New arrivals

The postman called with a special delivery today........

 .........a box containing my new Doo-Lally-Pip range of stamps. I haven't showed you all the new images yet as not all of the sets are on the Personal Impressions website yet, but there are eighteen in total, as well as new sets in the general ranges.

The stamps will be clear ones but I have got the pre production rubber ones so that I can get working on projects for Stitches trade show in February. So, it's head down and crack on time for the next few weeks! I'll share some of my makes with you as I go along.

I'm going to be busy getting ready for my demonstration on the 26th January as well which will be at Studio Craftique, a brand new store in Beverley. Good to see new stores opening! I'll be using Dylusions ink sprays with a selection of my Off the Wall stamps and Dylusions stamps and stencils. So, I can guarantee a colourful day!

Meanwhile, I picked up some little thermometers when I went to the village today - they were free in the Age UK charity shop - and have dotted them in various rooms at home. I hope they are not very accurate because, according to the readings, I am in danger of hypothermia if I sit in my Doo-Lally workroom for more than about five minutes! Unfortunately, the boiler is one of those really ancient ones, so I can't really adjust the temperature to a constant low heat which is the most economical way to heat the house of course. British Gas are coming next week to sort out the cavity wall insulation (I just enquired about it in time to get it done free as they are now charging again) and I'll be interested to see what a difference it makes. I'll let you know!

There's a big dish of pasta bake in the fridge now...had some last night and some for lunch today....still loads left! However, I won't be adding the sausage pieces next time...ugh, they aren't nice at all! Veggie curry will be the next big dish that I make - great way to use all the bits and pieces that are lurking in the bottom of the fridge!

Something on the TV yesterday set me on a journey down memory lane. One of the answers in a quiz was Dave Edmonds.....any of you remember him? I did, and I googled one of his songs that I remember being in our collection of 45rpm records. I soon found it and listening to "Baby I love you" rolled back the years.....then, looking down the list of "related" you tube clips I saw the name Hurricane Smith (remember him?!) and I listened to "Don't let it die" which I didn't register at the time had lyrics which are very relevent today being about looking after the planet. I loved that song when I was growing up. 

Next a name caught my eye that I had completely forgotten about. Do any of you remember a song that began "I could be a millionaire, if I had the money...."? It was by Clifford T Ward who was a singer songwriter and the song was "Home thoughts from abroad". Goodness, that took me back too! Clifford T Ward had long blonde hair and a very gentle voice if that jogs your memory - what terrific songs he wrote...remember "Gaye"? Sadly, he passed away a few years ago at quite a young age.

Of course, I'm amazed that I can remember any of those songs considering how long ago they were in the charts!!!! Any good ones you can recall that we might have forgotten about?

Well, I'm going to sort and label the new stamps now so that I don't get myself in a muddle with them. I'm still drawing as well, so I have a real mixture of work to keep me busy. As I type this, Thomas has ventured outside for the first time today but Tara is being sensible and has snuggled up beside me....in fact, she keeps patting the laptop as a hint that I should put it down so she can climb onto my knee. So, I'll sign off for now!

          ................................ 

Just popping back before going to bed much later than I had planned - so much for getting an early night - but thought you might like to see a couple of photos taken this evening of my two little pals.
Tara looked so cute sitting up straight in the chair and I got this snap of her showing off her tootsies.....

 ......purrfectly manicured claws of course. But Thomas, sneaking a peek through the curtains, just thought she looked ridiculous.......

....!!!!!!!
Right, I really am off to bed now....lots to do tomorrow!

White off!

Yes, about an hour after my post last evening, the rain came down and melted the whiteness into a chilling wet grey again. Today the bright, sunny skies suddenly turned dramatically gloomy and hailstones were soon bouncing around along with tumbling temperatures.

It made me wonder what hints and tips we might all share for keeping ourselves, and our homes, warm now that it costs such an enormous amount to crank up the central heating. I've been using the oven rather than cooking on the stove top so I can put a few things in together and avoid too much steam in the kitchen which can soon make the air even chillier as it adds moisture to the air. Then, when I've finished cooking, I leave the oven door open to let the extra heat into the room. 

I don't have a hot water bottle at the moment as the old one went all brittle and crumbly, so I'm using an empty squash bottle instead! When I put the kettle on for a cuppa I pour any excess boiled water into the bottle (with some cool water already in there of course to stop it from melting) and park it beside me while I have my coffee.

