Things That Are Making Me Happy At The Moment.

I adore this small plant - No 3 bought me this as a gift when she came a few weekends ago. I do not know what sort of plant it is but I just love it. The leaves are unusual, they remind me of dandelion leaves.

Yesterday dad came and we went for a mooch along our local shops. This is what I found!

A Rohan walking shirt - has clever pockets inserted into the side seam. Found this in a local charity shop for £4 - bargain.  This was the nearest Rohan shirt I could see on their website. I think I got a bargain.

Then I found this M&S limited edition dress. Sorry the photo does not display the colours well - but it is black and quite a bright green. Again for another bargain of £4!

My final £4 charity buy! My eyes lit up when I spied the book across the shop on a stand. I had to barge pass this woman who was obstinately blocking the way to the stand! But I was even more determined to get there! Sadly I cannot see a price for it as it is now out of print, but I am very happy!!!!

I love keeping basil plants on my kitchen window ledge. Sometimes I find it hard to pull the leaves off for cooking! But common sense has to prevail and slowly I attack it until the poor plant becomes bare:(

Further along the ledge is one of my favourite colours - red.

Funny how I like "red" - it seems to be the same colour I like in drinks!

Now this is not my ironing pile.

And this is not a messy pile!

Another clue to me being happy!

Mr P and I are off on our summer holidays tomorrow. We shall be spending two days in London and then returning home to collect the above clothes and then off to..........................................

Whoopeee! We are going there for 1 week, back home and then the next day off to Buckfastleigh for three days! How lucky am I. Hope you have enjoyed seeing and sharing in some of my happy moments. Not sure when my next blog will happen. But I promise to be back soon. Bye for now.

East,West, Home Is Best

Two to three times a year we try to meet up with two sets of friends in Coventry. This year for various different reasons it just has not happened. Last night was the first time we had in the diary to meet up. But when Mr P came home from work it was obvious that he had "man flu" - that deadly disease! We debated whether or not to go, he had a bath, watched some Judge Judy and took some paracetamol - then decided "lets go". So off we went. As we get on to the M69 there is a sign saying it'll be closed when we come back! Aaaargh!

Then we pull up at our friends home to observe their car is not on the drive way? Eeeek! But do not fret the man of the house was in but his wife's shift(she's a district nurse) had gone on longer and she would be with us all in the next hour. Then 10 minutes later our other friends arrive and he is not too well either! When the hostess arrived home I think she felt as if she was still at work with the ailing guests!

As we usually do on these occasions we order a take away. Normally we have an Indian take away and Mr P pops into the Chinese as he's not keen  on curries. This time the host suggests we try a different take away that he has used before. So after what always takes ages for us all to choose our food because as per usual we are chatting and catching up with news - the order was placed.

Half an hour later a wonderful aroma fills the room and we busily tuck in to the food - trying to decipher which dish is what curry? So with some food on my plate, my taste buds eagerly awaiting the arrival of some divine flavours I open my mouth and put in a mouthful of curry. Urrrrrrrrgh/yuk/horror! I have a mouthful of fat! Disgusting - I had to get it out asap before I threw up. I do not do fat and to make matters worse it was lamb and I do not like lamb either! Used to love lamb, it was my favourite meat but since I did lambing some years ago I cannot eat it. When I was handling the sheep I could always smell lamb - sorry if that sounds daft. Not to worry someone else loved lamb and ate my meat instead.

Never mind I decide to tuck into the rice and there was a little bit of vegetable biriyani left. The biriyani ended up being cooked in the lamb fat! Then having eaten some green beans I then go and eat another bean only to discover it is a large green chilli! Two glasses of water and the tears stop rolling down my face and my mouth finally feels as if the fire has gone out! At this point I lose the will to live with this meal and give up! Have to say this is a first for me not to eat a dinner! Never mind when we got home I had two pieces of wonderful Warburtons thick white bread toasted with delicious lurpak butter.

Mr P meanwhile is looking worse and the good effects of the tablets are fast disappearing and so we make a hasty retreat for home. But of course we have no M69 and so poor Mr P has to drive along country lanes, that he does not know very well, and  try to make our way home. It added 20 minutes to our journey - not what you want when you are feeling crap!

Well should we have gone - it was lovely to have met up with our friends, but it seemed such a short time when there was almost a year of news to catch up on. Hopefully the next time we meet will not be quite so adventurous.

Well off to the shops to stock up on lemsips for Mr P who has now gone back to bed.

Mid Week Update From The Mad Woman Of Leicestershire!

Next week Mr P and I go on our summer holiday - yes I know it's late, but better late than never. We have finally sorted out what we are doing and booked up accommodation. Next Monday we shall be off to London for two days, staying overnight in a hotel in Hendon. Not sure what we shall be doing yet but it will consist of time going to museums, art galleries, hopefully some shops and maybe the opera if we can get some cheap tickets. Wednesday we fly to Rhodes for a weeks holiday - not camping but in a 5 star hotel, half board. Must remember not to pack the tent and the kitchen sink! That then leaves us a few days at the end and so we have booked to stay in an Inn in Buckfastleigh in Devon. Why there? Well my dad gave us some vouchers for a chain of pubs/hotels, two Christmases ago. So with thoughts of holidays I am reminded of the large pile of clothes that need ironing. I know I made a vow not to let it get soooo bad, but I don't seem to learn my lesson.

For Mr P I ironed 21 T shirts, 7 shirts, 8 jumpers and 2 pairs of trousers! 

 

For myself 1 pair of shorts, 3 dresses, 9 blouses and 2 pairs of jeans.

One day I will be more organised and not get so side tracked!  (Pigs might fly is coming to mind!)

