tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26713364256843917202024-02-20T05:14:52.750+00:00Life Of A Flibbertigibbetflib·ber·ti·gib·bet
–noun 1. a chattering or flighty, light-headed person.
flib·ber·ti·gib·bet
n. A silly, scatterbrained, or garrulous person.Flibbertigibbethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17948101105232980465noreply@blogger.comBlogger375125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2671336425684391720.post-91978849412908672172019-05-09T00:03:00.001+01:002019-05-09T00:03:28.013+01:00An Anniversary<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Twelve months ago today my father passed away.<br />Anniversaries are a strange thing, they are more personal than a birthday. <br />I feel like wedding anniversaries are something for a couple to celebrate.<br />When it comes to anniversaries of death it's not something you can share, even with family somehow. You're each carrying your own memories and your feelings vary.<br /><br />Anyway, I want to talk about my Dad.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He wasn't just Dad to me, but his first two children were with his first wife, so I had a different Mum. We all had different relationships with him, but I think that's likely the norm in a family. Each child has different personalities and interactions with parents are bound to vary. <br /><br />So, my Dad.<br />I was never in any doubt that he loved me. <br />There wasn't a moment when I wasn't absolutely sure of that love.<br />He always had my back. I don't wonder if, even if I was in the wrong, he wouldn't have supported me anyway. It was so nice to know that I could tell him something, and he'd join in telling me what bastards everyone else was. Even if it wasn't true, I knew he'd just take my side, and my goodness you need that in your life sometimes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />My earliest memories are of being collected from my Mum's house on a Friday evening, I'd be wrapped in a blanket and laid in the back seat, then taken to Dad's house for the weekend. He'd take me back to Mum's house on Sunday evening, before heading off to go dancing.<br />He loved to dance, winning competitions in his youth. He loved the quickstep and my aunt spoke at the funeral of how they wore a hole in their lounge carpet jiving together when their parents went out.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Back in 1998 my Dad had a heart attack, on my birthday, which resulted in a quadruple heart bypass. It was a terrible event that ended up having a really positive effect on his life. He joined the ramblers as a way to exercise and recuperate from the surgery, slowly building up the length of the walks he went on. He did the Three Peaks challenge multiple times and just loved being out walking and he built a wonderful community of friends. It's amazing how a negative can turn into such a positive.<br />Ten years after that bypass he had a replacement stent and was still going strong, but as the years wore on, he became more frail and unsteady on his feet. He had multiple falls and we decided he should make the move from his lovely flat into a bungalow closer to my home.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />My family go away for Christmas every year. We rent a cottage somewhere in England for a week, it works really well because we are live quite far apart and it also means that no-one has to host everyone else for a week. In 2013 we went away for Christmas as usual, staying near Worcester, and during the night, Dad got up to use the bathroom and in his sleepy state, he forgot he wasn't at home and turned left out of his bedroom. At his bungalow, a left turn headed towards the bathroom.<br />At the cottage a left turn was a steep staircase. A dogleg staircase. Dad hit the bend in the wall with such force he punched a hole in the wall, before falling further and landing at the bottom of the stairs. Mum heard him call out and came to wake me. The bump on his head was huge. I held a towel to his head to stem the bleeding, but I could only cup the bump, it was like holding a lemon in your hand.<br />I went with him as he was rushed to hospital. I told them to make sure he knew I was there.<br />Dad always responded better in hosptial if he knew I was there, he and I had done multiple hospital trips already. I sat in the relatives room for what felt like an eternity. Eventually I managed to get an update and they said they'd been struggling with him, I repeated what I'd said on our arrival, just let me see him, he'll be reassured and easier to treat. Just a few seconds I pleaded. They let me in and I saw the complete relief on his face, I told him I'd be there each and every time he needed me and I wasn't going anywhere. <br /><br />On Christmas Day, I went to visit and he was unresponsive. On that day I thought I was going to lose him. He wasn't responding to pain stimuli and it was terrifying. <br />I'm sorry about how awful this photo is.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Over the next few days he improved a little, but was clearly still very unwell.<br />Our week at the cottage over, I had returned home but was driving from home to Worcester regularly to visit. <br />Then I got word he would need brain surgery and would be moving to Stoke-on-Trent for the specialist surgery. The surgery went well and after a while he was moved to Lincoln, our local hospital.<br /><br />When he was finally ready for discharge it was decided he would spend some time in a nursing home before returning to his bungalow.<br />The least said about that place the better, I'd been round to view and thought it was fine. <br />It wasn't.<br />I got him home to his bungalow, he had carers visit three times a day and I would go every day. We soon realised though that he simply wasn't managing. After another fall we realised it was time to consider something else. I got him moved into a lovely nursing home and started trying to get him to adjust to this new life. <br />Life following traumatic brain injuries is not always easy. He was clearly changed. The nursing home would call me, unable to handle him and I'd go to sit with him. <br />The management changed at the home. The new manager was an evil woman and I soon was forced to find a new home to move him to, and that's where he saw out the rest of his life.<br />They were great with him, I expected he would pass away before the year was out, but their care was so good I got years extra with him.<br /><br />On his last admission to hospital I took this photo. Seems a bit random, but bear with me.<br />On that desk is a pile of paper, it reaches almost to the counter. <br />That entire pile makes up my Dad's medical records. He had a lot of health problems his entire life. It never stopped him though.</span><br />
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<br /><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And here he is, the last time I saw him.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />This was a little over twelve hours before he passed away.<br />He'd pushed his oxygen mask up to his forehead so he could eat some dinner. He'd turned to me, grinned and said "do you like my hat?"<br />I really chuckled.<br />He also asked me if he had a girlfriend. I'd replied that what he did in his private life was none of my business, knowing full well that he didn't have a girlfriend. He considered it for a moment and said "well, I'm nearly 80 and women are a lot of trouble, so I probably don't need the hassle".<br />He also pronounced the food was "shit", so he was on form.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I left the hospital feeling upbeat, but that evening I went for dinner with my Mum and Step-dad and Mum asked me how he was. I replied that I didn't know. Despite the fact he'd been chipper and in good humour, I had a weird feeling in my gut that I couldn't and can't explain.<br />The next morning I got the call that he had passed away.<br />I am still filled with questions I will never get the answer to.<br />We had a DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) order in place for Dad and I questioned whether he'd still be here if it wasn't and should I have fought for him to stay.<br />Did he know he was dying?<br />Did he ask for me?<br />Why wasn't I there?<br />There are more questions that haunt me, and I try and keep them out of my head, but they remain there. Having answers to the questions wouldn't make the thoughts any easier to bear.<br />Honestly, I think it's probably normal to wonder if you did the best you could do and if you made the right choices, so I try not to let the thoughts upset me.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />In my logical mind I know that the DNR was the right thing, Dad had 'multiple co-morbidities', essentially there wasn't one thing that was a threat to his life, he had so many medical complaints that it was almost impossible to say which was the greatest risk. <br />His heart was iffy, his lungs were iffy, his kidneys were iffy, his brain was iffy. There was a lot of iffy.<br />The fact he lived as long as he did is testament to his stubborn refusal to give in.<br />After that horrendous fall do you know how many bones he broke? <br />None. Not so much as a little toe. <br />I thought he was invincible.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />(As a humorous aside, following the fall, when the paramedics were sliding the scoop under him and joining the two pieces together so they could get him into the ambulance, he suddenly yelled out. I immediately thought he'd broken his hip or pelvis or something. The paramedics asked him where the pain was. To which Dad simply yelled "you've trapped my bloody foot!" Which they had as they were squeezing the two halves of the scoop together. It brought a bit of humour to a dreadful moment. Well, Dad didn't find it that funny!)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, that's the end of his life. But what about earlier?<br /><br />What about the time I drew him a picture, and in order to surprise him with it, I hid it under his duvet. As an adult I realise that hiding the drawing pins to hang the picture was not a good idea and Dad's resulting anger fully understandable. Oops.