Stash, Storage and Stitching

I was reading a post over on Sharon's blog - It's Daffycat - last week, about her fabric sorting and storage and decided, as I set about sorting my own fabrics and moving the storage containers into my Craft Room, to take a few pics to share while I was about it.

First up, from the first set of storage drawers, are all the backing fabrics.The top drawer contains the "every day" fabrics (mostly fat quarters) with some fat eighths (in bags) that also go in there:

Quite a wide variety, though the fat eighths selection is my favourite. The second drawer contains fabrics for my two favourite subjects to stitch for.... Halloween and Christmas:

The third drawer (not shown) contains the iron on Vilene, felts in various colours, wadding and stuffing. The fourth drawer (also not shown) has the bigger pieces of fabric for household projects and calico in it.

The second drawer unit contains all my cross stitch fabrics. The first drawer is full of 9 x 12/13 28count and the second holds the larger cuts:

Drawer three holds 32 and the higher count fabrics.... and I guess you get the idea as to which count of fabric I prefer to stitch on. LOL Drawer four holds aida and a little linen banding:

The third, and final, drawer unit has cardmaking things in the top three drawers but I haven't finished organising these so haven't bothered to take any pics. The bottom drawer of this unit holds items I can stitch on (such as tea towels and tiny Christmas stockings) and finishing items (eg a tuck pillow and floss tag rings and thread holders):

Finally, here's a pic of the cleaned and newly organised storage units in their new home:

They stand out like a sore thumb at the moment (wish the silver coloured ones were available when I first went for these!) but they won't be quite so obvious when the work table is put in over the top of them. Not sure how long that will take though.... we need to have the kitchen refitted first (that's on hold for now) as the new work table is the old breakfast bar. Now, Sharon, does that answer your question about fabric storage? ;0) LOL

It's also the time of the week for yet another update pic of Mother Earth. Nope, it's no use groaning.... there's no other stitching to show at the moment, so it's this or nothing. ROFL For some reason I just don't want to stitch on anything else, so I've just been going with the flow and keeping Her as my focus piece.

I've been working on the section between the second tree trunk and what is the start of a third tree trunk. My method of working for this has never been stitching each block of 10 stitches, as I find that awkward to do, though I know other folks work well with that approach. What I ususally do is pick a particular symbol and its relevant colour and keep on stitching it until all the ones I'm working on in a particular area are filled in... or until I get fed up and fancy a change, then choose another symbol and colour and do the same. It can look a bit bitty (as it does in this pic) but it does start to fill in a larger area quite nicely. I had hoped to get all of that area infilled this week but I've had a couple of nights where I haven't stitched at all (shock - horror! LOL), mostly due to being tired.... and stitching whilst tired usually ends up with a visit from the green one, so I avoid that happening whenever I can. :0)

I haven't started the Seba Blackwork SAL piece yet, as I've decided to wait until all the sections have been released and then start it - got a feeling it'll be one that will stitch up pretty quickly, so I won't lose much by doing that, and it lets me keep Mother Earth as my focus piece for a while longer. Yep, I am too easily distracted when I have lot's of WIP's on the go..... I'm blaming it on the menopausal brain fog. LMAO. I have still got to choose my fabric and threads for the JA/S&S Forum's Monthly Challenge piece, a lovely freebie from Plum Street Samplers called Be True. Now anyone who knows anything about me knows that I am a real sucker for anything that has lovely, inspirational sayings on it.... and that I also love our feathered friends. As this is a combination of both it is a must stitch, so I shall be kitting this up to start soon. Of course, I won't be able to share a pic until Reveal Day. :0)

As for other things: DH enjoyed his run doing the sound for the Group 62 performance last week, though found it a little tiring.... and a little nervewracking when he went solo for the final two performances - reckon it won't stop him from getting involved in something similar again soon though. :0) I enjoyed the power of being in sole charge of the TV remote for so long.... it almost went to my head. LOL It got even more tiring over the weekend as it was a busy one, though exciting and also very enjoyable.

First up is the exciting news: DH and I took the car I liked for a test run on Saturday. Believe it or not, I've been and gone and done it.... I paid a deposit and signed the papers! It's being fully serviced and valeted this week and we go get her on Friday evening. *Huge cheesy grin* My new baby is a 2008 Kia Picanto Ice Ltd Ed in Diamond Blue. A nice little runaround with a small engine, very economical and perfect for my needs. So now all I've got to do is go get me some of those refresher lessons... fast. LOL I'll post a pic at some point. :0)

Sunday DH and I headed over to Elsecar Heritage Centre near Barnsley for the Mind, Body and Spirit event

being held there. It was a lovely day out, as these events always are, with some retail therapy involved and I had a card reading done (using different cards, not Tarot cards) with my usual reader - I go to her once a year for an in-depth reading that is always interesting and full of insights. I'll be doing a write up on my alternative blog about the day, as I know these things aren't to everyones tastes. We rounded the day off with our favourite meal: a take out curry from the local Indian restaurant.

