Standing under the trees on a blistering hot day

That was a very busy day yesterday. I was up early, put the tables on the trolley and trundled them down to the village green and set them up for the day's event. Sue and Janet arrived with their stuff to sell. I went back to re load the trolley with some of my stuff to sell. Ken helped me carry some of it which wouldn't fit on the trolley. 

It took us an hour to set the stall up. My goodness, we had so much to shift. People started trickling in. The official start time was 12.30pm, but visitors arrived before that. We were ready. A few pics, but oh dear, I forgot to take a photo of our own stall. What a plonker. 

Assortment of stalls, other charities taking the opportunity to raise funds for their cause.

The tea tent is always popular.

The school choir belting out a song or two.

It was a blazing hot day, as predicted, Everyone sweltered and gathered under the trees to escape the sun. We were ok, our regular spot is always in the shade under the trees. I was so tired last night, it was a lot of work, but worth it, we raised a tidy sum. The stuff I have left over will be offered to Janet and Sue for their car boot sales, or given to charity shops.

I was up at 6.30am this morning, as soon as I had a small breakfast, cereal and a banana, I was off out to do my walk. Which brings my total up to the magical 500 miles. Phew, that was close. Now I've got to mow the lawns, another busy day.

Tomorrow is check in day for the International Walking Group. How are you all doing? I look forward to receiving your miles. Toodle pip.   ilona

Yobs

I'm just back from my walk. I pass the playing fields, it's a place where the youths congregate after school on a summer evening. It's on the edge of the village and they meet up at the bottom end where no one can see what they are up to. I have been taking my litter picking stick with me and a carrier bag, and usually find a few cans and bottles. Tonight I didn't intend to pick litter so took nothing with me, except my camera.

It's Friday night, and look what I found. There is always more at the weekend than during the week. It must be because they get their pocket money on a Friday and spend it in the shop.

I found a small carrier bag which came from the takeaway, but it wasn't enough to contain it all, so I walked to the car park and removed a black bin liner from one of the bins.

We seem to have a group of yobs in our village who do this every weekend. It's blooming annoying. We have a nice village but some people are intent on spoiling it.

Big day tomorrow, I'll be busy at the Summer Fair.
Toodle pip.  Ilona

PS added on Saturday morning. Attention members of the International Walking Group. Sunday is the last day of the month and June is the halfway point in the year of the challenge. How far are you off achieving your goal? My target is 500 miles, and I'm going to make it. One more 3 mile circuit of the village to do. Yipppeeeeeee. Check in day is on Monday the 1st of July. 

My Trucking Life. Part 10.

I thought it was about time I did another trucking video, the tenth in the series. This one is a bit different, it's a slide show of some of the work that I did. The sound has a background noise from the ancient projector, and the focus isn't too good because the photo's are old, and I had to re focus them one at a time. However, I go into a bit more detail about the different jobs I did. I tried to cut down the length of the video, but each slide has a story to it. The one good thing about watching yoootooob videos is that you can watch part of it, then go back later to watch the rest.

I have lots of amazing memories to look back on, and when I see the pictures I think, blimey, did I do that. I have three or four more videos to go to bring the story up to the present date, it's not quite the end yet. Thank you for watching.



Toodle pip.  ilona

For sale....all kinds of stuff.

I've spent the day mostly indoors because it's raining, with a brief spell outside when it stopped raining to fill up the garden wheelie bin which will be emptied tomorrow. I have that much debris from clipping the hedges and mowing the lawn that I filled my neighbours bin up as well. 

This is a lunch that I made the other day from some of the Marks yellow stickers. There's cheese, beetroot, mushrooms, egg, and cucumber on a wrap spread with houmous. It was bloomin lovely and so filling. 

I'm slowly getting through sorting the stuff out for the Summer Fair at the weekend. We have some nice things to sell for the cat rescue, and all will be cheap. I need to get rid of this clutter and get my house back.  Tee light holders and glass paperweights.

