A busy day at the Village Hall

Hello. I'm falling asleep in front of the keyboard here. I think it is the one hour of heating I treated myself to that's done it, turned it off now. Or could it be all the nattering I've been doing at the Christmas Fair. Here is me and Hilary, one of our crafty ladies.  

Lots of lovely colourful displays. Seated is Carol, another crafty lady. She is manning the Village Hall stall, with her assistant.

All manner of stuff for sale.

 Ali is selling her beautiful hand made wares. She is also one of our crafty ladies.

Blimey, they've piled that one high.

The busiest stall of the lot? The Womens Institute cake stall of course, and before you ask, no I didn't indulge. That's Judy handing over her dosh.

More cakes, such a lovely display.

And an overall view of the Village Hall. The Fair opened at 11am and closed at 3pm, and it was busy most of the time. 

There was entertainment from the school choir, a local dance school, and the Scouts did a presentation. Santa put in an appearance, and there was a fancy dress competition for the small children. A pretty fairy won that. Refreshments were served, tea and coffee, sandwiches and cakes, and home made soup. All in all a great afternoon was had by all. A great effort by everyone, it's good to see the village community coming together. We didn't sell very much but I wasn't expecting to. Charities benefited by doing their own fundraising, and the Village Hall, which has to be self funding, also did well.

Now I'm going to chill. No alcohol tonight, haven't any in, a juice drink and a read of a book will suffice.

Hope your Saturday went well. Enjoy your Sunday. Toodle pip.

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Tidying up

Our church was open today and the Union Flag was flying at half mast on the pole outside. I took a peek inside, there was a memorial to the soldiers from the village who fell at the first world war. The church stayed open all day for those wanting to mark the occasion and pay their respects. 

I walk through the churchyard nearly every day, and so do a lot of other people. It's a short cut to the High Street, and people use it to go out the back gate onto the hills, a favourite place to walk dogs. Between the footpath and the wall are lots of memorial plaques placed there by the families of relatives who have been cremated. 

Every time I walk by I think it could do with a tidy up. Some of the little plots are tended regularly by family members who are still resident in the village, but I guess some people have moved away, so those plots are a bit overgrown with grass and weeds. I kept thinking it's a shame, because you can't read the name of the person who has died. 

Now I don't know if these people were involved in any wars, I don't know if they fought for their country, but I thought, what does it matter, they should still have a tidy little plot where their name can be read. So I have decided to adopt this little corner of the churchyard. I will keep it tidy for the relatives of the deceased who can no longer visit. 

I took my shears, a kneeling pad, and a bag for the grass clippings, and made a start. 

Looks a lot better now the names can be seen. I'll go back tomorrow and finish it off.
Toodle pip.

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Bricking it :o))

Go on, ask me what I've been doing today, you're dying to know aren't you. Here is a clue, a pile of bricks need moving from A to B, about three miles apart. I volunteered to be a skivvy, and get stuck into some hard graft. No, I don't shy away from physical work, I get on with it. I was the same on the wagons, handball we called it, shifting a load by picking it up and physically moving it to wherever it was wanted. No truck for this job, me and Helen used our cars. She wants to use these bricks to build a garden wall at her house.  

Here is my workhorse. Can't get the car close to the pile so it was a matter of carrying them. First her car was loaded, then swap places and load mine. We worked as a team. Brush off the excess dust and muck, stack neatly in the car. We did three journeys each. At the other end there was enough room to get both cars into the driveway together so we could both unload at the same time.

All done, six hours less one coffee break and one lunch break.

On the way home I did a quick scoot round Tesco and co op shops. Found a few reduced items. Seeded bread 23p, grapes 55p, nectarines 54p, iceberg lettuce 37p. Won't need to do a big shop this week.

Things planned for tomorrow. A dog walk in the morning, and setting up our craft stall, and my artwork, in the church in the afternoon. A busy weekend ahead. Won't be able to do the Parkrun on Saturday morning, we have to set up our cat stall on the village green. Got loads of stuff to sell, a lot of it is what I got out of the skip, and we are overrun with books, could start a library, ha ha. Got to go, need to sort stuff out for tomorrow. Toodle pip.

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No walking but keeping busy.

Thank you for the fantastic responses on yesterdays post, it was interesting to read them. If I may quote a few here. 

Mary in Perth says.......I have been very much aware this week of things I have no power over............but then what I DO have power over is how I react. I can't do anything about the cost of electricity, but I can control how much I use. No control over other road users, but I can control how I react. The list goes on. It reminds me a bit of the Serenity Prayer. It's given me the wonderful empowering feeling that you talk about.

liniecat says...... I'm about to drop to 3 days working but actually would like to stop altogether, although my income would then be very very small so I too am going to have to cut right back and live frugally and sensibly soon. I don't find that scary, it will be a challenge I'm sure and I completely understand what you mean when you say its empowering. Perhaps its knowing that the decisions we make for own selves now, is all that's left for us that is truly ours and that is empowering.