Today it's been back down to Earth with a bump, as it's my regular jobs day. No rush to get them done today though, as my friend couldn't come for her regular herbal tea and natter session. Good job as I don't think I could have rushed, even if I'd tried - all that walking around over the weekend has left me feeling a little achey and tired. Yes, I still keep forgetting that it's only been four months since my op and end up overdoing things a little. That patience thing still keeps giving me trouble! ROFL So that's all the news for this time.

Many thanks to every single one of you who takes the time to read all my wafflings and for the lovely comments. Hope you all enjoyed your weekend and had a gentle start to the week. :0)

Out & About in Lakeland

Time for some of those holiday pics and chat I mentioned, so skip this if that kinda thing bores the pants - or any other bit of underwear - off you. ;0)

The cottage we stayed in in Chapel Stile was lovely, just a few yards along the road from the church, and the back garden was a treat. DH took a snap of the clematis (?) that were growing amongst the shrubbery fencing between us and the next property.

They were way prettier than the pic shows (not one of his best, Bless!). I wanted the pic because I love these flowers and plan on having some in our garden - it will be a reminder, so we'll know what to keep a look out for next time we visit the garden centres. :0)

So what did we get up to while we were gadding about in the Lake District? Well the first couple of days we took it fairly easy as I was recuperating after the stomach upset I had on the Friday night before we came away. We continued unpacking and generally settling in on Sunday but DH and I took time out to have a wander down the road to the pub (and I mean down the road - we were up the hill and the pub and shop were down at the bottom of it), to check out the menu with a view to eating there at some point. We also called in at the Brambles Cafe (above the Co-Op shop) for a warm drink and a menu check - it didn't have anything that I'd be able to make a full meal out of, unfortunately. The walk back up the hill must have tired me out because I fell asleep in the chair for an hour before tea. We cooked and ate in - the kitchen was brilliant and very well stocked with tools etc, again the best one yet.

Monday we all felt a bit livelier so after dinner we got togged up in our walking gear and wandered along the top road from the cottage to the junction with the road up from Elterwater village...... down we went into Elterwater itself for a drink at the pub (herbal tea for me). The menu was very promising and a chat to the lady behind the bar revealed that they would be OK about altering things on the menu to suit my diet. Great - we booked for 6.30 in the restaurant..... even better, it was DS's treat for our anniversary meal. We had a wander around the village and down by the river to kill some time, then headed back. They were very accommodating when it came to mixing and matching the food and leaving out dairy products and dressings etc and the meal was excellent - well worth waiting to celebrate while we were away. :0) The only problem was: we had to walk back to the cottage on full stomachs..... DS's was very full because he shared a starter with his Dad and went on to have pudding too, the guts......... there was a reasonable slope up to the back footpath, a very stony path down, then the flippin' hill all the way back up to the cottage. I was amazed when DS didn't either burst or barf. LMAO

Tuesday spoilt itself big time: it chucked it down for much of the day. We weren't in a rush to get wet. After dinner we drove over to Windermere to do a food shop in the Booths supermarket. For those in the UK, think sort of like Morrison's but better: lots of choice there, especially on the fresh fish counter. The chap behind the counter actually asked DS if he was a Chef - he's not but, due to his regular trips to the Farmer's Market where he chats to the stallholders, and to having a love of good quality food and cooking, he is becoming quite knowledgeable. Once done in Booth's we all decided we were thirsty, so opted to go to Lakeland Ltd as it was only next door. The Menu was full of no-no's for me but they did have herbal teas. Afterwards we had a wander round the store - always a treat - and made a list of the items we wanted. No point in buying them there and then as they wouldn't have fit in the car to take them home, it was so we could remember what we wanted and then do an internet order once home again. Back to the cottage after to unload, have tea and a quiet night in, with beers for the boys.

Wednesday was another iffy weather day so we had a drive over to the Rheged Visitor Centre. Yay, finally a proper shopping opportunity! LOL We had dinner in the cafe first, where they were really helpful (had run out of the chicken and bacon salad so made a smoked salmon salad up specially for me), then had a wander up to the top of the place and worked our way down. I always like a nosey at the bookshop and didn't come away empty-handed - though I forgot to add the book DH bought on the Stone Circles of the Lake District (a little gem: there are way more than I ever thought there were).


We also indulged in a smelly soap with a heavenly smell from the smellies shop. I also treated myself to a small haematite bracelet, to replace one I broke that had also been bought from there a previous year. We also got a few tasty goodies from the food shop...... and no visit to Rheged would be complete without dropping in to my all time fave, The Paper Shop. It was extra fun this year as I knew I'd be spending DS's money for him. ;0) He had offered to buy some replacement goodies, for all those emergency last-minute cards he'd nabbed from my stash....... and I could get a few extra bits and they'd be the rest of my Christmas gift. So with that off I trotted, basket in hand, to see what there was...... not that I actually needed any added encouragement or incentive to go find some goodies. ROFL When we got to the till I got the final stamp added to my Loyalty Card BUT I didn't have to wait until next year to claim the money off voucher - when the lady realised I only bought in there once a year whilst on holiday she knocked the money off straightaway. How nice was that? DH was really happy as it didn't cost him as much as he thought it might and I was happy because I came away with this little lot to play with:

And I still get to find a little something else for my Christmas pressie at some point. LOL

After all that exciting shopping we drove back to Grasmere where we had our evening meal in Tweedies Bar - another very helpful place and excellent meal. I can highly recommend the venison. :0) A steady drive back over the tops to the cottage after.

