Today!

Today I've been having fun with:

Thank you for your comments.  Fortunately my nearest stockist is only 10 miles away.


What fun!


AND, it works really well.  I can see why you're all so pleased with it.  I'm hooked.  I've been wandering around the house wondering what else I can paint!!!!!


Will bring you the before and after photos as soon as I've finished.


TTFN
Lesley
x

Painting Wardrobes

Can anyone help please?

This weekend I'm painting my spare bedroom.

At this point I was going to show you a photo of the room in question but for some reason I can't get to my photos via Blogger no matter what I try.

I have some built in wardrobes that are horrible but a necessity.  They're standard wood effect, laminated chipboard.  Another photo should have been here but ditto above.

Do any of you lovely ladies out there know if  I can paint them?  If so, does it have to be a certain type of paint?  Have any of you painted this type of stuff before or is it more trouble than it's worth?  

Would love to know what you think.

TTFN

Lesley

x

Something Funny Is Going On

Hi everyone,

Isn't the weather just glorious?  

I've spent most of three days in the garden, doing some tidying, pruning, sweeping, digging and planting.  Normally my Dad sows runner beans for my sister and I to plant out but this year he's leaving it up to me to sow them.  He had a hip replacement last week and doesn't think he'll be able to cope with everything in the garden this year.  I've also planted some garlic and yesterday I noticed the tips of green poking out.  I've never grown garlic before but it's supposed to be easy.  For the last three years my tomatoes have got Blight and I've lost them all.  I'm told that once it's in the soil it's hard to get rid of.  So this year, I've got a good old growbag and am going to have a go with that. 

In the woods where Tilly and I walk, I keep finding plastic bottles wedged in trees.

I'm not sure why someone would put them there.

Maybe to make a point about littering. 

Maybe to stop wildlife from getting trapped inside, (I know, highly unlikely but you have to have some faith in people).  

 It's not as if it's going to degrade any quicker by putting in a tree.  In fact the tree is likely to die before a plastic bottle degrades.

But what I really don't understand is, if you've taken the time to pick the bottle up and place it in a tree, why not take it home and put it in a bin! 

Is it me? Am I missing something?


Next time I go into the woods, I'm going to collect them all and put them in the bin.  After all, I can't complain about it, take photos of them and then not, could I?

Took this really early in the morning, that smoke behind the trees is in fact, steaming piles of muck waiting for the farmer to spread it around the field.

 The daffs have been gorgeous this year and despite having frost some mornings, they just pick themselves up and continue to look wonderful.

  

Have a good week and enjoy the wonderful sunshine.

Lesley

x

Successful Stollen and Cushions

Hope this post finds you all well?

On Fridays I get together with a group of ladies who quilt.  Some weeks not a lot is done but a lot is said and sometimes we're quiet and lots gets done.  I always try to make some biscuits or a cake.  This week, I've made stollen.  Now, I realise it's not exactly Christmas but I've been trying to make stollen for years without much luck as I always seem to make something that resembles a BRICK!  Today, (and I'm not sure why), I seem to have made stollen, not a brick but a soft, fruity, marzipany, spiced bread. At last, a successful stollen. Just hope the ladies won't mind something Christmassy in March.  

I couldn't resist having a small piece, just to make sure it wasn't a brick and to straighten the end up, you understand. 

Also this week, My Mum gave me a couple of patchwork panels, fabric and piping for two cushions she'd never finished.  The quilting was done but they had been sitting in a cupboard for years and she asked if I'd finish them for her.  

I thought the black bits in the centre circles were stylised japanese flowers or something.  Only when I inadvertently had one of them the right way up and I was stood back looking at them, I realised it was meant to be a map of the world!  Then the words made sense too. Duh!!!!  

Her quilting is perfect.  Beautiful even stitches and right on the line too.

Happy Mother's Day to all you Mums out there.  Hope you get thoroughly spoiled this weekend.

