Finally managed it !!

Well I've finally managed to master the heel turning after changing the pattern. This is my first sock, knitted in Jarol New Arrival DK Randoms. I'm really pleased with it for a first go. I've unpicked the other sock back to the bottom of the leg and will finish it the same way as this one. DH put it on for me because I can't get down there! He was in a very precarious position and it was not wise to say that all I needed now was a one legged multi coloured sock lover to wear it.............I will of course knit the other one asap. The heel was really easy on this one so I'm wondering if the other pattern is not correct.
I did have some help from the lovely ladies on Crafty Threads 'N' yarns they were great, thank you ladies.

Getting ready to quilt

I still have a way to go yet, I've more cut and ready to sew together. When they're all ready I'll make them into blocks and then see how I want to place them on the quilt. I'm being realistic and making a lap quilt first. I think I may put sashing in am not sure yet. Right I'm off to see if I can knit this sock correctly. If you hear a loud yeeaahhhhhhhhhhhhhh don't panic it's just me getting it right at last :o)

Productive weekend

Friday was spent cutting long strips of fabric joining them then cutting them again to make into 9 square blocks. Pics of those in a min. I went to Hobbycraft on Saturday, they hadn't any sock wool but did have some fabric on sale so purchased the 7 mtrs in the picture. From our wool shop in town I purchased some more wool for a crochet blanket plus the only sock pattern they had and one of a choice of two Regia sock wools. This is my progress so far, I've frogged it once due to it not turning out right. I joined a crafters forum and hopefully the advise will help me with it. I also surfed the net and found Royea's site which has pictures so will follow that as well, fingers crossed this works, watch this space!

A great place for baby products

I don't have any babies but seem to be surrounded by soon to be Mums, our very own stitchgroup owner Tanya is patiently awaiting delivery of her new baby, can't wait to see this little one. I checked out a sight earlier after being sent a link, the store of course is in the States but the items which really grabbed me were the assortment of bibs and the lovely fireman baby gift basket. If you'd like to check them out Kangaroodle is the place. I first learned of this site from 5minutesformom have fun and browse away.

Party invite

Hi folks you're all invited to a BIG blog party, click on the button and join in. Put on your red dress, high heels, spritz the hair and prepare to meet new friends. Come on it'll be great fun, I'll bring the green salad and homemade Honey & mustard baked ham. Looking forward to seeing you there.
hugs Peg

Trying again

Blogger seems to be behaving itself today so I'm going to try again to do the short link 'thing' again.

I love the blogs which have a nostalgic theme, they bring back so many precious memories of my childhood holidays with my grandparents. Blogs with houses like Niki are just like the cottages we used to stay in.

When Neils Mum passed away along with other things we inherited boxes of 'trinkets' and such which she'd treasured, before reading these blogs I would probably just have put them on oneside. Now I know there are people out there who love these items I'll have to go through the boxes and with Neils permission see if I can find them a good loving home.

Well I'll publish this and see if my link works....fingers crossed!! Yeah it works, it isn't underlined but if you click on Niki you will be taken to her blog and onto a journey of pure joy :o)

Not a good day!

The munchkins drove me crackers today, it takes me awhile to get going in the mornings and I have to do a little, sit a little and so on. What would normally take someone a couple of hrs takes me twice as long.
I wanted to get on with tidying so I could finally start cutting out for a quilt I have in mind so after sweeping the floors, running the mop over I then used my floor polisher which is a dream to use even a child could do it. All finished downstairs, kitchen tidy, dishwasher emptied, beds made; I slipped into the dining room to put my wool basket out of Paddingtons reach as he has a tendency to try and wrap wool around the rooms.
The site which met my eyes made me want to scream, which I must say I held back, the sitting room, hall and kitchen floors had what looked like a million muddy paw marks over them. The back door was open and I'm sure they'd had a mud party out there. I sat on the bottom of the stairs fantasizing about hanging them from the kitchen beams by their tails but decided it would be just my luck to have visitors who would call the rspca so shut them in the kitchen and started again.

I finally came upstairs around 12 noon, had just decided what fabric to use got everything out then DH decided he needed to print out some pages for the accountant tomorrow, he pays tax & national insurance on his earnings from being a power seller on ebay. Now this room is mine and I thought I would have predominance over it. His computer is the mother one networked to mine and I forgot he can send items to print out. Well where is the printer......at the side of the cutting table so each time I started he came in for the next lot of papers. I gave up he was printing for 2 1/2 hrs and used all my black ink. This didn't bode well for my state of mind I can tell you!

After he'd finished I thought I'd leave the cutting until he'd gone back to work so decided to cut the king sized duvet into dog bed sizes and stitch them. Whilst I'm stitching the first one I felt it tugging back, next I hear a growl and on looking down see Zebedee sitting on the duvet bottom with a sizable chunck in his mouth. After risking life & limb I removed the offending munchkin to his bed and continued.

In the middle of this DH came home from work saying he was dying, couldn't stop sneezing, nose running, sore throat......you know the way men describe a common cold. I then had to go out to get him some Night Nurse which he isn't really supposed to have because it has a decongestant in it but he insisted it was the only thing to save him. He then went back to work for the remainder of the afternoon.

I have to admit by now I was almost at the stage of steam coming out of the ears, have you ever noticed when men are doing something you must not disturb them, when we are we're fair game for interuptions.

Don't get me wrong I love the bones of him and am lost when he's away climbing but somedays...........

Now though I feel really awful for the way I've been a bit sharp, he came home about 10 mins ago and presented me with a box of 24 pks of quilting templates!

I hang my head in shame and will whip myself with 4 lengths of wet thread for 20 mins later this evening for punishment.

A new headmaster has joined the school and insists, politely, that each teacher sorts out their areas and throws out anything which they haven't used for at least a yr. They were a bit bolshy about it at first, he said the school was one of the cleanest he'd ever seen but it had some health & safety issues with, in his words.....'unnecessary clutter'.

He's right Neil's been trying for yrs to make life easier for his cleaning staff. Now there's a very large skip on the school drive and Neil got the chance to use his new electric saw which name escapes me at the moment but it cuts metal and concrete. He chopped up old desks and chairs no longer needed.

The templates were in the science cupboard along with a few sewing magazines, Neil remembered the original Headmaster, Hew (who was Welsh and believed in teaching kids crafts) ordering them for the children to learn but they haven't been used in double figure yrs so the new head said I could have them if I could put them to good use.

I will probably sooth his fevered brow for him later, Neils not Paul the Headmasters......lol

Well off to try and get some cutting out done...........fingers crossed !!!

hugs Peg

Just trying ........

