Things I Don't Need ......

Normal shoes, socks, leggings/trousers with a small foot hole, car keys.  Well I will need them again, but not for a few weeks.  The only thing I'm really missing at the moment are my socks!  Having large plastercasts on my feet isn't making them cold but I do miss the cosiness of a pair of socks.

For the next 6 weeks my life involves these lovely, lovely shoes.  While in all seriousness, they are essential at the moment as they allow me to walk without putting any pressure on the front of my foot, but they REALLY are the fugliest shoes (if you can even call them shoes!) I've ever seen.  Good on a practical level.  But they ain't winning any prizes in fashion stakes!

And this little bundle of goodies are also now part of my daily life..

a (borrowed) wheelchair, yet to be used other than to ferry the kids around the livingroom, a shaped foam cushion, a bed cradle and a laptop table.

The cushion is amazing, I've to keep my feet elevated and this helps with not only raising my feet but supports my knees and legs.  I've tried just raising my feet and it eventually puts pressure on the back of your knees and your lower back so the support cushion is ideal for avoiding pain elsewhere.

I'd read about other people who have had the same operation as me and a few people had mentioned a bed cradle was a useful thing to have.  Essentially it is a small frame which help lift bedclothes/covers off a limb (leg/arm) after an operation.  I wasn't sure if I'd need it and to be honest, even though I've used it for a couple of nights I didn't think it was making a difference.  Until someone threw an item on clothing onto the bed yesterday and it landed on my feet!!!  It was only a small t-shirt belonging to a 3 year old but the unexpected weight on my feet was a surprise and a bit of shock to the system.  So the cradle thingie is useful it seems.

Rightio the family are back from their adventures so I'm off to find out what they've been up to.

Isn't she a beauty?

This is my mum's old manual typewriter.  It's lived in my loft for years.  The husband *briefly* asked if we needed to keep it when we moved last year and was *briefly* met with THE LOOK!  As if!!

We brought it down from the loft a few weeks ago after the Dude got a library book called 'The Story Machine', all about a boy who finds a typewriter and ... well it's fairly self explanatory.  So conversation developed and I explained I had a typewriter, did he want to see it.

So it came down, still in it's original case but it needed a REALLY good clean and the ribbon barely has any ink left (which isn't surprising given the last time it was used properly will be close to 25 years ago).  A little cleaning later and it's lovely and shiny.  The Dude had a little play but given the state of the ribbon he quickly got bored.  But I decided to investigate if you can still buy ribbons for manual typewriters .... and guess what?  You can, for less than a tenner too!

That got me thinking and I decided to investigate a bit more about this specific typewriter.  I even managed to find the serial number on it.  It is a Imperial 'Good Companion' Model 6 and based on the serial number I think it was manufactured in 1964.  So it's 51 years old.  And it works!  The Imperial company used to produce these typewriters in Leceister but the factory was closed in 1974. (The year I was born!)  When I was telling my dad what I'd discovered he informed me, he thinks it either cost £18 or £24 when my mum bought it.

I remember playing with it when I was younger and typing out nonsense just to see, and hear, it working.  I also remember my mum actually typing letters on it before we bought our first computer (which was an old Apple Mac!) so that must have been round about 1984. 

I've even managed to find an instruction manual online for it.  I'm so excited to have found out so much about it.  I've always loved this typewriter and I'm not sure why.  But I do know that I'll be getting a new ribbon for it and hopefully it will continue to be loved by my children.

Restful New Year

Well it's that time of year again, 1st January.  The start of a new year, a time when most people make new plans, new goals, have new hopes for the forthcoming days, weeks, months.

I'm not really one for making resolutions,  don't really see the point. It's like setting yourself up to fail on purpose.  Why do that?

So no resolutions from me but what I do want to do is take some time to enjoy all that happened last year.  Last year was a jam packed year - the whole rigmarole of getting the Dude into school (which basically went on for 8 months from applying for a place in January to the day he started in August), moving house, change to work patterns, minor illnesses, 2 cars deciding to part company from us, I turned 40, news of changes in our immediate wider family, etc, etc.