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Prior to his move to a nursing home I used to take Dad shopping once a week, on one occasion in winter, we were driving the back road and on a sharp bend the ice got the better of me. I immediately felt Jeff (my car) go into a skid and without thinking, I just handled it. I did have enough time for my brain to wonder if I was going to flip the car as off to the side of the single track road was a steep slope and I knew if I lost control, we'd be rollercoastering our way to the bottom. In a matter of a second or two, I got control back of the car and breathed a sigh of relief. <br />Dad had been silent the whole time and then simply said "Well done" and complimented me on steering into the skid. He hadn't been afraid. He'd just had confidence in my driving.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Many years ago he went with the woman he was in a relationship with, to visit her wheelchair-bound son. When they arrived, they discovered the body of her son, who had been murdered. He never spoke about it and I wonder if it haunted him and I wonder if I should have asked him about it. <br />More unanswered questions.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />My nickname for him was Trouble. I'd say "Hello Trouble" and he'd say "I'm no trouble!"<br />And then, whenever I got a call that he was in an ambulance on his way to hospital, I'd arrive and when I said hello he'd say "I'm sorry for being a trouble" and in turn I'd say "you're never any trouble to me". <br />After he passed, I had some of his ashes placed in a memorial heart. It's wooden and it slides open, inside is a little glass vial with the ashes. The top of the heart is engraved. It says "Dad, never any trouble".</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />He gave me a lot of love and a lot of time, we had holidays in Cornwall that I loved. I still think about a visit to a monkey sanctuary and how much I loved that visit. <br />He ironed my little finger once. That's what happens when you put your finger on an ironing board whilst your Dad is ironing. It was not a smart move.<br />He didn't really like tattoos but never really questioned my choice to get tattooed.<br />I'd turn up to visit with a new shade of scarlet hair and he'd say "you've dyed your hair!" and I'd reply, "nah, I was born this way". "You bloody weren't" he'd also respond.<br />He had a big smile and he always showed it to me.<br />He'd protect me with everything he had and I could never do wrong in his eyes. You take that feeling for granted when you have it and you don't realise the security it gives you every day.<br /><br />I miss him all the time and I berate myself for not taking the opportunity to hear more of his stories and spend time with him whilst he was here. That's life, we know what we've lost when it is gone.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Whenever I left from visiting him I'd call out "Love you" and he'd respond with "Love you", so those are both my last words to him and his last words to me.<br />That couldn't be more perfect.<br /> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><br /><br /></span>Flibbertigibbethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17948101105232980465noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2671336425684391720.post-16273260227371022562019-01-30T22:07:00.000+00:002019-01-30T22:07:01.158+00:00All By Myself<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I live on my own, well alone with a cat, but anyway...<br />I genuinely enjoy living on my own (with a cat).<br />Have you seen that quote...the one that about anyone wanting to be with you isn't competing with anyone else, but with your comfort zone? I totally get that. <br />Actually, I'm going to have to see if I can find the actual thing, because I suspect I butchered it somewhat....<br /><br />*after googling*</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There it is. See how much more eloquently put that was. Well done Mr Jones. I commend you.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Anyway, I had a point that I was getting to, sort of.<br /><br />I was saying to a friend that not only do I chatter away to myself when I'm home alone, I also make myself laugh on a daily basis. I find myself hilarious. <br />Not that I'm actually funny, I just amuse myself easily.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And therein lies a tale.<br /><br />The other night I go to curl up on the sofa and tuck my feet up under me as I do pretty much every day. Except my right knee has decided it doesn't want to. In fact it explains its decision by causing a pain similar to how I imagine it would be to become impaled, through the knee on something both sharp and hot. It was that kind of pain that almost feels like you've been winded.<br />I attempt the move again and it repeats its decision with the same astonishing pain.<br />When the knee is straight zero pain, no hint that the knee is in a bad mood. <br /> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So I stop bending it. <br /><br />Because life is about making smart choices.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I retire to bed, I keep my grumpy knee unbent.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The next morning, I sit on the sofa and decide to test bend the knee.<br />It is less grumpy than the night before, but still uncomfortable.<br />I rub my knee and say to myself "gosh my knee is sore.....it's agoknee".<br />Ha! Agony...agoknee...see what I did there?<br />Yeah, I realise this is not really funny.<br />I appreciate it's a terrible pun.<br />But oh. my. god. I laughed. <br />Then the fact that I was laughing made me laugh.<br />My ribs hurt.<br />There were tears. <br />Every time I tried to stop I laughed again.<br />Typing this I'm having a chuckle to myself. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Honestly, I actually just snorted.<br /><br />I guess part of my comfort zone is being able to laugh at my own jokes. Isn't there another quote somewhere about laughing at your own jokes not being cool? Probably. Well screw them, I'm laughing over here and I like it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />On an unrelated/related note...<br /><br />I used to work for BT (British Telecom) I was a Diagnostic Testing Officer. So fancy.<br />Well, I answered the phone and diagnosed faults on phone lines. Not so fancy.<br />During training the trainer was explaining the difference between faults and said you would know a specific fault wouldn't be caused by overhead lines rubbing in trees because trees don't make calls. <br />I leant into my friend and said "unless it's a trunk call".<br />Again, it wasn't really funny, but you know how bad jokes are just hilarious? We lost it, we tried SO hard to keep it together, but failed.<br />We were told off and told to leave the room.<br />I'd never been chastised like that as an adult before, which just made it more hilarious to me.<br /><br />Telling that story just reminds me of another one....<br />Maybe I'll save the story of the shadow for another time. <br /><br />Oh the suspense!<br /></span>Flibbertigibbethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17948101105232980465noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2671336425684391720.post-18825153411736466162019-01-07T15:59:00.000+00:002019-01-07T15:59:23.270+00:00Craft Room Tour<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I've loved crafting for a long time, probably most of my life, in that time I've tried a wealth of different crafts including: salt dough sculpture, jewellery making, dried flower arrangements, cardmaking, sewing, embroidery, cross stitch, crochet and willow weaving.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One of the things I love most about where I currently live is my workroom/craft room/studio/call it what you will.<br /><br />I really like watching YouTube tours of craft rooms and looking at other blogs with photo tours, so I thought I'd share my own room.<br /><br />I realise this is probably completely boring to a lot of people but I love it!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is taken standing in the doorway of my room, looking towards my two desks. I have two desks for two reasons. One is that I like to have friends come and craft with me, I find it really stokes the crafty fire to see someone else create in ways I wouldn't have thought of. The second reason is that I can have two projects on the go at once, I can leave my sewing machine ready to go and work on something else on the other desk if I need a change.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I have a daylight bulb in the main ceiling light and I also have two lamps with daylight bulbs in, it makes such a huge difference to crafting at any time of day.<br />(And that's Kini demonstrating how photogenic she is.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Taken from slightly further back, you see the Martin Luther King Jr poster which has the whole of the I Have A Dream speech written at the bottom<i>. </i>I bought it decades ago, as a teenager on holiday in France and it was one of my most beloved possessions.<br />At the end of the room is a small 6-drawered storage unit, with a much loved painting above it. It was painted by a lodger we had when I was a child and I always loved it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Inside the room, not visible from the door, is more storage, everything is laid out so that I can spin round in my chair and access anything, hopefully keeping everything within arms reach.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Yet more shelves behind my desks!</span> <br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The word for this room is shelves I think. These are to the left of the first table - which I got when I worked in a dental surgery, it has holes in it that were made by some sort of equipment and I think it was used for making dentures or something! Random, but it's just a really nice table, with mostly nice legs - one got destroyed by cats.<br />Anyway...The bottom shelf holds the cotton I use most often when sewing, and the bobbins It also holds my other sewing bits and bobs; pins, needles, my rotary cutter. The second shelf holds two bins, one for refuse, one for recycling. Next to those is a box with all my chamois cloths I keep for stamp cleaning, they're dried out so they don't stink up the box! On top of that is my collection of Nuvo drops and finally on that shelf a frame that is made into a pin-cushion.