Thursday was reasonable weather so we had another walk, this time taking a packed lunch and going in the opposite direction: along the valley bottom footpath to the Stickle Barn, just below Dungeon Ghyll, stopping for lunch by the river on the way. We stopped for a loo break and a drink at the Stickle Barn, then opted to walk back via the higher path along the hillside - yup, up another rocky hill and it went up and down, up and down most of the way back...... and it was squishy and occasionally downright wet underfoot. After last years washout of a holiday (remember the bursitis that stopped me from doing any proper walking?) those hiking boots got well and truly christened, for sure. We walked back to the cottage via the Co-Op, where we got a few bits and pieces for tea. The walk was about 5 miles and was the longest one I've managed to do in a very long time and I didn't ache overly much the following day...... chuffed to bits just doesn't cover it. :0)

Friday was a bit so it was decided it was a day for driving over to Kirkby Stephen, so we could visit our favourite shop: the 2 Ravens, which is one of the rare New Age style shops in Cumbria. The lady in there always recognises and always has a good chat with us...... it was also good to have her notice that I'd lost weight and say how much better I looked. As soon as I went in I spotted an absolutely gorgeous Charoite crystal ball sat in the display cabinet and it was love at first sight. It was a stunning piece, not quite purple and not quite blue, with swirls of black and white vein running through it..... and one solid black area with a white vein around it that looked a little like a starburst around a black hole. The owner must have sensed something because she took it out of the cabinet so I could hold it. Wow! There was a definite power/energy in it that immediately had me reacting to it, sort of a slightly spacey swirl through my body - I told the owner that it was definitely a piece I knew I could work with but that I also knew I probably couldn't afford it and daren't ask the price. The rarity and size of the piece was definitely reflected in that: £295........ and that was a real jaw dropping moment and I carefully handed it back so she could lock it away in the cabinet again. The piece kept calling to me and spoilt me for any other crystal in there....... but there's absolutely no way I could justify spending that amount of money on one piece, even though I know it's "my" piece. Gutted just doesn't begin to describe it. :0( Maybe I should buy a lottery ticket? LOL I then made a bee-line for the books and found these two gems to add to my eclectic collection:


DS bought a book and a couple of crystal pieces, then we said our goodbyes and left. On to one of the gift shops and DS did all of his present buying in one fell swoop: lots of bags of handmade choccies, some choccie cookies, bottles of cider and some fluffy marshmallows for his goddaughter. Back to the car and we drove round to Pendragon Castle, to see how it had fared over another winter: a few more stones had fallen and the sheep still use it to shelter in, so you have to watch where you're putting your feet (and there are some areas you just don't go into!) but it still has the same peaceful air about it. We then drove to the Moorcock Inn where we had our evening meal (they do a huge and very tasty gammon steak) before driving back to the cottage. Unfortunately I developed a migraine on the way back but my herbalist had warned me this was a possibility on the new medicine mix, so I had some Migraleve tablets with me - luckily they worked after a time, though it made the drive back a bit of an ordeal....... you can't look at and enjoy the beautiful scenery when you've got flashing gold zigzaggy lines blocking half your vision. :0(

Saturday my brain was a bit fragile to loud noises but I felt fine otherwise, so we made a packed lunch and drove over to Castlerigg Stone Circle, near to Keswick. After eating we had a wander around the circle and Wanda decided she had to have her picture taken:


This is my favourite spot and view, looking out from the circle to the cup of the valley. Yes, that's some of your actual sun shining there too and it must have gone to Wanda's head because she started to get pretty laid back:


Can't blame her, the sun warmed those stones up quite nicely and it felt quite toasty next to them. :0)

Soon after we made our way into Keswick itself to look round the market and do some shopping. The first stall I spotted had some wonderful Fair Trade bags and purses. My other little bag is looking a tad tatty now and isn't really bag enough to carry all my pills and potions, so I chose this one as a replacement:


Plus a cute little wallet to go in it. I was all set to pay for it when DH said he'd treat me, lovely man. :0) Into one of the many walking shops and DS came out with some trousers, socks, gaiters and a bandanna; Dh got a much needed new rucksack. Another shop and I came out with a pair of Brasher walking shoes and some socks which are so comfy it's like walking on clouds. A scout round the rest of the market and the shopping bags included some cheeses for the menfolk, a bottle of cider (gift), some meats for more meals and a pretty necklace DS bought for his girlfriend. Not a bad haul. Back to the car and up to the Twa Dogs Inn for our evening meal, then back to the cottage where I finished my book that night (more in the side bar or over at the reading blog).

Sunday we stayed local. DS tootled off on his own for a walk round the valley and down to Skelwith Bridge and back along the river path in the valley bottom. DH and I had a nice wander down to the river so I could cleanse my crystal ball. The usual spot was already taken by a couple of collie dogs and their owners so we wandered up river a bit, to try and find a suitable spot. As I checked out one place and wondered if it was suitable, lo and behold a dragonfly appeared and flew around the area - we'd never seen one around here before so it was enough of a sign for me, making it extra special. Back to the cottage after, via the Co-Op, for a quiet night in.

