an unexpected visitor!

It was pouring rain here this evening - again!!! - and I happened to look out of the dining room window and saw this wee character sitting on the gravel. By the time Douglas grabbed my camera to go and take his/her photo, he/she'd taken shelter behind some pieces of wood.

I'd estimate that the frog - toad? - was about 3" long not counting its legs. So not so wee! :oD

How cool is that?

there be monsters

Are you happy to lie in your bed letting a leg or an arm hang out over the mattress? I've talked to a lot of people who won't - ever - let any part of their body hang out over the bed - just in case!

Everyone knows there be monsters under the bed who will grab said leg/arm and pull you under there. And when you're under there - well, nobody's really very sure what happens.

Well, my under-the-bed monsters weren't dragging me under the bed but they were bugging me. I kept thinking of the 4 boxes of shoes I hadn't worn in the last year that I put back under the bed for another year's worth of dust-gathering.

So, yesterday I dragged all 4 boxes back out again and this time was brutally honest about the chances of me wearing the shoes again. I'm now pleased to say that I managed to get the shoes down to 2 boxes. And, yes, the tap shoes and ballet pumps are still there. I wasn't that brutal! :oD

The only worrying thing now is that now there's more room under the bed for monsters! Yikes!!

advice from kids

This is from my "various" folder. There are tons more where this came from! :oD

Advice from kids.

Never trust a dog to watch your food.

When your dad is mad and asks you, "Do I look stupid?' Don't answer.

Never tell your Mom her diet's not working.

Stay away from prunes.

Don't pull Dad's finger when he tells you to.

When your Mom is mad at your dad, don't let her brush your hair.

Never let your three-year old brother in the same room as your school assignment.

A puppy always has bad breath--even after eating a Tic-Tac.

Never hold a dustbuster and a cat at the same time.

You can't hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk.

Don't wear polka-dot underwear under white shorts.

If you want a kitten, start out by asking for a horse.

Felt-tip markers are not good to use as lipstick.

Don't pick on your sister when she's holding a baseball bat.

When you get a bad grade in school, show it to your Mom when she's on the phone.

shoes, boots, slippers, tap shoes, ballet pumps …

I decided to go through my shoes today. So I dragged the 4 boxes from under the bed and filled another crate with the ones out of the wardrobe.



I then laid them all out on the bedroom floor - had to take 2 photos to get them all in!



Then I took out everything I hadn't worn in the last year. I decided that trying them on to see if I wanted to wear them doesn't count as wearing them!



I then went through the shoes putting several in a box called "if I don't wear these by this time next year, they're going out". I ended up with 4 boxes with that label!! They all went back under the bed.

I did put a few pairs - okay 4 pairs - out to go to the charity shop. These 4 pairs were in the category "why did I buy these?" They're unworn - and uncomfortable - and just don't suit me.

I admit I've put the ballet pumps and tap shoes back under the bed even though I haven't danced in those in about 19 years. You never know - I might take it up again! :oP

I now have 12 pairs of shoes in the wardrobe. All the boots and wellies are under the bed as are the 3 pairs of slippers. Why do I need 4 pairs of slippers? I have no idea. Why didn't I throw some of them out? Because you never know when I might need them!

So, it was fun but I'm not so sure I achieved anything!

wow!

Joanna took the 3 jeans bum bags I had left - after she'd taken 2 and I'd sent 1 to Debbie - to her work today and sold 2 of them!

The funny thing was, of the three bags she took, I really thought the one with the lime green with white stars lining would go first but that's the one she brought back to me. Shows what I know! :oD

She also has an "order" for another one in which the person would like to have a red flowery lining. I don't know if I've got the flowery fabric but I do know I have red spotty stuff so maybe that will have to do.

But how exciting to have sold a couple of bags! The money has gone into a box which I'm going to try not to touch.

But then, somehow I think that will work as well as the idea that I'm not going to buy any more fabric until I've used everything I already have - ie a complete non-starter!

Well, at least I'm honest! :oD

Right, said Fred

I was looking on youtube for "Right, said Fred" by Bernard Cribbins - another childhood memory of mine. (see Albert and the Lion for another one)

Anyway, I found this.

The person who made this must have patience by the boatload! I love it! :o)

nice boat!

On the way home from Debbie's flat last night - no, we still haven't finished trying to get it ready for selling. Soon, though, I hope!

Anyway, as I was saying, on the way back from Debbie's flat last night, Douglas took a detour to South Queensferry to see if he could get any decent photos of the liner that was moored out in the middle of the River Forth.

Here are a couple of the photos he took. This one shows how far from - or rather how close - the ship is to the shore. The stonework on the right of the photo is one of the supports of the Forth Bridge.

I know it's not clear in a photo of this size, but the name of the liner is the "Crown Princess". Looks pretty classy.

I still don't think I'd like to go on a cruise, though. I think I'd be looking for Hugh over the sides too much to enjoy myself! :oD

a long lie? - Ha!

I remember when Debbie and Joanna were very young, I commented to Douglas's Auntie Winn that I really could do with a long lie. She told me that when the girls were old enough for me to get a long lie, I probably wouldn't be able to sleep late. I'd be awake early no matter what day of the week it was.

I remember thinking at the time "No way! Surely, if the girls have grown up and left the house and Douglas has a day off, or it's the weekend, we'll easily be able to have a long lie".

Well, Auntie Winn was right. The girls are out of the house, Douglas has occasional days off and the weekends come around faithfully every week. Do we sleep late? Have a long lie? Nope.

We're awake at just the same time every day. Oh well, best just accept it, I suppose. But sometimes I still think I really could do with a long lie!

Maybe tomorrow? I doubt it!

Albert and the Lion

Douglas and I were talking this morning about the poem/monologue "Albert and the Lion". I think there had been mention of it on the radio - we don't usually have random conversations about stuff. Actually, that's a fib - we often have random conversations about a whole lot of stuff! LOL

Anyway, I wondered if there would be a copy of it on youtube and, sure enough, there it was. Stanley Holloway in all his glory. Enjoy!

I hope my friends from over the pond understand the accent! :o)

how to make a placemat bag

I've been making these for years - at least 4, if not 5. I've been making a few recently for this table I *might* be taking at a charity event in November. Just in case anyone would like to make one, here's how I make them. :o)

How to make a placemat bag.
Take a placemat and fold it in half, right sides together with the fold on the short side.

Sew up the side seams with about a ½" seam.

This next bit is more difficult to explain than it is to do - honest!
Take the bottom corner and flatten it out so that the seam you have just sewn is in the middle. The corner forms a triangle. Measure about 1½" down from the point of the triangle. Draw a line across the width of your triangle and sew along that line. To reduce bulk, I cut off the triangle about ¼" out from the seam.

Turn the bag right sides out - that’s the bag bit done!

Handles can be made from lots of things - other placemats cut into strips and finished off, beads, rope, chain - whatever takes your fancy! I usually make them about 16" long and place them 3½" in from the side seams. If I make them out of strips of another placemat, I cut them into 2" strips, overlock (serge) the edges then turn the edges in to meet at the centre and stitch them down. That way there are no bulky seams which you would get if you made a tube and turned it.

If you want to line the bag, cut your lining to the same size as the placemat and make a bag section as above. For the handles, I usually just fold a piece of the lining fabric in the same way as I did the handles and then top stitch them to the handles down each side.

Line the handles first and then put your lining bag inside your placemat bag with wrong sides together. Fold over ½" on the top edge of the lining and top stitch the bag bits together around the top edge.

All done! :o)

Here's a few I've made in the past.