<br />The shelf above holds boxes of bias binding, in multiple colours, that I use when I'm making bunting and also ribbons that I use for the same purpose.<br />On the final shelf in this photo is a collection of spare adhesives, my birthday index box (where I have a list of upcoming birthdays, by month, I store cards for people in here so I know which I have still to make).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Above the previous shelves are two more, which store more excess adhesives and items I don't reach for very often, including dressmaking patterns and Christmas items.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On the first table I have a folded blanket, in the left of the photo - this is where Kini usually sleeps when I'm crafting in here. She likes a window view!<br />I have two lazy susans on the rest of the table, the bottom one is currently very tidy and almost empty! The top one sits atop a small antique lap tray, meant to be used for breakfasts in bed. I bought it at auction, at the time I had no idea why I even bid for it, but it works perfectly in here, adding to the desk space. The top lazy susan holds most of my tools, scissors, rulers, pallette knives etc. Also on the photo is my roll of post-it tape, my bluetooth speaker - you gotta have music, and an L-shaped lego build, which I can use for stamping wooden stamps, to ensure accurate stamping.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On top of/between the two desks I store my two paper trimmers - my Fiskars and my Tim Holtz, and don't ask me to choose a favourite, because it's impossible I tell you, impossible!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Next to them is a pot of tools, some scissors, pokey tools, craft knives, white gel pens, etc. There's also a bottle of alcohol for alchol ink techniques. The front two boxes hold adhesives, spray bottles, Distress Resist spray and full sticky post-it notes.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On the second desk I have another lap tray, but this time from IKEA. I love that there's room for storage underneath but I still have space above.<br />Under the lap tray are my ProMarkers, sorted into colour families. Also another two bins, one for rubbish and one for recycling. There's also a bowl with one of my stamp-cleaning chamois cloths. I usually work on my well-loved cutting mat, I have one on both desks.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A friend gave me these when the office she works in was throwing them out, quite honestly I wish I'd got more from her, it pains me that the rest went in the bin. I use them to store my cardstock, by colour, in rainbow order of course, then vellum and specialised cardstock: watercolour, Neenah Solar White, Bristol Smooth etc.<br />My printer and light box sit on top.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">These shelves are on the wall above the second desk. 12x12 papers that I use for photo backgrounds hang underneath, baskets of cards I've finished, or half-finished sit on the bottom shelf, along with products I want to use or need putting away. The rest of the shelves contain things I don't use very often, along with items I use for bunting making - particularly Christmas bunting.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A friend made this picture, it's needle-felted, she had a wonderful exhibition and I snuck in and bought it, I knew she intended to give it to me, but I wanted to buy it. The only problem is - I hung it too damn high on the wall - that's a job for 2019, move it down!<br />It hangs to the right of the shelves above the desk and I like to sit back and look at it any time I can.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The
large desktop sits on two Alex drawers from IKEA. I've seen these
featured in so many different craftrooms and I know why, they're just a
great size and you can fit so much in.<br />You might have gathered by now
that I like antique things and auctions, but try as I might, I just
couldn't find anything that fit the bill the way these drawers did. The
only drawback (ha!) is that they don't pull out all the way, but that's a
minor incovenience.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The
top drawer holds my most-used inks as well as the washi tapes I use to
mark storage pockets, triangular bead trays and spares. You can't
see it in the photo, but there are actually four more trays within the
drawer. It's easy to lift out the front trays to access the ones further
back, but I mainly store things I don't need frequent access to back
there. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6VJ2BAzZTNGVijnq8Nl2185sYfUlsfZrO6VAFE44QziGschFKZTyjTbS-QcSUXFALlxTf_VyTh8Luig9PSVagHHDFWjxYEzPY7GvdfDqYDqzghxDRSgNclGpeVgEqJ2aa9bCFOy_AYpo/s1600/DSC_0020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6VJ2BAzZTNGVijnq8Nl2185sYfUlsfZrO6VAFE44QziGschFKZTyjTbS-QcSUXFALlxTf_VyTh8Luig9PSVagHHDFWjxYEzPY7GvdfDqYDqzghxDRSgNclGpeVgEqJ2aa9bCFOy_AYpo/s320/DSC_0020.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Drawer
2. This drawer holds my Lawn Fawn inks, there are couple in this photo
without labels - they're the newest release and I haven't got round to
their labels yet, but they're stored in alphabetical order and I have
added them to my swatch sheet so it's easy to grab them if I want them. <br />At
the back of the drawer are pigment inks, and my Delicata inks. These
are inks I don't reach for regularly so are a little more out of reach.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMEr6mIJPA542EKwEAKwGPXpAJgDrZCa4i4UzDhXXcIDR_D2cXxKDCuYMpam6tVUg1QH-BkD_zleXjthEs8WD0uZfoL9wJEyRliHd0EFiv0cTTwnukBBlnjSQ_j8ebEsEm9d6sA7xVqVc/s1600/DSC_0021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMEr6mIJPA542EKwEAKwGPXpAJgDrZCa4i4UzDhXXcIDR_D2cXxKDCuYMpam6tVUg1QH-BkD_zleXjthEs8WD0uZfoL9wJEyRliHd0EFiv0cTTwnukBBlnjSQ_j8ebEsEm9d6sA7xVqVc/s320/DSC_0021.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Drawer
3. This holds my blending tools - the foams are stored separately,
alcohol inks with their foams and blending solution, enamel dots &
adhesive gems are in here too. At the back are my embossing pastes. My
stencil brushes are in here, as is my pot of Distress Glaze and shimmer sprays.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Drawer
4. This is the embossing drawer.The left hand side holds all the
individual pots of embossing powders, with a tray of stamping blocks on
top of it, the right hand side has larger containers of the embossing
powders I use most - white, clear and liquid platinum. Also in this
drawer is a container of Melt-It powder and several other containers -
and I forget what's in them!</span><br />
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5. The bottom drawer holds three baskets, I can't access the third one
without removing one of the front ones - and it currently sits empty.
It's nice to have room to grow or to move things around. The other two
baskets hold pre-cut fun foam - to give even dimension when cardmaking
and my collections of foils.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Now to the right hand set of drawers.</span> </div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Drawer
1. Actually, before we get to the drawer, on top of the desk is a black
glass mat. I don't have one of the Tim Holtz glass mats, but this
one works in a similar way, great for ink blending or protecting the
surface when I'm doing watercolours. Next to it is a diary. To be honest
I use the diary on my phone more than anything but I do like to see
things written down and I have twice the chance of remembering what I'm
supposed to be doing.<br />In the drawer itself, the front is filled with
cardstock scraps. I keep them here so that I can use them for small
die-cuts, or for stamping sentiments on. It helps to keep them separate
so I can just reach for a small piece instead of cutting up a big piece.<br />Extra,
unused diecuts are stored in here too - as are offcuts of fun foam.
There are more trays further back, but they are currently mostly empty -
for now!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Drawer
2. This is my collection of Waffle Flower inks, my small collection of
Memento Inks, some full-size Altenew inks and an Archival ink. My
Altenew ink cubes are stored with my Distress Inks as they fit perfectly
into the tins.<br />My spare black inks are here too - and more empty trays!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Drawer
3. This is the colouring drawer. The reindeer tin is full of Brusho
pots, my collection of gelatos are in here, as are my Altenew
watercolours, the green case holds most of my pencil crayons. There's
Odourless Mineral Spirits in a little Kilner jar, there's also masking
fluid. My Gansai Tambi Starry Night watercolours are also here, liquid watercolours too, along
with a pencil case filled with Sharpies.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> Drawer
4. Home to my beloved Zig markers. Also home to my freezer paper, some
kitchen roll (for clean-up and wiping off waterbrushes), some parchment
paper (for use with foiling and a laminator) and some Press n Seal that I
got for Christmas - it's impossible to find in the UK so I was
delighted to open it on Christmas morning!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The
yellow squares off to the right, against the wall, that look like
puzzle pieces are what I use for blocking finished crochet projects. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIJQKV75AFy_SvtS4M_zXcnOsjJaHXMLvQU5bTnmM1lT3pEML49_GKX7hbAzGiHMnxiU1EJNid9uEv_HL9cimMa4xmCwhkJplB5_k7zeKbw-FIIlCVQImt00NXna1hmFe3SQ7GHEfRbX4/s1600/DSC_0028.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIJQKV75AFy_SvtS4M_zXcnOsjJaHXMLvQU5bTnmM1lT3pEML49_GKX7hbAzGiHMnxiU1EJNid9uEv_HL9cimMa4xmCwhkJplB5_k7zeKbw-FIIlCVQImt00NXna1hmFe3SQ7GHEfRbX4/s320/DSC_0028.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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5. In all honesty, whilst it doesn't look it, this drawer is empty, it
has three baskets in it, the same as the bottom drawer the other side.
