I'm still here.

 Good evening.

You may have noticed that I recently published a nasty comment, someone calling me arrogant. I've been called worse. I publish if I have a reply, or delete when I can't be bothered. I delete a lot more comments that you don't see. 

There really is no point in trying to get through to trolls. Their whole world revolves around punching someone in the face. Their aim is to inflict hurt and pain on their victim. When you retaliate that gives them even more ammunition to twist the knife. 

Some people are pretty screwed up. They are at the mercy of their genes, and their upbringing. It doesn't matter how much you try and engage with one of these anonymous  people, their sole intention is to bring you down. They may never give up, spiting their vitriol for the rest of their lives. What a sad life they must have. 

If I do publish one of these nasty comments, the last thing I want is for others to jump to my defence. While I appreciate the support, that only exacerbates the situation. I can fight my own battles if need be. Nasty comments bounce right off me. My zest for life will never fade. Come back next week, next month, next year, I'll still be here. 

Remember when Papillon, Steve McQueen, jumped off a rock into the sea, and floated away? The last words he said, 'I'm still here'.  A cracking good film. 

Thank you for reading my blog and watching my videos.

Toodle pip.   ilona

The highs and lows . . . . .

Good Morning. 

I have gone over this before in previous blog posts. 

People often ask me can you block the nasties from posting comments on your blog. By nasties I mean those who criticise me, what I do, what I say, and how I look. The nit pickers who come solely to pick a fight, those who are looking for a verbal punch-up. I see this Blogger Bashing is happening on other blogs as well, not just mine. 

Keyboard warriors think they have the right to say whatever they like. It's just attack for the sake of upsetting decent people. They say they have a different opinion and should be allowed to voice it. I say I am not interested in your opinion, if it is opposite to mine. Start your own blog and you can spout off as much as you like there. Or find another blogger who you are more aligned to. 

I haven't yet found a way of blocking undesirables. These are the options you get when organising how you want to display your comments. I prefer them embedded on the page just below the post, then people can refer back to it as they compose their comment. 

The options of who you allow to comment. 

Open to all, anyone can say anything. 

People with a Google account. They can still remain anonymous if they choose the 'Unknown' option.

Only members of this blog. I don't know what people need to do to become a member. I don't join other blogs, and I don't want to have to sort out and monitor the membership details of this one. The only way I can stop the nasties is to click 'Only members', then everyone is excluded. I do this sometimes because I need to distance myself from those who cannot control their warrior impulses. Everyone is still allowed to read the blog. I hope genuine readers understand this.  

Yes, I always moderate. I read the comment first and decide which to publish and which not to. If some Bloggers never moderate, they will need to constantly check comments. I haven't got the time to do that, nor am I able to go online when I am away from home. I see some very rude and insulting comments  on other blogs, before, or even if they are removed. I moderate first, not after. I've never tried 'Sometimes' so I don't know what happens there. 

Bloggers can put any message they like here. Long explanations are not really needed. 

Oh the joys, the highs and lows, the fun and the angst, of Blogging. It can make or break you. Me? I'm a survivor. I can weather the storm.

Thanks for popping in. Enjoy your Sunday. I may venture out later, if it doesn't get too hot. 

Toodle pip.   ilona
 

Closed

 Good morning. 

Now it's time for a breather. I don't know how long it will last, possibly for the foreseeable future. I will not be accepting any more comments. As usual, it is the few who have spoilt it for everyone else. 

I have closed comments before, then opened them again. I have explained what this blog is about, given people numerous chances, but the rot is still there. 

People have criticised me for not publishing comments that are different to my way of thinking. Too right I haven't. I delete loads every day. I don't care if you have a different opinion to me. People are just spoiling for a fight, and I will not engage with them.  

Of course I will still be posting on the blog. After 17 years I am not about to give up. I write for me, I write when I want, and about any subject that interests me. If people don't like it, there are plenty of other blogs out there. 

Anyone is welcome to read. I have changed the comments settings to 'Blog members only'. I don't know how you become a member, it's a mystery too me. 

