It's Christmas time :o)

Well Hello lovely bloggy people.

Hope this post finds you all fine and dandy?

I've been a bad blogger recently haven't I? Sorry, but I've been feeling a bit like the weather...cold, wet & miserable!  But don't worry, i'll get over it soon I'm sure :o)    It just seems harder this time shaking off those grey days....I think some frost would do me good! You know, one of those bright, crisp white mornings with the sun sparkling off the white crystals...or even some SNOW!!!  lol

Anyway, enough moaning.   I haven't exactly been doing much to tell you about.....A bit of thrifting here and there. I found a fantastic sewing book in the charity shop!

It's called 'The Pictorial Guide to Modern Home Needlecraft'. It's one of the BEST sewing books I have seen! It's fantastic with plain, common sense advice and basic (note that basic word :o) instructions which are just fabulous to understand.

But girls, guess how old it is?

1946!   Honestly though if you find one, snap it up because it's brilliant!

I also found this lovely Wade fluted dish.  The jurys out on wether it's an ashtray or just a dish actually. I really liked the colour, and the prettiness of it, so I'm kinda hoping it isn't an ashtry lol.

Here's a picture our tree at last.  It's so nice to have a real tree again.

But they are jolly expensive this year aren't they?  Some of them were £45.00 plus!!!

Mine wasn't I hasten to add! But it was nearly there I can tell you.

I was thinking of not getting one, and just using our fibre optic one that we have in the hall way.

This picture's looking up the hall towards the front door. With the fibre optic tree on and our retro style outside lights on...

I love looking out at them:O)

Well, have you all finished your Christmas shopping then? We haven't! Have still got some to do on Monday, but the children broke up from school today, so it's gonna be hard shopping with them in tow!

I'm off tailing my eldest daughter round town tomorrow. Literally :o)

Well, her girlfriends want her to go shopping with them, and as you know she has seizures every day, and I can't just shift the responsibility onto a group of 15-16year olds can I? 

So they're all going round together, and I'm following at a distance to be there in the event of a seizure. I know I'm gonna feel a bit strange spying on a group of kids I can tell ya! lol.

My big girl is so good. Bless her. What 16year old do you know that knows she can't go anywhere with out her Mum or Dad even shopping with her friends, and doesn't even moan about it.. Bless her.

I've been trying to persuade my little girl (12year old) to come with me, but she doesn't see the fun in it either ..lol.

Anyway, I'm hoping to get back on here before the big day, as I can show you my finished makes then.

But if not my lovely people,

HAVE AN AWESOME CHRISTMAS!!!

you hear?

And a VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR!

And if I don't speak to you soon, I'll speak to you next year :o)

Take care, and have fun.

Love Donna xx

Tags and embroidery

Well hello lovely bloggy people :o)

Hope this finds you all fine n dandy this last day of November.

Autumns' arrived here in the south/west at last!  We had our first mild frost at the begining of the week, and that old wind has been a bit raw round here!

I've been busy with a few Christmas makes, but I have to admit to being a bit miserable of late!

I've had the lurgy now since we came out of hospital (grrr) and it's just not going!

Still, I thought I'd better get round to doing at least two posts during November, and today is my last chance to get the second one in!    :o)

I've been a bit obsessed with tags of late.  I used to do a lot of 'tag art' when I was in into papercraft in the late 90's early 00's, and I seem to have picked up the habit again with fabric crafting!

I've listed a few in my Etsy shop, but I'm making summery ones at the moment when I get a spare minute, to list in the New Year.

It hasn't stopped me buying some gorgeous paper ones though when I've seen them.

look at these cuties..

I saw these in the charity shop for 20p a packet, and they were just so cute and whimsical i couldn't leave them there.

I think they're probably from the eighties.

The ones below are going to be the ones From Santa this year, so these are well hidden..

And these ones I just loved :o)

And I actually bought the BBC 'Homes and Antiques' magazine whilst in hospital, just so's I could get my mitts on these lovely tags!  lol

I've been doing some embroidery too....

Using some of my old rubber stamps to stamp on some cotton,

Then embroider round the edges and watercolour in the middles....

I haven't got round to watercolouring the middles yet,

But they're sweet aren't they?...

And i've been making some of the things below, but this is just a little peek, as they aren't quite ready yet..

I also keep meaning to tell you I won my fight!!

You probably don't remember, but back in September I told you I was off up the school to start what I knew would be a long drawn out process with the school over my eldest daughters post 16 education (i.e. Year 12/6th form)

She can only go to school part time due to her seizures, and obviously some of that time she isn't there either as she is ill.

But they still said that she had to get the full monty in exam results in order to get any 6th form education with them.

(in my daughters case, this would have meant getting 100% in her exam marks, where as other children without any special needs only have to get about 55%.)

Well, after a bit of a battle, they've said she can go in the 6th form!! Which to us is brilliant news! 'Specially as the nearest colleges are about 40 mins away depending on traffic!