The back basket is actually empty and the front two have things in that
really just need properly putting away.<br />You might have spotted stickers on each of the drawer fronts. These have two purposes. They really do!<br />First they're cute and they please my eye.<br />Second
if I'm crafting with a friend and they ask where something is I can say
"It's in the Unicorn drawer" or "It's in the Cat drawer" and so on. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Underneath my desk are again, two bins, one rubbish and one recycling. Do I have too many bins? My shredder is there too and in the silver trolley is extra cardstock and other cardstock offcuts.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This little shelf holds my spare card blanks. It also holds pre-cut glitter cardstock that I use for making cardstock bunting.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXhNns74tWF6iV0hyphenhyphenqBX3d2qcADmogvsnWNoYZNQH9cZuhq0Sd7HcHgoSrngUIVFBlDAkhwIJvyoN7Q1lZ0ZLpx_8miXCtzZNH31J0LEljHvVN40IoN7RMvMoBSG9ieEWsXJxyffyGPlc/s1600/DSC_0001_1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXhNns74tWF6iV0hyphenhyphenqBX3d2qcADmogvsnWNoYZNQH9cZuhq0Sd7HcHgoSrngUIVFBlDAkhwIJvyoN7Q1lZ0ZLpx_8miXCtzZNH31J0LEljHvVN40IoN7RMvMoBSG9ieEWsXJxyffyGPlc/s320/DSC_0001_1.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At the end of the room is this sweet little six-drawered unit. It's cute but it's a nightmare getting those drawers back in when you pull them out!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On top of the unit is another four-drawered unit, this has glitter, gilding flakes, components for shaker cards and other interactive cards.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There's also some sellotape, brushes for perfect pearls, pipettes for liquid watercolours amongst other things.<br />In the drawers are microfibre cloths, spare envelopes, coffee filters for embossing powders and more odds & ends.<br />There are hooks on the side of the unit, on the right hang my bunting templates and my bunting embroidery floss.<br />On the left hang my swatch sheets.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So,
these are my swatch sheets. Every one of my inks is swatched out, as
are Nuvo drops, embossing powders (which I swatched on both black and
white cardstock as they can look very different), watercolours, alcohol
inks, shimmer sprays (which I swatched onto black, white and kraft
cardstock). I also have a swatch of each of my black inks, and within
each swatch square I noted the purpose of each ink, which work with
watercolour, which with alcohol markers, which stamp on acetate etc.
Whilst I generally know all of that, it's nice to have a handy reminder
when I'm having a brain fart, and it's useful to friends who come and
craft with me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Behind the desk is this teak room divider that I got for a steal at an antiques centre. The blokes stood around and told me it wouldn't fit in my car. I was adamant that it would, they stood around sucking their teeth and finally agreed to try. It fit like a dream and they stood around looking like their world had been turned upside down. Absolutely a personal highlight in my life.<br />Anyway, smugness aside, all my wrapping paper sits on the top of the unit. The white squares next to that are from a dolls house shop that closed down, so they're adorably decorated inside, but they also make excellent storage spaces.<br />The shelf below holds a box of Christmas patterned papers, some specialty handmade papers and the filing trays hold folders which store things like acetate. Two of the folders have storage pockets for my stamps and dies so they're ready to be put away when I get new ones.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My laminator is stored inside the sliding doors along with my flower presses.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgMEAVXIxoI5ggH5_XOOajDE6ND8i99m9eEptbFNckcPW4JRpZ4Kl9yRSoSTF__yURFEbhalyi7WKGjlwsXA_hsH_j0Q2WAoBndP_dW4anyZmxHVgsTFDBMbYLVEzp_qlLLegZLj0DsHQ/s1600/DSC_0015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgMEAVXIxoI5ggH5_XOOajDE6ND8i99m9eEptbFNckcPW4JRpZ4Kl9yRSoSTF__yURFEbhalyi7WKGjlwsXA_hsH_j0Q2WAoBndP_dW4anyZmxHVgsTFDBMbYLVEzp_qlLLegZLj0DsHQ/s320/DSC_0015.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is my collection of stamps and dies. They are separated into different categories so that I have an idea of where to look for specific products I want to use. I also use either white or kraft cardstock inside each pocket. White cardstock denotes that it is solely stamps inside, kraft denotes that it's dies or stamps <b>and</b> dies. Additionally, you may be able to see that there are strips of washi tape on the top right of some of the pockets, each of those also indicates what's inside. I have a key to what the tapes mean on the IKEA lap tray. <br />Essentially I mark which are solely sentiments, which are Christmas, which are nesting dies, which are background dies and which are alphabetical/numerical stamps. It helps to know at a glance that I'm looking in the right place. <br />Yes, I'm anal about being organised.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Inside the base of the teak unit are my Gansai Tambi watercolours and 12x12 papers and cardstock. One folder contains stencils and also blending foams stored in coin pockets labelled with each ink. Other folders contain stickers and sentiments, another folder contains the beginning of an index of my stamp collection.<br />On the other side of the unit is a concertina file which holds cellophane envelopes for cards that I make, there's also a box with extra foam tape and spray bottles.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hanging on the side of the teak unit are labels I attach to bunting I make. <br />My washi tape hangs on the side, on a big loop of thick wire which makes it easy to see and access.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3wyk533aic0OfpjNYv_bs10iZ6rOKPKUPMdFr-NaMPjIBer-_jOxtN5V9cYpJsUM0-Dmk8RRyDERqr3-dReW09bSy_nNw1myyzSSw71AakzMQIJQjJIVU2uRaZ1mgkpSpPBbsgBOVC6c/s1600/DSC_0017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3wyk533aic0OfpjNYv_bs10iZ6rOKPKUPMdFr-NaMPjIBer-_jOxtN5V9cYpJsUM0-Dmk8RRyDERqr3-dReW09bSy_nNw1myyzSSw71AakzMQIJQjJIVU2uRaZ1mgkpSpPBbsgBOVC6c/s320/DSC_0017.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Next to the teak unit is a little white shelving unit. Starting at the top is a small two drawered unit that holds some of my ribbon, wound onto cardstock, on top of that are my embossing folders, with my embossing mat. Next to that is a box with some of my Christmas stamps & dies and next to that is my MISTI stamping tool and my Tim Holtz stamping platform.<br />On the shelf below is my Big Shot and on the same shelf is my alphabet punch board from We R Memory Keepers - which I use primarily for bunting. <br />The bottom shelf holds all my patterned papers.<br />My splatter cubby sits between the teak unit and the white shelves. All hail the splatter cubby that saves the room from splatter covering every surface!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVAvbEM10OJHt0wv6rZgEvHst77z7fDw6JxOB5MCTNyjL2t-NZj0jLEcVBtmg6I8EGLbS8neJINxzyXFw5auggcK3_zUY0LcuFxYGCcfZ-QYp_qMfMM6TVAGet465R57Db_VarA4tyCcU/s1600/DSC_0004_1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVAvbEM10OJHt0wv6rZgEvHst77z7fDw6JxOB5MCTNyjL2t-NZj0jLEcVBtmg6I8EGLbS8neJINxzyXFw5auggcK3_zUY0LcuFxYGCcfZ-QYp_qMfMM6TVAGet465R57Db_VarA4tyCcU/s320/DSC_0004_1.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Above the shelves on the floor is a white board and above that is another set of shelves, it holds embroidery floss, items for bunting, sequins and allsorts of odds and ends.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The last set of shelving in the room is more behind the first table than the desk, on top are two boxes which hold pre-scored card blanks in a variety of sizes, ready to go when I'm crafting. Below that are my Distress Inks and Distress Oxides. The tins hold all the mini cubes of Distress Inks and all the Distress Oxides are stored next to them, finally my small collection of full size pads of Distress Inks.<br />The next shelf holds a concertina file of coloured card scraps, a box of perfect pearls and a box of twine.<br />The bottom shelf is things that have been abandoned to be honest! Including two trays which are used for heating a fondue set!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Finally, the last set of shelves are over the door of the room. They hold my stock of embroidery hoops, my extra stock of bias binding and all sorts of odds and ends in chocolate tins.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Phew, that's a long post.<br />At this point I should admit that the whole of my fabric stock is in another room, along with my huge stock of felt that I use for bunting. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>Flibbertigibbethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17948101105232980465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2671336425684391720.post-31590338973590836802019-01-02T11:14:00.001+00:002019-01-02T11:15:26.368+00:00New Year New Me<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ha!<br />There won't be any new me. Although isn't there something that says all of your cells renew so that every few months you're essentially a new person?<br />Hmm, that seems weird.<br />Perhaps if you shaved your head that could be true?<br />I have no idea where I'm going with this.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Anyway, welcome to 2019. <br />It's not that I have any grand plans for 2019, but I feel like I'd like to do better. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">My Dad passed away in May of 2018 and that really made the year a write-off for me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But that's a post for another day.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I'd really like to get more done, to be more efficient.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I don't want to make resolutions, they seem to me like you're setting yourself up for failure, perhaps instead I wake up in the morning and resolve to do the best I can do that day.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For me, and I'm sure for many people, the best you can do is variable.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Some days you're full of energy and motivation and ready to take on the world.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Other days you're tired and low and getting dressed might be the best you can do.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I think the important thing is to adapt to how you feel on each of the 365 days in the non-leap years. Frankly, every time we have day 366 we should all get to have a massage. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">A conga massage! No, that would be weird. I retract that idea immediately.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Back on track.<br />I like to write the things that are in my brain, I'd like to track the things I make when I've been hunkered down in my craftroom/studio/sewing room, call it what you will. I'd like to do better at remembering the good times I have. <br />I would like to get back to blogging.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Also, I had three accidents in just one week over Christmas and goodness knows that shit is funny. Totally hit myself in the finger with a cleaver at one point....the finger still exists with surprisingly minor damage. In fact, I'd like to take this opportunity to express my thanks and gratitude to my fingernail for stopping the advance of aforementioned cleaver.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Long story short, I'm going to try my best to be my best without giving myself a hard time on my worst days.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>Flibbertigibbethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17948101105232980465noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2671336425684391720.post-47762167753272871262018-01-05T21:34:00.000+00:002018-01-05T21:34:29.581+00:00Counting Injuries<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm a little accident prone.<br />Okay, I'm really very accident prone. I admit it.