back door photo 4 Oct

I didn't realise I hadn't posted this until I found it on my camera! Ooops! :o)

I like diddling!

I've decided I like diddling. I'm good at it and I can take as long as I like doing it! I can diddle in the morning or the afternoon. I can fill a few minutes diddling or a few hours. Yep, I like to diddle.

Now, I really hope that diddling doesn't have any rude meanings that I don't know about! *gasp* If they do, that's NOT the kind of diddling I do. (I might be good at that kind of diddling as well - I might even like that kind of diddling! - but let's not go there! :oD)

Today I diddled for a while in the sewing room. I had a couple of scarves to sew for Singers but after that I just tidied a little and looked at fabrics and just generally, well, diddled about thinking about what I would make next or next week or next month. My fabourite kind of diddling.

Maybe that's why I don't seem to achieve much some days - I spend too long diddling!

And now I'm diddling on the computer. I've read some blogs and thought about what we're having for tea - too late for the brisket I bought! Note to self - pay more attention to the time tomorrow!! No diddling!! :oD

Vicky and Stevie's wedding

Yesterday we were at Vicky and Stevie's wedding. The weather - after so many awful days - was glorious. It wasn't that hot but it's October after all! At least it was dry and the wind had dropped considerably from the day before!

Here are just some of the photos I took. I've still to see the ones Douglas and Jo took so I might add more in another post when I see them. :o)

Signing the register. This made me giggle because it looks like Vicky is asking Stevie if he remembers how to use a pen! Knowing Vicky, she may well have been saying that! :oD



The back of Vicky's dress.



The bridal party.



The bride and her bridesmaids.



Linda and her girls. As we commented to each other later, we do breed beautiful girls! :o)



The sisters and the cousin - of the bride!



The bride and groom with Ruby. Her collar - Ruby's! - had her name on it in diamonds. Of course they were real!! :oD



Douglas took these 2 with his iPhone. Not too shabby!





Congratulations again, Vicky and Stevie. May you have a long and happy life together! :o)

sunflowers

Earlier this week, I went outside and took this photo of some of our sunflowers.



And then yesterday I took this photo of the same flowers What a difference 4 days make in the life of sunflowers!



And then I noticed that this one had 2 bees on it. One is on the yellow petals and one on the inside bit. I'm sure that has a fancy name but I've got no clue what it might be!



And then, whilst I was out there, a train passed by so I just had to take a photo of it through our trees.



Oh, and the concert went well yesterday. There was some making up of words and music but the Womens' Guild clapped loudly anyway. And we got our cuppa tea and cakes at the end. :o)

singing

Tonight is our first concert of the year. Well, not of the year 2009 but the Singers' year - ie September to June. I'm sure everyone who reads this knew what I meant!

Anyway, we're singing at a Church Women's Guild meeting. I hope we do well. I know that I know my stuff - I'm one of those annoying people who actually looks at the stuff at home!! - but others may have forgotten their words and/or notes.

I mean, let's be fair, it's all of 7 days since we last sang these songs - and we've sung them *repeatedly* in rehearsals and we've even sung them several times in other concerts but, you know, people forget. It's sad really, but it's true. Well, it's true of the Singers anyway! :oD

So we're singing to the Women's Guild who will, I'm sure, clap a lot - they usually do - no matter if people have forgotten their stuff. In fact, if people do forget their bits, they usually clap even louder. Mmmm. Makes you wonder, eh?

Best bit - we'll get a slap up feed. Sandwiches, cakes, bisuits, sausage rolls and so on and so on. Yummmmm!!

Okay, I have to be honest - I LOVE singing at the Singers concerts. We're not as bad as I've made out we'll be. In fact, we're really quite good. If you ignore the made up words and music! :oD

go me!

The doctor was very pleased with my progress today. There are still a couple of "hot spots" - the middle finger of my left hand and the big toe on my left foot - but all the others from 4 months ago are showing a vast improvement. Go me!

She was also really pleased with me for going swimming 3 times a week. I told her I was a bit disappointed that I hadn't lost more weight but she wasn't bothered about that at all. She told me I wasn't to be discouraged about that and certainly wasn't to let it bother me. So I won't! Better to think of the 3" already lost in my bum! Go me again!

