The food has been put away and a length of curtain track installed in the kitchen, replacing the one that I broke. Oh dear, there was I cobbling together curtains out of other curtains one evening and I get it into my head to hang one set up but could I get the track down? No, and when I did, it turned out I'd been pushing the wrong way and broken all the little bits that hold the track to the window. Dh was not very pleased with me. However he duly replaced the broken track with a new one and some very bright curtains are now in the kitchen. It has made a difference to the temperature, I think, but it has also made a difference to the kitchen which immediately looked smaller and cosier. And a lot darker in daytime. The very bright curtains were destined to supplement the sitting room curtains but when I spread them out somebody had taken a chunk right out of the middle, so I chopped them off to roughly kitchen window length. If nothing else, it did make me tidy up the window sill a bit.
The other pair of curtains went into the back room, as they are more bedroomy. I measured one and that was fine. Took down the others, hung up the first of the new ones, then the second one. Hang on, what's happened here? One long curtain and one short curtain. By now I was getting seriously fed up so the long curtain has a huge hem on it and perhaps in the summer I will take them both down and shorten them properly; maybe line them if I get ambitious LOL. The extra pair to put in the sitting room (which was the pair which came with the sitting room 20 years ago) is now waiting to go back into the sitting room. Next will be a pole to go across the hall in front of the front door which is mega draughty despite the fancy addition of strips of plasticised table cloth stapled to the edge of the door. It does help, but not enough. By the time all this lot gets done, the weather will probably have warmed up.....
Saturday, 9 January 2010
Outings,
No pics and therefore probably not very exciting to some :
We had been visiting the local Co-op regularly to get some milk - no deliveries, predictably. I did spend over an hour waiting in the shop with many others for an expected delivery and then got fed up with propping up a freezer and went home to cook dinner. Good thing I did as the driver's tachograph had run out and there wasn't a delivery in the end. The milk turned up eventually, I believe, the next day - the staff have a list of regulars and keep back one of whatever has been requested. If that isn't service, I'd like to know what is. Seriously, they are a lovely bunch and deserve a pat on the back, all of them. Perhaps I should write to Head Office and say so.
It was an interesting atmosphere inside the shop; very wartime in patience (except for me, obviously LOL), almost party'ish in a way. Definitely this weather has brought out the nice side of many people, particularly young people, who have been helping push cars and dig people out. I am sure there are many other unsung incidents. I suppose if this goes on for too long people might revert to their normal selves, but for the moment, it is nice, and so many people on foot to talk to and smile/wave at instead of us all driving about in our little tin boxes.....
A visit to Asda yesterday resulted in the weekly shop and a side-trip to B&Q resulted in curtain track and pole being acquired.
We had been visiting the local Co-op regularly to get some milk - no deliveries, predictably. I did spend over an hour waiting in the shop with many others for an expected delivery and then got fed up with propping up a freezer and went home to cook dinner. Good thing I did as the driver's tachograph had run out and there wasn't a delivery in the end. The milk turned up eventually, I believe, the next day - the staff have a list of regulars and keep back one of whatever has been requested. If that isn't service, I'd like to know what is. Seriously, they are a lovely bunch and deserve a pat on the back, all of them. Perhaps I should write to Head Office and say so.
It was an interesting atmosphere inside the shop; very wartime in patience (except for me, obviously LOL), almost party'ish in a way. Definitely this weather has brought out the nice side of many people, particularly young people, who have been helping push cars and dig people out. I am sure there are many other unsung incidents. I suppose if this goes on for too long people might revert to their normal selves, but for the moment, it is nice, and so many people on foot to talk to and smile/wave at instead of us all driving about in our little tin boxes.....
A visit to Asda yesterday resulted in the weekly shop and a side-trip to B&Q resulted in curtain track and pole being acquired.
Thursday, 7 January 2010
A couple of links
No snow today but the side roads are like skating rinks. The schools are still closed. I might try visiting my daughter in law today but it is very slippery on the pavements.