I think that feeling warm can be aided psychologically too, so I like to light some candles - which do give off a bit of heat of course, but mainly because the flickering flames make me feel cosy! The same goes for incense sticks...I'm burning Frankincense ones just now (very appropriately).....no heat there but the spicy aromas just help to stave away the feelings of chilliness.

Of course, Tara and Thomas are great sources of heat too! Unfortunately, neither of them can be forced to have cuddles and make their annoyance known all too quickly if I try! So, I have to wait for them to honour me with their warm presence..... 

                          

.....not sure what I was watching on the box here, but Tara obviously couldn't bear to look!

I definitely find the bath becoming more appealing than the shower on these cold evenings, especially with all the exotic fizzers etc that I got for Christmas. Heather thought it was very amusing when I told her how long it took me to clean the bath after I used the one that was covered with fine red glitter mind you! I was not only warm, but I sparkled as well! They do say that applying a body cream or oil right after bathing is like adding an extra layer of clothing, so that's a good excuse for a bit more pampering too.

Well, I feel quite cosy after thinking about those ways to keep snuggly, but I'd welcome any other good ideas as I do think it's going to keep chilling down for a while longer yet.

I've got the ingredients ready for another of my pasta bakes - you know, the one that I'm still eating four days later! This time, as well as a little steak mince, I have two pork, tomato and basil sausages that I'm going to cut up and add to the mix for a bit of a change - talk about adventurous! I stir fry whatever vegetables I have, as well as garlic, tomato puree and herbs, mix in the cooked pasta and spoon it into a big oven proof dish which I pop into the fridge. Next I make a simple bechemal sauce with a few good pinches of nutmeg, pour it over the cooled pasta mixture and top with some grated cheese before baking for about forty minutes or so. I have to say that the first batch never tastes as good as the seconds, thirds and fourths on consequent days! It's not exactly Michel Roux, but it's tasty and filling.

Tonight is my brain stimulation evening - University Challenge followed by Only Connect. Just about the trickiest two quiz shows on TV so I always feel really chuffed if I do reasonably well! For "reasonably well" read five answers right on UC and three rounds on OC! I'm hoping that I'll tire my brain out tonight so that I'll get a decent sleep after two insomnia filled nights in a row.

Tomorrow is filled with working on more designs and getting as much done as I can before my new stamps arrive and I have to turn my attention to those. 

Thanks, as always, for everyone's comments which are always read and appreciated. Apologies to anyone waiting for a reply to an email, but my system is playing up this evening so there may be a delay. Keep warm and stay snug!

PS I managed to get twelve right answers in University Challenge but only one round of a really tricky Only Connect....I did get eight of the missing vowels round right though! None of that will mean anything if you don't watch OC of course!!!

Here it comes....

.....even near the coast the white stuff is making its presence known. I just took this photo from the back of the house and it looks like it's going to stick overnight.

Part of me thinks "hoooorrrrraaaaayyyyyy!!!!" and the other part thinks "oh no"!

It's very, very cold and the heat is staying on high despite two pairs of socks and a warm cardigan. I had a lovely furry hot water bottle in bed with me last night, that is to say Thomas, and they keep taking turns as to who sits on my knee now. Here's Tara going for the intellectual look.......

 Well, just a quick post tonight to say hello and keep warm. I'm busy with new designs at present but will be starting work soon on samples using my new stamps ready for Stitches trade show in February, so will share some sneaky peeks in the coming days.

 

Dullsville!

It's such a dull and gloomy day here in Lancashire but at least it's not too chilly, so the heat is turned off - hooray! I'm trying to get on with some drawings so am hoping that the light improves this afternoon. I really don't like drawing in artificial light (even the daylight type) as it does strain the eyes more as well as casting shadows which can make things tricky. Fingers crossed for a bit of watery sunshine then!

It's also pretty dullsville in the house now that the twinkly lights, tinsel and greenery have all been taken down and put away. However, my plan to replace the tree with something else has come to fruition. I was searching for reasonably priced curly willow twigs on the internet and local florists with no success, but Heather and I found something that would do the job yesterday. We called at a shop called Gee Tees...we only recently went in there as I'd mistakenly thought it was a discount booze store until I noticed household items in the window! They had some natural twigs with white LED lights already secured to them. They are really tall at 1.5 metres so fit the bill perfectly. The price was excellent - only £10 for the set of five - so I bought them and have "planted" them in a tall vase - weighted down with a brass door stop! They look really pretty and I'll be able to hang or clip little tags and other dinky makes from them to create a display that I can keep changing.

