Uhoh...

... think my head may be about to explode.






Want to paint new pattern I found at painting this week.

Want to finish knitting 'plane socks'.


Want to finish knitting Will's Christmas present.

Want to finish Treeclimber's wonky star quilt.


Want to start pirate quilt.

Want to bake fabulous recipes from here.


Want to knit something with the stunning bright red 2 ply lace yarn from Posh.


Want to knit scarf with gorgeous brick red alpaca yarn.

Want to read 'clever' book. (not sure which one but something not chick lit-ish)


NEED to finish current block for Around The World - Christmas - Swap.

Want to finish travel, quilt, picnic blanket and all the other bazillion WIPs I have lying around.





Head-exploding due to fact that someone somewhere has decided that


i) 24 hours is sufficient for a whole day


ii) I require sleep.

Me? Loose morals?

According to 'Victorian Pharmacy' on BBC2 all 'fine young ladies' aspired to having a waist of 22" to 20" and it was 'only women of loose morals wore loose corsets'. Hmmm ... guess we know where I would fall then!

Seven years gone so quickly.

September 8 2003

September 23 2010

My girl finished primary school on Friday.

Seven years of tears

and laughter.

Friends, learning, music, adventure, experience and each and every year the 'humiliation' of sports day.

I delight in the fact that Princess Curly-Wurly has spent these school years with such a lovely, solid group of children. It gladdens my heart to think she will be entering the world of 'BIG' school side by side with most of them.

To each and everyone of those thirty gorgeous childer - I thank you and love you.

'Tis the season to be trolleyed ...

... am just home from mid-eveing celebratory drink with friends. Celebration because they took part in the lOndon Moonwlk this year and , as it turns out celebration for me becaus oit is the first time in nealry 20 years since I drank tequila. And quite a few cocktails I ordered. And then some that I didn't but tht thew owner of the establishment got his 'parfait' bartender to create and have us sample. TG I don't drink wine as my compatriot got roped into test ing roses, whiotes AND reds.

Then I walked back to my house with said compatriot to collect black hounds so that could walke her home to other side of not so big-hilltop town in in safety. Lucky I did b/c as we crossedin front of fire station sirens and blue lights started whirling and flaring and said compatriot nearly fell into middle of major A road.

Have now drunkl several glasses of water and am going to seal children into theoir rooms so that no-one can rise before 1100hours tonoporrow. Bugger about school starting at 0900.





















Not quite as bad as typing makes me seem but just thought I would leave post unexpurgated. Honest!














plus Moriarty will no longer be at school EVER from next year. YAY!!!

'Tis the season to be jolly...

... someone may have just bought a fabulous Christmas present for Christmas 2010. And it may be for a visiting vistor at Christmas 2010 and chosen by a resident superhero. Just sayin' is all.

Answers on a virtual postcard please.

Have nearly finished the top for a Christmas quilt for a special girl in the lives of those

Chez Trash Towers. I bought the coloured star fabrics at lubbard Spotlight near Sylv's house and married it to some bright white cotton curtain lining from the old-fashioned haberdasher's around the corner.I love the bright colours against the white and I really love them both made up as wonky stars. My problem is with layout.

You see, I bought seven colours which is all well and good but my quilt is five blocks by three. My basic maths confirms that this would equal 15 squares. Unfortunately this is a problem in that my basic maths also confirms seven colours doubled up only equals 14 blocks. So we came up with a plan. And this is where you all come in.

I made a rainbow wonky star and have tried it in two different spots in the quilt. What I would like would be for you all to pitch in and tell me which you prefer.

This one in the bottom row?

Or this one smack bang in the middle?

I have to confess I am currently of a mind to do a third purple one (Treeclimber's favourite colour) and place it in the middle and then use the rainbow wonky star as an add-in on the backing.

OK non-believers, hold on to your hats!

This is said quilt in its finished and drapey state. Pretty, non?
Filled with lovely colours Emma Scrapbag put together, interesting texture in the chenille.
A mix of both my worlds with the inner fabric a blog friend gift and the outer a mix of shirts
(one of which I actually loved and wore - don't tell my mother about the other) and a dress belongum Princess C-W.

And then we have the binding.
Gorgeous girlie, frilly pretty binding a gift from a friend.
Binding that was machine-stitched on both sides.
Oh Patch Andi, you clever, clever girl to make me feel brave enough to try this.

And then we have several reasons why it took so long to actually finish completely and 100%.

OMG!!! A Finish. **edited**

Way back somewhere a million years ago I posted about all the WIPs I wanted to finish before end Dec 2010 and guess what? Tonight I managed to finish one! Yay.

So now Princess C-W has a brand new QUILT, completely finished as in bound and and quilted and everything.

(Of course she has actually been using it for over 12 months but - shhhhhhhhh- don't tell anyone).

(I was hoping no one would notice, I should have guessed someone would pick up on my error. Locket.)

Appointment received.

Came to the conclusion yesterday that I was staying true to my principles and am going with the NHS. Which is fortunate really as I received an appointment in the post today.

Typically it is on my FIRST day of freedom when the three children go off to the Isle of Wight for their holiday. Never mind, it will be an adventure going in to the big smoke for the day.

What? Hey? Speak up! (alt. titled "A healthcare dilemma".)

I live in the UK. It is frequently wet here and quite often cold. There rarely is a Summer to speak of (this year withstanding so far) and the sky always seems very low. However. I live in the UK and we have the NHS.