They've said she can much earlier than we anticipated, which we think is great, as we were expecting to fight right up until next June if need be!  So that is a real worry off our minds I can tell you :o)

The last thing we would want is for her to leave school next year, and sit on her bum isolated from everyone!  Goodness, I couldn't let her do that now, could I?

Anyway, it's all sorted now as far as me and the Head of 6th form are concerned.

I'm not supposed to tell anyone yet (you won't tell anyone though will you ;o) as she is going to be the exception, so I felt a bit of a fraud when I was talking to one of the deputy heads the other day about her post 6th form education, and he was saying how they won't take her !

Still, it's not my job to tell him now is it?

And we haven't told our daughter yet either, as she is taking her mock GCSE's at the moment, and we don't want her to think (not that we actually think she would, but you never know;o) that she doesn't have to try 'cos she's already got a place!

I have to admit to feeling a tad guilty telling you all, but I do know a few of you are so caring and I'd sure want to know if it was you ;o)

Anyway, that's it for me oh, 'cept I  promised to show you all this..

Aaaaww...

My youngest daughter has been re-cycling and making Christmas things.

this is her snow globe...

Made from:

An old coffee jar, a christmas picture printed off the internet, some polystyrene and glitter.

She's made something else too, but I'll show you that in the week :O)

Right, I'm off now to get three advent calendars as I forgot them.. I know, how un-organised can you get lol.

Take care my lovely people. You've cheered me up having a yack :o)

Love Donna xx



This n' that..

Well Hello lovely bloggy people :o)

Hope the world is treating you well?

I've had a busy, kinda stressful few weeks.  My eldest daughter was finally admitted to King College Hospital last weekend, and we've been up there all week.
Thankyou most kindly for all your well wishes that you sent us :o)

She had loads of tests, a MRI scan and a PET scan. We're hoping that after all the tests she had, they may find a reason for her epilepsy.

I had a 'discharge letter' for her GP, and what I read there looks extremely interesting, but obviously we'll have to wait for the test results and to hear from the Professor before we know what happens next...

Not alot's been happening round here. I've still kinda lost my way blogging wise, but I'm going to just take my time and keep plodding on.
Blogs are such a good thing to have. I like to write mine so that I can have a record of things done/made. I'd like my children to be able to read through it in the future if they so wish.  And I think it's nice for people to know a bit about you if you take the time to comment on their blog.

I've been busy making my gift labels for my Etsy shop..

I've been trying to think of ways of styling my photo's, but I have such a lack of imagination sometimes!

 

I've also started to make hot water bottle covers, but I forgot to take the photos!

And I've made a few of my zip flowers into hair slides..

 

And since i've been back from hospital, our passion flowers have bloomed..

Look at that glorious sky! That was yesterday too, the 13th November!  14.c  it was here :o)

Well, I'm off to the shops now to fill up the cupboards again..

Is it just me, or does shopping get more boring the older you get? LOL

Have a great week lovely people, and take care,

Love Donna xx



Strange goings on :o)

Good Morning dear bloggy people :o)

I hope this post finds you all fine n dandy this Sunday morning :o)

Autumns here at last!   I love the crisp, cool, frosty mornings, but again this weekend is an extemely strange, warm morning for late October.

Just take a look at the contents of these photos for October in East Dorset..

Ok, ok, only joking!  ;o)

The above photo is from last year, but i just thought I'd remind you all of the gorgeous snow we had last December before we go on...;o)

Now, the one below is real! Taken this week in my garden..

It's my native hazel bush that I've grown from a nut..

See it's dying leaves..just a few left..?

Well, look closer, and you'll also see on the bush at the same time

some new buds, and catkins!  -Along with the dying leaves!

What's going on? These catkins aren't supposed to appear before next spring. Does this mean we will have no buds next spring?  As the frost will soon kill them off.. :o(

And also in my garden last week..

Look, my forsythia with it's autumnal leaves, and it's January flowers!!

Forsythia flowers normally appear in January *before* the leaves come on the branches, but as my leaves are curently dying, so my flowers are appearing!

I also have strawberries coming out now..

These type of strawberries are usually out in July/August.

