I do believe it might be Summer at Last!!!!!

Hello my lovely peeps.
Weve finally had some decent sunshine this week, it looks like this might be our Smmer!
Its been a busy week workwise, and as Ive been clocking up the overtime, Ive not had much time to do much else.
It was payday during the week (I still cant get used to being paid monthly), so The Husband and I went to do a bit of bargin shopping yesterday. I got a few bits and bobs for Xmas pressies (with such a huge family I ususally have to start quite early), and we picked up a really nice Jacket for  him (yup, buying winter clothes when the suns out), but it was 1/2 price @ TK Maxx and when you see stuff you have to get it - if you go back later it will certainly be gone. We took the Mother-in-Law carbooting this morning, but the one we went to only had about 8 cars turn up, so we decided to go to the one @ Hillsborough my friend always raves about. It wasnt there, but there was some kind of festival happening so we went for a look. Mother-in-Law bought some plants, so it wasnt a wasted morning.

This afternoon Ive been in the garden.  Ive finally had some sweetpeas flowers to pick

Ok there arent many, but apparently the more you cut, the more you get, so its a start.
Ive also potted on some Marigolds Ive grown from seed. There are 4 different varieties in the tub below, but as you can see one varitey hasnt done as well as the rest.They will be a nice mix of yellows, oranges and reds when they flower (hopefully the slugs wont get them first).

The other plant doing quite well is my Borage (sometimes known as Starflower).

These plants are seedlings from a plant I had in this spot two years ago. Last year I pulled them up as they came up, but this year I decided to leave them as they make good ground cover to help keep the weeds down and the cats off..

The husband has been doing a bit outside also.

Hes cut down our old black bin (the one the councils give you for rubbish collections). A couple of months ago the binmen ripped the wheels off it, so the council gave us a new one. They didnt want the old one back, so The Husband has sawn the bottom off (where the wheels were) and we have turned it into a compost bin! Clever bit of repurposing dont you think?

Craftwise, I have just got a wee bit of sewing up on the last few owls and they are done! Ive been working on them since February, so am more than a bit 'owled out'. Ive got some Xmas pressie ideas which I want to make a start on soon, but may need to keep these under wraps in case one of my Sister in Laws reads this! Might have to find out and get back to you. ;o)

We sat and watched the Olympic Games Opening Ceremony on Friday night. We werent going to, but then there wasnt much else on. Im glad we did, as on the whole it was brilliant. A couple of bits were a bit iffy, but there were some real gems in amongst it all.

So, all in all its been a quiet, but industrious week. 
Until next time, take care.
Jojo

Oh, Id love it if any of you would leave me a comment or let me know who reads this  I can stop annoying those who dont by posting the links on facebook and Twitter.
Ta.

Quick Update

Been a pig of a week.I really must get myself organised and either get myself another job or get serious about going back to NZ ( I think the husbands gonna take a bit more convincing). My current job is baking my head and not good for my stress levels!

Anyway, as  I havent had any takers for the craft bits and bobs I was (trying) to give away, I thought I was stuck with them. Then I picked up a craft mag and found a newish website which is like an Ebay for crafts!
 Craftybob.com   
You can buy and sell your excess supplies of stuff youve made yourself. Its still quite small but I thought Id give it a try.

Making wise, Im now on the last batch of Owls for my stall at The Donfield Music Festival on the 12th of August. I shall be taking (and hopefully selling) of them.

Last week I came across the hear-twrenching story about an 8 month  old girl who died of  SMA (Spinal Muscular Atrophy). Estella Star 
An appeal has been launched in memory of Estella for crafters to make stars which are all going to be put on a wall.  You can see some of the ones that have already been made here........Estellas wall
So I thought I had to make one and sent it off. I had thought about sewing one and stuffing it, but that turned out to be a disaster, so I ended up paperweaving three instead.

My stars for Estellas wall

In the garden,things arent  looking good, due the the crap weather weve been having this Summer. . Ive lost my potatoes to Tomato Rust and there arent many flowers around. This is pretty much it........

