24th October

I am sitting here waiting for Denise to arrive so that we can get on with all my curtains. All my housework is done and I am organised so I figured that I may as well do a blog.  I thought I would show you more photos as everyone is saying how much they miss them.

These are photos that were taken in August.  We had a family picnic near the river in St Neots.  My sister  and brother in law came with my Dad.  Sam and Lisa were not able to come so Simon and I took Ellie and Jess with us. Saskia also was not able to get there but everyone else was.

We had a great time. Just before we got there it started to pour with rain. As we arrived in the car park the rain was torrential and there was thunder and lightening.  We all had to sit in our cars!  It didn't last long and once the rain stopped the sun came out and it was a fairly pleasant day....for a while....... started to rain again just as we were getting ready to go home.

Photos:........

Family picnics are the best. Roll on next summer.

22nd October

It has been a grotty horrid start to the week here in my little corner of the world.  We woke up to fog and rain.  It has remained grey and cold but thankfully the rain stopped around about lunch time which has enabled Simon to get on and fix the guttering on the garage.

I have had a sort of slow day.  A bit of normal housework, a bit of sewing, a few phone calls, a bit of blogging.  I don't actually feel too great.  Probably just tired.

The washing machine is yelling out that it has a blocked filter again but I know it hasn't.  It keeps on doing this.  I hope it isn't about to go totally up the creek.  Simon said he would look at it at lunch time.  It is 6.30pm now and I am still waiting.  That is the trouble with him working on the wretched garage, nothing that I need doing gets done. One of the towel rails in the bathroom fell off the wall on Thursday and I am still waiting for him to screw it back.  Yes, I  am sure I could do it myself  if I could locate the necessary tools in the garage but frankly why have a husband and DIY?  That is mans work!

As there is not a lot to report today I thought I would post a few photos for you.  My friend Pam said she missed seeing the little ones so here you are Pam.

Evan, Ellie and Flynn out for a walk.

Miss Ellie.  This was in September when she was a bridesmaid at her Mummy's sisters wedding.

Miss Jessica.  Flower girl at the same wedding.

Now how about some of Saskia?  As well as working as a learning support in a school, teaching various dance disciplines and zumba she is also once again performing.  She is part of a group of 4 known as Apsara.  They perform mostly Eastern and Latin dance.

Saskia, for those of you that don't know is the one with the red hair, front right.  I still find it odd to see her with red hair!

These were back stage at the Curve theatre, Leicester. She is the one in green.

Back in the summer Saskia took part in the Race for life in aid of Breast cancer care.  She is the small one in the middle in the grey vest..

This is a photo of Coralie and the boys taken in the summer.

Guess that is it for now. Lots to do!

Three Counties Dog Rescue.

Many of you probably know by now that I have been doing volunteer work for Three Counties Dog Rescue which is a local charity. I help once a month to man the stall on Peterborough market where they sell all manner of stuff that has been donated to them. I also help out when they have "tin shaking" days. This is generally a 2 hour stint outside a supermarket with a collection tin. On top of that I am working at the kennels for around 5-6 hours on a Saturday. It is heart breaking work.

They take in dogs and try to re-home them. They are a "No kill" shelter. Many of the dogs come from very sad circumstances and have been treated with unbelievable cruelty. They work very hard with the ones who are simply too petrified to even lift their heads. Believe me when I tell you that if you could see just one of them your heart would melt.

As a life long dog lover it is heart breaking for me to be working with them but I am doing it in the hope that I can make a difference.

You can see the Three Counties Website here: Three Counties Dog Rescue  They currently have 65 dogs and 13 Cats. Yes cats. The RSPCA in the UK will no longer take in cats so when the dog rescue are occasionally asked to re-home a cat..... they take them in and do their best.

This years costs to keep the Rescue going will be in excess of £150,000. Three Counties is a registered charity and 100% of every last penny donated goes to the care of the dogs. All workers are volunteers and receive absolutely no money.

