Wednesday quote

 

Today Lynnes challenge made me think about how people of any age who share the same interests can have a good time.

Our Craft groups Christmas get together.

We won't be meeting December

I also learned that people can be so generous

The group decided that next year we will make things to sell at a Craft Fair next December

for funds using their own materials.

Tuesday Quote

I've been sewing today and I've decided to make a tote bag - something easy.

 

What I have learned today

That to die cut some old cracker covers

you need to have the card upside down or the die doesn't cut through the plastic coating.

 

I've cut these out for Jennys boys as we are visiting on Thursday and I saved the cracker covers from their crackers last year to make them something.

I know Christopher will remember what I said.



November quote

It's Lynnes' week this week and this is what she has said:

                             I have 2 quotes for you about LEARNING
           
                  “ Anyone who keeps learning stays young” Henry Ford

                  “You cannot open a book without learning something” Confucius

This week tell us each day one thing you have learnt during the day, hopefully with a photo.

 Make your blog brief as we are all getting busy with the run up to Christmas. 

 

Today I've learned 2 things.

The first check the calendar as we arrived 1/2 hour late for our dentist appointment.

The second how to make a paper Christmas tree.

 

I got the design from Split coast stampers

by Beate Johns

I need a bit more practice before I am satisfied.

Sunday Nostalgia

Looking back over the years I've experienced quite a few different bonfire nights. When I was a child and when my children where little we always had a firework display at home.
These were always supervised by my father who absolutely loved setting off the fireworks. He kept them in a tin so they wouldn't be set off accidentally. We always had a feast, jacket potatoes (if we had a bonfire they were cooked in the embers wrapped in foil), sausages, beans etc and of course the inevitable bonfire toffee made at home.
As time went on we went to more organised displays as well mainly organised by the scouts and the church.

I have mixed feeling about November, I love the clear skies and the moon and the sunny days but I hate the damp overcast ones. These days I hate the time about Halloween and November 5th as loud banging fireworks are set off for weeks, mainly in the park behind us and poor Stella gets really distressed. We tend to find puddles in corners If I forget to spray Felliway to soothe her.

Like Anne, I hate the changing of the clock, it takes me ages these days for my body to get used to the change of time. I just can't see the point these days, it was started in WW2 so people could take advantage of daylight during the blackout.
I have heard various reasons for keeping it, one being it is safer for children going to school and another being it was better for the farmers in Shetlands and the north of Scotland, not being too dark for them getting the cows milked. Perhaps if Scotland goes independent we can keep British Summer time all year round.

I've haven't any photos of bonfire nights and haven't been out this weekend to take any.
Today is overcast so I couldn't get any lovely photos today of the sun on the lovely Autumn leaves.
Is it my imagination or have the leaves clung on to the trees a lot longer this year?

Saturday Nostalgia

 

Three photo of example of the weather this week

Our little Sian in her rain clothes even though it's not raining.

 

My feet in the leaves outside Blackburn Cathedral

on a lovely crisp day

 Hail stones on the  velux windows
earlier in the week

 

Finally nothing to do with the weather and November

 

The state of our bath and bathroom at the moment

It will be lovely when everything is tidy again.

 

 



Nostalgia Wednesday

I've always found November a strange month

Almost Winter but Autumn not over, either very wet or really cold.

For some reason I've always found the moon especially beautiful at this time of year.

This photo was taken by Roland.

 He slowed the shutter speed down then he blew it up on the computer. Isn't it lovely? 

He also took this one earlier

Do you think it looks like a hand?

No limits Sunday

This week has been really enjoyable, Sewing Tuesday, Knitting Wednesday then a meeting on Thursday where the group discussed where we had got too, what we could offer each other and where to go next.

Friday we went to Carlisle and stayed in a Premier Inn so we could get to the gluten free food fair being held there on Saturday. Our friends, Jen and Dougie came down from Gretna to have meal with us and we had a great time catching up.

 

Our ME/CFS Meeting

 

 

These are my photos of no limits

not a very good photo of the moon but it does make me think of the universe beyond.

 Some views on the way home from Carlisle on Saturday

The countyside seems to go on forever.

 By the time I got my camera out the hang glider that you can hardly see in the centre of the photo had landed so he did have a limit (The parachute is blue.)

No Limits Saturday

Annes challenge this week is No Limits. and she described an expedition she and Dennis went on. I thought it was really fantastic - what they did and how they did it.
I know Anne has worked in different parts of the world as well and I really admire her for that.

Compared to Anne my "no limits" are quite mundane and basically just getting on with life.
Shaun was almost 3 and Catherine was a few months old when I started my teachers training. I think that was my first major challenge in life.
The next challenge was me having to divorce my first husband when I had 3 children and a baby on the way. I didn't think I'd ever come out on the other side of that. Bringing up 4 children on my own was the next challenge, that lasted 8 years. Then I met Roland deciding to marry him was not a challenge really but it did mean my life would change and at the time I wasn't sure how it would work out but I had no doubts.
The next major challenge came in my late 40's when I developed ME. It was a real challenge to get to the stage I am in my illness because one has to work hard to ease the symptoms as there is no medication to cure it, and there are some days when getting out of bed is a challenge in itself. I also developed Coeliac disease at the same time - another challenge to eliminate gluten from my diet.

