Journaling or scrapbooking?

Good evening.

I recorded a video this morning. 

The art of making a scrapbook and filling it with collected memorabilia. Fun to make, but what do you do with it afterwards. Here is one I made a few years ago. Someone gave me some small brown bags. What can I do with them? Make a book. Have you made one of these, what did you put in it?

The snow has mostly gone, so I went to the park this afternoon. I bought some duck food from the shop. It's 50p a small bag, a rip off really. I only had a £1 coin in my pocket. I must remember to take some from the big bag I have at home next time. All the ducks came swarming around our feet. Families with children were loving feeding them. 

The sun was going down as I walked home. 

I don't know what this black smoke is rising in the sky. Is it smoke or is it steam. A couple of miles away is an industrial estate. Maybe it's from one of the factories. 

Nothing more to report tonight. 

Catch ya tomorrow. Toodle pip.   ilona

Lee tells it like it is.

 

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9 Jan 2026

I use everything that happens as a gift. It is fuel to never give up. I can be hurt, but I will never be stopped. We are just getting started.

Anyone who posts online will be attacked by someone who does not agree with what they are doing, or what they are saying. Lee Asher has had more than his share of haters. Here he describes how he deals with it. Yes, he is hurt, because he knows the truth. The hate he receives only fuels the passion he has for rescuing animals. 

With the onset of AI things will only get worse. To extrapolate truth from fiction will be almost impossible. Divisions will widen as people are pulled towards one side or the other. There is good on one side and evil on the other. 

Listen to Lee to the end. He is a good guy. Anyone who loves animals is on the right side. You decide which side you want to be on. 

Have a good weekend. We had a sprinkling of snow overnight but is is starting to melt. 

Toodle pip.   ilona

M & S or Aldi. Which is cheaper.

Good evening.

My shopping trip on Tuesday. It was cold and wet and I wanted to go out. Let's go to Marks and Spencer for a change. It must be at least a year since I was last in there. Did I go through the self scan checkouts. Nope. I was talking to a woman who was scanning an enormous trolley load of shopping. She was scanning it very carefully, making sure that the bar code was visible so the machine could pick it up. I asked her if she didn't mind that it was taking her a long time. She replied, 'I have got nothing else to do'. If scanning her shopping is her only bit of fun, good luck to her. 

I whipped my camera out and took a photo of myself facing the camera. I know there are cameras in all shops, but I don't want my mush to be scrutinised while self scanning. Will they pounce on me if I make a mistake I wonder. 

What a lot of ready meals. No need to cook at all if you don't want to. 

Everything is so expensive in there. It will be another year before I go again. I didn't go for a bargain, I went to be nosey. It's a posh shop, and even the customers look posh. 

I went across the road to the other retail park to go to the big Aldi, to get the rest of my shopping. In the video you can see what I bought.  

This afternoon it was a visit to the vet for Mickey cat. His front claws were giving him some bother and making his pads sore. The nurse sorted him out. Two nurses actually, one to hold him down and the other to trim the claws and bathe his sore feet. All is well now, he was ravenous when we got back and immediately scoffed a plate of shredded chicken. 

I'll cut you loose and have a relaxing hour cuddling my little girl Mayze. 

Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona 

Careful as you go.

 

Be careful everyone. I was dragged around the village yesterday by an excited dog that wanted to sniff everything in the hope of finding a tasty morsel. He goes from one side to the other, darting across my path, doesn't want to pass anything by without a full inspection. The bin men had been so a few spillages happened. I had to wrestle the remnants of a Sunday roast from Billy's mouth before his strong jaws ground the remaining bones to a gritty mess. 

This picture is from an advert to wear suitable footwear when out in slippery conditions. I try and walk on grass wherever I can, and always wear my boots. 

Catch ya later. Toodle pip.   ilona

Loverly jumbley

 Good morning. Still frosty but no snow. 

