It's Me. I'm Back

Oh My Word, what a business renting a house is. I have never rented one before and I am shocked at the hoops you have to jump through to do so.

I have filled in countless forms, both real and on line, I have answered questions that seem completely irrelevant and some quite impertinent ones.

Even though the landlord is quite thrilled at getting a tenant who has the money to pay 6 months up front, plus a deposit, the letting agency have to follow standard procedure.

Then of course there is the question of moving, I have rung a few local firms and 1 is coming this evening to have a look and work out what size vehicle I will need and give me a quote.

One chap said "give me 5 minutes to work out a price" called me back and gave a quote. Now for all he knows I have a cottage stuffed full of old fashioned solid oak furniture and 3 garden sheds full of things, Equally I could have just enough to fill a long wheel based Transit van.

Then there is the packing and weeding out of non essentials and not required any more things. The charity shop has done well, I can not face another car boot sale. I enjoyed the 2 that I did but time is of an essence and I just want to get sorted.

The house in Wales is a typical stone fronted house, quite tall really with lovely high ceilings. The kitchen is bigger than mine here and has a utility room off and a massive under stairs cupboard that is shelved.
This opens into a dining room which is large enough to hold my crafting things as well as table, chairs and cupboards
The front room is slightly larger and has lovely deep window sills, the walls are almost 2 ft thick. The entrance hall is wide enough to take coats and boots and a brolly or two. Just in case it rains. snigger.

There are 2 double bedrooms and a bathroom on the first floor  and all the windows are tall and wide so the light floods in. There is just enough garden at the rear and a small lawn in the front.

I will be 5 miles from a swimming pool, library. large Tesco, Lidl, Home Bargains, Pound stretcher and Argos. I have not ventured into the town center for a look.
 There are 2 butchers in the village, a Post Office, 2 small shops and a fish and chip shop. It is 1 1/2 hrs from Cardigan and the journey takes me through Cross Hands which has a yarn and fabric shop and round the side of Carmarthen which has wonderful shops.

There is no pub in the village but that will be a boon, no loud revelers on the street at closing time, rather than a problem.

I could not take photos as in typical Welsh fashion it rained the whole time we were there. I did have a mostly dry Sunday with James, Cerys and the children though.

That is all I am capable of writing now, I have some new crochet on my hook and will show and tell tomorrow. I have had lots of positive comments on my Bird in the Window and have 3 to make before I move.

    TTFN                                                   Pam

Brighter Outlook Today

Firstly a warm welcome to Dawn McHugh and Primroses Attic, welcome aboard. I haven't checked to see if Dawn has a blog, that is my first job once this is posted. I have been following Primroses Attic for a little while, she fills me with envy, three lovely little dogs and a home in Cornwall.
I have sailed away from the doldrums and have a better and brighter outlook today. I am off to Wales in the morning to check out the house that I intend to rent. It will offer no surprises, I have checked it thoroughly and had several conversations with the owner. I am taking it for a 6 month period, that will give me time to explore properly and find a property to buy that fits me like a glove. Umm, that may be a bit difficult as my wish list includes the following,
Huge kitchen with walk in pantry and solid fuel oven.
Decent size garden, about half the size that I have now.
Small lounge so that I can not hoard.
Two bedrooms, quite enough for 1 guest or 2 Grandchildren.
A Library and swimming pool within walking distance.
At least 2 good shops for yarn and fabric, and a couple of charity shops.
 A "junk" shop would be good as well.

Of course  I do not expect to get it all, a large kitchen will suffice and I can live without a solid fuel range. The next 3 are important and the last 3 will be found somewhere not too far away.
I will only be a 20 minute drive from Swansea and 30 minutes from Carmarthen. Then there will be frequent trips to Cardigan to see the family.

I took the advice offered by you lovely people yesterday and did this.

My first attempt at a bird, the beak is a bit skew wiff and the flowers are not balanced but it is in my window and will fly to Wales. This is thanks to Attic24 and Bunny Mummy.

A few flowers, inspiration as for the bird.

A pair of roses and a daisy that needs another round of petals.

Two more roses waiting to be sewn up.

Every bunch of flowers needs some leaves.

Of course all this hooky means that I needed some more yarn. I am happy with my finds but am keeping my eyes open for some more greens.