 Nice selection of glass animals and birds.

Pet beds for cats and small dogs. Would also make seat covers to keep sofa and chairs clean.

Shopping bags, of course, ha ha. I haven't made as many this time because we have lots of other things to sell. 

Two table lamps. Very pretty.

Bunches of flowers. I hope all these sell at 50p each. If I have any left I shall be putting them on the old gravestones in the churchyard.

There's toys, kitchen stuff, soft cuddly toys, bags, planters, flower baskets, and a zillion DVD's. We have four tables placed end to end, maybe five if Sue and Janet bring another one. They are doing a tombola as well which the kids like. I think the weather will be fine, the forecast is dry and warm.

I've been getting on with sewing this afternoon, while watching yooootoooob videos. It's amazing what you find. Programmes about internet crime and scams. It certainly is an eye opener when you see how determined they are to rob people, and how gullible vulnerable people are.

Did you know that there is a thriving market in fake reviews. People make a lot of money by lying through their teeth about how good a product or service is. Large companies pay a lot of money for them and give them scripts to work from. Basically it's a freelance acting job. One woman had a dozen or more different personas. She claimed she was an expert in this and that, even wearing a doctors coat to endorse some slimming pills. I never trust reviews of any kind, in fact I don't even read them. And I like to think I will never get scammed, I don't believe anyone.

That's all, it's time for dinner. Toodle pip. ilona

Amar Latif, no limits, even if you can't see.

Hello. I follow Amar Latif on Twitter because I met him a couple of times when I went on two of his Traveleyes holidays. He never ceases to amaze me. Recently he was presenting a TV programme about Yorkshire. For someone who lost his sight at 18, it has never held him back.

Amar has just done a Ted Talk, filmed at Glasgow. He is such an inspiration, nothing fazes him, he lives life to the full. Have a watch of this.



I've found this short video which shows how daring he is. It's an amazing story of  determination and passion.



Here he is walking along the canal towpath at Skipton. This was the first UK holiday that Traveleyes organised. The first one I went on was to Sorrento, sadly I don't have any pictures of that.

Checkout the Traveleyes site here. If anyone is at a loose end for their holiday, maybe there is something there that might tempt you. Single travellers welcome, sighted or blind. This is not a sponsored post, I happen to think that Amar is a lovely guy, and the holidays are great fun.  

Toodle pip.  ilona

Pushed out by a cat

Good morning on this sunny Sunday. An update on the lollipop trees artwork. This is the backdrop that they will be attached to. Still a lot to do on it, more stitching required, hand and machine. I have put a layer of wadding underneath to give it a quilted effect. Another layer of wadding will go inside when I put the back on, so the wire of the frame will be padded both sides.

Look at this little madam. Mayze pesters me that much, walking along the desk in front of me so I can't see the computer screen, to tell me she want's my chair. She usually wins, as I am not going to get anything done if I don't move. She makes me laugh, she darts about everywhere, and I love her.

Things to do so I'll say Toodle pip for now.  ilona

How sad.

I was in the town the other day, opposite the bank is B & M Discount Store. What a sad sight to see trolleys full of dead and dying plants lined up on the pavement outside the shop. Reduced stickers had been put on most of the pots, but they weren't fit to even give away. The only place for these is the compost heap. 

Why do B & M order so many, then the staff leave them to die. What a waste of money, waste of plastic and packaging, waste of staff wages both at the store and the garden centre where they were grown. A waste of transport costs, wages and diesel. What a complete waste of time. 

Why haven't they been watered and looked after? Such a shame, sad to see so many dying plants.  ilona :o(

They say I'm a dreamer

My goodness, I've come over all emotional, I have to post this. The human race is on the road to self destruction and it can only get worse. Why the hell can politicians not see this. Why the hell are they at each others throats, bickering, fighting among themselves, fighting each other. I would like to bang their heads together. I would like to see them get together and sing this song for real.