.......to get my head around some technicalities of blogger. A while ago someone kindly told me how to put a short cut link into my posts but I forget what she told me. I've searched blogger help and found the info but blogger is messing with me tonight because when I post and put the link in whatever I write after the link is not showing so I've deleted my posts several times now and am getting really wound up with it. I'm going to try one more time, if this doesn't work I'm giving in and asking someone to show me how again..........lol so please bear with me with this test post.
I did try but to no avail, if you are a whiz kid and can help please email me, link in my side bar. Thanks in advance

Zebedee update

Last Wednesday I took Zebedee to the vets to, as I thought, have his long hair cut back whilst under sedation. Apparently they had to give him extra because he was fighting it so it cost me and extra £15. I dropped him off in the morning at 9.20am and collected him at 4pm. To say I was shocked is an understatement, instead of cutting his body hair they had spent time brushing and cutting out the lugs, which was ok but he wont let us brush him so I'm still faced with the problem of grooming. The main shock was seeing his face, they have shaved his face hair off completely to just above his eyebrows and infront of his ears. He looked horrendous and to be honest scarey. I could have cried why oh why didn't they do as I asked and paid for and cut his coat to about 1" all over.
He's not forgiven me and since then has been even more aggressive. Yesterday he was looking up at me and I noticed a few spots of blood on his bedding, I looked under his chin and they must have started 'hacking' this is the only word to describe it, away at his coat and had cut into his skin. He looks so sore just like a child when they fall and scrape their knees. Of course he won't let me bathe it or put anything on it. I'll have to take him back but how on earth they're going to treat it I don't know. He will not let anyone near his face, he just attacks you. I took a pic of him when I collected him and will post it when I'm back on my own commi. I don't know how we're going to get him to be less aggressive.
I'm beginning to wonder if he's older than we were told when we first adopted him last March. He's like a grumpy old doormouse and sleeps most of the time and hates being disturbed. Any helpful suggestions accepted apart from having him put to sleep ! Believe me when he bites and draws blood I feel like using a rubber mallet on his head.

Megan and Paddington went on Friday for their bath and cut and were both running around like lunatics when they got home showing off their new short hairdos. Trouble is they're both feeling the cold so have an extra blanket to wrap up in in their beds.
I was doing some sorting out in my new sewing room the other day and of course all 4 munchkins were in the midst of it all. I have a spare kingsize duvet which I'm going to cut up and make into large cushion beds for them so I put it on the floor whilst I sorted a box out. Ten minutes later Deeber was flat out on it snoring away, Zebedee near her, Megan and Paddington had pummelled and twirled until they'd formed a nice little nest the other end to accommodate them both and snuggled up together fast asleep! I got a lot more done in the next 2hrs whilst they all slept, it's like having small children when they get in their playing mood :o)

Speaking of playing moods, I think I mentioned in an earlier post I had started crochet and am making a large throw. I keep the wool and my progress panel in a lovely basket I bought from Ikea. Twice now I've come into the room to find the wool trailed around the room and the ball in Paddingtons bed with him sat on it looking for all the world as pleased as punch with his achievement. I now have to put it where he can't get at it and whilst I'm doing the crocheting I keep the wool in a project envelope so he can't get at it or he's worse than a cat ............lol.

Deeber's now ready for a bath which is a mamoth task in itself, she loves water and grooming but she's soooo heavy and I can't help Neil lift her into the bath and she won't waste any energy jumping in!

Well am now off to surf a little more then going to bed, need to get some more work done on my room and hopefully may be able to start some cutting out for a quilt this weekend.

Take care
hugs Peg

Popping in again

We've managed to put Neil's computer online for a short time tonight so I am making the most of it whilst he's at work :o)
I've been surfing through some wonderful new blogs and have enjoyed every minute of it thank you ladies. When the computers are up and running fully I'll post the links in my list as I know I'll go back regularly. We're hoping next Monday morning is d-day for the computers.

I've had disappointment and a wonderful surprise this week, just before Christmas I sent a package off to a fellow stitcher it never arrived so sent another one and am hoping this gets to it's destination this time. I purchased 3 lots of fabric in Oct from a seller on ebay, I'm still waiting for one of the items to arrive, before I knew I would have a problem I purchased several more yards and FQ's from the same seller, this time it was 6mtrs short. I've emailed several times and it wasn't until I contacted ebay that I got a response. I can't go behind peoples backs so I sent the seller a copy of the email I'd sent to ebay explaining it wasn't my wish to spoil her feedback rating so could we please sort this out. It took this to get a response, she say's the package is 1 of 25 being looked for at the depot of the courier. I'm still waiting, it's a shame because her fabric is beautiful quality.

My wonderful surprise was from one of my long time online friends in the US who when she find out I was starting to quilt said as she used to teach quilting anything I needed to know just ask. She said she was having a clear out and to expect a little package in the new year. Well the package turned out to be a box and inside was 6 large rolls of themed 6.5" x 18.5" gorgeous fabrics. The shipping was in double figures, it never ceases to amaze me the way xstitchers and quilters so graciously share their goodies. I'm now waiting for her lists of wants so I can return the wonderful favour.
I'm determined to keep my posts shorter so will end this now and post again.
hugs Peg

Mmm saw this on a blog and did it for the fun of it :o) You Are An ISFJ

The Nurturer You have a strong need to belong, and you very loyal.A good listener, you excell at helping others in practical ways.In your spare time, you enjoy engaging your senses through art, cooking, and music.You find it easy to be devoted to one person, who you do special things for. You would make a good interior designer, chef, or child psychologist.

What's" Your Personality Type?

Not around

Hi everyone
Sorry I'm not around at the moment, we're having some work done on the house so the computers are off for the time being. We're hoping to be up and running sometime late next week. It's surprising how you miss something when it's not there! I'm having to post this from my daughters computer.

We had a nice peaceful Christmas, sharing Christmas lunch with my daughter and family. I will upload some pics when I'm on my computer.

I've managed to stitch some more on one of my Chatelaine samplers and have also started to crochet a throw in beiges, cream and browns. I bought a 'learn to crochet' book so am only doing it in the basic treble st. I hope to expand my knowledge of stitches in due course. BWG

I hope you're all having a great start to the new year. I'll be back as soon as I can to bore you to sleep lol. I miss visiting the blogs I enjoy reading so am champing at the bit so to speak to get back online.

Take care everyone
hugs
Peg

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

A very merry Christmas to everyone and may your Christmas be happy, peaceful and blessed. As the above says your friends are worth more than jewels, your family are even more precious, treasure both. Let past differences be just that 'in' the past, friends this year has proved to me that life is to short to bear grudges and put off contacting that friend or loved one until tomorrow, do it today.

A few years ago I rang what I thought was my local council office but the person who answered was my husbands cousin in law. Somehow I'd dialled his number which isn't even remotely like the council one. He didn't sound right and when he knew who it was he broke down and cried, because he was at a very low point in his life and said he'd needed to speak to someone but couldn't pick up the phone to ring anyone as he didn't want to be a bother . We talked for a while and when I rang off I called his MIL and straight away she went over to be with him. Through a misdialled phone call he got the help he needed.

God works in mysterious ways his wonders to perform and in this case I feel very humble and priviliged He chose to use me to help another one of His children in need.

God showed us the supreme sacrifice when He gave His Beloved Son to die in our stead. During this time of celebration with our families and friends lets not forget the wonderful gift God sent to be amongst us.

Have a wonderful time and for those of you who don't have family to physically share Christmas with please remember you have a vast army of friends here online who care about you and are only an email away.

Also a BIG thank you to all our armed forces who put their lives on the line daily to keep us safe. To the firefighters, ambulance crews and policemen and women thank you also where would we be without your dedication?

hugs Peg

Yeeaahhhh she's done it!!