I am aiming to make some garlands, I will use the tutorial from Attic24 as a guide. I try hard never to make a complete copy. In truth that is not correct, I find it very difficult to make a complete copy, I just have to fiddle and tweak, add bits and remove things. Change colours and sizes and often the finished article is nothing like the inspiration.

 Recipes are a prime example, I start off with good intentions then if I do not have one ingredient I do not go and buy I use something else. Thus Chicken casserole may well end up as Barbecue Pork ribs.

Reasons to be grateful.

1. I am off to Wales in the morning.

2. I will see my new, albeit temporary, home tomorrow.

3. Followed by a visit to James, Cerys and the children.

4. It is raining gently so I am confined to the house. That means more hooky. sigh.

5. I have lost 5lbs without really trying.

I was so pleased when I jumped, make that stepped gently, on the scales this morning. I know it is simple, just put the fork down, but it is not easy. All I have done is cut out all picking while cooking and all nibbles between meals. I had fallen into the habit of a sweet treat every evening, that has stopped. My stock of chocolate will go to James and the sweet stuff will be restricted to Sunday lunch pudding. I have 4 jars of mincemeat left, 2 will go into cakes next week for my neighbours and 2 will go into cakes for my new neighbours. Once I have unpacked I will have an open house day to meet as many as possible. I will then ask for recipes for Bara Brith and Welsh Cakes.

On the subject of recipes, I read a few posts about No Knead Wholemeal Bread recently. I thought that I had bookmarked them but now can not find any. If one of you has posted this would you direct me to the post, I am itching to try it out.

Ooh look, it is well past cup of tea o'clock. I am off to put the kettle on and once armed with a brew look up Dawn.

              TTFN                                                 Pam

Adrift in the Doldrums

I am still waiting for the last steps in the sale of my cottage, it is all becoming stressful. I have a cash buyer who wants the cottage and has agreed a price subject to survey. All is waiting on the surveyors report, they have paid for this but it still has not happened. I know that there is nothing major but still I worry at it like a cat with a mouse, turning it round and round in my mind until it has reached gigantic proportions. 
I have planned a trip to Wales this weekend to rent a house for 6 months, this will give me time to look round at leisure for a house to buy. I intend to move on May 1st, now I am getting the collywobbles. I can not move until the  cottage sale is complete, I don't want to leave it empty and if I do not take the house in Ammanford I may lose it.
I have been so busy that I am bone achingly weary and my mind is so busy that I have trouble sleeping, I wake frequently in the night and when I give up the ghost and get up I am tired. So it goes on, round and round, I have almost reached the point where I may not buy again just rent.
To add insult to injury I have put on more weight and have had to become extremely careful over what I eat. My ankle although not as painful is still stiff and prone to swelling up so walking is slow and restricted.
I am off to do some blog reading and cheer myself up, an hour reading should help me get a grip.

                      TTFN                                       Pam

Back home at last, but only for a while.

My weekend away with Jeannie was lovely, we spent the first day catching up , drinking tea and spoiling Ben ( that was Jeannie)
 Sunday it rained and blew up a storm so apart from nipping out with Ben every dry bit we lazed away the day. We looked at photos, and played "do you remember" along with more tea, much more. A leg of lamb was roasted and enjoyed with all the usual trimmings, pudding was not needed.
We watched a bit of TV, there were some good wildlife programs on we enjoyed them and so did Ben.

You can not see what he is gazing at so intently here.

This is his "who me" look, I think that is an otter that he was intrigued by.

Monday it was time to come home and the nearer we got the nicer the weather became. I managed to do the laundry and dry it outside and do a bit more in the garden.
Today the last corner has been cleared and the garden looks like a strangers.
I am up to my ears in boxes and bubble wrap packing up my china and glass. If the move falls through it will all stay packed away as I can not face doing it all again.
The last step in the process seems to be taking forever and I am getting twitchy. I have made phone calls and sent e mails in the hope of speeding things up.

I have a property list to see over the weekend so I hope the weather hold dry, nothing worse than traipsing around in the rain.

It is clouding over so I must dash and get the second load of laundry in, we had a downpour earlier just after the first load came in.


