Another lazy day of chilling out .....
Meandered to Mass this morning (well, it was warm-ish, and I had to go to the shops anyway) followed by a leisurely breakfast toastie at the coffee shop. Then to the shops, ending at M+S. Only time will tell whether my purchase of a pair of cropped trousers is canny forward planning or reckless optimism!! Whichever, it is a suitable compromise between overexposure (sight for sore eyes) and being shy (not my style) and useful as for so much of our summer the weather is not quite what it could be.
Must now get organised as I intend making some cards for the Marie Curie appeal this week - I have so much stash and there is a limit to how many cards I can sell myself. This year is a window of opportunity for me to do something for others, too: next year I'll be back to studying, I hope.
Monday, 13 April 2009
Sunday, 12 April 2009
Soggy Sunday
and the whole of the rest of the week, if the weather forecast is accurate!!
but, in fact, today was not as bad as the forecast suggested.
HAPPY EASTER!
I spent today being very lazy - breakfast at the coffee shop followed by a snack at the pub: coffee shop busy, pub dead quiet (!). Decided to wait my slap up lunch (courtesy of M+S!) until tomorrow as I hadn't slept much and so wasn't lively enough to appreciate it fully. This was partly, but only partly, due to coming in from Easter Vigil Mass at midnight. It was good to be there, even if I wish I could attend a High Mass with a professional choir (or ours as it was when I first came to the parish). For that I would have to go to London, and that would mean a longer journey late at night - not a good option, and not with the community where I belong. I wish I could belong to somewhere that had good music, because I really appreciate it (even if my own singing sounds like a drunken orgy: that is probably why I prefer a Mass sung by a choir - they can do so much more and make it really special in a way that reflects better the tremendous event it is.)
It was also cold in church. We have the heating on a timer, and no one appears to think to change it when we have a Mass or event at a different time from usual .... I'll have to keep chipping away at that one. Fortunately it was not as cold as it can be: if it is really cold the chances of me giving any thoughtful attention to things spiritual for more than two seconds is nil!!
I am really glad I was able to 'do' Easter properly this year: last year I couldn't because the weather was so bad, and how important are the things I wish I could have when you think of what we are celebrating and how much people suffer in other places if they attempt to celebrate Easter .... and on Maundy Thursday I was very aware of how much we would have risked by any celebration right here had we been in the sixteenth century.
Rather a solemn post (but then it is the most solemn three days of the year ... ) and I have every intention of celebrating for a day or two yet!
To return to everyday things ... the neighbour whose cat had stayed a night or two came with chocolates and a plant for me and I asked her to have a quick sniff around to check if there was any other evidence of his presence, but none was found, so I will presume there will be no nasty surprises to find - thank goodness!
but, in fact, today was not as bad as the forecast suggested.
HAPPY EASTER!
I spent today being very lazy - breakfast at the coffee shop followed by a snack at the pub: coffee shop busy, pub dead quiet (!). Decided to wait my slap up lunch (courtesy of M+S!) until tomorrow as I hadn't slept much and so wasn't lively enough to appreciate it fully. This was partly, but only partly, due to coming in from Easter Vigil Mass at midnight. It was good to be there, even if I wish I could attend a High Mass with a professional choir (or ours as it was when I first came to the parish). For that I would have to go to London, and that would mean a longer journey late at night - not a good option, and not with the community where I belong. I wish I could belong to somewhere that had good music, because I really appreciate it (even if my own singing sounds like a drunken orgy: that is probably why I prefer a Mass sung by a choir - they can do so much more and make it really special in a way that reflects better the tremendous event it is.)
It was also cold in church. We have the heating on a timer, and no one appears to think to change it when we have a Mass or event at a different time from usual .... I'll have to keep chipping away at that one. Fortunately it was not as cold as it can be: if it is really cold the chances of me giving any thoughtful attention to things spiritual for more than two seconds is nil!!