Our gorgeous little munchkin Megan, in the foreground, has finally done it, she went downstairs on her own!! Now I know you will be thinking yeah so what but this little girl spent the first 3.1/2 yrs of her life shut in a small cage, she couldn't stand up in, abused, starved and bred until she was no longer profitable.

I am so proud of her, she had never encounted stairs until she came to us. As I use a stair lift she is usually the regal queen riding up with Mum whilst the others all have to walk. Over the past few weeks I've had little goes at trying to get her to climb a few stairs at a time. The others will run up in front so she has managed to climb a few and is getting the general idea.

As I mentioned yesterday I've been shopping with my daughter, I rang Neil to see if all was ok and he proudly said I had missed the big event. He was working on the computer so all 4 munchkins were upstairs with him. Apparently Paddington and Zebedee went downstairs and a while later he wondered where Megan was, she wasn't asleep in her bed. He shouted, she barked back.........from downstairs!! She must have followed the others down and managed it well because Neil didn't hear any loud bangs to suggest she'd fallen.

Yeah I know to some of you she's just a dog but as my gorgeous human babes have fled the nest and now have babes of their own these munchkins are my babies. Oooh knowing how far she's progressed is the best Christmas present I could have.

We awoke this morning to a winter wonderland outside, I sadly didn't think to pick up my camera. The sun was shining but everywhere was covered by a very heavy frost. Our roads were dangerous for driving on and the temperature hasn't lifted much all day. Looking from the window now I can see the cars covered with ice and the roads are glazing over. A travel warning has been given over the radio, it doesn't take much to bring England to a standstill weather wise :o)

It upsets me to think there will be people who are not as fortunate as we are and they will be sleeping out. How on this earth do they manage? I was really saddened last year whilst at my stitch club, new bus shelters had been built in a large area in the town and some of the ladies were complaining that 'these people' dared to bring blankets under the shelters around teatime and were getting ready to bed down. With respect to them all these ladies all have good, warm homes to go to with families who care about them. Yes I know some people are on the streets by choice but it must be a darned horrible alternative to make them want to live their lives like this. The temperature at the moment is at -2 degrees and will get colder as the night wears on. I thank the Lord daily for what I have and know it's only by His grace and not because I of anything I've done.

The shops as predicted were manic, I'm sure people think the world ends at Christmas the way they buy, buy, buy, shopping baskets full to overflowing when probably half of the goodies will be wasted. We'll be sharing Christmas lunch with our daughter and her family, the dogs will come with us so that will be 6 humans and 5 dogs as they have a gorgeous young lady called Lucy who is a Black/Tan Cocker spaniel who has a wonderful character and is able to keep Zebedee under control even though she's only 1yr old :o)

Well that's it for now, I'm off to have something to eat, enjoy your evening and if you need to travel please do be careful. Please spare a thought for my SIL in this pic, he works for Green Flag rescue and is on call tonight after a full day at work.

Warm hugs to you all

Peg

A world of wonder

I was really busy this morning catching up on jobs until fatique took over again so I spent a little time studying the inside of my eyelids ;o)

For the past couple of hours I've been surfing through other blogs and I've spent a great time in a world of wonder! I have found some amazing new ones, some I came across are lovers of all things vintage and it was so wonderful being transported to past times. Some of these ladies are young enough to be my daughters and I'm not that old but seeing things from the past I thought were lost has been so pleasurable, thank you ladies for sharing. I will add them to blogs I like to visit later so you also may share in the pleasure too.

I'm dreading tomorrow, I'm going shopping with my daughter, I really do hate it at this time of year. Everyone panic buys, the shops are only closed for 1 day and nothing in them is going out of style I find it too stressing and will probably come home with a huge headache.

Two of our little munchkins are going to love me this Friday, Megan and Paddington are booked in for a bath and haircut, they're both good but neither like their beards or legs being done.
Zebedee will be going Saturday.......good luck to them, he hates being combed, having his coat cut and doing his face is like facing Attilla the Hun on a bad day! We may end up having the vet sedate him and letting them cut around his eyes and mouth. I bear the scars of trying to wipe his mouth never mind cut his fur. He hates scissors and he hates the clippers, he's an angry little munchkin in general, people who ill treat these dogs don't just cause them agony whilst they have them but scar them for life. No matter how much we show him he'll never be ill treated again he's a dog and just doesn't understand.

Well I'm off to surf some more of these great blogs, have a great Thursday
hugs Peg

Our School website

A few years ago Neil designed a website for the school he works at,

the sight has now been updated and he's asked me if readers of my blog would kindly visit the site and sign the guest book so the children can see they've had visitors from around the world. When I put out this request on stitching groups I was on the children were amazed at the places people had taken time to visit from. Would you like to make their day? If so please visit Holmehall Primary school The photo is of the school entrance in Autumn of this year. Thank you in advance :o)

Goodness I think we're in for a cold night......time to wrap up warm with a cup of hot chocolate!

hugs Peg

Just trying this out

Good morning to one and all, today I'm feeling good, the fatique seems to have gone, my flare up has calmed ...yeahhhh.

I've been trying to get myself more technical minded and have enlisted the help of two lovely ladies I've already used the advice of Melissa to enable me to put the banner in the corner of my blog. Also Beth very kindly helped me to make these 'quick' links, thank you ladies for explaining in simple english and making it so easy, you are both real treasures. Plus they both have great blogs folks :o)

hugs Peg

Another new week

Goodness I think if the weeks go by any quicker I'll be meeting myself coming back! I thought I'd just post a recent pic of myself.............huh I wish....lol. Isn't she pretty, she is by curtesy of http://www.glitter-graphics.com they have a miriad of free downloadable graphics and blinkies etc.
I was still suffering with fatique after breakfast but knew if I sat I'd soon be back asleep. I decided to do a little more in my sewing room after I'd done a little tidying. DD had taken my ironing to do for me so I needed to put that away. I changed the bedding and oh boy did I make a hash of it. It took me almost 40 mins to get the fresh duvet cover on, roll on the time when I've made a quilt for the bed.

I had a delivery of two gorgeous fabrics today, one is a dark blue fleece and the other is a tartan fabric. Both are soft and great quality. I'm still awaiting delivery of more fabric, once it's in I can decide which I will use for the bed. I want to make Mums lap quilt out of homespun checks, she's not a flowery fabric person but loves earthy tones.

Thankfully we may see an end to the senseless killing of the young ladies of the night in Ipswich, it's been announced that police have a man in custody. They've named him which is unusual if he's not an almost certain suspect. I know the young girls live a life surrounded by violence and degregation but they are still human and someone's daughter. God doesn't like what they do but He still loves them and His Son died for them too. My heart goes out to the families of these girls.

It was also in the news tonight that 2 people have died of the MRSA bug at the hospital our son Paul was taken to and spent many months in after his accident. I feel for the families of these people too but can't help feeling relieved he isn't still a patient there. He caught the bug whilst in intensive care there and contacted it again at the spinal unit. Whilst he was there and the spinal unit he was isolated in a room of his own and barrier nursing put into operation at all times.