It's bath time for the boys this morning out on the lawn. I don't know where mummy duck is. Hopefully sitting on some eggs under the hedge. 

Have a good weekend. Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona

Question from Tammy

 I had a quick visit to town this afternoon to see Nikki. Straight there, one hour chat, and straight back. Too hot to linger. 

I had an email from Tammy. Here is my reply. 

Hi ilona, hope this finds you well. I used to comment on your blog using my Google acct. I also have joined Blogger several years ago. But I am unable to comment now. I’m sure you know it says only members of the blog can comment. How do I become a blog member? Thanks so much, 

Dear Tammy. The quick answer to your question is, I don't know. To explain the settings on the dashboard which allows me to make changes. The basics. I have the comments embedded at the bottom of the post. At the moment it is set to Only members of this blog. This means that nobody can comment because there are no members. Unfortunately it blocks everyone. When I switch it back to Anyone can comment, I have to sort out the genuine comments from the nitpickers. 

My settings at the moment. 

I have no idea what this is about. 

Tammy, I would say to anyone, steer clear of signing up to anything on the internet. Don't join anything, it is a dangerous place. Everything on the internet is geared up to data harvesting. Be very careful about QR codes. 

They are using the internet to hook people in. To get people addicted to doing everything on their smartphone. Once addicted you have no freedom. 

I may open the comments up again, after a break, but for the moment I am enjoying my freedom. 

You can comment on my yoootooob channel if you like. I can block individuals on there. 

Toodle pip.   ilona

Sunday shout out.

 It has gone 12 noon and I haven't yet written a blog post. Lazy me. I have recorded a video which will be out later. 

To fill a space I give a shout out to two of my fellow bloggers. Both of them are artists, which adds a degree of creativity to their posts, both in words and pictures. They are open to conversations with their audience, which lets me off the hook. 😁😝😄

Cro is coming up with some interesting posts. covering a variety of topics. 

Rachel has a thirst for anything historical and can remember dates from way back. 

Catch ya later. Now to get the video uploaded. 

Toodle pip.   ilona

Welcome back

 Good morning. It's sunny and I should be getting ready to go out. I will quickly bash this one off and hope it makes sense. 

The gates are now open for anyone to comment. It's been a while since I closed them and changed the settings to Gooooglie accounts only. Sadly a lot of genuine people were locked out also. I had to do it because the volume of trolls was becoming too much. There are people out there who would love to derail this blog and see me gone. 

Yes, the comments slowed up, which gave me a much needed breathing space. The space has been filled with my yoootooob channel, which by some miracle does not attract many trolls. I moderate the comments there as well. 

Just to clear something up, what is my definition of a troll? Someone who nitpicks through everything I say, even going back years, just to disrupt the flow of the blog. They thrive on sending negative comments to put me and others down, because it makes them feel good about themselves. 

There are bloggers who have totally different lifestyles and opinions to me. I may read them or I may not. Some of them invite discussion, and I see heated conversations becoming quite personal. That is something I do not want here. Hence anyone who wants to foist their opinion on me need not bother to try. This is not an open forum. 

I welcome comments from those who put their name to their words. I welcome happy positive comments. Yes, that may sound a bit biased, but I am biased towards a happy life. 

Those who have been reading me for a long time know how I feel about freedom to do my own thing. They know that I don't go with the crowd, they know that I don't go along with the official narrative coming out of the MSM. So if that does not sit well with you, maybe it's best that you either don't come here, or ignore those posts which touch on those subjects. 

There will be posts talking about the current situation. Knowing and understanding what is happening now is vital to the survival of the human race. The push for Globalisation is relentless and will affect everyone's life style. I cannot think of a more urgent topic which needs to be aired. We are in the middle of the biggest re distribution of wealth on the planet, the biggest land grab of all time. Remember, all food comes from the land. Those who control the land control the food. . 

Anyway, I've waffled on enough. It's 10.40 on a Sunday morning. Enjoy your day, whatever you are doing. We'll catch up soon. 

