In the original draft of my 40 4 40 list I had 'be a better person' listed. After a few discussions with various people I took it off my list because I felt it was unmeasurable. How do you measure that you are a better person? It might be easier if you were a bad person to start with- but I am not a bad person. (I don't think). In the end I decided that the only way I could measure that I had been a better person was by getting an award - say if the Queen awarded me an OBE- then I would definitely know I had become a better person. Logically, getting an OBE in the space of year seems highly unlikely. I should probably point out that for the purpose of my list 'being a better person' involved me helping other people.
I felt bad about taking this off my list so I decided to do something else.
Have you ever seen the charity boxes on the wall outside the toilets in service stations? They have a sign saying something like 'spend a penny- give a penny' and I think this is a genius idea- if everyone gave a penny then change (ha ha no pun intended) could happen.
There is a link- stay with me....
I have never liked handling pennies. When the 1/2p came out of circulation I was overjoyed. I gladly accepted 'rounding up' over having to handle 1/2p.My sister used to keep 1p and 2p pieces in a copper kettle (Oh dear god!!) at our nan's. Maybe she got dirty hands from handling them or something, I don't know. I JUST DO NOT LIKE THEM. So on 1/1/2012 I decided that whenever I got 1p/2p change in shops I would put it straight in the charity tin in the shop. Several times I have even asked the shop keeper to put the change straight in the charity tin therefore avoiding even having to touch the money in the first place. A GENIUS IDEA- helping me and helping others. And I can keep this up forever. x
ps. I also don't like gold rimmed cups/glasses/plates. I don't know why.
pps. Please do not judge me on this
ppps. Happy Jubilee-
pppps. Shop keeper??? Unsure what era I am in.
The sign
Thanks Dad !
Saturday, 2 June 2012
Saturday, 26 May 2012
Number 33- make Gert lovely
The cable of power has arrived.... and it works....... so now I can catch up........must look at list and see which items I can cross off! It has been a beautiful day here. So beautiful in fact that number 33 has taken a delightful turn towards completion in that the new cab doors have been sanded down and primed- ready for spraying. Gert has been through a lot recently- for the 1st time in the 14 years we have been together, she failed her MOT. Don't get me wrong- there have been several near misses (in that headlights have been adjusted and the like during the test) (and technically she was off the road for the first 5 years) but this time was different. This time the brakes WERE NOT GOOD and I needed to get a new headlight. JGS came to my rescue (as always) and spent a weekend bleeding (brakes not himself) and adjusting and fitting a new headlight. Second time lucky- and we are good to go.
I am aiming to make new seat covers in the next couple of months. It will be my first attempt at anything 'home furnishy' other than normal (ie square) cushions and my roman blind (and I had a lot of help with my blind from JGS's mum). I also want to make new curtains as the current ones are a bit hit and miss- I made them a couple of years ago and they have never really hung right. In hindsight I should have also used blackout blinding as lining. I have added this tip to my list of tasks.
So- here are the doors (and the dog) in their current state. Hopefully we will get to finish spraying them (doors not dog-any dog spraying is unintentional) tomorrow and then fit them next weekend (hurrah for the Jubilee and the 4 day weekend) x
I am aiming to make new seat covers in the next couple of months. It will be my first attempt at anything 'home furnishy' other than normal (ie square) cushions and my roman blind (and I had a lot of help with my blind from JGS's mum). I also want to make new curtains as the current ones are a bit hit and miss- I made them a couple of years ago and they have never really hung right. In hindsight I should have also used blackout blinding as lining. I have added this tip to my list of tasks.
Wednesday, 23 May 2012
Smile for the sunshine
You know those days when everything is just one big grin?? You cannot stop smiling, to the extent that your cheeks hurt. I have had a few of those days recently (oh every day is a smiler but these have been real big GRINNERS) and I just wanted to put that out there and appreciate it.
I have made a few tweaks to my daily life that now really seem to be paying off. It has been 6 years today since me and the fab.u.lous JGS hooked up. Heaps of stuff to be thankful for and mindful of. Stay smiley xx
ps power cable ordered. There will be list-proof photos soon. x
I have made a few tweaks to my daily life that now really seem to be paying off. It has been 6 years today since me and the fab.u.lous JGS hooked up. Heaps of stuff to be thankful for and mindful of. Stay smiley xx
ps power cable ordered. There will be list-proof photos soon. x
Sunday, 20 May 2012
Appeasing of guilt
I am still without a power cable for my pc- and it feels like only doing 1/2 a job without photos. Which is why I have been lax in my updates.The lack of cable is totally down to me not sorting it out.
