I Know How To Live......

Meet George......

.......Full pedigree Bassett Hound, with a Kennel name of Lord Lancelot. I ask you....."Lord Lancelot" for a dog with an IQ of a pea....
It took several attempts to get the above photo. Most of them looked like variations of this.....

I hadn't realised he was quite so camera shy. (Posh for "too daft to sit and stay when asked to"!) Anyway. I've had George since he was just 8 weeks old. He is now 10 years old. He is my third Bassett. Those of you who have ever had anything to do with Bassetts, will know I'm in line  for some sort of Medal of  National Honour, for sheer patience. Before my Bassetts, I had a Springer. Mad as a bag full of frogs, but my soul-mate nevertheless.
Where on earth is this leading? Well, I was just laying the foundations as to the fact that I am A Responsible Dog Owner.
Now for the exciting bit, and why I know how to live..... In just a little while I'm going to a meeting, to discuss The Rights And Wrongs of Dog Poo On Football Pitches. Deep, profound joy. What is there to discuss? Carry a poo bag when you walk your dog. Pick up said poo, when your dog "performs". Do not walk away, leaving a steaming pile, in an area that you know is used by local children. Hardly rocket science, is it? But let me tell you, that meeting will tie itself up in knots, go back and forth over the same points a few dozen times. Teeth will be sucked, tempers might fray. And at the end of it all, I daresay another meeting will be called for, to discuss Any Progress Made In Finding Solutions For The Problem of Dog Poo On Football Pitches......I kid you not.
See you soon. xx

Nuts And Bolts.......

Strange title, but it was the name given to the "Churn Dash" variations, asked for this month, by Bee Blessed.
I have followed a blog called "Just Jude" ( you can find it here judith-justjude.blogspot.com ) for a while now. It's written by a lady called Judith, from Belfast, and (obviously??) the majority of what she writes is to do with needlework.......Hmmmmm.......Why else would I follow her blog??
Anyway, Judith is invovled with something called "Bee Blessed", which from what I can gather from the blog, is a Quilting Bee ( I can feel shades of Cranford creeping back in) that makes quilts for children and their families in hospital.
The idea is, that if you wish to, you can join the Bee, via the joys of Internet Access and Flickr......though I'm sure if you'd prefer to join a Quilting Bee in someone's front parlour, once a fortnight, they can probably be found too! Anyway. Once you've joined the group, you can see what everyone else in the Bee is up to. Stitching wise. And once a month, the Bee asks for a couple of new blocks.
If you are able to ( and there is no obligation!) you follow the tutorial for the design, make it into a block (or as many as you feel like) and then post them off to Judith. Simple. Once your blocks arrive in Belfast, Judith and her friends add them to the others that have arrived, sew them into quilts, and then give them to those who need them.
I, for one, think this is a lovely idea. It's what quilting should be about......a group of people making a quilt for someone who would benefit from it.
So this is how I've spent my Sunday afternoon. Sewing away, trying to ignore the last scragg ends of The Headache. And tomorrow these will be heading over the Irish Sea.........

Judith asked that they were bright, as they are intended for children and teenagers....I hope they fit the bill!
Thanks for popping by. xx

The Cuppa Just Wasn't Cutting The Mustard.....

I woke up yesterday with The Mummy and The Daddy Of All Headaches. They not only had several Enormous Siblings, they had Copious Quantities of Offspring. And were looking into adoption.
I'm not prone to headaches, and I realise that it is A Universally Known Fact that my Pain Threshold can't even manage to crawl to the bottom of the ladder, never mind reach the lowest rung of measurable scale.
However. My skull felt like it was being S. L. O. W. L. Y. squeeeezed in one of those clamp things that my grandfather had attached to his workbench, to hold pieces of wood. Tightly. And you could even tighten it further, should mere "tight" not be tight enough. Anyway. That's what I woke with.
I took a couple of paracetemol, and put a brave (grumpy) face on it.
By the time I'd finished work at lunchtime, a morning spent with 18 little darlings and a routine Advisory Teacher Visit, it felt like my eyeballs were going to pop, such was the pressure. More paracetemol......
Long story short. Paracetemol don't work.
The pain woke me at 4am THIS morning. It was TRULY excruciating. More Non-Working-Paracetemol.......
At midday, JUST before I snapped off a head too far (grump had now been taken to whole new echalon), I discovered these........

.....THEY WORK!!!!!!! Apparently I only have three pain free days available to me, but believe me, I'll take them! The Headache is now just a dull, managable little splodge, so I'm hoping for great things......namely waking up in the morning, and finding that said Headache became bored, and wandered off in the night.......
In the meantime, and in spite of being practically cross-eyed with pain, I did manage to cut out these lovelies........

