Bye bye May.....

The last day of May is almost over. Already! That means we're now rushing towards the middle of the year. What a scary thought. 

So, despite not having much time to get any crafting done last week, I have managed to have a few hours today with beads. We'd talked about going away in the van last night, but a last minute change of plan saw DH whizzing over to see his mum, and me at home making pizza! And as the weather wasn't too good today we had no plans for walking, so out came the beads.......a bit of purple ........

.........and something to cheer you up on a rainy day .........

I also made my little Guardian Angels into earrings ......

These are currently available in purple, red, blue and yellow. 

I also decided to make something for me for a change - a bagcharm to replace the one I've had on my bag since Christmas! It's rainbow coloured with charms that I love - a cat (obviously), dog bone (of course), Believe charm, a book (I love books!), a heart and a Guardian Angel. There are lots more charms I could have added, but these seemed quite appropriate. 

DH made tea tonight while I crafted (Turkey, roast potatoes and veg - very yummy) and scarily I uploaded a short video of one of my charms to Facebook - eek!! I can't seem to put it here, but this is the bag charm .....

Quite a productive day really, finished off with a bit of painting for some new ideas. 

Watch this space!

Mid week update

Yes it's Wednesday again. Half way to the weekend, but also getting nearer to our main holiday of the year - our two weeks in Scotland. Yay! Not that I'm wishing my life away or anything, but it's the one holiday we have each year where we can really relax, switch off, and basically do nothing. So the countdown has begun. 

However, before we go we have so much to do! We need to get the van serviced and ready, DD has two weekends booked for travelling to Leicester to see her fella, and we're going to try and have a couple of nights away in the van on our own. It's going to be a busy few weeks. 

This week hasn't been too bad so far, I guess. My plants in the greenhouse are doing ok despite the chilly weather recently.........

......and I've managed to make a few bits of jewellery.......

I need to make a lot more before heading off to a craft fair I think. I have loads of ideas for different things too - just need the time to do them! But I'll get there. 

And tonight I ended up with a kneeful of cats again .....

......so cute! 

Eurovision!

First things first - Take That on Thursday night. It was so late when we got back I didn't get chance to add a quick blog. DD drove to Manchester and did really well on the motorway. The support act was Ella Henderson who was fantastic.....

...... and then 'the boys'. They were amazing, and boy do they know how to put on a show!!

You can't fault them really. I think the whole arena was up on their feet for more or less the whole two hours they were on. Amazing!!

And now it's Saturday night and it's Eurovision night! I missed both of the semi-finals but we always watch the final. It's kind of been tradition for years for us now. We might not win, but it's entertainment for the night, and always that bit of hope that UK might not come last! 

We're watching it after having a fabulous walk in the Howgills today. The weather was supposed to be ok today so we headed out and parked at Bowderdale. 

The walk itself was pretty straight forward, but quite tough in places with the climb involved up to The Calf.

We were very lucky with the weather - blue skies and a bit of a breeze to stop it getting too hot ......

And we finally made it to the summit. We tried to get there a few months ago, but last time the weather was too bad - very foggy and visibility was poor - and we didn't make it. 

A spot of lunch and back down to the van via Hazelgill Knott and West Fell.....

Although we met a few people on the way up to the summit, going back down was the opposite - nobody, quiet, deserted, fabulous! 

Oscar tried to have a rest when I stopped to take a few photos .......

.......then back to the van for a nice cup of tea. 

Overall a fabulous 10 mile (16.3km) walk. 

 

Wednesday wanderings......

Yes, Wednesday again. So soon! Before you know it, it'll be the weekend. And it's another Bank Holiday for us - yay! It's going to be an even longer weekend for me as I'm not back at work now until Tuesday, after booking tomorrow off work.  

I've had yet another trip to the vets this week, with Freddie again. Her cystitis hadn't gone, poor thing. So she's back on medication for a bit longer. 

The vets don't even ask my name anymore, they just ask who I've got with me this time! 

I've been trying to fit in some crafting but I haven't had much time at all this week so far. I've managed to make a few Guardian Angels .......

......and I've had a play with some key rings tonight. They're not perfect, but I don't think they're too bad.  

And tomorrow is Thursday. And that means ..........TAKE THAT!!!!! DD wants to drive to Manchester tomorrow night to get some practice of motorway driving,so I get a night off driving, AND get to see Take That! I might even add a short blog tomorrow night about it........

Windy Weekend!

I don't know what the weather has been like where you live, but here in the North West of England it's been pretty windy. So although yesterday was quite sunny, the wind made it feel quite chilly and not very nice at all. 

I hid in my greenhouse in the afternoon, out of the wind, attempting to clean it up a bit, ready for my vegetables! I'm late sorting it out this year. Normally I aim to give it a good clear out and pressure wash the inside by March at the latest. This year I've given it a good sweep and sort out, but not pressure washed it. I've been really ruthless with the pots that I'd acquired too, filling two bags with pots and trays! I might regret this later on in the season when I'm looking for smaller pots ............

But at least it's clean, tidy and ready. 

As the weathers not been too nice we opted not to go walking today. The thought of being out on the fells while it's blowing a gale isn't really my idea of fun. So I've had chance to work on some new frames to sell instead. After a quick trip to the craft shop to get some supplies I've come up with these ......