My defence is as follows: JGS and I gave up tv for Lent. As a reward/non chocolate Easter present I said I would get JGS the box set (series 1-3) of Sons of Anarchy. I can confirm that the irony of giving up tv for 40 days and nights and then promptly watching 39 hours of tv is not lost on me.
As a result I have been catching up on everything else (housework/real work/family and friends) that were callously abandoned during obsessive Sons of Anarchy watching.
Our tv habits have changed though. We do not really watch much tv but now we do switch it off ( or not even switch it on) instead of leaving it on as background noise. I quite like the silence. It must be the librarian in me.
Oh yes- the other day I got an email from Alice about me following her blog on mine. Does that make sense? The blog following not the email. Anyways- I was quite excited as I didn't think anyone knew this blog existed nor how someone would know I was following them as I am not even sure I am doing it properly.
I promise there will be photos soon. x
PS- crochet news. Ripple cushion got cancelled ( I wanted to finish the cushion pronto and I was getting far too stressed to concentrate on a new crochet pattern *)so I am just whizzing up (yes- it is moving along pronto as required) a stripy cushion cover.
* What I actually mean is that I am finding the ripple pattern really, REALLY hard. My 1st bit keeps being flat not ripply.
My defence is as follows: JGS and I gave up tv for Lent. As a reward/non chocolate Easter present I said I would get JGS the box set (series 1-3) of Sons of Anarchy. I can confirm that the irony of giving up tv for 40 days and nights and then promptly watching 39 hours of tv is not lost on me.
As a result I have been catching up on everything else (housework/real work/family and friends) that were callously abandoned during obsessive Sons of Anarchy watching.
Our tv habits have changed though. We do not really watch much tv but now we do switch it off ( or not even switch it on) instead of leaving it on as background noise. I quite like the silence. It must be the librarian in me.
Oh yes- the other day I got an email from Alice about me following her blog on mine. Does that make sense? The blog following not the email. Anyways- I was quite excited as I didn't think anyone knew this blog existed nor how someone would know I was following them as I am not even sure I am doing it properly.
I promise there will be photos soon. x
PS- crochet news. Ripple cushion got cancelled ( I wanted to finish the cushion pronto and I was getting far too stressed to concentrate on a new crochet pattern *)so I am just whizzing up (yes- it is moving along pronto as required) a stripy cushion cover.
* What I actually mean is that I am finding the ripple pattern really, REALLY hard. My 1st bit keeps being flat not ripply.
Monday, 7 May 2012
In other news
Number 1- tea at The Ritz- has been booked for later this year.
Number 26- unexpected opportunity has another entry- some night-time green laning.
Number 40- submit chartership paperwork- this is more on track than I thought. I met with my mentor last week and he seemed pleased with what I put forward. There are no photos to prove this as I thought it might be a bit weird if I started taking photos of us discussing libraryland.
Photos to follow. I am back on track and will definitely post more photos (Snowdon/yoga congress/green laning later this week. Happy Bank Holiday- what is left of it.
OH MY!!! I nearly forgot I have found some lovely material here for Gert's cushions. I am torn between at least 5 different colour combinations. x
Number 32- crochet a ripple blanket
It appears that I have yet to buy a new power cable for my pc..... So I am using alternative means.....
Number 32 on my list is 'crochet a ripple blanket'. I think I am going to amend it. I have my 'mindless crochet' (non ripple- straight granny stripe x 2 blankets) on the go and I have come to the conclusion that I am never going to be able to get to do this or this or this or anything similar by January 2013. So I thought an amendment should be tabled. My friend wanted me to crochet a baby blanket which I duly started 6 weeks ago and completed today. This is my first blanket. I do not count my granny square in colourful corner as a 'proper' blanket as it was a case of joining up at the end to make the wonder that it is today. This baby blanket involved a proper colour pattern and turning at the end and darning in my ends..... yes, this was a journey with practice. I am not 100% sure how this will go down with said friend. I was upfront at the beginning and admitted that I had not done a proper blanket. And there was an issue with size- in that the finished article is more oblong than square. The foundation chain is also a wee bit too tight. I need to work on my ends and tying in. Despite all this, I am very proud of myself. Very proud indeed. Look...
Big grins all round. It looks like a beach towel from this angle. I have thus decided that number 32 should be split into 2. The crocheting of a blanket and the crocheting of something rippled. Funnily enough, I already have in mind a project. I am going to make a ripple cushion. We have a camping trip coming up soon and one of the campers is JGS's niece and it will be her first camping trip. I think a little ripple cushion to snuggle up to at night in her new sleeping bag would be lovely. So I am starting that tomorrow. And then I can tick 32 off.