Lots of good happened, nothing terribly bad and lots of people had to deal with lots worse than us. It was just a lot to keep on track of mentally. So as 2015 starts I'm celebrating in a low key fashion and planning lots of good stuff to keep me busy for the next 12 months.

(the photos are just to prove I did actually make something in 2014, I did make a little more than just these but there are few decent photos on my phone!)

Wise Old Man?

This little guy is one half of my world and he is the best.  Obviously I'm immensely biased based on the fact he's my son.  He's a very responsible little dude for being 5, he loves being a big brother and loves his little sister more than I could ever have hoped for. 

There are days when he drives me round the bend and then there are times when he makes my heart melt.  Like the other night.  We were walking to the local park to watch the Round Table Annual Bonfire and Firework Display when he noticed one of the street lights wasn't working.  I joked around making a comment about someone forgetting to put 50p in the meter (showing my age).  At 5 years old this meant nothing to him!  So I explained that my Granny used to have a meter that you had to put in a 50p coin and turn it round to make the electricity work.  He then asked if my Granny was dead, (we've talked about this before), so I reminded him that she died a long, long time ago.  To which he replied,

'yeah, but she's watching over everyone, that includes you too Mummy'

It was such an innocent but incredibly mature thing for him to come out.  I did have to wipe away a few tears very quickly before he thought he'd upset me. 

We've talked a little bit about heaven, not that I'm particularly religious, but mainly as a way to explain where my mum is, as she died 19 years ago, so he knows about his 'special granny' and that she watches over all of us but it's nothing we talk about that often.  That statement just took my breathe away at a time of year where I feel the absence of family members a bit more than normal.

Love my little dude :)

A playdate?

Could I call it that?  Probably not, seeing as I'm a grown up and all, but it was just as much fun as kids have at a playdate.  What am I talking about?

An opportunity for me to get out, away from the normal routine of kids, housework, work and spend some time with other like-minded people and play with paper, pens, ribbon, glitter, glue, you name it.  That's right I got myself along to a craft club :)

My friend from work, Ann, runs a craft club in a nearby town once a month and has been asking me if I wanted to come along.  Now she has been asking me for about, oh ...... 2 years roughly, and while I've always thought 'yeah, that sounds like a good idea' I've never actually taken her up on the offer.  Why not?  Well generally because it means organising stuff, like husband and children, craft supplies, which kind of takes the fun out of it a little.  Oh yeah and there the vast amount of guilt I feel whenever I actually set out do something which feels slightly self-indulgent - you know like being away from those that I am responsible for an entire day to basically play with paper, or sit at my sewing machine when I can think of a million bits of housework that I should be doing instead.

But....now that I'm in my 40th year I sort of made myself some new year resolutions, well more of a birthday promise to myself.  That being this year, in the run up to my 40th, if I want to do something 'for me' then I should.  I'm one of the worst procrastinators/over-thinkers I know, I can think about things until I've talked myself out of it, or put it off till whatever it was is too late to do!

Anyhoo, back to the point, when Ann asked me a couple of weeks ago if I wanted to come along to her craft club and said yes.  So I spent a couple of nights planning and ordering photographs of the kiddiewinks, a Friday night hunting through my packed away papercraft supplies (it was all packed away to turn the spare room into Megan's room, so hasn't been looked at in over a year!) and toddled off on a Saturday morning to Dunfermline to meet a roomful of people, I only know Ann, and make STUFF!

This was us being all productive (& slightly messy!)

It was great, I totally over estimated just how productive I'd be, but over the course of 6 hours I did 2 and a bit scrapbook pages, blethered a fair bit and basically had a lovely time.  It's been so long since I did any scrapbooking that I'd completely forgotten just how much fun it can be to play with paper, ribbon and photographs.  Without feeling guilty :)

My efforts (although I did finish Megan's at home, ran out of time)

Roll on next month!!!!

Foto fiasco!!