I am really glad I was able to 'do' Easter properly this year: last year I couldn't because the weather was so bad, and how important are the things I wish I could have when you think of what we are celebrating and how much people suffer in other places if they attempt to celebrate Easter .... and on Maundy Thursday I was very aware of how much we would have risked by any celebration right here had we been in the sixteenth century.
Rather a solemn post (but then it is the most solemn three days of the year ... ) and I have every intention of celebrating for a day or two yet!
To return to everyday things ... the neighbour whose cat had stayed a night or two came with chocolates and a plant for me and I asked her to have a quick sniff around to check if there was any other evidence of his presence, but none was found, so I will presume there will be no nasty surprises to find - thank goodness!
Wednesday, 8 April 2009
Stowaway!
I suggest you don't read this if you are just about to eat/have just eaten ....
A friend came to do something in the garden on Monday afternoon and when she had left I found a little string of brown beads on the bathroom floor, firm, dry and about the consistency of plasticine. I assumed it was something from the garden that had got caught on her clothes, but couldn't think what. Yesterday I found another one on the living room floor on my way out to the shops, and thought: "If I didn't know better I would think that was an animal dropping." (I don't keep an animal, and I hadn't seen or heard one coming in with me ... )
Yesterday morning my neighbour's mother called and asked if I had seen their cat. I told her I hadn't but if I did I would let them know. About 8 pm last night I suddenly heard the loudest of noises, not a miaow but one that could be a cat, just outside the front window, and it went on for a time, though it didn't sound like a fight. It was the loudest cat I had ever heard, so I rang the neighbour. Meanwhile the cat noises stopped. Next thing I know, my neighbour is at the door saying please could I come because her cat was my side of the door. So I go to get my keys and see a large black cat by the door!!
Cat and neighbour are now reunited to her great relief. I am a little worried, because if that cat was in here from when he disappeared on Sunday evening he must have left more behind then I have found, most probably a smelly damp patch, which needs disinfectant quick ... but there is not room to move the furniture easily and I cannot, anyway, do it myself. I have checked the most likely place he could have been (on the bed in the spare room - cats like to be comfortable!) and there is nothing there and no smell. I will ask a neighbour to come and check later: someone coming in from outside will be more sensitive to any smells.
I cannot understand how he can have been hidden for so long without making himself seen or heard, especially as I have been cooking since and I would have expected any cat to appear as soon as I started. He must have been both hungry and thirsty. Just where has he been hiding???
A friend came to do something in the garden on Monday afternoon and when she had left I found a little string of brown beads on the bathroom floor, firm, dry and about the consistency of plasticine. I assumed it was something from the garden that had got caught on her clothes, but couldn't think what. Yesterday I found another one on the living room floor on my way out to the shops, and thought: "If I didn't know better I would think that was an animal dropping." (I don't keep an animal, and I hadn't seen or heard one coming in with me ... )
Yesterday morning my neighbour's mother called and asked if I had seen their cat. I told her I hadn't but if I did I would let them know. About 8 pm last night I suddenly heard the loudest of noises, not a miaow but one that could be a cat, just outside the front window, and it went on for a time, though it didn't sound like a fight. It was the loudest cat I had ever heard, so I rang the neighbour. Meanwhile the cat noises stopped. Next thing I know, my neighbour is at the door saying please could I come because her cat was my side of the door. So I go to get my keys and see a large black cat by the door!!
Cat and neighbour are now reunited to her great relief. I am a little worried, because if that cat was in here from when he disappeared on Sunday evening he must have left more behind then I have found, most probably a smelly damp patch, which needs disinfectant quick ... but there is not room to move the furniture easily and I cannot, anyway, do it myself. I have checked the most likely place he could have been (on the bed in the spare room - cats like to be comfortable!) and there is nothing there and no smell. I will ask a neighbour to come and check later: someone coming in from outside will be more sensitive to any smells.
I cannot understand how he can have been hidden for so long without making himself seen or heard, especially as I have been cooking since and I would have expected any cat to appear as soon as I started. He must have been both hungry and thirsty. Just where has he been hiding???