That's all.  ilona

Yellow stickers at M & S

Oh no, not another yellow sticker video. Aha, but this one is a bit different, I did my shopping at Marks and Spencer. No I haven't lost my marbles, you know I never set foot in there as their prices are not my kind of prices, cheap, ha ha.

I had a gift card from my best friend carol, for my birthday, so I thought it was about time to spend it. She gave me strict instructions to get myself a treat, something I normally wouldn't buy. I knew it would be impossible to do that if I wandered around the whole shop. There are plenty of nice things that everyone would consider a treat but I couldn't bring myself to buy them because I don't need them. So I stuck to the food hall. I definitely do need food.

The experience was quite fun actually. I was there ages perusing the fresh food chiller cabinets, following the ladies around as they were reducing the prices with a second sticker. There wasn't lots of bargains to be had, but I was determined to only buy yellow stickers. The food is expensive in the first place, and even with money off, it was still more than I would pay anyway. But never mind, I wasn't paying for it, this was my birthday treat from carol.

If you want to know what I bought check out the video. I didn't spend all the voucher, I still have £10 left for another time.



Toodle pip.  ilona

The start.

Yep, I've made a start on the next arty thing. I may have posted a pic of this wire frame before, several months ago, can't remember. It looks like a church window, I got it from...erm...now where was it, a charity shop or a car boot sale. Boot sale I think, 50p. I saw it and thought aha, something arty. I have now thought of a use for it. 

First I have wrapped dark blue, almost purple, thick wool around the front and sides. I was going to weave yellow wool through that but decided to attach it top and bottom into zigzags.

The front ledge juts out a bit I did think about removing that and using it as a flat frame. But then thought I could make a feature of it, so leave it attached.

Beads and bling added.

The whole frame will be covered. I'm thinking of a landscape using different fabrics.

These are going to be the trees. They are lollipop trees, the trunks should be made out of lollipop sticks, I might use something else.

And that's as far as I've got, updates later. Toodle pip.  ilona

Wall hanging tapestry video

 I was awake at 5 this morning so I got up, had a coffee and a bowl of cereals, and went for my walk around the village. It was lovely and quiet, the air was fresh, and the birds twittered.

I made a video about my latest tapestry wall hanging. The yoootooob subscribers have been waiting for this, it's been a while since I showed it in it's early stages. So it's all done and dusted now, and I have moved on to the next project.

I apologise for the background noise. The camera has picked up the sound of the fan on the new computer. I am going to have to make the videos while the computer is off in future. I must say though the upload was a lot quicker than the old computers.

I have already posted photo's of this so you might not want to watch the video, it's up to you.



Thank you to the readers who had a look at Erika's yellow sticker video. She was chuffed and I was chuffed. I'm going to find some more of hers later.

The library van is here, so I'm off to see Stan for a chat, and change my books.
Toodle pip.  ilona

Meet Erika, another yellow sticker shopper.

I'm so excited, I just found this video on yooootoooob. Erika has given me a mention in her Yellow Sticker video. Wow, how good is that. All my talk of saving money by shopping late has worked, Erika has saved a lot of money. Now, could everyone do me a favour, click on the 'watch on youtube' symbol and when it has finished please leave Erika a comment on her channel. Let's surprise her with lots of comments.



Thank you. Toodle pip.  ilona

Happy Spinsters Day

As I don't have a dad to wish Happy Fathers Day to, haven't had one for many years, I am re naming this day, Happy Spinsters Day. So here is my special treat, egg, beans, and a veggie burger on toast for breakfast. Scrummy, lovely, and filling. 

Enjoy your daddies, whatever you are doing, and I will enjoy my Happy Spinsters Day. Toodle pip.  ilona

A trip down memory lane.