                         TTFN                                        Pam

Backache and other tales

Oh My what a few days I have had since I was last here. I have cleared most of my garden, my friends have had various plants moved into their gardens. My collection of pots has shrunk dramatically and even the wild garden has been dealt with
After having cherry picked my way down to the wild corner I had to admit to myself that it had been allowed to sprawl and spread to at least 6 times it's original area. As I chopped and slashed my way into it I felt a bit akin to David Bellamy. I half expected to find a tribe of forgotten people or a ruined temple. What I have done is clear a small mountain of undergrowth and dead and dying vegetation. The whole area is now back to the original size and the garden looks better for it.
I had let the reeds and marginal plants around the small pond spread and they were blocking out the wild garden, once the pond was cleared the true horror of the wild was shockingly obvious.

3 sweaty days and all is much better, 3 compost bins are full, the chipper has done an excellent job of reducing the woody stuff into mulch,much of which has been layered into said bins. There are still many small jobs to finish off. I have been spending a little time twice a day on my kneeler scraping out the weeds on the paved area, a job that I hate so limit it to 15 minutes at a time. 2 more days will see it done.
I emptied a water butt yesterday for Marina, a lovely job, the sludge in the bottom was very pungent so it had a quick blast of fresh water and some white vinegar, I let it stand for a while then emptied and rinsed it out before taking it next door. if I was staying put I would do all of them.
Today I will empty Marina's old leaky water butt and put the clean one in it's place. She is also going to adopt all the tubs of new potatoes, they take up too much room to go with me.

Reasons to be grateful.

1. I am off to spend Easter with Jeannie.

2. I am doing a car boot sale with her in the next village.

3. The surveyor should be here on Tuesday.

4. My crochet squares are multiplying in a most satisfactory manner.

5. I have been working in glorious sunshine.

The inside of the cottage is showing it's neglect, there are dust bunnies in every corner and wisps of dead vegetation in the corners. 
I have earmarked a couple of hours today to sprint round with the vacuum cleaner and my vinegar spray and cloth.  The doors and windows have been open and Ben wanders in and out, every now and then I find a scattering of dust and seed heads where he has thrown himself down for a rest after playing in the garden.

Time for another cuppa before I go out to kick start my day.


Oops, I nearly forgot the backache, all this bending and stretching, swinging a sickle is causing it, mind you a soak in the bath with a glass of something red and fruity and a book helps enormously.


        TTFN                                                        Pam

Pounds out, Quids in.

Well it has been a little while since I filled you in, but i have not been idle. I emptied cupboards and corners, turfed out drawers and glory holes. I filled the car with all manner of things and took myself off to a couple of boot sales. My purse is now brimming full.
As is my fuel tank.

My glory hole and some cupboards now look like this





I feel good after my sally into sales, I was in the middle of Wisbech yesterday and it was grey, cold and windy. 
Today I was here, and the feel good factor is high.





Not perched on or skulking under the sign but in the town at a well established seasonal boot sale. The sun shone although it was a little breezy and there were lots of folk around, locals and visitors alike.

I am happy with my two excursions into the world of "Car Booting"
and weather permitting I will have a repeat performance next weekend. I will be inland somewhere as yet undecided on Saturday and back in Sunny Hunny on Sunday.
I didn't make a fortune but I am happy with the result and enjoyed myself enormously. Michael was there in full support mode and Ben took charge of greeting potential customers. I should have charged 10p per fuss and I could have made a mint.

Reasons to be grateful.

1. A bootfull of clutter has gone.

2. I can see my sitting room floor.

3. I have a sunny glow to my face.

4. Ben proved himself to be a perfect gentleman.

5. I had the pleasure of meeting lots of interesting people.

There was an odd 1 or 2 who almost wanted me to pay them to take things but on the whole everyone was polite and friendly.
I took squash but will take a flask of coffee next time as a hot drink was definitely required after an hour.
I bought a bag of lovely crisp apples for £1, 14 decent sized Braeburn and some glasshouse grown new potatoes for £1.20 lb.

I did get one unexpected bonus, halfway through this morning I turned quickly and had 2 loud cracks from my ankle/foot, I felt it and the people I was serving heard it as well. The pain and stiffness has gone and I am no longer limping. My support bandage is off and I walked Ben with no problems. I am going to be wary as I have had a compression wrap on it for a week but fingers crossed all is now well.
Apart from walking Ben and making tea I have changed my bed and put a wash through the machine. I have also had my feet up and indulged in some crochet. dinner will be a salad with eggs and grated cheese and some new potatoes.
I was a lazy slug yesterday when I returned. I only did what was essential and then sat on the sofa and watched both of the Hobbit DVD,s with a break for walking Ben and making and eating dinner. It was heavenly and I will be itching for the last in the trilogy to be released.