My lone sweet pea flower

Petunias

Petunias

Wild Poppy (growing as a weed)

Pretty much the only thing which is thriving in the garden at the moment is the slug population!

All in all its been a pretty quiet week. Having put in quite a bit of overtime at work, it feels like Ive not been home much. The house looks like a tip and Ive got WAY behind with the domestics.

So I shall leave you with an image of The Mother-in-Laws girls who were chilling on the bench outside the back door when I got home from work this morning.

Such a hard life!

So, take care and will 'speak' to you again soon.
Laters.
Jojo xx

Sundays Trip to Mablethorpe

When my husband was growing up,his family had lots of day trips and Summer holidays in Mablethorpe. His Mother felt that this would be a fitting place to scatter his Dad's ashes, so we all went to Mablethorpe on Fathers Day last year. We had a picnic and a day on the beach, and paid tribute to my lovely Father In Law.
It was decided that we would return every year on Fathers Day to pay our respects and have a kind of memorial day.
This year, (due to reasons I wont go in to), the date that was chosen was July 8th. I was not happy, but sometimes its easier to keep quiet, so sucked it up! Needless to say, we werent looking forward to going.
So, the Husband and I decided that we would take charge of our day and not let others dictate what we were going to do and when.
We got to Mablethorpe just after midday ( we left Sheffield just after 9.30), and went off to get a cuppa and a bite to eat. We had a yummy All Day Breakfast from a nice beachfront cafe.
The weather wasnt brilliant, but the rain held off for most of the afternoon. We had a look through the shops and wandered up the beach to find the rest of the family, who, had by the arrived.
We pretty much had the beach to ourselves, as you can see by the pic below! really hard to believe this was Mablethorpe on a Sunday in the 'middle' of Summer,

We had a paddle, during which I got pretty soaked (but had bought a change of clothes), then sat round for a few hours.......

Our 'campsite' 

watching family members play footie, cricket and fly kites

Nephew and his youngest son, kite flying

About 7.30, husband and I went back to the town to have a meal before we set off back home and were surprised at how little was still open. We found a place called 'Sams Diner' , looked great, but very disappointing. Be warned!!!!

Husbands meal, promised much,deeply disapointing.

 

 

 Then it was time to head for home. We got back just before 11pm, thoroughly knackeres, but havgin enjoyed a day that we thought we werent going to.
Next year we will be going on Fathers Day even if the rest of the family arent.
Jojo

Craft Giveaway

The idea for me having a bit of a giveaway was inspired by Suki over at the owl club who I discovered this week. She blogged about wanting to try new crafts, one of these being Silk Painting. I had a few silk paints which I hadnt used for quite a while (and wasnt likely to use again), so asked her if she would like them. Suki has covered the cost of the postage and they will be on their way to her shortly.

As Im on a clearout mission at the moment, this gave me the idea to have a bit of a giveaway, starting with some bits I could gather together quite quickly. Depending on how this goes there may be more at a later date, and I have loads more to sort through.
Any of these can be yours for the cost of the postage, and if you want to make or send me a little something in return, then that would be wonderful.

Coloured pieces of Aida (for cross stitch). all 14 count and various colours and sizes, the largest price is approx 31cm x 56cm

Small bags of relcaimed beads, ranging from seed beads to transparent sequins to suqares etc. Various colours, al least 100+ beads in each bag. I have loads of these so you can pick and mix to your hearts content.

Calendar Cats Cross stitch kit, complete.

Christmas cards, three fold  with aperatures. 4 of each with white envelopes, (its never too early to get a head start!)

Relief paste for glass painting. Te creame used for outlining, in copper, silver and imitation lead.

A piece of soft hessian type fabric with a silver thread running through it. The piece is approx 40cm x 70xm. It is a creamy colour with quite an open weave (unfortunatley the pic doesnt do it justice).

24 pieces of scrapbook paper (30cm x 30xm ) 2 of each design ranging in weight from 80-200 gsm.

Assorted sizes and colour of plastic canvas (great for xstitch). 3 full pieces A4 size (two red and one clear) and 1 full piece with larger holes (27cm x 34cm), and various other sizes.

