Porthcawl!

OH hurt his back last weekend and wanted to go somewhere he could walk around to prevent stiffing up.  He decided on Porthcawl; a seaside town close to where he grew up.  We picked up DD on the way, as she was at a loose end, and as we travelled and chatted OH took a scenic route that took us past where he lived as a child, went to school and played.

The beach at Porthcawl where the tide goes way out.

  It got us thinking and talking about family; who was related to whom etc. and we explained to DD the tenuous connection OH and I have to each other, by marriages in the family, through my aunt and his mother, which is so convoluted even I have trouble explaining it!  In order to explain, we each started at our own family and somehow met in the middle!


An interesting new addition since last time we were there - not sure if we like it or not!

  OH and I also have a connection relating to his work on a private country estate.  He and his father both worked on this estate and I have a great-great-somebody-or-other who was an ostler on this same estate generations ago.



Looking along the promenade one way

 It's surprising the connections you can find with people if you get chatting (even complete strangers). Our ladies group recently had a speaker who'd been to Africa with a charity operating on children with cleft palates. When his trip was over, he took an extended break in Egypt (I think) and got talking to some people there.  It turned out they were neighbours of one of the people he'd just been in Africa with!! 

Looking along the promenade the other way

There must be thousands of stories like this because we're not as disparate as we might think.  And the further back in history you go, the more likely you are to be descended from a prominent figure, since there were fewer people around then. 

Out of season for the fair (not sorry though)!

I tried to think of more examples of connections but having a terrible memory they'll probably come to me next week when I'm thinking about something else! 

Stitching progress since last time:

Knittted cardigan - First sleeve finished, second sleeve half knitted.
Other projects - thought about them every day!!
New projects - thought about them every day!!!!!!
(this is getting embarrassing  - showing my progress every post was supposed to motivate me!)

Bye for now
Teresa x
 

Eavesdropping in on Dorset!

Do you like to eavesdrop?  I do!  I don't mean the glass-against-the-wall or ear-to the-keyhole type.  Just catching snippets of conversation, when you can't help it, from passing groups of people or while sitting in a restaurant.



Hooke Farm B&B

Here are a few snatches of conversation I heard while away in Dorset last weekend:

Father to young daughter who expressed a desire to have one of the fish she could see in the water 5 feet down over the harbour wall: "Well jump in and get one then". (Joking - I think!)

Mother to late-teenaged daughter passing the bench where we were sitting eating icecream: "Just so as you know, if you get a tattoo you'll have to move out!" (Serious!)

Husband to wife at next table one lunchtime: "I only asked what you're doing next Thursday and you just wittered on!"
(How rude!!)

Inevitably, writing this got me thinking about the origin of the word 'eavesdroping' (my daughter tells me I think too much) so I looked it up and according to Wikipidia - "Eavesdrop also means a small low visibility hole near the entrance to a building (generally under the eaves) which would allow the occupants to listen in on the conversation of people awaiting admission to the house. Typically this would allow the occupant to be prepared for unfriendly visitors".

Quaint side street in Beaminster

Hooke Farm B&B where we stayed for the 3 nights was what we'd call 'in the middle of nowhere'.  It was very peaceful and quiet at night, the only sounds being the creaking of the old house and at 4.30 am, one morning only thank goodness, a distant cockerel crowing.  One difference from other B&Bs we've stayed in is that the guests sit together at one long refectory-like table at breakfast.  A good idea I think as, inevitably, we soon chatted with the 2 couples we met and useful tips about places to visit and/or eat were passed on.



The Giant

 My photos look overcast but it was in fact quite warm and humid. This is the best photo I was able to get of  The Giant of Cerne Abbas (probably for the best though!!)

Jurrassic Coast

This amazing cliff was the view from the end of the harbour wall at West Bay (I think - we went to so many places) 

One of many noisy, scavanging seagulls

We watched the seagulls in action from a bench overlooking the beach.  They mostly just glided around at our level but occasionally homed in on little fishing boats returning to the jetty or benches as people moved from them (presumably to see what goodies they'd left).   