Toodle pip.   ilona

 

Blogger settings

 I like many other bloggers are having problems with receiving comments. I have changed the settings from only allowing those with a Google account, to Anyone. 

It has been suggested that the comments settings should be adjusted to a pop up page. I hate that and prefer them to be embedded on the actual blog post, so I have not changed that setting.  

Can someone send me a comment on this please so I can check if it is working.

Thanks.   ilona

Second time around

 Good morning. It's Monday and I am going to the Scrapstore. A comment came in overnight which I think deserves it's own post. When a reader takes the time to write at length about how she sees the current situation, and she has views which you won't find on main stream media, I am happy to give her comment another airing. Things soon get buried on blogs, many people won't go back for a second and third look. So here it is in your face, for a second time. Thank you Zoe.   Catch ya later.   ilona 

Zoe21 February 2022 at 01:02

Gill, I am a Brit living in Canada for many years. Also in Ontario. I have been following this all very closely for the past few weeks. I am a retired RN, Midwife and Nurse Practitioner of 46 years -just saying this so you know I'm not prone to flights of fancy. Do NOT believe MSM -the CBC is owned by the government. Trudeau has spent over a billion $$ to buy it. It's government controlled. You can google that as a fact. There are numerous videos on you tube to show that it was an elderly Indigenous person with a WALKER that was trampled by the police horse -and NOT a bike being thrown at the horse. You can see the actual video on you tube too. Together with a 78yr old 4'10" man that was thrown to the ground by 2 police officers twice his size, handcuffed and dragged away by them. The photos of the police -dressed like storm troopers holding batons and machine guns was horrifying. Please open your eyes- I know I have these past 2 weeks. I've been following the Parliamentary debates for 2 weeks- Justin Trudeau never, ever answers a direct question and has walked out 3 x when challenged. We know he went into hiding when the truckers arrived and he has consistently refused to meet with them-what kind of leader does that? The original intent of the truckers was to protest at the vaccine mandates for them, together with the 14 day quarantine on return back to Canada for those not vaccinated. For 2 years the truckers have been crossing the border with none of these mandates. Bear in mind over 90% of truckers are vaccinated and also that mandates will shortly be lifted for all of us. So why bother at this late stage of the game when it wasn't required before? It has now morphed into much more than this and it HAS become a control issue by the PM The truckers have been threatened with Children's Aid investigating them (in theory their children could be taken away from them), bank accounts/credit cards/insurance have been frozen. What happens down the line if we disagree with the government -they could do this to anyone. Also credit ratings have been affected -there's so many things they have been threatened with. I am totally horrified and sickened by it all. This was a peaceful protest -as I said do not believe what you hear on MSM - I have watched numerous sources and on the ground sources and the only violence I have seen was that committed by the police. Enacting the Emergency Measures Act
which has only been used 3 x in the past(WW1 and WW2 and during the PLQ crisis in 1970) BEFORE any other measures including meeting with the truckers, was undertaken, shows a deranged and despotic PM.
In the past few days I have been ashamed to call myself a Canadian. Never, ever did I envision this in our so called democratic country. I fear for the future of my g'children. It really has opened my eyes. It's so important to do our own research.
Yes, I'm triple vaxxed and yes, I support the truckers- I went on a local protest convoy last week-well organised and peaceful. I have also written/e-mailed our local MPP and MP , Doug Ford and a big letter of complaint to my bank-the TD -which froze personal accounts of people who donated to GoFundMe.
And finally, I totally agree with the truckers taking their kids with them to participate -why shouldn't they. The kids were NOT upfront and centre-never saw one anywhere near the protesters. They were either playing in the bouncy castles or the road rinks. there were no children seen during the hold-the -line protests. I've also taken my g'kids on protests e.g.. in support of our library. It's never to young to learn about freedom of speech/ freedom of expression etc. It's a good learning curve for them on democracy - well it was, not now.

Bullies or trolls?

 Good morning. I wasn't going to post today, but I will now I have received this comment. It came in at about 3am this morning, so that tells me it is possibly from the other side of the world. This is just one of many that land here, mostly I delete them, occasionally I publish one just to illustrate the dark side of blogging. 

