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"".

More Stash, Dartmoor & the Sun was Shining......

New addition to my stash..... the haberdashery is laid on about 4mtrs of 32ct pink linen which I was lucky enough to acquire this weekend.

Saturday was a gorgeous sunny day, and the family and I went down to Tavistock which is a small town nestling on the edge of Dartmoor. Although having passed quickly through the town previously, we didn't realise what a beautiful and bustling market town it was. It quite took me back three or four decades to how life used to be, before life had made people not have a lot of time for each other, and the faster way of life had taken over.

When we arrived at the centre of the town the first thing we saw was what we thought was an outdoor market, only to find later that it was a local art exhibition for all the artists who live in and around the Dartmoor area. Their stalls decked with bright green and white stripes were arranged outside what we later found to be a pannier market, which sold all sorts from speciality foods to small antiques. I was in my heaven, and of course, I just couldn't resist.

When entering the pannier market, I felt like I was transported to a bustling bazaar in some far off Country. All the stall holders were very friendly, and wanted to chat; not like the people in the town where I live. I took a few pictures of some of the stalls to show the amazing things that they were selling. In particular I was amazed at some beautiful quilts which one lady had on sale for such a reasonable price; and which had been hand quilted. Their prices ranged around £65-£70 ($98-$105) for a double quilt.

There was another lovely stall which had hand woven shawls, scarves, and bags.

Of course what I was really looking for was more stash, as I have a scissors case & fob made for an exchange at the moment, and I wanted something suitable for finishing the two items off.

I did find a stall in the market which sold a few items, but not what I really wanted urgently. I bought the pins which are showing in the pic at the beginning of the blog, and also some white cord.

After visiting the market, we wandered along the small streets of Tavistock peering into the small, almost Dickensian type windows to see what treats we could see. All the buildings are built from a dark grey granite, and are all very similar in design above the shops. Many of the buildings, and houses in the town are Georgian. Suddenly we were drawn to a particularly gorgeous shop by the smell of freshly ground coffee. We entered the shop to find it was like a modern version of a Victorian Food Emporium. Even the gentleman behind the counter looked the part. It was a beautiful sight with shelves upon shelves, of Epicurean jars of pickles,chutneys, jams. There was a cheeserie which sold every conceivable cheese you could think of. We of course were drawn to the coffee section, where there were sacks of coffee beans in front of the counter, and Tin upon tin of various blends of coffee, and on the counter was the grinding machine, where you could choose which bean you wanted ground, and have it freshly ground for you. We purchased some wonderfully aromatic Colombian coffee, which I must say was not really much dearer than the supermarket sells in ready packets. Needless to say we sent a coffee aroma all around us when we were walking down the street.

Further on down from the Coffee Emporium we came across a wonderful craft shop which sold mainly stuff for making cards etc, and art products, but they did have a lovely collection of beads,ribbons, and cord....... and dare I say I succumbed again.
In the part of Devon where I live we don't have many Rhododendrons in peoples gardens, but In Tavistock they seem to thrive, and there are many mature Rhododendron plants which have been trained into trees. One of which stands in the grounds of the Church in the town square.

For those of you who follow my blog you will know that I cannot just walk past a bargain piece of antique porcelain or pottery, well yet again I couldn't resist this piece which I have posted a pic of below. I believe that it is Chinese, and quite old, but I haven't yet been able to read the backstamp, as it is a white seal on white. I need to get more advice on it. I think it was a steal at £5 even though some of its enamels have been chipped, but its age and beauty outweighs this I think!

Some Pics of the buildings in Tavistock

We thought that it was strange that a statue of a man be built into a wall of a very ordinary end of terrace cottage. We have yet to find out who he was, and what his claim to fame was. Here is the pic.Here is a pic of the first hospital( Georgian in design) in Tavistock....... now a dentists surgery.

The Trip Home Across DartmoorOn our way back over the moors we delighted in all the beautiful flora that abounded. The bright golden Gorse shone and stood out in great clouds of gold even out on the horizon. With bluebells, primroses,wild orchid, and wild garlic(ramsons)which lined the hedgerows where the terrain wasn't quite so Savannah like. We wended our way through from two bridges, and on to Dartmeet where we stopped for an home made ice cream....made with clotted cream and real strawberries; not good for the waistline but....yummy!

Whilst getting to two bridges, a herd of about 30 wild Dartmoor ponies were stood by the roadside blocking the right hand side of the road. We had to slow down right to a stop... my husband not realising his window was open then had a fully grown pony stick its head in the car, and nuzzle him.With that a funny little mini moke type vehicle came tearing up the hill to where the ponies were, a man jumped out with about three children then herded the ponies all down the hill, and tried to get them to go to his remote farm. Obviously they had escaped from their field and wanted the freedom of the moor. They stampeded down the hill, and right through the car park where we had eventually gone to watch what was going on. Most of them galloped past to where they should go, but three very naughty ones decided they liked the taste of freedom.

This is a pic of the naughty three.