Monday we made a packed lunch and drove over to see another stone circle that has been on my must-see list for a while: Long Meg and Her Daughters which took a bit of finding when we got over there, as it's not that well sign posted. It's far bigger than Castlerigg, with many more stones, and a totally different feel to it. Meg herself was quite imposing and Wanda decided she had to have a pic taken:


The weather was decidedly changeable, being overcast then turning to rain..... so no sunbathing that day. The views were disappointing, so Castlerigg remains my favourite site. When we got thoroughly rained off we drove back, stopping off at a pub on the way for a loo break and drink. DS's friend S joined us at the cottage that night for a meal and natter.

Tuesday was lousy weather but it didn't deter the two younger chaps, who got togged up and went for a walk over the tops to Grasmere. DH and I, being much less fit and with a strong aversion to getting seriously soggy, opted to go over a bit later in the car, meeting them both in Tweedies Bar for lunch and a natter. They then decided they weren't quite shattered or soggy enough yet, so set off to walk to Rydal Head next whilst DH and I had a tootle around the shops. DH got himself the Churchill's Wizards book and I managed to pick up another couple of buys from the secondhand bookshop:

I'm currently reading the Reincarnation book. We then drove to the Rydal Head car park to meet the young 'uns who came back from viewing the river, which was topping its banks by now. We dropped S off at the Britannia Inn in Elterwater, where he was staying, then took DS to our cottage so he could shower and change, then went back to the Britannia for our evening meal and a natter with S.

It bucketed it down all that night as well and all the following morning. We picked S up, as arranged, and went for a tour round in the car - S hadn't been to the Lakes before so it was an opportunity to show him more of the sites...... without getting wet! LOL First we went up the valley to Little Langdale, circling back round to Elterwater; then up over the tops to Grasmere and through there to the far shores of Thirlmere, where we stopped in a car park to have our packed lunches. The weather had fined up by now so we had a bit of a wander down to the waterside and took some pics on our phones. Climbing back into the car we took S into Keswick so he could buy some waterproof trousers (he'd never needed them before so had to borrow DH's set the day before) and I took the opportunity to get some more Brasher socks. From there it was a drive past Crummock Water and Buttermere, then back to the cottage via Keswick and Grasmere. The chaps had a fry up and I had some local steak. :0) S was really impressed by the scenery and would love to visit the area again to do some more walking.

Thursday all three chaps went off for a male bonding session at Rookin House Farm: archery, clay pigeon shooting and quad biking. I opted to stay at the cottage for a quiet day doing "me" things: reading, making full use of the broadband connection, doing a little cleaning and tidying up and generally chillin'. When the chaps got back we all headed over to the Stickle Barn for tea
and a natter. It was a good day all round. We said our goodbyes to S when we dropped him off at the pub, as he was heading off first thing, to go visit some relatives further North for the weekend. He enjoyed his time in the Lakes and has decided he's going to come back some time to do some more serious walking. It was lovely to introduce a newby to an area we know and love so well. :0)

Friday was another iffy weather day. The morning was spent packing all but the bits we needed into our suitcases and getting them loaded into the car, to save time the following morning. After lunch we headed over to Coniston for a wander round. We had a look at the beautiful carved cross on Ruskin's grave in the churchyard, grabbed a brochure from the local self-catering cottages agency (for future reference) and a look in a couple of the gift shops. Guess what I bought? Yup, another book:


Though why a book about CB, a Yorkshire woman/author, was in a Cumbrian gift shop beats me. LOL That was the last of my buys - would you believe I actually came home with way more than I spent, so it was a real cheap holiday! LOL

Saturday dawned.... and ended up another wet one, thanks to the typical Lakeland drizzle. Packing the rest of the stuff into the car was a hurried and soggy experience and the cleaners arrived before we'd quite finished, thanks to the folks in the next door cottage not going as soon as we'd hoped so we could pinch their parking slot, to make our loading easier - the road is very narrow outside the cottage.... and considerably narrowing the road further whilst unloading wasn't fun. So glad I can't lip read as I'm sure some of the things the drivers who had to squeeze their cars through the gap weren't very nice. ;0)

On the way home we called in at the Country Harvest store near Ingleton so we could get a few necessaries for DH and DS to have for dinner (the cafe was extremely busy) and some to take home with us. I also managed to find a lovely zip up fleece top, thin enough to use as a cardigan rather than a jacket, which I was pleased about. We ate our lunch in the car in the car park then set off again, calling in at a pub near Wyke for a drink and necessary break, then made it home...... to be greeted by a mountain of mail that almost blocked the way in. About half an hour after we'd finished unloading the car the rain that had been dogging our heels all the way back finally caught up. Not bovvered: we stayed in, with our first take-out curry in a fortnight to keep us company. ROFL

I'll post pics of my bits of holiday stitching next time. DH might have transferred some of the phone pics onto the computer by then, so I may add a few of those too. :0)

Thank you for all the lovely comments on my last post. I'm gradually catching up with blog reading/commenting, so if you haven't had a comment from me yet.... you will soon. Thank you for visiting. :0)

Done Chillin'

Yup, that's me - back from my holiday and back to the usual routine, so all done chillin' out. :0)

Quick warning: NO stitching pics, so skip this post if general holiday chat isn't your thing.

