Nearly a Year has gone by......

Hi my lovely people that have still come to visit my page, even though I have been remiss and not been here to say hello for so long..... and to those special people I say thank you.

A lot of time has passed since I last posted on my blog I know, but a lot of things have changed in my life also... I have been through a huge learning curve this year.... Yes even at my time in life, one of which was at now the great age of 60 ( last May) you can still learn things about people places and things.

I am afraid that I haven't done any stitching at all except for starting a new square for my embroidered & stitchery quilt I am hoping one day to finish.

I lost my mojo for stitching this year.......

..... and have been flying about all over the country visiting new places, and meeting new people too. This was prompted by having to visit a councellor, because of the effects that life in general over last years happenings had affected me, which if you knew of me on the stitching sites I used to visit would have known about.

STASH

On one of my visits to the hairdressers in Paignton, I noticed that a shop which had been empty for a while had opened as a bead shop. Ever hopeful for more stash, I went inside as I had a few moments spare. There were some wonderful beads for jewellery making, but as I worked around the shop, as everything was laid out in trays, and you could pick and choose; I found some wonderful charms, which although were supposedly for jewellery making but I thought would be wonderful for adding to stitched work when I got my mojo back.... The pic below is of all the stash that I managed to find that day, and from another days stash hunting.

I did say in my last post that I had met someone special.... well he turned out to be a rotten apple, and so here I am still single..... and quite happy in my own company now, although it does get a bit lonely at times...... but I do have some lovely friends both online, and off.

I am afraid I am unable to make patterns at the moment, nor have been able to for a long while now, as my big old PC decided to go wrong back in the spring, and after losing half of its memory, but working was too slow for me.... and now it has decided to let its graphics card go bang...... so when funds allow I shall try and get it up and running again so that I can design little bits again.

The picture that you see above is of some fishermens cottages which have been renovated, and are in a little nook of a fishing town of Brixham which is quite close to where I live...... when I have friends to visit they are always in awe of visiting this little town, and they do wonderful fish'n' chips there, so sometimes we go and taste the local delicasies.

I didn't know until a couple of weeks ago after watch a TV programme that Fish'n'chips is not a truely British dish, even though many "Chippies" have claimed it as British Food......... in fact by all accounts Fish and Chips was brought to the UK by the Jewish people who emigrated to the UK way back in the 1800's.

In the summer I had a trip to London, I hadn't been there for years, A friend had invited me up there for a weekend, and I mentioned that I would love to go to The Portabello Road, as one of my passions is small antiques, and objects d'art. For many many years the Portabello Rd had been well known for all those sort of wonderful objects from a bygone era...... When I got there there were only a handful of antique type shops left... I was so disappointed.... and now in their place were shops that had been taken over by cheap imports and tat....... yet another sign of the times.....

I have put a pic below of a shop that was at the entrance of the start of Portabello Rd though, as I thought it may be of interest to stitching ladies and men alike. The window of the shop was absolutely filled with antique sewing machines, from every conceivable country that ever made them, and all displayed all along the huge windows of the clothes store that sold gents clothes.

Another interesting item that I found, not in London, but in Manchester when I visited the Industrial Museum up there was the most amazing jacket/cardigan made out of Dandelion Clock Seeds. The museum has such an amazing amount of information and exhibits about Textiles and design of materials, especially as Manchester was one of the main centres back in the 1800's for the textile industry. I took many photos there too many to add here in my blog, but no doubt when I post again, I shall put them on here.
The Pic below is of the Dandelion Seed Jacket... so delicate, and beautiful.... it must have taken many many hours to join all the seeds together.

I have put a close up below ( as close as I could get)

Below are a few of the things , places, and just strange I have taken pics of this year... I hope you enjoy....

Sunset Last Week

Misty morning accross the Tamar Valley

Very High tides at Teignmouth

Mist at noon over Babacoombe Beach

Me at home

Sir Christopher Wrens House

London.

The formal Gardens at Hampton Court

Hampton Court,

where Henry VIII lived in

Tudor Times

The Grand Back entrance of Hampton Court.

A Creek at Bere Ferres S. Devon

Valley near Canonteign Falls Devon

Art Week in Teignmouth

Sir Francis Drake's monument

Plymouth

The Only Blue Post Box I have seen in England

The Bridge at Salford Quays

An interesting Moss in the woods

the rocks at the bottom of Becky falls

My youngest son Stu, doing his amazing

Long Jump at school

A View of the Arboretum and fountain at Hampton Court

I loved the funny shaped Yew trees

Pixies at Becky Falls

2011 a New Year , and a New Woman....

Well a new year and a new woman as the title says.... and gone are the blues from that dreadful year of 2010.

With losing over three stone, I feel amazing, and have lost a lost of medical problems regarding high blood pressure, and all that goes with that. I don't recommend doing it the way I did the weight loss, as it is not good for the soul, but here I am again unscathed, and to boot a new hairstyle.

