New skip dive.

What is this? Something from outer space, maybe dropped off a satellite? Nope, it's from a chandelier I recovered out of a skip last week. There were two of them, I gave Angela one to play with. 

I removed all the glass and cleaned it up. Hmmm, looking interesting.  

150 pieces of glass, with a hole at one end for hanging, and a hole straight through the middle vertically. 

These could be hung in trees for sparkly decorations. Several could be hung together as wind catchers, they would make a soothing tinkling sound. 

They will probably be in my spare room storage facility until I come up with a few ideas. If I haven't done anything with them for a year, I might give them away. Some of my arty crafty materials I have had for a long time. Maybe too long.

I've just had a cooked breakfast. I'm running a bit low on fresh ingredients so I will have to go shopping either tonight or tomorrow night. Today I spiralized half a courgette, added some ready cooked noodles, and an egg, sprinkled it with grated cheese, and had it on toast. Very nice it was too. 

Update on the cat with a sore neck. He is doing well. Comes twice a day for a scoff so he is getting the anti biotics down him. His scab is shrinking and will soon drop off as the new skin grows underneath. 

Update on the hedgehogs. They are still coming every night, and I am finding poo on the lawn. Hopefully they will be well fed in time for the winter hibernation. 

Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona

Two new skip finds

It was warm on Saturday night. I sat outside for a while, sipping a glass of cider. A soft glow from a candle on the table, and an amazing moon floating slowly by behind the trees. 

Yesterday was sunny and warm. A local walk beckoned. It's all greening up nicely now. 

Not going that way today. 

Bluebells are appearing.

Wild garlic in abundance. All is well in the woods. 

I paused to look in the skip before I got home. Anything new appeared? Oooh look, a lovely pineapple jug, hand painted in Italy. £9 when it was new. A new ornament for the table. M&S bowl. Now on the lawn as a bird bath. 

It's not so warm today. I am doing some sewing, and have a few jobs to do in the garden. A village walk later. 

Enjoy your Easter Monday. We'll catch up soon. Toodle pip.  ilona 

A skip dive.

I spotted a skip in the village. It's on the road outside someone's house. There was something in it which looked interesting, shame to throw it away. I knocked the door and asked the person if I could have it. The answer, yes, take anything you like.

We had a conversation about recycling, and I said I would take things even if I did not have a use for it myself. I could find someone who would like it. They then proceeded to bring more stuff out. They were having a garage and loft clear out. 

I will keep these things for now. They will be useful. The summer house needs a tidy so some of this will go in there. 

The skip will be there for the rest of this week. They said I could take anything from it, so I will have a look every day to see if anything new and useful appears. 

Porridge for breakfast this morning. Toodle pip.   ilona

It will pass.

The kitchen had a good clean today, I will try and keep it that way. I washed some bedding, a good drying day on the line. Trimmed up some hedging, filled the brown bin for collection tomorrow. I had a phone call from my friend Barry, just up the road. He rang to ask how I was. He has been busy just lately taking someone to hospital appointments. He is cutting right back on his going out now, he is staying in the village. Doesn't want to risk it. 

I did my 3 mile walk tonight, 8 till 9pm. Checked a skip and saw something shiny. Have a look with the small torch I carry. Two packs of brand new chrome curtain rings. The packaging for the pole was there, seems they don't want these. More stuff to play with.  

A lot of local events have been cancelled. Pubs are reducing their hours. Our pub is doing a meals delivery service, the shop has also said they will deliver groceries. People are going to find it difficult if they are used to going out a lot. It won't bother me because I am used to being on my own and can entertain myself. I am also very good at getting lost in my own thoughts. A bit of a day dreamer you might say. Keep calm and it will pass. 

Toodle pip.  ilona

All you need are...... .skips.

Isn't it amazing what you can find in a skip. Last week I spotted one on someone's front driveway, looks interesting I thought, so I asked permission to take a closer look. Among other things, I found a strobe disco lighting box, plug it in and a floating Merry Christmas appears all over the walls. What fun is that. 

See the white slimline stack of drawers , that was out of another skip. I don't need to go shopping ever again, everything I need or want can be found in a skip, eventually.  ilona

Charity shop reject.

This lovely little chest of drawers came from Aunties house. It had marks on the top where hot cups had been placed on it. It's solid wood, no chips or scratches. 

