My Trucking Life. Part 1

The first video is done, I don't mess about, ha ha. Talk to the camera, I tell it as it is, warts and all. There may be hesitations, I may get my words mixed up, and I may repeat myself, that's how it is.  There will be more, but not at regular intervals, there will be gaps, they will be published as and when I have time to make them. I have made notes, that's it.

We are close to the end of the month, and it's check in time on Wednesday for the International Walking Group members. Let's have your numbers., one more day left to catch up.
Toodle pip.  ilona

I can make those.

A few months ago I found these embroidery silks in a charity shop. They were in a bag for £2.50. A good buy I thought. My embroidery threads are in a bit of a tangle loose in a box, so I thought these plastiky bits were a good way to keep them tidy. 

I think it must be a bit of a laborious task to transfer silks onto these , but at least it's easy to find the colours you need.

 I don't know how much it costs to buy the plastic bits, but why not make them for nothing. Some plastics are easy to cut with nail scissors.

There you are, two home made spools, now how many more do I need.

They don't cost very much to buy, on eeeeebay I found 100 for £3.29 with free postage. As I don't buy off the internet and I am not registered with eeeebay, and as I prefer to pay cash, I won't bother. I can make them.

The storage boxes to put them in are also for sale. I've found one for £6.49, free postage. I have made my own out of a cat food pouch box, cut down to size. This will do me fine.

Has anyone been over to John's blog yet, he is doing a feature entitled, 'My Corner'. Everyone sends in a photo of their favourite corner of their house or garden, and he posts them on his blog. Some lovely places to sit and relax and spend quality time doing hobbies or whatever. I sent him my corner. Craft table by the back window looking out over the garden. I picked up a smashing free lamp from my Aunties house clearance, now I can carry on working when it gets dark outside. Have a look, interesting to peek.You'll have to keep going back because more are arriving daily.
 

Looking like a day indoors today. Windy and showery. Plenty to do.  ilona

Life is good

I did my walk as the sun was going down last night. Luckily I put my camera in my pocket. Caught some stunning views.  

I zoomed in on this one so it's a bit grainy.

Just as I thought the sun had disappeared over the horizon, I turned round and saw this. I always walk away too soon, thinking it's gone.

Breakfast this morning. The last portion of macaroni cheese, with butter beans, green beans, peas, and an egg on top. On a slice of seeded bread. I get the macaroni cheese from Aldi, about 39p a packet, then bulk it out with frozen veg and a tin of butter beans, all cooked in the same pan. There is enough for four portions.

I've been mulling over the idea of doing a series of videos looking back at my lorry driving career. As I am approaching my 70th birthday it seems an appropriate time to do it. Get it all down on record. I don't want to write a book, so videos will be the easier option I think. It will take me a few weeks to prepare this. I want to release the videos consecutively, so the story will unfold over a period of a week or more, possibly around the middle of next month.

They will take the form of a chatty style video, with some pictures, and maybe a slide show. Don't expect them to be polished and perfect, as I am not familiar with editing packages. I project for me to work on, alongside all the other projects I have got floating around in my head, ha ha.

The sun is back, thankfully it rained yesterday so the garden got a good drenching. I am going to an embroidery class tonight, need to do my walk, and some arty stuff this afternoon. Toodle pip.  ilona

Two more makes three.

As Heidi was the featured cat yesterday, it's only right that the other two get a look in today. Mayze joins me in the bed each morning. She spends the night on the bed, then sometime around five or six o clock I feel her whiskers against my face as she burrows down underneath the duvet. She wants me to stretch my arm out so she can rest her head on it. Then we both go back to sleep.

Sorry the pics are a bit fuzzy, I could only guess when I pressed the shutter with my left hand. Sharing another 20 minutes snuggled up together. That look of sheer bliss on her face is a lovely start to the day.

Sometimes Oscar stays in at night, but he prefers to be outside in the warmer weather. He is always at the door first thing in the morning waiting to be let in, and follows me around until I put his food bowl down. This morning he sniffed it and walked away, to the back door to be let out. Oh dear, he doesn't like the food I have given him. He is starting to get a bit picky.

Ten minutes later I am sat at the table with my coffee, overlooking the back garden, and his head pops up, talking to me to be let back in. I let him in and he decides to give the food a try in case there is no more on offer. Suitably full he goes onto his fleece on the sofa and has a snooze for a couple of hours.

It's gone a bit chilly today and the long socks are back on. It's trying to rain, I wish it would, the garden needs a good soaking. Toodle pip. ilona

Heidi's weigh in.

It was time for Heidi's medication revue today. She is going to be on tablets for the rest of her life. The dosage at the moment has been one tablet every other day, but she has been a little bit quiet and sad for a week or so. After having a blood test today, the count has gone down from last time, and is a bit too low. David has advised that we up the dosage to one and a half tablets every day for a week, to give her a boost, then go back in a couple of weeks for another check.