Taking in the view from a bench (one of us was snoozing!).  My legs didn't reach the wall!

It was a good break with plenty of good food and relaxing strolls.  Looking forward now to a camping weekend in August and a few days in Guernsey in September!!

Bye for now
Teresa x

"It All Dovetails......" (As Mrs Jerebohm said in The Darling Buds of May)

Buying magazines is one of my little luxuries but being aware of adding to the general junk on the planet, I normally try to stick to 2 copies a month. This month, however, I've been naughty and the lure of all the new magazines catering to the handmade market has been too great.   

 I recently cancelled my subscription to Zest (because I wasn't interested enough to read the last issue before the next one arrived!) to replace it with Popular Patchwork and I ususally buy Country Living because I love looking at the beautiful pictures of country homes and reading about the lifestyles. But I also succumbed to the temptation of Craft Seller and Handmade Living. 

 I was most looking forward to reading Craft Seller, thinking it would give me a lot of advise, help and 'oomph' to get going with selling my own work, but it didn't tell me much that I didn't know already. I much prefered Handmade Living with it's 'makeable' projects and blogger profiles.

 The 'dovetailing' involves the pile of CL and Zest magazines I recently offered on Freecycle. There were 3 interested parties and, unbelievably, 2 of them were also called Teresa!! OH randomly picked one and it turned out to be a Teresa, who lived at the end of our road and I didn't know!! Well she called to pick up the mags and promised to Freecycle them on while I promised to pass on my magazines to her in the future. A satisfying deal all round!!

Watering cans hanging from the garden room ceiling

The photos are from the garden at the back of my hairdresser's salon that is going to be part of an Open Gardens weekend next week.  Can you tell the theme is Yellow?

Another 'dovetailing' story coming soon concerning a local craft centre, a handmade box and my quilting group.

Bye for now
Teresa x

Royal Blue!

I haven't time for many words today so I'll let the pictures to the talking.  I'm also sorry I haven't had time to catch up with your blogs on my Reader lately.  My siblings and I have been busy arranging a surprise party, which is taking place this weekend, that has taken up quite a lot of time.

I was determined to get to the bluebell wood this year before the ferns grew up and swamped the flowers, so OH and I popped along one day after he finished work, while I was still on holiday. It's the same wood as in the photo of my children, taken about 20 years ago, in this old post.



Entrance to the Bluebell Wood a few miles from home



Mounds (that are thought to be the remains of an old fort) covered with bluebells




Close-up detail of the wild bluebells



A last look on the way out



Royal Wedding celebration desserts :-)

You can never have too much dessert!!



Royal Wedding party at a friend's house before all the guests had arrived.  It was overcast and threatening rain but not too cold to sit outside.

Next time I'll have news on the surprise party and hopefully a bit it stitching.
Bye for now
Teresa x

Trails and Tags!

  Last Christmas I had calendars made for gifts that featured some family photos.  This is October's and I smile every time I walk into the kitchen and see it on the wall.  It's my DD and DS dressed up for a Halloween party.  They took this themselves before leaving home for the party and I love that they were having a laugh together.

 The extremely organised Ali of Very Berry Handmade has tagged me this month.  I've not seen so much tagging going on in blogworld as there used to be but it's a nice idea to occasionally do to get to know eachother better through asking questions (not too personal) about subjects that may not normally come up in a post.

The idea is quite simply to answer 8 questions and then make up 8 new questions to ask another 8 bloggers.  I'll say now that I won't be tagging anyone because I hate having to choose but consider yourself tagged and feel free to take part if you like the idea.

Here are my answers to the questions I received:

1. What do you enjoy about blogging?

The most enjoyable thing for me is the interactions and friendships that have developed with bloggers, many of who include crafting as a very important part of their lives. I also enjoy getting inspiration from other crafty bloggers that encourages me to think more often ‘outside the box’.

2. What's your ideal holiday?

My ideal holiday would combine a few different elements – nice, warm weather (not too hot), a bit of relaxing and pampering, a little outdoor exercise such as walking and a couple of days on a course with new people sharing a love of singing or stitching of some kind.

