Some small concerns ..........

Hello All

Before I start, I need to say something.  I don't have big ambitions.  At this point in my life (our lives) I (we) feel we deserve a warm and comfy nest, within which I (we) can work, relax, and be ourselves, surrounded by the activities and belongings we appreciate and enjoy.   We've worked hard.  Maybe we hanker after a special house in a special location, with a bit of land.  Maybe we'd love to express ourselves being self-sufficient, frugal and grounded, raising vegetables and caring for chickens rescued from a terrible fate.  But that's not going to happen just yet.

We're headed towards that land called retirement.  Our series of temporary homes, rented and unlovely, had to end.  Our resources were drained.  We have but a few working years left.  We needed a better base from which to function.  We didn't want grand.  Or expensive.  Or fashionable.  Our style is friendly, coloured by necessity.  Our last chance to fix things popped up.  We jumped and grabbed.

Well, it's been tough.  I dare say it's been fun in parts.  The main difficulty is in getting over the disappointment of things not being straightforward.  We really needed a quick move, get settled in, down to work.  This house started as a bargain purchase, sale completed in TWO weeks!  needing JUST a quick tidy-up and move-in planned within another two weeks, and now? The wiring was deadly.  Completely re-done.  Completely redone means floorboards up, walls and bricks and plaster down.  Complete mayhem.  An earthquake.  Disaster.  We've found ourselves on a merry-go-round of re-doing, re-placing, re-newing almost everything.  

Now I'm looking at twelve, no, twenty pots of paint, rolls and rolls of lining paper, brushes, rollers, skirting boards, beading, tiles, ............ and that's before I start on curtains and carpets.  Oh, and we need a bathroom,  and the hob, oven and extractor fan have been condemned and, beyond redemption sadly, have been taken to the tip.  The window frames are rotten.  And we have no central heating or hot water.  The boiler was condemned too.  The quotes are laughable.  A rocket to the moon is more achievable.

I'm managing to stay focussed on the end result (I do the decorating and so can visualise our finished 'home') , it's finding the energy that I have a big problem with.  I get tired very quickly.  The last two weeks have been really difficult for me having to be sitting in a cold dark house unable to do a great deal whilst electricians, plasterers et al made a big noisy mess everywhere.  Then left me to clear it up every night!  Not. happy. me.

Meanwhile, in Haiti they no longer even have tents.  They.  have.  Earthquake.  Cholera.  Hurricane.  Disaster.

Get real pamela.  Count your blessings.  Do something to help.

And put your back into the flippin' wallpaper-stripping.  Winter's coming.

Thanks for listening folks x

HAITI the facts

Impact of the 12 January earthquake

• Two million people living in the most affected area
• 220,000 dead
• Over 180,000 homes damaged or destroyed, 1.5m homeless
• There are now 19 million cubic metres of rubble and debris in PaP – enough to fill a line of shipping containers stretching end to end from London to Beirut.
• One and a half million people living in camps including over 100,000 at critical risk from storms and flooding
• There are over 1,100 camps and 54 of these are home to 5,000 people or more
• Over 600,000 people have left their home area in Port-au-Prince and mostly are staying with host families
• Nearly 5,000 schools have been damaged or destroyed

http://www.dec.org.uk/item/425

Anyone coming out to play.....?

Hello folks

How are you this bonfire night?  Had a quiet night in myself.  Big aerosol factory fire near us today, had enough smoke, flames, bangs and whistles thank you very much.  Veg chow mein and apple crumble for supper, very nice, all gone.  Snacks prepared for tomorrow's slog in the batcave.  White shirts gleaming on their hangers for next week's worker.  Car packed with bags of rubble, stripped wallpaper and various detritus ready for drop off at tip first thing.  Sugar soaping and ceilings to wallpaper weekend ahead.  Sigh.

What to look forward to?  Hmmm.........

Dates in my diary!