Talking about the new hairstyle; for years now I have had curly hair, and have wished and and wished as all we women do for hair other than what I have been given.... If we have straight hair we want curly, and if its curly we want straight. I suppose we are never satisfied.... always wanting to improve on our persona, and I am no exception. I know I have been slow on the uptake of new inventions when they have come out on the market, but Oh!! how is wish that I had discovered ceramic straighteners when they first came out.

When I went to the hairdressers in October, because I had a new man in my life and I was going to visit him 287 miles away, and I needed a nice new haircut, they showed me all different styles, and then afterwards straightened my hair...... I felt as if I had been reborn. No longer did I have to stand for hours in front of the mirror trying to tweak and tease the curl out of my hair...... it was so simple after getting the ceramic straighteners, and now I only have to spend 5 or 10 minutes each day getting the look that I really want, and not having that feeling when the face in the mirror looks back at me saying OMG I need to put a hat on to cover this mess up on my head.

To my ladies who have followed my blog in the past... my sweet friends who have still stayed and looked to see if I am back all these months I say '' I love you all''. I have learned too this past 10 months who my real friends are, and who are not... and I have been on a huge learning process in that time... with many different aspects and challenges thrown at me.... but now I feel that I am a better person for that, and can see that we need these trials and tribulations in our lives in order that we don't get complacent about things, and that we have to move on, and improve.

I will in the near future be posting something that I have designed, albeit small to start again getting back into stitching... for these past months I have not wanted to even look at a needle let alone do any WIP's or start any new projects. I know it is very remiss of me too for not even taking part in the Groups that I belong to..... but I am sure that they will understand as to what depths I have been trawling..... and no sympathy needed !

I think that in the future too I will be posting a lot more about photography too, as I have a great interest in this, and my new man is a far more accomplished, and better photographer than me... and he wants me to join a photography group that he belongs to so that I can learn more about lighting, and using different lenses on an SLR camera. At the moment I have just been using an Olympus small pocket digital camera, as this was easy for me to slip into my pocket, and go off and be snap happy in the country side.

What has been happening to me since I have seen a whole new world you may ask.....

Well I have discovered that it is great to leave the car behind, and travel by train, since my guy would not have me travelling all those miles up the motorway and back for fear something may happen whilst driving, and also the fact that it would be less stressful. Well he was sure right there. So he makes sure I go by first class travel, and am able to enjoy the country scenery fly past as I travel too and fro.

I have also found that I love City life and that there are just wonderful things to be seen and heard that never happen down in my neck of the woods in this sleepy old town that I live in. So it may well be that sometime this year I shall be moving away from Devon to find out what life is like actually like living in a part of England that I have never really discovered; with a completely new life up North to look forward to....... fingers crossed and God willing.

I have also started working voluntarily for a charity, as a part time teacher, teaching IT and computers to adults with disabilities, both physical and mentally affected. I find this so rewarding..... so this makes things doubly difficult in moving up North... so a great deal of thinking on my part will be the order of things to come.

Well that is enough about me for now....... I hope that you all have a wonderfully prosperous new year, and may it be a very happy year for you all.

To end on I was sent this very true and funny email this morning which I think the more mature ladies that read it, and gentlemen if they secretly follow me will find very amusing

I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, my loving family, for less grey hair and a flatter belly.

As I have aged I have become kinder to myself, less critical of myself, and I have become my own friend.

I don't chide myself for eating that extra cookie,or for not making my bed, or for buying that sill cement gecko that I didn't need, but looks so avante garde sat there on my patio.

I am entitled to treat, be messy and extravagant.

I have seen to many dear friends leave this world too soon, before they understood the great freedom that comes with ageing.

Whose business is it, if I choose to read, or play on the computer until 4.00am and sleep until noon?

I will dance with myself to those wonderful tunes, of the 50's,60's & 70's, and if I, if I wish to weep over a lost loved one.......I will !

If I want to walk on the beach in a swimsuit that is stretched over a bulging body, and will dive into the waves with abandon if I choose to, despite the pitying glances from the jet set.

They, too, will get old.

I know I am sometimes forgetful. But there again, some of life is just as well forgotten.

And I eventually remember the important things.

Sure over my life my heart has been broken.

How can your heart not break when you lose a loved one, or when a child suffers, or when someones beloved pet gets hit by a car?

But broken hearts, are what give us strength, understanding, and compassion.

A heart never broken is pristine and sterile, and will never know the joy of being imperfect.

I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turning grey and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face.

So many have never laughed, and so many have died before their hair could turn silver.

What can I say.... Hi again ladies

Well ladies it has been a long time since I last told you what was going on in my life...... I know that some of you have known what has been going on, and others must have thought I disappeared from the face of the earth without a word.

