to me by a good friend and I am making it up into a bright and colourful beach type blanket...


The triangular edge will hopefully go all around the edge and I shall then carry on with it till I have run out of yarn...

I think I have finally realised that these creative moments aren't just a hobby they help keep me balanced and functioning...

When all else around me seems complicated and confusing drawing and creating is unchanged and constant... and fairly portable too! ;D

I do hope this Blogpress application allows me to upload this... its been really frustrating to not be able to blog ... I thought this ipad would make blogging easier... and like most technologies it has limitations and down sides...

Sorry to bore you to death with all my comings and goings... if this works I'll be back really soon to bore you some more! :D

Take care
Alex
x

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