November 23rd
Will be joining coachful of lovely o.a.peeps on christmas shopping day outing to Leeds.  Personally would love to be hitting the charity shops, department store habby departments, vegan health food type shop.  But only if I can sneak away whilst peeps have lunch.  Any tips on goodies from locals in the know?  Anyone free for a coffee?  P.s. I can't walk fast or far.

November 26th - 28th
Knitting and Stitching Show Harrowgate.  Sounds delightful.  I've never been to a big crafty show (maybe I'll get supplies needed for My Big Project - discuss later).  I'm excited, and scared.  Any advice?  P.s. Am in the north-east and don't drive, car-share anyone?

Oh and I'm very pleased to say I'm hoping to be included in the quest by   http://notesfromthefrugaltrenches.com/ to provide winter clothes and toys for 1,000 little'uns.  Hope I wasn't too slow to catch the boat on that one.  Take a look there might still be room for you too!

So then, a few treats to look forward to after all;)

No fresh photo's today so here's another one from last November in the English Lake District....

You're very lucky if you live over there (I used to, sigh).

Well,  I'm off for a shower and an early night now.  I'm hoping to post about blogging soon.  It's been a good experience so far.  But one or two snags.  I'm hoping for tips and advice.  I'll sleep on it.

Night-night all.

pamela x

p.s. any look-forward-to dates in your diary?

Small Rewards ......

Hello folks, how are you?  Had a busy day?  Well now......

After a day at the batcave......

all a girl wants..........is.............

a sit down in the fresh air with.......a nice cuppa........ooh that's just lovely........;)

while she ponders what to do with the latest leavings discovered at number twelve, yes, it's another pair of dirty dusty lightfittings...........hmmm......paint or polish?

And she wonders what this evenings forage to the big DIY emporium might yield.  And where she's going to find the energy from.  She's going for lining paper, masking tape, brushes and ceiling paint but is hoping for some bargains and some inspiration.

And she expects she'll return home with at least ten things that weren't on her list.

Well, here's hoping this trip out is followed pretty closely by a long hot shower!

Better get on with it then.  Leaving you with leaves, the indoor foliage variety not the golden glory that is autumn in the north, hope you likey;)..............

Thanks for visiting, byebye for now.

pamela x

P.s. since you ask - mine's rooibus with soya milk, and on occasion an added teaspoon of demerara, thanks! (Oops sorry Clare and anyone else who's in the dark rooibus is also known as Redbush tea from South Africa originally - infact I was introduced to it by my lovely friend Sara who was from that great country!  You can now buy it everywhere).

Just wondering, what's your tipple of choice?

Happy November .....

Hello folks and welcome to November's first posting.   I hope you had an
enjoyable samhain/halloween/all.hallows.eve/potato picking week/half term break/celtic new year........

Here's my trick.............

Scary eh?  What a shocker!

And here's a treat.........

Much better.  Just lovely!

Thought I'd start marking the first day of each month with a 'New Month's Resolution'.  What do you think?  A sort of theme to carry throughout, to help achieve the bigger aims and objectives more easily, and with a bit less stress and a bit more fun.

Over the weekend I've considered a number of different resolutions.  I also did a fair bit of browsing in blogland.  I got some great ideas.  I know I should be 'counting my blessings' more than I do ( a great theme throughout the bloggysphere).  But what else could I resolve to do which would

• make my current situation more bearable (more enjoyable would be overly optimistic)
• get over my strong and deeply held tendency to procrastinate
• push me to finish those works-in-progress which haven't made any progress in recent history
• get us moved into number twelve sooner rather than (much) later

Hmmm.  I'm also noting the several folders, scraps of paper, print-outs and notebooks lying around the place.  All holding various IMPORTANT information, plans, shopping lists and checklists regarding the work ongoing at number twelve and the packing-up over here.  And remembering we couldn't find the vital IMPORTANT INFO....... we needed yesterday when deciding on a bathroom design.  (we'd both come up with different measurements for the bathroom.  But that's another story.  P.s. I was right! heehee!)