She doesn't want to see me for another 6 months. So, yet again, go me! :o)

my next appointment

I go back to the Rheumatology department of the hospital tomorrow for my first check-up to see how things are going since I was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis in May.

The list of things I can do now that I couldn't do in May is endless. Or rather, I could do them but not without pain.

I can reach up into the wall cupboards in the kitchen for the mugs, coffee and biscuits without climbing on a stool.

I can fasten my bra!

I can put my socks on.

I can knit.

I can drive my car. (I could always do this but, if I sat for too long, getting out of said car was a problem.)

I can sit and stand and sit and stand all night long at Singers' rehearsals without groaning!

I can get in and out of the bath when I have a shower. (I decided not to risk having baths as last time I had one, I nearly got permanently stuck in there! :oO)

There are more but that'll do for now.

Add into all that the fact that I go swimming 3 times a week and that I've lost 3" on my trouser size, I'm sure the doctor will be pleased with me. Go me! :o)

well, I'm here …

Douglas cleaned out my computer whilst I was out at Singers last night. Just as an aside - I'd much rather be Swing-Low-Sweet-Chariot-ing and Da-Do-Ron-Ron-ing than cleaning computers any day! :oD

Anyway, the computer is up and running but I still have lots of things to sort out. Backgrounds need changed, the icons in the dock really need to stop bouncing when I open the programs and I need to find all the stuff I saved for my Photoshop. We saved it "somewhere safe" but haven't found it yet. I doubt it's in the cutlery drawer which is my "somewhere safe" place offline! :oD

We finally located my Firefox bookmarks and I re-installed those this morning. The idea that I would have to find and bookmark them all again was giving me the heebie jeebies! I have so many bookmarks saved it's almost ridiculous! Oh, I know some of them could get the heave - maybe one day.

My FontExplorer hasn't been re-loaded in - yet. Douglas thinks the version I had was part of the cause of my computer's misbehaving - aka he thinks FontExplorer didn't work with Snow Leopard. If it worked with the old set-up, why is it FontExplorer that doesn't work with Snow Leopard and not the other way around? Just saying. :oP

Anyway, I've been reading the FontExplorer website and it cost money to get the new updated all bells and whistles version (£59 + VAT) so I don't know if I'll get it or not. But, hey, if the old - free - version doesn't work and I NEED FontExplorer - I do, I really, really do - then it looks like we'll be eating pasta for a few weeks so I can get the new one. :oD

I just tried to open my iTunes to play some music but there's nothing in it! It's empty. Same with my iPhoto. I feel some heebie-jeebieness coming on! I know the music and photos are "somewhere safe". Can I just say - aaaaaaaargh?!!!

stop it! stop it now!!

My computer has been acting stupid recently. Activating fonts I don't want activated and de-activating ones I do want. Stop it! Stop it now!!

It also, all of a sudden, will make the fonts on a browser page go italic. Okay, I can read italic text but stop it! Stop it now!

Then Safari - which I only use now and again - was showing ads on the pages even though an Adblocker is installed. Same Adblocker Douglas has installed on his laptop and it's blocking his ads. Why not mine? Who knows? Not me! I'm just not using Safari until that's been sorted. Ads drive me potty!! Stop it! Stop it now!!

Douglas thinks the whole computer needs flattened - I've thought that often! :oD - so this week he's been busy saving all my stuff on to hard drives and discs and heaven knows what else.

Tonight, whilst I'm out at Singers, he's going to do whatever he's going to do to try and get it all running properly again. Emptying things, deleting things, flattening things and so on and so on.

Crumbs, I hope it works! If not, I might have to resort to doing housework!!

Okay, hands up who thinks that's going to happen any time soon? My hand isn't up! :oD

shoulder bag

Here's what I made over the weekend. It was from a kit I bought in a craft shop. I'm really pleased with the way it turned out and no doubt will make some more with some fabric from my stash!

I started with some fabric and wadding.



Sewed it together.



Got this weird shape.



Then I did the same with the lining, made and attached the handles and sewed on the button. Here's what I ended up with.



And this is how it looks on my shoulder.



BTW - I really don't think the mirror is as dirty as the photo makes out! At least I hope it isn't! :oD