Tomorrow will be mainly gardening and breadmaking and a little ironing thrown in for good measure, I may make some marmalade as my last jar is almost out and I do like it on toast and under a sponge pudding.

I feel that it is time for a quick cuppa before I throw a salad together and I need to feed Ben soon.

     TTFN                                                      Pam

It's Good to Share, but only if it's consensual.

I started my day in my usual way on Wednesdays, lots of tea and blog reading followed by more tea and a skim through the local weekly paper.

I found a double, no, make that a triple whammy. Two of my "must read" blogs, Charm about You and Flying Blind on a Rocket Cycle have had blog posts lifted and published elsewhere.

Then later in my paper I found these adverts,

First let me apologise for the poor picture quality, These were the best I could take as the paper is very shiny.

Take away the knife on the first and the slices of cut meat on the second,  look at the different angle and you will see what to me looks like the same joint of meat on the same board. There may have been a slight alteration of the onion wedges and garlic cloves but in essence they are the same.

These photos are probably supplied by a specialist studio dedicated to food promotion shots. The company that I worked for did the same for packaging labels.

I also think that sharing like this keeps the cost down. That is of paramount importance for these short run promotional leaflets.

I would imagine that both parties are fully aware and that in all likelihood these are stock photos that can be tweaked and reused many times.

If all parties are in agreement then this is a good thing, it saves both time and money, and helps to keep the cost down to us the consumers.

It is only when this happens without knowledge and permission that things become nasty. Theft is theft is theft, whether it is a garden gnome or a Mercedes Benz, a blog post or blue prints for a new invention. 

Not that I would compare a blog post to a garden gnome, but I do have a rather splendid if faded Winnie the Pooh leaning on a hoe in my garden.

Reasons to be grateful.

1. I am hardly likely to suffer this type of theft as I give my ideas freely to anyone who wants them.

2. I don't have  Mercedes Benz for any one to steal.

3. I do not aspire to owning a car that costs more than my house value.

4. The only item in my house that I would kill to prevent the theft of is Ben.

5. The sun is shining and it makes me happy.

I know that this is similar to my post on Sunday, and I promise not to harp on it, but it is something dear to my heart. Many years ago a friend at work submitted an idea to cut cost and improve production. This disappeared without trace only to bounce up the following year as a project from the Production Manager who claimed and took all the credit and a large cash bonus from the company. My friend had changed jobs and moved away so lost out big time.

Enough of this, the sun is calling me to get outside and I have a cup of tea to drink, now there's a surprise.

              TTFN                                         Pam

One Down, Two To Go

The first agent turned up today to give me a valuation and I am pleased as punch to say that I was spot on with my guess. In fact both of them, I was dead on with both the value and what to expect for a quick sale. I will have to wait until Friday for the other 2. Patience is not my strong point, so to buck myself up I have been to see my solicitor and instructed him.  I can not use Fran or her firm as they deal with Company Law only, and of course until she sits the New York Bar she could not handle it.

Apart from some tidying, more a case of moving piles of stuff from A to C via B, and of course some bright red hooky it has been a nothing sort of day. The sun has shone and the wind has blown and my washing was line dried. It was only after the agent chappie had left that I realised I had a twirly whirly full of frilly things, oh well I expect he's seen worse.

Ben managed to roll in something extremely dead and rotten so he had a bath, because of his skin condition he has special shampoo that has to be left in for 10 minutes. I take my kitchen timer with me and put the bathroom heater on, it was like a sauna in there. Then when well rinsed off I wrap him in towels before blow drying him with my hairdryer. He loves it, even the drying part.

I managed to finish reading Sew magazine this morning, I did take it to bed last night but could not keep my eyes open.

I noticed that Janome have won 3 British  Sewing Awards last year, the most desirable machine was their Memory Craft 9900, I have been drooling over it but will wait until I move. It does mean that one of my machines will have to go. 
There is a Janome 8900QCP as a competition prize this month so I may chance my arm at that, I don't bother usually but this time I might.

Reasons to be grateful.