Here is where I unashamedly do the begging part!

My eldest daughter Coralie is cycling 100km around the hills of the Isle of Wight on the 2nd of December to raise money for Three Counties.

If you can possibly spare even £1 or $1 to sponsor Coralie on her bike ride, myself, the other volunteers and all the doggies would be extremely grateful. If you are unable, or simply do not wish to donate, Coralie has asked that you say your prayers for good weather. She doesn't want to be cycling in the wind and rain and she definitely doesn't need snow!

The link to her online Just Giving page is here: Just Giving - CORALIE-HUSON

I offer no apologies for this post and I hope no one is offended by it, but if you could just see what I have seen you would understand why I am asking.

Thank you.

Sunday 21st of October

Another busy weekend is at an end. I wish the time wouldn't go so fast. Only 65 days now until Christmas!!!  I would do regular countdowns if only I could work out how to get them into my blog.

Yesterday ended up being a long day.  I went to help at the dog rescue kennels.  I usually stay there until 1.30pm.  It was a good morning.  4 dogs went to their furever homes which was wonderful. I played with several dogs and groomed a couple of others.    |

They have a Dalmatian there who has been really badly treated and he is very nervous. The last few weeks he would cower at the back of his kennel and bark.  He would not come to get biscuits.  They have been working hard with him and I was so thrilled this week to see that although he is still petrified he will now come to the front of the kennel and take a biscuit from my fingers through the bars.  So wonderful.   Much work still to do with him though.

A little Labrador who has recently been spayed has an infection in her womb and they needed someone to take her to the vet so I said that Simon  and I would do that as it was so busy.  The vet appointment was at 3pm so Simon came up at 2.30pm.  We took Molly in our car and she was so good.  Fortunately the vet thinks that it is not an infection but a reaction to some new suture material that they are using.  She has antibiotics and we were able to take her back to the kennels. It made it quite a late day for us but I was really pleased to have been able to help.

Simon had spent his day working on the inside of the garage.  He has got the lights in place ready for the electrical work to be done.  Tomorrow he is going to start on the guttering.  It is so nearly done.

Today John came over with the boys.  Coralie is having a weekend away in London.  John came to see what needs to be done with  the electrics as he will be doing that for Simon.  I took the boys to the village shop for sweets and then we had a lovely time playing.   Evan has requested a sleepover at half tern so I need to arrange that with Coralie.

Once they had gone we went to Peterborough to sort out the fabric for the living room curtains but unfortunately there was a flaw in the material so they have had to reorder it for us.  I was  most annoyed as it wont be in until Thursday so they won't get done next week.

This afternoon Simon has continued with his garage work and I have been doing sewing.  I have just watched the "Strictly come dancing" results show. NOOOOOOOOO.....  Anton IS OUT. I am really cross.  He  is dancing with Jerry Hall and although I can't stand her, they certainly were not  the worst.  I kind of thought that it might happen as I think the general public have not taken to her.  Why do they always give poor Anton such duds?

You my recall that Verity and I were in the audience 2 years ago and Anton actually spoke to us.  He is very handsome in the flesh and has a very cute  "bottom"!  I would dance with him any day. I wonder how you get lessons with him?   I must say I am very taken with Brendan Cole too.  I never used to like him much but he seems to have mellowed the last few years.  He danced last night to "love lift us where we belong" from "An officer and a gentleman".  My goodness, he looks good in a uniform!  I am not impressed with his partner though.  He is dancing with Victoria Pendelton the Olympic gold medalist.  The judges seem to be going very easy on her and I read today that they have been told to because "she is a delicate flower".  Apparently she self harms and they are worried that criticism may be difficult for her!  I'm sorry but if that is the case then she should not be in this kind of show.

Can you tell that I LOVE "Strictly"  It is my countdown to Christmas.

Ok, off to bed now, may be back tomorrow.