So November's resolution is self-evident really.

Therefore (tonight)

1. I'll be compiling an IMPORTANT INFORMATION station, in the form of a looseleaved folder with an index and plastic pockets.  All the quotes, contact details, receipts, etc. in one place.  Organised.  And...... 
2. I'm (finally) putting together the scraps of fabric/paint colours/favourite magazine pictures into MOODBOARDS for each room (probably) in a separate folder.  I'll carry this around with me so thrifty finds won't be lost (unlike like the curtains I walked away from last week 'cos i wasn't sure if the colour was right or if they'd really 'go' with the (vague) plan I had in mind.  I dashed back later when the penny dropped - perfect absolutely perfect!!! - only to find they'd . . . gone.  And you know what thrift shopping is like.....I'll search and search but will never find the same or similar, ever.  Sigh.

So there you have November's resolution is to use my new system AT ALL TIMES to better project manage the ongoing house move situation.

Now I would credit the source of these inspired organisational tools HERE normally.  Forgive me please as I just can't trace the links.  I believe http://frugalflourish.blogspot.com/ and http://sherricassaradesigns.blogspot.com/ were probably involved so thanks anyway!  But if anyone feels left out let me know please x

 Oh yes, about those unfinished projects....................oops.  Another time.

So, what would your resolution be?  Or is once a year enough?
Must dash, meet up soon
pamela x

At the top of our stairs.....................

Hello all and thanks for popping in.  And special hugs to Clare at Summerfete for being my first visitor to leave a friendly word, I'm very honoured!  Just for you, a sneaky peak................

 More of that later.

So how are you today?  Feeling perky, shambolic? struggling through? Fancy a diversion into someone else's chaos?  Me too!  I'm dodging the builder's yard that is Number Twelve - and I'll spare you the pictures, believe me, it's not a pretty sight.

Firstly, I caught up on some essential housey tasks - two hours to tackle the backlog of washing up.  Rewarded with a morning coffee browsing in Blogland searching for inspiration - I found loads!!!  Loved the sleeve for an Ikea lamp over at Cicada Daydream so simple but effective, thanks Michelle, I'll  be making a few of those.  And I can't resist room makeovers can you?  Especially when home-crafted loveliness just fits right in!  Blair has some beautiful hand-blocked curtains in her bedroom now which I'd love to have a go at making.  Maybe I should be less ambitious and start off with a napkin lol!  (That's a serviette to our American buddies who are all saying yeaugh thinking I mean something else!)

I tackled a bit of make-do and mend in the shape of cleaning-up two of the grotty but potentially gorgeous lightfittings amongst the leavings we found at Number Twelve.  

 How about bargain of the week number one - two cans of spray paint totalled £4 at the till :) Not sure if matt aubergine is the way to go for chandeliers though, what do you say?

Well, maybe I'm being a bit optimistic, we'll see. 

 Then whilst carefully negotiating various hazards on a trip to the top with fresh laundry - our bedroom is in the attic here - I realised you might enjoy a peak at my workroom-in-transit.  After four years in this house I had only just got said workroom properly organised (sorry I can't locate a picture just now) only for us to buy a new house and now..............  


all my careful organisation gone to pot, aka top staircase.......

 Check-out my labelling system

 Vintage and ethnic

 Thrifted garments all prepared for re-purposing.........

 some new, fat quarters and remnants ..........

and boxes and boxes of bits and pieces....

Typical isn't it?  A mad couple of hours to pack up stash and tools (a stash and grab haha!) and my functional and fabulous workplace was no more, all returned to spare bedroom mode for man-who-rewires to stay for the week.  Ah, well.

 I found bargain of the week number two in a charity shop.  £1.50 for a pair of gloriously pink unused pillowcases.  Now have several pairs, all in strong colours.  Just perfect for appliqued flowers, or patchwork, lovely.  And how do you like the handknitted scarf I finished last November whilst on holiday?  Have to say I struggled with the 8 line pattern.  Think I'll try crochet next time.  Saw a lovely granny-square-scarf by Blair again, she's a clever one!  Don't you just adore 'how-to's'?  I wonder how you organise them?  I try to keep a list but can never find it when i need it.  Sigh.