Jane Jereb commented on "Coffee chat. Are you ready for 2022?"

7 hours ago

Yes, ignore, deny and spread falsehoods. How about running for Parliament Ilona. We all understand that a truckie knows more than any qualified scientist, epidemiologist and medical expert. You could run as the common man's expert on Corona. Go for it Ilona. You are so good at rambling you are sure to succeed.

I didn't see Rachels recent disruption on her blog, but I can well understand her disappointment that it happens. She prefers to call them bullies, which they are, but I would add that when the same person does it over and over again, I think it's fair to call them trolls. 

The tone of the comment is important, how it is written is important, the language used is important. Some of them are blunt to the point of abuse. This one I show here is sarcasm personified. Someone who thinks they have a better understanding of me, than me. 

You have to feel sorry for them. I am at the top of my game, they are at the bottom trying to claw their way back up. The only way they know how is to knock other people back down to their level. Well it's not happening here. There will be no tears from me, I will not be taking my blog down. 

I've had enough knockbacks in my life to know that if you show your weaknesses they come back over and over again, and go for the jugular. I have never known this level of bitterness in people before, it is soaring to new heights. There is something strange going on. 

Enjoy your weekend. I think it's going to be rainy here, not a good prospect but it is what it is. I did a late shop last night at Aldi so I have some delicious food in the fridge. Plenty of vegetables and some treats. The car is filled up with petrol so if there is a sunny spell I am ready to go out. 

Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon. If any bullies comment on this, on yer bike sunshine. In the words of Catherine Tate's character, Lauren, Am I bovvered? I ain't bovvered. 

Toodle pip.   ilona 

Comments are optional.

Reading all the comments that have appeared on John's blog after he announced that he was taking a few days off, has made me realise how happy I am that some of my readers have fallen by the wayside. I suspect that is because they don't like what I say, which is fine by me. 

A few years ago when people were clamouring for money saving tips, and how to live frugally, it was a massive job for me to give people exactly what they were looking for. I put myself out there, passing on what I had learnt, trying to help others with their budgets, on television, radio, newspapers and magazines. The pressure was on to know all the answers, and share them. 

Years previously I was in a similar situation, being the only female lorry driver around. All of a sudden I was the star of the show, everyone wanted to know me. I started the Lady Truckers Club because I wanted to help other women get into the business. I built a support network. I put myself out there, and for a few years all I was doing was driving full time and running the club. I didn't have any time for anything else. 

John has built up an army of followers with his imaginative and sensitive writings. His compassion for the human race is admirable. He shares every aspect of his life, and people want more, the pressure is on him to keep going. 

I do not want to be in that position. When I see how dependent people are on their daily dose of life in a Welsh village, with outpourings of sadness when it comes to a halt, I find that quite worrying. 

I can only take so much responsibility for other people. When it reaches the point of saturation I have to stop. I have to pull up the drawbridge and say no more. I will only give so much. Ok, it is nice to know when someone cares for me, when someone values what I do, but I don't need constant reminders. 

The pressure to perform can be overwhelming, the only way to cope with that is to step back, have a breathing space. If I got a hundred comments from people saying they miss me and can't wait for the next blog post/video, I would be running for the hills. I don't want that. 

Thank you for popping in. Comments are optional, if you feel like it, if you don't that's ok. Have a nice weekend. Toodle pip.   ilona

A bonus post for my friends.

Good Morning. It's Sunday. I have edited this post. For those who missed it, if you want to join in with the gossip, here is a link to Treaders Blog. 

She has some lovely friends. There's Sam, Marksgran, and Cheapchick, and recent participants include Karen Smith and Traveller. And another one has joined in the hunt, the lovely Jen. She told a big whopping lie. 

I have some wonderful friends in Blogland. They love a good gossip. On a wet Saturday afternoon there is nothing I like better than to mooch around the blogs. Very entertaining. Why don't you get yourself over there and join in. 

Best wishes, lots of love, to my real blogger friends.   ilona

The long and the short of it.