I've found some new blogs today, I love reading about other peoples daily life, does that make me a people person or just plain nosey??

have a good week
hugs Peg

As promised, the pics are of our youngest grandson Jacob, he's a real cutie and very much knows his own mind! The one on the right is just before he started school, the left one shows him on the righthand side taking the part of the Inn Keeper, looking at us in the audience.

This one is of the reindeer, all the children are in their first year of school and did amazingly well to remember all their lines.

His Daddy is taking him to a wonderful world of magic today, we have a garden center about 8 miles away which transforms into a Christmas winter wonderland complete with decorations and real reindeer at this time of year. It's a delight for both children and adults.

Enjoy your Sunday, may it bring you all your heart desires

hugs Peg

So much to do so little time!!

I think I may need the help of my fairy friends this week, I'm so tired again and yesterday wasn't to busy really. I think it's a few of my health issues rearing their ugly heads again.
I need to get myself organised but I have neither the energy nor the motivation at the moment. That sounds awful doesn't it but I think honesty is the best policy...lol

During this morning quite a large group of people gathered outside our home, next thing the most beautiful sound of a Christmas carol came across the breeze, it was totally unexpected but so nice. They're from a local church near us, whilst they were singing young ladies went from door to door with baskets of chocolate and leaflets advertising this evenings carol service.

I rang Philly, DIL, earlier to see how they all were and Paul isn't well today, he's having a lot of pain in his back. I know most of this week he's had problems getting up and about with being so stiff, at the moment it's 2 steps forward and 1 step back. The physio was pleased with him on Tuesday though he's able to lift his arm to 120% now which is a vast improvement. Like all Mums it breaks my heart to see him in pain and I want to take it away from him.

hugs

Peg

Only 9 more days to Christmas!

Gosh, where does the time go? This has been another busy week of activities, tiring me out completely. I haven't seen much of Neil, this time of year he is busy with school concerts and plays.

Last Saturday evening we went out for a meal as I said we would. We had a great time with friends and the whole evening was relaxing. The meal was everything you'd want it to be and the company was just as good. I think I over did it a little though, I spent Sunday and Monday sleeping the days and nights away. I felt exhausted, the little munchkins kept trying to poke me whilst I slept but even their comical antics couldn't get me going. Zebedee thought it most amusing to 'steal' my slippers each time I took them off. He's not one to argue with either as I have proved many times. Megan rushes to my defence each time like a warrior princess!

Tuesday I felt a little better so managed to finish a couple of small projects off. The Token of love motif is from the Ackworth Quaker School book.

The Sarah Smithfield quaker pinkeep is from Carriage house samplings. Both these will hopefully be made into pinkeeps this week.

The picture at the top are of my Christmas Mantle. We haven't decorated at Christmas for the past few years just because we're not usually here but this year after seeing the beautiful blogs etc of others and the wonderful decorations gave me the urge to just decorate a little...lol. Our sitting room isn't large since the renovations so we can't have a large free standing tree so a small one is sufficient for us. I made the cloth which covers the mantle shelf on Tuesday, now my daughter wants a table runner for her coffee table!

I'm sorry if the pics are out of sinc I have problems putting them in the right place but to coin a phrase I'm sure you get the picture!!!

Wednesday I enjoyed seeing our youngest grandson Jacob in his nativity play at school, the children were great! I'll post some pics tomorrow. For a couple of hours in the evening I babysat whilst Mum and Dad were at a golf club meal. This again shattered me so Thursday and Friday were rest days again. Today has been busy with shopping and visiting the library, I ordered some Meg Evans books, I saw these beautiful books on ebay of her lovely work and fancy having a go in the new year. I've never stitched on plastic canvas before so watch this space BWG!

I also had some more gorgeous fabrics from ebay, they are mainly checked which I want to make into a lap quilt but they were all bargains and I will probably have enough for at least 3 lap quilts.

Neil finishes work on Wednesday next so his health permitting he may be able to put the flooring down in the front bedroom and finish off my sewing room. I will of course let him have Christmas and the next day off lol.

Enjoy your week

Peg

Another week gone !

Well another week has gone by and I'm another year older! This week has been a very busy week for birthdays in our family, Jacob started the week off on Sunday with his 5th birthday, Molly was 10yrs old on Monday and my birthday was on Wednesday. I celebrated mine with Diazapam and Dehydrocodiene plus my usual meds. I didn't bother adding a little alchohol to the mixture as it doesn't suit me with my cocktail of prescription drugs.....lol

I can fall down without the effects of drink as I proved on Monday, breaking my specs in the process. I should at the time have been resting anyway but didn't do as I was told. Because of breaking my specs my enforced rest was not as usual spent stitching which drove me crackers!! I didn't get them back until today so will make up for it over the next week. One of the yahoo groups I belong to are stitching pinkeeps I have 3 stitched pieces made up but need to finish them.

Tomorrow evening we will be joining friends for their church's Christmas meal at an inn in the Peak district. They're a small gathering but made up of really sweet, dedicated christians who's company we always enjoy whenever Neil ministers there.

Our room swap over hasn't got much nearer completion, this term is really busy for Neil so it's a case of doing a little at a time. DD was coming to help out but couldn't get so that blew that idea :o) Her youngest son Sam won a certificate yesterday at school, they had a 'dress as the Victorians' day, he borrowed a flat cap, braces and waistcoat from Grandad, old trousers from James and some old boots. They had to behave as Victorian children for the whole day, he came home with the award for best dressed boy. He's also earned 3 well behaved certificates this week too.

Our weather has been very changeable this week, we are now minus a fence down one side of the garden due to the strong winds which knocked it down and 'smashed' it to pieces. Poor Neil the moths will be flying out of the bank book and seeing daylight We can't leave it because of the dogs. He'll really pass out when I remind him we have to go and pay for the new bed tomorrow as the shop rang today to say it's now back in store.............poor old Neil.

One thing I have been able to do this week is increase my quilt fabric stash, I won some fantastic bargains on ebay. The postman who delivers packages asked me this morning if I was starting a shop! As soon as my room is ready I can make my lap quilt, I have the picture in my mind of how I want it to look and am hoping I can import that onto the fabric !

Deeber our retriever has felt very pleased with herself this week, she has finally learned how to lift the foot plate on my stairlift enabling her to come upstairs. She trots into the room with tail wagging and head held high. Megan has also achieved a goal this week, she managed to walk upstairs from halfway, actually she was going one step at a time, Neil dropped a book and made her jump so she 'flew' the rest of the way....lol.

Well I need to get my fix of other peoples blogs so am off to read through a few and take a peek into their lives.

Enjoy your weekend, I hope it's peaceful and your achieve goals you never thought you would

hugs Peg

Tired out but happy!

Today I feel like I've been run over by a tractor and the driver reversed several times!
Yesterday my sister & I were duely dropped off outside the International Hall in Harrogate by her partner who then went to spend his day shopping.
We got into the hall quickly with only a 3-5min queue because I'd bought the tickets a few weeks ago.

It was stash heaven lol, there were so many new exhibitors with crafts I've not seen there before, I planned on taking my camera but left it on the table so did try to take a few shots on my phone but there were several notices around stating no photography please and I wasn't risking being asked to leave!