Does anyone remember Jumble Sales, or as we used to call them, Rummage Sales. We had them at the Village Hall in the village I grew up in. Rows of tables were put out and people dumped all their unwanted clothing, shoes and bags, and bric a brac, a day or two before the sale. No separate pitches like there are now. No one knew where the second hand clothes came from, no one cared. You take them home and wash them. 

On the opening day, before the specified opening time, a long queue of bargain hunters formed. Pay on the door to come in, usually a few pennies. Once inside people dashed to the table where they had seen something they wanted. The rummage began. 

I loved these sales. I saved up a little bit of pocket money to spend on clothes that we couldn't afford to buy from shops. I was a skinny teenager who wanted to look classy and fashionable. I bought stiletto shoes and stockings, preferably those with a ladder so people would think I must be grown up. Make sure the seams on the back of my legs were straight. I tottered up the garden path to show off. 

The Rummage Sale was the highlight of my week. I could wear my new secondhand clothes to the Youth Club on a Friday night. Dress to impress eh! Dance the night away, tottering about in my high heels. 😎😁😝  

Gone are those days when I was worried about keeping up with the fashions. Now I couldn't give a stuff. I don't have to keep up with anybody. The charity shop I sometimes go to has a rail or a big bin full of reduced clothing. Everything £1, I am diving in there. 

Happy Thursday everyone. I'll be putting out a video later.

Toodle pip.   ilona

Trapped.

Awaiting moderation

Unknown commented on "Recovery operation is planned."

58 mins ago

Heidi is not requiring a lift as her boat was not affected.

 Oh yes it is. Do you have first hand knowledge of the situation? Are you there onsite? Do you know Heidi personally?  The canal will be closed for the best part of a year. She can wait it out, but several of them are organising a lift out. 

Catch ya later. Toodle pip.   ilona

Are you smart enough

 Good morning. 

Here we go. The latest new fangled gadget to replace doctors that we have no hope of getting an appointment with. A DIY self diagnostic machine. Stand on it and it will yell at you, moan at you, tell you what to eat, with instructions to get up off your arse and move about more. 

Take the guesswork out of your health. The Hume Pod is elegantly designed and easy to use. No matter where you are in your health journey, this health station will fit seamlessly into your life.

Our New Year Sale is here - Get up to 40% off with code NEW20. Tired of guessing what’s going on with your body? Hume Health Pod tells you straight up - what’s fat, what’s muscle, and what’s water. Finally, a scale that makes sense.

And only £143. Or 18 interest free payments of £7.95.

Maybe we should all get one. Maybe not. I'll stick with the guesswork. 

I'm off to the Wednesday Coffee Morning.

Catch ya later. Toodle pip.   ilona

Recovery operation is planned.

 Good evening.

I've just seen some news about the breach on the Llangollen Canal. 

Eight boats are trapped on a section of the canal, they ain't going nowhere. It's going to take almost a year to rebuild and repair the canal. Many of them don't want to stay there for the whole of that time. Boaters like to travel. They are planning on banding together to spread the cost of getting lifted out and transported by road to Nantwich Marina. A bigger crane will have to be hired. I wonder if Heidi the Narrowboat Pirate has put herself on the list to be recovered. 

If you want to follow this story, check out Taylors Aboard on their Facebook page. 

Catch ya tomorrow. Toodle pip.   ilona

Dissecting a conversation

Hello again. 

Still Tuesday, still cold.  I think I am pushing too many blog posts out, but what the heck. It's my hobby.

Dr Suneel has come up with another fire in your belly video. He doesn't mind calling a spade a spade, and will say it like it is. There are a lot of truths in this one. Piers Morgan apologising to Novak Djokovic. I used to have some respect for Piers, but now that has weakened. He was very nasty about anyone choosing not to have any of the murky jabs. 

We are hopefully a lot more educated now about the great harms that people went through after being bullied into taking part in the experiment. I will keep banging on about it until the drug pushers are prosecuted. 