Good morning. I see that John has come up with an idea for how and when to post on his blog, when his brain is tired and empty. This happens to me from time to time. If I leave it too late in the day my brain starts to wind down, I am tired and blogging becomes a chore. I don't want it to. I like blogging, so I am thinking of different ways to do it. John is making notes, then combines them into one post, great idea. 

I have often thought that if I have spent time on composing a long and detailed post, I can then take a day or two off. I have a short attention span, and need to move on, so what about the idea of  tweeting on the blog. Tweets are short, stories and comments  have to be condensed into so many words. Maybe I could do that here. Bite sized blog posts, which might appear at any time, with no limit on how many per day. Whack 'em out, or take a day off.  

Would this work? People like routine, they want a post to read with their morning coffee. I don't particularly like routine. Yes there are some things I do on a regular basis, but I don't like to feel tied, an obligation to do something at a specific time every day. I keep coming back to the fact that I write the blog for me. I am happy to pass on information which might help others, but it is basically a diary of what I choose to disclose about my life, and my thoughts on different topics. 

Anyway, enough of the rambling. Kay asked if there are any more banks which treat their customers badly and close accounts without explanation, as it happened to Laura. Well, I put 'bank closed my account', into google and it came up with other examples. Anyone can do research in this way, a few words in the top address bar will come up with other relevant web sites and videos. Here is one of them. At least this chappie got a reason why they closed his account, even though it is totally nuts. 

Now for breakfast. You might find me dashing in and out at odd times. Hope you can cope with my erratic posting. Toodle pip.   ilona

Part of the family.

Hello, it's sunny here. Strange weather we're having, one day overcast and rainy, next day the sun is out. I'll get this done, then go out. 

My Creator Monthly landed in the email box this morning from yoooootoooob. It's like a Newsletter, with stats to tell me how I'm doing with the numbers of subscribers, how many views and minutes watched, how many likes, comments, posts, and shares. Most of it I'm not really interested in. I just check into the channel now and again to tidy things up, and see if I have missed any incoming comments. It's only a hobby for me. 

There are also hints and tips on how to increase visitor numbers, create more interesting content, generally polish things up, and work on promoting it to a wider audience. Here's a bit of blurb to fire me up. 

Hey Meanqueen Superscrimper,

This month, get out of your comfort zone and find ways to change up your content, deepen connections with your audience, and lean into fan support. See how other creators are mixing it up and seeing lasting results — so you can apply these strategies to your own channel. Let's get into it!

They then give me some links to other Channels which will inspire me with ideas. I could try this.......

Our channel members love bonus videos, so we try and give them fun videos they wouldn't normally see on our channel. It's a place for us to experiment with new ideas but also connect with our audience and get feedback from some of our most devoted viewers. After we started taking memberships seriously, so did our audience and membership revenue has grown in the past few months to a point where we're now really paying attention.

Another yoootooober suggests this..........

RPM gives you a full snapshot of all your earnings, from Channel Memberships, YouTube Premium, Super Chat, Super Stickers, and Ads, across all your views. In short, use this to track your revenue performance so you can hone your content, growth, and earning strategies. Take a look at this helpful video.

Or I could do this......

We knew that more than subscribers & view counts - it would be a community of paying members that would support us. So that's what we have done - built a small community that supports, us.

And if I want to I could take part in a Boot Camp..........

Get ready to pump up your channel with the help of our boot camp classes. It’s easy – just pick your course and you’ll be flexing your new YouTube powers in no time.

Google is very keen to encourage me to be part of the family, they are very supportive if anyone wants to start their own Channel. What they don't know is that I am happy to pootle along in my own sweet way, in my own time. I wondered if they might dump me because I don't have any adverts, so they won't be making any money from me. I hope they let me carry on as I am because it's fun to do, and it keeps me busy. If I suddenly disappear they might have decided I am not worth the bother. 

Blogger is part of the same family, so I hope there won't be any massive shake ups. I've had quite a lot of free entertainment from both over the years. 

Going for a walk. Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.  ilona

What title shall I give this one?

