143 Woyww?

Well it is really what’s sitting around not on my desk

Last week was up side down … and back to front… thanks to Kris bringing a tummy bug back to us from nursery. He was the worst, then, while he was still ill Vicki came down with it …I just felt icky but Robbie and Jay seemed to have missed it …not so …Jay was the next victim and Robbie was more like me …tired and not quite right. Oh boy was there a lot of washing.

Crafting sort of went by the wayside in my desk area, although while still waiting for the wool to arrive in order to finish my ‘Jo’ style scarf, I started the back of a simple jumper … also tried to remember needle point stitches.

I did a tiny bit on the drawers but there seems there is more finishing off than creating, on a project like that. I have no idea when I shall get it finished lol.

I know I seem to have too many creative things going on …and nothing is getting finished …well the reason for the knitting …and the stitching …is to keep my hands busy when chilling by the TV. I thought it might stop my hands reaching for yummy nibbles.

I am slowly preparing my head to be in the right place to eat healthily …forever … I have even started a blog which is really a sort of diary of how I am going to attack the whole thing…peppered with ideas and recipes and tips I acquire through out the journey. I am calling it ‘A Dieters Head Space’ and will link next week …when I have got someone here to remind me how lol. …just in case anyone wants to read it or join my journey.

Last but not least …what is it about laundry and cats? …this washing had only just been hung up to dry…. and he knew he shouldn’t be there…lol.

Take Care xx

Those you meet on the beach

It’s past the middle of February and this was the first visit to the beach for a while.

It has been so dreary, cold and windy recently and my back has stopped me leaving the house but on Thursday there was an unexpected glimmer of late winter sun. Wanting not to waste it, we all headed beach ward. …me dosed up with pain killers and a positive mind set …and camera in hand bag.

Kristofer, who feels the cold, didn’t seem to notice …and Robbie found the huge rocks made a perfect castle on which to be king.

When you have kids with you, people tend to talk and if they have dogs they let the boys pet them.

I had already caught this chap in this photo but now he had he stopped for the boys. They were three beautiful greyhounds but the two on the leads were so scared of everything and especially the boys. We apologised and said we didn’t want to upset the dogs and maybe he should go but thank you for stopping.

He said the boys should just stroke the other one, as he had not been mistreated …just lost his tail. We looked a little shocked and he then told us that he rescued and then re-homed abused and abandoned grey hounds. Both had been starved and abused to badly that there was a fear they would not survive. They were now beautiful healthy animals but unfortunately the two on the leads would never be able to be re-homed. He thankfully has chosen to keep all three, as they had built up a trust with him and each other and at home, when no one is around, they are happy seemingly normal dogs. …a lovely ending to what could have been a tragedy.

Have a great weekend …hope the weather is not too bad for you.

Take Care xx.

WOYWW 141 …A Week For Saying Thank You

Another week has sped past at the speed of light …but I have to say firstly …

THANK YOU

Thank you for visiting …it was a record number for me, last week …thank you for all your support over my health …comforting to know you care …and thank you for the encouragement over my drawer ‘make over’…its coming along … slow but sure.

The appointment at the hospital went very well although I some times wonder why they bother with appointment times. They did two tests and I then saw the Consultant…and my heart is apparently fine …in fact he was wondering what my doctor thought she saw on her ECG and felt, when she took my pulse …all that worry for nothing really…. could have done without the stress. I do have to loose weight (so hard for me …head has to be in the right place…and its not) and use cholesterol-reducing tablets to reduce the risk of strokes or heart attacks in the future though …yet more tablets…yuk. … so now all I need to do is sort my back out….which might be better with less weight bearing down on it don’t you think lol.

As I said, my project is coming along slowly … but I’m getting there. I have decided simple is best as some of you out there suggested. Here are a couple of sneak peeks of the WIP… my desk is still knee deep in drawers, glue and papers so no change there lol.

Simple strips of paper here …decorated with a MS edge punch …and stuck on using the decoupage method.

Playing with a chipboard lock and a stamp (terrible photo) …still working on this but trying to keep it simple

My scarf /shawl is growing …another WIP … waiting for some more yarn to arrive so I can finish it …the box is a Bargain Homes buy …from thoughtful DD … for keeping the cats away from my knitting …I even knit with the ball inside …and its light too if you want to move it around.