3. What is your favourite comfort food?

I’m struggling with this question! I like most foods and nothing came to mind immediately, so I ran through a couple of the usual suspects in my head (chocolate, chips, bread, pizza) and none stimulated feelings of comfort. The only candidate really is the large, hot, satisfying cups of coffee that I have at the local hotel when out with friends but I suspect the ‘being with friends bit’ contributes to that!

4. What is your proudest achievement and why?

Definitely my children!! They’ve both grown up to be considerate, hard-working and thoughtful adults (never mind the fact that one of them weighed 5kg at birth!!)

5. What do you lose sleep over?

My crafting is the thing I mostly lose sleep over funnily enough. It’s not that I worry about it but I have ideas battling for space at the forefront of my mind. Sometimes I go through the virtual process of making a project to the end!

6. What's your favourite way to relax?

This is getting repetitive but if I want to be honest here then it’s once again the crafting. OH doesn’t’ understand that when I’ve finished chores for the day, I get out the craftwork and don’t sit and ‘relax’ as he sees it, maybe in front of the TV or with a book. It’s scientifically proven that crafting, of any kind, lowers blood pressure – if that’s not relaxing I don’t know what is!

7. What's your favourite film?

I love many films but especially those about the relationships between women, such as How to Make an American Quilt and Steel Magnolias but my favourite film so far has to be The Last of the Mohicans. It’s got everthing? Scenery, action, a love story, Daniel Day-Lewis and the thing that makes it – the music!!!!!

8. Where's your favourite place to shop online?

It depends on what I’m looking for but sites that come to mind are ebay, The Natural Collection and Green Metropolis when looking for books.

Here are my 8 questions for you if you feel like taking part:-

1 How did you come to start blogging?

2 What is your favourite meal to eat?

3 What item have you made with your own fair hands that you are most proud of (crafted, cooked, built etc)?

4 What was your favourite TV programme as a child.?

5 What would you do if you had a whole day with no commitments?

7 What is your favourite item of clothing or jewellery?

8 What is the most daring thing you have done?

To finish up, here are the credits for the photo 'trails'. 
The lovely sky picture with aeroplane trails is the view as I come off the carriageway on the way home from work and am almost home.  I took this last week while parked on the slip-road in a very precarious position but I couldn't resist it!

The stitch trail is my attempt at stipple hand-quilting.  I'm not sure if I like it yet but I'll do a bit more before I decide.

Bye for now
Teresa x

Am I Left or Right?

I don’t mean politically, I mean ‘handed’. I say I’m left-handed and people see me writing and say, “ I didn’t know you were left-handed!” But am I really!!!!

There are lots of activities I do with my right hand; using a knife for chopping, slicing etc, using scissors, using a knife and fork, knitting, crocheting, playing tennis, darts or bowling, waving and many others. However, there are some that I can only do comfortably left-handedly such as writing, using a spoon, knife sharpening, golf, cricket, pining of fabric and hand sewing. Then there are the occasional activities I could do almost as comfortably with either hand, like beating a cake mix or cleaning windows. This doesn’t mean I’m ambidextrous since that means having the ability to use either had with equal ease in all cases but I would say I use my right hand much more than my left. Is it only writing that is counted when defining a persons ‘handedness’?

The left-handed activity that causes me the most problems is pining of fabric. If I pin seams with my left hand, the pins are facing in the wrong direction for machine sewing. I’ve tried pining the opposite way but it feels awkward and is not very accurate. I put the pins in horizontally quite often but that’s not always possible.

Apparently, the left side of the brain controls the right side of the body and vice verse. My DS is more left-handed than me and has a t-shirt with the slogan “only left-handed people are in their right mind”! Which side of my brain is in control, I’d like to know!!
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I've joined a quilting bee!!!  I'm so exited to be involved with this.  It's the first one I've been asked to join that I feel I have the time to actually take part in.  It's organised by Bellsjo and is called the Tag Square Bee. I'll keep you posted on my progress.

