An autumn weekend.....

Well hello, from Middle England on a grey and decidedly damp Sunday morning. The clocks went back last night, so I am a trifle discombobulated. I HATE clocks going back. I want to stay on summer time all year round. The thought of dark afternoons just does not work for me. But there you go. I cannot stop time. But the powers that be can it seems. And reverse it too.

Before I ramble on, please pop over to Notes from the Frugal Trenches and think about whether or not you could help with leggings and sweaters for babies this Christmas. Make, buy - whatever. And a toy too. How simple is that. And what a difference we could all make. Little steps, people, but together, giant strides.

So, what have you all been up to this weekend? It was lovely weather yesterday morning, so my stick and I poddled off along the road to the next village with my camera, to take more photos of the trees in their Autumnal Glory. Beautiful. And a great deal colder than I thought when I set off. By the time I got home, I was all red and blotchy in a highly attractive fashion from the cold. It took some time to thaw.

(The little cradle is finished. The stickers are the room decor type which you can remove and change. But they looked cute. I hope Missy likes playing with it when she comes to visit her Moregranny.)

Back to yesterday.....
And then I went to look at the garden, and 3 hours later crawled back inside. Hacking, heaving, filling bags of leaves, emptying growbags, yanking. Did I overdo it? What do you think? So I washed my hands, surveyed the wrecked nail varnish ( I didn't pause to look for the gardening gloves) and retired to the couch where I fell asleep for the rest of the afternoon and evening. Waking now and then to crochet a stitch or two.

The curtains. In place. And you know what - I am really happy they are up. Until a few weeks ago, our garden has been completely private, and I have never bothered with curtains, because I love light, and don't like closed curtains. Actually - I love the illusion of space, I think. I never draw the curtains in my bedroom either. Yes, I know about losing heat, but I LIKE open spaces and light etc etc etc! The yellow dangly things are for summer - to keep the flies out. I just pull it over the open door and wildlife thinks twice before attempting entry. I have to say that the kitchen is warmer with the curtains up and closed in the evenings. So it is all good.

I forgot to mention that a parcel arrived at the crack of dawn yesterday. Well, I was still in bed, and we will not discuss the fact that it was 9am at this point. Anyway, I managed to get to the front door. My friend, Cheryl had been to the States to visit her sister, and she brought home some bits for me. Just look at it all!! I am eating peanut butter M&Ms as I speak. Divine. And I had never seen the Southern Living magazine so many of you talk about, so that was lovely too. Sigh. Such a surprise, and such fun!

That is all for now, my friends. Enjoy your Sunday, wherever you may be!

The T-Mobile Welcome Back

The new T-mobile ad aired tonight. Just wonderful. I wish I had been arriving at Terminal 5 on Wednesday!

Opposites.....

I need to clone myself. One person is not enough. There needs to be at least two of me. Mind you, looking at the house, I could do with an abode cloning too. There is certainly enough stuff here for 2 or 3 houses, and I am sure you all have the same problem - what to do with it all. Back when I was young, we snapped up any old furniture from grandparents or parents. Hah. Now we are stuck with the lot. Forever. Those were the days when you bought a lounge suite which lasted your entire life, with a few recovering episodes along the way. Not any more. We live in a disposable world. (And have you any idea how expensive it is to have anything recovered? And how few upholsterers there are left on the planet? )

I keep having this dream where I have a new house and NOTHING to put in it, and I have to start from scratch. Ahhh.....dreams are good. It will never happen, of course, because I happen to like old things too. But there are two sides of me, which is why I need to be cloned. The one wants clutter and stuff, and piles of books and crafty things. The other wants a simple home, with order. Unfortunately the two are at war with each other today. And living in a war zone of my own making is not a comfortable thing.

Part of me loves the mountains. The other part loves the sea. I love too many things and there is not enough time to do them all. Sewing, quilting, scrapbooking, photography, adventures, woodwork, writing, reading, people, gardening.... the list goes on. The energy and the legs, however, do not. So two of me would work out quite nicely, I feel. One could rest while the other one moves. Perfect.