Bach Choir  rehearsal last night was great. We are rehearsing to perform Johann Sebastian Bach: Christmas Oratorio.Last night it was exciting because some of the pieces were sounding fabulous. If you want a pre-Christmas treat then click here to order your tickets.

Finally I had one of those rather mixed feeling moments. Yesterday I had a call from work asking me to see four handsome firemen, to help them stop smoking. I had to say no because I shall be on holiday! What! Typical me never in the right place at the right time!

Knitting and Stitching Show Alexandra Palace 2013 - Part Two

Ok time for me to take my work hat off and cast my brain back to Saturday...................

So one end of Ally Pally is that beautiful stained glass window then on the opposite side is this wonderful looking organ.

You can also see from this picture just how busy this show was. In fact it was rather too much at times because there was no air conditioning and no windows or doors open to let in some air. Consequently I was sweating, Mrs A developing a headache and many ladies getting irritable. So Mrs A and I headed to collapse on the floor by some stairs as there was no where to sit!

We sat, ate some more lunch, drank some water, discussed the show and where we were heading next. By this time feeling ready for more action we headed back into the hall. (I do like Mrs A's socks - far more interesting than my boring black woolly tights)!

Isn't this blankie gorgeous? Some women can never have enough handbags or shoes - I think it's blankets for me!

These animal teddies are such fun - oh if only I didn't have to go to work!

I really like these knitted dolls, could just see them scattered around various rooms, but the price of the pattern I just couldn't justify ( not to mention all the unfinished projects I have yet to complete). Sense prevailed - sadly:(

Thought I'd look up the website for AK Miro for you all and just discovered they are from Australia! Mmmm looks as if I ever want to make them then I will need to adapt it as there are some patterns available from magazines but not the wool available in the UK. OR I wait another year for them to come to the UK again - mmmmmm

Some people are just insanely gifted - how stunning is this embroidery.

Just look at those knitting needles - they must be great for making rugs.

Why this picture of a mens loo I can hear you asking - well I've moaned that the organisers of the show didn't get the heating right but I must praise them for having the sense to reassign the mens loo for women to use!

Outside the entrance was this yarn bombed taxi. It's something to do with promoting school reading.

Time for a final picture before we had to board the coach back home....

Well what did we buy? Have to say I thought we'd be coming back with bags of stuff, but no we only bought a few items. There were some ladies going around with shopping trollies full!

This is Mrs A's toys! - Very reserved for her.

One small embroidery picture to complete.

I needed some sort of frame for the cross stitch I am trying to do (along with all my other projects!)

It's quite a clever device as it can be adjusted to many different sizes.

One sheet of paper with a crochet pattern for oooooops a blanket! Do have a look at Mrs Moon's website - they have some lovely things.

Finally I bought these few shawl pins from Textile Garden.

Now it's time to go to bed and think about my early start in the morning - good night all.

Knitting and Stitching Show Alexandra Palace 2013 - Part One

It's nearly 11pm the day after the show and I now feel ready/recovered to write this blog. Yesterday started at 6am with a cuppa. Mr P kindly got up early too to take Mrs A and myself to the coach station for 7.30am. One hour later and the coach is just one mile up the road from where I live!!!! The reason being it had to pick up ladies from various different points.

After a last pick up at Market Harborough we eventually headed out onto the M1 and felt as if we were truly on our way. Well this was after the driver decided to give us all a small talk about the coach, safety exits and a toilet. Well Mrs A and I didn't think it had one until we were told to the contrary - think it must have been in the boot! I don't think I could have ever found it without being sick! But the driver did make us laugh informing us all that it was only for No 1's and  not any No 2's! After a thirty minute "comfort stop" we finally were on the last leg of the journey and I found myself eating my picnic lunch early in order to tank up and have more time at the show.

I reckon this must be a door to the toilet - perhaps you have to abseil to the toilet! No seriously the driver was lovely and made us all as comfortable as he could, and I would recommend Woods to you all. Then finally the view we had all been waiting for came into sight......

We were all sooooo excited - should say the coach was full with women! Then what seemed an eternity the coach came to a halt in the appropriate car park and we all piled out, tickets in our hands. The next picture is the view across London that you get from outside  Alexandra Palace.

Then we saw the enormous queue to get in - it went round three sides of the building, but it did move quickly. Here is Mrs A waiting patiently in the queue.

Shortly we are inside.

I love this glass ceiling.

These teddies were knitted with alpaca wool - so soft.

Think these teapot cosies such fun.

Then there were several exhibitions of people who are very gifted and talented.....

Love the bold bright colours of the tank top - wouldn't it be such fun to wear it, you'd certainly get noticed!

This picture is all stitched - amazing!

One end of the building is this gorgeous stain glassed window.

This is the second show that I've seen Stuart. He was one of the contestants on the television programme Great British Sewing Bee. Can't wait until the BBC does a second series.

Discovered two stalls selling wonderful tweed fabric from Donegal in Northern Ireland - Magee and Fabric Affair

This is a blanket made from one of Debbie Abrahams Mystery Blanket. Over ten months, subscribers receive patterns and materials to knit individual squares which join together to make an exquisite blanket. The theme of the project is kept secret, only to be discovered as the squares are completed and the blanket takes shape. I'd love to take part in one but it costs rather a lot of money. Here she is talking about her scheme to a customer. She's the one in the beanie hat.

Opposite was another stall doing something rather similar but with crochet by Jane Crowfoot
She's the one wearing the scarf.

Then we headed for the Jamiesons Wool  stall. They came all the way from the Shetland Isles to be at this event. They make some lovely wool. But look what else I saw "A MAN" and he was choosing some wool!

Golly it's nearly 11.30pm and I need to go to bed. So will do Part 2 in the next few days!