Photo Scavenger Hunt - October

Hello again

The tenth month of the year is almost at an end. Just two more months left in 2011.

Here are my efforts for this months Photo Scavenger Hunt;

Candlelit - fairly self explanatory. A pressie in a recent blog swap :) Smells lovely too.

 Black cat - this was on a card I received in last years Autumn Swap - all hand-drawn and coloured.

 Something eerie - an abandoned molar left as a subtle hint that despite his almost 14 years of age - little son still hopes the tooth fairy might visit! Actually she just hands over £1 and he disposes of the tooth as he sees fit.

 Something golden - Aldeburgh chips - best eaten from the paper and covered in vinegar.

 Graffiti/Street art - not something we see much around here luckily. So here's my cast on the morning of removal with instructions!! 

 Heritage - the Moot Hall in Aldeburgh - built in 1520. It now houses the offices of the Town Council and a Museum.

 Crunchy leaves - those fallen from the giant climbing rose at the side of the house.

 Fog/Mist - my favourite nursery rhyme when I was about 2 or 3. I still have my nursery rhyme book - its almost 41 years old now.

The book is Hilda Boswell's Treasury of Nursery Rhymes - apparently given to me Christmas 1970. More pics next time.

 Pumpkin - pre-carving with our little ceramic pumpkin which holds a tealight.

 River - the River Alde taken from the seawall @ Aldeburgh (same day as those chips were being eaten).

Witch's Hat / Broomstick - both actually on my little witch that hangs above my desk. I bought her from the Museum of Witchcraft in Boscastle a few summers ago. (eyeballs courtesy of Picnik).

Sunset - I cheated on this one. I've not been able to catch a sunset this month - the house faces the wrong way. So this picture is one of a sunset I took on our hols in Dorset in August.

Thanks Kathy - I look forward to Novembers list - trying to pre-guess what might be on there.

xxx Vicki xxx

A New Dawn

Good afternoon

Just a quick end of the week post :) What a week - such freedom :)

Firstly just being able to get to the bedroom window the other morning to see the sky looking gorgeous as the sun started to make an appearance;

The walking cast is making such a difference - much more mobile - though in turn that means more tired. I can get to parts of the house that have been out of bounds for a few months. It means I can photos in my favourite naturally lit spot again. This parcel was from a lovely friend - spotted these and thought of me;

 These little paper lanterns are gorgeous - I am going to make them all up and string them up across our fireplace - the design is very Orla Kiely don't you think?

A Lush bath wand and cute little Russian doll cookies cutters too.

The bath wand has been in use - oh the joy of being able to get in/out of the bath again. The first bath lasted over an hour - such bliss. Even better - my leg no longer can be mistaken for that of a gorilla ;)

I've been out and about too. Met 4 generations of my family for coffee the other morning - Grandma, my parents, 2 sisters and little niece & nephew. I also managed a walk around the supermarket (such a treat!) - my darling Dad carried my basket for me :)

I was also able to go back my Stitch & Bitch group on Wednesday night. Really didn't manage much stitching but it was lovely to catch up with friends and have a good natter. 

This morning I've been busy working on a patchwork block for a pressie for a very special friend. I've also been trying to get the last few photos taken for this months Scavenger hunt - whilst I was outside I had to snap our cherry tree. The leaves are now turning all sorts of lovely red/orange shades;

What a gorgeous day here - so lovely, I'm off out in a tick. Going with my parents to visit my other Grandma.

No males here - they all left at 7.30 to go to work together! Amazing how the prospect of wages and lunch can get 2 teenage bedroom hobbits moving so early!!

Have a lovely weekend what ever you are doing - our includes lunch out, a hobble and of course Strictly & Downton - bliss :)

xxx Vicki xxx

Well if its good enough for her......

Good Evening

If a trendy young thing such as JessieJ can get away with wearing one of these;

 JessieJ and her moonboot at Glastonbury this summer (picture c/o Google Images)

 Then a middle-aged slight unfit Mum can wear one too!!

Though according to one friend its also very BuzzLightyear too - I know which one I prefer!

Yep - today was back to the hospital time. Plaster cast removed to reveal one swollen foot with a wasted leg and ankle :( Instead of just having some lifts in my shoes they decided due to the poor movement and my previous injuries on the same leg, I'd be better to spend some time in a moonboot. Six weeks to be precise - one heel wedge to come out every 2 weeks and then an appointment with the Orthopedic Consultant at the beginning of December. Add to that some physio trips then you can see why its not great news. Some people (who shall remain nameless) thought I'd be up and running around straight away - this was despite me reading every post I could find on Achilles tear recovery on the internet and telling her that it wasn't likely.