We watched painting demonstrations by an artist who was extremely talented, a rep showing the wonderful attributes of a Bernini machine costing over £3000 which when programmed will stitch the design on it's own. I was enthralled watching the demonstration of a long arm quilting machine, it's the first time I've seen one in the flesh and I loved it but didn't buy as I don't have the room......mores the pity. I was able to increase my fabric stash considerably from many stalls offering great bargains and drooling over the ones which were what I considered to expensive by far. I'll post a pic of my purchases tomorrow when the camera is recharged. I was so pleased to be able to obtain 2 packs of Freezer paper for less than the price of 1 here in the UK. My other treat was an Omnigrip 12. 1/2" Square which I'd seen earlier in the day. Sis bought several stitching patterns, knitting patterns, wool and fabric for a table runner and an afghan to make for her new expected grandson.
We met designer Sue Hawkins who is really tiny but very talented and the two ladies who design and own Historical sampler company. They were really pleasant to chat to and I could have spent a fortune on there stall.

I haven't put my purchases away yet, I had a loving fondle last night but today has had to be a rest day to enable my body to recoup some energy and the pain to ease. I am spent up, tired out but I had a really happy day.

hugs Blondieuk

Chaos reigns!

I need to take some time out from what I'm doing so I can recharge my very depleted batteries and give my back a well earned rest!

I am sat at this moment amid total chaos! DH in his wisdom decided it would be better if I changed rooms and had my sewing room at the back of the house, now this isn't a problem I still get to view the neighbours comings and goings, just from a different angle and different neighbours.

The chaos occurred when Dh started having problems with his hip, discharging him from any lifting, moving or laying of new floors. I am only able to do small jobs, I'm not able to carry even medium weight boxes, or move furniture around etc soooo, are you getting where I'm coming from? The job stopped mid stream! I'm half moved in and half moved out. My computer is sitting on a spare table in here whilst my computer station is in the other room looking very naked apart from file boxes full of cross stitch charts sitting on the top shelf. Boxes of my 'stuff' are sat around on the floor thinking it's 1/2 term holidays and they don't need to do anything apart from playing at looking pretty.

My new sewing table is set up but has a mountain of various things sitting on it waiting for me to sort them into the appropriate drawers. Now I know that the very organised ladies amongst us will by now be looking up my name in the international phonebook trying to find my number to ring me and offer to come and organise my chaos. Ladies, I love to be organised and know where everything is but when I have 2 rooms disturbed my brain shuts down and decides to go on holiday.

DH will be occupied tomorrow with 10 of his climbing buddies discussing if they want to buy the cottage they have stayed in for the past 20yrs when in Glen Coe because the owner is retiring and selling up. The finding of an alternative cottage is a no no they love this one. I shall await that decision with baited breath as I thought I was getting a conservatory first.........

The dogs have just about had enough of the moving around, they're like children and don't take to upset easily. I'm pretty sure they are wondering what the heck I'm playing at when I'm usually sat either sewing, reading or on the computer, not dashing from room to room. Sorry I must alter that I never dash anywhere because I haven't got a dash in me !

Usually at this time of year DH and I spend a day cooking meals for the freezer because during the winter is my worse time healthwise and as he is in fultime employement I don't think it fair he should come home to a bare table and to start cooking. I must add he doesn't have these pre-cooked meals everyday just on my bad days. It works 2 ways, he gets a piping hot meal with little effort on my part and he gets to eat spicey, 'odd' meals with ingredients I haven't got a taste for.

On Sunday I'm going to Harrogate in Yorkshire to the Stitching and Knitting show with my sister, we will be chauffer driven by her partner who will drop us off outside the large International Hall and at some point in the day will join us to eat. He's a very patient man who usually takes me to oneside to ask what she's been looking at and drooling over and then he goes to buy them for her......eehh what a man!

I'm hoping there are some stalls for quilting included, the last time we went I wasn't a quilter but I'm sure I remember seeing some stalls selling fabric in FQ's, yardage and packs. We shall come home pleasantly tired, with our heads and hearts full of the beautiful goodies we've seen and I can guarantee there will be regrets for not buying something.

I spent some time in a shop I 'found' the other day which has actually been there for 14yrs but I've never seen it not even when I was doing a lot of making clothes and toys. It was like an Aladdins cave, as well as fabric of all types on bolts and rolls there were shelves which held miriads of remnants from the end of the bolts etc. I found some real treasures amongst these shelves. I popped them into the washing machine when I got home which took several loads, dried them then spent time the next day ironing them and putting them away. I was like a child with a new toy.............which leads me nicely onto my next 'new toy'. My Toyota Quiltmaster 60, my other s/machine is great to use but isn't happy when I put thicker fabric through it so as I wanted to make a good effort with quilting this is the pressie I got from DH....bless him. I know those of you who have been quilting for a long time will pity me for my simple joy but I'm really looking forward to stitching with it.

I'm hoping to get some xstitching done tomorrow too as I like to stitch for at least part of each day and sadly get withdrawal symptoms if I don't. I have quite a few sampler wip's on the go and they've been sadly neglected for the past couple of weeks.

The autumn is changing into winter here, the beautiful tree I can see from my kitchen window has given me such a gorgeous array of autumnal colours but due to the high winds we've had this week it is now reduced to a few stragly leaves hanging on for dear life. I feel as if an old friend has left me, the weather now is typically English, cold, damp and misty. In the mornings there may be a little ray of sunshine so you dutifully put out the days washing only to look up a short time later to see it's tippling it down with rain and that washing is now drenched again and needs rewashing and you're asking yourself why you didn't just 'pop' it in the dryer in the first place!

I think that's all I can recall for now, my brain is lacking in the bits which give you literal inspiration so I'll wish you all a great weekend, may you enjoy time with your families, enjoy peace and good health

hugs Peg

A Lazy Day

Today has been just that, a very lazy day. I'm ashamed to say I have done nothing creative unless you count lunch, I arranged the veg and the beef in a swirl pattern and drizzled a light touch of gravy over it :o) It must have looked and tasted good because DH cleaned his plate completely!



I've read through a lot of blogs today and delved into other peoples lives, looked through their homes, admired their latest works and whilst reading one blog almost fused my computer completely. It should have had a hazard warning on it, the blog in question, Smoking needles..... http://cushie66.blogspot.com should not be read when you have just either taken a bite of your sandwich or taken a sip of tea! I had a great time reading Jacqui's very funny blog I can certainly recommend it.



I've also picked up a lot of tips and ideas from the many quilting and stitching blogs I've read and I've also won some fabrics on ebay!



It has been the most gorgeous autumn day again, I shall be sad to see this season leave us, I think it has the most wonderful array of colours out of all the seasons. I am wondering if we shall have a really cold winter this year as the day's are already cold even for me, I'm usually the one who's still in a short sleeve top whilst DH is in woolies and hugging the heating system. It's a woman thing which only another woman would understand!



Just around the corner from us is a wood which has the most amazing colours at the moment and this will only be upstaged by the winter frost. Before I became less mobile I used to walk through the woods with the dogs, it was just like a fairytale land. The ground and trees were covered with a sparkling magical frost. I know I have some pics of it from a few yrs ago I'll try and find them out and post them that you too may share in the beauty of Gods winter creation. My friend and I used to call it our trip into Narnia Land.





hugs Blondieuk

Finished at last!