Another tea-break and a leaf through back issues of gorgeousness for further inspiring pictures...................

I'm on a quest for a Lloyd Loom chair, please:)

 No decision yet on paint colours or bedroom wallpaper.......or bathroom for that matter.  But it's fun trying!

And now two unfinished projects.  One (as peaked above) for grandaughter number one a flower fairies snuggler......

and for Little Sis the student midwife a Thai fabric souvenir refashioned into something a bit special........

and finally, an old favourite of my very own ..................

Hope you've enjoyed visiting, have a pleasant evening, see you soon x x x

Well I just hope it'll be worth it!

Oh dear me.  Saturday dawned,  the day in which our electrician and team (aka my man, his brother, and willing helpers) moved into our sweet little number twelve, and set about demolishing it.  All in the name of  'home improvements!  Haha!  At nine a.m. I was optimistically reporting that all was looking good and we might be in on November the first.  By nine p.m. and following a number of "issues" I'm informed to expect (a shocking) "possibly early January".  WHAT?!

I'll spare you today's set of pictures, sufficient to say there isn't a room that hasn't got BIG HOLES in the floor, and the areas that I'd hoped would not need decorating for some time (being a thrifty sort of lass) are to be TOTALLY RUINED.  Sigh.

So instead of our shambolic ruin in Northern England on a very chilly wet weekend in late October, how about.....

just a couple of holiday snaps of San-Franciscan desirable residences to drool over from mid-May instead.  This one reminds me of wedding cake!  And the one below, slightly more rustic......

And finally.........taken in the gardens up at the Griffiths Observatory in Los Angeles........

....gazing upward through the branches into the canopy....

                                           ......remembering old friends, peaceful souls..........

Ah well, off to bed, sweet dreams all, night-night x x x

Overheard in a thrift shop.........

Looking back I wish I kept a note of all those jaw-dropping, eye-popping remarks and snippits of conversation that I've had the (guilty) pleasure of overhearing along the years - what an epic that would be!

You know the sort of thing, you can't quite believe what you're hearing, have to physically restrain yourself from turning to see just who on earth would make such a comment, or dash off urgently before you laugh out loud. Favoured locations are the bus queue, shop checkouts, doctor's waiting rooms.

Today's little gem went something like this...selection of customers browsing in charity shop.....one says to another  " you know these women who eat the macrobiotics way, apart from being well-off, and undoubtedly a bit healthier than the rest of us, always look so blooming miserable!  It must be something in the way their diet affects them - seriously! watch out for them, they need to get it fixed"!

Immediate note to self as I snuck away....better start smiling! Lol!

Aw, take a look at this.....

Sadly we can't fit in an autumn break this year due to being in the middle of the BIG MOVE, so I'm having to make do with a bit of nostalgia instead.  Here's Lake Derwentwater on a very misty and totally stunning morning last November, sigh..........., hope you like it too.


By the way, I was in the thrift shops searching for fabric (you guessed!).  I had a think last night and have put together a mental 'mood board' so now know exactly how I'd like the main room to look.  Today I went and measured the windows over at the new house (let's call it 'number twelve) and curtain construction will shortly commence......when I can (stay in the shop long enough to)  find the right fabric!

Talking of decor I thought you might like to see detail from a sweet little room we stayed in up in the High Sierra when we made our visit to California back in May.........

Room 'three and a half' at the Outside Inn in Nevada City, a pioneering gold-mining town, got to be one of my favourite places, ever! Sigh..... (and when my blogging skills improve I hope to be able to write code and add links to make things easy for folks to find).

Well here's hoping for a peaceful, productive and thrifty weekend folks, byebye for now, byebye x x x