DH and I set off for Rural Roosts on Friday afternoon, once the organic veg box had been delivered, and had a good run all the way there - just a bit of traffic on the A15 to contend with initially, everywhere else was pretty quiet. My DSis had already arrived, unpacked and settled in when we got there and had even had time for a snooze! LOL We had a quiet night just chillin' in the lodge, reading, chatting and watching a little TV - and watching some of the birdlife that is always around. The peace and quiet was brilliant! :0)

On Saturday we had a trip into Market Rasen where we grabbed a bite to eat at Joplins (very helpful with making something up to suit my diet) and have a look around the shops. Of course we made a beeline to our favourite place The Rainbow Room to see what we could be tempted with. Unfortunately there wasn't as much amber jewellery in there as usual but you can see what I succumbed to instead:


The book was half price, so a bargain, and is about a form of Chinese divination I've never come across before - decided I was interested enough to buy the book, anyway. Of course I couldn't come away from there without some crystal, could I? LOL Not sure you can see it clearly enough in my pic but the piece on the left is a reasonable sized amethyst point and it has some pretty rainbows inside, as well as the loveliest feel to it. It wasn't the piece that I first asked to look at - that one didn't call to me at all when I held it but this piece felt right. I didn't go into the shop with the intention of buying a bracelet but that was another piece that called to me. My DSis came out disappointed though, as nothing appealed to her at all and she'd wanted to buy a small crystal sphere to go in what was originally a tealight holder I bought her: a pretty blue piece with a sleepy dragon curled around its base - it will look great with the right sphere in it. Think we'll have to take her to a M,B&S event soon to give her a better chance of finding the right piece for her. :0)

When we'd done there we called in at the local Tesco to do some food shopping, as we'd only taken the basics with us, then drove back to Wragby for a look round the newsagents and Hospice shop there. This was my haul there:

There's a bit of a tradition developed over the years, in that I always buy a cross stitch magazine to browse through whilst away - when I saw Tinkerbell on the front of this I knew I had to have that to stitch for my niece Erin. I don't usually "do" Disney but for her I make an exception. :0) Those books were the first proper haul of the holiday. LOL Back to the Lodge for our evening meal and a couple of games of Trivial Pursuits afterwards.

Sunday we had booked a carvery dinner at the Turnor Arms in Wragby. They were very helpful with catering for my dietary needs and the food was excellent - well worth a visit, if you are ever in the area. Back to the Lodge after and we had a bit of a walk round and a snooze after..... that's what a good meal and fresh air does for you! ;0) It set us up nicely for the TP tournament that night though.

Monday we chilled out in the morning then had a trip into Wragby for some shopping in the afternoon, with a drive round afterwards so we could see a little more of the area. There's quite a bit of woodland round there and a Fen area with hides for birdwatchers, as well as lots of farmland. We'd hoped to visit the Fen for a wander round but didn't get the chance, due to either being busy doing other things or the weather not behaving itself.

Tuesday we all had a trip to Mablethorpe for the day. Now I have fond memories of the place from many a childhood seaside holiday there but seeing it now was a bit of a shock: it has changed a lot and the Thorpe Sands Holiday Park we used to stay on is no more, replaced by lots of bungalows and a Lidl supermarket. Tacky souvenir shops are in abundance, as are amusement arcades, but the eating was not only very cheap but very tasty in the cafe we had our dinner in. We also found a couple of shops of interest that tempted me into spending a few pounds and this was my haul that day:

Some craft goodies, including a storage box that was cheaper there than what I paid in The Range. There was also a crystal shop - they didn't have any crystals that called to me but I did get a great book on crystal healing (it also had that dinky little dowsing pendulum with it) and a shell that will be ideal for using with smudge sticks. There were also some nice clothing shops too and I came away with two short-sleeved knitted jacket tops - quite dressy and the medium fit me (great boost - used to be L or XXL!). Despite being on the coast I never actually got to see the sea that day, as being with Uncle, Aunty and cousins we felt obliged to go with what they preferred to do.

Wednesday the three of us had a morning's chillin' then went off on our own after dinner. We headed off to Brigg Garden Centre for a look round, as they have a big gifts area and an Edinburgh Woollen Mill clothes section - unfortunately their trousers didn't fit me (14's were too tight and the 16's too big) so I came away empty-handed from there. Gutted, as I desperately need replacements as all the trousers I have are now way too big for me - guess I'll just have to lose a couple more lbs so those 14's will fit! LOL Next we headed back to our house to make ourselves a meal, then get changed as we were booked in to the Theatre that night, to go see the LTC production:

I thought DS was playing a vampyr in it but his role was the Reverend "Mightily" Oats and our friend Alex played the Countess and her DS had a couple of small roles too. It was a really good performance and we enjoyed our night out. We went up to the Theatre Bar afterwards and spoke to DS, Alex and her DS and a couple of other folks, then headed back to RR..... finally rolling into bed around 12.30am.