Extrovert. Introvert. Talkative. Quiet. Leader. Follower. For heaven's sake, I am Mary and Martha rolled into one. Actually, I am more Martha, but we will not go there now.

All my life, I have been the person who does things. Makes things happen. After the mindfulness workshop, I gather I am supposed to stop the doing, and start the being. I am a trifle confused. However, I now have a book which will explain all. I hope. I don't want to stop the doing part. Well, I could slow down a little more, maybe. Hmmm.

On a practical note, today I actually hemmed the curtains for the french doors in the kitchen. Making curtains does not make the list of the top 10000 things I love to do. They are up as I speak. The goal for the day was achieved. But the other me kept sidling off to edge quilts, make coffee, phone a friend, sit on the couch and entertain the babes and their parents this afternoon..... anything rather than finish hemming. I even waved the duster about for a while. But by nightfall the curtains were indeed up. Something is finished round here. At last.

Actually, thinking about the two sides of me - they can be totally summed up by the fact that I love freshly baked croissants with Boursin cheese (soft white cheese with black pepper, not the garlic one) and jam (jelly to my US friends). Sweet and savoury together. Perfect. Opposites and all that.

Now I need to go and hunt for more red binding. One of me will be back.

Hibernation time......

Well, just about every post I write seems to start with the speed of time. The fact that it is flying by. And where have the days, weeks, months gone..... I am not the only one though.....it seems that those of us slightly older than 25 all feel the same. Maybe my mother and grandmother were right after all. Time flies by as we get older. Or maybe we just notice it now.

So now that we have got that out of the way, where have I been and what am I doing......


I am not lolling about on the couch eating bonbons being fanned by a slave, you will be disappointed to hear. No. I have been living my life. In real time. Living as in managing to sort a few cupboards, start putting the garden to bed, making bread now and then, firing up the crockpot, making more recession heaters. (Well, I found the gigantic sack of rice I bought for the first lot in one of those cupboards and thought I would make some more.)


Playing with the embroidery machine, making Christmas lists, making an autumn quilt from the Biggest Stash of Fabric in the Northern Hemisphere. And making up a Christmas quilt. See above re stash. I could make 497865. At least.


I don't know what it is about hibernating weather, but I suddenly have the urge to be creative. If you could see my list, you would be mightily impressed. The fact that it is unlikely to get done is irrelevant. Stuff to make. Dreams of stuff to make. I swear I do not need to leave the house for 5 years to get anything crafty. It is already in residence, and occupying a great deal of space, so the sooner I start getting it out and using it the better.


There has been plenty of tossing out going on as well. And hopefully I will soon be able to move my computer corner into another room and have a study, in which there will be books and papers and that sort of stuff, so I can get them out of my sewing room, and have more space on the shelves for that crafty stuff. Stuff. So much stuff. I found boxes of it in the attic. You have no idea how many more boxes I still have to sort through. Sigh.

And I want to make some wooden things again. My scrollsaw is calling. I have ideas.

Add in a workshop on mindfulness I went to on Saturday, coffee with friends, a trip to Ikea, and curtains to shorten now that my neighbours can see straight into my kitchen/family room..... Autumn photos I wanted to take before the rain came yesterday, and the bright sunny ripple blanket in the basket next to my couch. There is something strangely hypnotic in the rhythm of the stitches my fingers work as I sit there under my fleece in the evenings crocheting. The rhymn. Love it.

So that is what is happening here. The crockpot is bubbling away, and I have a wallhanging and quilt to pin. Lots of hand quilting to do in the evenings too now. Books to read. I have the new Max Lucado book on the couch but have yet to start reading it. I sit and work with my hands, and drop off to sleep now and then, while I watch - or listen to - some tv.

Hibernating time.

I feel like cooking. I feel like baking. I feel like making. I love how my home is all autumnal and cosy. It is a feeling of contentment.

I like it.
(Please note the new glasses. The ones which actually enable me to SEE!)

Current affairs.......