Not sure I will know when its big enough though …hard to tell without winding it around my neck, which seems impossible while its on needles …maybe I should have used circular ones!! …”JO” …”HELP”....pleeeeease

The GS’s made it over on Saturday…brought me flowers and some of their paintings … and we had a really lovely day…it seemed too soon that they were on their way home.

Olly really doesn’t want to talk …probably because he has two brothers who can talk for him … and hates to stand still or be held for more than a second …except by his mum … but on Saturday he actually said his first word … ‘GO’....and I was there.

Ben and Jake were running races … I said … 1 ..2..3.. Go … blew a whistle and off they sped …we heard Olly repeating GO, so I thought I would test it out. I blew the whistle and he added ‘Go’ …I then counted 1,2,3 and he grinned and said ‘Go’ …so I think he’s got it... and he received several rounds of applause for the effort lol

It is strange which first word they say… Ben’s was Cat and Jake’s was Ball.Here are some of the photos I took …A Nanas privilege to show her GS’s off lol

BEN

JAKE

OLLY

Last thing …do you ever have the need for a book which you can dip into while drinking a coffee alone in a café …or sitting at a bus station …you know the times I mean …you don’t need to go back to it and read more ... until you want to …well I recommend this one

Each simple everyday story is recounted over 1 or 2 pages …and they make you smile too. Blog friend Arkansas Patti on ‘The New Sixty’ recommended it to me …thank you Patti.In case anyone wonders …the quilt under it is another QVC purchase of the past …I have five different ones and they wash so well....that one has been in use for the past nine years.

If you got this far, thanks for sticking with it … you deserve a medal…and a big THANK YOU for bothering. … sorry this was a very long one.

Take Care xx

Wk 140 …WOYWW ? …I have something crying ..no… screaming for a Makeover.

Firstly I want to say …where is all the snow? All we have here is thick frost that lingers all day …Brrrrrrr ... or is it Grrrrrr. We even had sun to day (Tues) …and the frost clung to the pavements all day.

This photo is a little bit of a cheat … in fact this was taken a few days ago. This IS what’s on my desk at the moment BUT it is gradually changing.

It is a very old Ikea set of drawers circa 2001 …back then the transformation started fine and then it went wrong when I used the stencils and I was not a happy bunny …so annoyed with myself was I, that it was then relegated to ‘bottom of a cupboard’ storage for the next 10 years. …but its out in the light again …demanding a make over.

I first cleaned and lightly sanded it …and it looked a lot better …in fact I was wondering whether to leave my old paint effect exterior and just attack the drawer fronts. So would I use vintage colours, which tone with the paint ???…OR … would I go completely all grey, black and creamy tones, covering all the old paint and having it match the room?? … I mused over this …even asked DD and took her thoughts on board …and went away for a large cup of coffee.

I then returned and attacked it with paint…here is a sneak peek …

Having felt this was a success, I started on a drawer with one of my ideas for the fronts…decoupage using snips of script card stock …however … a success this was NOT…. here is a peek of the mess I made …

And so I have now removed it all and will start again in a couple of days…this time I will not let an error put me off and this is NOT going to be thrown in the bottom of a cupboard again for another 10 years…watch this space …lol

To chill out after the disaster, I have started one of Jo’s at JoZarts knitted triangular scarves …it’s a practice run … wrong yarn but when I feel the urge to start something I have to improvise lol …but it gives me the idea …if its too small I’m sure the little girl next door will love it …once I have finished it

I had an amazing number of visitors last week and I am sure I visited you all eventually plus a few more from the list...sorry I didn't get to you all …the list is so long now. Again many thanks for taking the time to leave a comment …I love reading them all.

I am not looking forwards to next week, as it’s my Cardio appointment at the hospital. My back keeps tightening so that its hard to walk/stand for more than ten or so minutes without needing to sit down ...not sure why ... so I hope its easy to find the right place. I am however really looking forward to Saturday so much, as Steve, Emma and the boys are coming over …weather and colds permitting.

Take Care xx