Bye for now
Teresa x

P.S.  My DD has informed me that the rabbit I identified as a 'Dutch' in my post about Usk Show is in fact a 'Rex'!!  I thought I'd remembered one breed but even that was wrong :-(

Random Ramblings!

The new Blogger in Draft has some useful additions (especially for someone as Blogologically challenged as me).  The more realistic looking preview is nice but what I like most are the new photo uploading method and the easily accessible Stats.  The photos are now attached in the order in which I load them and I can see a little preview to make sure they're the ones I want.  On the Stats page I saw recently that someone had searched for 'how-to-find-time-to-stitch' and ended up on my blog.  How disappointed they must have been. They won't have found much help with that here!!  In fact, I think I might do a search on that myself :-)

 Look at what I found in the kitchen at work with a note attached saying 'Free to a Good Home'!! 

 This is where I spent part of my evening yesterday (well, half an hour of it anyway).  It's what our friends jokingly refer to as our 'gym' - in the same way as they call my shed the 'studio'.  My OH bought this treadmill recently and, as we were waiting for delivery, he painted the walls and floor of our outside yard to accommodate it (there's a roof too so it's not completely open to the elements, but it's going to be a tad chilly in the winter).  I think the old lockers he brought home and painted add an authentic touch - they're not there to store our gym gear though.  Oh no.....they're for storing recycling and home made preserves but don't tell anyone, it spoils the illusion!!

I've done a little stitching (or preparation for it) in one way or another every evening this week but I've not got anything interesting enough to show for it.  I don't want to be one of those bloggers that takes a picture of every square I cut out or every row I knit until you're almost fed up with the finished item before you see it.

Bye for now
Teresa x

"A Very Merry Unbirthday to Me"?

First, I want to say what a fantastic show we saw on Monday.  Les Miserables is an amazing feat for all the performers and backstage crew.  Everything about it was stunning from the singing and acting to the many, many scene changes (so smoothly done) to the costumes and music. We thoroughly enjoyed it and would happily watch it over again (if it didn't cost so much!) as many people do.

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Now, to the subject for today. As I sat at my desk in work the other day, my boss came in carrying a big white box containing an enormous white chocolate cheesecake and a bithday card.  Now, before anyone starts sending me birthday wishes - IT WAS NOT MY BIRTHDAY!

 Let me explain. If people know about a birthday in our office they will, at least, buy a card and all sign it.
There was a birthday in the office recently (and a Cheesecake Fornight where we had a cheesecake everyday for two weeks - but that's another story).  Anyway, the recent birthday got people wondering when mine was and they realised they's missed it (it was in March!) and decided to make up for it!!!
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A few things then fell into place. Like a colleague asking me, at the time of the other birthday, when mine was (and me smugly answering that they'd missed it) and another time asking me which was my favourite of all the cheesecakes we'd had during our recent cheesecake fortnight (don't ask!). I actually said the damson and white choc was my favourite but the lady who makes the cheesecakes had no damsons left and used raspberries instead.  She even sent in one of the damsons from her tree to prove they were not ready yet this year.   I put an earring next to it to show how tiny it was. 

 Here's my slice.  I expect you're wondering how I managed to hold off from eating it to take a pic.  Well, it wasn't easy, but I managed it!

"You don't have to be mad to work here but it helps.!!"

Bye for now

Teresa x

Have a Bit of Sense!

Welcome to A Time for Stitching (just to reassure you that you haven't come to the wrong blog)!  The previous template wouldn't let me alter any colours or styles so I've changed to a new one that does.  I love the orange as it's my favourite colour but I hope it isn't too hard on your eyes!! And the layout is a little wider so the content doesn't look so cramped.
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Here's some more orange in the form of my little muffin book.  Lis from Online Quilting asked me about the recipe for my Peanut Butter and Choc Chip Muffins. As it wasn't my recipe I couldn't oblige but here's where I got it from along with the recipe for the Beetroot Muffins in the picture (and all the others I've shown previously).

If you're a Jane Austin fan I would advise you not to read any further to avoid offense and must now introduce a disclaimer to say that the following is purely my personal opinion. I might be missing something or just not on the correct wavelength but this is how I see it.