I have come up with the perfect plan to get rid of the economic woes of the globe. On a pre-determined date and time in the not too distant future, every head of state around the world will press the delete button, and eliminate all debt. Genius. And we will start again with zero debt. Simple. All slimming down of departments in all the governments will continue. All overdrafts will be wiped out and will cease to exist, as will credit cards. Good old debit cards and cash will be the only currencies. Banks will become places which look after our money as a service. Like they used to do. Developing countries could look ahead, instead of paying off the crippling debts of yesteryear. As could families.

And pigs would be flying over central England.

Wouldn't that be good? Not fair, of course, to those who did the lending in the first place, but life is not fair, after all.

Cloud cuckoo land. I know I know. But what IS this debt?? It is not real money, because our venerable governments saw fit to pop the printing presses on overdrive and printed money in abundance. I always thought it had to be backed by Real Gold. But we sold ours, here in the UK. Oops. And all that new money flying off those presses? I have no idea where it went because I can assure you, the stimulus never actually reached the Casa de la Rocking Chair. I would have noticed, and been sure and swift to press the "buy now" button at Amazon.

The country has been dwelling on the spending cuts announced yesterday, and what they mean personally. 490,000 public sector jobs will go. Cuts everywhere. We appear to be acquiring 2 new aircraft carriers which will unfortunately have no planes to fly onto or off them, because they haven't got any suitable ones. Huh?

I tell you, people, we need to move into parliament. We, the women who know how to manage tight budgets. Mind you, I did mention in my letter to the PM that I could teach the Chancellor of the Exchequer a thing or twelve about managing a budget. I am an expert. He has chosen to ignore my suggestion. Oh well.

And the other piece of news which has the nation (well, except for moi) enthralled, is the fact that Wayne Rooney, aged 24, football (soccer) superstar, wants to leave his club. Poor lamb is not wildly happy that he is not earning as much as some of the players at other clubs. Among other things. Not enough. He earns £100 000 a week and wants to up it to £1 million a month. I will say no more.

Except that his timing - all this exploding at the same time as the nation is told it will have to work longer, earn less, pay more tax, and probably lose their jobs - could be better. I prefer rugby to football, so this is all just information provided by the national press today. It is really astonishing how involved the phone-ins on the radio are though....maybe a little light distraction from the more pressing economic woes. Just a point to add here - the "bread line" (poverty) is about £16,000 @ year in the UK. Average salary is apparently £24,000 @ year. You will see why I am a little bemused. He is 24 for heaven's sake, and spectacularly underperformed at the World Cup. And now I will forget I ever knew his name.

Right. Not exactly scintillating stuff.

In more personal news, you will be happy to know that I am no longer frozen. I switched on the heating and it works. At the moment. And the house is warm. I no longer have a cold nose. So much for my stubborn determination to be cold but frugal.

Money money money....... and as for the banks.......

Random nothingness....

Well, hello, all.

I did not intend to take a small blogging break. It just seemed to happen. The neighbours decided to have all their greenery removed from our boundary, exposing our gardens to one another, so there has been much laughter and over-the-fence chatter going on. Their new fence will be arriving in a week, so I need to get my old dilapidated fridge out and round to the front for removal before that happens.

I use the word "I" loosely here. I will be weak and feeble and call some friends of the strong male variety, of course. It weighs a ton. And then it rained, and got cold. And then I sat and made a list of all the things I wanted to make and when I started on a couple, I sort of over did things a bit again. Sigh. Not to mention the fact that I can't find some fabric I know I have somewhere, and then we had the P60 debacle on Monday. Give me strength.

I lost my tax certificates, (the P60s) which I needed to re-send to the Student Loan people because "you have been randomly selected" blah blah blah etc etc. I called them to remind them that the very place I needed to send them to had already made copies of them. Just send them they said. right. Hmmm.

11 hours, 3 black garbage bags of shredded paper and a full recycling bin later, I found them, in a file behind my filing cabinet, under my desk. Do not ask.

I have never had such an organised desk in my life. It is spectacular. But does not feel like home in a sense. I like piles.

And a lunch with more friends from 39 years ago, a sick friend and the spending review today for the country add up to the rest of my week. Exciting stuff.