But my dahlias are just pretties..

and they can come out until November apparently if the frosts aren't too bad :o)

~~~~^^^^^^~~~~~

Remember my half finished hand warmers from my last post? Well, I finished them,

and have crocheted 3 more pairs since then, but unfortunately I haven't photographed them.

I've been busy making more bits for my Etsy shop too.

*Pin wheel brooches*

*Christmas cake picks*  I've made all sorts of these..snowflakes, butterflies etc..

*Pentagon christmas crochet bunting*

And *zip brooches and hair grips*

Although I have to say I've been somewhat of a 'slacker'  (as Jennie would say;o))

in the listing of products in my shop.

I mean I *still* haven't listed the makes I made during the summer holidays!

And in a couple of weeks my eldest daughter is going for a short stay in Kings College hospital London, so I'm not sure whether to list now, or now wait until we come out!

Honestly, sometimes I do make life hard for myself :o)

I also haven't forgotten my recipe from my last post for the quiche/tart.

I've taken some lovely photos for it, and I shall get the recipe up on a 'stand alone' page as soon as I have time.

***********

This weekend has been all about tidying. As I'm staying at the hospital with my daughter I need to get everything ship shape at home so that hubby and the other two children don't have to do much whilst I'm gone.

And I have some custom bunting to make for a 40th birthday too, which needs to be done before I go.  But I'll tell you more about that in a few weeks.

Well, anyway, that's it for me today.

I have loads to write about, as I haven't had the heart to blog these past couple of weeks ..I don't know why. I mean I've been about, just didn't feel much like posting. And I think sometimes when blogger is going wrong and you can't comment and stuff, it all gets a bit frustrating!  Maybe I just give up too easily lol.     Do you ever get like that?

Well, have a lovely Sunday everyone. And if your children are off school this week for half term like mine are, have a gorgeous autumny time won't you?

Take care all of you,

Love Donna xx



Cooking and memories

Morning my fair blogging friends:o)  (Fair as in fair-weather, but as you're always here in bloglang, fair blogging...see? :o)

Hope this post finds you all fine and dandy :o)

There has been a fair bit of cooking going on in the little tiny household, so I thought I'd have a bit of a tell, and pop in down in my lil' ole' blog for memories sake.

The cooking hasn't all been being done by me, so it makes me extra proud to put the makes down for posterity :o)

First up is the most gorgeous Butternut Squash and pesto tart/quiche thingy.

It's the nicest quiche/tart thingy that  I've ever made up -if I do say so myself :o)

Wholemeal pastry with a handful of chopped nuts baked blind. A layer of pesto on the bottom, then baked, mashed butternut squash, then the eggy, veggie, herb mixture on top.

MMmmm..

Then next up are wholemeal sponge cakes..

They taste gorgeous with pure cane dark brown sugar in the mix..

A bit of dodgy icing..

A pretty shop bought wafer flower, and yummy :o)

And last but not least, the one I'm  proud of..

A gorgeous Lemon Tart made by my eldest daughter..

Under the grill for ten minutes to melt the icing sugar...

And devour with a dollop of (very expensive!) clotted cream!

Oh, it was divine :o)

An extra gorgeous treat for us!

IMPORTANT NOTE:  None of the above are any good whatsoever for your waistline, although highly recommended for your taste buds :o)

If any of you would like the recipes, just say, but I didn't want to just post them for fear of boring you more :o)

Crochet wise, I'm still plodding on with my monochromatic green afghan.

But I've also started these..

Pink and black striped hand warmers for my youngest daughter.

They whip up in about an hour, so are easy and fun to make :o)  (Unless you're doing a different stitch than trebles or doubles)

****~~~~****

And here's one for you memory.

Remember 'The Darling Buds of May' ?

A very young Catherine Zeta-Jones..?

But saying that, she really doesn't look much older now a days does she?..

And one I had to take the other day was when I switched tv on in the early hours, and a re-run of the 'Liver Birds' was on!

Don't tell me I'm the only one who remembers them!

And not only were thay crocheting, but one of them was wearing the most funky crochet top :o)

It made me smile, 'specially with that collar!

~~~***~~~

I'd also just like to say that I'm still having trouble commenting on peoples blogs.

I'm reading them, but when I go to comment and have written it, blogger just swallows the comment and leaves the comment box blank :o(

I still haven't worked out how to fix this, so until then please know that I'm still with you, I just can't show you I am :o)

A few off the top of my head are:

Little Blue Mouse

Crafty cats corner

Vintage Vicki

Hesta Nesta

Jumbles and pompoms

Ribbons undone

Scarlett loves Elvis

Vintage Hearth

And several more, but the names escape me at the moment.

So Hi to all of you :o)

Have a great weekend if I don't speak to you before, and take care,

Love Donna xx

Sunrise

Like most of the UK this week, we've had the most glorious, hot summery weather. Strange, but glorious.

As most of you know, my eldest daughter has Epilepsy which entails seizures every day and night, so obviously we have odd sleeping patterns.

Well, this week, it has been an absolute joy to be up when the sun rises.

The sunrises have been most amazing!

Beautiful reds, pinks and zingy oranges spreading through out the sky..

So early yesterday morning, I decided to drive to one of the high points in the New Forest,

so thay I could take some photos, and share them with you :o)

Just in case you are all lucky enough to not have to be up at the crack of dawn most mornings :o)

Beautiful aren't they?

Isn't Mother nature is amazing!!

Hope you're all having the most fabulous weekend!

Take care now,

Love Donna xx