I know that this has been mainly a stitchy type blog with a bit of everything thrown in from time to time for good measure. Well todays blog is slightly different ; as many of you share your trials and tribulations with your family of online friends. I too am about to tell you why I had disappeared for so long, and I am so sorry that I deserted you all.

You see back in March the man who I thought was my soul mate, and the love of my life turned around one day, and said that he was leaving me, for another woman. Without going into great detail you can imagine what depths I have trawled......... but now I am back.

I am afraid that since that day I found out this traumatic news I just couldn't stitch, I couldn't concentrate long enough to be able to. Life has been very difficult for both me and my son . But now with the support of some very lovely online friends I am going to try and start over again with my stitching. They have lifted me from that unhappiness to a place where I can find joy and happiness again. The hollow empty feelings have gone, and in fact now I think.... I have found a person who would make me happy again.......yes a man!!! So watch this space, as it is early days.

I may not post so often, as I am having to play a different role, and there are many things that need my attention. However, in all of this it has done me a great favour..... as you can see the pic at the top, this was me before all the heartache.... you could say a bit on the large side. Today I am 3 dress sizes smaller, and I feel better for losing the weight. This is a pic of me now below. I do wish though that I hadn't lost the weight from my face, but I am sure when I get eating properly again, no doubt it will fill out a bit more again.

I am afraid too that I have let my lovely garden get overgrown, and unloved, as I have not only been unable to tend it because of how I felt emotionally, but also because I have now been diagnosed with a neuropathy in my leg which makes me feel that I will fall over if I turn quickly or am on uneven ground, I have lost a lot of sensation in it, and have a numbness that affects the way I walk particularly in flat shoes, so I have to wear high heels most of the time when outdoors. I really need to get someone to help with the garden, but because things are a bit grim financially now I cannot afford to pay someone to do it. So I am sorry but there are no nice pics of my garden to show either.


Before the school holidays, I took my son and his friend to a beautiful place on Dartmoor one lovely sunny sunday. We took a picnic, and the dingy, so that the boys could have fun on the shallow river that is interspersed with boulders which came down into the river in glaciation times.The place is called Dartmeet. Below are a few of the pics that I took that day.

Stu & James

Stu acting the fool,

Stu trying to go cross eyed

Below are some pics that I took when Stu and I went to a motorbike show, on the seafront at Paignton one wet and windy Sunday lunchtime..... we even had a cone of chips each....... and Stu said to me ""this is good being able to walk along and eat them in the street, Dad wouldn't have liked us doing that"".

Spring has sprung ,a couple of stitcheries, and a WIP,& men and sheds

Spring I think has eventually sprung in my neck of the woods, down here in South Devon, although we have had a few sharp frosts here in the mornings, we have been having brilliant sunshine to melt it all away very quickly. All the little spring flowers are popping up all over the place. Don't you think that nature is just amazing, all those beautiful delicate flowers which pop up each spring after having to force their way up through hard compacted soil which has been frozen for many months. It's truly miraculous.



I have put a few pics below of the little miracles that have managed to emerge after being out in all weathers in my garden, so too are the snowdrops which are pictured above.

First Polyanthus
Miniature Daffodils

Mahonia

Hellibore

Life has been getting in the way of stitching recently, what with my dear son having to go to hospital after gashing his leg wide open to the bone, whilst out riding in the woods on his bike, falling off, and falling on a broken bottle left by some stupid person. This happened on his half term holiday, he then couldn't go back to school for a week and a half while he still had stitches in.

Then with the job that my DH does he gets up very early in the morning, so having to go to bed early at night in order to get enough sleep to muster up the energy for the next day, I haven't had time really for much stitching between doing the dreaded chores. I have been making the most of the brilliant sunshine, and getting the laundry out on the line rather than wasting expensive electricity drying in the tumble.

What is it too, about men and sheds!! My DH says he has to have a shed in the garden..... well we had 2 up til the weekend before last..... then another arrived..... this time it was not a small one... I was told it was going to be about the same size as previous....... but no. Mind you DH is not the tidiest of men when it comes to sheds....and the other two were bursting at the seams. Oh what a Sunday I had, I head cook and bottle washer that day, with not being able to get out of my back door for mountains of tools and "and things that will come in handy", (junk); and I just supplied streams of coffee and food all day. The new shed was 10 ft square. I suppose it really did need replacing as the floor had gone in one of the old 6ft ones, but now I haven't got a view of the garden when I put the kettle on for a cuppa..... I have a view of the shed, yet to be finished with roofing felt.... it does have some water resistant roofing material on, but is not "Perfect yet".

I have managed to do just a little bit of stitching. I started to do a sort of RR called weatherpoems...... there is no time limit on getting it finished thank goodness, as there are 12 patterns to be stitched. It may turn out to be quite expensive if I don't have all the colour threads I need. I have already substituted a couple of colours in the first one called MAY which I have started. see below

The two pics below are off two more stitcheries which I have embroidered for my quilt.