Portsmouth's The News has a snow blog which is quite interesting and very useful if you live in the area. Also up to date!
http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/custompages/custompage.aspx?pageid=81376 If for some reason this doesn't work, you go to the main page and there is a box on the left of the main page.
Thoughtful reading if you make quilts, Judy Martin's journal
And an interesting post from Olga Norris at The Ragged Cloth Cafe Ragged cloth/Olga Norris. Other interesting posts to be found on the site also.
Right, off to get dressed, find some boots and a washing pole for a stick and then to visit my grandson
Portsmouth's The News has a snow blog which is quite interesting and very useful if you live in the area. Also up to date!
http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/custompages/custompage.aspx?pageid=81376 If for some reason this doesn't work, you go to the main page and there is a box on the left of the main page.
Thoughtful reading if you make quilts, Judy Martin's journal
And an interesting post from Olga Norris at The Ragged Cloth Cafe Ragged cloth/Olga Norris. Other interesting posts to be found on the site also.
Right, off to get dressed, find some boots and a washing pole for a stick and then to visit my grandson
Wednesday, 6 January 2010
Tuesday, 5 January 2010
Snow!
Kids are all excited, schools are making contingency plans and we have had quite a lot of the white stuff coming down. Daughter in law came to collect gorgeous grandson and slithered her way up the hill in her little car. Though at the time I texted her at work in Littlehampton there was no snow and she drove into it coming to us. DS3 has, quite madly, walked off down the hill to do his fitness training. If it's not on when he gets there then he will walk home again and that will have to do. But the weather in our part of the world is often quite mad, being over the hill makes a huge difference - we had snow, a couple of miles away they hadn't.
My car is an old automatic and I am not driving it anywhere I don't have to, tomorrow. If the schools are open then I will walk; if not, I will cover some books and quilt. Dh will work from home. He kindly collected some milk for me on the way home and ds2 commented that there was a huge queue at the big Asda and it took him a long time to get out of the car park - he'd only popped in to use the loo LOL.
Speaking of snow, if you like cute snowmen, Bunny Hill Designs are doing a block of the month for this coming year, beginning now. Please visit them here http://bunnyhilldesigns.com
The British Quilt List on Yahoo Groups (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BQL/ ) have another series of challenges this year. They have so far done bags and a perpetual calendar and this blog (http://bqlbagblog.blogspot.com/ ) showcases the lot. You can spend an enjoyable amount of time going through the various bags and calendar pages. The next set of challenges is more a series of suggestions but in any case the amount of expertise on this list makes it a very useful place to be and somebody usually knows the answer to any question you may have. And the inhabitants are nice, the mods efficient and pleasant and the whole thing is run by Kandy Newton. So if you don't belong, might I suggest you join - another pleasant activity on a snowy day.
Dh has just come in to say it is still snowing so I have sent him out with a camera - there may well be a plethora of snowy photos in blogland ere long......
My car is an old automatic and I am not driving it anywhere I don't have to, tomorrow. If the schools are open then I will walk; if not, I will cover some books and quilt. Dh will work from home. He kindly collected some milk for me on the way home and ds2 commented that there was a huge queue at the big Asda and it took him a long time to get out of the car park - he'd only popped in to use the loo LOL.
Speaking of snow, if you like cute snowmen, Bunny Hill Designs are doing a block of the month for this coming year, beginning now. Please visit them here http://bunnyhilldesigns.com
The British Quilt List on Yahoo Groups (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BQL/ ) have another series of challenges this year. They have so far done bags and a perpetual calendar and this blog (http://bqlbagblog.blogspot.com/ ) showcases the lot. You can spend an enjoyable amount of time going through the various bags and calendar pages. The next set of challenges is more a series of suggestions but in any case the amount of expertise on this list makes it a very useful place to be and somebody usually knows the answer to any question you may have. And the inhabitants are nice, the mods efficient and pleasant and the whole thing is run by Kandy Newton. So if you don't belong, might I suggest you join - another pleasant activity on a snowy day.