I am sure I will think of more scintillating stuff tomorrow. I hope.

Not a stellar day......

A brief word before I retreat to the couch for the second day running with my recession heaters and fleece blanket.....

I don't know what I have done to my leg, but believe me, if that wretched medical assessment person could see me now, things would be very different. I am perfecting my aged crone look, and even getting out of bed involved much wriggling round on my stomach to roll off the end of the bed on the good leg, avoiding the bad one, which for now seems to hurt from hip to toe. Getting up the stairs involves hands and feet. And time.

Yesterday, I had a cunning plan to ease the pain by re-doing my exercises. To oil the creaks, you see. Hah. Possibly the worst idea in living memory. It involved much muttering as I tried to get back inside the house from my step in the garden where doing the exercises seemed a good place to be. And don't tell me my grammar is up the creek. I know that.

Once I reached the couch with a tray of vital essentials, I flopped and immediately fell asleep. 7 hours later, I woke. Rinse and repeat. I do believe I will be doing the same today.

Once I get moving, which takes a while, let me tell you, I can cope. But the getting moving bit is a real problem. I went out with Glynis the morning to order her new carpets, and so help me, I was a wreck getting in and out of the car.

Aiyaiyai. This does not suit at all. Add to this the fact that at my advanced age, one needs to retain the ability to leap to one's feet and head for the bathroom at speed when nature calls and you will see that I have a slight problem. Leaping to one's feet is not remotely possible.

Sigh.

I can't be doing with any of this. Oh, I had a response from the PM's office. He is sorry to hear about the drama, and has forwarded my letter to 2 government departments. Gee thanks. I have no desire for more officials to mess things up further. Oh well. LIFE IS JUST PEACHY.

That is all.

The Sunflower.....

There once was a Sunflower.

It grew tall and strong and then one day, a strong wind came and snapped off its beautiful big head, just as it had started opening its petals to the sun it followed each day. And the Gardener was sad.

So the big strong stem just stood there. The Gardener went away for a while, and often thought of her Sunflower which was cut off before its prime. What a waste, the Gardener thought. All that care, and all the protective ties to the stake had not been enough. Other sunflowers grew, and each of them had one beautiful head, but none were quite as big or splendid as the Sunflower which snapped.

And then the Gardener noticed something special. On each side of the Sunflower's stem, little shoots appeared, and then one day, a small sunflower appeared. And a few days later, twins arrived too! Not one beautiful sunflower, not two, but three!

And the Gardener smiled. She knew, you see, that life can be like that. Something dies, and then a while later, something beautiful appears from the ashes. And something beautiful is usually not one, not two, but three times more special.

And the Gardener was happy.

A modern day wonder...........

Mario....a miner since the age of 12. On his knees giving thanks as he reached the top of the shaft in that amazing rescue pod. Are you watching? Are you wiping a tear now and then? Are you celebrating some wonderful good news today?

I have been watching since the early hours of the morning, and watching on and off all day - and the grin doesn't falter, and the catch in the throat remains. And I want to be watching when the shift boss, the man who was in charge down there in the bowels of the earth comes up - the last of the miners. What a job he has done. In fact, what a huge and spectacular job everyone has done. And hats off to that American driller who went back home yesterday, saying that his job was done. Amazing machinery. Amazing men. Amazing planning and execution of something never achieved before. 33 men are almost back on on the surface of the earth.

And (there are too many "ands" today) what about the families..... the doctors, psychologists, the experts from around the world - all involved, and all players in today's modern day wonder.

I salute each and every one and I am celebrating along with the rest of the world. Phenomenal.

Advancing years..........

Apparently middle age / mid life is supposed to be the years between 35 and 45. What????? If I actually think about that, it does, of course, make perfect sense, seeing that I am not really anticipating living to 112, which I would have to, in order to be able to say I was middle aged right now.

I seem to have spent the greater part of my life in a delusion then. When I was 35, I had a one year old, and while I was a slightly older mother, I still felt young. Ish. And I most certainly did not consider myself middle aged at 40. Or 45, come to that. Deluded, I tell you.