Lesley

x

Hi everyone, hope you're all well?

It's been a strange couple of months.  The Col is away for a while and Tilly and I are home alone!  I don't mind my own company and can easily find things to do, so no time to get bored.  But where does the time disappear to?  I never have enough hours in the day to get normal stuff done, let alone any sewing or quilting.  I think I'll have to put aside a day to do something I really enjoy and tell everyone I'm not available.  My Mum always says that as you get older that time seems to speed up.  It's happening to me!!!!  

I had got a plan that while The Col is away I'd paint two bedrooms, the study and get the kitchen redone.

I've done nothing!

Absolutely nothing!

Clearly, I need to give myself a kick and get on with these things.

Trouble is, with the kitchen, I don't really know what I'd like to replace the cabinets with.  Do I go for a modern, contemporary look, the cottage/farmhouse look or maybe a more plain and simple Shaker type?  I have a good sink and taps which I want to reuse.  My electric hob is perfectly useable and I like it.  I did think about just changing the cupboard doors to save money but to be honest they've seen better days and the cupboard carcasses are more than a little tatty on the inside.  A new oven is needed as only half the grill works and I'm fairly sure that the thermostat in the oven has a mind of it's own and plays tricks with me, especially when I'm baking cakes.  I need to think hard about layout and what sort of cupboards I'd like.  I've always fancied having a proper larder, I think that's a thing from my childhood.  At the moment I have lots of little cupboards and they drive me nuts. You can never find or see anything, so definitely won't be having anything small.  Of course, there's always the concern of who to do the work.  I could go to Ikea, Wicks, Homebase etc.  Then there's the small, local, independent company or someone who would just come and fit whatever you buy...... gosh! so much to think about.  Watch this space! 

On the sewing front, I did make a cosy for an iPad.  It was for a good friend and she loves it.  The pattern came from; actually I'm not sure where I got the pattern but suffice to say, it's not my design and I should give credit to whoever the design belongs to, if only I knew!

We had a beautiful sunset the other day.

Hope the rest of the week is good for you.

Lesley

x

An Early Start

I got up early this morning to get out with Tilly and my camera.  

It was beautiful, just the frost, the sunrise and the birds singing, brilliant!  Oh, and quite chilly too.

Badger and deer footprints 

 Another badger

Not sure what made these footprints, could be a squirrel, rat, stoat or weasel.  If anyone knows, please let me know.  They were only about 2.5cm across and don't appear to have claws.  

Have a great Sunday.

Lesley

x

It's Been A While

Yes, and hasn't it been a while?

I've spent weeks wondering how on earth to start this post seeing as I've been gone for ages.  Do I say, "sorry I've been gone so long" or "I'm back, did you miss me?" Well, I am sorry it's taken so long and I'm not sure that you would have missed me "that" much but here I am backing in the land of blogging.  Time seems to seep away and some days I achieve lots and others I don't appear to achieve anything, other than all those chores that need doing.  I can't even begin to think about what I've been up to since OCTOBER!!!!!  Surely, it can't be that long?  Christmas came and went, so did the New Year.  November went by in there somewhere too.  What do you know, it's February!  Where did January go to?!

Tilly and I are on our own for a while as The Old Colonel is away.  We've been doing some walks in the woods and across the fields.  She doesn't mind the cold (and boy, hasn't it been chilly), and will happily wade through the stream at the bottom of the woods, even on a freezing cold day.

We have three foxes that visit our garden and this one is in a very poor state.  He has mange and has lost most of the fur on his back end.  It's the first time I've seen him out during daylight hours looking for food and I'm guessing he's probably quite poorly.  Hope he makes it through this cold weather.

My first jars of piccalilli.  The recipe said, leave to mature for two months.  Not sure if I can wait that long!

And this was the sunrise one morning last week, beautiful.

Thank you for taking the time to come back and check on this old blog after all this time.  I'm looking forward to catching up with you all.

Until next time, 

Lesley

x