Anonymous says........I am happily married and he supports me and cheers me on, but he is not responsible for my happiness, only I am capable of doing that, nor am I responsible for his or anyone else's happiness. 

Natalie says.........Oh yes, going your own way. Life is much better if you step out of the rat race. I don't give a fig about what I look like.

I think we are all singing from the same sheet here. Sorry if I'm stating the bleedin obvious, it's good to know that you get it. 

Right, let's move on, no point in standing still, ha ha. I didn't go a walk today, the fog was worse than ever this morning. I'm not sure if fog is the right word, it's more like clag, that heavy wet mist which hangs in the air and covers everything in a fine spray. 

This meal is what I had for lunch yesterday. Salad, cucumber, watercress, lettuce, and celery, with scrambled eggs and mushrooms. Very nice it was too. 

This morning I stayed in and did some sewing. I've started another denim bag. You may wonder what this picture is about, I will explain. Remember the post about using a mesh fruit bag and placing it over the fabric, then embroidering through the holes using the grid as a guide. I've had an idea of doing something similar on the front of a bag, but I needed a grid with bigger squares. After looking around the house for something suitable, I found this cake cooling rack which I got out of the skip. The squares are the right size. Secure it onto the fabric with clothes pegs. It's looking good, I'm using red wool for the design. More later.

Lunch today was half a very large pizza, bought from Morrisons last month for 50p. I can't get my oven to work because I haven't used it for a very long time, not that I am bothered, I didn't use it much when it did work. I have managed without one for at least ten years. I cooked the pizza under the grill, it worked out fine, piping hot. The pizza itself wasn't brilliant, the full price being �2.35. I think if you are going to get one regularly you need to add more ingredients to the miserly topping. Can't complain about paying 25p for my lunch though, ha ha.

This afternoon I did a couple of hours in Helen's garden. Picking up all the cuttings from the hedge I trimmed on Tuesday, and bagging them up for the tip. Next I dug all the borders alongside the hedge to tidy it up. It looks nice. I didn't need to go to the tip, Helen managed to get all the rubbish in her car.

It was 4.30 pm when we finished, so I did my usual pilgrimage to the little Tesco. There were a few reductions to be had. I got a bag of Kale for 30p, Muller Corner yogurts for 59p, was �2.82. and two small yogurts for 16p each.

There are two other stores in the village and as I wasn't in a rush to get home I thought I would have a look for more reductions. The Co op have orange stickers and I was a bit lucky. 2 egg custards for 29p. 6 wholemeal bread rolls for 25p. Bag of spinach for 29p. 6 fromage frais for 29p.

Next was the Spar shop, worth a look as I was passing. Most of the reductions were pathetic, 20p off, hardly priced to sell as they advertise. Scouring the shelves, something caught my eye. 25p for six large free range eggs. Had to have them. Not much date left on them so I will eat them in three days. Good find.

I am all geared up to go to the Park Run in the morning, must make an effort this week.
That's all for now, have a nice weekend. Toodle pip. 

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Here is the news, sorry it's a bit soggy

It's been a boooootiful day here in my neck of the woods, not far from the east coast of middle England. The morning fog lifted to give way to lots of sunshine. I had a little potter in the garden, then took a chair outside and sat doing some sewing. The birds were twittering, the wood pigeons were cooing, the cats were strolling around, and the children were having fun in their garden a few doors down. All was lovely. 

This morning I went out and did a litter pick. I noticed a few cans lying around the other day, so off I went with my trusty picking stick and a big carrier bag. There is a snicket which goes from the posh houses onto a dog walking area which we call the hills. By the way a snicket is an alleyway, or a ten foot, or a path. Just beyond that is a wood, and I spotted something in the bushes. I get really annoyed when people hurl things into the undergrowth hoping no one will notice it. I pushed my way through the brambles, big boots are a necessity for litter picking, and found a bundle of Parish Council Newsletters. Now, I know that they pay for the exact amount to be printed so every house in the village gets one. There are 44 houses which haven't received the latest copy which went out two weeks ago. Obviously someone got fed up and couldn't be bothered to deliver them. 

How chuffin annoying is that. Given the location that they were discarded they should be able to find out who did it, and give them a right rollicking. Well I would.

How ironic that there is a mention from the chairman about entering the Best Kept Village competition, and hopefully winning it this year. We usually come second or third. We won't win anything if folks keep chucking the newsletters away. Aside from creating more litter, people won't know about the competition and won't be helping to tidy the village up to give us a good chance.

It would be great if we could win it, I shall be stepping up my litter picking, and keeping my eyes open for any other little tidying jobs that need doing. Some of the road signs could do with a wash. The phone box needs a wash as well, and the bus shelter. We have a new man to look after the graveyard around the church, he seems quite keen. I shall be asking people to tidy the road in front of their house as well, failing that, I will be doing a bit of road sweeping myself, ha ha.