Now I am 56, I am finally ready to think of myself, with all my children away from home, as entering the middle years. And then I find out that they ended 11 years ago! No!! How did that happen? And all of a sudden, those little cherubs I used to teach make perfect sense in retrospect, when I remember that they used to refer to me as old. Ancient. Oh help.

Age has never bothered me at all. It still doesn't. What does bother me is that the whole world is being run by 12 year olds, and that thought absolutely puts me in the Granny Category. I am a Granny, of course, and that is lovely, but the bits that come with it are a trifle alarming. I mean think about it - the people with the power to press the button to send us to oblivion are all young enough to be our kids, and so help me, they are CHILDREN. (Never mind that they are all perilously close to MIDDLE AGE!)

Sigh.

This is what every generation has had to deal with. Now it is my turn. And it is not that comfortable. I had a slight problem on the help line to my mobile phone company yesterday (don't get me started on them) and the person I was speaking to could not remember a time when there were no mobile phones, which means she has to be about 16. And I have been a client of that company since before she was born. I rest my case. We did not discuss the amazing advent of the calculator or computer or the slide rule issue. I appear to be very old.

Well, to the people I deal with as I try to sort out Life, anyway. When I was last in the hairdresser, a young assistant came up to me, and asked if I had taught her. Yes, I had. And she was a delight to meet again, especially as she had been a Challenge of the Highest Order, aged 13, and here she is, beautiful, hardworking, and on course to do really well. It helped that she told me that she was really upset when I left, and that she still remembers my classes for what seem to be the right reasons. The laughter, the fun they had while learning, and the fact that I had perfected my impression of the road runner. That works for me. I am memorable. Hahahaha.

Life is always about choices, and I am moving randomly here. I choose to see myself as Me, just the way I feel now. The number of years is not an issue. I still get as excited about things as I did when I was 20, you know. As irate too. I still have boundless enthusiasm and am full of dreams and hopes. Ideas. Plans.

That enthusiasm is slightly tempered by the wisdom which has accrued, I hope, from living for 56 years in a changing world. Not the world at large alone, but my world. Things happen. They leave their mark. See the stress highlights in the hair. And we will not discuss the horror of actually viewing one's face in the mirror while wearing reading glasses or the detrimental effects of gravity to skin. Those wrinkly bits are quite clearly laughter lines. Or pillow creases. Character, I tell you. Character. Interesting stuff.

Young at heart is a phrase I have never been comfortable with. It is more than heart, and yes, Mum, that applies to you too. Young in outlook. Not settled in ways cast in cement. Being open to change. Letting go of things which are no longer important. Trying new things. Challenging yourself to do new stuff. My mother is good at this. Her attitude belies her age. We are "can do" kinds of people. I love learning new things. It may take a little longer to gel nowadays, but that is because I have to get used to the new glasses, of course, or the weather, or the time of day, and is nothing to do with the brain power at all. Hmmm. I like to see it that way.

I love knowing that in recent years, it has been discovered that the brain has plasticity, and changes, adapts and neurons keep growing and developing new paths throughout our lives. The brain is capable of anything, you know. Up until just a few years ago, get this, no-one knew. They thought the brain was set at childhood and that was it. Oh no, it is not. And hallelujah for that.

I am rambling in different directions this morning. No apologies. This is an unplanned post and it will go where it feels like going.

Time - seconds, minutes, hours, days months and years pass by at the same speed they always do. We can't alter time. The choice we make is in how we spend that time. I know I wrote about living NOW a few days ago, and not spending time waiting, but in real life, there is a lot of waiting we have to do for things outside our control to be done. I can't influence that. But I do get to make the choice about how I wait. And being older plays a huge part in that, because I KNOW things. I know what is important and what is not.

So what age am I in right now? I don't know what it is called, or why. Are we the Baby Boomers? The Empty Nesters? The Golden Years, The..... Does it matter? If I want to think I am middle aged or about to have a Gap Year, I will. And to heck with the labels. We can be as unique as we like! Now where did I leave my specs and my stick........