Busy week.....

Well I've been back to work for a week & what a busy week it's been, our sale started on Thursday so I had to work late to set up etc. On Saturday it was so busy, I sat at the furniture ordering point nearly all day doing really complicated orders & interest free credit...... I was bushed when 5.30 came.


I had agreed to go out with Penny to this.....



It was in a open air play in Crediton's town square and very good it was too. Although after a stressful day it maybe wasn't the best place to go.....after the first 15 mins I did wonder what the hell was going on!!!
I'm not a huge Shakespeare fan but this is Penny's favourite play so I went along..... only £5... bargain!!! It went on for 3 hours so you did get your monies worth! It finished at 10.40 so it was a mad rush for the bus & what a bus journey that was...... picture this..... me & Penny discussing a Shakespeare play on a bus full of very drunk people!! It was one of the worse journeys I've ever had.

I thought I'd share this with you.......

On Tuesday I took my first Brownie meeting..... how frightening was that!!
They wanted me to teach the girls how to crochet, which is the reason I joined in January but I was still a bit nervous! I planned to make placemats & coasters so I set them off making a long chain..... there was only 5 girls there but boy was it hard work. One of the mothers said that she was disappointed as her daughter could crochet already.... great I thought she can help the other girls..... well I not sure who taught her but she didn't have a clue!!!!
I decided to make flowers for them to bulk out the coaster as it was taking so long.

It was the first time I've ever seen the girls sit still for the whole 1 3/4 hours..... I had to ask them to pack away & one of them said 'can we not stay all night??'

I think it went down well & they want to do it again..... they did ask if I could teach them how to make flowers..... one step at a time.... I mean lets face it they were rubbish at doing the chain stitch!!!

I've been busy making birthday presents all week so I'll be back to show you them soon..... my weekend starts on Tuesday...can't wait.

Fab day out & the end of my time off

Hello everyone, hope you're all enjoying the beautiful weather we're having.....why wasn't it like this last week????

However I do think it may be a little bit too warm today.... I was up nice & early to do my house work before it got too hot but I can't even go in the garden this afternoon without roasting...... I don't do sunshine!!!!
I need to sort out a sheltered spot for next year but then who's to say we'll have a good summer next year!

I'm a little bit behind with my blog so first up thanks to everyone one who left a comment on my last post..... it was great to meet so many new friends through Floss's birthday party..... what a great idea.

On Friday I had a great day out in Totnes with Sal......I'm not used to taking photo's for my blog when out & about so you can read Sal's post here.
It was great to be with a like minded person & not dashing about while OH waits in a near by pub!!!

This is what I brought......

A doormat from Amanda..... it's too thick for my front door but I've found another home

The goodies below ......

I've been looking for the Ladybird Crochet book for a while now so I was very happy. The plate & bowl is for work..... think everyone will know it's mine!!!

Some more red spotty fabric and gift bags for my friend's birthday gifts.

After shopping we spent the afternoon at Sal's beautiful house..... her blog does not do it justice.... the garden is fantastic.... so beautiful..... & her craft room??? Well I'd still be there now!!! I never seen so many goodies, it would take you hours to look at everything.

She very kindly let me take this home....

Thanks for a great day Sal, so nice of you to invite me to yours to have lunch & meet the family.

I showed you theses flowers on Saturday.....

Really beautiful but they didn't last long.... you were right Sal!!!

So it got me thinking........... what do I have in my garden???? Now I'm more into veg then flowers but I managed to pull together this....

I think they look lovely............. lots of cat mint, mint, lavender, jasmine & roses.

Wonder how much that would cost in a shop??

I must tell you a funny story about our parasol..... on Friday after my fab day out I returned home to noticed our large green parasol was missing!!!! I looked around the garden but couldn't see it..... I didn't want to ask OH as he would be angry because he hates living here. All night I sat & pondered where it could have gone, in the morning I had to point it out to OH to ask if he had moved it....NO!!! I was right he was angry, as you all know we've had a few problems since moving here with the terrible children. After we both walked around the garden looking for signs that some one had climbed the gate we gave up.