.....with this first one I wanted to keep the design simple to give the words more impact.....

.......with this one being a more fun design  ....

 

......... and by using a darker background colour I was trying to highlight the 'sparkle'. 

All this and then I've potted up 5 cucumber plants and 6 courgette plants in my newly cleaned and sorted greenhouse. This was after cooking with one of our home grown leeks tonight. I picked it yesterday as it was huge! 

......but it cleaned up nicely ........

.....and we've still got some left! So, how many recipes can we find with leeks.......!

We're rapidly getting towards Monday again, sadly. But that also means we're heading towards Thursday too, and Take That for me and DD!!!!! Yay! Can't wait! (we just have to get through the next three days first.........).   

S Club 7!!

Ok. So it's very late here but I haven't had chance to stop and think about blogging today yet. When I finished work I had to get home and have a quick change before heading out to Liverpool with DD. The venue - Liverpool Echo Arena. The event? S Club 7! It's years since we last saw them, and that's when they had S Club Juniors with them! 

I have to say it was a fun night listening to their old hits - a bit of bopping along to the songs. 

A good night all round. 

Thankfully I'm not in work tomorrow ......

Sunday night ....... Monday tomorrow.....

I've been a bit out of sync with my posts this week, so I thought I'd best get back on track! 

Another weekend gone, and more crafting done - yay! I'm loving it! I've done some housework too, before you ask - washing, cooking, cleaning. But DH has done the shopping for me, so we can at least have something to eat. 

I've wired up yet more beads this weekend in various colours - rainbow colours to be precise .......

.......and put some together to make a cute key charm/bag charm......

I've spent quite a bit of time sorting some cards out too. I've not made any for a while so I thought I'd have a go today......

.......I think they look ok. 

And DD is currently on a driving lesson. She's opted to do the Pass Plus lessons which cover motorway driving, night driving and town driving. She's had a 4 hour lesson tonight which has seen her drive in the centre of Manchester, go to Manchester Airport and Liverpool! She should have no problems driving up to Scotland in a couple of months! No doubt we'll get the full tale when she gets home.......

Weekend! Yay!

What a week!

Considering it's been a short week at work because of Bank Holiday Monday, it feels like it's been a really long week! After getting home on Monday after our lovely night away and long walk, it's been one of those weeks. I've been trying to get some crafting done and decided that I would try and spend time each night doing a little bit towards getting things made, even if it only means wiring up some beads ready to use later. So that's what I've been doing - wiring beads all week. It's surprising how long it takes to do - I don't seem to have a lot to show for all the time that I've spent on them! But it's a start and should make the end result a bit quicker to make.

It's also been that time of year at work when we have to write up our end of year performance reviews - the dreaded write-up that we all put off as long as we can. I've been getting in to work early every day as normal, but spending time writing a bit of my review each day rather than doing it all in one go. It's been emailed to my Team Leader now, so hopefully that's more or less it for a while now.

And what happened to all that nice weather?! Oh my goodness, how rubbish the weather's been this week - wet and windy - horrible. I thought we were doing ok this morning when the sun was shining, but it quickly turned cloudy, and then the rain came, and hasn't stopped for the rest of the day. I've had to hunt my wellies out from the garage just to take Oscar out in the back garden as there's so much water around! Poor Oscar doesn't care much for the rain either - he looks very sorry for himself when he has to go out.

On a brighter note, it's the weekend - yay! Hopefully chance for a bit of a lie-in at least one day (if Oscar lets us). The down side to having a dog that likes his routine - he doesn't really do late starts! Fingers crossed we can tire him out tomorrow so he doesn't get up early on Sunday ……..

May the Fourth (be with you).....

I know. May the Fourth. It's been said so many times today by so many people.  But I had to say it just the once.

So with that out of the way ......and with DD away for a few nights, we have managed to have a night away - yay! And not in the van (much too cold at night yet with no heating). DH found a lovely little pub about an hour from home for us, not far from Sedbergh. He booked a room for us and when we got there we had not only a double bed and bathroom, but a big sofa and also a small kitchen area! It was lovely. So we ate in the pub at night, had breakfast there this morning, and made hot chocolate for our flasks in the kitchen before heading out walking. 

The pub was lovely - a bit quirky with the decor and set up (they had a craft area between two seating areas) - but the people couldn't have been more helpful. 

So after a good breakfast we set off from the pub for our walk. The weather wasn't very nice to start with this morning. It had rained overnight and was still a bit overcast. And it was a bit windy too! But eventually the sun came out and we had some fabulous views, but the wind didn't really ease much, so it wasn't too warm - we ended up with our gloves on! 

The walk itself was good - a bit tough in places as we were climbing - but we managed to do about 9 miles! Further than what we thought we'd done, so we must be getting better! 

We had some fab views over to the Howgills ....

.....with some of the walk looking in the direction of Dent .....

....(obviously we couldn't see it.....). We found a little shelter for lunch, where we also found a Geocache ....

.....and then headed back with Oscar modelling his lovely windswept look ....

And the really good (and very strange) thing about today? We didn't meet ANYONE - not one single person passed us on the walk. At all. We normally see at least one or two other walkers out wherever we go. Not today. No-one. Not a solitary Being (apart from sheep). How strange is that?