Tuesday, 7 April 2009
Blog candy! (for C by C)
I promised my friends on the Crafts by Carolyn forum some blog candy to celebrate the forum's seventh birthday. That happened on 12th March ... but the candy didn't arrive until afterwards :-(
It is here now:
so any member of the Crafts by Carolyn forum who drops by to leave a comment between now and midnight Easter Monday will have a chance of this addition to the stash.
It is here now:
so any member of the Crafts by Carolyn forum who drops by to leave a comment between now and midnight Easter Monday will have a chance of this addition to the stash.
Sunday, 5 April 2009
Croydon shopping, Nikki
I promised I'd do some piccies of the stuff I bought in Croydon, and at last I'm on the case! Here's the first:
It's not quite what I was looking for (I was looking for cheerful or pretty; I think this comes under the heading cheap and cheerful)but if I made a mistake it cost me less than a cappuccino, so I can't really go wrong ... and I hope it will be right for one of the kids.
The second one is the opposite extreme, maybe a little too sophisticated, but I fell in love with it! I have another project in mind if it isn't right for the kids.
I am pants at getting it on the scanner straight! Mind you, to get it really straight I'd probably have to iron it, and I don't DO ironing!!
Anyway, it will show Nikki what I've got so she can decide if it suits - in reality it's nearer navy than royal blue, and has and is shaded with purple which hasn't shown up on the scan.
She of the feminist/eco/demo leanings dropped by and remarked that she liked to come because I was so quiet and peaceful (and this time - no mishaps ;) :)) ). That is something I aim for: to have a place that is welcoming and peaceful. I never have been the sort of person who buzzes around doing, and if I 'do', I do slowly and quietly - who knows, maybe she will pick that up and relax: I have wondered if her tendency to rush at ideas comes from her mother being the sort that buzzes around doing (something I have never experienced: we were more the sort that sat talking about anything and everything after supper). If I can tidy up the sitting room a bit, it will be more welcoming - something to do this week in case people come by after Easter.
It's not quite what I was looking for (I was looking for cheerful or pretty; I think this comes under the heading cheap and cheerful)but if I made a mistake it cost me less than a cappuccino, so I can't really go wrong ... and I hope it will be right for one of the kids.
The second one is the opposite extreme, maybe a little too sophisticated, but I fell in love with it! I have another project in mind if it isn't right for the kids.
I am pants at getting it on the scanner straight! Mind you, to get it really straight I'd probably have to iron it, and I don't DO ironing!!
Anyway, it will show Nikki what I've got so she can decide if it suits - in reality it's nearer navy than royal blue, and has and is shaded with purple which hasn't shown up on the scan.
She of the feminist/eco/demo leanings dropped by and remarked that she liked to come because I was so quiet and peaceful (and this time - no mishaps ;) :)) ). That is something I aim for: to have a place that is welcoming and peaceful. I never have been the sort of person who buzzes around doing, and if I 'do', I do slowly and quietly - who knows, maybe she will pick that up and relax: I have wondered if her tendency to rush at ideas comes from her mother being the sort that buzzes around doing (something I have never experienced: we were more the sort that sat talking about anything and everything after supper). If I can tidy up the sitting room a bit, it will be more welcoming - something to do this week in case people come by after Easter.
Friday, 3 April 2009
stamps
I've just spent some time ordering sheets of stamps from the Royal Mail website. A friend on C by C reminded us that the rates were going up (again!) on Monday, and it's quite a steep increase. It also saves me the hassle of going to the post office right down the other end of the High Street: I hope I have enough stamps to last a good long while.
Must go post some Easter ribbons, otherwise they will be no use!
Must go post some Easter ribbons, otherwise they will be no use!
Thursday, 2 April 2009
shopping
I've been wondering if my last was a bit mean ... I don't like to be negative, but perhaps I am not being so, just straight. Enough of that frustrating circumstance and on, to more such!!
As it is now possible to go out without looking like a mummified creature and I hadn't been for some time, I decided to go to Croydon for a mosey round and to see if there was anything promising for a friend on C by C who makes cushions for Kids Company.