3 lovely pieces of Organza, each approx 42cm x 32cm. Great for gift bags.

Patterned scissors (for papercraft as they wont cut fabric), two handles and 6 setf of interchangable blades.

A lovely Christmas stamp (I have used this quite a bit). Design is approx 8cm x 11cm and looks great stamped in black and them coloured in.

Small silver stars with pretty diamante star on the top and a dot of double sided tape on the back. 2 bags - 20 stars in each bag.

So, there you have it. If you want any of these items, you can either leave a comment or contact me by email kiwijo95@yahoo.co.uk and we can discuss postage costs etc.

Happy Shopping.
Jojo
:o)

My Week Off

The last week has been a busy one, but the best part was that I didnt have to go to work (always a bonus when you dont like your job!).
I only managed to achieve about half the things I wanted to, but things like ironing can wait (and wait and wait - have I mentioned how much I loathe ironing?)
So, heres a quck rundown of what I have managed to get done.

Monday.
Pottered about doing some houseworky bits and bobs and went to a couple of  local garden centres to have a look round and buy a Birthday pressie for one of my Sisters in Law. Found some nice little Alpine plants and a nice tub to put them in, topped the tub with gravel and this is how it looked when potted up.

Tuesday.
Had a bit of a sewing day, a few repairs and then finally got round to making myself a shopper. I made a few of these last year for gifts, but never got round to making one for myself. Ive lined this one with fabric from an old pillowcase and put some cording through the handles to make them a bit stronger.

Wednsday.
Another pottering day. OH had a days work, so I cracked on with lots more houseworky stuff and a bit of reading, etc.
Thursday.
We hit Chesterfied Rag and Tag market on the lookout for stuff we could refurb for the Steampunk enterprise (we will get round to setting out Etsy shop up soon, honest). We whizzed round a lot quicker than we normally do as it was pelting down with rain most of the time we were there!

(thats a rather wet OH in the front of the pic).
Usually you cant move in this market as its heaving with people, but it was more than a little bit damp. We decided to try and dry out a little in the local MacDonalds.

(The rain has stopped - but it only stopped for about 10 mins).
Then we had a quick run down to Derby to visit a friend in the Derby Royal. She is having chemotherapy at the moment and seems to get an infection after every treatment. This time its really knocked her back, so we thought we'd drop in and say Hi. Derby is only about 25 miles from Chesterfield, and its not a bad wee run (although it wasnt very plesant in the rain). Hopefully when I get some days off in August we will go down to see her at home in Nottingham.
Friday.
I went to a friends workplace to have lunch with her (her work is just over the fence from my work). I called in @ Costco to get some of their yummy Chicken and Bacon Bakes and we had a good old catchup. :o)

Then OH and I went Charity Shopping in Broomhill. We round a few bits and pieces we can 'punk up' and loads of books. This is just my reading pile for the next few weeks.

Saturday.
More houseworky stuff, and a bit of pottering in the garden (between rain showers). Put some flowers in the front garden and the borders in the back. Did some weeding and cutting back and potted up some Alpines and houseleeks. The veg patch is still looking rubbish, tho the potatoes, radishes and carrots are finally starting to get going. Flowerwise, things are still looking very poor - my sweetpeas have been really dissapointing this year. :O(

Sempervium (Houseleeks)

Saxifragia (will have lovely tiny pick and white flowers - hopefully)

 

 

Sunday.
We took OH's Mum to the Sheffield Steam and Vintage Rally this morning. It wasnt a bad wee walk round, they had some stalls, classic cars, tractors and motorbikes and lots of steam engines and rollers. I liked the singage on this one - it reads Siddal Daughters and Father.

So, thats been my week off. Weve now got to go and visit one of OH's Sisters (as its her Birthday), then I can come home and think about getting myself organised for work tomorrow.
There was plenty I didnt get done, but I did manage to pack a bit in.
Now roll on my next few days off at the end of August.
Taa Taa For Now.
Jojo
xxx