At least this thing can come off at night and when I'm sitting down. I can also manage the doorstep to the house so hopefully some freedom can be gained. MrVV has promised to drop me in town when he's next working at home so I can have a wander around the shops :) Watch out charity shops - I've 8 weeks of bargains to catch up on!!

I can also finally have a bath - again this needs to happen when MrVV is about incase I need help getting in/out.

Anyhow - can't change anything so just need to get on with it. Am sure these 6 weeks will be much easier than the previous 8 - quote me on that when I have a bad day!! Plus hopefully I'll be allocated the hunky physio I saw earlier in the year ;)

Its half-term this week - hurrah. Boys very much have needed some lie-ins and down time. They've enjoyed pottering around. All homework was done on Friday so that they could spend time this week just doing whatever they wanted. Little Son decided that he'd like to bake on Friday morning - he'd noted the lack of sweet things in the cake tins and decided that wasn't good. A recipe he'd made at school was tweaked using whatever we had in the cupboard;

 Here we have the final result - Chocolate Oat Cookies with Brazil Nuts chunks;

They were very scrummy - so scrummy in fact - he needs to do more baking tomorrow!!

Enjoy your half-term week :)

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx

Patchy

Good evening

Blimey I never meant to leave it almost a week between posts. Life has got in the way this week - a few disasters and a few triumphs too. We'll ignore the disasters and focus on the good stuff. 

In my last post you saw a peak of the new Cath Kidson 'Patch' book. I've had a good read and this is for me the best of the craft books she's brought out. I decided to make up the kit that was included with it. Whilst I've made patchwork quilts before using cut squares, I've never worked with paper templates. The instructions were very easy to understand and it didn't take long till I'd the patchwork pieces tacked together;

 

The next stage took a while longer as it firstly involved ironing *yuck* and then remembering to take the work upstairs with me to sew it all together. My sewing machine was most surprised to see me and much to my delight despite being ignored for almost 2 months worked beautifully first time.  Once the bag was together I decided to add some vintage buttons from my collection as it was too plain for my liking;

Hanging in the kitchen with just some of my reusable shopping bags!

Close up to show the colours better.

Now hands up - who was cold today? When I got up this morning and peaked out of the bedroom window I was surprised to see frost on the grass and the car windscreen all frozen up! When I got dressed I picked lots of layers but despite that I was still cold. You know it must be cold when despite lots of layers, a scarf, wrist warmers and blanket you are still shivering;

Not good - when MrVV came home at lunchtime - he was despatched upstairs to set the central heating going for a few hours. It was lovely to hear the gurgle of the pipes as they sprang to life and within a little while the house was feeling much warmer. In fact its off now and probably won't need to go on for a few days - just needed something to take the chill out of the air.

Since I've been on crutches I've not been able to wear a watch as it rubs on them. Now I like knowing what the time is and had a 'doh' moment when I remembered something I treated myself too much earlier in the summer - a gorgeous fob watch on a chain. I'd loved the Cath Kidston one but could not justify the expense - this one was a fraction of the price and just as lovely;

 The enamelled case.

and the lovely watch face.

Hurrah half term has started here now - it couldn't come soon enough. Both boys are very tired and a some lie-ins and a break for the school routine are very much needed..I don't think I'll see them very early tomorrow morning. Might mean I get to watch the rugby in peace. Good luck to Wales for tomorrow and to New Zealand for Sunday.

Have a good weekend folks.

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx

Far happier Friday

Good Afternoon :)

Thanks for all the comments on my last post. I am shocked at how badly wheelchair users are treated and am looking for a campaign I can support to heighten awareness and try and change attitudes - anyone know of one? I shall also be raising this with the supermarket in town and making them aware how some of their customers are treated. Even though my use is temporary I think making a stand will maybe help those who have no choice but to use one on a regular basis.

