8 Today

HAPPY 8th BIRTHDAY MY DARLING LITTLE GIRL.

Lots of love, hugs and kisses
Mummy
xxxx

Mum, Dad and I took her to Bakewell for the day and it couldn't have been nicer weather, especially for Bank Holiday Monday. We went into Byways Tea Rooms and we had breakfast and then we wandered around the market area, Marion buying herself some sweets with her birthday money and then she was itching to feed the ducks, so she went into the Co-Op with Mum to get a loaf and then we walked round to the ducks. The first lot didn't seem all that interested, so we went further up and as soon as they saw her, they started swimming over. She dropped a piece of bread on to the back of one of the geese and then told it to turn around and get it and it just did as it was told!!


This swan was just following us up and down the river, not eating anything, just happily swimming along.

Marion then asked me if she could take some photos with my camera, so I said yes. I must admit I nearly had a heart attack when she got close to the water with it, thinking it was going in for sure, but she just wanted to take a photo of the fish and I think she's taken a great photo.


She then waited patiently for this little duckling to swim close enough so she could take a photo.

We then had another wander around, Mum and I popped into Wye Needlecraft Shop to get a couple of DMC's I needed and I was going to get the 3 GAST that I wanted for the Owl humbug ornament, but they were in such a mess you had to look at each one individually and it took forever. There was no order to them, they just looked like a pile of threads had been thrown at the hooks. Not one of the colours I wanted was there anyway, so we left the shop having only bought 2 DMC threads. I'll need to place an order with Down Sunshine Lane (it'll be cheaper that way too).

We then headed back to the same Tea Rooms again and had some afternoon tea and the owner of the place gave her £3 for her birthday. He told her that he could have gone out and bought a pack of maltesers or something, but thought it would be nicer for her to get whatever she wanted instead.

After that we took a slow walk back to the car and came home. We were all exhausted.

This is her with her Birthday cake that she made and decorated with my Mum.


This is the cake, she wanted a fox, so she got a fox. She painted the rainbow herself and then designed on paper what she wanted where and Mum did the rest. It is certainly a yummy cake.

A good day was had by all, even if it did get spoiled a little by her ignorant father when he phoned in the afternoon. I didn't answer my phone all that quickly and when I did he wasn't at all amused that we were out (did he expect us to stay at home and do nothing?). Marion wasn't all that communicative when she spoke to him and then he had a go at me demanding I stop her calling him Mark. That's her choice and that's what I told him, so off he went into one of his sulks. He doesn't deserve to be called Dad, he never does anything for her, apart from upset and annoy her when he does show his face. He ignores her for months at a time and then he expects everything to just run along smoothly his way; well she's getting older and the meaning of her name is 'honest, decisive and knows her own mind' - this is certainly true of Marion, once she's made up her mind, she won't change it for anyone. He hates that!!!!!

Kiwi Fruit

These are two of my mini kiwi fruits on the bush. This year there are 80 of them. They were really tasty last year, so hopefully even better this year. For next year I must get some more canes or a wigwam for it to hang onto and maybe the fruits will be bigger.



When I went downstairs yesterday morning this scary looking postcard was on the mat and I just wondered who on earth would send such a postcard. Turns out that my 7 year old daughter sent it from Broadstairs when she was there last week with Mum and Dad. Typical of Marion really, strange little child!!!

I'm supposed to be cleaning and tidying the house and err, well because I've felt so crappy recently I haven't done anything apart from feel sorry for myself really and err well they come back on Friday. Oh dear, looks like I need to find a couple of big boxes and chuck everything in them, stick them in the loft and then slowly sort through everything when she goes back to school!!

It's her Birthday on Monday, yes Bank Holiday Monday and my little baby will be 8 years old. Not a birthday card has fallen onto the mat for her (I'm talking about from the paternal side of her family). I can't believe the time has flown by so quickly.

When I was in Mansfield yesterday getting a birthday card for her (because I've not seen a thing that takes my fancy to make a nice one) I saw lots and lots of Christmas Cards on sale in 4 of the card shops I went into. That time of year is here once more.

