No Stitching But.....

that hasn't stopped me acquiring stash, although those acquisitions have been over a couple of months - I've just been really slack at blogging enough to share them before now.

First up is an eBay bargain 99p chart:


I love the version with the wording. The logo of the Alternative Therapy Clinic I go to is a sunflower and I plan on stitching the version with the wording for Jan, my Herbalist, as a thank you for all the help she has given me.... and all the help she will continue to give once I've had my op. She has helped me in more ways than she knows and helped to open up a whole new world for me (I write about that on my other blog), so it is such an appropriate piece. :0)

On the same day I also spotted this gorgeous fabric bargain too:


A large piece of opalescent fabric for under £4.00 and free P&P. Who could resist that? Certainly not me. ROFL I don't have any specific plans for it at the moment but just the right design is bound to turn up at some point.

Another day I was bored and browsing on the same good old auction site, following links to see where they'd take me, when I came across someone selling craft goodies for children...... only when I investigated there weren't just the pipe cleaner type stems but also some sparkly trims that were sold by the metre, ideal for Christmas ornies thought I.


As you can see I succumbed to a few of them. Those yellow stems were a freebie - I couldn't think what I could use them for (so did not fancy making that many Easter Chick legs! LOL) so gave them to my friend Alex, for her children.

Then another nosey around revealed these rather useful pieces of fabric at a bargain price and I was lucky enough to win the bids:


A 32ct fabric in Mocha and a 28ct in French Latte. Another couple of neutral colours that are especially useful as my stash seems to have a large bias towards hand dyes in pretty colours. Much as I like those pretty colours they aren't always suitable for some designs.

When I got fed-up of bargain hunting on eBay I had a wander over to Thread Bear for a nosey as I needed some different coloured backing fabrics. Whilst I was there I couldn't resist the sparkly felts they'd just got in stock...... and the chart was in the Sale section and goes with one from the same range that's already in my stash.


The 28ct is a piece of Lakeside Linens fabric and was bought specifically to stitch the Plum Pudding Salem Sisters piece on. Yes, I had all good intentions of starting this piece for Halloween........... but it just didn't happen. Yup, that mojo packed its bag and disappeared into the wild blue yonder....... again! The current happenings haven't exactly helped either.

Just so you're not left thinking that the Craft Bug had totally disappeared:


Yes, last week my cardmaking goodies came out of their boxes long enough for me to make a card for my DH's birthday. Though they did go straight back in again and haven't been touched since, as I've been busy with other things.

So, what has been happening to keep me busy? Well, I went for my pre-op checks on Tuesday morning and that took way more time than either of us expected. So the questions were asked and the forms were filled in by a very nice Staff Nurse called Gail; blood pressure and blood oxygen levels checked and noted; height and weight checked and noted (and I don't like their scales 'cos they have me 4lbs heavier than Jan's!); then various questions asked and answered - though not too many details wanted or needed about the op itself because I'm a firm believer that ignorance is bliss with that kind of thing as I really don't want nightmares beforehand, thanks; all the consents signed and a parting gift of a cup of pee, for testing. Finally there was a trip down to see the hospital vampires again so they could take four lots of my best red for various tests. Staff Nurse Gail reckoned I looked and sounded fit enough and the checks she did were fine, so - unless the test on the blood or pee turn anything up - it's all systems go, in the best Thunderbirds tradition. LOL

Meantime, I've been keeping up with the laundry and other dreaded H word jobs, trying to keep on top of things before the enforced break happens...... you know men, they aren't going to class things like that as a priority, are they? And I am not going to burst my stitches trying to keep things straight when I come home, so I'm getting it sorted now in the hopes that it won't begin to look like a mess for a while. Yeah, right - not with these two! LOL

Then there's making sure that the clothes I want to take in with me are clean, ironed and packed and the other bits I need are to hand (things have a nasty habit of disappearing into that Safe Place just when you want them). Shopping for enough soya milk and cornflakes to take in with me because the hospital don't have anything I am allowed to eat at breakfast time - plus enough for after I get out, as DH won't have the time to go into town for more. And that the cupboards, fridge and freezer are well stocked beforehand too........... because there isn't a snowball's chance in h*ll of me being able to help do that after the op. Plus I've been making sure my other blog is fully up-to-date (got more posts saved to draft) and doing my best to catch up with all the blogs on my blogger list because who knows how long it'll be before I'll be able to sit up to the computer - I've already been warned that I'll be left wondering if I'll ever be able to walk up straight ever again, due to it being an ordinary incision op with stitches. Thanks for that! LOL