Anyhow - I'm far less grumpy today. Lots of things have helped that. One thing is I've found a mode of transport to get around the downstairs of our house - an office swivel chair on wheels. The floors are tiled and one of those means I can whizz around and actually do stuff. The best thing was being able to cook again - when you need both arms for crutches you can't carry stuff about - however if you're sitting down you can still reach cupboards & drawers and mostly importantly the cooker. I managed to make - bread, a shepherds pie for dinner and some rather madly decorated buns for the boys for afterschool;

Big son asked if I'd launched the icing etc from the other side of the room - cheeky thing! However he still managed to eat one!

Of course there's been plenty of sitting down with my foot up. Time spent;

 Sewing up crochet and also sewing those ends in. The squares blanket is now 60 squares big and the giant granny has 37 rounds. Still more to do but both are now big enough to use if necessary.

 As I did when I was deciding what to read first - this months Country Living magazine or the new Cath Kidston 'Patch' book - choices, choices. It ended up with a dip into both. I hope to start the project that came with the book sometime very soon.

 Even this view of the kitchen dresser top cheers me up - not tidy but a mix of colours, patterns and things that I love.

I even got out of the house yesterday - not just that but out of Suffolk too! MrVV had a delivery to make over the border in Norfolk to a village in the heart of the Broads. I went along for a ride. The SatNav decided it would take us via the scenic route and we went through some gorgeous countryside and past loads of boats out on the Broads. We ended up on a boat too - the chain ferry at Reedham which takes you across the River Yare - we didn't plan this but decided it added to the adventure;

 Can you see the wind pump in the distance? There are so many of these scattered all over the broads.

We even stopped off for lunch out on the way home :)

Hurrah the weekend starts once the boys arrive home from school. Lie-ins are planned by some and some of us shall be watching the rugby. I shall be cheering on Wales in the first match and probably the All Blacks in the second one. Hoping it remains sunny so we'll get a wheel around somewhere too.

Have a good weekend.

xxx Vicki xxx

Grumpy Wednesday

Morning

This is me today;

 Image via Walt Disney via Google Images

I don't think I got out of the wrong side of bed - in fact I can't as my crutches are always in the same place each night. Perhaps its the full moon tonight that's making me grumpy or it could just be a case of girlie hormones??

I've a feeling that the large lump of metal and purple plaster on my leg is probably the main cause. I can't get comfy in bed at night and often end up in a tangle of duvet and with cramps in my leg & foot.  Just another 12 days to go - hurrah.

Something else that's made me cross is if I am in one of these;

Image via Google Images

And I am out and about with MrVV - I become invisible. Several times we've been shopping - I've put the stuff on the belt and gone to pay only to have the staff ignore me and speak to MrVV. We've soon put them right. Also out & about people seem not to see us and expect us to dive out of the way rather than them just side step. Don't even get me started on all the shops I can't get into - their loss - I'll buy from elsewhere then.

One final grump - this one is a few weeks old but deserves airing. I've done a few reviews now for stuff and have happily recommended stuff to you lovely readers. Well this times, here's one to avoid!! Look at these two pictures and see if you can spot the difference?? 

Yep one is a red converse hi-top and the other is a white converse lo-top. Well I ordered a pair of the red ones for big son from a company called Rubbersole

  

The first problem the parcel took 2 weeks to arrive - not great for a company promising next day delivery! When it eventually arrived it contained the wrong shoes - the white ones. I contacted the company explained the problem and they arranged to resend my order. Another 5 days passes, another parcel arrives - guess what wrong again!! I managed eventually to find a phone number and spoke to their 'Customer Services' department - useless. They couldn't grasp that it was their error - I'd 2 pairs of wrong shoes and they couldn't promise if we'd a 3rd go it would be right. I gave up - got my refund and ordered elsewhere. The only saving grace was they supplied a free returns label. My advice - don't go there - not worth the hassle :(

Right off to find a cat to kick ;)

Be back when I'm less grumpy!!

xxx Vicki xxx

Just a few makes :)

Good evening

Autumn has blown in with a blast here - the trees are being blustered about and I could see the garden slowly starting to be covered in leaves when I was watching out the window earlier. Its much cooler too which I'm quite glad about - I love hunting out my long sleeved t-shirts and cardi's.  The downside is the days are really starting to feel shorter - not quite light when we get up in the morning and its getting dark before dinner most nights now.

I've spent less time this week reading and more time crafting. Apart from more squares for my granny blanket (nos 51-55) and a few rounds on the giant granny one. I've also;

 Turn a cross-stitched mini-sampler into a heart. A clever sister did the cross-stitch for me (I've never mastered that) and then I was tasked with finishing if off to suit me.

