I've been a busy girl

I've been stitching again! Two finishes in one week! unheard of rofl

I bought this kit at the Nimble Thimble on the hardhanger week end. I didn't realise at the time but the whole thing comes already made up, you just have to stitch the centre piece and away you go! It even comes with the cushion to wrap it around, although I think Chris added that herself. The colours match Cindy's bedroom, so she's claimed it lol I was suposed to be starting a wedding sampler for Jack's aunty but got side tracked when I pulled this one out rofl

The girls had a day off today so they took me out for my birthday. They have realy spoilt me this year! They bought me two blue pots for the patio, the one below is with the camilia I potted up when we got home.... and Poppy getting a look in too with her summer hair cut :)

This is one of the two hanging baskets they got me for the back of the house. My friend Jane bought me two for the front, so now I'm complete lol

These gorgeous little mushrooms have wobbly heads that move in the wind. I've admired them at Bridgemere every time we've gone and this time Janine insisted I choose a set. Don't look at the weeds, I haven't had time to pull them up yet!

and this gorgeous wind chime is what Jack got me ;). It's got the most beautiful chimes and sounds so mellow and relaxing.

The girls also made me breakfast and gave me cards, chocs and a new book before taking me out for the day! What with the present I've had earlier this week, I have been well and truly spoilt this year :)

Here are a couple of pics of the rhododendron and the wild geraniums that are coming in to flower now. I picked the geraniums from my dad's garden and they're really blooming this year, I think of him every time I look at them :)

Stitching to show!

Now don't faint!!! lol

I've stitched these for my friend Kathy in Australia, for Christmas. I know I'm early, but I get so bogged down with stuff at the end of the year it's always a rush to get things done and I don't enjoy doing them.

I did the Santa face a couple of months ago, and bought the coat and a set of boots while I was at the Nimble Thimble for the hardhanger week end. They are done on perforated paper, which I'm not enamoured with, but they are worth the effort as they come out lovely. I used sticky backed felt to back them to hide the stitching (it's difficult to be neat when your putting in beads after the stitching) ... well that's my excuse any way rofl




I'm sorry the one is on it's side, I don't know why that is as it's the right way up in the photo album? You'll just have to tilt your head to the left and squint rofl

I'm not ignoring you!

I'm having a difficult job with blogroll . It won't let me put posts on your blogs. I managed to get one on Jacqui's this morning and thought 'Yeah I'll go back to the others now' but it just isn't playing the game.
I can put posts on my blogs .... obviously! ... but blogroll just won't let me play with you any more.

So ... to all of you with wonderful stitching HD's , WELL DONE THEY'RE LOVELY I get so inspired when I see your fabulous finishes, but some how mine don't look as good as yours lol

... to all of you with news to share about your holidays, children, house moves, and life in general I'm enjoying reading about them and send my best wishes to you all.

Love Lynn x

It's that time of year already!

It's the end of May and that means it's almost my birthday and today is the anniversary of Mam's passing.

I can't believe it's one year already! Where does the time go?


This picture was taken during my brothers birthday meal before she got ill, and it's one of the best ones of her, as she hated having her picture taken and wouldn't smile properly for them. She didn't realise this one was being taken and she's so natural and relaxed. I've blocked off the bit with me on it as I'm pulling a face and I don't want to frighten any one rofl.
I put a memorial in the Shields Gazette, her local paper and my DD's and I put some flowers on her grave today. We spent some time there tidying around the stone and looking at the rest of the graves in the Garden of Remembrance. It's so pretty there right next to the church, with the sun shining down on it and being sheltered from the wind. I've expressed a wish to be placed with Mam so at least I know where I'm going to end up lol.

My friend Jane popped round unexpectedly this morning with two hanging baskets for me. One is a late Christmas present and the other is an early birthday present lol. Jane, with the best will in the world, is always late with things and to get a birthday present on time is very good, but to get one EARLY is unheard of rofl




When they start growing they'll look gorgeous !

I've got to say, that the herbalist's 'witches brew' is doing me the world of good, I feel so much better these days, full of energy and enthusiasm, I'm sleeping better and the hot flushes are minimal and best of all, I'm not falling asleep as soon as I sit down during the day! I go back next week to see her for my 3rd visit, so we'll see if she wants to leave/change/stop the treatment or to carry on for a while longer.
I've got my mojo back for stitching too :) and have been doing one of the beaded tree ornaments I bought last week end. Perforated paper is not my favourite, but the ornamensts look lovely when they're done.