I guess it's probably a good thing the mojo has gone on holiday again because, at this point, I'd probably end up having to frog it all anyways. LOL :0)

Thank you taking the time to stop by and for all the lovely comments you leave. Hope you all have a good weekend...... and all those in the UK stay safe and flood-free. :0)

Auctions

There's still a lack of any stitching progress to show here just yet..... that holidaying mojo has finally turned up again but only after being forced to. LOL What prompted things is the sudden realisation that those cancer charity ornies I stitched whilst on holiday in the Lake District (waaay back in July) now need to be fully completed and posted off over the pond to Donna very soon if they're going to make the deadline. Yikes! That sort of crept up and surprised me so, as I hate letting anyone down, some serious stitching is going on - despite the mojo regularly whining: but I don't want to. I'll post some pics when they're done............................. yes, some proper stitching pictures at long last., won't that be something to look forward to? ;0) ROFL

Whilst the mojo was missing I made several attempts to kickstart it again by having a nosey around blogs and stitching sites.... but that didn't work. OK, time to bring in the big guns and go have a trawl on that well known auction site (Clue: it begins with e and ends with Y...... as if that's needed - bet you've all got mega feedbacks on your ID's from all those goodies you've won on there. LMAO). I didn't really expect to see anything that would appeal but duly started trawling through the cross stitch section anyway - well, it would be a pleasant way of spending an hour or two, wouldn't it? So I almost spilt my herbal tea when I spotted a floorstanding fluorescent magnifying lamp - just the type I'd been thinking of splashing out on if I could find one to try before I buy and get my head around spending that amount on - on there with a starting price of....... wait for it.............. £20.00. That's right, just £20.00 - though it was a Pick Up Only auction. Well nothing ventured, nothing gained so I went for a closer look-see. Jaw drop moment - it was only over in Lincoln, a half hour car trip, if that, depending on where in the city the seller was based and though it had a little damage to the base was in otherwise good and full working condition........ and it was a No Reserve auction. OK, the angels had to have guided me to this little beauty so I slapped it on watch and shouted DH to come have a look (it was the Bank Holiday Monday, so he had the day off) - he thought it looked OK and said he didn't mind driving me over there if I won. So I kept checking it out during the remaining time it had to run (only about 30 minutes, if that) whilst having a look round at some other auctions, then went back and bid on it during the remaining few minutes. I couldn't believe it when no one else bid and I actually got it for the basic asking price. WhoooHooo - that's what you call a result! We arranged to go over and pick it up the following day and had a pleasant run..... though the heavens opened just as we pulled up, so I got a dousing going to the door but I didn't mind, it was well worth it to get my hands on this:


I still have to give it a better clean up (it was stored in a shed for a while) and repair the damage to the base - otherwise it is ready to go. :0)

Mind you that didn't really kickstart the old mojo but what it did do was kickstart the old auction bargain hunting bug again instead. The next goodies were from a good seller I've bought from many times over the years:

Some black and coffee coloured fabrics for my stash; I want to stitch the blackwork cushion design and the Bless the Seeds kit for the sunlounge (when it's finished); the fob kit will make a nice gift and the peg angel I wanted to do for my Aunty D, as she loves rocking horses.

Then I came across these goodies:

The thread bobbins, especially the coloured ones, will be good for adding to floss tags; the thread rippers are always useful and the bag was a real bargain (£1.50 or £2.00, would you believe!) and is just the right size for my smallest scroll frame, plus the attendant threads for whatever project I have on it - spot on for grabbing to pop in the car to take with me when I go to my DSis's or on holiday. Am now looking for just the right design to stitch on it - any ideas? :0)

Another day I had a look-see and came across this delightful little batch of cuties:

Aren't they adorable? Well I couldn't resist them - certainly not at 99p + p&p (which was at cost). I thought they might just help me get a wiggle on with the Christmas Ornie SAL....... the last one I did was June's. Oops!