Number 32 on my list is 'crochet a ripple blanket'. I think I am going to amend it. I have my 'mindless crochet' (non ripple- straight granny stripe x 2 blankets) on the go and I have come to the conclusion that I am never going to be able to get to do this or this or this or anything similar by January 2013. So I thought an amendment should be tabled. My friend wanted me to crochet a baby blanket which I duly started 6 weeks ago and completed today. This is my first blanket. I do not count my granny square in colourful corner as a 'proper' blanket as it was a case of joining up at the end to make the wonder that it is today. This baby blanket involved a proper colour pattern and turning at the end and darning in my ends..... yes, this was a journey with practice. I am not 100% sure how this will go down with said friend. I was upfront at the beginning and admitted that I had not done a proper blanket. And there was an issue with size- in that the finished article is more oblong than square. The foundation chain is also a wee bit too tight. I need to work on my ends and tying in. Despite all this, I am very proud of myself. Very proud indeed. Look...
Big grins all round. It looks like a beach towel from this angle. I have thus decided that number 32 should be split into 2. The crocheting of a blanket and the crocheting of something rippled. Funnily enough, I already have in mind a project. I am going to make a ripple cushion. We have a camping trip coming up soon and one of the campers is JGS's niece and it will be her first camping trip. I think a little ripple cushion to snuggle up to at night in her new sleeping bag would be lovely. So I am starting that tomorrow. And then I can tick 32 off.
Sunday, 22 April 2012
Shame on me...
It has been a while since I have updated this blog. Although in my defence my pc has broken and I need to get a new cable. All my photos are on that pc and I cannot get my phone and this pc to play nicely (so I cannot even get the photos off my phone). Aside from this minor equipment failure, I have not been idle. Number 34- make an ironing board cover-well, I started but then needed to iron really quickly and so I had to purchase a delightful JML Direct ironing board cover (in fact mine is the stripy one). I will finish mine later.
Number 7 -spa/yoga retreat. I went to the 2012 British Wheel of Yoga Congress. It was brilliant.
Number 26- an unexpected opportunity- part 5. On Easter Saturday we climbed Snowdon. We camped on the outskirts of Beddgelert and went up the Rhydd Du pass. The weather was kind to us in that it only rained at night.
I will post photos and write more when I have sorted out pc.
I have been looking at my list ( I cannot believe we are nearly 5 months into the year already) and I think I have some minor alterations to make due to other things that have crept in. Nothing serious.
I need to get back to house tasks now. Toodle pip.x
ooohhhh I forgot- number 33- make Gert lovely. I have ordered new cab doors and when I went back to see parents, mum taught me how to use piping cord and I am going to make my own seat covers for Gert. I had seen some lovely material online and I found a place that would order new foam cushions and cover them for me in this material. These are 3 cushions- 2 for a 3/4 rock and roll bed and one for the back. The point I am trying to make is that for a professional they would be quick and easy. And for the purchaser (me) I thought relatively cheap. After waiting 2 weeks for someone to get back to me I rang and left a message. Two days later someone got back to me and said they could do the cushions and it would cost £800.00 !!! I am in the wrong job. So I am going to make my own.
Number 7 -spa/yoga retreat. I went to the 2012 British Wheel of Yoga Congress. It was brilliant.
Number 26- an unexpected opportunity- part 5. On Easter Saturday we climbed Snowdon. We camped on the outskirts of Beddgelert and went up the Rhydd Du pass. The weather was kind to us in that it only rained at night.
I will post photos and write more when I have sorted out pc.
I have been looking at my list ( I cannot believe we are nearly 5 months into the year already) and I think I have some minor alterations to make due to other things that have crept in. Nothing serious.
I need to get back to house tasks now. Toodle pip.x
ooohhhh I forgot- number 33- make Gert lovely. I have ordered new cab doors and when I went back to see parents, mum taught me how to use piping cord and I am going to make my own seat covers for Gert. I had seen some lovely material online and I found a place that would order new foam cushions and cover them for me in this material. These are 3 cushions- 2 for a 3/4 rock and roll bed and one for the back. The point I am trying to make is that for a professional they would be quick and easy. And for the purchaser (me) I thought relatively cheap. After waiting 2 weeks for someone to get back to me I rang and left a message. Two days later someone got back to me and said they could do the cushions and it would cost £800.00 !!! I am in the wrong job. So I am going to make my own.
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