During the last 2 months of 2003 I was in a Lizzie Kate RR eventually mine arrived back in February 2004. I had every intention of finishing this as a wall hanging but to balance it up I needed to stitch another 2 LK charts on it. I popped it in a box and forgot all about it until a couple of weeks ago when I came across it.

Recently having taken up quilting I decided I'd make the wall hanging but would separate the blocks with quilted blocks. The picture is of my completed wall hanging which I put the last touches to tonight. It isn't perfect by any means but I'm pleased with it and will be able to think of the ladies who stitched on it also whenever I look at it.

This is my first attempt at a quilt wall hanging, I took part in a SAL with the ladies of for the love of stitching an online group. The project was Prairie scholars Autumn leaves.

We also stitched BDD Autumn Silhouette, BOAF Quaker Garden as SAL's. We have a WIP's encouragement going, thanks to this I finally finished Mirabilia's Garden Verses after 4yrs!

I've also been stitching on my 3 Chatelaines all these can be seen in my webshot albums. I have uploaded a pic of a PS Autumn sampler which I stitched in August 04 whilst on holiday in Wales and a birth sampler I stitched in 2001 for our youngest grandson Jacob.

I've been sorting out some of my fabric for pillows and quilts, it's surprising how much there is when you start and I have seen some more which would make really pretty quilts and pillows. I am going to be strong though and resist for now as I'm going to a large Knitting & Stitching show in Harrogate in Yorkshire in a fortnight so will get my fix there. It is a really large show which takes all day to get around the many different stalls, there are many different crafts catered for.

I also need to rearrange things in my sewing room I thought I was very organised but I was looking for something the other day and it wasn't where it should have been which really threw me so a big sort out is on the cards! I've been looking for a suitable sewing table to accommodate my sewing machine but which is also big enough for me to cut fabrics on. At present for anything large I have to use my dining table which is frowned upon and watched over by DH because we inherited it from his Mum when she died and it cost more money then we would ever be able to spend on a dining suite. I do cover it with a felt cloth first and I'm very careful with pins and scissors honest.

I'm excited tonight because I've won the ideal thing on ebay! The seller has had several of these on his listings for the past few weeks and I've bid on them occasionally but have been outbid because in the last few minutes. I bid on one last night but was beaten by a £1 and I had bid a few pounds higher than before. There was a purpose for being outbid I'm sure because tonight I won another of his auctions for the same table and won it at £13 less than I'd bid last night for the same thing so I'm a happy bunny tonight. It will fit perfectly into the space under the window where I get the afternoon sun.

I baby sat for an hour last night for Jacob and this time he was asleep so I was able to stitch on my Blue sampler it's been a wip for quite some time so I thought it deserved a little attention.

Heidi of the neneedle necessities blog, link above, who is our resident encourager and sometimes teacher will be taking us through the making of a pin keep the next week or so. As I type this she is probably taking photos of hers and planning out the instructions for us. We need to have a stitched piece ready for the off date. I have a piece I'd already stitched a while ago which I would love to use for this and I've also managed some stitching on another piece which I'd love to make into a pin keep or needle work book.

Well I'm off to read some of the lovely blogs I found on here.

take care and have a peaceful happy weekend

hugs Blondie

Monday 6th November

What a weekend.........I managed to get caught up with my blog and reading a few new ones I found, I was truely blessed by those I read.

Our weekend has been quite hectic, Saturday was shopping day, we decided to go to Sheffield for this because I needed to go to Hobby craft. I bought a few quilting accessories and some gorgeous FQ's of orange to mid yellow print. I know autumn will be leaving us soon but I am determined to eventually make a quilt with a pumpkin on. :o)

I won a wonderful auction on ebay which included a 24" x 36" Olfa rotary cutting mat, an Olfa rotary cutter + a Fiskars 6" x 24" quilters ruler, these are 2nd hand but in excellent condition and it didn't cost me 1/2 of what the cost would be for new.

Sunday I had planned on working on my friendship
quilt, however Zebedee had other plans! Like the other dogs
he has been very unsettled with the fireworks going off nightly. He'd been hiding under and behind chairs or anywhere else he could get. I fed them all at lunch time and being Shih Tzu's they tend to get everything in their eyes, ears and beard so I have to wash their faces after a meal. It really is like wiping your child's face they struggle and want to rush off to play! I did his last and we always have to be on our guard with him, I let my guard down and before I knew it he'd taken a really nasty bite to my fingers. He has bitten me before but he's never broken the skin or bit hard enough but boy did he make up for it this time. Because I'm on aspirin along with other meds I bleed quite a bit when my skin is cut or broken. After cleansing it, which wasn't pleasant as he'd taken quite a large chunk and part of the top of my nail I had to sit with my hand in the air for 30 mins to stop it bleeding. Afterwards Neil managed to pull part of the skin in line and put butterfly stitches on it. He grumbled because I wouldn't go to hospital but Sunday at the hospital would have meant a stay of at least 8hrs and as it wouldn't be classed as urgent I'd be sat there waiting.

I rang the dr's this morning and went to see the nurse, she gave me a tetanus shot and dressed the wound again. We'd done the right thing with it, I have to watch it for the next 48hrs because that's when they have a tendancy to go septic. Needless to say Zebedee has been even more subdued today. It's very hard knowing what to do at the moment, we know he had a horrendous 3 1/2 yrs with his first owners who badly abused him. We've had him 8 mths and although we are firm with him I hoped he was coming to realise we wouldn't hurt him. I'm not sure if it's the fireworks that have upset him or if he has a problem with anything physical, he wont let you look in his mouth or touch his feet without snapping. I do worry as he loves to be around children but I know that if it had been a child he'd bitten it would have been a lot worse. The groomers aren't to happy at grooming him either because they can't get near his face without him trying to bite.

This of course has stopped me stitching or quilting for a few days at least until the stitches can come off and I know it's not going to open or bleed.

One of the groups I'm on has started another SAL, this time it's one of Tanya's first lady samplers, Mrs Jefferson. I wasn't starting straight away so will perhaps catch up later with the ladies. I have 3 Chatelaine designs on the go too, I have finished part 2 on one of them and part 1 on 2 of them. These also will have to be put on hold.

Neil's been out for the day with school today to a place in Yorkshire called Eden camp museum, this link will take you there www.edencamp.co.uk it's great to take school children there to see their history.

I am still waiting for some more of my fabric I won on ebay to arrive, this is coming from the States so will take longer. The fabric I have bought recently is gorgeous!! I'm also waiting delivery of a new sewing machine, a Toyota Quilt 60, my present machine is a good one with several stitches but I don't want to use it for quilting, I don't think it would easily take the bulkier fabric ie top, batting and back all at once. It is coming straight from the manufacturers so can be up to a 3wk wait.
The pics above are of the stitched pieces which will go on the quilt. I took part in a friendship RR with 4 other ladies and these are the result. I have several fabrics around the pieces at the moment but dont want to touch them at the present.

