Wednesday 28 January 2009

A quiet time...

... nothing much has happened really. Monday I went to the job centre on Tuesday I visited a school but I have no chance of getting the job. There was a candidate looking around and she acted as if she already had it. The interviews are not for another two weeks! I can never compete against the young and confident, that know all the jargon and are a whizz with modern technology. I posted the application form anyway and we shall see. No sign of any work and it seems on with one agency I was blocked as unavailable today but I was up and ready to go (well almost).

We did the bird survey on Sunday and had several sparrows the usual collared doves two starlings and a blue tit. The blackbird and robin didn't come though. But we have seen them this week. The robin is distinctive because he has a white horizontal strip across his chest. The blackbird brought his mate and while she was busy in the seed tray he spent a considerable amount of time tugging at a very fat juicy looking worm.

I have done very little in the way of creativity this week, finished the back of a bear's jumper and put a few crosses in a piece I am working on. I have made a first attempt at my story character challenge doll, all her body parts are made and need to be stuffed. She is very basic but I have drawn the pattern parts my self. I am not sure about her head though. that might need some work. The biggest challenge will be her clothes because I will have to skim read the book to see what she is supposed to wear!

We went to town on Saturday. John bought a new rucksack and Biddle has been trying it out ready for the walking season.


Tia has been up to her tricks

What is not obvious unless you know our house is that she is sat at the top of the stairs and quite often practices Olga Korbut style along the length of the landing. One day she will miss her step, fall, but hopefully land on all fours halfway up the stairs


I never manage to take a good photo because she ends up walking towards me and is too close.

Thanks for the comments last time especially abut the papercrafting.

Thursday 22 January 2009

Papercrafting

The sewing machine was switched on for the first time this year but only to zig zag around a piece of 28 count fabric.

I have been playing with all my card making stuff. Some of it i have been given as presents and wanted to keep for my self rather than use on cards. But what to do? I never took up the scrapbooking craze and my time spent with stamping has been limited. I am a note book fanatic and had several of those as gifts so last week I put note book and paper carafting together and came up with these themed pages.






I am quite pleased with them and will do more.

I have been hunting up here since Christmas for an A4 sheet of mental that is really for keeping cross sheet charts on so that you can use various little magnetic windows and things to keep track of counting. I never got on with it really so stuck it in "a safe place. I finally found it and have stuck it on the wall to show off another of my Christmas gifts from John.



This is one set of a series of fridge magnets to have fun with from Otter house. I would provide the link but the web site isn't up yet.

I was thinking the other day that although I take more photographs than ever, I don't actually have any photographs. On iphoto I have over 3500 images but I never made hard copies. Is this the norm or do most people dash of to one of those machines and print them off?

Yesterday was exciting. I went to work. The first day this term. I quite enjoyed it. But in this particular school the amount of time spent on planning a weeks lessons is phenomenal. And as i often say there are only 24 hours in a day.

Tuesday was exciting too as I watched President Obama's inauguration I studied US politics in my first year at university. As this was such a memorable day I think I would have watched any way.

The coming week end is The big garden bird watch

Today I saw a robin and a blackbird, but I bet they don't appear on Saturday or Sunday. Last year we only saw sparrows.

Thank you for stopping by

Tuesday 13 January 2009

positive I hope!

I have decided not bore everyone with doom and gloom suffice to say no work yet this term. But I have sent for two application forms, apart time teaching post and a support assistant post. yes a backward step maybe but needs must and all that.

Having thought that last year I had not made an awful lot I put together a photo album and was surprised to see how much there was. There is one item missing.


This was a panel that had been in the stash for ages and I quilted it and bound it with this strip that came down the side of the panel. It was part of John's Christmas presents. Christmas seems a distant memory now.

At the week end we were visited by our usual group of sparrows and the collar doves. But there was great excitement when a robin, blackbird and thrush all appeared too.

The photos are all taken from the kitchen window so are not the best quality. its surprising how much time I can spend at the window watching the birds and it must be great to have a real back garden and a conservatory to sit and watch in.









I am supposed to thinking of a doll character to make for a challenge i should be taking part in. I have tried to draw what i want but it has not worked out so I shall have to find a pattern I.
can use as a template.

I have been X stitching and have finished and posted one of my swap squares and have almost finished another. A bear has requested a jumper, so I started that yesterday and on the table i have some paper craft stuff that I am playing around with.

The weather has warmed up but its dull and rainy. I have put the central heating back on timer and I am wearing my fingerless mittens! Oh and two jumpers! And a scarf!!

Thank you for visiting and special thanks if you comment

Monday 5 January 2009

New Year

I have never really enjoyed New year's eve. Over the past few years we have watched Jools Holland and I have managed to stay cheerful. But this time we didn't bother staying up, John was coughing as bad as ever and I was in usual new year mode. I hate all the hype of how its all a fresh start and things will improve etc. Any way enough said. Today is the first day of a new term and I am at home!

It has been really chilly here and new year's eve we woke up to a sharp frost and I took these photos.






At dogdaisychains

I saw a similar photo the following day.


The weather has not improved and this morning woke to a smattering of snow and icy roads but the sun has come out and its reached a chill 1C.

The decorations are all packed away but I have left the snow folk out for a while longer until I feel spring should be on its way. It all looks a bit dreary at the moment but some ornaments need to be brought back down stairs.

I have a new dragon John bought him for our special day celebrated 20th December we have been together 19 years now.



Dragon has a lovely chime and is hanging above my sewing area. The machine is back from her Christmas break but her table looked like this for a very short period




I have almost finished a small x stitch for a swap. I was amazed reading other blogs just how much stitching people manage to complete in a year. My offering was really small it doesn't warrant a mention here! But if I thought long and hard I could come up with quite a good list of sewn and knitted items. I don't seem to get to stitch much any more. But have loads I could stitch WIPS UFOs and charts aplenty.

Thanks if you leave a comment. And hope your year is a good one