WIP Update

Well when you read blogs from Sally or Barb and other crafters, you see lots of wip's photos and sometimes finishes too. Well because I have felt so crap this week, apart from a little on the gift I'm stitching, I've really only done a little more on the humbug.

I must admit I'm quite enjoying stitching this, I love the colours I've chosen for it and I can't wait to see what it looks like when it's all made up. Because I've enjoyed this one so much, I intend on purchasing the other 3 humbugs in the set.

Yesterday I did take a look at my kitted up Jeanette Douglas Northern Lights and thought I might make a start to it. I just couldn't seem to get my head around it, so I decided I'd leave it for another day when I'm feeling more like myself. I don't like feeling like this, it's depressing (I know how Sally feels). I'm really looking forward to our holiday in October, it can't come round soon enough now as far as I'm concerned.

Flowers and Fruit

Christmas Ornament Finish

I found this little design in an old issue of Cross Stitch Card Shop and decided to change a few bits and make it into an ornament. I used beads for the berries and used a variegated metallic thread, aswell as silver. I stitched the design twice and then made it into an ornament, attaching some red ribbon for hanging.



Here's what I got started on, on Saturday after a couple of hours trying to work out the Rhodes Heart in the centre. I very nearly gave up because it just didn't want to go right. Still this is how I left it after a couple of hours working on it.



On Sunday I did a little bit of stitching on something I'm going to give as a gift to someone who reads my blog, so no WIP's or finished photos until they've received it at a much later stage.

On Monday I woke up with a headache, took some tablets and then sat quietly willing it to just go away and leave me alone. No such luck. I had to return a parcel, so I went to the post office and by the time I got home (only out 15 minutes) I felt so sick and my head was pounding. I know that it's a hormonal thing, it's been happening for just over 2 years now, about a week before I'm due on.

I can handle a headache, I've been suffering with headaches and migraines since I was a little girl, but these just floor me. I'm feeling a lot better today, just absolutely exhausted. I went into Mansfield to pay a bill and I was only out for 1 1/2 hours and I felt completely drained when I got back. I haven't done any stitching since Sunday, I was going to do my blackwork Japanese Lady on Monday, Lisa does her blackwork on a Monday, so I thought we could encourage each other to make faster progress if we did a stitch-a-long. I wonder how she's doing on hers?

Brings a Whole New Meaning

To trampolining. Here's Rascal, he was sound asleep in the middle of Marion's trampoline.

Unfortunately just as I was taking the photo there was a loud bang and he got a fright.

Joints and Pains and Old Age

OK so I'm only 38, 39 next month, but my thumbs are very sore indeed. Arthritis is most likely what it is and I can find out when I visit the doctor in four weeks time. First appointment they could give me and unless I want to fight and argue for an emergency appointment on a daily basis, it's going to have to be that long.

So I popped along to Holland & Barrett and found that the glocosomine tablets were less than half price. Yay, thank goodness because they're normally £21.99 and I got them for £9.99 for 120 tablets (I'm going back in on Monday to stock up and I can always give them to Mum if they don't work for me) and also some glucosomine gel, which I can rub on the affected area up to six times a day.

My thumb isn't as sore as it was this morning, after one application of the gel and the tablets will take around 4 weeks to really start feeling the benefits.

Last night I did do some stitching, a small design I found in a magazine and I've changed it slightly, adding some beads and I'm doing the same design again and going to make it into an ornament. I'm almost finished it tonight, but I'm tired now.

Another Little Finish

Another little finish. Yay. I wanted something Christmassy and I wanted something quick, so I looked at some of my JCS Ornament magazines and found a few things I fancied, but couldn't be bothered to find fabric for (being the lazy mare that I am!) and then came across an old copy of Cross Stitch Card Shop (err off the top of my head I think that was it) and the freebie gift was still attached to it, so I thought that would be perfect.

This Mickey Mouse is that freebie. I just need to iron it and then finish it off as a card.



I was browsing ebay and came across a seller that has some lovely fabrics at very reasonable prices. These are the two I bought. I was thinking Halloween items with the orange one and Christmas with the stripe one.