A few minutes of funnies

Stop reading about the virus for a few minutes, and smile.



I'm going to do some housework today. I know, this is an unusual occurrence, don't faint. It is sensible not to go out unless it is absolutely necessary.
Stay safe. ilona

Footloose and fancy free

Do you like my new trainers, my friend gave them to me, she was throwing them out. Reebok eh! Still plenty of wear left in them. They were a bit tight across the bunions but I thought don't look a gift horse in the mouth, accept them gracefully. 

I thought if I slacken the laces off it would give me a bit of extra width. Trouble was that they were too short then to tie a bow. No matter, I looked in my trimmings drawer, and found these coloured laces. I bought them from the £1 store, because they might be useful for craft projects, I liked the colours. 

They are a bit short though, but no matter, just tie two together, and bingo, that works. I think I might paint the trainers to match the laces. 

Something I am playing around with at the moment. Weaving on a pink squash raquet. I have an idea. I see a tree and some flowers. 

I went to Crafty Club this morning, a few people missing. We went in the big room, it was better, we could spread out. This afternoon I took Billy dog out. Just had a long phone call, now getting my dinner, a plate of steamed veg. 

Toodle pip.   ilona

A song to lift the spirits.

Love from Terry on a Sunday morning. A new video from Terry and Eileen, filmed at Chelmsford Cathedral. This is lovely, Nicholas the Dean is lovely, and the sound of the piano is crystal clear in this beautiful building. Enjoy.



It's raining here in North Lincolnshire, but no matter. Another day dawns so let's make the most of it.
Happy Sunday.  ilona

Getting to the bottom of it

Do you think I have got enough. I am down to my last 30 toilet rolls. After buying them in bulk from a Cash and Carry several years ago, I had a amassed a very large amount, over 300 at one point. But now I am down to a measly 30.

I am going to have to be even more frugal with my usage now as the shops are being stripped bare of them. These should last several months, if I am careful not to waste any.
Toodle pip.  ilona

Spread a little happiness.

I will rattle this one off quickly before breakfast as I have plans for today. A vile comment landed in my box sometime during the night. It is one I have seen before, and as usual it went straight in the bin. No need to read it, it was pretty long, a glimpse at two or three words told me all I wanted to know. It was from a person with limited mental capacity, there's a lot of it about.

Yes, I know, the general consensus is delete and ignore, which I always do. One click of the mouse and it's gone, gone down the pan forever, just like you would do with a load of shit.

The reason I am bringing it up now, is that not everyone has a robust way of dealing with nasties as I do. The words used in these troll comments can be particularly upsetting and worrying for people who are not as gobby as me. They take it personally. Do not take it personally, the people who do this do not know you.

I can't stand bullying, and this is what it is. You can ignore bullies, they hate it, do that if it helps you. But fight back if that also helps you. I was bullied a lot when I was driving, I fought back, and I won. Nobody stopped me doing the job I loved. I beat the bullies.

There are a lot of good people in this world, but sadly the bullying mob is multiplying because of the internet. It's the herding mentality, people feel stronger in a group, more empowered to puke bile, it will always be.

There is a way that goodness can overcome evil, and I'm going to tell you what you can do. You dear reader are a valuable member of society, you do not have to put up with the shit thrown about, there, I've said shit twice, three times in fact. Don't get drawn into retaliating because it will do you more damage that it will the troll. If you don't mind a bit of a bun fight, go ahead and answer back, if it makes you feel better, I do sometimes.

Trolls hate it when you are a happy person, they want everyone to be as miserable as they are. Do not let it happen. Go about your daily business with a smile on your face. Smile when you look at the screen, smile when your fingers hit the keyboard.

Do one good deed every day, be helpful, be kind, make someone else smile. This is the perfect antidote to bullying. Leave bullies to stew in their own cesspit, they have the problems not you. Go forth with a smile on your face and a song in your heart.
Lots of love.   ilona xxx

PS. There is a good chance at least one troll comment will appear in reply to this. My regular troll will not be able to stop themselves.

And relax

It's been a stressful day, a bit challenging and a bit fun at the same time. I decided to change my car and found one that I want to buy, but it's not here, it's down south and will have to be brought up here. Washed my car and cleaned it inside so it looks a bit respectable. Had already had a rough quote of what they might give me, but couldn't confirm until they inspected it.