We do not do good photos!  Point blank.  Attempting to get a half reasonable photograph is always a nightmare.  The Dude's nursery have asked for some photos - a baby one of him and a family photo.  Easier said than done when I'm generally the photographer at most family gatherings.  Like my Dad's 70th birthday meal last year - I was in charge of photos, so have photos of everyone else but none with me in them.  So I roped Granda in to be photographer, the results varied!

We went from the kids acting up (I have NO idea why Euan is giving the peace sign) and me talking to Pedro's lazy eye (which is only noticeable in photos!) making him look like he's half jaked!  We did get one or two which are ok (although Moo does look like she's about to dive off the couch!)

We'll eventually get a half decent family photograph, it may take years, but it will happen!!!

Grateful

At the start of last weekend there was bad news about one of my bosses.  Sadly he passed away from lung cancer at the very young age of 57.  He was diagnosed just over 6 months ago so his passing has come as a bit of a shock to everyone at work. 


I've known him for 20 years and he was (it feels odd writing in the past tense) one of life's good people.  Although he was high up in management he treated everyone the same, irrespective of position.  He always spoke, took an interest in you, asked after your family.  He was a great family man, having 6 kids.  I really feel for them just now.

He was well respected by many people, so much so that our work are organising a bus to take colleagues to and from his funeral this week.  It will be difficult, but hell we are only work colleagues, how his family are coping just now I have no idea.  His family have been through more than enough in the last few years  - his sister passed from cancer, his elderly father was attacked in the street and died shortly afterwards and they then had to go through the court case.  Fortunately the person was caught and is now detained at her majesty's pleasure.

Although the passing is sad, we have all been trying to find a positive way to look at things.  This man was such a vibrant, happy, positive person that it's only right that we look at life in a positive manner.  While indulging in my pinterest passion I came across this and it just seems so fitting at the moment.

I can be a bit of moaner at times (can't we all?) but even I annoy myself so this is a little reminder to stop whenever I feel a moan coming on and appreciate what I have.  I'm grateful that I had the pleasure of knowing this gentleman (he really was a true gent) and I'm grateful that he is no longer suffering.

Hello there :)

Today I've decided to link up with Lynne at Lily's Quilts and take part in sort of both the fresh sewing day - because in September I *shock, horror* actually managed to get sat at my sewing machine and achieve some sewing - and also the Small Blog Meet.

Sewing wise I tackled my first ever attempt at cathedral window blocks.  They are very addictive!  I'm really pleased with the results - not sure what I will do with this now however, but I'm contemplating turning it into a cushion cover.

I also managed to complete all my 24 scrappy trip around the world blocks.  I'm still deciding on the final layout so the quilt top is not completely finished but I'm more than impressed that I've finished the blocks considering that I started them shortly after my daughter was born this year - she's nearly 8 months!

And now a little bit about me and my blog.  This is my second blog but my first one Biff's Funky Scrappy blog, never did have a huge amount of followers either so I decided to link up to Lynne's Small Blog Meet.  I've been sewing off and on for a few years - it's in my blood.  Both my grannys were very good with their hands - one pretty much constantly had a pair of knitting needles in her hands and the other had a large sewing table with the ever present sewing machine in her (small) livingroom and after a life working in mills she basically become the go-to mender of clothes/household essentials in the small fishing village where she lived.  My sister carries the 'make do and mend/creative' gene better than me to be fair - she did Home Economics at school and make her own leather jacket at age 17!  But I love messing about with my sewing machine, I will never claim to be fantastic at it or even particularly creative, but I love seeing how things produce and having something tangible in my hands at the end of a few hours in front of my sewing machine.

I'd love to have more time (and money!) to do more sewing but a large chunk of my time is spent at work (boo!) and an even larger chunk is spent tending to/running after/playing with my 2 lovely kiddiewink.  Occasionally I also attempt to spend some time with my husband!

If you've popped over from Lily's Quilts I hope you've enjoyed my blethers and I haven't bored you too much.  Maybe you'll pop by again, you're more than welcome too :)

Progress at last

My sewing machine has been in use!  Wonders will never cease :)

The partially started cathedral windows have progressed.  I pondered for a couple of nights on the layout of the inside bits (my rubbish with technical terms) to make sure it looked just right.