The weather here in the daytime has been beautiful, a slight nip in the air, wonderful sunshine and all the autumnal colours your heart could desire. At night I've be able to lay in bed looking up at the night sky, through the window not a hole in the roof ;O) ! It's been amazing the moon has been shining really bright and along with the stars has made the most wonderful scene to behold, the dark dismal sky of late has made way for a very light dark blue sky, if that makes sense. The ground has been completely covered in the glittering, sparkling white of frost. Even in the darkest hour there has been some beauty to appreciate and thank the Lord for.

Take care
Blondieuk

What season are you?

You Belong in Fall

Intelligent, introspective, and quite expressive at times... You appreciate the changes in color, climate, and mood that fall brings Whether you're carving wacky pumpkins or taking long drives, autumn is a favorite time of year for you

What Season Are You?

Saturday November 4th

Well autumn is well and truly with us, I love this time of year, the air is crisp, the days are sunny and the trees put on their wonderful cloaks of colour. Traveling over to Yorkshire Bridge last Thursday the scenery was wonderful and the beautiful landscape God created over there was a pleasure to behold. I stopped to take a few pictures of the area Paul, Philly and the girls live in. It's just the other side of a small village called Bamford in the Hope Valley area of the Peak District.







This is the road just before Paul's small village of Yorkshire Bridge.















The lane leading down to their row of cottages













To the left of the Patio










From the Patio












To the right showing in the distance the wall of the famous LadyBower Dam










The view from their front window over the village green. The car at the gate is mine. I love visiting or going to stay with them, life there is so much slower than here near the town. The scenery is something to treasure.




I was there to take them to collect their new car from the garage, it had to go back in for repairs to the electrics. They have bought an automatic this time so Paul can drive, his left foot is still not sufficiently responsive so he wears a splint on it which keeps his foot from flopping downwards. He is starting to get some movement in it though which is encouraging.

He is still going for physio and will for a few months yet, the consultants are really pleased with his determination to get his life back and be as mobile as possible. He does get rather wistful when we see or talk about m/bikes, he knows his riding days are over but his interest is still there, just as his Dads was after his horrendous crash whilst racing.
He amazes me with his determination and grit, his sense of humour is still as wicked as always. Apart from breaking many bones including all the vertebra in his back he had internal damage to his lungs, kidneys, liver and bowel and we don't know how much this will affect him in the future but to hear him talk you'd think he just fell off and grazed a knee!! They have told him he will suffer arthritis later because of the damage to the bones.
To us he's a walking miracle which we thank God for everyday!

hugs Blondieuk

Over a year!

Goodness I didn't realise it's over a year since I wrote in my blog. It's been a very hectic time with illness hitting us, our eldest son being critically injured in a horrific m/bike accident. My Mum falling and breaking her hip and a few complications which followed that.

The doctors warned us our son would not survive his accident his injuries were so severe, along with family & friends here in the UK and all over the world, many who didn't know him, we prayed The Good Lord would not take him from us, he has a great wife and two gorgeous girls of 13 & 10yrs. Our prayers were answered and after almost 5mths in hospital followed by time in a specialised spinal unit he came home at last!!

It is absolutely wonderful to see him at home, he still has a way to go but the hospital didn't expect him living then they thought he'd never walk and would be in a w/chair, now he's on his own feet, by Gods help and his own determination. He is in constant pain but just grits his teeth and gets on with it. He will not be able to ride a bike again and he will have to reconsider his employment because his job involves heavy work. He's using this time to see what options he has. He's not a quitter and has my full admiration for how far he's come, he still has a wicked sense of humour and would rather make fun of himself than sit counting his woes.

Mum is now doing well, I had to take her for another Echocardiogram the last one wasn't clear enough. She's a fiesty lady and perhaps this is where Paul gets some of his determination from :o)




Our three little tinkers, from left to right, Megan, Zebedee and Paddington all waiting for cheese!!


















This isn't comfy!!!



























Told you we could get 3 in a bed !!! notice it's Megan on the edge and not the boys :o)



See Megan and Zebedee's story below




Since my last posting we have adopted another 2 Shih Tzu's, Zebedee and Megan. Both are from rescues in Wales, Zebedee a Black/White spent the first 3 1/2 yrs of his life being used as a punch bag and football until he was taken away from his owners. This has made him quite wary of people, it has taken a few months to show him that cuddles can be pleasurable and not everyone is out to hurt him. He is making good progress apart from grooming. He hates it with a vengence!! We can get the groomers to deal with his body but his face and head are a completely different matter. He attacks the scissors and gets very aggressive so in future we will have to let our vet sedate him and cut his face and head fur. He has put quite a bit of weight on, he isn't greedy and will not eat unless he's really hungry. He can be bribed with food to let go of something he shouldn't have though....lol
He's now letting Neil play with him which is good, he is such a funny little dog, and is easy to love despite his grumbling.





Megan is Grey/White and is the victim of puppy farming which sadly still goes on in countries all over the world despite the efforts to close them down.

She was very badly emanciated, her coat was completely matted, she had 3 large hernias and many of her teeth were broken and rotten. The foster Mum who looked after her started to give her confidence and although she has a lot more today she is still shy of a lot of things and it will take a long time before she fully trusts other people. She spent her first 3 1/2 yrs in a small cage giving birth to one litter after another until she stopped being a successful breeder then she was disguarded. She was badly underweight when we collected her but she too has put weight on, she had her teeth cleaned and the bad and broken ones removed. She is such a sweetie, if you drop a pin she'll jump but is getting more confindent daily.

Almost Autumn!!

Oh gosh, where has summer gone to???? no sooner do I think about scaring the living daylights out of our neighbours by donning a polka dot bikini than Autumn slowly creeps into our busy lives.

I know I am joining the rank of the middle age group because I keep commenting on how quick the months are flying by, and I realize that the comment 'this time last week we were........' is now becoming a regular in my vocabulary. Our youngest grandson Jacob will be 4 this December is already at nursery school and like his Dear Daddy has the gift of the gab!! Neil says they take after me because I can talk for England but.......all who know me personally know I am but a shy retiring wall flower...... ;o)

What's been happening in our lives........well we didn't have a very productive summer as Neil had the builders in at school so he couldn't get on with the rest of the decking so I'm assuming that will be continued next year. The central heating people have been and gone not much fun for Neil as he had to take up the laminate flooring in our bedroom, good job my craft room hadn't been done or he would have had a complete wobbly! We can now think about the decorating and finishing off the flooring etc. Neil can't do it at the moment as he has again damaged the main ligament in his knee so is unable to kneel down. I'm sure he's doing it on purpose................lol

We did manage to go away for a few days at the end of August, we went to Thornton Le Dale nr Pickering in Yorkshire in a luxury B&B and for once 'luxury' is how I would describe it. The hosts, accommodation and food were excellent. I would certainly recommend it to anyone in a flash. The website is http://www.topbridge.co.uk the site needs updating but you get the general idea. We liked it so much we have booked the s/catering cottage for the late half term holiday in October when we'll have a whole week of relaxation.

Whilst there I finally managed to go to Whitby museum to view the samplers amongst other things and bought 3 reproduction sampler charts. Also Neils forages in the local secondhand book shops revealed 3 great sampler books which I did purchase of course.