Her appetite for wet food has gone down a bit but she still nibbles the dry at intervals during the day, and she drinks normally. Her weight is stable, she hasn't lost any.

It's an illness that is unpredictable, her white blood cells are attacking her red cells. She needs constant monitoring and checking at the vet.

She is a little sweetheart, so calm and placid, and always easy to get in at night. I open the door and call her, and she appears.

Heidi was a stray and brought into rescue with four kittens, so her history is unknown. I decided to keep her. She wouldn't have lasted long in the wild. Hopefully we can keep on top of this and she will have a few more years yet.
ilona

What shall I write about?

Sometimes, when sitting in front of the computer, I think I might write something very intellectual, or something earth shattering and amazing. I could spend hours trying to impress people with my genius ideas. I could put the world to rights, after all, I know all the answers to the political turmoil that's going on within our own shores, and those of the rest of the world. But do I want to do that? No, I can't be arsed.

So I'll stick with my simple ideas for a simple life.



Busy sewing today. Toodle pip.  ilona

An 'at home' Bank Holiday Monday.

Good morning. The sun is shining, again, and I'm off to Crafty Club shortly. Yes, we meet on a Bank Holiday Monday, as some of us don't want to join the masses and get stuck on the motorway because everyone else is going to the same place.

Walking closer to home is always a joy for me.

Here's a short video I made on Saturday.



Have a nice day. Toodle pip. ilona

PS. Thank you for all your supportive comments, it's much appreciated.

A big breakfast.

I shall be eating mushrooms for breakfast, lunch, and dinner today. Must use them all up. Good job I like them. Breakfast this morning was one large flat stuffed mushroom, cut up and put in a pan with three of the smaller mushrooms. Splash of oil. A spoon of that green stuff , some of the pasta and tomato salad, and a slosh of pineapple juice. All cooked up and served on four small pieces of the baton bread. Looks horrible but tastes lovely.

I have two boxes in my kitchen cupboard where I store all my re usable plastic bags. All kinds in there, most sizes. Very useful to be able to rummage and find one which suits the purpose of what I want to wrap.

It's Easter Sunday, sunny again, so I will be outside. Enjoy your holidays. Toodle pip.  ilona

Are you perfect?

Well are you? So perfect that you know the answers to everything. So perfect that everything you do and everything you say is just perfect. So perfect that you feel you have the authority to lecture and criticize other people on how they should be running their life.

If you are that perfect person, go and write about your perfect life on your own perfect blog, because you 'aint coming on here to pull my not so perfect life to pieces. In fact why are you bothering to even read my blog if what I do doesn't fit in with your view of what a perfect life should be.
ilona

The Queen speaks.

No time to write some words, talk to the camera and let yooootoooob do the rest. Beautiful day to be outside.



ilona

A lovely afternoon

This afternoon I went to a felting workshop at Brigg, hosted by Sue Hawkmoon, a felt artist from Hawkmoon Crafts. My friend Lynn came with me, we booked this a couple of months ago and was looking forward to it. Joyce would have said you must go because you can't let friends down. She was like that, she never let her friends down. 

It was held in Sue's house, there were five of us, from complete beginners to those who had done some wet felting before. The table looked very colourful after we had laid our wool out in the design of our choice.  

This is my design before we started sloshing the water about.

Sue did this one.

After a coffee break outside on her new decking area we went back inside to begin the felting process, which involves hot soapy water and a lot of pummeling and kneading the wool. It's a bit like bashing bread dough about.

Five finished pieces, all different, mine is top left. It could be better, it will be better when I have added some hand embroidery and beads to it.

This is Sue's Facebook page. She has a stand which she takes out to various shows and events, and she also sells kits to make needle felted items at home.

It was a lovely afternoon with great company.   ilona

Goodbye Joyce

This is the day we say goodbye to Joyce. I have been to the church this morning, and met the family there. The service is later which I will not be attending due to previous arrangements elsewhere.

The family were kind enough to give me Joyce's poodle ornament, which stood on the hearth in her lounge. It's only right that it should sit proudly with the flowers at the church. Joyce owned seven poodles during her 92 years, her favourite breed. I will call this one Bailey poodle, the real one is happily in his new home with the family in Nottinghamshire. After the service this Bailey will sit on my hearth in my lounge.

Some of Joyce's silk flowers were also given to me, I have made the arrangement in the red vase.

Joyce was a very much loved member of the community here. Every time I walked Bailey people always asked how she was, because she was not seen very much out and about.

We had many conversations over a coffee in her kitchen, what struck me was that she was always thinking about other people. Everyone she knew got a Christmas card and Birthday card. She could recall family events from years ago, it was obvious that she was immensely proud of them.

Rest in Peace dear Joyce.
ilona

Serious message.

Stitching away here, while watching yoootoooob videos. This one has made me very sad, and very mad. An Australian film, but the message is the same worldwide. In fact the problem of what to do with plastic is far more important than bloody Brexit. It is the environment we should be concerned about.