After somehow managing to not become acquainted with Jane Austin (in print that is - I've seen P&P on TV) until my 47th year, I have recently read Sense and Sensibility.  Quite honestly, I found it disappointing and nearly gave up half way through even though it's not a very long book.

There wasn't much of a storyline and the continual references to the eligibility of certain characters (mostly in financial terms) became a bit wearing.  How unfortunate they were that they could afford only 2 servants!!?  Perhaps servants weren't human beings in those days - I can't imagine what squalor they had to live in (they were probably a lot happier than the characters in this book!).  Imagine a whole life filled with visiting, being visited and matchmaking - how shallow!  It's an interesting look into the way of life of the era but in it's day that wouldn't have been the attraction of the book.  I imagine that if the phrase 'chick lit' were around in the early 1800s this book would fall into that category (another disclaimer coming up - I'm not saying there's anything wrong with 'chick lit' just that I don't know what all the fuss is surrounding Jane Austin).
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Now I've got that off my chest I just have to sit back and wait for the backlash.  Next book is Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson.
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By the way, the other 2 photos are from the Flower Festival held in my church the first weekend we were away on holiday.  I managed to pop in for a quick look before we went but these are the only photos that were any good.  The flower-filled welly boots were provided by the local school children.
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And one last thing - A big welcome to new/recent followers. I hope you enjoy your stay and that I haven't offended you already because you're a stalwart JA fan!!
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Bye for now
Teresa x

Bubble Bees?!

I'm on a muffin roll at the moment. No, not the sort that hangs over the top of your jeans!! These are Peanut Butter and Choc Chip - Yum.......meee! I got all excited about how good they were looking half way through baking that I had to take a photo. Forgot to take another one after they were done and they're now in the freezer ready to take on holiday. Oh, and in case you're wondering - they are delicious!! I had to sample one of course to make sure they were ok.

My OH went into the garden the other day to tidy up and pulled this cardboard box of bubblewrap out of the shed. He discovered that a swarm of bees had decided to use it as a nest (as well as other creeping and scuttling things that had used it as a toilet)!

I risked life and limb to get a closer look.

Click on the photo to see more detail if you want to. It's quite amazing what bees can construct without architects, plans or building regs. You can't see any bees here but they were there believe me - and quite a few were buzzing around in the shed wondering where their home had disappeared to.

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(List Update

The list method is going well. Even though I restrict the number of items on it to 3, I think it's going to help me get more done in the long run.)

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Bye for now

Teresa x

Global Earth Hour!

I'm going to be turning off my electricity for 1 hour for Global Earth Hour on Saturday 27th March 2010 at 8.30pm (GMT) to demonstrate my concern regarding climate change. Is your country taking part? Are YOU taking part?

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(Hopefully, I'll be out and won't have to sit in the dark for an hour) Very sorry about that!! That is certainly not the attitude to take! I just hope I remember.

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Will be out earlier in the evening to sing with the Saturday Singers at the launch of a book about our village. We also have a rehearsal at 12 noon the same day followed by singing at, and partaking of, a Lenten Lunch at the Baptist Chapel.
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This Saturday Singers group could get out of hand!! I'm thinking of having a break from Choir Practice after Easter; we break for the summer anyway and after Easter the next important festival (from the choir's point of veiw) will be Harvest in September. I feel I need a break from something. I've had a couple of niggly health issues over the last few months (a swimmy head, and dry skin patches) and think I would benefit from slowing down a little especially as it's time I started training for this years Race for Life and Big Black Mountains Challenge (both of which I've entered)!!! I think I just contradicted myself !!

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Bye for now

Teresa x

Lunchtime at the Office

This is the view I have for 5-6 hours out of every working day! Not very inspiring is it? I do quite a bit of dreaming at this desk about what I could be doing if were at home - then at 5.30pm I drive home and try to fit it all into a few hours (which is quite impossible!). I don't share the office any more (hence the empty chair opposite) but I don't mind that - people pop in and out during the day and I don't sit here continually. There's a friendly atmosphere here (most of the time) and I'm not under any undue pressure so it could be worse! It will also be sad when the contract finishes as I probably won't see many of my colleagues again (some of whom I've worked with for 10 years).