1. Another glorious sunny day.

2. Washing done, dried and ironed in the same day.

3. I found my "trolley" token this morning, I lost it ages ago.

4. Dinner is out of the freezer and into the ding oven tonight.

5. I picked up 35p when I walked Ben this morning.

Every little helps.

I did not take any photo,s today, I am sure that no one wants to see the stacks of boxes accumulating in every room. I know that I don't.

That's all folks, the ding just dinged, my dinner should be ready.

             TTFN                                             Pam

A Busy Sort of Day.

First things first, I would like to welcome Paid in Chickens,M Stevens and Daisy Jones aboard, lovely to have you with us. As you all must have realised I can be a bit of an airhead at times, I have 2 other new followers,Tracey Webb and Vadam Wetzel. I may have welcomed you already, if so then ignore this, if not then you are most welcome.

Now for some joyful news.................. I have some valuations arranged for this week, 3 estate agents have been booked, I can hardly wait. I have done my research and have a fairly good idea of what my cottage is worth, I also have a pretty decent idea of what I will get for it without waiting for months. 
I did buy at just about the peak of the market and property has plummeted since then, prices are rising but slowly here and sales are also very slow. My friends a few houses away have had their house on the market for 5 months, they have dropped their price twice and have had a handful of viewings. The house that they wanted has sold and they are resigned to staying put for a while.
I have no intention of getting stuck in that quagmire. I bought this property with the profit from another house and a business, therefore in my eyes it owes me nothing. While I do not intend to give it away I do not have to pursue a high end price.

I have emptied cupboards today, while the rain trickled down the windows, and have a small mountain of things to sell, donate and dump. I have my fingers crossed for fair weather at the weekend so that I can do a car boot sale. Lots of things will be in the small adds in the local paper for the next 2 weeks.

I intend to only take the bare minimum with me, my plans do not include piles of possessions. Frost free fridge freezer anyone.

More happy talk, I have been edging my Granny Squares with the glorious red yarn.

The colour reproduction is not good, it has been so dull that I had to use electric light. I have 24 done, just the ends to weave in and another 150 or so to do and my blanket will be a reality.

This morning my new copy of Sew Magazine dropped through the letterbox.

The dress pattern came free and I like this shift style, I wore it a lot in my late teens. I will make the sleeveless version as, to me, the sleeves do not look as if they really belong to the dress.

I will not make this Table Runner but love the simple pattern that lets the fabrics sing, I have a thing about bright colours.

I have not been through the whole thing yet, I am saving it for a bit later, feet up, tea at my side and an hour to browse to my hearts content.

Reasons to be grateful.

1. Lots of jobs crossed off my list.

2. Estate agents booked to value the cottage.

3. 2 large cupboards sorted and emptied.

4. 1 shed cleared, contents gone.

5. The rain stopped long enough for Ben to have a decent walk.

I am now looking at the kitchen and dreading having to whittle it down. I know that I have too much stuff, too many tins and pyrex dishes, enough tea towels for a small hotel and so on, but it is going to be difficult deciding what goes and what stays.

On that mournful note I am off to make tea and cheer myself up. I would have a slice of cake but am stuffed from dinner. I made a salad and then a bread and butter pudding with custard, it was delicious but I will not need (or be able) to eat till late tomorrow.

                TTFN                                                Pam

Sunday Soapbox Shouting.

I am angry and very annoyed, both with myself and my "fave" magazine Love Patchwork & Quilting. My new copy dropped on the door mat a few days ago and too my shame I only gave it a cursory glance through. With all the house decorations, crochet and sorting out stuff to get rid of reading has taken a far distant back seat.

With the exception of blog reading, although that tends to happen at stupid o'clock.
This morning I read Pink Penguin, a blog that I have followed for ages, I bought Ayumi's book "Patchwork Please" last year, it was released in April, and have happily sewed my way through it.

Today's blog is a very sad read, although she has not stated it one of her creations has been copied almost to the 'nth degree. It is on the front of my magazine, It hardly registered when I looked at it but on reading the post this morning a light switch came on in my mind.

This is from my book, the original wall hanging from Ayumi.

The front cover of the new edition of the magazine.

The first page of the tutorial/article.

What do you think, is it a step too far or a coincidence?

My Granny used to say that there is nothing new under the sun. We all take ideas from other peoples work, I often comment on blogs to say that I admire a recipe or a sewing project and say that I will be copying.  I do write about this here and give credit to the source, I also alter and tweak to my hearts content. It is said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and that may well be true.