Both our eldest son Paul and family and our daughter Lesley and family went away for the week together and had a great time. The children all being around the same age had a whale of a time.

September
Neil went back to the hospital in September for a check up after his nose op, he doesn't feel any benefit from and it's been several months now so it is a real disappointed at going through it for no change in his condition. The consultant checked him out and said the op has been a success but the problems he's having is an allergy, (probably to me) so has put him on another nasal spray and it does appear to be working.

We entertainined a guest for two weeks in September, he's completely crackers, goofy and a walking calamity! He is my sisters 5mth old Dogue De Bordeaux, a well muscled powerful package of dog, he isn't pretty but he's so comical and has reduced Neil and I to tears of laughter with his antics. Deeber of course was her usual snobby self but I think he's won even her heart, she has now deemed to lower herself and play with him, she is about 5cms bigger than him so is playing being the dominant dog which he's happy to let her think she is. Goodness knows what will happen when she stays with my sister next week whilst we're away as by now he will have grown considerably and make her look about as big as a Springer Spaniel!!

He and I had a running battle of wills, my opinion of furniture is sofa's = human domain, floors = animals domain, Reo thinks he is entitled to stretch out on my cream sofa or chairs. I did win this one as he quickly learnt after only a short time that getting down onto animals domain (floor) earned him a treat. He needed to learn this rather quickly because of the episode of torrential rain for several hours creating a good amount of mud in the garden for rolling in. He then managed to get to the sofa before me, needless to say the covers had an exciting time at the fair ground roundabout formally known as the washing machine. Whilst we were out shopping he 'stole' a teddy which has sat on the bed for the past yr, he's not very active. Ted was very shaken by his ordeal and had passed out on the kitchen floor, upside down in the dogs water bowl. I did resusatate him and he is now recovering slowly. Reo normally stuck to tossing his big yellow duck around but I think the duck needed a rest.

Here is a pic of the two of them in the first week, as you can see friends forever now.

We had a bit of a scare with one of our grandsons, James who had to spend time in hospital after complaining of pains in his back. Although the different consultants couldn't agree what was wrong they medicated him, he had tests plus xrays and now has to go for a scan on his stomach. Thankfully he's feeling a lot better now and is back at school and is going on holiday next week to Majorca.

October
I had to go and see a skin specialist for a mole on my face which had developed lumps on it and changed colour. I'm very happy and relieved to say it was benign, he gave me the name but I can't pronounce or spell ! He sprayed a long shot of liquid nitrogen on it which was uncomfortable but only for a short time and not as painful as I'd been led to believe. I have to go back and see him in November but the size has shrunk and all that's there now is a small red circle with no lumps on it, it's not inflamed just new skin growing I think.

We have a new member in our family..............a small Shih Tzu called Paddington, Deeber was so miserable when Reo went home and really missed the play so we talked long and hard about it. The house isn't large enough for 2 large dogs permanately so we opted to go for a Shih Tzu. We adopted two from the rescue in 1992 and had many happy and comical years with them before they both passed away in 2000. I rang the same woman who as well as a vet is a breeder and shows her dogs as well as rescuing them. She did remember me and after talking for a while she said she had a special little man who had been found wandering the streets of Manchester the previous month. They knew nothing about him except he was very malnurished and very matted. They had cut his coat off to give him some comfort but it had grown about 2" so he wasn't bald. He got on well with all her dogs (26) appeared to have a lovely nature also. They thought he was approximately 3yrs old and Gold/white and would I like to give him a home..........
Lesley took me last Tuesday morning and it was love at first sight, she was able to sit on the floor so he climbed on her knee immediately. Then he and I made friends, all the while he was watching Carol the kennel maid who had been taking care of him.
He'd already been neutured so had to have his stitches out, he was vaccinated and micro chipped at which stage Lesley almost passed out at the sight of the large needle.........lol and after the chatting and stroking and getting to know his likes and dislikes we set off home.

I asked Lesley to bring him in so I could make a fuss of Deeber first so she didn't resent him, she then went straight to Lesley, sniffing around what appeared to be her next meal lol

There has been no argueing or snapping, I'd brought him a smiley faced squeaky ball which he loves, Deeber of course never played with them but now does and walks around with it in her mouth just out of jumping reach of Paddington! They don't lay snuggled up together yet but are getting closer when laying down. He has fit in as if he'd always been here, is now eating well and is loving the fact that Sam and Lesley call each day on their way home from school. He has to see the vet in 3 wks time to check his weight and to see if his muscles are now stronger. He is supposed to be Neil's dog but at the moment sticks around me but I'm at home all day and he was looked after by women at the kennels so he'll be more confident in Neil soon. I wondered where he was on Sunday and came upstairs to see Neil sitting at his desk with Paddinton sat on the desk looking through the window. He is beginning to relax quite a bit now, he knows we come back after we've left the room now and doesn't need to follow us everywhere just in case and he'll stay in the room without us for a while.

When we collected him he hadn't got a name so we quickly rung Neil to tell him to think of one and rung James to ask him and his friends to come up with some suggestions. Later that night after much deliberation Neil popped his head around the door and exclaimed 'Paddington' mmm yes a good selection but why?
The reason is that Paddington bear had been lost and was found at the Paddington station and so called, the dog had been found roaming so this is now his name and he has started to answer to it.

Whilst I'm typing this I have Deeber curled up on oneside of me and Paddington the other I can't move my chair without waking them or it will be squashed dog on the menu!! When we're in the lounge Deeber is at my feet and Paddington has claimed the beanbag puffe as his, I think he thinks he's the king of the castle. At first he'd curl up drop to sleep, start to stretch out and fall off, now he's more certain he rumages around until he's made a 'dent' to curl up in then drops of to sleep and stays on. A quick learner!! He's a typical Shih Tzu in that he'll dart around playing for a while then suddenly just flop and sleep for a while. They are small dogs with big hearts and to see how calm he is after the ordeal he's been through is a wonder to me. Deeber of course knows she's not going to be pushed out and is slowly condescending to hint at playing with him.
She will see her best buddy next week as she will go to my sisters to stay whilst we're away, Reo will have grown a lot so he'll probably want to be top dog on his own turf. She love my sister so is always happy to go for her holidays.

Paddington will stay with Lesley and her family, we can't take them with us as dogs aren't allowed. I know both dogs will be safe and loved whilst we're away. As James is going away Sam will have Paddington for company and can't wait for Friday until he goes up there. Hopefully a pic of Paddington should show up at this point if I've done it right.... ;0)

Stitching wise I have finished the Pot sampler, Simply a Little Quaker sampler the 2005 Swvd Sampler and am now stitching on the Three Little words and the Blue Ribbon samplers. I also have a Prairie Schooler exchange which I need to sew and have almost finished the M Davol sampler. I haven't taken pictures yet so can't post any.

Now I must come to a close and let you catch your breath. I'm hoping it won't be as long till I write more. Take care, enjoy your family and your stitching.

Blondieuk

REO & DEEBER

As I thought this pic didn't show up so am posting it now, as you can see he's a big lad for 5mths and he's a month older now so goodness knows how big he is now!!