<br />However, it's now January 5th and I've gone this many days without injury.<br />Sort of.<br />Today I dropped something as I was getting vegetables out of the fridge for tea, so I bent down to pick it up.<br />At this point I should say that my fridge is stacked on top of my freezer, so my fridge sits higher than you might imagine.<br />So, I bend down to pick up the cheese I dropped and as I do so, unbeknownst to me, the fridge door starts to swing closed.<br />Yes, I did headbut the door with the back of my head as I stood up.<br />Yes it hurt like a sonofabitch.<br />No, there wasn't blood - which I'm counting as a win.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, 2018 injury count is now: 1. </span>Flibbertigibbethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17948101105232980465noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2671336425684391720.post-82331443547376460662017-02-26T11:39:00.000+00:002017-02-26T11:40:38.335+00:00Riding Bearback<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I've always had a lot of wacky dreams, I don't always remember them, which is pretty disappointing!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Last night was quite spectacular in the world of dreams.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I dreamt I was seated upon my sofa, engrossed in a tv show, when I finally looked up from the tv, I noticed there had been an accident in the road immediately outside my window. <br />Large crowds had gathered around a lady that had been hit by a car. She was wearing a pleated navy skirt and was surrounded by people trying to help, whilst they waited for an ambulance. There was a girl who was laid on the verge sobbing, with a group of friends talking to her. For some reason I went to ask if she wanted to come inside but her friends shooed me away.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I hate it when dreams don't have an end, they just dissolve away into another dream, I have no idea what happened to the lady in the navy pleated skirt.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">But as one dream dissolves away, another one slips in to replace it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I looked out the window again, an animal had been hit by a car.<br />But not just any animal.<br />It seemed like it was a polar bear.<br />A polar bear was laying in the road.<br />But wait, it wasn't just a polar bear, there was a man there too, he was curled up like the little spoon to the bear big spoon.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It appeared that the two were unconscious.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The man started to stir, then the bear, and suddenly it wasn't a polar bear, it was a big brown bear. A huge brown bear.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I asked if they were okay and I was far, far too close to such a huge bear.<br />They awoke fully, the bear clambered from its prone position to being back on all four paws. Suddenly the man, wearing a wild blue puffy suit with gold trim, was seated atop the bear. He bid me farewell and rode atop the bear as it bounded off quickly across the fields.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">What the flim-flam were those dreams all about? <br />Good grief, whatever my subconscious brain was trying to figure out, I hope it managed it.</span>Flibbertigibbethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17948101105232980465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2671336425684391720.post-80160252795172365682017-02-24T20:33:00.001+00:002017-02-24T20:33:28.934+00:00Logophile<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">My phone did that little noise it does when something Facebook related has occurred.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />I looked at my phone, I have been tagged in a post...I must investigate further!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />I digitally strolled my way over to Facebook to see more and am greeted with the following words: "Fun when you show people a very specific word definition and one of the associated images is a Facebook friend". </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I was the Facebook friend in question!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">So, out there, there exists a single word that will lead you to a photograph of my good self. <br /><br />I took a moment, I thought, I turned a few words over in my mind, when suddenly I had a brainwave, I tapped the letters on my keyboard and began my google search.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The results appeared and I guffawed. I snorted with laughter. My ribs hurt, my tummy hurt, so much laughter, so much.<br />I have no idea why I found it so utterly hilarious, I still do. <br />The idea that a single word will make my youthful face appear in a google search is just hilarious to me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">It's such a great word too. <br />Not your average run of the mill word, oh no, this is an unusual word, not one to be found in the vocabulary of many.<br />What's the word?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">What could it BE?<br />Well, that'd be telling wouldn't it!</span>Flibbertigibbethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17948101105232980465noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2671336425684391720.post-74561020181950782102017-02-17T12:34:00.000+00:002017-02-17T12:34:47.137+00:00VFC<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Some time ago I saw a postcard on <a href="http://postsecret.com/" target="_blank">PostSecret</a> talking about long car journeys. The sender said that when travelling long distances and noticing another vehicle keeping pace with you for a long time, it was like you were automatic car buddies. A</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">s is often the case with the revealed secrets it struck a chord. </span><br />I wanted to add that postcard to this post, I googled and googled but it was not to be found anywhere. <br /><br />I've always felt that camaraderie with other vehicles on the road as we travel along together. A brief vehicular friendship.<br />Unless they drive too close, in that case we are sworn enemies. <br />Or they don't use their lights in poor visibility.<br />Or they fail to indicate.<br />There are strict rules on my vehicular friendship apparently.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I do have a point...I'm just taking a somewhat circuitous route to get to it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">So, last week, I took a drive over to Wales to see some friends for the day. <br />I love being in my car and I love to drive. I love my music and the road beneath my wheels. It was a really nice drive, then I got stuck behind someone doing 40 in a 60. (This is an automatic ban from any vehicular friendship.) <br />As I waited for an opportunity to overtake, a blue van approached behind me, settling just a fraction too close for my liking - getting close to not being allowed into my vehicular friendship club (let's say VFC for short, it's one hell of a mouthful else). <br />The moment arose, a clear stretch of road opened up, I dropped down a gear and whizzed past the slowcoach.<br />I continued my journey and a little while later, the blue van reappeared in my rear view mirror.<br />I offered my mental congratulations on their success in also separating from the slowcoach.<br />On we went. As the miles passed and we took the same roads time and again, the blue van was a fully fledged member of the VFC. I'm not sure how long we hung out together, maybe an hour. At each turn I willed the blue van to keep following. How long could we possibly go in the same direction?<br /><br />Finally, my google sat nav instructed me to turn left at the next roundabout. I put on my indicator.<br />Oh no!<br />Blue van was going straight on!<br />This was it, we were to be separated. I had a moment of sadness, then, sensing our imminent separation, blue van's lights flash-flash-flashed. Blue van was bidding me farewell! I held up my left arm and waved emphatically. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It was a two-way friendship!<br />Goodbye blue van friend!<br /><br />I sighed and carried on.<br />And then....<br /><br />Then I discovered google had royally shafted me and sent me to the wrong place.<br />I should have gone straight on at the roundabout.<br />Google separated me from my blue van friend too soon, too soon.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I'd input the whole address of where I was going, but google had seen fit to override the post code and send me somewhere with a similar first line to the address, but whilst I'm sure it was lovely, I had no desire to visit a large organic farm. I wanted to see my friends!<br /><br />I changed the address to just the post code and set off again. This time alone, no blue van friend to accompany me.<br /><br />I miss you blue van friend, I hope your day was as lovely as mine.</span>Flibbertigibbethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17948101105232980465noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2671336425684391720.post-8108689311506358322014-04-01T21:58:00.000+01:002014-04-01T21:58:49.591+01:00Numb<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I need both to pee and to blow my nose.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Neither of these are pleasant images.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">But what these things have in common is that Kini is fast asleep on my lap.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Fast, fast asleep.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">So asleep I cannot bring myself to move.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I can no longer feel my legs.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">My legs are as asleep as my cat.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Help me.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Send tissues. </span>Flibbertigibbethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17948101105232980465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2671336425684391720.post-23316614264663191072014-04-01T00:15:00.000+01:002014-04-01T00:15:31.826+01:00Keeping It Brief<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I'm still harbouring my germs and am utterly shattered but have spent tonight watching the season finale episodes of both The Walking Dead & My Mad Fat Diary.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The Walking Dead response as the credits rolled was "what the hell? That's it? meh"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Also, where in the hell is Carol? I need to know!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">But still, I had a list of characters that I didn't want killing off and they did get to live.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">After all this much is understood:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">And as the credits rolled for My Mad Fat Diary? My heart was happy, I contained a whoop of joy. Excellent ending. I am joyous. Excellent. Super. Fabulous. Great!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">And now to bed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Tomorrow is April 1st, end of my self-imposed blogging challenge, we'll ignore the fact that it's officially after midnight, but I only missed 1 of 31 posts, so I'm giving myself a pass.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span>Flibbertigibbethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17948101105232980465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2671336425684391720.post-37889535464052046032014-03-30T22:46:00.001+01:002014-03-30T22:46:28.033+01:00Mother's Day<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Met up with Mum today as it's Mother's Day, so we could have some lunch.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I'm still sporting a great cough/sore throat/croaky voice/cold combo and feel a lot like crap, so I entertained Mum with my Kermit/walrus impressions.