Good Morning and Hello Sunday. Thank you for your contributions on the previous post, even those who expressed annoyance about the content. There was a distinct air of anger from some of them. You can bash me all you like, use me as an outlet for your anger if it makes you feel better, but it won't silence me. The haters always have the option of not coming here again. Exercise your free will, your choice. 

Thank you to the people who sent personal messages via email, you have a good understanding of the plandemic situation. Hang on to your beliefs. Knowledge is a useful tool to help you navigate through your life. 

My thirst for knowledge will not be dampened. I have been called selfish among other things. This is far from the truth. I am deeply concerned about the future for our children and grand children, even though I don't have any. Just because I chose to remain childless does not mean I don't have empathy for our future generations. Families do matter, children need a stable environment to flourish and prosper. The fear that we are projecting onto them at the moment is likely to have a lasting effect. Yes, some of them are resilient and will move on, but some of them wont. Nightmares about being forced to wear a mask will take a long time to fade. 

I walked past a playground the other day and thought how lovely it was to see the park buzzing. Kids screaming and laughing and having fun. Parents supervising, and not a mask in sight. 

I prefer to live in the now and the future, no point dwelling on the past. Yes awful things happened. My mother was left homeless wandering the streets of Hamburg with a child in a pram. Her house flattened by British bombs. Her parents were sent to Auchwitz, I never knew them. My family was decimated by the war. Don't let a dictatorship like the Nazi's happen again. Now I am getting emotional because I feel for our kids future.

Don't direct your anger at me, that is futile. Instead stop living in fear, no one is going to live forever, death is something we all will have to face. Cherry pick your news and information from different places, do not be blinkered by believing everything that is in main stream media. I think I have waffled on long enough about that, now it's down to you. Choose which path you want to take, and take responsibility for your own lives. 

And breath.......

What did I do yesterday? A comment came onto our village facebook page that someone had found litter at the carpark picnic area. It's a quiet place on the edge of the village. I went to have a look and to pick it up, there is a bin nearby. The crop of sweetcorn is taller than me in the adjacent field. 

Ready for the bin.

Alas, I found not only the litter, but a whole lot of flytipping as well. This is just some of it, no need to bore you with more pictures. I sent an email to the Council, they will need a truck and some operatives to pick it up. 

Looks like it could be a nice day weatherwise. I did a 6 mile walk yesterday and my mileage is well up. It will be a Billy dog walk later. 

Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona

Battling my way through Jeffry Bog Plantation

Hello again. Here is the video I wanted to insert in the previous post. I never had this trouble before with the old blogger version. I must remember in future, if I have a video I must copy and paste it into the blog post first, then add other pictures and words to it. What a fafffffff. 

The next post will be day three. Toodle pip.  ilona

Testing new format.

I'm getting into it, the new format thingy, giving it a go. I had a search through my mounds of collected junk and found a bag of bark pieces. I scrounged them from a wood turner friend years ago. Aha, just the thing for the black arty project. 

They have to be black of course. 

Looking like another rainy day, I'll get on with things indoors. Catch ya later.

Toodle pip.  ilona

PS a few more clicks to make a blog post, I think I will get used to it. 

SPAM ALERT

A message for those bloggers who do not moderate. I have been swamped with 14 spam comments this morning. Must have come in overnight. All the same, all deleted. Check your blogs frequently to stop this deluge.
That's all. Stay alert, ZAP THE SPAMMERS.
ilona

Thank you dear reader

It was a few days ago when I wrote about searching for glue sticks for my hot glue gun. I was unlucky because it's something which is not widely stocked by arts and crafts shops. Some of them stock the small glue guns and sticks, but mine is a bit older and a bit bigger. I tried a builders merchants recommended by a friend but drew a blank there. They had sticks alright but they didn't fit my gun. 

Within half an hour of the blog post being published on Thursday, a reader emailed me to say she had some sticks. I must admit that I wasn't hopeful that they would be the right size, or there would be enough of them. I want to make a large assemblage so I will need quite a few. 

The second email gave a few more details and so I thought there was a chance that this might be exactly what I wanted. I didn't want her to go to the trouble of sending them and not being right. 