If you have a spare 18 minutes, take a look. The tiny bit of recycling we do is a mere pinprick compared to the magnitude of the world wide problem. Countries should not be shipping their waste to anywhere else in the world, everyone should be forced to deal with it on their own land.

Lunch time, then I'm going out in the sunshine.



ilona

Start of a long journey

A little update on the latest project. A piece of hessian, a little bit of paint, and a heck of a lot of stitching. Should keep me busy for a while. 

Toodle pip.  ilona

Ouch, I spent some money ;o)

I went to have a look at a local car boot sale this morning. The weather didn't look too bad so I thought there might be a few sellers there. It starts at 6am, but I don't go that early. 8.30 to 9am is about right for me, after a coffee and a bowl of Bran Flakes. I wasn't there long before I had to put my hood up to keep my head warm. Not many sellers but enough. 

I was looking for something but didn't find exactly what I wanted. There was a woman who was selling all manner of haberdashery stuff so I had a root through it. Some cotton which I might have bought if it was cheaper. She asked 50p per reel. I passed on that, too dear. She is a trader I have seen before, pretending to sell her own stuff, but surely no one has that much to sell if it is their own and are selling regularly. 

Three things I did buy, total cost £2. No, I am not going to make chips, not going to hang curtains, and not going to play badminton. My mind sees other uses for these items, I think sideways. 

 I didn't stay long, just long enough to check out all the stalls. I thought I might wander around the nearby shopping centre, but by that time I was bitterly cold and decided to head off back home.

Time to put the heating on and make a cooked, late breakfast. Mushrooms, an egg, veggie burger, and garlic wedges. A day indoors I think, it's cold outside.

Toodle pip.  ilona

The beautiful, and the ugly.

I opened up the summer house and got the dyson in there to give it a good clean, and put the cushions on the chair.  

It was a nice sunny day when I set off this afternoon, but boy was it cold and windy. I was freezing cold when I got back from my five mile local walk. 

Nice countryside, then this. The pile of rubbish looked like it has been there for some time. I'll report this to the council, maybe they will come with a lorry and pick it all up.

I was so cold when I got back, I put the heating on. Toodle pip.  ilona

Lets have a little chat.

I made a video this morning, it's a bit waffley but no matter, I do witter on a bit sometimes.

This is the start of a new art project. It's similar to something I did before, stitching onto a piece of hessian. This is a much tighter weave so the stitches will be smaller. It will take a while.

I did a litter pick yesterday, and today. I wasn't able to pick it all up, will have to go back with more bags. I often wonder if it is worth the bother, as there will be more to pick up in a few weeks time. It gets me out, and I did three miles.

This is my dinner for three days. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow. I'm using up the cupboard and freezer food, and trying not to buy any more until I have eaten a few more packets and tins. I don't like full to bursting cupboards, things get lost at the back. Onions, red kidney beans, Quorn pieces, and sweetcorn, in a mild curry sauce, on a bed of cous cous.

Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.  ilona

Struggling on with sick computers.

I'm having some technical difficulties at the moment. Small computer really really slow, receiving updates but now I can't upload pics from the camera on to there. Big computer not receiving updates, noisy fan, have to turn off monitor by removing plug from mains, but works at a reasonable speed and can upload pics. It will all come right in the end, probably when I buy a new computer.

In the meantime some pics from Angela's camera, sent via Facebook Messenger.

In her kitchen.

I was on the Radio this morning, they rang me to chat about second hand clothes. Owain the weather man has been standing in this week for James Piekos who is on holiday. He is a lovely chap, very chatty, and a brilliant drummer. Here is a little video of him. The weather forecast is never boring when Owain is about. He even brightens the day up when it's raining.



Just for Jean because she didn't find the spooky weather forecast funny. . Owain drumming.



 Going to switch off now, need to walk away from it. Toodlepip. ilona

Nine small duvets for pet beds

I guess a lot of people bypassed the second post about street art. One post is maybe enough, but I didn't want to put 19 photographs on the one post. I guess most of you didn't click on the link at the bottom of the last photograph, taking you to a short television report of the event, shown on BBC Look North, in which me and Angela had a small part. Nope, nobody commented so I guess you didn't see it.

Today I've made nine pet beds. A full size bed duvet cut into nine pieces to make smaller duvets for cats and small dogs. Only enough fabric for eight green stripey ones. I still have another duvet to cut up, that can wait, I'll make more when I have time.

Toodle pip. ilona

More street art.

Here are a few more pics of the street art at Preston Road in Hull. I might take another trip back there in a few weeks to see if more have been completed. 

We were accosted by Shirley and Joe from BBC Look North and asked what we thought of it. Well I had to tell them didn't I, ha ha. We were on the tele. The short video is on the Bankside Gallery Facebook page. Blink and you miss us.

I've had a good day in the garden today. Plenty to do now everything is growing. Toodle pip.  ilona