The kids they work with are abused and deprived and it really makes a difference to them. I remember hearing from elsewhere that some of the kids who do burglary don't have any sense of what it means to be robbed of your possessions because they have spent their lives in children's homes where they haven't had anything that is their own, so I can imagine it must be a great help to these kids to have something made for them. I can't imagine that sort of deprivation or how their own parents can be so vicious.
But I am beginning to see where the Nazis might have found their concentration camp guards ... I wonder whether their propaganda had the same sort of desensitising effect as the abuse: some people would have been subjected to it from a young age ...
To return to the shopping expedition -
First frustration: they have moved the haberdashery department to the basement, where it is much more difficult to find, difficult to see what they have (and no longer conveniently near the ladies' loo ;) ).
Second, the remnants box yielded only miserable pieces of nylon material in the dullest of green and brown and had neither trimmings nor buttons.
Third, what was in the sale was the sort of stuff, again polyester or the like and rather flimsy, which you would use for carnival costumes or party dresses - though gorgeous red and gold. I found one lovely red and gold cotton in the sale, but realised it was a pattern of little holly leaves!!
They did not even have the craft cotton they had had earlier. I did find one bright stripe in the sale, which if it is a mistake is only £1.60 worth of one, so I got that even though it wasn't quite what I wanted. (What I really wanted were small flowers or daisies.) I also got ribbons and buttons, but not in the sale, and a really nice dark bluey purple fabric with doodled flowers on it in white. I suspect it is a bit sophisticated for those kids, but if it is I have something else in mind for it.
I think I was probably too late for the sale and too early for the new stock. As is always the case, they had no idea at all what they might have coming in or when - everywhere you go they say all their stock is supplied from elsewhere and their job is merely to receive what they are given.
I am expecting some more craft stuff for swaps and projects on C by C which I hope will arrive tomorrow so that I can get them posted before the new rates go up (by quite a jump - which will be no help to struggling small businesses .... )
As it is now possible to go out without looking like a mummified creature and I hadn't been for some time, I decided to go to Croydon for a mosey round and to see if there was anything promising for a friend on C by C who makes cushions for Kids Company.
The kids they work with are abused and deprived and it really makes a difference to them. I remember hearing from elsewhere that some of the kids who do burglary don't have any sense of what it means to be robbed of your possessions because they have spent their lives in children's homes where they haven't had anything that is their own, so I can imagine it must be a great help to these kids to have something made for them. I can't imagine that sort of deprivation or how their own parents can be so vicious.
But I am beginning to see where the Nazis might have found their concentration camp guards ... I wonder whether their propaganda had the same sort of desensitising effect as the abuse: some people would have been subjected to it from a young age ...
To return to the shopping expedition -
First frustration: they have moved the haberdashery department to the basement, where it is much more difficult to find, difficult to see what they have (and no longer conveniently near the ladies' loo ;) ).
Second, the remnants box yielded only miserable pieces of nylon material in the dullest of green and brown and had neither trimmings nor buttons.
Third, what was in the sale was the sort of stuff, again polyester or the like and rather flimsy, which you would use for carnival costumes or party dresses - though gorgeous red and gold. I found one lovely red and gold cotton in the sale, but realised it was a pattern of little holly leaves!!
They did not even have the craft cotton they had had earlier. I did find one bright stripe in the sale, which if it is a mistake is only £1.60 worth of one, so I got that even though it wasn't quite what I wanted. (What I really wanted were small flowers or daisies.) I also got ribbons and buttons, but not in the sale, and a really nice dark bluey purple fabric with doodled flowers on it in white. I suspect it is a bit sophisticated for those kids, but if it is I have something else in mind for it.
I think I was probably too late for the sale and too early for the new stock. As is always the case, they had no idea at all what they might have coming in or when - everywhere you go they say all their stock is supplied from elsewhere and their job is merely to receive what they are given.
I am expecting some more craft stuff for swaps and projects on C by C which I hope will arrive tomorrow so that I can get them posted before the new rates go up (by quite a jump - which will be no help to struggling small businesses .... )
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