........And who knows? Tomorrow I might even get to show you what they are destined to become.
Thanks for popping by. xx

Saving Grace?

Or perhaps Private Ryan? Or is it  just little old me? Let me explain.....I've always considered myself a Glass-Half-Full type of person. Others, if asked, would agree. Annoyingly so, apparently, on occasion. Least ways, I'm assuming it's only "on occasion"......I could be just common or garden annoying.....well, perhaps not "common".....I digress (too much "Cranford"!)....
So. Not an awful lot bothers me. I FIRMLY believe that you are dealt the cards you can handle. That tricky times pass. That where one door shuts, another will open. You get the idea. And I've always put that down partly to my genes, and partly my up-bringing. However, I now have doubts.
It would appear that I MIGHT be getting some SERIOUS help! I'll show you.....

Ta-Da.......

I read an article over the weekend about aromatherapy and herbal remedies, and apparently a recognised aid for that Down In The Dumps feeling is Bergamot. I drink COPIOUS amounts of Earl Grey tea. All day, every day. And the key ingredient? Apart from tea leaves. BERGAMOT! Could I secretly be a Glass Half Empty sort of person, living in a drug induced state???? The mind boggles!
Moving on.... Thought I'd give you a sneaky glimpse of the quilt I'm working on for Someone's Birthday.................

It can only be a peek I'm afraid, in case I'm being spied upon. But it is progressing nicely, and so far I'm happy with how it's looking. I do so love hand quilting; it's SSSSOOOO calming. Oh wait....no....that could be the tea.......
Thanks for popping by.....I'm off now to make another fix! xx

Twinkle Twinkle....

As some of you may know, last night was Enforced TV Football Match Viewing. Terrific. The only football I'm happy to watch is either my son's team (I'm still The Manager, so that's handy!) or The Fabulous AFC Bournemouth.
So I decided to put the time to good use, and tackle the February star in "Don't Call Me Betsy"'s Block of The Month. I was a little nervous, as this is only the second piece of Foundation Paper Piecing I've ever done, but I took it just one step at a time, and this is what I came up with.....

I'm quite pleased with it. And I actually think I've got it sussed now....It certainly made more sense this time.
Well, today was the last day that I had any Child-Free Time, in which to get "stuff" done....I had quite a few little plans ready and raring to go. You know the sort....an eensy bit of retail therapy (sewing related), lunch with The Partner, cuppas with friends, bath the dog......But as is often the way (certainly in my life, anyway!) those lovely little plans refused to behave themselves! I DID manage to get some white cotton fabric at a billy-bargain price (yay!), and also stock up on some cotton perle thread......and that was the end of things going according to.......
However, on a positive note, I put some items I need to get rid of on Ebay-double whammy....house becomes a bit tidier, and I get a few more pennies to rattle in my pocket. And then (highlight of the day) The Partner took pity on me, and ordered Chinese Take-Away for dinner! Yum. Yum. Yum.
And now I PLAN to look longingly at the kettle, and wait for The Partner to read my mind and make me a lovely cuppa........
See you soon. xx

I've Been Transported....

.....and before you go any further, I should warn you that I expect you to lower your voice, and only continue to read, if you can manage it in the softest of tones.....
I have had the most pleasant of afternoons, though no-one visited or sent their compliments. I'm not entirely sure what "sending compliments" involves, but it sounds quite nice!
Before you all think I've taken COMPLETE leave of my senses, I shall explain....
I have spent the latter part of my afternoon in the company of the ladies of Cranford. Quite delightful. The Son was out on a jolly with The Grandmother. The Partner was occupied chasing various insurance deals on Tinternet. And I had complete control over the Blu-Ray player.
So it was just me and the girls, and rather fittingly, some crochet....

This is yet another birthday make, but it's quite a long Work in Progress, so I was happy to get an hour or so to myself, and move on with it. I know that you can't tell from the photo, but the texture of it is amazing....it's like snuggling into kittens...
The trade off for an hour and a half of Cranford, is THREE hours of televised football matches......hmmmm.....something wrong there.....I feel I must retire to my rooms....
Until we meet again. xx

On A Roll....

It's simply amazing how much I can get done, with just an hour or so, when I don't have to go out to The Day Job!
All the chore bit and pieces get done in the morning, when I'd usually be at work, and then, with The Son on yet another football course, I'm free to sew without those constant interruptions, commonly known as Living With Children!
So today's Show and Tell is a couple more finishes for that Mother and Daughter thing I'm doing in a couple of weeks......

No.1......

And No.2.....

Yay!
But now it's back to reality, and Dinner Making Duties are (loudly) being called upon.
See you soon. xx