Then I came across someone called thredfairy selling lots of silk threads. Now most of them were for the serious embroiderers, as they were all different kinds and thicknesses, but this little lot were suitable for cross stitch:

The thicker skeins are Italian silks and the thin ones (in bags to left and right) are Chinese but all were really reasonable prices. I've been wanting to do a monochrome piece in silk for quite a while and I thought these would be a nice way of achieving that without the cost being exorbitant. I shall check back at some point and see if she's got some reds too - might be good if I decide to stitch Quaker Christmas at some point. :0)

The haul isn't quite over yet though...... I found someone selling some pieces of hand dyed felt on Buy It Now. I occasionally like to use hand dyed felt for backing ornies, as well as them being good for pages in needlecases, but since Kate of Kate's Kloths shut up shop my stock has been slowly dwindling - so I thought these were a good chance of giving it a little boost.

Am not quite sure what happened though, as the fabrics just seemed to jump into the basket too. ;0) The one on the left shouted mermaid and the one on the right fairy or angel so I really couldn't resist. LOL DH and the CC were glad that was the last of them - though he was pleasantly surprised at just how much I'd got for the amount I'd spent.

DS, on the other hand, could regularly be heard muttering something about supposed to be decluttering, not fetching more in. Sorry kid but I'm looking at it this way: if DH does decide to opt for redundancy then I won't be splurging on stash for a long time.......... so I'd better stock up now, hadn't I? Eheheh

The decluttering has still been ongoing though and a bag full of ornaments and various other things went down to Help the Aged last weekend. Then DH chucked out his old wellies (they were rotting - eeeeeuuuww! Doesn't say much for his feet, does it? LOL) and the new ones he'd left hanging around in the kitchen are now out where the old ones used to be. I found a couple of bits of rubbish in the garden that went in the bin as well, to keep them company. The past couple of days I've been finishing off sorting out my wardrobe.......... I think I should have tied a safety line on today though, as I seemed to have lost most of the morning in there. LOL It was a voyage of discovery though, with regular cries of: Aaaahhhh, so that's where that went! and Oooooo, I'd forgotten I'd got that!

Result of all that: 6 handbags waiting to go to the charity shop and 7 pairs of shoes bagged and going into the charity collection box thing around the corner. Some of them were my Mum's that I knew I wouldn't use/wear but hung on to anyway - it's now time to let go - and some of the shoes were from my younger days....... in fact I took one look at the heels on one pair and not only wondered how on earth I didn't break my neck but also about my sanity at that time. ROFL The shoe boxes are in the red recycling bin, which is getting a bit full, but the space that ousting those generated meant I could rearrange the things on the shelves and accommodate some of the stuff that's been stacked in the bedroom. My half of the room is starting to look a lot less cluttered now.

Oh, and the pile of feral coathangers, generated when I ousted all the too big clothes, that mugged me every time I opened the wardrobe door are now nicely tamed and contained in a carrier bag, ready for use. Sorted! LOL

Many thanks to Nicola for clarifying: it was Michael Miles on a programme called Take Your Pick that the "Open the box!" catchphrase comes from. Wonder why Hughey Green came to mind? I didn't like watching him on TV at all. LOL

Right, those ornies are calling so I'd best listen and go work on them.

Many thanks for taking the time to stop by for a visit, it's greatly appreciated. Hope you've been having a good day too. :0)

Good Post

Still no stitchy pics to share with you yet but I did indulge in a little stash buying last week. It's my finishing stash that's benefited again, after two rather nice packages arrived on Thursday (so now you know why I'm spent up this month Helen. LOL). Thought you might like to see. :0)

The first package contained lots more lovely trims and buttons from Thread Bear which I ordered in an effort to further diversify the choices available for finishing. Being in two Challenges and a monthly Christmas ornie SAL means quite a few more smalls than usual are being produced so a much wider variety really is necessary........ as I told DH when he asked what I'd been buying. ;0)


The red ribbon at bottom left is what was used to tie the nicely wrapped package with and I firmly believe in recycling useful things like that. The picture doesn't really do those buttons justice but I didn't want to risk losing any by taking them out of the bag for the pic. Most are Mother of Pearl, some are coconut, but they are all absolutely gorgeous! Everything must have made an impression at Thread Bear because there was a little note inside from Steph that read: Oh what a pretty package! It definitely was. :0)

As usually happens when I go shopping there was something that kept insisting on leaping into my basket and just wouldn't take no for an answer:

All I can say in mitigation is that the chart was in the Clearance section. Who can resist a bargain, especially one as cute as him? Definitely not me!