 Version1 - Just wrong - too samey

 Version 2 - Better with the blue but still not happy with it

 Version 3 - Still liking the blue but the middle 3 are just wrong (they look almost yellow but are green!)

 Final version - much happier with this layout and combination.  Much more pleasing to the eye.

All sewn up and finished.  No idea what I'm going to do with it now.  It's FAR from perfect, at the moment all I can see are flaws but I've done it and I'm reasonably happy with the results.  Might try the technique again with a bit more thought as to the end use!

 

I've also done some more of my scrappy trip around the world blocks (go me!) so 11 blocks done out of 24 - almost half done.  Isn't it odd how taking a photo can make things look different - I just randomly laid out these blocks with no intention of creating any pattern and now that I'm looking at a picture of them there is a slight pattern.

I'm going to publish now as I started to write this post about 10am (it's now 2.50 - thankfully Firefox has restored my last webpage both times)  Since then my laptop has crashed twice since then, I've collected Euan from nursery, made lunch and taking him to his swimming lesson.  Now Little Miss has just woken from her nap, I need to do other things that don't involve fighting with a laptop!  I'll finish with a little snap of the kiddiewinks from yesterday when I was doing my monthly photo of Megan - 7 months old.  I think I blinked!

Redesign, Refocus, Relaunch

Welcome to my new bloggy home :)

A new home to record all aspects of my life - family, home life, making stuff!, work - if I do it, then I might just end up blogging about it at some point. 

It's been another period of change in the last few weeks as I've only just returned to work after being off on maternity leave after bringing Little Miss into our wee family.  So me and him (that'll be the husband Pete) are finding our new roles and getting ourselves organised.  We are in a very lucky position where due to how he works (guitar tutor - so mainly late afternoon into evening) and me being part-time, we juggle childcare between us with a little bit of assistance from grandparental units.  It's taking some time to readjust our time management skills.

It's a bit weird being back at work - somethings have changed but somethings have remained exactly as they were when I went of at the end of January.  I shouldn't really be surprised but as there was basically no-one covering my mat leave so a huge chunk of things have been on hold waiting for me to return!

Other than returning to work the end of August was busy with the Dude returning to nursery, he's a pre-schooler now - eeek!  Less than a year til he goes to the 'big' school.  I dread to think what I'll be like next August, I'm already stressing about it *facepalm*  However, he loves it and is definitely thriving because of it, this was him just before he ran off on his first day back (I have no explanation for the 'jazz' hands!)

Now that Little Miss is 6 months we have started down the road of weaning, which I know there have been various approaches to over the years, but I'm stuck to the current recommendation of waiting til babe is 6 months.  However, unlike what we did with the Dude (purees) I'm attempting to try 'baby-led weaning' - basically babe eats pretty much what we do and no purees.  Basically I'm reminding myself of the motto 'food for fun, before one' every time I give her something to try.  She's getting the hang of food and finding her mouth more often than I expect.  This is tonight's dinner, some pasta and homemade tomato sauce and a bit of rice cake - she seemed to like the sauce :)

It's also been my dad's 70th birthday.  It's weird to think of him being that age, part of me sees 70 as an old person.  But give him is due he's still working (3 days a week in a supermarket bakery - his preferred shift if 5am-2pm!), he's getting a bit more forgetful these days but hey, my memory is shocking, so I can't really comment and he does loads of funding raising for his church including making approximately 200 jars of jam and marmalade for the christmas fayre every November and runs a cafe at the church every Monday.

I've even managed to do some making and decided to try my hand at cathedral window blocks.  As ever it's not finished yet but I did the immense ironing task which is involved, and actually found it quite enjoyable, so currently it looks like this  (actually it's a bit further on than this, there's 16 sewn together) just need to pluck up the courage to do the next bit of adding in the 'window' fabrics.  Procrastination is a wonderful thing!

That's a bit of round up of August.  Blogging will happen more frequently (well that's the intention) so I hope I didn't bore you too much and you'll pop by again to see what else we get up to :)