My trolls have gone quiet. Fewer nasty and vindictive comments to dump in the bin. It was very upsetting at the time to be attacked so relentlessly. But you can't hold on to your anger forever. Everyone has to make their own decisions on what is the best course of action for them. If you are confused and lost in a fog of lies, look inside yourself. There you will find solutions. 

The whole point of the plandemic was to break up families, break up friendships, split communities, divide nations, and it has worked very well. Some of my family members have abandoned me. They cut communications almost four years ago. I don't know where the relationship is going next. It may never be healed. 

In the meantime I am prepared to go it alone. I don't carry hate, anger, and resentment around with me.  Mental health is suffering all over the globe. There is only one place to go and that is forward to a better place. 

We'll catch up later. Toodle pip.   ilona

Thank goodness for farmers

Good morning. 

No snow here but everything is frozen. Oscar was on my bed last night, so I nudged him over and got in beside him. That confused Mickey because that's his place. After a few minutes, Mickey decided he would take a chance and join me as well. They didn't used to like each other, but now they are ok. I feed them at the same time so they know there is enough for everyone. They can now be friends. 

I lay very still on my back, as I always do, so I don't disturb them. I woke at about 6am needing to change positions because it was becoming uncomfortable. It was still dark so I switched the torch on which is next to my pillow. No cats. I wonder how long I had been lying there as stiff as a board when there was no need. At some point during the night they had jumped off and found a bed elsewhere. 

I was able to doze for another hour. It was 7.30am when I got up. First things first after doing my ablutions, feed the cats. Then go outside to feed the birds waiting for their breakfast. They have the left overs from the bowls of cat food. Some dry kitten food, and wild bird seed that I get from The Range. I must stock up on that now that winter is here. I have six water bowls scattered around the garden, so I get the little hammer and break the ice on those and refill with fresh water. My fingers are tingling with cold after that. A quick retreat indoors to wrap my hands around a mug of hot steaming coffee. 

Where would we be if there were no farmers? 

No fields to grow crops, or grazing for animals. No home grown fresh veg in the shops. No shops, everything comes in a van from a warehouse. Hills covered with wind turbines. 5g, 6g, 7g, towers spewing out their poisons. Open countryside concreted over and new towns springing up everywhere. Huge tower blocks, filing cabinets I call them. Little boxes on the hillside, little boxes made of ticky tacky. Horrible thought. 

 North Yorkshire Council have 107 farmers/contractors on standby 24/7 in the winter seasons.

In heavy snowfall farmers & contractors will be mobilised to help gritters keep Priority 1 routes passable and to maintain at least one route to all centres of population open.

After a prolonged period of extreme weather farmer/contractors will also help clear & treat priority 2 & 3 routes with ploughs & snowblowers.

Thank you farmers. 

Have a good day. Catch ya later. Toodle pip.   ilona

Happy Birthday Lisa.

Good afternoon. 

This morning it was back to normal after the Christmas break. We start the year at Crafty Club with a Birthday. The lovely Lisa is 50. She had lots of presents to unwrap. There was 13 of us in attendance, plus one cute little sausage dog which Becci brought with her. Lots of food to scoff, lots of cake. 

The mood was jolly, not much crafting was done, but I wanted to add a few more stitches to the mandala. A glass of wine, a slice of pizza, some nibbles, and cake. That will be my lunch today, don't need to make any. 

Monday morning in a warm Village Hall. Perfect. 

Now it's almost 3pm and I must take Billy a walk before darkness arrives. 

Thanks for popping in. See ya soon. Toodle pip.   ilona 

Bimbling around Barton, and a money saving tip.

Good evening. 

On with the layers again today. Still freezing cold. A visit to Barton upon Humber. I parked at Tesco, it's free, and went into The Ropewalk to look at the art exhibitions. I recognise this name, Michael Scrimshaw has a studio here, but I think he does most of his work at home. This piece is not very big, about 18 inches to two feet high. A lot of his sculptures are in metal. 

Flippin heck. It's a tad expensive. 

Me and Michael at the Open Studios Event in September 2019. 