I put it in my car along with some other items, including another small chest of drawers but not as good quality. I pulled up at the front of the Sue Ryder charity shop and the man came out to help me unload. The first thing he said was, 'I don't want those drawers, they are damaged', referring to the heat rings on the top. I said, it only wants a coat of paint, but no, he wouldn't take it. He took the cheaper ones, and some other things.

I took this to my friend, she said she would have a go at restoring it. I went back the next day and bingo, it looks lovely now. She said it only took ten minutes of sanding and polishing. She is dead chuffed with it.

So there you are, a charity shop reject. They missed out on a lovely set of drawers.
ilona

Freebies found in a skip

I haven't found a decent skip for ages, most of them have been filled with builders rubble and garden rubbish. Yesterday I found these. Two baskets with lids and fabric liners. I'll clean them up, wash the liners, and make new ones if they don't come clean enough. 

These will come in useful, two sets of chrome hooks that hang over the top of a door. Need a bit of a polish up.

Don't forget it's check in day tomorrow for the International Walking Group members.  ilona

A new floor for the summer house.

Hello. It's been a glorious day, quite hot in the sun. I did a Bailey poodle walk this morning, then I was out in the garden painting the tree. It needs some more branches and then I can add the leaves. 

After lunch, which was a tin of M & S Carrot and Coriander soup, it wasn't too bad, nothing special, I made a start on the floor in the summer house. Everything had to come out, including the carpet tiles. There is a damp patch where the roof was leaking.

And this paving slab is broken, it needs replacing.

I have stored the carpet tiles in the garage, they really aren't fit for anything else after 25 years. They may get taken to the tip when I next go.

Ooooh look, I found just the thing for the repair. A chopping board that I got out of the Village Hall skip. A few bits of wood underneath to level it, and some pieces to fill the gap at the side. Perfect, just the job.

I think I deserve a sit down after that. cheers.

I got all the vinyl flooring out of the garage to see which pieces fit the best. There were three long pieces which went right across from front to back,  then I had to add a strip which was a slightly different shade of grey. That's ok. Now my summer house has exactly the same floor covering as the library in the town centre. A jolly good skip find if I might say so.

And Mayze slept through it all in her cosy little shelter.

Thank you for all your comments on yesterdays post, it was an interesting topic of conversation. A few people didn't know about the 'put your name in the box', system we have going now, so I have put a reminder under the header at the top of the page. It works well when everyone is doing it.
The start date for the exhibition in Burton upon Trent is August 20th.
Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip

Knocker squashing and skip diving.

Hello. I was in town yesterday to visit the Arts Centre and other places. The Library has been having a refit/refurbishment over the last month or so, and there is a skip parked outside. They have thrown out a lot of useful stuff, far too much for me to collect and store here. Yesterday I spotted some offcuts of vinyl floor covering, some of the pieces were very large. I immediately thought of the summer house, it would be ideal to put down in there, so I asked in the library, who sent me to ask the site manager, who said I could take what I wanted. So here it is, now all I have got to do is find somewhere to put it until the weather picks up a bit and I can get on with the job.  

I wanted some wool for a project, and found some in Poundland. £1 a ball, three for £2.

Something I am playing with at the moment. Small black safety pins, I have a big bag of them. An idea will come to mind shortly.

This morning I had my knockers squashed. The van is parked in Morrisons car park this time, much easier than searching for it at the hospital. Is it really three years since I last had it done, time flies.

A bit uncomfortable, but it has to be done. What a strange job to have, pushing and shoving two balls of bread dough between plastic plates and squeezing them flat.

Thank you to the NHS for providing this service, and thanks to the staff for carrying it out.

On the way home I called in the Cash and Carry to see if they had any bargains. I never buy soup in a can, but I thought these were worth a try, three tins for £1. Today I had the Sainsburys broccoli and stilton, it wasn't very nice. I put some grated cheese in it to give it a bit more flavour. You know when you have just been sick and your mouth tastes foul, well mine was like that, I had to suck a mint afterwards. I hope the Marks and Spencer soup is better.

I don't buy shampoo and toothpaste very often because I use so little of it, but I thought this was a good price so I stocked up. All were 50p each.

Well I don't believe it. It's been nice and sunny, and just as I am ready to go for my walk, I can see spots of rain. Oh chuffin heck, what a pain.

Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip.

Furnish your home with free and second hand.