I am relaxing with a can of cider tonight, full up from my steamed veg dinner. I shall watch a catch up programme while doing a bit more sewing. Have a nice Sunday.
Toodle pip.

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Super Good News Sunday

What a Super Sunday we have had, the weather has been glorious. Kath asked for more pics of George, so here they are. He is getting more confident each day. Now he climbs onto my knee and rubs his nose on my face. He loves cuddles. 

 Plenty of room to play, he wasn't at all bothered by his own reflection in the mirror.

Food is served on a tray. I like this one mum.

 Yum, that was nice, now lets play.

Ooooh, I wonder what's up here?

Look, did you see that bird fly past the window?

I like this new mat you're making, can I keep it? I can see right across the road from here, this is such a good view.

We had a phone call today from someone wanting to adopt. Trouble is they are a very busy household, small children and dogs, people coming and going all the time, it wouldn't be suitable for George, given the bad experience he had with a dog at his last home. Never mind, we will hold out for the right person. At least people are finding us, we are getting the calls. 

Told you it was sunny today, just right for a dark load in the washer. It's dried a treat. 

I called in to see a friend this afternoon, while out and about in the village. She tells me that there are plans for the council to open a Scrapstore in the town. Oooh, I am so excited about this good news, and of course I immediately volunteered my services. There is still some groundwork to be done, a grant to be applied for, and a fact finding mission to the Hull branch, but I will be invited to a meeting once they are ready to start. I am hoping to take on the job of visiting businesses and collecting all their unwanted materials, a job I loved doing for the old Scrapstore, which unfortunately had to close. Not sure when all this is going to happen, sometime this year was mentioned, but I'm ready, count me in :o))
Thank you for reading my blog, glad you could drop by. Catch you tomorrow, Toodle pip.

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Ladies who shop

Hi. An early post this morning as there is a lot I want to get on with today. I had a lot of fun last night at Tesco, giving away bags. I took four with me, and came home with one. The reaction on people's faces was a source of great amusement. I kept a look out within the store, for likely candidates. Someone with not too much shopping. If they were carrying a basket then they could fit all their items in my one bag, so they were the best people to approach. I tried to be discreet thinking the cameras might spot me, didn't want to get thrown out, ha ha. 

The ladies I chose were lovely, all smiley, and not quite believing that I wanted to give them something and not expect anything in return. Two of them apologised for not having any money, they were paying for their shopping with plastic. One young lady with dreadlocks said she didn't like to take one because of the work that I had put into making them. I explained that they take less than an hour to make, and I got the fabric free, and it's my hobby. She took one and said it would also come in useful for carrying books around. 

The three people I asked all took one. I explained my reason for giving a bag to a complete stranger was to reduce the amount of plastic carrier bag pollution, and talked about random acts of kindness, and that they might pass on the kindness in their own way in the future. 

Someone asked in a comment yesterday if it is worth a few people bothering to try and save the planet with these small gestures. I would say it is, if that is what you believe in. Lots of small droplets of water make a great ocean. The fact that you do something for a person you have never met before, and will probably never meet again, has a greater impact than if you do something for a friend. I like the idea of surprise, to make people smile, and without expecting anything back. The fact that giving a bag has a serious message behind it, is a bonus. I don't give Christmas presents willy nilly, and rarely give birthday presents, not because I don't value the person, because I don't want anything back in return. That might make me sound ungrateful, but the feeling that you ought to give a present takes the meaning out of it. I like to give when the recipient is not expecting it, it makes me, and them, happy.   

Patricia and Melinda asked if I make long handled bags. Yes I do. These are lined and not really shopping bags, more a general purpose work/going out bag. They take longer to make. The idea of running up some shopping bags is to do them quickly, and to use up the fabric. They are simple to make, without lining, and are used mainly for shop to car shopping.  

Here are a few of the bags I have made in the past. The top two started as plain canvas bags which I redesigned for an exhibition at the arts centre. They are lined. Below them are shopping bags made from fused plastic. The white one is made from the inner bags from cereal boxes.

Not many yellow stickers last night, they had been snapped up before I arrived. I got a few items, sprouts, bread, bean salad, tea cakes, casserole veg, and broccoli. I picked out my usual Value items, Tesco's own cheap range. Some of them are very good. Tinned rice pudding, Bran Flakes (see they have gone back down to 88p) tomato ketchup (I use this in soups and stews), soft garlic cheese, potatoes and carrots, long life soya milk 59p, and plain yogurt 45p. I had a treat of four cans of cider, �2.25. The total shop came to �40.26, I had a �4 off voucher. �14.72 was spent on cats, two bags of Whiskas dry for �6, cooked and uncooked Value chicken pieces, some posh tinned food for Bugsy's delicate tummy, and Value tuna fish as a treat for all of them. My food should last a couple of weeks, just need to get some eggs.

Right, I'm off for a walk in the park, before the rain comes. I'll say catch you tomorrow, but I will be popping in throughout the day to see what you are up to. Toodle pip.

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