My stint as Camille the camel went well at church on Sunday morning. Lynne and I had to walk the screen to the front of the chancel - me with a hassock under my arm, ready to stand on! We were miked up, though I think mine was on the blink, so just as well that I can project my voice! Thankfully, neither of us tippled through the screen, fluffed our lines or dropped our scripts. We had to hold five sheets in our left hands and drop the top ones as we finished them whilst holding our right arms up at full stretch and doing all the mouth movements at the right time as well as remembering things like making the camels look round, move and generally come alive - talk about patting your head and rubbing your tummy at the same time!

It was worth all the arm ache to hear the children (and lots of the adult congregation too!) giggling at the terrible jokes and banter between Clyde and Camille. Looks like I'll be getting roped in to more of this puppeteering lark now!

Well, the mirk shows no signs of lifting, so I will just have to put the lights on in my work room. This is the room that's really a vestibule/entrance to the house and which I can never decide what to call. Studio just sounds too grand for what it is. Heather has decided that I should call it my Doo Lally room (after my new stamp range) as I'm usually going doo lally in there trying to get everything done! So, I'll put the lights on in the doo lally room now and crack open the drawing implements.

I will have more new stamp designs to share soon, so watch this space!

Birthday memories

Today would have been David's birthday so I started the morning in the way that we always began either of our birthdays, by playing Mario Lanza singing "our song" - Because.

David adored Mario Lanza and, before he was taken ill, he had a beautiful tenor voice himself, so I have lots of memories of being serenaded whilst in a bear hug. "Because" was the most special song of all though.
No matter what else was going on, we always made a point of spending our birthdays together and David's always marked the last day of my Christmas break before getting back into work. 

The sky was beautiful this morning....

.....so I grabbed my camera and immortalised the moment.

I have so many wonderful memories of how we'd spend this day. We usually went out for a drive and visited a peaceful spot or just spent a quiet evening in together watching whatever big film we'd treated ourselves to at Christmas. I always made a point of saying that I'd cook David a lovely meal and he'd go along with the idea before telling me to get out of the kitchen and preparing the food himself! No matter how I tried I would never be able to cook anything as well as David could.

This morning Heather came round and we called at the garden centre for something that her hubby is creating. We had just stepped inside when the song "You'll never walk alone" started up. It was a song that David loved as well as being one that we chose for our dad's funeral, so it was very poignant.

I've just spent the rest of the day quietly, and placed a single rose and a candle in the garden.

Happy birthday David and thank you for all the precious memories. 

I've got the hump....

Two posts in one day, but I thought you might like a peek into what I'll be doing on Sunday morning....acting the fool really! I volunteered to help with the puppet theatre that one of the ladies at St Chads organises for occasional services when there are more children in church. So, let me introduce Camille.....

....she's a very snooty camel who looks down on her friend Clyde - another camel (looked after by Lynne) Sorry for the rather blurry photos but I was trying to take a picture with one hand whilst crouching on a chair and looking into the mirror!

Clyde and Camille will be talking about going on a long journey to see a new king whilst Lynne and I stand behind a black screen and hope that our arms don't give out as we stretch the camel necks up over the top! Of course, being a shorthouse, I am having to stand on one of the hassocks which is a somewhat unstable surface, so I am also hoping that I don't suddenly go falling through the screen and into the front row pews!

You can see just how haughty this camel is.....

 .....she may just do an "emu" in the middle of church which would be rather disruptive! Tara wondered what I was doing, but wasn't very impressed when she had a closer look.....

 ....she skedaddled shortly after that!

As I'm writing this the 1963 film Jason and the Argonauts is on TV. I'm amazed and impressed by the wizardry that goes into making modern day "creature features" so realistic and believable, but to my mind there is something far more creepy and unnerving about the old stop motion Ray Harryhausen special effects. Maybe it's the jerky movements and lifeless eyes, like those of the huge bronze statue of a warrior who just creaked into life and peered round the cliffs at the Argonauts on the beach.....shudder!

Before I go, just to let you know that I'll be adding entries to my demo and workshop dates as and when they come up. My first demo of the year will be at Studio Craftique in Beverley, East Yorkshire on the 26th of this month. Hope to see some of you there.

