Self Care Sunday #BEDN

Was inspired to finish this skein of yarn! 

I have spent this weekend feeling blessed! Got to spend some precious time with #1 son on his visit from uni. He didn't even bring washing home 😊 

I have spoken on the phone three times to #2 son up at AFC Harrogate, hearing all about his attempts at swimming and his new skills of rabbit skinning. 

I attended the Remembrance Service at our village war memorial. Sobering and very emotional for me especially this year. 

One of the giant wall art pieces at Harrogate. 

And this afternoon I spent some time with a lovely friend at a spinning and weaving workshop. Picked up some tips, refined my technique and loved being creative in such good company. 

It's been a weekend of counting my blessings and being thankful. 

How have you spent your weekend? 

Unusual Hobbies - #BEDN Day Seven

Great start to the Blogging Challenge – I have missed two days already! In fairness I have had a busy couple of days and now #1 son has come to visit from University so I am enjoying his company for a few precious hours!

I am sad that I missed the ‘Firework’ prompt. I thought long and hard about how I had no interesting (read ‘in focus’) firework pictures. Instead I had a post all planned out about Guy Fawkes and how pictures of his pre and post torture signatures had inspired my rather gruesome interest in mediaeval torture instruments. Now, don’t get me wrong – I wasn't interested in a weird way, more a horrified fascination... I realise now I am digging a hole so maybe I should move on to a different prompt!

Before and After - Image from Google Images

Today’s is ‘Unusual Hobbies’ (which could include the above?) Hmm – I have lots of hobbies. In fact I drive my family to distraction by my short attention span when it comes to trying new things. In fairness I like to dabble and will, more often than not, come back to something when it once again takes my fancy. I did try asking them what they considered to be my most unusual hobby and these were the answers I got:

Who could not love a face like this? Most of my family apparently...

• ·         Taxidermy – I have quite a collection and have had a go at a few things myself. I also have a few specimens in the freezer which is always good for a laugh when my daughter is trying to find the fish fingers! (joke) 
• ·         Spinning wool – I have been trying to teach myself to spin yarn on a wheel. I'm not great but it’s quite therapeutic. The problem is I am not very good at knitting.
• ·         Collecting Ugly Cats – My Mum used to collect Crested China and had a beautiful display case full of it. I never quite got into it in the same way but did discover that there are a number of quite startling cats produced so I limited my collection to these lovely creatures. I have to keep them in my room though as no one else seems to appreciate their happy faces!
• ·         Bee Keeping – possibly not that unusual but it is usually a talking point when people find out.

 

Well I guess this post will have either intrigued or scared people – I think I might be a bit worried to ask which!

Photography #BEDN Day Four

I like photography, I like fairs and I like black and white! 

Food Glorious Food - #BEDN Day Three

Ok so I know this doesn't strictly show food but I was on a picnic and this was my Ribena bottle, honest!

I thought I might go for a more retro theme for today’s prompt, some things I remember about food and my childhood.

As a child of the Seventies, the vast majority of meals were home cooked from scratch. One meal my Mum used to make was what we christened ‘Fishy Eggy Cheesy Thing’, white fish with hard boiled eggs covered in cheese sauce and served with rice. I have made it for my own children and they lovingly christened it ‘Fishy Eggy Manky Thing’. Guess it wasn’t a favourite!

 We rarely had take-aways and so I remember these being a huge treat. Usually Chinese and usually undertaken with ‘skilful’ use of chopsticks!

As we lived close to the Primary School, my brothers and I would walk home for lunch – sandwiches or spaghetti hoops and toast, scoffed down whilst watching ‘Tickle on the Tum’ or ‘Let’s Pretend’. If there was a school trip coming up then we would get a special packed lunch with the ultimate treat of a Mr Kipling Apple Pie. I still love these as they bring back such happy memories (even though I know how full of fake stuff they are).

We had a fabulous newsagents up the street, Mr and Mrs Horne displayed a proper range of sweets, all in the jars with the little paper bags. You could get a pretty full bag for 10p (gosh I feel old now) and my favourites included Black Jacks, Hubba Bubba and those very un-PC chocolate cigarettes. If I could stretch my pocket money to a whole packet then I would choose Spangles and Pacers. Visits to my Nandad always included a trip to his local shop in Frieth for sweets too. They had some great chocolate mice :)

I don’t remember having fizzy drinks that often – I do remember the excitement of getting the special Christmas order form from our village milkman where you could order such delights as Cream Soda and Dandelion and Burdock, to be hidden away until the big day. There was often a sugar mouse in our stockings for Christmas, a tradition I keep up with my own children. I do remember one year getting a sugar pig which was quite large. I sat and ate most of it whilst watching an On The Buses special and felt very ill indeed.

It’s quite amazing the memories that thinking about food has brought back – I wonder what things my kids will think back on and remember?

PS if any of you three are reading this, don’t even mention my burnt jacket potatoes thank you!

'I Don't Mind Mondays' #BEDN Day Two

Monday, Monday, Monday – Can I be controversial and say that, as a rule, I don’t mind Mondays. Yes, it means the end to the weekend and a few days of following a more rigid routine. Early mornings (5.15am anyone?) and the daily chore of deciding what my stomach might fancy for lunch when it really doesn't want to be thinking that far ahead.

But, Monday also means a new start, new challenges and new opportunities. I am lucky that most of the time I love my job, I work with some fab people and get to do some quite un-mundane things! 

Mondays also give me the opportunity to begin my day and my new week with some journaling and using one of my sets of cards to pull out a thought or guide or helpful tip to meditate upon for the week ahead. I do try to journal most mornings over my cup of tea but Mondays somehow seem important to set the tone for the coming days.

Now if I’d been more organised I would have sorted out an arty shot this morning to accompany this piece. But I wasn’t, so I haven’t and so you’ll have to make do with an old shot!

 I have looked ahead to the prompt for tomorrow though – oh dear, it’s food related and it’s a miracle if anything I cook looks edible let alone photogenic. Maybe a trip to a beautiful shop window is in order?

A Blogging Challenge Day One

After my return to Blogville yesterday I also spent some time catching up with other blogs that I follow. In a mad, crazy, creative moment I decided to sign up for the ‘Blog Every Day in November’ challenge from Rosalilium #BEDN. Now I am not promising to blog every day (though I will try) but I thought that having prompts would inspire me and give me some new ideas. It might even give my blog a bit of direction!

So, the first prompt is ‘Something New About Yourself’ and I thought oh bugger. The 3 people that read my blog already know me and I try to keep my crazy hidden from everyone else! But, hey, new people might happen along and it’s a chance to reinvent myself :) (it also showed how woefully out of date my ‘About Me’ page was!)

So, who am I? Directionally challenged, easily distracted, random collector, history lover, occasional cusser, underdog supporter, in-my-dreams yogini, creative crafter, book slut (I’ll read anything!), painfully introverted, mother of 3, wife, sister, daughter.

I love Reiki, Autumn and taxidermy. I don’t love crowds, rude people or peppers.

I’ve often wondered what it must be like to do something totally mad and follow your dreams – but then I’ve also dreamed about what it would be like to build a time machine and travel back to Elizabethan times with a Polaroid camera (probably I’d get burnt for sorcery).

Mostly I live an ordinary life, work, home, The Walking Dead and just sometimes I let the quirky out. I am constantly learning new things about myself - sometimes they even surprise me (I had no idea I knew all the words to 'What's New Pussycat'!).

If this hasn’t frightened you off yet then welcome! Looking forward to the challenge and discovering some new friends through the power of blogging!