The nearest thing Roland and I have done to Annes challenge was us climbing Blencathra in the Lake district. We climbed along a ridge to reach the summit. It was scarey with the drop each side of this really narrow ridge but the sense of achievememt when we reached the other side was wonderful.
We used to do a great deal of fell walking in the "Lakes"

Photos tomorrow.

November View 2

Last post for this week.

I just love these skies

This evenings views

from the front of the house



 

 And from the back

 

My Silver choir of Angels

 All the little Angels together

I didn't get as many done as I would have liked but I haven't time now to do any more.

 

A very bad photo of the cards I made on Thursday

Sunday View

What a beautiful sunny day it is today.

I didn't get up til very late this morning, but Roland said there was a white frost covering the Park when he woke up. I am disappointed I didn't get a photo.

I've been busy again this week, sewing Tuesday, committee meeting Wednesday, Thursday I went to a monthly card making group for the first time ( I'll go for a few more times but it wasn't the kind of card making I enjoy much so I need to go again to see if that is the kind they do all the time).

That was in the evening, in the afternoon I helped Roland lay boards down in the living room, hammering the nails in where he had positioned them. I needed 2 hands to wield the hammer.

I also helped him move some furniture around and fell lifting the settee. I have hurt my knee and it seems to be getting worse. Today I was having problems walking when I got out of bed and the pain has spread up to my hip.

Saturday I went to a NHS listening group, where the NHS are asking people what problems they are having with the service ( they call us service users, more jargon) I went on behalf of myself and my group. We and lots of other groups had stands.

 This is the stand we had there

 

Roland has been working really hard over the last 3 days laying insulation and these boards down ready for the carpet.

We are hoping the carpet comes on Tuesday as the carpet fitter is coming Wednesday

November View

 

Kitchen Window view

This little rose bush is waiting to go to my daughters house

It should be a climber and was in our neighbours garden.

They have had to remove it as their little boy is blind so the thorns

would be dangerous for him.

 

 The Pansies Peter and I have planted

I couldn't resist taking this photo of Roland

He's got the board that he is going to put down on the floor

under the patio window.

 

Another View out of our bedroom window. 

 

 

On Monday I went to a lesson about using different stabilisers behind the embroidery on

my machine

Some of the samples I came home with





Sunday Bonus

It's the last day of my challenge and I'd like to thank those of you who joined in. Also thank you for asking me to create a challenge.

I am like some of you I don't look too far ahead but I do like to know what is happening in the near future. I keep a diary to remind me what I have arranged. It usually is untidy but as long as I know what is going on I don't care.

I also like to plan holidays and as well as visiting family and the balloon flight we have arranged trip to Italy for July.

 I also am going to plan a trip round Scotland for next year. We have never been farther north than Kenmore on the side of Loch Tay and would like to go and see where Rolands family comes from in Aberdeen.

I am 66 and really don't care what people think of me any more, which is nice as I used to worry all the time  about it  - it took me years to get out of that habit. I also wear brighter colours than I used to as my mum brought me up to wear browns and beiges and NEVER wear red. Guess what colour I wear most now. I've never really liked purple though.
I don't consider myself  "old" so I haven't done many of the things Jenny Joseph wrote about. I do hoard pens and pencils and things in boxes, I can wear terrible shirts at times but I try not to grow fat ( I love sausages but couldn't eat 3 pounds of them)
I have occasionally gone out in the garden in the rain, or dry, in my slippers. I have never picked the flowers in other peoples gardens but I have been known to take a cutting of a shrub I like which is probably just as bad.

All in all I'm still practicing for when I'm old.

 

I really look forward to looking out of my window every day

Here are views taken on two different days.

 

This is one of my works in progress

A Choir of Angels

7 down 9 more to go

 

Friday Bonus

What a wet and miserable day it is today. I'm sat here with my feet up not feeling like doing anything at the moment.
Yesterday Jo and I went to the cinema to watch Turbo. We had a great time and stuffed ourselves with popcorn, Ice cream and drinks. Afterwards I took him to his nannies as she had organised a Halloween party for all her grandchildren. I had never been there before and found it a lovely house in a little cul de sac in Leyland. Jo was greeted by his sister and cousin and ran off to play.
I completely forgot to take photos so another lost opportunity. I did take one of Sian and Jo before we went to the cinema.

Well Roland soon put a stop to sitting and not doing much as I had just finished writing the above when he came into the room and suggested going to town as it had stopped raining, so off we went.
I picked up my watch that was being repaired, Roland and got his new glasses from Specsavers then off we went to Aldi to do a bit of food and pre Christmas shopping.