My ex husband, Richard, gave us all a turn last week end. He was admitted to hospital with irregular and rapid heart beats and pains in his chest. After various tests and monitoring they said it wasn't a heart attack or angina, but don't really know what it is. They've put him on warfarin and beta blockers and said if his heart doesn't regulate itself in 5/6 weeks they'll have him back in to 'shock' his heart back in to rhythm again. I took the girls in to see him (they didn't have the confidence to drive to the hospital them selves) but it didn't go down too well with the girlfriend :(. If she thinks, that after being together 20 yrs, I'm not going to be concerned and want to see if he's ok, she's got another think coming. I'm not going to be wanting him back, but I'm not going to turn my back on him either. He is the father of my children when all's said and done. That said, she's not averse to asking me to do some sewing for her!!!!

Great Hardnanger week end

I went to a hardhanger instruction course this week end, at the Nimble Thimble in Oswestry.

It was a lovely week end with some really lovely people. Especialy Tina from Stitch and Stash forum, and her friend Pat. They are really lovely ladies, and we got on with each other straight away :)

On the Saturday we were given a bag with fabric, scissors with a welsh lady fob, 2x perle cotton, highlighter pen a packet of needles and instruction leaflets, and we got stuck in.

Cathy the instructor was very good and wizzed around in her electric wheel chair seeing to our mistakes and inquiries.

The food was lovely, all home made and very tasy, especially the home made cake! ..... I was a greedy madam and had two pieces today and Tina tried to take a photo but didn't quite manage it so there's no proof ... rofl

We payed a visit to the shop at the end of the day ... BOTH days rofl and managed to spend a few pennies, ... as you do! I bought one or two bits ....

I left Tina and her friend in the shop when I left, so I bet they spent even more than me rofl

The Major Oak

when we came out of Centre Parcs to go home,see post below, we made a slight detour and paid a visit to the Major Oak, the oldest tree in Britain at 1,150 yrs old!

It was a painful walk (considering my aching legs and blisters lol) from the visitors centre into the forest to see the tree, but it was worth it. The tree is HUGE! The branches are so big and heavy now, that they have to shore them up with wood and RSJ's! The first thing Janine said when she saw it was that it looked like some thing out of 'Fern Gully' her favourite video when she was little about woodland fairies who are trying to save their forest from being destroyed by humans.

We also encountered some local inhabitants going for a short stroll. Aren't they adorable?

Centre Parcs is not for me

We had a break at Centre Parcs in Sherwood Forest this last week, Mon - Thurs. Not one of our better holidays!

The 1hr 45mins journey took 3 hours because from here in Whitchurch, it's best (according to TomTom!) to go across country, so we hit all the towns and traffic lights etc and it was slow going in drizzling rain.

When we arrived, the chalet was quite a distance from the centre where all the facilities are, so we had miles to walk to and fro and there wasn't a shuttle service provided. The maps weren't very clear and the sign posts contradicted the maps so we got lost a couple of times which added to the miles we walked! The second day we decided to hire bikes to get around, which sounded like a good idea at the time, but which was definitely not. I haven't been on a push bike for over 15 yrs and it took a couple of attempts to get going on the basic, no gears, bike. I managed to keep going in a straight line, but when it came to weaving in and out of the people who insisted on walking across the whole of the road all the time, it was difficult. I usually got off and walked the bike through them, but at one attempt to get my leg over, my trousers caught on the saddle and me and the bike toppled over! I ended up with a puncture wound on the palm of my hand which bleed for ages, and two bruises on my legs, one of which was the size of a tea plate! and I wasn't even moving! After that I walked every where and I've got the blisters to show for it ..... but I've come home 6lbs lighter because I was too exhausted to eat most of the time!

Most of the activities we wanted to do were on the Wednesday, which meant we couldn't do most of them. We finally opted for the Swedish massage, 2 hrs in the gym, the high ropes, clay pigeon shooting and the owl experience.

The back, shoulder and neck massage on Tues was absolute heaven! It's the first time we've had one, and it was just so relaxing after being in the gym for two hours! I'll have to have another one some time it was so good.

The clay pigeon shooting on Wed was fun. It was an off site activity so we were picked up and driven to the range. We had an introductory talk about safety etc and then had a go at shooting the Bakelite discs. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I was quite good at it! Although the kick back from the shotgun was a bit of a surprise lol. We all managed to hit some on the single disc 'pull' then had to try and hit two in the air. If we didn't manage we had to walk home! My legs could hardly manage the walk to the car so I was determined I wasn't going to miss and finally managed to hit the two on the 5th attempt lol.