 The first of many fabric apples made from the pattern in this months Molliemakes magazine.

 I finished my crochet scarf - with the cold weather due soon, I think you can never have enough scarves. I often when its really cold wear one in the house and they ended up scattered about all over the place.

A friend sent me this thrifted wooden belt buckle - she thought I'd like it. I think I might try and use it as a scarf ring - when you've got one of those scarves that just keeps coming unravelled - it might just hold it into place.

This morning I spent time having a rummage in my sewing room for supplies - have decided to bow to the inevitable and start making some Christmas decorations - probably just some felt gingerbread people and some of the gangly felt robins I made last year. There was enough material to get on with but I also need to go and pay our favourite  Felt Fairy a visit and order some supplies. I am hoping to find a craft fair locally between now and December - failing that I shall list them in my much neglected Folksy shop!

See you soon

xxx Vicki xxx

Wear It Pink for Breast Cancer Campaign

Good afternoon

Just a temporary change of colour to promote an event taking place at the end of the month - Friday 28th October to be precise.

It is Breast Cancer Campaign's Wear It Pink Day.

What is Wear It Pink Day? Its an annual event organised Breast Cancer Campaign. It is their biggest fundraising event. Put on something pink and donate £2 to Breast Cancer Campaign - it couldn’t be easier to help save lives! I am sure that far too many of us have had some experience of this disease. I lost a school friend at the beginning of the year and another is undergoing treatment at the moment.

In 2010, hundreds of thousands of you wore pink, raising over £2 million. Events can be big or small. Perhaps persuading work colleagues to take part or just wear pink yourself and donate your £2. I know every year that a walk is organised by a group of local ladies. They always walk down our lane - they mark their route with pink ribbons tied to trees etc (removing them next day). I shall try and watch out for them again this year and try and get some photos.

There is a website which has loads of information on it - including fundraising ideas and of course a link so you can make your donation - www.wearitpink.co.uk 

If you want to organise an event there is a shop section on there where you can buy items as well as a section of free items which you can use to publicise your event. 

Thank you for reading. 

xxx Vicki xxx 

Autumn Swap - The Results

Good evening

Monday again - why do weekends go so quickly? What a hot one it was here in Suffolk - too hot for me and for once I was glad to be indoors and enjoying the breeze from open doors/windows and the fans in the kitchen.

Anyhow back to Friday - a knock at the door and a postie who's now learnt to give me extra time to get there to answer it. Usually its just something for MrVV but this time it was for me - a parcel no less. I knew it was my Autumn Swap on from Dawn @ Rattling On.

I had signed up for this swap before the accident and after I been paired with Dawn, I had a panic that I might not be able to fulfil it as I'd liked. However we chatted via email and agreed to keep it simple and allow some extra time.

Now I completely forgot to take pics of what I sent to Dawn - however she's taken some pics and they can be seen here (2nd October post). The crochet scarf was the first one I'd made and I loved doing those squares. So much so I also made one for a sister who has a birthday this week.

Anyhow - you'd like to see pics of the pressies I received - here we go;

 All wrapped up in red/white tissue - reminds me of the red spotty mushrooms from fairy tales.

Inside were - hand knitted mittens, a scarf, chocolate, a cinnamon candle, apple & cinnamon teabags and a gorgeous Ladybird mug.

 Here's a better picture of the mug - I love the Ladybird illustrations and I remember reading this book as a child and also the boys reading this when they were learning to read in Nursery.

 Bring on the colder weather - can't wait to wear this gorgeous mittens.

 And wrap up warm with this scarf.

Dawn took photos of these two makes for a blog post and she took some lovely photos which you can see 

here (30th September).

Thank you Dawn for being a patient and wonderful swap buddy and Blueberry Heart for organising this swap.  

At the moment I am avoiding signing up for any swaps as I am still worried about how mobile I'll be for a while - however there was one I couldn't resist and I know that I can easily fulfil the criteria even if it means MrVV gets to push me around a few charity shops!! Its here at Faith, Hope & Charity Shopping - its open till 15th October so sign up if you fancy something different? I took part in the summer one and it was great fun and there were some great gifts sent & received.

Right Monday night - 7.30pm - must be time to call my Mum!! 

See you later in the week - I have some makes to share with you and the most wonderful book I've been lent by one of my sisters.

xxx Vicki xxx