We have no canteen here, just a small kitchen to prepare drinks, wash-up or heat food so all my lunches are eaten at this desk (I know....I know - the 'experts' say there are more germs on an average office desk than a toilet seat!!). But I'm still here to tell the tale so it can't be that bad...... and they're only my germs (except for the time my boss's nose dripped onto it - Yeurck!). 99 times out of 100 my lunches are brought in from home (probably more like 999 out of 1000 when I think about it) but today I went into town and bought a salad from a lovely little deli as a treat. I was going to get one before Christmas but didn't get around to it. This is how I eat my lunch. In front of a book propped open with my stapler. It's a much-looked-forward-to time of the day and the only regular time I get for reading.

I've had salads from this deli before and they are always delicious with lots of different flavours and ingredients. As I was eating this one, I tasted something a little like mustard in one of the sauces, then suddenly, I knew what people mean when they say 'it blew the top of my head off'. A strong feeling (something similar to PAIN) shot from my mouth behind my nose and eyes and out through the top of my head!!! It only lasted a couple of seconds but I couldn't have endured it for much longer. What on earth was it?!!! I have never eaten anything before that did that to me! Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. I must remember to ask next time I visit the deli...........but as it may not be for another 6 months, I might forget by then.

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This weekend my OH is off to Cardiff to watch the rugby with some friends (not at the match but in a pub - apparently the atmosphere and excitement are increased with near proximity).

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(This is a temporary break in blog-mission to say I think I must be an idiot. I've just noticed a tab at the top of the screen saying Edit Pages. How come I didn't notice it during previous browsing sessions? Has it been there all the time? Only last week I added a list at the bottom of the blog to list books I read during 2010 when I really wanted to add a new page for it!!)

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Anyway - where was I. Oh yes...........I on the other hand, am going to Saturday Singers and a hair appointment on the weekend (chop it off?...........keep it long?...........chop it off?..........keep it long?..........Oh just a trim please). I also hope to get a bit of stitching done so I have something to show here (well not only to have something to show here - it's because I love, love, love to stitch!!)

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Bye for now

Teresa x

Lost My Appetite for Christmas

The boxes of decorations were brought down from the loft last weekend and, although they haven't been put up properly yet, I dug out a few things that didn't need any effort to display.
This little Nativity group was bought last year while in Cowbridge on one of my shopping/lunch/meet-ups with a friend. We went to a nice tapas bar for lunch if I remember correctly. I think I bought this little gold wire tree last year too but can't remember where from.
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I bought this painted, wooden hanging 'noel' a couple of weeks ago from here, and I've just realised it was also while shopping with the same friend! I think she may be a bad influence on me - making me buy things (although I don't need much encouragement!!).

When I say I've lost my appetite for Christmas, I don't mean I've gone off the Festive Season. Certainly not! What I mean is that at this time of year, around November/December, my appetite for food decreases. It's happened every year for about the last 10 years and I've no idea why. Normally, I can eat any time, anywhere although I do try to keep some control! Before this started happening I would never have thought I could have a rumbling tummy and not think of anything I fancied eating. At times like these I eat what I fancy, when I fancy it, because I can lose weight otherwise (which I don't want to do!). It also helps me to understand how slim people can truthfully say, 'I eat what I want and don't put on weight; it's because what they want to eat isn't the same as the rest of us. The first time it happened I lost a stone (but I was heavier at the time and needed to lose some weight) and it's varied between half a stone and a couple of pounds since then. There's no need to worry though because my appetite returns sometime in the New Year and remains 'normal' until the next Christmas season.