The second package of the day was from Creative Fabrics, another online fabric shop I like to visit occasionally (have added the link to my side bar, just in case anyone else feels the need to indulge in a little retail therapy at any time). I just happened to call by when they had a special on: a voucher code for an extra 15% off the total. There were also quite a few fabrics in the Clearance section, so I made sure to check those out first. Here's what was in the package:

Looking at that I seem to have a mainly Christmas thing going on. LOL I loved that batty fabric on sight. The pink fabric with the swirl seemed ideal to back some ornies I intend to make for Stitching for a Cure. Again these have nicely diversified my fabric stash...... and with that extra 15% off some of them actually ended up as freebies.

We had the visit to the Kitchen showroom on Friday but it ended up slightly frustrating: the lady we spoke to last time, the actual designer, was off and isn't back until Tuesday....... so we didn't get chance to talk through the plan of the kitchen, although we did come away with a few more ideas of what we would like to fit in there and what style of cupboard finishing we could all happily live with, so it wasn't a total waste. Afterwards we had a quick visit into town, so I could stock up on some bits from the Health Food shop - good job we weren't bothered about going elsewhere as it was heaving with people. Our town centre appears to be having a bit of a Renaissance lately, despite the fact that it's all open to the elements and doesn't have as wide a choice as other nearby towns......... it's good to see it, actually. :0)

When we'd done in town we opted to go to Uncle Henry's for dinner - good choice, as it was nowhere near as busy as town had been. It's always a lovely meal there - everything is locally grown/sourced and prepared/cooked/baked in their kitchen, as well as also generally being available in their shop. We did some shopping afterwards and discovered that they'd extended the shop premises, so they are starting to stock even more produce...... we came away with a bag full again. Home after to find we'd missed the delivery guy bringing our organic veg box. Luckily he'd realised he could leave the box under the front of The Tank, so it was out of the rain and couldn't be seen from the road. :0)

Later on I started doing some cardmaking - inspiration was still sadly lacking, so I was cheating by using one of the Let's Make Cards! packs I've got. These are really good for breaking that horrible mental block on inspiration: the magazine has lots of nice projects inside, many of which can be made using goodies from the pack that's included...... all that's needed are the tools and extra sticky tape etc. I then did a little stitching on the Monthly Challenge piece in the evening.

Today I'm on my own, as DS has "borrowed" DH to help him board out some of the loft at the LTC Guild Room, so I've carried on with the cardmaking rather than venture out into the rain. Using the pack is helping as the card count now stands at nine and I'm slowly starting to adapt projects, rather then directly copy them from the magazine. Yay! I shall take and post some pics to share another time as the light is now too poor for doing them.

So that's been our Easter weekend so far. :0)

Thank you for visiting and the lovely comments. Hope you are all having a lovely Easter weekend. :0)

Still Around

Thank you for all the well wishes - you're all very kind and they're much appreciated. :0) I'm still a bit out of sorts with myself, having good days and bad, so I guess I've hit that bridge the Herbalist warned me I would need to cross with the treatment I'm on. Unfortunately I didn't realise at the time that she meant it would be a flippin' humpty backed bridge with a great hump in the middle to climb over! LOL I enjoy the good days and take it easy on the not so good ones - I've been here already, before the treatment started, so I know the drill. ;0) It'll all be so worth it in the long run! :0)

Saturday was one of my good days, so DH and I had a trip into Ashby to get some more herbal teas from the Clinic (unfortunately Jan wasn't available for a chat, so it'll have to keep until I see her for my next consult, at the end of the month) and also pick up a few bits and pieces we needed from a couple of other places. Here are some of the bits I got whilst in the LNS:

Lots of goodies for trimming finishes. Afterwards we popped home for the car and had a trip out to Brigg so I could stock up on a few things from the Health Food Shop there. We were both tired after this so we decided to have a quiet Sunday at home so DH could get a couple of small jobs done.

Monday and the two menfolk were back at work. I was having a really good day and whizzed round and got all the usual house jobs done. Unfortunately Alex couldn't call in for her usual natter as she'd been sent home from work - she's got one of the lergies that's going the rounds at the moment. If you're reading this: hope you feel much better soon Alex. :0)

Tuesday was an off day for me but it started off well, despite this, as the stash I ordered from Cotton Patch arrived first thing. Here's a pic:


The main fabrics are fat eighths (I think) and are from the same Leafy Glade collection I backed the Celtic blackwork Challenge piece with - though these are the Spring range of colours. The other three are fat quarters from another range of fabric that I rather liked, along with the pinking shears. More Prairie Schooler style finishes will be on the cards now I have those little beauties! LOL As I was taking it easy I sat and watched Dawn Bibby on QVC whilst stitching - none of the goodies appealed but saw lots of inspiration from the finished cards, got a reasonable amount of stitching done and recharged my batteries enough to make our evening meal (peppered mackerel, brown rice and roast veggies medley: butternut squash, celeriac, red onion, garlic cloves and beetroot, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with dill seeds).