I do feel that if an author has published something that is for sale then too close a copy is not flattery but theft.

MFin3 gives her recipes freely on her blog, she offers reams of advice to those in debt, but her sewing creation patterns are for sale. These sales keep her family afloat and help towards the future, it would be immoral for anyone to buy a pattern and then alter it slightly to sell on as their own creation.

Frugal Queen gives her recipes and money saving advice freely as well, as do many bloggers. 

I have almost lost my way with this post, I am so angry. I intend to contact the magazine and register my displeasure, I also intend to cancel my subscription. Much as I like the publication I will not condone  the action.

Reasons to be grateful.

1. The fact that I can "put my money where my mouth is" and cancel this subscription.

2. The fact that I can still feel outrage at a, to my mind, dishonest act.

3. My blog affords me the means to voice my outrage.

4. Another load of recycling has been taken away this morning.

5. I am filling boxes ready to car boot, hopefully next wweekend, weather permitting.

I may have gone a bit overboard but this is an area that I feel strongly about, I love to read tutorials and Jenny Doan does not release a single video on u tube that I miss. But I would never steal an idea and sell it on as my own just by changing a few minor details. That is taking food out of someones mouth, another of Granny's sayings. I had a very moral upbringing and can not and do not wish to shake it off.

If I have annoyed you comment and tell me so and why. If you feel as I do perhaps you would like to join me on the soap box.

BTW it started grey and dismal this morning and then brightened up for an hour and a half, just long enough for me to get a load of jeans line dried. hip hip hooray. I hate drying them indoors it takes forever.

    TTFN                                                   Pam 

A lazy day out.

It has been a bit dull round here, Thursday I spent most of my time with my foot propped up placing adverts in the local newspaper. I finally got my act together and listed a stack of things that I no longer want. I had planned to go to a boot sale today but could not face standing for hours. I also did some crochet and a bit of hand sewing. Michael took one of the massive wardrobes to bits and it is waiting for the other one to join it, they both have a new home to go to next weekend.

Friday I sorted out one of the sheds and removed a small mountain of wood off cuts and decided to cut it all down to kindling. Several of my neighbours have open fires and little bags of kindling are over a £1. I arranged a stool and a chopping block and away I went, I filled 4 big rubble bags and will do some more tomorrow. 

Today had to be a day off, well almost. I found a pile of old paint tins, all containing various amounts of elderly paint. Along with a couple of old metal storage units that were a fetching shade of mottled rust I filled the back of my car and took then to the local recycling center today. When I say "I" read Michael. We were at the center by 8:15 and then took Ben to Sandringham. He had a good run round, chased a few squirrels and the odd seagull. We strolled around in the dappled sunlight for an hour or so and then drove on to Hunstanton.

I had to pop into Shan's Fabric shop, she sells all sorts of crafting goodies and deep deep joy I found the glorious bright red wool that I wanted for my crochet blanket.

We wandered around the front, but it was very blustery so we ventured away from the sea. We walked up and down the little shop filled streets and some of the residential area. There were dozens of dogs being paraded and Ben didn't know where to head first. One couple had 7 in tow, mixed sizes from Husky type to tiny Terrier. All were very friendly, I expect the sun was as good for them as it is for us. Today was the first day this week that we haven't had that awful hazy cloud of Sahara dust.

No photos today, I left my camera at home and the batteries are now on charge.

We had to have fish and chips, the smell was overwhelming, they were delicious, Ben had some of my fish, minus the batter which I didn't eat either.

We are now lined up on the sofa watching reruns of "How I Met your Mother" some of it is funny some not.

Soon I will get a light meal on the go, I have walked so much today that I am beginning to feel in need of food.

Tomorrow will be another busy day and I have a stack of granny squares to crochet round in red.

I hope that you have all enjoyed your day as much as I have mine, even after all the walking Ben still asked for a walk this afternoon and is now snoozing beside me.

Reasons to be grateful.

1. Lovely weather all day.

2. Watching Ben tearing round the trees in the woods.

3. A tasty lunch out at a very reasonable price.

4. Relaxing after a hectic week.

5. All that walking hasn't hurt my foot at all.

I did strap my ankle and foot up before I left and did not rush around, I also stopped a couple of times and sat down to rest.

That's all for today, I am off to the kitchen.