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Anyway, I feel perfectly fine in myself and not having to worry too much about putting on weight over the holiday period is a bonus!!
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Bye for now
Teresa x

How Can Two Days be So Different

(The berries on our Holly Tree)

(A flower in the warm morning sunshine covered in the night's rain)

(A Grasshopper that jumped off my washing as I gathered it in )

(The top of my auntie's Holly Tree with all it's red berries)

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My goodness!..........There couldn't have been more of a difference between 2 consecutive days than there was on the weekend. Saturday was warm and sunny right from the start with no hint of autumn apart from the colours of the trees. I had a lovely day out shopping and lunching with a friend and spent most of it in a t-shirt. We also popped into a new cafe in town mid-afternoon for hot chocolate and.....ahem, cakes. I don't normally have hot chocolate (or cake) but it sounded like such a treat I thought I'd indulge, but it was much too sweet when drunk with a big, choc and nut filled pastry. I really should have declined the cake altogether seeing as I had a Ball to go to that evening with a four course dinner!! It was just unfortunate they had both fallen on the same day. I coped manfully with the dinner in the evening but had to pass on the cheese and biscuits and couldn't face the after-dinner mints at all. Then to cap it all, I couldn't even burn the calories off as the music wasn't suitable for dancing.

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Sunday was (as they say in the merry old land of Oz) a horse of a different colour. The wind was as strong as I've seen it in a long time and made all the more dramatic by the leaves being blown horizontally past the windows. Combined with the rain it was very much staying-in-weather. I first noticed it before I got up, by a strange noise that I can only describe as.........ANNOYING!! I thought my OH was thumping away at some DIY project but, on getting up ready to 'have words', discovered it was the cowl on the chimney being spun round at such a speed we thought it was going to take off.
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I took advantage of the sun to take a few photos on Saturday (see top). If you click on them they should enlarge and they look quite nice, if I do say so myself. On Sunday I didn't bother getting the camera out!!

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Bye for now

Teresa x

Something's Gotta Give and Someone's Got a Great Giveaway!

Whilst having a blog-read earlier I read via sew create it about a fantastic Giveaway being run by Pumpkin Patch Primitive. The prize is very generous and the fabrics are lovely. I've entered a few giveaways in the past but not been lucky so far - fingers crossed for this one as I love the fabric colours (bright and bold are not usually my thing).

I would also like to have a giveaway myself sometime. It should be for a special occasion as others do, like a blogging anniversary or 100th post or something like that ( I think the anniverasary is likely to come before the 100th post at the rate I'm going! )

It seems to be the photo taking and uploading that delays my blogging so that's what I need to get more organised at. I'm hoping to get a little sewing and baking done this weekend so will show the results when I can. Will also be meeting up with a friend Saturday evening.

Over the last couple of days I made a big decision (for me). If our singing lessons continue, after the concert we will put on at Christmas, I am not going to continue with them (they were going to finish then anyway at one time but I'm not so sure now). I'm also going to give up being the leader of the local ladies group. In fact, I'm going to leave the committee altogether (after 20 years) and just be a regular member. I don't know when that will happen because we've just moved our AGM to the darker month of October (to keep the lighter months for more outdoor activities) but I don't intend to stay until then. I've only told my OH at the moment but I already feel quite relieved at the thought. I'd like to continue with the Community Choir if that takes off and I'm attending a meeting in a couple of weeks to discuss a Community Helpline that has floundered a little lately so something's gotta give!!

Sunny Saturday

As Saturday was such a lovely sunny day I had my camera close at hand for any opportunities that might arise.

It's surprising how long a spider's web will last if left undisturbed. They look so flimsy. This impressive specimen has been filling our window for a couple of weeks and I wondered how well it would photograph. Unfortuately Mr Spider was not in residence at the time.

I thought this random collection of items on a window-sill might make an unusual photo. It's just made up of odd items gathered on days out with the family. We've had some of them quite a while and while most of them are perfectly worthless I'm reluctant to throw them away. There are fossils and stones, coins and a Z shaped scrap of wood.

While I was outside later showing my father holiday photos on my camera we saw this hot air balloon fly over at quite a great height.............

..............followed not long after by this one.

The area where we live is quite popular for these flights to take off and land so we see them quite a lot. There have been more recently as the good weather conditions have been more suitable and I expect they have a back-log of bookings from the 'summer that never was'!

Back soon

Bye for now

Teresa x