Today I had a parcel. Oooh so excited. 

Very well wrapped in a sturdy box.

Bubble wrap to protect the contents.

And look what I found. Two hot glue guns and lots of glue sticks. The sticks exactly fit the glue gun I already have. Now I have spare guns as well.

There is plenty here to do what I want to do. No need to search any longer, a kind reader has answered my prayers. She had them knocking around and doesn't need them. So a big THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU.

It's a good job we have Royal Mail, now that we can't travel so much, and visiting people is limited. We can still send each other things. This week I have posted off three parcels. A needle felted picture I made went to Rafi and Klee in America. Their videos have entertained me for a long time. Some tree decorations I made out of bobbins, went to a lady who has collected some and doesn't know what to do with them. I put in some felt to get her started. My nephew's little girls loved their bunting so I made up some simple sewing kits for them. My nephew will show them how to make felt hearts, that should be fun. A sewing lesson in their home schooling schedule.

It's been a very hot day today. I did my walk this afternoon, only two miles around the village and I was wilting. I will stick to night walks if it's going to be hot again.
Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip. ilona

Changes

Hello on this blustery Sunday afternoon. Changes are afoot in the comments department of this blog. I have thought long and hard about this. In the past I have kept the comments open to everyone, but now the situation has to change. This is due to the increase of troll bile which I have to delete almost daily.

Only people who have a registered Google account will be able to comment from now on. I'm sorry that it has to come to this, but I need to do it. Sadly it means blocking those who use the 'Name' facility, as it is connected to the 'Anonymous' option. Blogger does not allow me to separate the two.

Thank you to all those who have commented religiously over the years, and especially to those who have put a name to their words, I do appreciate your loyalty, you have kept me going for this long. I would love you to carry on sending your comments. If you choose to open a Google account, that would be great, if you don't want to then that's fine, I understand.

I'm sorry if this is not what you want to hear, but the internet is becoming a nasty place. Keyboard warriors are everywhere, and I don't want that here. Constructive and supportive comments are welcome, destructive, sarcastic, and critical comments are not.
Thank you.  ilona xxx

The pressure is off. . . . . . .

. . . . . . and I am settling into a new routine. The blog has always been near the top of my daily 'to do' list, now it has slipped down to below half way. My commitment to helping people by writing about my money saving ideas has always been a priority. I feel sad that so many have lost their way. For eleven years I have been sat at this keyboard sharing my life, sharing how I manage my money, and sharing my rise from being skint, to my now position of having a comfortable life. I set my standards realistically, I don't need a lot, that's why I have a comfortable life.

The pressure is off for me to watch every penny I spend, I will always be careful. And now the pressure is off for me to document my every move. The blog will always be a reference point for anyone who wants to look back, navigable by the topics list on the side bar. Anyone can access the posts they have an interest in.

I am moving on. There is no need for me to post daily, so my apologies to my loyal readers, those who have come to expect me to be there every day when they log on. Apologies also to the trolls who have never grasped the concept of what a blog is about. It isn't a forum, a free for all, where anyone can spew forth their sarcasm behind the cloak of anonymity. You know who you are. No doubt the troll(s) will want to have the last word, they need to because it makes them feel good. Especially the one with the warped mind who has been visiting over the years. I have the upper hand here, my best friend is the delete button.

An Anonymous troll asked about the Anonymous rule. I prefer it if everyone adds their name to their comment, whether in the appropriate box, or at the end of their comment. Anyone who doesn't will get extra scrutiny from me. I can sniff a trouble maker out half a mile away, so whatever name you use, if your comment stinks you will get zapped.

The blog isn't closing, but it will be a slimmed down version of what it has been. I will post as and when I feel like it, going back to basics. I started the blog as an online diary, and that is what it will end up as. There will be some sewing, some art, some crafts, some days out and holidays, some walking, some cats news, some gardening when it all starts growing again, and some photography. Welcome to the new blog.

It's coming along. Building it up slowly, lots of blank spaces to embroider.
Toodle pip.   ilona