Here he is at a previous visit in 2013. His dreadlocks must be a lot longer by now. 

I walked to the Visitor Centre on the banks of the river. Took a few snaps along the way, though it was too cold to get my hands out of my pockets and take my gloves off. How I suffer for my art. 😆

The ponds are mostly frozen, except for a small patch where a large group of ducks had congregated. The smaller birds scooted around on the ice. 

The Council have been spending money on a new boardwalk, which is a lot better than the old one which was in danger of collapsing into the water. 

A seating area with a centrepiece sculpture. I did stop to talk to a friendly couple who were taking photographs, which was very nice. Too cold to linger for very long though. 

Oh dear, vandalism rears it's ugly head. The shop is quite some distance from here. There is no reason to push the trolley this far. Someone larking around I would imagine. 

Ooooh look, I found some more trolleys. This place is not near the shop. I think the trolley dumping has happened before and someone is collecting them up. Maybe they will be returned to where they belong, at the entrance to the store. 

Now I am getting too cold to take any more photo's. Back to the car. 

I was going to pick up a few bits of shopping at Tesco, but dumbo came out in such a rush I forgot to take any money with me. Oh well, it was a cheap couple of hours. Let's go home. 

A video I knocked out yesterday. 

5,095 views 3 Jan 2026

Psssst, want to save £174.50? Get rid of your television set, and stop paying for a TV licence. Read all the terms and conditions about what you can and can't watch online. Don't break the law. TV licensing have written to me again. They say I am under investigation. I haven't had a television set for 25 years, and I do not watch any live streaming on this computer. They are welcome to knock at my door, but I won't let them in.

Look at the time. I must get something to eat. 

Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona

Who calls the shots.

 WARNING  💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩💩

Keir Starmer

@Keir_Starmer

·

1h

I know people are frustrated about the pace of change. I am too. Getting our country back on track will take time, but despite the chaos we inherited, we're making progress. Wages are rising faster than prices. Waiting lists are down. Inflation and interest rates are falling. This year, Britain will turn the corner, and you will start to feel the change we promised – in your bills, in your community and in your public services.

When I was busy getting my own life sorted out, busy getting a job, busy earning a living, trying to establish a life that I was happy with, I had no interest in politics or what was going on in the world. I ignored all that sort of thing.

My dad was the news addict, his daily newspaper was read over and over again, he devoured every word until the ink became smudged and it became a crumpled mess. It ended up in the grate when the fire was laid out the following morning.

Back in the day, my expectations were that the elected Government would sort out all the rules of what would be the best course of action to take, regarding the UK's role in politics. How naive I was. Nothing to do with me. I watched wars come and wars go, and never understood who was fighting who, and for what reason. I still don't get it.

The awakening for me was when we were told that we had to get a certain treatment. If we didn't we would all drop down dead, as was shown in videos coming out of China. Enough to scare the 💩 out of anybody. I watched and waited to see what happened next.

Back to Starmer. He is still peddling the 💩. His tweeeeets are full of it. His words are spewed forth from his staff of course. He talks about inheriting chaos. What was he doing when the other side were in? Did he challenge anything that he didn't agree with? No of course not. He was just biding his time until it was his turn to take over the reigns. He knew it would come.

He said he is frustrated about the pace of change. No he is not, because he has no control over how fast or slow things are progressing. His masters dictate what happens next.

Wages are rising! Nope. How many people will be losing their jobs in the scramble for the scam net zero? What happens when farm land is lost to solar panels, wind turbines, and new sprawling house builds linking village to villages, spreading out from the towns. Don't worry, AI will be the new God.

So what is going to hit us next? Maybe this will sort out the mess. Just one of the many conferences coming down the line in 2026. Fancy a trip to Dubai in April?

TOKEN2049

@token2049

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Don't worry about what is going on at ground level. It's the big boys that call the shots. Instructions will filter down. Who has the most money shouts loudest.

As my header says, 'Love my life', and I do.

Thanks for popping in. Enjoy your Sunday. Toodle pip. ilona