No rest for the wicked though, as we had to be up and out to join everyone for a trip into Horncastle. Uncle etc like to look round the charity shops and antiques places and we like the market and charity shops. Why do I like the charity shops? For the books, of course! LOL Here's the nice little haul I got this year:

Quite meagre, compared to last year, but I'm extremely happy with it - especially having found a copy of The Golden Bough (one I've wanted to get my hands on for some time) and an Egyptian book to add to my esoteric collection. I really should stop buying books, as there's a huge heap in the little bedroom waiting to be read now, but it's something I just don't seem to be able to control...... I love books and reading and if one catches my interest it has to come home with me. The market was a good one as it had several local food producers there: we came away with some smoked trout (something we hadn't tried before and it tastes heavenly!) from Belleau Smokery and DH indulged his passion for cheese from the Lymn Bank Farm stall, getting Tomato and Basil, Brewers Choice and Traditional Apple Smoked cheeses (so wished I could try some but had to resist!) and some bacon and other meat from the Redhill Farm stall, one DS knows well from Brigg Farmers Market. One other purchase was a lovely skirt in browns, all flowing lightweight cotton and long - I used to avoid this type of skirt as they made me look like a sack of spuds tied around the middle but the weight loss has given me the courage to try them again..... and it was so pretty I couldn't resist it. :0) We spent the rest of the day back at the Lodge packing up, so we'd be ready for the 10 am departure time on Friday.

I have to fess up that not one single stitch was made at any time during the holiday, despite taking Night Watchman and Sea Stars with me.... though we all seemed to do quite a bit of reading. I finished my latest book - see side bar and The Reading Corner for more on that - and started the Barbara Erskine book The Warrior's Princess that Julie very kindly sent to me. My DSis did really well as she managed to read two books!

Despite having a good time having to go Friday to Friday is a weird way of taking a holiday, throwing all of us out so we had to keep reminding ourselves what day of the week it was. As they won't do Saturday to Saturday anymore we've decided this was our first and last Friday to Friday holiday at Rural Roosts and we'll be going somewhere else next year - a real shame because it's such a lovely place, so peaceful and relaxing and with so much bird and wildlife around it's like a mini Garden of Eden. This is one of the scenes I captured with the digicam:

These Canada and Greylag Geese pairs seemed to be really good buddies and we often spotted them close together like this, usually also accompanied by the Mute Swan pair too. The evenings were fun, as the Canadian Geese would suddenly start a kerfuffle, honking away and flapping their wings, then suddenly taking off to fly over the Lodge and off into the distance...... very soon followed by a similar performance from the Greylag's - guess they all probably roosted together somewhere else for the night. They always came back early the next morning, honking their arrival, then spending the day swimming around the pond or cosied on the banks. I shall really miss this but the new place we'll be going to next year seems to be equally as nice surroundings.... fingers crossed it's just as peaceful too. :0)

Hope you've all had a good time whilst I was away - will be stopping by to catch up with all your news soon. :0)

More Wonderful Gifts

This time I had to share with you a pic of the very lovely amber and silver brooch which was my main gift from my DH:

We spotted this whilst in one of our favourite shops: The Rainbow Room, in Market Rasen. It makes me think of the Tree of Life when I look at it and amber is considered to be protective and is often referred to as the Witch's Stone. I love the different colours of amber on it and am now waiting for the right opportunity to wear it. :0)

My Aunt and Uncle, knowing that we wouldn't be able to eat the biscuits and chocolate liqueurs they usually give us, gave DS cash (always useful), DH some whisky and these were for me:

Aunty D knows I'm a Pagan, so she chose something that was sure to appeal. I shall enjoy reading them and finding out more about Feng Shui and about labyrinths - especially the latter, as we have a very old turf cut labyrinth in Alkborough called Julian's Bower. The pic on that site is a little old: the labyrinth has been recut several times since then, so it sits much lower in the ground; the view out over the rivers has changed too, as they are now returning the farmland to floodplain, making pools and adding reed beds for the plentiful bird life and it's true - on a clear day you can see York Minster in the distance. We love visiting this place and whilst there I also love to indulge in a little game of "Spot my fellow Pagan". LOL

Earlier in the year I signed up and paid for Jayne's special hand dyed Christmas Stash Pack and, unusually for me, saved it to open with my other gifts. A gift from me, to me - to guarantee that I'd have some stash to open. LOL Here are all the lovely goodies that were inside:

This year the theme was Panto Time and all the colours have been dyed with that in mind. Very appropriate for this time of year and with DS being in the LTC Pantomime. :0) The fabrics are Count On Me Dick Whittington, Streets of Gold and Polstitches Cinderella and Prince Charming - reckon you can work out which is which in the pic. LOL All the threads are named for various panto characters and make a gorgeous rainbow. I'll enjoy using them, eventually....... for now it's just nice to admire them in my stash. :0)

Just in case you were wondering, the festive season wasn't all about sitting on our bottoms in front of the TV or doing jobs: we took some time out to hit the Sales, though not the usual ones. Nope, I opted for the craft stash sale at Brigg Garden Centre. LMAO. Here are the bargain goodies I came away with:

The Fiskars pieces are a shape cutter and some circle templates to be used with it. Those will make cutting out circles much easier - though I do need some smaller circle templates for them to be any use for making ornies. I shall use all of these at some point except the vellums, as they are intended as part of my PenPal Maggie's birthday gift, which is later in the year.