Dh has just come in to say it is still snowing so I have sent him out with a camera - there may well be a plethora of snowy photos in blogland ere long......
Friday, 1 January 2010
New Year 2010
Well I would like to report that we had a riotous party, but we didn't. We did have 2 strays who remembered the house but had forgotten where the party was and ds6 wasn't answering his phone by then. So they came in and eventually found a bed, but ds6 rolled in at 9 o'clock this morning. I didn't hear the rest of the family come in
I spent today driving around Berkshire and Wiltshire collecting things from Dad's flat, from the home he was recuperating in, and taking them to the Great Western Hospital whence he had been despatched by ambulance with chest pains. Those turned out to be caused by not being able to get enough air into his lungs and it would appear that perhaps his sleep machine is not working properly. In the meantime there he is in hospital, looking disgustingly healthy now he has oxygen, particularly in comparison to the other, rather ill, people in the rest of the ward.
Got home to be greeted by the gorgeous grandson, shown here watching TV with granddad before he went to sleep. Hope he stays asleep tonight LOL.
I spent today driving around Berkshire and Wiltshire collecting things from Dad's flat, from the home he was recuperating in, and taking them to the Great Western Hospital whence he had been despatched by ambulance with chest pains. Those turned out to be caused by not being able to get enough air into his lungs and it would appear that perhaps his sleep machine is not working properly. In the meantime there he is in hospital, looking disgustingly healthy now he has oxygen, particularly in comparison to the other, rather ill, people in the rest of the ward.
Got home to be greeted by the gorgeous grandson, shown here watching TV with granddad before he went to sleep. Hope he stays asleep tonight LOL.
Spinning Wheel
Had a very nice day in Dorset on New Year's Eve.
Went to visit my friend Angie who kindly thrust a mug of coffee into one hand and dragged me off to the sitting room to unpack the wheel she has been kindly babysitting for me.
We - mostly Angie - put it together and I spent a while being patiently taught to spin and managed to, off and on, much to my astonishment. Lots of chatting, very nice h/m soup for lunch and a trip to Lidl's later and I packed the Babe and some wool up and drove home . I spent the evening trying to do spin on my own. I managed a bit of plying, just out of curiosity and then got in a right mess. I ended up carding some grey stuff which I got from Angie and tried spinning that; some worked but mostly no dice. And the wheel squeaks where the treadle moves against a screw, which was driving dh mad - I think I have developed a lead foot LOL. So I put everything on the dining room table to prevent the GG from attempting to either climb up it or dismantling it and I will leave it for a bit and have another go later. Will need some more wool to practice with though.
Here is a pic of the new wheel on top of the table. The boxes in the corner are full of wool for feltmaking but I expect some of it will find its way through the orifice of the Babe......
Went to visit my friend Angie who kindly thrust a mug of coffee into one hand and dragged me off to the sitting room to unpack the wheel she has been kindly babysitting for me.
We - mostly Angie - put it together and I spent a while being patiently taught to spin and managed to, off and on, much to my astonishment. Lots of chatting, very nice h/m soup for lunch and a trip to Lidl's later and I packed the Babe and some wool up and drove home . I spent the evening trying to do spin on my own. I managed a bit of plying, just out of curiosity and then got in a right mess. I ended up carding some grey stuff which I got from Angie and tried spinning that; some worked but mostly no dice. And the wheel squeaks where the treadle moves against a screw, which was driving dh mad - I think I have developed a lead foot LOL. So I put everything on the dining room table to prevent the GG from attempting to either climb up it or dismantling it and I will leave it for a bit and have another go later. Will need some more wool to practice with though.
Here is a pic of the new wheel on top of the table. The boxes in the corner are full of wool for feltmaking but I expect some of it will find its way through the orifice of the Babe......
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