           TTFN                                       Pam

Thanks to Barbara

Look what the postie brought me,

The packaging is nearly as good as the contents.

When I moaned about not finding bright yellow Aran yarn I had 2 suggestions. 1 from Rupert, I followed his link and found some wonderful yarn and have ordered some but for a different project.

The other was from Barbara and I scored gold on her link. I ordered all the above, the top photo is the yarn for the Minion hats, I do still have to find some red for the tongues because I forgot about it until it arrived, too late Ethel.

The 3 very bright colours in the second pic are for my granny squares, I just happened to click on DK, saw those and oops they were in my basket in the blink of an eye. They are even better in real life, loud doesn't begin to cover it and once I find the right shade of red for the sashing I may have to buy some sunnies.

I forgot to show you my card and choccies from Fran.

I know that I gave chocolate up for Lent but I had to open one bag and smell them, heavenly. I can not remember the last time I had some, once Lent is over I will eat this bag in as short a time as I can without being ill.

The kitchen is finished bar a little touch up of the paint on the tile trim, now I have to get every thing back into it's proper place.

Just the front bedroom to do and a little snag list, this will not take long and I am thinking middle of next week simply because of the enormous wardrobes that have to be dismantled. Why oh why did I buy them?

Reasons to be grateful.

1. Michael walked Ben for me today as I have done something to my left ankle.

2. Ben came back and has been snoring ever since, he makes such funny noises that make me smile.

3. I have all that lovely yarn to stroke.

4. I was given a large bundle of freshly lifted leeks today.

5. I have the offer of a trip to Sandringham and then on to the coast on Friday, with Ben of course.

I have no recollection of tripping or slipping but my ankle has been playing up for a few days and this morning is swollen and tender. It is strapped up and most of the time is propped up on a pile of cushions.

I have used the time to crochet and surf the net.

The pile of squares is growing, there are some middles there waiting for 2 more colours.

The little trimmings will be used as stuffing for something or other.

Newsflash

Do you remember me telling you that I heard a Woodpecker a while ago, I spotted the hole he pecked out while chatting to Marina yesterday afternoon, I am going to try to get close enough to take a photo.

It has been brought to my attention that I have not had tea for ages, Michael is putting the kettle on for a brew before he starts clearing the decks in the bedroom. It's good being fussed round for a little while.

               TTFN                                                      Pam

More photos and other scribble.

I have had a mixed day today, do you remember I said that I had bid for a cooker on ebay, well I had an email to say that I had been outbid and as I was not prepared to pay more declined to up my bid. I then proceeded to buy a new one online. This morning I got a message from the ebay vendor asking when I wanted to collect it. I replied with the salient facts and checking back found that ebay had in fact emailed me 2 hours after the first message to say that some one had redacted their bid so the cooker was now mine. I don't think so. I was not aware that you could withdraw an offer once confirmed and I wondered whether the vendor had arranged for someone to push the price up. I may be cynical but I am sure that it happens.

Moving on I did a quick trip into Wisbech and had a dash round Asda for a few things. I did notice that their white bread flour is 20p  a bag cheaper than Sainsburys.

Ben has had 2 walks and a trip round the local park just because the sun was shining. I have done no gardening today but I have crocheted some more granny squares.

These were taken round Fran's shared house, the middle one is just outside the back door, it is underplanted with Hyacinths and the scent is wonderful.

This lodge fronts the main road but has this side facing the park, it overlooks the colorful border that was in yesterday's post.

This is just a random shot showing how pretty the whole place is

and that families were out there enjoying the day.

Reasons to be grateful.

1. April Fool's day and it was warm enough to walk without a jacket.

2. My postie brought me a parcel this morning.

3.  My wool for the Minion hats is on its way.

4. Ben had a mad play with a young Scottie this afternoon.

5. Roast chicken and salad tonight, the chicken is in the oven and scenting the cottage out, yum.

I do have cold roast beef but when I was shopping the chickens were being marked down to less than half price so I bought one. Naughty but it will be very nice.

I hung a load of washing out and it was ironing dry within 1 1/2 hrs, not bad for this time of the year.

Even better was the fact that only 6 things need ironing.

I will share my parcel tomorrow, I just need some "only me gloating time"

I really have to go, the smell of roasting chicken is overwhelming, I better get the salad organised.

              TTFN                                                   Pam