Although there's a dearth of stitching pics to show the stitching has been going OK - I just can't show you anything yet. The stitching on the JA/S&S Challenge piece is completed, there's just the finishing do do whenever the right mood takes me. The piece for the Challenge For A Finish Blog has been started and is about half done but I do like to set myself a real challenge at times: both Challenge pieces are 1 over 1 on 32ct. Eye strain here I come! LOL The problem was that, although I have lots more 28ct fabric than 32ct, I didn't have the colours I wanted in the 28ct and didn't want to go and buy more, as I really do need to start using more of what I already have in my stash. (That's the theory, anyway! LOL).

I got so busy on the CFAF stitching I totally forgot about it being Tuesday UFO Night last night until it was too late. Doh! Sorry Julie and Mr Stick! Will see how my eyes are later - may just give them a bit of a rest tonight by switching to Night Watchman and do that UFO stitching a day late. I did a little more on the ornie for the JA/S&S Christmas Ornie Challenge over the weekend too but won't do any more on that until the CFAF piece is completed. Then that finishing mood needs to kick in real fast, as that will be three items to do......... four, if the ornie I stitched before Christmas is included.

It will be nice to finish Night Watchman as that will mean I can have a new start. This year I've had to have a re-think on how many projects, especially BAP's, I have on the go at the same time. I'm taking part in three Challenges per month now - more than I normally take on - so I can achieve some regular smalls finishes (potential gifts, as well as having more ornies for my Yule tree to display by the end of this year). To keep up with the deadlines for these that means less time to spend on larger projects. I currently have Night Watchman, Sea Stars and Mother Earth on the go: NW is for Tuesday UFO Nights; Sea Stars for Thursday SAL Nights; Mother Earth is an as-and-when/occasional UFO Night project and there are a few more UFO's that need to become finishes too (two just need beads adding). There's also an urgent need to stitch a piece for our Silver Wedding, as that is in July (that design is chosen already!).

Stitching is something I want to continue to enjoy, so it's now become a case of not taking on or starting anything else or the pressure will start to build and spoil the enjoyment. SO: after making a start on the Anniversary piece I've decided that there will be no more larger starts for me until there's a finish. Hopefully that will not only mean that the enjoyment remains but that it gives me another little incentive to really get on with the ongoing projects, as now one finish = one new start, and those can be BAP's or small pieces from the NAY basket. Fingers crossed it works OK! :0)

Many thanks for visiting. Hope you are all well and keeping warm during the current bad weather. :0)

Belly Dancing Time

Yup, the Egyptian Belly Dancing CD's had another outing yesterday for another Happy Dance. LOL

Here is Queen Cleopatra, in all her unwashed and unpressed glory, thanks to me being too excited to wait before posting a pic to share:

As ever, the scan makes the colours look a little washed out - they are more vivid IRL and so typical of Ancient Egyptian colours. I enjoyed stitching her and am now trying to decide if I now fancy starting one of the sister kits to go with this. No, not another Egyptian one: there's a Venetian and a Moorish woman to go with. I thought there was a fourth as well but I must have imagined it, as I couldn't find it when I looked (sheesh - yet another brain fart moment!).

Then again I may opt for something completely different. I've been eyeing the LHN chart Always and Forever as a potential start. I've got some R&R 30ct fabric in Goldfinch to stitch it on but am dithering over a thread colour, as I don't have the recommended one (Belle Soie in Mer Blue). It doesn't necessarily have to be blue so, folks, to help get my imagination going with this: what thread/s and colour/s do you suggest?