Well, I'd better go and practice my camel voice again now!

First post of 2013

I was quite glad to get the bringing in of the new year over with and I haven't any photos of the fireworks to show you as they were a bit of a damp squib this time. I think the cut backs had reduced the council spending on what is, after all, literally sending money up in smoke.

Of course, only a couple of days left to enjoy the festive decorations which I am not looking forward to taking down. It's such a messy chore and everything looks so bare and drab afterwards, I am going to miss the tree in the corner of the room so I'm thinking about making a display of some tall twigs wrapped with clear lights that I can hang little non Christmassy, arty items from. I think Tara will also miss the tree as she's been fascinated by the twinkling lights and baubles!

I had Christmas Eve at my sister's house - we had a chinese takeaway which was naughty but nice! I went to the Midnight Eucharist at St Chads which was "interesting" as the congregation was swelled by an assortment of revellers who had left the local pubs and clubs! There was quite a bit of disturbance, loud conversation and people wandering in and out, but it was still a lovely service.

I'd decided to spend Christmas day itself on my own and, after opening my gifts, I trotted up to St Chads again for the family communion service. It was a really fun service as the children had all been invited to bring something with them that they'd received from Santa....they all trouped to the front and the vicar asked them about their gifts one by one - you can imagine that there were some very comical conversations! It was a lovely way for anyone without family to share in the children's Christmas excitement.

Once home I got straight into the kitchen to start the roast chicken dinner. One of my favourite elements of which are the roast chestnuts which I scored and put into the oven. Unfortunately they were still rather hard when everything else was ready so I gave them 30 seconds in the microwave....still a touch too hard so I blasted them again....oh dear! A few seconds too long and the chestnuts, or should I say, brown bullets had to go straight in the bin!! However, the stuffing and roasties were good and the M&S bread sauce as delicious as ever.

I had one glass of a Rosé wine, that's been (opened) in the cupboard for who knows how long, out of a tumbler as I couldn't find any wine glasses - I think we must have been going to buy some new ones! I decided to clear the dishes and wash up straight away and had a mini Christmas pudding as a treat while I settled down to watch the TV. Downton left me in bits of course!

I was given some really lovely gifts.....here are some of the very special ones.......

.......the beautiful canvas at the front was a gift from my friend Joanne who's not too well at the moment so hope she's feeling better soon. On the right is a five year diary that asks a question for each day so you can look back and see how your ideas and feelings have changed over time....this is included in the photo because it is the annual identical gift that Heather and I gave each other! We never plan this, but every year we both choose something the same - it's quite uncanny. In the centre is a very special pressie from my nephew, Max. It's Alfi Boe's autobiography but is a signed copy! Looking forward to reading that when I've finished Life of Pi which I saw in Oxfam and Heather bought and wrapped up for me! Really enjoying it - it's an intelligent, fascinating book that has been on my list of "must read"s for a long time now.

At the top of the picture is my new smile inducing cushion which was a gift from my friend Chris who paid me a visit yesterday along with her husband and grandson - check out his artwork on Chris's blog by the way! Isn't the cushion fabulous - I think I was the very large apple lady, in the right hand panel below pineapple woman, and now I'm the one two the right of her and hoping to become the one in the middle of them! We had a really good catch up before they headed into Blackpool to see some Christmas lights.

Thank you again to everyone who sent me cards, messages and gifts - I am still trying to get round to thanking everyone personally. Oh, and my bathroom smells gorgeous now thanks to the big bowl of Bombtastic bath fizzers, creamers and soaps that Heather gave me!

Well, this post was interrupted by Tara who decided to nudge the laptop until I put it down so she could curl up on my knees. She's been getting much happier to be stroked lately which is really good to see. She can still turn and give me a nip or a scratch, but the family who gave her away had young children and I think she had to put up with a lot of teasing and tail pulling, so it's hard for her to completely trust anyone.

She's now pestering for a bit of lunch and I had better eat something too so I'll sign off for now. I made a pasta bake a couple of days ago, so I've had several meals out of it - to be honest, I'll be glad to eat the last bit today so I can have something else! Still, it makes for a few days of inexpensive eating! 

PS I inadvertently pressed the text background colour whilst typing - so excuse the odd look to the second part of this post as I can't seem to undo it!