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">So we get our lunch, I had a super quorn cobbler, I've never had quorn cooked like that and it was really lovely. Vegetarian food is so hit and miss, frequently painfully unimaginative so it's nice to be surprised!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">There used to be this incredible little day cafe in the Lincolnshire town of Louth, I used to get excited about going there because the menu was so incredible for vegetarians. Actually the whole menu was incredible. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Then the last time I went it had been sold to new owners and the vegetarian menu was all but gone, just the standard single option.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I almost wept. I'm still sad about it!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Anyway....Mum & I get to the till and all Mums are being given a free cupcake! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">How lovely!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">"Are you both Mums?" asks the lady at the till.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">We indicate that Mum is the only Mum.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">"I'm only Mum to a cat" I tell her.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">She chuckles.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I'm mildly affronted that it doesn't actually count. </span>Flibbertigibbethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17948101105232980465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2671336425684391720.post-67680692742535814542014-03-29T22:52:00.001+00:002014-03-29T22:52:42.670+00:00Song Of The Week LXIX<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I've picked up a bug and haven't been feeling 100% but this morning I had to go to a 'knit' and natter group, and by knit I mean crochet.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">It's been a pretty terrible week so getting ill on top of it has been the icing on a rather rotten cake!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Anyway, I needed perking up this morning so I decided to put on the album Shed Life by Sketch during my drive to the crochet class.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">This led me to think about my belated Song Of The Week.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">So here it is...</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Sketch - Shedmau5:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">In other news, following on from yesterday's post, this evening I uttered the words "Oh my, you look beautiful!" These are perfectly normal words of course...however I was talking to an avocado at the time.</span>Flibbertigibbethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17948101105232980465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2671336425684391720.post-39199510047368405302014-03-28T22:42:00.000+00:002014-03-29T22:53:19.571+00:00Out Loud<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I talk to myself sometimes, and by sometimes I basically mean all the time that I'm alone. Although, obviously, I'm just talking to Kini the whole time, whether or not she's in the room...ahem.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Yesterday I uttered the following brilliant lines:</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">"Why is my cardigan in the wok?"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I'm still not actually sure why my cardigan was in the wok.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">"Oh! It's a potato! I thought it was a really hard grape!"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I don't know how I came to possess such a tiny, green potato.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">For the record, I say some weird shit even when I'm not just talking to myself. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I think my friends could happily vouch for that. </span>Flibbertigibbethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17948101105232980465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2671336425684391720.post-28428591197287309652014-03-26T20:47:00.001+00:002014-03-26T20:47:47.309+00:00Life Disappointments <ul></ul>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The label on my dark brown cardigan says 'Chocolate', but it's not.</span>Flibbertigibbethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17948101105232980465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2671336425684391720.post-6124546294421754672014-03-25T23:32:00.002+00:002014-03-25T23:32:44.880+00:00Further Farce<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">It is, I think, commonly understood that my life is pretty huge farce. Today was no different, just another ride on the farce train.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I didn't sleep well, so rolled out of bed and decided to head into town.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">A spot of shopping later and a couple of huge bags of fruit & veg in the car I made my way home, as I drove down my street I noticed something in the road, just a short distance from my home. I parked up and wandered back to find a collared dove sitting in the gutter. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">It made no effort to fly away so I gathered it up in my cardigan and carried it home. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">As I got to my front door, I noticed a large box - I'd been sent flowers!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I love being sent flowers and it doesn't happen nearly often enough sadly!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">So there I am, dove under one arm, trying to unlock the door with the other hand and then also trying to take in the flowers, with my tennis elbow screaming that I've made a poor decision.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I make it inside, I thank goodness that I happen to have an empty box in the conservatory from a delivery yesterday and in goes the dove to recuperate.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I carry the flowers through into the house, make it to the lounge where Kini has decorated the carpet with partially digested cat biscuits.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Awesome.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">There's nothing I like more than when my cat has guffed everywhere.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">On top of this, Kini was apparently livid that I'd had the audacity to leave the house and thus leave her alone, so she yelled at me almost continually until I fussed her (after I'd sternly advised her that if she hadn't guffed everywhere then I wouldn't be still ignoring her!)</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Cheese on toast with mushrooms and pickle for lunch, before popping off to the doctor to get my beloved injection of Vitamin B12. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I love my B12 injection so much, it's like coming back to life after being utterly exhausted.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">After that...I went and collected my Dad, who's finally home after his accident on December 23rd.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">He still has memory loss and needs carers to visit thrice daily, but hopefully his being back in his own home will give him his confidence back and he'll get his brain working again!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">It'll take time, but he's just thrilled to be sleeping in his own bed tonight.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span>Flibbertigibbethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17948101105232980465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2671336425684391720.post-90812217491966919752014-03-24T08:40:00.001+00:002014-03-24T08:40:18.936+00:00Popping Corn<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Let's picture the scene, for weeks and weeks I'd fancied popcorn but not got round to making any, but the evening in question I finally got round to it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The pan was on the hob, the kernels were in the pan, the heat was on, popping was due to commence at any moment.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">And it duly did. There was popping aplenty, I regularly lifted the pan from the heat, held the lid and shook the pan to move the kernels around.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">And then it happened.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">It turned out I didn't have a very good hold on the pan lid.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I shook the pan and the lid shot off, coming to rest at the back of the hob with the handle facing away from me.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Popcorn was popping wildly, shooting off around the kitchen, I held the pan off the heat, but the heat in the pan was keeping it popping, it was going everywhere!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I reached for the lid and my brain screamed <i>Don't be a bloody idiot that's going to be hot with your bare hands!</i> for of course I couldn't reach the handle of the pan lid.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I realise I can't get my oven glove on with only one hand so I grab for a towel.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">All the while the popcorn is continuing its avalanche into my kitchen.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">For some reason it doesn't occur to me to simply put the pan down on the kitchen counter, no instead I continue to hold it in the air with my left hand, aiding the spread of the exploding corn. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">It's safe to say that my hysterical laughter, interspersed only with my utterances of "shit! shit! shit! shit!" aren't really speeding up the proceedings.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Towel grabbed, lid grabbed, lid deftly manoeuvred into place.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Popcorn eruption finally controlled.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I survey the scene. Popcorn has travelled a distance of a few feet. It's over the worktop, it's over the floor, it's in pretty much every nook and cranny.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Oops.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">It's hard to believe that any of it has succeeded in remaining in the pan, but it has and for the record it was delicious. </span>Flibbertigibbethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17948101105232980465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2671336425684391720.post-3405967991196763382014-03-23T20:46:00.001+00:002014-03-23T20:46:15.712+00:00Reviewing Guffaws<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Whilst I may be proud of my review of my <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R1206Z96Y6FZQ0/ref=cm_cr_pr_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B003QP3UD0&linkCode=&nodeID=&tag=">hated printer</a>, I have not managed to be as brilliant as these reviews of Amazon products...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000EVQWKC/?tag=buzz0f-20">Sugar Free Haribo Gummi Bears</a> - as a warning, I am still nursing the aches from my guffaws at this one, I actually cried with laughter. Real tears! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/review/RFWM0CFO0UMWY/?_encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&linkCode=ur2&tag=downandoutint-20#RFWM0CFO0UMWY">Kleenex Tissues</a>. And you thought it was impossible to review tissues!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/B000KKNQBK">Veet for Men Hair Removal Gel Creme</a>. I made some noises that can only be referred to as 'snortfaws', I have successfully managed to splice a snort with a guffaw.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Victorio-Kitchen-Products-Banana-Slicer/dp/B001F5STWU">Hutzler 571 Banana Slicer</a>. So I may not have snortfawed but I was tickled!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Burnt-Impressions-Vagina-Novelty-Toaster/dp/B00C7AF7OK/ref=sr_1_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1390414433&sr=1-1&keywords=vagina+Novelty+Toaster">Novelty Toaster</a>. I'm not entirely sure if this one should have a NSFW rating....</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Bakers-Chefs-Chocolate-Pudding-112/dp/B00448333A">Baker & Chefs Chocolate Pudding</a>. I probably just enjoy The Walking Dead in-joke, because I'm a big kid.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">For a wealth of delightfully funny Amazon reviews, you should also <a href="http://amazonreviewlols.tumblr.com/">amble over here to tumblr</a>.</span>Flibbertigibbethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17948101105232980465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2671336425684391720.post-2181075602184500272014-03-22T11:32:00.000+00:002014-03-22T11:32:51.920+00:00Unparalleled Loathing<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The title up there? That's the same title as one I just used for a review of a product on Amazon.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The product in question: my <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R1206Z96Y6FZQ0/ref=cm_cr_pr_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B003QP3UD0&linkCode=&nodeID=&tag=">Epson Stylus S22</a>.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Click the link to see the review, but if you don't feel like a click, I'm just going to copy & paste it here, so you can enjoy my ire.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Thus, my review:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><i>I loathe this printer with so much venom it's not even normal.<br />You