Today I've been a busy bee, getting up early to do all the prep for a venison stew to go in the slow cooker. The diced venison packs we got from The Pink Pig (another trip out while DH was on holiday) and the veg are a bit of a hotch potch, as it was a case of wanting to use up things before they spoilt. The last of the red onions, the second fennel bulb (finely chopped) and some leeks from the organic veg box went in there, along with some fine beans I found in the pantry and a couple of cauli, broccoli and baby carrot mixed packs DH grabbed from the Tesco Express (no stew packs so he got them instead). Added some hot veg stock, a good handful of pearl barley, a bay leaf and a sprinkling of other herbs and voila: one venison stew. No idea what on earth it'll turn out like but I had fun making it (I find chopping veggies whilst listening to chill-out music very therapeutic), the smells wafting from the kitchen are Mmmmmm and I guess we'll be finding out later. ;0) I stripped our bed and the bedding is in the washer, the Dyson has had an outing upstairs, the bin and recycling box are on the front, ready for emptying tomorrow, the bird feeders are filled, the tumble dryer emptied and the clothes put away/on the ironing pile and all the pots done. I reckon that's enough of the virtuous housewife bit for today, don't you? LMAO

I finished a small stitched card last night (my second finish of 2009) but I shall leave pics of those for another post - yep, I totally forgot it was UFO Night, despite spotting the reminder on the forum earlier in the day. Doh! Guess what I'll be doing tonight, then! Meanwhile I've made a start on the blog reading/commenting catch-up but it's going to take a while for me to get around everyone's blog - boy, have you lot been busy! ;0)

Rachael: it's sort of a table under the deer that I took the pics on. It's a really small one (17" high x 15" wide, side to side) with an inlaid surface and when you lift the top up there's a little storage inside and it's musical, so plays a tune when it's wound up. My DBro gave it to me years ago - he bought it whilst on a foreign holiday (can't remember where), back in the days when he was young, free and single and could afford to do things like that. LOL It certainly comes in real useful for taking stitchy pics.

Many thanks for visiting and especially for all the lovely comments - they are very much appreciated. :0)

Brass Stencils and Chat

Well I didn't quite get the afternoon of crafts I'd planned the other day because that virtuous housewife mood seemed to carry over somehow. Instead of making some cards or doing a little stitching.......... I went through my boxes of DMC threads and swapped the numbered sleeves that were slotted onto the bobbins for the little sticky number labels I bought a while ago. The sleeves had a nasty habit of dropping off the bobbins and I'm no good at guessing which colour thread is which! Maybe not overly thrilling but it was very satisfying to do and my thread boxes look so much tidier for it. :0)

At least I managed to stay awake until after I'd had my tea. LOL BTW Christine: the rabbit and venison stew tasted just as good as it smelt, even if I do say so myself. Extra pleased with it as I didn't use a recipe but went by instinct as to what to put in there. It must have been good - my two thanked me afterwards!

Yesterday I spent a fair amount of the day getting used to the new look JA/S&S forum, which has moved to Yuku, and catching up with everything on there. After initially feeling like a fish out of water at having my comfort zone changed I seemed to get my head round the technical bits reasonably quickly: I have a new siggie and avatar pic and (after a little help from Diana) links to all my albums and blog set up. Although the site profile map has me in a totally different location to where I actually live - have no idea how they've done that or if it can be altered. All told I reckon I like the new forum but I'm gutted at losing my Supreme Chatterbox status. ;0)

Cleo got a little attention last night and now has a mouth, as well as eyes - not enough to warrant a picture yet though, will save that for another time. Yes, Helen, that eyeshadow is definitely dated but they did invent the look long before the 60's and 70's models took it up. LOL

Today got off to a good start with the arrival of the kit I ordered from QVC.

It's a combination of paper pricking and embossing that can be done on light card, paper or thick vellum, then embroidering some of the motifs with the metallic threads. There's lots of choice with this, as you can make up a central panel as the focus of your card or just add borders or occasional motifs to be combined with decoupage (3-D layering of pictures) or other images (rubber stamped, stickers or other 3-D embellishments). Basically, it'll add another dimension to my cards and I can make it as easy or as complicated as I feel like. :0)

This is the original kit I bought, that set this craze off:

Those are decoupage papers at the top and I reckon I can guess who will like those. :0)

DH was out bright and early this morning, off on a fishing day with some of his work colleagues. He isn't normally in to fishing but this is one of those male bonding things: they realised they only got to see each other at work, usually in quite stressful circumstances (Disaster 5 is the jinx job on the Works) and that it would actually be nice to get together for the occasional social session outside of work. When he phoned me at dinnertime he'd caught a fish - not a tiddler but a reasonable sized one........ or so he says. I know all about those fishermen's tales - my Uncle and cousin regularly go angling - so am hoping he brings back a pic of his catch to back up his claims. :0)