Later that afternoon I spoke to my neighbour to see if he had seen anything odd...... well yes he had...... the parasol had been lifted by a big gust of wind into the garden behind!!!

It was in a base so the wind must have been very strong..... thankfully it didn't damage anything although it was a shame that none of the horrible kids where hurt...lol!!!

So all that worrying was for nothing....... how silly!!!

It was back to work on Monday.... boy I sometimes wonder how they manage without me..... my tray was full of things that should've been sorted last week!!!!!

I will be back soon to tell you how how my Brownie night went on Tuesday.

Bonjour.......

Today I'm off to .......

I have my gift ready......

Some beautiful wild flowers to remind you of Devon.

Hope it's not windy......

I will be wearing my best dress.......
With my party shoes......

Mind you if you know me you know I'm more likely to arrive wearing these....

When I arrive after a hop across the water I would like one of these please.... G&T's can't be beaten on a warm sunny day.......

I've brought the picnic.....

But looking at all the people who are attending it might end up looking like this........

Joyeux anniversaire Floss.......hope that's right! Have a wonderful day.

A week of sunshine & showers

It's been a funny week this week, on Sunday the weather was lovely but on Monday the heavens opened with a very big storm. The road outside was flooded but I was safely tucked up in bed watching TV!! The rain was so bad it lift up the road near me!!!

Tuesday the sun came out again so as it was the first day of the Royal Ascot meeting we decided to pop to the pub for lunch & meet some friends to watch it.

Normally when we do this it's fun but the day was full of crazy people..... ever had one of those days??? Should have just stayed home!!!

On Wednesday I headed to my parents for lunch......yummy roast turkey..... my favourite!

You can't beat your mum's roasts can you??

I had a huge plate full but managed to eat the lot!!!

What was this birthday challenge thing???.....lol!!!!!

My parents have a few pets but I must confess I do love this one......

Her name is Sophie & they've only had her a for about 18months. her owner passed away & she was being offered free to a good home!!! Can you believe how lucky were they???

Mind you she does have a very good home..... we curled up on the sofa together .... just don't tell dad!!!!

Today has been a odd day weather wise.... this morning the sun was shining but then it got very cloudy & has been a bit hit & miss all afternoon.

Never mind there was house work to be done........

How often do you clean your oven????

I hate doing it..... when I brought it 3 years ago I thought.... 'oh look at me with my nice big oven' .....now I'm thinking 'OMG why did we buy such a stupid oven'!!!

It's really hard to get in to clean & now I've got a sore neck. So house work done I headed to the garden.

My lovely Jasmine over the arch......

The flowers came out on Tuesday but I must say it's getting harder to get to the washing line.

My runner beans are doing well......

Picked some strawberries today....

Won't be getting fat on theses!


Hope the grapes do better......



What is this?????

It's growing at the top of the garden around my poppy. Last year I planted up a load of plants my friend gave me from her garden so I though it might be something really beautiful but now I'm thinking it's a weed.

What ever it is I don't like it because when I touch it I come out in a really bad rash, even if I wear gloves, that lasts for a few days .

Sorry if the photo's are rubbish I'm really enjoying the fact I don't have to fight with the camera batteries. The battery in my phone last about a week which is fantastic so you'll have to put up with bad photo's I'm afraid.

I'm going out for the day tomorrow..... can't wait!!!

Back soon with the details.

BTW.... I've updated my shop with some bargain flower corsages.... the ones from the photo shot.... go on check them out.

Hooray for holidays ....again!!!

Hope you've all had a good weekend....mine was very busy & I think this week will be just the same.

The above pictures were taken by a professional photographer...... can't you tell???...lol!!!

She's a friend of mine & offered to do these free of charge..... look great don't they??

When she emailed them to me I couldn't believe that I made them...... I would love to be able to afford to have all my things photographed by her but sadly funds don't allow.

Back to normal.......

These photo's are really bad....sorry..... I forgot to take a photo to show you so ended up taking theses at work a few minutes before wrapping them up.



They're Penny's birthday gifts.

I was pleased with the slide & already I've been asked to make some more.



So Friday night saw us head to the pub to celebrate Penny's special day, the pub she choose has a lovely big garden right beside the old city wall...... it's a great pub but one of the most expensive in town, I don't think the service is up to much either but the chips are great!!!!



Saturday saw yet another early start at work for the final day..... I love the last day feeling but hate sorting out last minute things & leaving handovers etc. I also had lots of staffing issues that meant sitting down & telling people off....hate that :(



I was supposed to finish at 4.30 but ended up leaving late as always ..... I ran to the craft fair.....
No photo's you'll be pleased to hear!!!


See Sal's post for some great photo's.

I didn't buy anything & was a bit disappointed, I did like the berets & the Russian doll corsages but I thought the lady was rude....... I said hello as I walked into her tent but she looked at me as if I was crazy...... none of my hard earned money for you Mrs!!!



Then it was a dash to my friends to get changed & then off we went to here.......




To see The Beat......

How was it????? FANTASTIC!!!!!!!

It wasn't very busy which was a shame but once they came on we realized it was a good thing as there was loads of room to dance!!!

I went with my friend Charlie....(Liv's mum)..... we've known it each for about 25 years so it was just like the old school disco days!!! I did say I wasn't going to dance as I'm too old & a little bit too tubby but once they started you couldn't sit still!!!!

I did get home early which for us oldies is a good thing, I was worn out for working since before 8am, standing all day, rushing about & then finishing it off with 2 hours of dancing to ska music.... result Pat Butcher feet....lol!!!!




Out again all day Sunday so I was glad of the rest yesterday & had a really lazy day..... didn't enjoy the storm in the afternoon........ & the rain....well that was something else, my kitchen got a bit wet as I'd left the back door open..... fool!!!

I've been asked to have a stall at Liv's school fete.....aaarrrr..... not sure I'm ready for that!!!

I've been thinking about doing it for at least a year but I'm happy just to think about it!!!

They asked how much stock I had ........ NONE!!! so with just 4 weeks to go I better get moving!!

I also have to make another 10 corsage for a local shop before I go back to work next week.

Yesterday was a list day..... I love making lists..... getting myself sorted, ordering things I need etc ...and today??? I just need to get on with it before the week rushes by.

Birthday challenge update: Not great, I've been up & down so much that I'm now back to the weight I was when I started...... so much for dancing to keep you fit!!!

Back soon

Just popping in

Hello everyone,

Just popping in to say I'm still about, sorry I haven't been leaving many comments of late but I'm still checking in now & again. I've found some new games on Facebook & I just can't stop myself....somebody please help!!!!

I've also been making birthday presents all week.... in between playing games..... why do I have so many birthdays close together???

It's a busy weekend for me.... tomorrow is Penny's birthday, some of you met Penny at the fair. She's having a party in a local pub... yes it is a big one but I won't say which one!!!

So It's off to work at 7am then straight to the party.

On Saturday I'm going to see these oldies.....

Remember them????

I used to really like them when I was young but never saw them live until about 2 years ago when I managed to get in on the guest list. I thought they were great & ended up at the front most of the night!!

I also have to fit in the craft fair on Saturday at some point plus getting any bits & pieces needed in town as I won't be in the city centre again for a week......why????

Hurray for holidays!!!!

Yes that's right I'm on holiday......AGAIN!!

I have to take a weeks holiday every 6 weeks due to stress levels.... not sure why... it's not like I'm saving lives or anything but I was signed off due to stress 2 years ago & I never want to go there again.

May be it's the fact I work with 2 male managers who think it's ok for me to do all the work!!

Hope to be back on Sunday with some photo's of my presents & maybe some of the gig if I don't have too much cider...hehehe!!

Have a great weekend

What a difference a day makes

This was the view on my way home today......

A very different day from yesterday when I woke to dark cloudy skies & decided not to walk the 2 miles to work just in case it rained. So I set off to get the bus & just as I was about to leave the sky lite up.... it must be my eyes I thought but by the time I got to the gate the thunder came & also the rain :(

I hate thunder, always have done, so I ran back inside as fast as I could. I tried to leave again about 10 mins later & the same thing happened... so I waited for another 15 mins... no more thunder... ah it must be over. So OH got dressed to walk me to the bus stop, just in case, when we got outside there was the loudest thunder I've ever heard.... even OH jumped!! The ground shock & by that time I'd really had enough & was rather upset.

I called work & was told not to come in til it had passed...... big girl :(

It's hard to believe how different today was.

I love this bridge in the city wall & would love to walk over it but it's been closed for years.....

Weeks ago Floss tagged me to list 7 things about myself, I'm trying really hard to think of 7 things as I listed 25 things a while ago which you can see here. Sorry a bit of a cop out.

Now if you haven't read it before don't be put off, I'm not a cider drinking yob... I promise!!!

I've also been tagged by Rose to list 6 thing I love..

You need to follow these rules:
1. Pick 6 unimportant things you love
2. Mention & link to the person who tagged you
3. Tag 6 of your favourite bloggers to play along ( I'm not going to do this but if you want to give it a go feel free)

So here are mine....

1. The smell of pubs... weird I know but when I was little my dad used to go to the pub once a week on a Sunday evening. He would have a few then come home to help with bath time etc. I remember sitting on his knee in nice clean PJ's watching dad's army!! Every time I smell pubs on people it takes me back to those time.

2. Spending warm summer days indoors..... Think that's a Smith's song!!! I like the fact I should be outside but I'm not!

3. Afternoon naps... don't need to explain that one!

4. Neatly folded linens.... I've been known to refold things if they're not done to my standards.

5. Wool.... and lots of it!!!

6. Clean sheets.... not that unimportant!

Phew glad that's over, I've been thinking about that for days but couldn't think of anything I love which is silly because I love loads!!

I watched this on Thursday........

Not as good as I thought, glad I didn't pay £10. I loved the book because it was written through children's eyes but the film was different. The ending was good but a bit OTT compared to the book.

I would recommend it, hire it don't buy it but do read the book as it's loads better.

I taught my friend how to crochet on Friday, it went really well. She's been asking me for months now & I wasn't sure if I could do it but on Friday we met in Starbucks at 8am, I've never crocheted in public before so I felt a bit odd!! We stayed for 45 mins & she completed a flower..... next week we're aiming for the second row of petals!!!

In 3 weeks time I'm teaching the Brownies how to crochet...... I've been asked to take the session which is a bit worrying...... any ideas what they can make??

Hope you've all had a good weekend.

Back soon

Treats

Hello everyone, hope you've still got the lovely sunshine.

It's my day off again so I thought I'd do a quick post & share some treats with you.

First up & no picture....... my lovely new phone arrived today....yippee!!!

I love it, it's fantastic & yes I've been playing with it all day!!!

It's so quick & easy to use, I have problems texting people as I have chipolata fingers.... does anyone else have this problem??

Anyway I managed to send a text in about 5 seconds... how cool is that??

So I thought I'd use the camera to take some photo's to check out the quality..... don't think they look that good which is a shame because I was hoping I wouldn't have to buy a new camera. What does it look like your end????

So this is my new mug.....

I've been looking at it everyday on my way to work so decided to check out the price, now I was happy to pay about £5 for it but when I went in it was only £2.95..... bargain.

Then on to the library where I borrowed this film......

Have you seen it?? I read the book last year & I've been wanting to buy the DVD but I know I would only watch it once so it would be a waste of money. I was planning on watching it this afternoon but I haven't had time..... too busy playing!!!

The book was from Amazon, I had to ordered OH's birthday present & I thought it would be rude not to order myself something.

The hangers belong to my late nan, mum was going through somethings & found them. I think I'm going to crochet some flowers to go on them to cheer them up.

A photo of the garden.....

My salad bed & grape vine, we had 2 grapes last year but things are looking good this year.