must be very precise in the amount sheets you put in the paper feed, one
more than it likes and it'll jam, one less and it'll jam.<br />Unfortunately, the precise amount it wants changes with every use. This printer is the epitome of fickle.<br />You will have thoughts of violence that you didn't believe you were capable of.<br />But then, when you've spent the best part of an hour trying to print half a dozen documents, it's to be expected.<br />Print quality? Ha!<br />It'll
slap a few gaps into the printing, you'll go off and clean the print
heads and then you'll realise this was a foolish errand as it has now
swallowed all the ink remaining in your cartridge.<br />Oh, and if you
thought you might try a compatible cartridge instead of remortgaging
your life to purchase a genuine Epson cartridge? Well more fool you,
because Epson have jolly well outfoxed you there too. It'll just flat
out refuse to do a damn thing.<br />And there's more...so you want to
print a document, entirely with black ink, but you've run out of magenta
ink? Well, frankly, at this point it sucks to be you, because if any
one cartridge runs out, you will not be able to print a single thing.
Nothing. Full stop. Actually, not even a full stop.<br />But I want to print in black you say, not magenta! I don't need your magenta! Tough doo-doo! No printing for you my dear.<br />If
I lived in a fictional world where I had accrued enemies, I might
actually foist this upon them, but not even a Bond villain actually
deserves to be tortured with this atrocity.<br />Shame on you Epson!</i></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Just to be clear, I really don't<i> </i>like this printer. At all.</span>Flibbertigibbethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17948101105232980465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2671336425684391720.post-50820836629840692582014-03-21T17:52:00.002+00:002014-03-21T17:52:44.552+00:00Song Of The Week LXVIII<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I have a <a href="http://folkingitup.tumblr.com/">folk music blog over here on tumblr</a>, and as a result of the research that I've done for that blog I've been lucky enough to discover bands that I would most likely not have heard of otherwise.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">This is one such band, I heard this song and immediately went and bought the album on the strength of this one song. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">And then I bought a second album.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Another one of my favourites! It's a bloody long list of favourite music isn't it?!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I Draw Slow - Goldmine:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>Flibbertigibbethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17948101105232980465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2671336425684391720.post-43871025855421123872014-03-20T19:30:00.000+00:002014-03-20T19:30:41.281+00:00Secretarial Duties<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Before my break from blogging I mentioned that I was likely getting an allotment and I did indeed get my plot.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I haven't been able to get there this year with all of Dad's ongoing health concerns but this Sunday is the AGM. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">None of this is very exciting I know, but it's written into the constitution that officers can only hold a post for three years, so the treasurer, secretary & chairman have to be changed every three years. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">This year the chairman and the secretary come to the end of their three year stint and thus those two posts need to be filled.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Last year I volunteered to be a committee member, there's not a whole lot to it, going to regular meetings throughout the summer and going on a water rota every few weeks - where you attend on a Saturday morning & turn on the mains water to allow people to fill up their water butts if they've run low.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">So they're after a new chairman and a new secretary.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I've somehow volunteered to be secretary!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">So that's me with a new job for the next 3 years!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">It's been slow going on my allotment, it's a large space and I can't afford to do everything in one go, so I've just been growing as much as I can and slowly adding more to my plot. Last year I bought myself a shed and got that erected.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I also bought a greenhouse but that is still waiting for another pair of hands to help me erect it. I need to build the wooden base first but I've no idea where to start!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I'm hoping this year to initiate a chicken time share on my plot!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I really want to have chickens, but I really don't want to have to visit every day, and I reckon there must be other people who only want to have to visit once or twice a week. So my plan is to find those other people and we can work out a rota of chicken care, getting allocated one or two days a week, and you get the eggs that have been laid on the day you're on rota to feed and water them. This is a genius plan is it not?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I've purchased a boat load of weed suppressing material this year so I intend to dig up and replant all my strawberries. I had a mammoth harvest last year, but without the weeds, they should do even better.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I have a path running down the centre of my plot and the beds on the right are for fruit and the plots on the left for vegetables. I'll be laying the weed suppressing material at the feet of the blackcurrants, redcurrants and whitecurrants and at the feet of the blackberry, tayberry and gooseberry bushes. Hopefully I'll have plenty so that I can lay it around the globe artichoke bed too.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I decided to extend my globe artichoke, doubling it in size, despite the fact I had way more globe artichokes than I knew what to do with at their last harvest. I must be obsessed!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">So, this year's jobs are to be the new secretary, build my greenhouse, get the weeds under control, put down the suppressing material, grow lots and lots of peas, have a better sweetcorn harvest than last year and possibly get a chicken coop made!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Anyone for digging?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Please? ;) </span>Flibbertigibbethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17948101105232980465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2671336425684391720.post-44570116818891449542014-03-20T08:41:00.000+00:002014-03-20T08:41:30.837+00:00Bubbly<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I missed yesterday's post, I was too busy having a hot bubble bath.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I started reading a new book on my kindle as I laid in the bath, but I'm not really enjoying it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">After I got out, I headed over to <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/">Goodreads</a> to tell it I had started reading a new book and decided to see what other people thought of it and I saw a slew of 1 star ratings, so I clearly wasn't alone.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">But here's the thing, as I'm doing the <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/challenges/1914-2014-reading-challenge">Goodreads reading challenge</a> this year does an abandoned book count as a finished book?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">It's a quandary!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">But I definitely don't think I can bring myself to finish it, I've got 20% of the way through it and it shows no signs of improving....</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Oh well, I think I'll take myself off to my craft room, I have bunting to design and crochet information sheets to write, I'm nothing if not rock n roll.</span>Flibbertigibbethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17948101105232980465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2671336425684391720.post-41588068815266545342014-03-18T22:20:00.001+00:002014-03-18T22:20:04.362+00:00Veggie Love<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">As I'm a vegetarian, I love vegetables, but it's wonderful to see that they love me back:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Isn't that adorable?!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I had a heart shaped mushroom once too. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">But I ate it. </span>Flibbertigibbethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17948101105232980465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2671336425684391720.post-38701108091158188762014-03-17T21:56:00.000+00:002014-03-17T21:59:30.324+00:00Annus Horribilis<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">2014 did not start in the best way possible and in fact only now is it appearing to be shaping up and turning into a better year, I have high hopes for April.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">On December 23rd at 3am I was in a deep sleep, a little later, around 3.30am I dreamt that someone was trying to steal my duvet and I was desperately trying to hang on to it. I started to wake up and my Mum was standing over me pulling on my duvet and saying "Stephanie, come and help me with your Dad, he's fallen down the stairs".</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Each Christmas my Mum, Step-Dad Tim, Dad, sister Siobhan & brother-in-law Aaron go away to a cottage. As we're scattered around England and France usually, it makes it easier to all get together.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I jumped out of bed and followed Mum to where Dad was laying, on his side, under the Christmas tree. After talking to him briefly, Mum & I decided the best thing was to move him, so as we turned him over I saw the bump on his head and struggled to contain the shock on my face as I saw a bloody lump the size of a lemon on the side of his forehead. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I sat myself behind me, in a way reminiscent of the way people sat on the floor to do the 'Oops upside your head' dance way back when, supporting him. Mum dashed off to dial 999.