DS was also out early as it was Brigg Farmers Market today. He's come back with lots of our favourites: smoked salmon; smoked and peppered mackerel; three lots of fresh fish plus crayfish tails (go well in kedgeree); lots of organic fruit and veggies (looking forward to sweet strawberries and creme fraiche later); a rolled beef joint; butty bacon; various types of cheeses; venison and other assorted sausages; bottles of sweet chilli sauce from the Gringley Gringo and some chocolate earthquake and choccie flapjack. Are you feeling hungry yet? LMAO

DS is now getting ready to go out, as he's babysitting for Alex and her husband tonight, and DH won't be back until around 7.30pm. The TV remote will be mine for a little while at least and I'll continue to make the most of the peace and quiet while it lasts. After I've had my tea it'll be feet up with a good documentary on TV and some stitching in hand......... bliss!

Hope everyone has had a great start to the weekend - enjoy the rest of it. Many thanks for visiting. :0)

No Rest For The Wicked?

Things have got marginally quieter here but not by much!

Sunday we did have a little lay-in but still had a few things to accomplish: DS cleared off first thing for his swimming trip with Alex and her kids saying something about "dinner at Alex's, Guild Room, mumble, mumble" on the way out the door, so we knew we'd probably not see him until tea time. We headed off to the Silica Lodge garden centre for our dinner and a look round: saw lots of nice pots from new ranges (didn't buy - no room to put any more yet) and was disappointed to realise they didn't have any lavender plants at all, let alone the new cotton wotsit ones.

As the weather was looking uncertain we decided to head for Homebase to have a look at the kitchens. That was a bit of a disappointment too: hardly any ranges and what was there was pretty basic, so we didn't hang around and headed off for a kitchen and bathroom showroom attached to Jackson & Shipley (a builders merchant). They were shut! So we shot off to B&Q to see what they had. Better! Nice Shaker style fronts in different wood effects and a better range of cupboard sizes, sinks, taps, worktops & electrical goods to go with - and they had catalogues we could take away with us. DH took pics of the beech fronts, worktops I liked, sink, hob and ovens available so we could upload them to the computer and play around with layouts and the like. Not sure I'm so keen on the build quality but at least we've got a better idea of what we do/don't like and what we'd like to fit into our kitchen.

After that we were thirsty, so we popped across to Stephen H Smith's garden centre across the road for a sit down, a warm drink and a shared scone from DH's cream tea - he was being a bad lad but I selflessly volunteered to help save him from some of those sugars and calories. ;0) LMAO. There was a new camping shop within the garden centre so we went for a nosey after and ended up buying two lightweight fold-up chairs which are ideal for both the back garden, taking on holiday or day trips out and in the caravan. DH got a slightly laid-back one with a head rest, for getting comfy in, and mine is more of a director's style so I can sit up comfortably and stitch. Of course I couldn't leave there without visiting the craft shop and I came away with this little haul:

Those small coloured squares bottom left are envelopes for some of the recent cards I made. No stitching done - too shattered! We sat and watched the Stardust DVD - lots of laughs in that and it was especially fascinating seeing Robert De Nero play a gay, cross-dressing pirate! LOL Here are pics of a couple more cards I made during my recent cardmaking session instead:

Monday DH was back to work for a rest LOL. I got on with my regular jobs, ready for Alex coming round in the afternoon, getting quite a bit done. Didn't find time for blogging, though I did manage to use the digicam, upload some pics to the computer and learnt how to crop them and the like. One of the pics is of Ink Circles Blackstone Fantasy Garden that I completed last July - I'm not sure how good the pic is, as I'm learning as I go along here, but thought I'd try posting and see how it goes. So, Helen, just for you:

Must say this was an absolute joy to stitch - hope you're doing well with yours. I'd love to see a WIP pic at some stage, as I'm curious to see the CC threads you subbed instead. :0)

Last night I did a little stitching on Night Watchman, so may post a pic next time as it's looking more like it's grown now.

Today I'm having a quiet day: the past few days busyness have taken their toll somewhat and I've got a few aches and pains and a niggling headache. Gave me a good excuse to sit and watch Dawn Bibby's session on QVC this afternoon - not that I needed much of one! LOL.

Received Part 4 of the Memories SAL last night and I've printed that out today but I think the printer must need a new ink cartridge because it's got some weird and wonderful colours on it! Won't start that just yet though: it's UFO Tuesday today (is it just me, or has that come round flippin' quick?) so ET and that ruddy metallic thread are coming out to play tonight........ for as long as I can stand it. DH and DS will be out, so at least they won't have to listen to me muttering away to myself and there's a Most Haunted on to keep me company. Yay!

Hope you all had a good weekend - hopefully I'll catch up with all your news in the next few days. Lynn: sorry but my computer still isn't keen on your blog and I don't know why. I can read it via Bloglines but am unable to leave comments. :0( Just wanted you to know I've been thinking of you (((((((((hugs))))))))).

Thank you to all for visiting and for the kind comments - hope my wafflings don't bore you too much. ;0)