I had a stash package with a difference arrive this week, with no threads, no charts and not a single evenweave or linen in sight. What kind of stash do you call that? Patchwork and quilting stash or, to be more precise, fabrics and wadding samples that I bought from an online patchwork and quilting shop called Cotton Patch:

Aren't they lovely? No, I'm not taking up yet another hobby (mighty tempting as it is, as I've always fancied taming the sewing machine and having a go at P & Q). These 9" x 11" cotton fabrics and the wadding were bought solely with the intention of using them to make up cross stitched ornies of varying kinds. I enjoyed the browse through all the fabrics on the site and will most probably go back there again at some point....... there were lots more lovely fabrics that were mighty tempting. :0)

Tonight I shall be phoning my DSis, partly to check if she's got over her trauma (LMAO) but mainly to see how her day of babysitting our nephew Fin went yesterday - his teachers were on strike and DBro and SIL were working, so DSis stepped in to help out as it was her day off. She was well prepared for it: DBro was leaving Fin's booster seat, in case they decided they wanted a trip out in the car, and she'd also bought a packet mix to make some choc chip muffins and a badge making kit. Nice - brings back memories of when my DS was little! :0) I did ask if I could go for a play too but she wasn't having it and reckoned I'd probably eat most of the choc chip muffins. Huh! Right cheek, I told her - I'd probably have to fight her off first so I could get a look-in! LOL

Other plans for tonight? Well DS will be at the theatre again, as he managed to get roped in to helping out with a dance schools production of Mouline Rouge all this week, and DH will be out on a works male bonding night out in town (an excuse to go for an ale or three, as he'll not be driving)........ so I shall be in sole charge of the TV remote and have a selection of stitching projects that need some attention. Night Watchman is feeling neglected, as I haven't had him out of my work bag for ages and the same with Mother Earth; then Memories is waiting for me to get round to stitching the final part, as is For Amanda, and there's the thought of a new start beckoning. Guess I'll wait until after I've had tea and seen the two fellas off and then see what mood takes me. :0)

Weekend plans haven't been decided on yet. My DSis is working, so we'll not be going to hers, so I guess it all depends on what the weather is doing...... if the last couple of days are anything to go by, then it'll be more rain showers. Still, there are enough DIY jobs to do in the house to keep DH going for a very looooooooong time. LOL

Julie: if I suggested that DH would still be running next week - and not because of the beetle! LMAO ;0)

Well, that's it for today. Hope you are all having a good day and have a fun weekend planned. Enjoy! :0)

Almost.....

ready for that Happy Dance, as I got a band of metallic backstitching completed on ET last night. It's the blue and red band above and below her ear, if you can't tell (I can't and I know it's there - not a very good scan): When I'd done it I double-checked the chart and there's one more lot of backstitch left to do, on the vultures back end and tail - it cheered me up no end when I realised that bit is in good old DMC cotton and not the lousy metallic thread! It'll have to wait until next UFO Night though, as the next part of Memories is waiting to be done and I received the next Ozark SAL pack this morning....... plus I've yet to start the Caron Keeper for the Monthly Challenge. That's certainly enough to keep me busy and out of mischief for a while. ;0)

The Ozark SAL pack was a lovely one to open again as the threads are gorgeous - definitely a lot of my colours in this piece. I won't say what they are or what the next bit of the design is because I don't want to spoil anything for those who may not have received their packs yet. For those who aren't taking part: sorry, you'll have to wait and see - I'll post an update pic when it's done. LOL

Here are the pics of the fabric, from Creative Fabrics, that I mentioned in a previous post: Neutrals, and not so neutrals, for finishing stitched items or lining tins or making needlecases or whatever. :0)
This is sort of an "events" mix: Halloween; St Patrick's Day shamrock; Valentine's hearts; Bonfire Night star burst; Christmas rag dollies; Easter and Autumn buttons, with a sewing notions fabbie because I liked it and it'll come in for something at some point. :0) I think most eventualities are covered with that little lot.

Not sure what to stitch tonight but there's plenty of choice to go at - maybe I should toss a coin! LOL

Many thanks for all the kind comments: it's good to be able share all my crafts with you, as no one here shares the same interests, apart from my DSis (for papercrafts) and she doesn't live in the same town. :0( I still haven't had that promised catch-up with blogs yet - had to take pain killers again today, so have been limiting time spent sat in the computer chair - but hope to in the next few days, to find out what you've all been getting up to. LOL

Mylene: you do extremely well with your English and it's always a pleasure to read your blog. I'm envious of your ability to speak more languages than I ever could - all I manage is English and a very little French I learnt at school (many moons ago!). :0)

Thank you again to all for visiting - hope you're all having a good week, despite the return to miserable weather. :0)