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I sat with Dad, reassuring him it was all going to be okay, as he was obviously very distressed. His pyjamas were soaked with blood and it was impossible to tell if he had further injuries.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">A short while later and the initial paramedic arrived, she chatted away with us, then peeled away the towels we had on Dad's head wound. She gasped and light-heartedly commented on what a sizeable bump it was. I felt my stomach turn.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Mum asked if I was okay and I nodded.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The paramedic called for a further ambulance to transport Dad to the hospital and carried on treating Dad, talking to him all the time, cutting off his pyjamas to check for further injuries. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">As she worked I started to feel a little faint.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Mum asked again if I was okay or did I want Tim to sit behind me and prop me up?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I voted for being propped up.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">On carried the paramedic, we'd got Dad covered in a blanket to keep him warm as the next ambulance was going to be a while.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Mum asked again if I was okay.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I gently shook my head.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I was hastily removed from behind Dad and he was propped up on pillows.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I crawled on my hands & knees to the nearby lounge, laid on the floor with my feet in the air, feeling utterly ridiculous, there was Dad with a serious injury and there's me on the verge of passing out.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Mum came into the lounge and in my fuzzy vision I saw her moving and tried to move out of the way, but instead very skilfully tripped her up instead and she fell forward, saving herself.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I think the paramedic thought we were just a family of disasters.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">When I'd recovered, knowing Dad was in good hands, I ran to fling on some clothes so I could accompany Dad in the ambulance and a while later three more paramedics arrived.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">They'd have to get Dad onto a back board to move him onto the ambulance bed, so they split the backboard in two, sliding them in a half at a time. As they joined the two halves were joined together Dad started shouting "Ow! Ow! Ow!"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I start to worry that his hip, pelvis, legs, something is broken.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">"Where does it hurt?" they ask him.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">"You've trapped my bloody foot!" replies Dad</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">We all chuckle.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">A paramedic leans over to free Dad's foot and as he does so his radio falls from his pocket onto Dad's leg.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">His foot free the paramedic asks if it feels okay.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">"Well it felt fine until some bugger dropped stuff on it!" Dad exclaims.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">More chuckles.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">We're loaded into the ambulance after a debate about which hospital is best and start to head over to Shrewsbury. It's a 50 minute drive, which we make with blue lights flashing and occasional siren. Even so, we are overtaken by a car! I wished bad things on that person let me tell you and the driving paramedic half-shouted "pillock!"</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">After arriving at the hospital, I wait in the relatives room for so long, hours roll by, Dad is being treated and x-rayed. When I eventually see him, he's so relieved, confused about where he is and what's happening. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Eventually he gets settled, and many hours Mum & Tim come to pick me up & take me back to the cottage.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Where I see that Dad hit the wall so hard with his head that he punched a hole in the wall, knocking off the plaster in the adjacent room.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">On Christmas Day he doesn't know who I am, isn't responding to pain stimuli and I become convinced that this is it. The end.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I'm thankfully wrong, but Dad does have multiple bleeds around his brain.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Weeks pass, I travel the miles between home and Shrewsbury, eventually at the end of January he's transferred to Stoke as it's become obvious that he needs surgery. Some of his bleeds have resolved, some have worsened and need treatment. A few days after that he's transferred to Lincoln, much nearer to home, making visiting a whole lot easier.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">He continues to make progress but experiences confusion. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Sometimes he says inadvertently hilarious things. Which I really shouldn't have laughed at, but it was impossible not to.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">My personal favourite: "I was pecked to death by birds last night" says Dad.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">"You were?" I reply.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">"Yes, it was horrible, I begged them to stop, but they told me they wouldn't, because I was too delicious".</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Last Tuesday he was discharged to a care home, since arriving there he's made incredible progress, although he still has substantial memory loss, he is getting better at forming memories. His short term memory is improved and in one week he'll be leaving the care home to go back to his bungalow. It's extraordinary how far he's come from that initial horrific fall.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">He and I are going to start April with a </span>Flibbertigibbethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17948101105232980465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2671336425684391720.post-45583985142100191302014-03-16T20:10:00.000+00:002014-03-16T21:55:30.547+00:00Whiskers On Kittens<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">After mentioning favourites in Friday's post, I woke with the iconic song from The Sound Of Music bouncing around in my brain and as a result...these are a few of my favourite things:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Cats (obviously). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Driving.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Caesar Salad, Halloumi, Peas, Pizza, Artichoke Hearts, Pomegranates.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Tumblr.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Droopy. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Tattoos.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Folk Music. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Gigs.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/22763847-stephanie?order=a&shelf=favorites&sort=title">Reading</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">My Kindle. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">T'Internet. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Belly Laughs.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Accidentally, Artists beginning with K. Kandinsky, Klimt & Klee.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Learning.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Crafts. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">My firepit.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The word '<a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Balter">balter</a>'.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Profanity.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Showers.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Baths. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.imdb.com/user/ur6435942/ratings?start=1&view=detail&sort=your_ratings:desc&defaults=1&my_ratings=restrict">Movies & Television</a>. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">A new toothbrush. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Rollercoasters.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Power tools.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Nail varnish.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.cambridgefolkfestival.co.uk/">Cambridge Folk Festival</a>. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The Animal Kingdom.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.last.fm/user/Flib-gibbet/library/loved">These songs.</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Comedy pants, like <a href="http://direct.asda.com/george/womens/lingerie/batman-shorts/G004549473,default,pd.html">these</a>, or <a href="http://direct.asda.com/george/womens/lingerie/supergirl-shorts/G004460643,default,pd.html">these</a>, or <a href="http://direct.asda.com/george/womens/lingerie/studded-slogan-briefs/G004460387,default,pd.html">these</a>, or <a href="http://direct.asda.com/george/womens/lingerie/wonder-woman-pop-art-shorts/G004460667,default,pd.html">these</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The Unexplained.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Fonts.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Franz Marc. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Board Games.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">BAMFs.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Storms. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Kini falling asleep on my lap. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Dancing.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Daisies, Tulips, Tigridia, Paeonies, Lavender, Pansies, Sweet Peas.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">My allotment. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Fabric & Ribbon.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Grape Soda, Hot Chocolate.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Sylvac.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Lea Stein. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">The smells: freshly mown grass, just baked bread.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Lingerie.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">1950's kitsch.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Happiness.</span>Flibbertigibbethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17948101105232980465noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2671336425684391720.post-68470711600458461942014-03-15T11:17:00.000+00:002014-03-15T11:17:11.099+00:00A Wee Haunting<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">In the midst of a busy day yesterday I went out for lunch, afterwards I excused myself to go to the loo.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">There were three empty cubicles, so I chose one and went in.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I was sitting there, completely alone, when the hand dryer turned on.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Did I mention that I was alone?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">That I was behind a closed door, some way away from the hand dryer.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I may have been freaked out.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I may have completed my wee in turbo time.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">I went out and there was no one there, the hand dryer had turned off, but I had not finished freaking out.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">It's definitely my first experience with a haunted hand dryer and hopefully my last! </span>Flibbertigibbethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17948101105232980465noreply@blogger.com0