Saturday morning, and it's not raining, hooooray. I went off out yesterday to visit family. This is my sister, and Aunty Pat, visiting Uncle Stan's grave. A bit of a tidy up and new flowers added. That's better. Aunty Pat has settled in her new retirement bungalow, but doesn't have transport to come and visit the grave very often. 

While I was there I took a few minutes to pop inside the church. I do like the kneeling mats they have there. Some good ideas for anyone making a tapestry.

   

 Later on, after I dropped Pat of back home, and had dinner at my sisters, I made a bit of a detour to visit the village where I used to spend all my summer holidays at grandma's house. This is White Lion Well, on the roadside next to the house. Looks like someone is taking care of it by planting flowers, and keeping the hedges tidy.

The church door wasn't locked so I spent a few minutes inside. A few quiet moments, thinking about my grandparents and great grandparents who would have used this church. Dunstall is a very small village, not many houses. 

Some of my relatives are buried in the graveyard here, my father, an uncle, and grandparents.

Time to head off back up north. The drive home was easy, not much traffic about, arriving at 9pm. A day of memories.

Toodle pip.  ilona

At last ! Finished.

This has been a long time coming. I start off with a little idea and it turns into a marathon. A piece of hessian out of my Aunties garage, been there for many years. I painted coloured squares on it, and stitched smaller squares and oblongs over it in simple backstitch. 

I started in the centre and worked my way to the outside edge. Random sizes of any colours I fancied. I decided not to make the edges dead straight, I think it looks better with a haphazard look. The remaining coloured edge I painted black, trimmed it and frayed the edges. 

Then I mounted it on a piece of  thick upholstery type material which Crafty Club Janet gave me, it looks a bit like the hessian. I stitched it around the edges with black cotton twice, then a few random stitches in the centre in matching thread so it wouldn't show at the front, to keep it together. 

In between the back and front is another piece of fabric to give it some substance. Three loops at the top with a piece of driftwood through them. I went for three wider loops rather than four narrow ones. The fabric is quite thick with a rubberised backing and I was having trouble getting a needle through it. A pair of small pliers close at hand solved the problem. 

I am pleased with the way it has turned out,  though it was a slog at times, doing the same repetitive stitching over and over again. Need to do something more colourful and creative now. I've made a start and it's looking good. 

Raining again, I'm not doing much walking at the moment. Playing with the new computer. It took a while to figure out how to edit these pictures. It's a similar programme that I had before, but different layout on the screen. A lot of scratching head, going all around the houses until I find what I want. I have never used Paint before, but I might give it a go and play around with it. 

Toodle pip.  ilona

All's rosy in the garden

A few pictures from the other day. It was sunny then, this morning it is murky, foggy, damp and cold. Very strange.

I put a chair outside the back door to sit on while I contemplated what to do next. I didn't get to sit on it. Mayze is always hovering, just in case a chair comes vacant that she can lie on. 

The cats like the long grass, Oscar has made a nest and loves to snooze there in the sun. Not today though. He has taken shelter under the table outside the back door. He doesn't seem to mind the manky smelly cushion that has been there for ages.

The pots are springing to life again and are showing signs of colour. The ivy up the side of the garage needs trimming, and I have some more plastic fruit to hang there, just for fun.

No need to buy any more plants, the beds are full to bursting.

A wonderful splash of colour in the flower garden. Some in full bloom, some with buds which will open up in the next few weeks.

The plastic boxes are coming to life again. Cheap seeds and bulbs bought from the £1 shop three years ago. They keep coming back. David wants a bit of a clean up and a lick of paint.

Aaah, Mayze has moved from the chair and has now come to see what I am doing in the summer house. This cat shelter with the storage space below it comes in very handy. I built if from a dog cage and bits of wood. The steps help them to get into it.

Don't think I'll be doing much in the garden today if this miserable weather keeps up. I'm almost coming to the end of the wall hanging, and now assembling bits of fabric for the next art project. Catch ya later. Toodle pip. ilona