Show and tell on Sunday

Show and tell time. I have finished my scrappy denim quilt.  It is OK.  Don't think I will be doing another one! I never intended it for a bed.  It will be a picnic rug.  Roll on next summer when I can use it.....hopefully.   When I washed  it some of the T shirt squares on the back came away in places and I had to sew them by hand.  I think this may have been because the T shirt fabric is stretchy.  The original pattern said to use fleece fabric.  Live and learn.  Anyway here it is.

This is the back showing the T shirt squares.

This is it before washing.

This is it after washing.

You can see the frayed, frilly edges here.

This is the nightdress case for Ellie.  This is just the front, at this point I hadn't finished it.  It is now all sewn together but not quite stuffed as I have run out of toy stuffing.  Got to order more tonight.  Today I cut out two more in bright red for Evan and Flynn.  Need to get fabric to make one for Jess. We are calling these bed time pals.  As they are made of fleece and stuffed they are very soft for cuddling but they also have a pocket on the back for pyjamas or nightdresses.

I made a tiny one from the left over fabric.   The pattern for these calls them Monster Ninni's.

On Friday I completed the 5th row of the row of the month quilt from my magazine.  It is log cabin.   Here is the completed row followed by some close ups.

I made a little bit more bunting for my hall and this time I put a date on it.  1979.  A special date for us!

The only other thing I completed this week was a birthday card for Denise.

This coming week I am hoping to get all 4 bed time pals finished and also all of my kitchen curtains.  Denise is coming on Wednesday to help me get them done.  We were also going to do the living room ones but when we went to get the fabric today it had a flaw in the middle of it so they have had to reorder it for us and it won't arrive until Thursday. Hopefully Denise will come another day to give me a hand as they have to be lined and I have never done that.

This is the fabric for the kitchen ones.

Well that is it for this weeks show and tell, back soon with more hopefully. Time to watch the "Strictly" results show now.

Oh and by the way it is now Monday........ I forgot to publish this!

Playing catch up....again.

Goodness, it is ten days since I last did a blog. I think my motivation has gone a bit as I don't have so many readers now.  It is funny that bothers me because I never set out to have readers. This was, and is, my online diary so it really shouldn't matter.  I think I am just missing all my old friends who have scattered across the blogasphere.  Blogger doesn't seem an easy place to find new friends.

So, the last 10 days......... not sure that I can remember that far back!  Actually, I can as 10 days ago I celebrated my 46th birthday, or if you prefer, I celebrated the 7th anniversary of my 46th birthday! It was a quiet day really as Simon had a parents evening after school and wasn't home until 9.30pm.  Coralie came over with Flynn and we had a nice few hours before going out for a pub lunch.

Last Friday evening we went out to dinner as we hadn't been able to do that on my birthday.  We went to a pub in a village about a half hour drive away. We had lunch there a month or so back and it was lovely.  Once a month they do lobster night there so we booked up for it while we were there having lunch.  Unfortunately when we arrived they had no record of our booking.  They eventually fitted us in but we had to have a table in the main part of the pub rather than the restaurant.  It wasn't the best start.  The service was terrible.  We waited nearly an hour for our lobster.  It was very nice but they were much smaller than I had hoped for.  They were very expensive so I expected more.  I do like seafood. We also waited 45 minutes for our desserts.  I forget what we had now so they obviously were not memorable.  Don't think we will go back there which is a shame as it had such promise.

Last Saturday we had the family here for a birthday dinner.  However before they came I had work to do.  The dog rescue people had their stall on Peterborough market and we had collected a car full of stuff from Gyll, the owner, on Friday night which we had to get to Peterborough by 8am.  It was an early start. I had said that I would drop off the stuff but couldn't stay to help this time because of having the family coming in the afternoon.

They were desperate for help so in the end I stayed.  Simon helped unload the car and set up the stall then he went off home to get on with the garage.  I was there until 1pm and I really enjoyed it again. I do not know yet how much they raised.  Verity and Steve picked me up on their way through from Cambridge.  We got to our house just as Simon got back from collecting Saskia from the station.  We were followed shortly after by Sam,Lisa and the girls and then Joshua and Charlotte.  Coralie was away for the weekend so we didn't see her family.  It was lovely to have everyone here and they all cooked the dinner between them. Oh, and Verity had brought cheese, onion and choritzo muffins for lunch too.  She is a great cook.