Hello. I'm whizzing this off pretty quick because I have a lot to do today. This corner of my living room used to be my fitness studio, it housed the Cross Trainer, which has been loaded into a friends car half an hour ago. I sold it, because I no longer use it, and someone else who is into fitness in a big way can make better use of it. 

So what is in it's place. More room for my arts and crafts work space. I brought a pine table down from upstairs in the storeroom, aka spare bedroom. This table was given to me, the people next door were throwing it out a few years ago, along with two bench seats. It fits in nicely in this space. I have extended the top of the table by laying three pieces of interlocking floor panels on the top, which gives an extra foot on the length. Also free I might add, out of a skip.

I found this wooden shelving in a skip a few weeks ago. It used to be a cd storage unit. Standing on it's end it had plastic inserts to house a hundred or so cd's. I removed them and turned it on it's side, and bingo, shelves. It's buffed up nicely with a rub of wax polish

This unit was given to me by a friend as she no longer had a use for it. It is the housing for a stereo player, but I am using it as a cupboard.

This got me thinking about how much of my furniture cost me nothing because it was found or given. These two bedside cabinets came from a skip. They work well in the living room, I don't need bedside cabinets.

Looking around, in this room, I have a free dining room table which came from next door. A four piece suite, sofa, two chairs, and pouffe which was £50 second hand. A sideboard bought from a friend many many years ago for a few quid. A desk bought from a second hand office shop for £30. There is a cupboard in here which the previous owners left behind. Free curtains either from a skip or given to me.

I can see no reason why anyone needs to go in a furniture shop and splash out loads of money. There is plenty of second hand stuff available. I see that one of those buy now pay later homestyle shops has closed down in the town. Their prices were extortionate, they robbed the vulnerable by advertising a low weekly repayment scheme, but over the period of the loan they ended up paying hundreds even thousands more than they needed to. Brighthouse is still trading further up the High Street in a similar way, I would like to see them close too.

My lunch and dinner are usually eaten in front of a computer screen. This is what I had yesterday. Pasta, houmous, mushrooms, tomato, lettuce, and crusty seeded bread. I don't put the pasta and houmous on the plate, they are a side dish to accompany the salad. I pick at them, stop when I am full, and the pots go back in the fridge. I like these meals, from fridge to plate, no cooking.

Anyway, must get off. Jobs to do....Tidy up spare room where I removed the table, put it all back straight. Tidy up my crafting stuff here, now I have more space. Two men in a van just delivered three pieces of wood, as big as pallets, I need to find a space for them in the garage. I like being busy.

Thanks for popping in. We'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip

Rescuing stuff from the tip

Hello. Back again. It was my lucky day today. I was walking down the High Street, as I do, at the start of my walk, when I came across someone sorting through the contents of their shed. They had removed quite a lot of stuff, and it was in a pile on their driveway. It caught my eye, as it does. No skip, just stuff. I asked if they were dumping any of it, and could I see if there is anything I can make use of. They pointed out a few things which were destined for the tip, and said if I went back in a couple of hours they would have a few more things sorted out. This gave me chance to do my walk and have a sandwich before I went back in my car. 

Look what I got, a very nice cane arm chair complete with cushions. It's lovely and comfy, just the job for the Summer House. 

A box of assorted bricabrac, there are some glasses which I will take to the charity shop. Floor tiles, rolls of wall paper, a wooden box, tins of paint, curtains, a throw, a bed sheet, and an iron ornamental pot holder, plus other odds and sods.

Oh, I see, Mayze has discovered the new chair.

This wrought iron thingy will hold two small plant pots. I had a small pot of green paint left over from painting the shed plaque, and the apples I painted with nail varnish. It's given it a new lease of life. A free garden ornament for me.

There are 21 new, self stick vinyl floor tiles, in a marble design. They will come in useful.

 I'm not 100% sure what this is. It's like a giant plastic comb, and bendy. The four pieces are about three feet long and fasten together. I think it is something you screw to the top of a fence to stop cats jumping over, maybe. Can't think of anything else. I have an idea for a garden sculpture for this.

Oooh look, now it's Heidi's turn on the new chair.

I think I did alright there, lucky I was passing when I did, or this lot would have gone to the tip. Don't forget, when you are out and about keep your eyes open for free stuff. Look for skips, or people sorting out stuff and loading their car up. Always ask if there is anything you fancy, don't be shy. The worst that can happen is that they say no. Mostly they say take what you want.

Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip