Monday 27 May 2013

Rain, Rain.....

go away, come again another day!

Tomorrow I need it to be sunny because.......



Momma's not taking me because she can't drive so it's daddy!!

I'm very excited!!!

So which zoo is it? Find out here 

I've been before & had a great time.

Fingers crossed for sunshine!




Friday 24 May 2013

DIY Lightbox

About 3 months ago I spotted this on Pinterest...


Just what I need!!

You know what's it's like.... you pin it, go back, re read, wait until you remember to bring a box home from work, the box sit in the porch where you left it until finally you get around to it!!!!

The instructions are very clear & it looked so easy however in reality your knife isn't as sharp as you thought, you can't find the right tape & you have it balanced while watching Bargain Hunt!



It didn't take long to make


But has it worked?


Before


After

I think it worked a treat & it only cost me 69p for the tissue paper!

 It said to put it in as much light as possible...... well there's not much light around today!
I tried to take it in the garden but it's very flimsy & the wind is strong today..... not a good mix!!

I will be playing around in the future to see if I can make the photo's even better.

I'm working on a new brooch design for Crikey so this should be perfect for promoting them on Facebook.

If you want to give it a go click HERE





Monday 20 May 2013

Away too long!

Well it's been over a week since I last posted. I would like to say I've been really busy but that would be a lie!

So what's new....


Busy making pin cushions 


New cherry brooches...... smaller & cheaper then my knitted ones!


Making tea cosies for orders




Trying to finish my crochet blanket I started 5 years ago!

Trying out the new 'A Beautiful Mess' app




Still not back to work, I was planning to go back today but unfortunately as it got closer to the date I became worse again. I won't go into details but the symptoms aren't pleasant.

I'm signed off until the end of the month. I really should use this time to make things for Crikey but I'm  finding it hard to get going.
This is the longest time off I can remember ever having......I started work the week after I left school &  I've never been out of work for longer then a couple of weeks.
I should be enjoying it but instead I'm feeling guilty! 

Hope to be back soon with some more interesting things!




Friday 10 May 2013

April Book Reviews

April was a good month for reading..... I managed 3!!

Ok so I'm a long way off my target of 50 but hey ho!


Even her closest friend agreed that Shark Grayson wasn't fit to keep her baby. A heroin addict, living in a sordid London squat, she was already close to death when her American lover took charge of the situation by force, and carried off the baby Alexander to give him a loving home in the Mid-West and an affluent future. But now Alex is twenty-seven, orphaned again and afflicted by a sense of lost roots and a romantic vision of England. A business trip provides the chance to go and trace his unknown relatives. He finds friendship; encounters some startlingly predatory girls; and confronts mystery in the eccentric alternative health centre run by the austere Julia. He discovers that while some British people are very hard indeed to get along with, some turn out to be, after all, more closely akin to him than he could ever have imagined.

First up Mother Country 
A lady I work with lent me this book & I must confess I wasn't sure at the beginning. She kept saying how good it was so I felt I should stick with it & I'm glad I did.
Once over the 'hump' of the book I found I couldn't put it down & read it in under a week which is very fast for me.
It's not the sort of book I normally read & I doubt I'll read it again but I did really enjoy it. 
8/10


World War Two is finally over. Millions all over the country are starting to wonder if peacetime really is much of an improvement on the War. Food shortages, endless queues, power cuts, rationing and freezing winters make it extremely difficult to make ends meet as husbands return from battlefields to families they hardly know. Yet some East Enders are living large...in a bombed out damp and squalid Hackney slum, one family are leading a life of luxury, a loadsamoney world funded by illegal betting, where virtually everything is available, thanks to a thriving black market. The Hyams family has a retinue of unofficial servants: a chauffeur, a cleaner and an army of delivery men. They take seaside holidays in posh hotels and dine on the finest foods and delicacies money can buy...but at the core of their daily life, an ever-growing nightmare lurks, threatening to wreck their luxurious existence. In this honest and sincere memoir, Jacky Hyams revisits the 'live for today' world of her childhood, a world where money was no object, growing up in a household underpinned by betting, booze and bribes. From stories of her parents partying with the Krays in the East End of old, to the optimistic swinging sixties of London's West End, this is the intimate story of a unique childhood, set against the backdrop of squalid, post-War Hackney.


Now you all know how much I love social history books & I really enjoyed this one. A nice quick easy read.
There was nothing in here I didn't already know about the East End of London but it was still very interesting. I'm please to see there is a follow up book which takes as through the 60's.
The best bit about this book is the price.... 69p on Kindle!!!
It's a real bargain!!
8/10


Karl Engel is a rising star among Nazi guards at a concentration camp. Making a name for himself through his brutality and impassioned hatred of all things Jewish, the arrival of new prisoners forces him to begin to question everything he’s ever known. In a place known for despair, death, and hate, is it possible to find hope, life, and love? In Poland, 1943, the most profound discovery that Karl will make in The Camp—is himself.


I book this book back in February for only 75p on Kindle, I hadn't heard of the author so left it until I had nothing else to read.
It was excellent!!
So many twist that I found myself saying 'Nooooo!!!' out loud several times.
The way it was written was very clever & I would really recommend reading it if like me you enjoy books about the Holocaust. It's now gone up in price but still a bargain.
I'm so pleased to see there's part 2 & have added that to my wish list..... which I might add is growing daily!
10/10

So that's it for April. Unfortunately I'm struggling at the moment with a book I thought was really good  but with 200 pages left I'm finding it hard going. I won't give in but it's slowing me down!
I can't wait to finish it so I can buy more from my wish list!





Wednesday 8 May 2013

Victory In Europe

Today marks the 68th anniversary of Victory In Europe!


Lets not forget the brave people who gave their lives for us


The joy they must have felt when it was all over


The hopes & dreams for the future.

How I would love to go back to that day!

The last picture is from my home city of Exeter


If you're from Devon click here to see more lovely photo's 




Sunday 5 May 2013

April 2013


So another month as gone...... do you remember at the beginning of the year I said I was going to slow down & not let the months slip away?

Well it hasn't worked!! I feel once again this year is slipping through my fingers.

April was a funny old month...... teaching crochet at Make, Do and Mend, drinking rather too much, seeing The Wonderstuff, seeing The Beat, watching Jean roll & making tea cosies.

It ended on a bad note...... as you all know I've been struggling with work for some time now & last week I hit an all time low. 
I went to the doctors & I've been signed off with stress..... I think enough is enough!
I've been told not to make any decesions at all but just chill out & do what I want to do.
So far this week I've done nothing!

I need to focus on getting myself together for the next few weeks...... I have lots to make for Crikey so I need to have an action plan.

How does it work if you work from home? 
I need routine & structure otherwise I'm Mrs Lazy!!!

Back soon to do my April book review.