After we got back and had a bite to eat, we went on to the Owl Encounter. We had 2 hrs of flying and feeding the owls and really enjoyed it. Cindy got to fly the Eagle owl, but it was a bit vicious and after eating the chick would try ripping the gloves to get at her fingers!!! He had to be kept on a training lead as if he was loose he'd try to eat the other owls, especially the gorgeous Pygmy owl!! Janine in the picture below is flying the black barn owl, which is extremely rare and is in fact an albino version on our usual barn owl.

We had two evening meals at the restaurants. One was a 3 course dinner with live jazz music which would've been great if it wasn't for the children who where running around, screaming and having temper tantrums in the middle of the floor! How the waitress's managed to stay in control of their plates, drinks etc I don't know. This was typical of the whole break, every where was full of little children screaming and having tantrums! I can't understand why people let their children behave like that! Mine never did because they weren't allowed to get away with it.
The second meal was a carvery by the lake and that, thankfully was a much quieter affair and very welcome lol. Cindy was most amused at the strange garlic bread she had :)Janine was the only one to have a go at the high ropes, as both Cindy and I are not good on heights lol She did amazingly well and managed to do the 'leap of faith' with out any problems. It is a 25ft high pole, with a SMALL platform on the top. You have to climb up, get on to the platform, stand up, and jump off into the air to catch the trapeze swing that is hanging away in front of you! Janine managed to catch it and was very pleased with herself lol

This is Janine just starting off, on the easy bit, the poles behind her with ladders at the bottom, were ones she had to climb after doing this climb up on to the wires. She had to stand on the wires, let go and clap her hands behind her back and under her legs :0!

We would've liked to have done more activities, but as I said they all clashed with each other, but atleast the weather, although windy, was good to us and we didn't have any rain except through the Wednesday night. The shops were expensive with little choice. The cabins were ok but I wasn't impressed with the cleanliness, it smelt funny when we first walked in and the kettle had a thick cobweb in the spout and a big spider in the kettle itself! How could the cleaner have missed that? The sky light in the bathroom wouldn't shut and it was very drafty with the winds that we had and the bathroom door rattled every night keeping Cindy awake. You'd be surprised what you can find to stuff in doors when your desperate!

All in all, we enjoyed the activities, but the site was too big, too expensive and not too clean, and we won't be doing it again but for active families, (who can ride bikes lol) I can see that it would be a great holiday.

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Bank Holiday week-end

Well, May bank holiday is here, and after the few days of rain we've been having, it looks like the weather has brightened up abit.

I've been washing for 3 days now! The girls and I are going to Centre parc's in Sherwood Forest, for a short, midweek break and Jack is going to Hope House, so I've had to get all the clothes sorted and cleaned. Not that all of them are dirty, but as Janine tends to throw her clothes on the floor, I can't tell the clean from the dirty, so I have to wash them all !!!
I've been having a serious talk with that girl. She is very messy and lazy when it comes to her bedroom. In the past I've worked on the assumption that she'll get sick of living in a mess and will tidy up/clean up her self, but it's never happened! So, after going into her room this week and spending a whole day clearing it and cleaning it, I've told her that from now on, her room IS NOT out of bounds to me and I'll be going in regularly to clean it, so if there's any thing I shouldn't be seeing she'd better get it put away lol . I actually think it's worked this time, as she's asked for some storage for her shoes/ boots and some where to put her work clothes (which get covered in horse muck, hay, feed etc). We're going into Shrewsbury today and will look for some then :)

My computer is fixed !!! I'll be so glad to get my lovely mini tower back in it's place. This tower that Richard lent me is massive and I just feel uncomfortable sitting next to it, so haven't spent much time on it.... ridiculous I know, but you get used to the way things are don't you?

I had a run out to Bridgemere Garden Centre on Monday, to visit Hobby Craft. I had to get some Gueterman beads and anchor threads for a friend of mine in Australia. Her daughter is getting married in November and she's making her a ring pillow for the occasion but can't get the supplies she needs any where near her, so I said I'd get them for her. I made Kathy a ring pillow for her own wedding last year, but she won't let her daughter borrow it rofl.
While I was there I bought a Peony bush for my back garden. I really shouldn't have, but I couldn't resist it lol . It is a pink cup like flower with curly petals inside it, it's very pretty! I've always wanted a peony and was going to take the red one out of my dad's garden after mam passed away, but it's too deeply rooted and I didn't want to damage it so left it were it was.

We're off shopping now, so I'll get off and pick up my comp :) If I don't get back on before our trip, I hope you have a good bank holiday week end, and enjoying spending time with family and friends :)