Sunday was another early start as I was off to London with Denise for the knitting and stitching show at Alexandra Palace.  It is years since I have been to anything there.  We had a great time although the train journey was a bit of a nightmare.  Wrong train going and then cancelled trains coming home which meant we had to get a bus and then the tube just to get back to the mainline station.  We were home later than expected, it was a long day.  I did enjoy it though.  The exhibition of the quilts was superb.  As you entered they had a display entitled "seams of gold".  The entrants had been allowed to interpret that anyway they chose and I envy their imagination as I could not even have come up with the ideas that alone put them together.  The standard was very high.  Here are a few photos. They aren't the best as I had to take them from funny angles and some are through glass.

There were lots and lots of very interesting trade stands  but we didn't buy much.  I got a knitting pattern book and some wool as Denise has very kindly said she will knit some stuff for the new grand baby.  I also got a nice big roll of "heat and bond" which I need for my little Slice machine.  We did come away with lots of ideas though.  Denise thinks she may take up lace making.  Looks way too complicated to me!

After seeing all the lovely quilt projects, particularly the ones for the "seams of gold" we thought what a good idea it would be for us to try next year.  So although we haven't yet told Coralie, we have agreed that in the new year we will pick a theme and then each of us will have a month to do a small  piece,  interpreting the theme in out own individual way.  No discussing, no helping, just come up with our own idea  and get on with it and then when they are done we can compare them to see how we all did and how different they are.  I am quite looking forward to that, should be fun.

This week has been the normal round of house work followed by sewing time. I have finished my scrappy quilt.  However when I put it through the wash to get the frayed, frilly edge some of the squares came away a bit on the back so I had to hand stitch them.  I am reasonably pleased with it.  I wouldn't want it on a bed but that wasn't ever really my intention.  I shall use it as a picnic rug.  Guess that means it will be put away until next year.

I have also worked on a nightdress case which is a Christmas present for Ellie.  It isn't finished yet as I didn't get enough fabric and have had to order more.  From the little that I had left over I made one of those little monster Nini that I made a while back.  The nightdress case is based on that pattern too.  The other thing I have done this week is the 5th row for my row of the month quilt.  Only 7 more rows to go!  I shall do a  "show and tell blog" then you can see.

Yesterday I got the bus down to Bourne as I was doing a 2 hour shift on an information stall that the Three Counties dog rescue were doing.  They also had tin collecting and bric a brac for sale. I was there with another volunteer called Marjory who is a lovely lady.  She gave me a lift home afterwards. It was later than I had hoped as it took forever to load up her car.  As we were the last shift of the day we had to pack everything up.

Today has been a nice day.  I like Fridays.  Simon is home early and the weekend looms ahead.  This is a long weekend too as his day off next week is Monday.  Since he dropped to 4 days a week, he has Monday off one week and Tuesday the next. He has been busy working on his garage.  Mainly inside, screwing up the frame work for the insulation and the boards that will go over it.  The outside is still awaiting guttering but that was delivered today so hopefully that will be done soon. The electric goes in during half term week which is just a week away now.

Tomorrow I shall be helping out at the dog rescue kennels in the morning and then I think I may go into Peterborough in the afternoon as I want to get the fabric for the living room curtains.  I have finally found some that I like and Denise is coming for the day next Wednesday specifically to teach me how to do lined curtains as I have never done that.  We are going to make all the curtains for the kitchen too.

Well, what do you know, I did manage to remember most of  the last 10 days. I was busy!  No wonder there was no time for blogging.   Time goes so quickly.  I never seem to be able to fit in all that I want to.  Did you know that there are only 66 days until Christmas?

I shall  leave you with that thought!