The NHS is 'a free at the point of delivery' healthcare service. This means no one ever need worry about whether to see a doctor/go to a specialist/address a healthcare issue vs spending household budget on other necessities. I support the idea of universal healthcare, I agree with everyone having equal access to medical facilities and knowledge. I think the idea of medical care as a private business is against the basic premise of doctoring and nursing. However. I have a hearing issue.

I had a dream Friday week ago about being deaf and learning sign language and all sorts of other weird stuff that goes on in dreams. Then on Saturday there was an RNID (Royal National Institute for the Deaf) stall at the town fair and I actually (finally) took time to find out about hearing loss. On Wednesday I finally went to the doctor and, even though she looks and sounds like a character from 'Anne of Green Gables', she organised a referral to an audiologist for me.

My dilemma is that I am married to someone who has private health insurance as part of his employment package. For at least 11 years now we have annually received a packet of papers outlining the scope of healthcare benefits available to us. Last night I actually read it. And I rang the helpline to discuss the 'my being deaf 'situation. Once we had established that I didn't fall into any category she had on her list she outlined what the choices before me were.

So do I

a) go private and get a referral to a doctor at one of the private hospitals in a nearby town within a week or two.
OR
b) stay with the NHS and undoubtedly get great treatment but at some date in the next month or so.

This is a choice that is vexing me greatly and is challenging several many long held convictions and until I make a decision nothing is going to happen so if you want to say anything - shout loudly!

'... Slack jaw, nothing much to say...'

Princess C-W went to the dentist after school today. We whizzed up the hill in a topless Maria, Radio 2 blaring and one of us cursing spectacularly at granny drivers and pedestrians who got in the way. A neat little 3point turn and we were parked up with five minutes in hand.

Walking in to the surgery I asked whether she wanted me to come in with her or, being as she is going to secondary school in about two months and therefore all grown-up, would she like to go in solo? As the door swung behind us her small voice said 'Come in.'

All booked in with the receptionist I sent Pr.C-W off to brush her teeth and settled back with a newspaper to update myself on current events. Fortunately our dentist's surgery is 'quite nice' (even if he is only 15) and so read The Times editorial about the police handling of the Raoul Moat rather than the hysterical puffery of The Sun. Barely started flicking through when time was upon us and we sallied forth into the Dr. John's room. He and the nurse looked at me slightly oddly but quite frankly what a 15 yo and a grumpy nurse think is of little concern to me and with just a few minutes I was glad she had let me come in.

Bcause let me tell you people I am loving that my girl was sufficiently brave and did not bite Dr. John's thumb when he jammed the socking great big needle into her gum; cannot say I was so restrained once upon a time. (In fact one of us in that room had to be sedated as a child as the dentist doing the drilling got bitten twice and loaded his own thumb with Novocaine three times.) I watched as she lay there with tears rolling down to her ears and trying to keep still, her fingers gripping the sides of the seat tight. I forgave Dr. John his pain-inflicting actions when he reached for a tissue and dried my girl's tears.

So this was the reply I sent...

"Obviously rudeness was unintentional but there was an incident happening where the dogs were trying to attack the postie. It was an issue of priorities, we are already on the Royal Mail's hitlist.

Glad to hear L was not seriously injured and yes, character is a good thing to possess. "

And for those not au fait w my dogs' reactions to Smiley Carol click here.

'k, now here's the thing...

have just had a message from a friend on facebook following on from an IM conversation we had been having a few hours ago. I say conversation but really it was five sentences, three written by me and several minutes gap in between her responses. So ... my issue is title of message is 'it is rude to go offline after asking old friend question on Facebook just so you know'

Now I do know her very well and am fully aware her sense of humour is somewhat pointy but think that in a friendship that has been silently tenuous in the last few years this is a weird title to include without any emoticons, inverted commas or someo ther way of indicating humourous intent. Message goes on to be quite chatty but still ... am left feeling with a slightly yukky taste in mouth.

100 things (Part 1)

1. I am crubbish at getting my haircut. I love having it done but never seems to happen more than two or three times a year.
2. I am a geek at heart. Unsurprisingly I was never in a cool gang at school.
3. My UK driver's licence says I was born in 'Warnambod', I think it is cool and have never corrected it.
4. I am probably too old to be using 'cool' in general speech. Even worse, I think it highlights my age. Oh Fonz you have a lot to answer for! Not that 'cool' is cool anymore anyway.
5. Discovered on Facebook the other day that a school friend and I have given our border collies the same name! Mrs Hunt was right apparently and we really ARE twins!
6. I haven't replied to most of the requests to befriend people from school on Facebook. Not that there have been that many (ref. #2).
7. I heart blogging. Fascinating people, places, pictures, stories, occasions and events.
8. Blogging and an internet highspeed connection are bad things and take up too much of my time. They really are far too compatible with my inherent laziness and apathy. I love it!
9. My deafness is wavering again. I really need to get my ears checked.
10. I taught myself to crochet when back in Australia in April. Now I know how I need never pick up the evil hook again.
11. Eddie Izzard, Top Gear, Michael McIntyre, Shappi Khorsandi make me laugh. (A little swearing involved on the Eddie Izzard link.)
12. If 'Gibbs' knocked on my door I wouldn't even wave CK goodbye.
13. I love my garden but I HATE gardening.
14. I haven't been to Scotland.
15. If I find the poles for my tent I WILL take my children camping at 'ScotFest2010'.
16. I find Peter White's voice even more irritating than Fi Glover's (BBC Radio 4).
17. I'm fine with bugs, insects and spiders but don't want to get too close to frogs, mice and other small creaures.
18 And birds.
19. I am a crubbish swimmer but love being in the water.
20. I have a different surname to my children.