Went into the local dealer. Long long conversations, looking at numbers on the screen, crunching them. Two hours and both parties came to a decision. The bottom line number was one that I had in mind before I went in, they agreed to it, and we had a deal.

My brain was a bit pickled, glad it was over. Now to wait for new car to appear. Probably next week. Phoned my insurance people, told them about new car, will be another £30 to pay to change my policy. Local dealer will organise road tax on new car, and a refund on old car. Will be sad to see this one go, but, I have newer model coming.

Although the old one, not that old on a 61 plate, is a good one, I like to keep ahead of the game. I have not had any major problems with Ford so I'll stick with it. Think I'll go a walk now. The hard work is done, now I can relax and wait.
Toodle pip.  ilona

Mooning

Cracking moon tonight, all big and glowing.

Go outside and have a look. I'm going to bed now, Goodnight.

Ideas for assemblage.

When I took my two assemblages, one silver, one gold, to the Scrapstore recently, one of the ladies there, went to a cupboard and brought out two she had made. They were a lot bigger than mine, and the bits and bobs were assembled on a canvas, rather than inside a box like I have done. 

I was blown away by the beauty of her work. Everything was in shades of orange and brown with tinges of gold and yellow, with a metallic finish. I noticed that she had grouped certain items together, rather than scattering them randomly throughout. The strings of beads were positioned to create areas which could be filled with buttons, single beads, wheels, and bits of jewellery. It looked like a lot of thought had been put into the layout and construction. It must have taken her ages to do them. 

A closer look. There are some great ideas here.

On the wall at the Scrapstore is this very large assemblage. The pictures are not that good due to the reflections on the glass. I don't know who made this. It's in a box frame and hasn't been painted over. Another way of making art with rubbish.

Plenty of ideas to be thinking about. Thanks for popping in.  Toodle pip.. ilona

Arty crafty catchup

I made a little video this morning. Regular readers will have already seen pictures of my most recent makes. I post it on here because my blog is my online diary, a record of what I have been doing. It's 16 minutes long, and Mayze cat joins in on this one.



Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.  ilona

Meet Billy.

This is Billy, his owner is not able to walk him at the moment, so I have stepped in to take him out. Billy although quite small is a puller, and his mummy has a balance problem, so not a good combination. He is a rescue dog and gets quite excited when I turn up.

The arrangement is when I have got time to spare I will take him a walk. They live close by, so it's easy for me to pop round there. He is a happy chappie, but, he doesn't like big dogs and barks at them. Today we saw the postman in the street, Billy didn't like him either. So I have to be aware that I might suddenly have to make a diversion to avoid a confrontation. Other than that he is fine with most people and most dogs, small to medium.
Toodle pip.  ilona

Test

I've just found an alternative to yooootoooob. PBS has lots of video clips on different topics. Wonder if I can embed from there. Giving it a try.



ilona

Waving the flag

I've knocked up some bunting this morning. The fabric came from the Scrapstore, £2, it was a sample book. I liked the colours so I bought it. Would make some nice bunting I thought, or maybe a bag. I took the book apart and each page had a strip of paper on the back with the colour code on it. A small craft knife soon cut through the stitching and it was easily peeled off. I didn't use the browns, too dull, wanted to keep it pretty.

Easy way to make these is to cut the fabric into squares, I only had to trim a couple of inches off. Fold in half corner to corner, sew down one side. Turn the right way so seam is inside, you then have a triangular piece like a three cornered paper bag that we used to buy sweeties in. Iron it flat with the seam running down the centre at the back. Fold over flap and tuck it inside like an envelope, and iron. I had the blue tape in a bit box that someone gave me. You need a strip of the right length, fold it in half down the centre and iron flat, then trap the tops of the flags in the middle of it. Pin and sew.

The weather has taken a turn for the better, it was quite warm yesterday. The brown bin was emptied, now it needs filling again, so back to the hedge trimming. The grass might be dry enough for it's first cut now, it's gardening season again. Lunch now, then I'm off outside.
Toodle pip.   ilona

Spiraling problem solved

My lucky day yesterday. I called in to see my friend Mrs A, and she gave me a smallish picture frame. It didn't have a back on it, but it had some depth and a recess around the inside. I have been looking for something to make a picture with the felt spirals, but hadn't found anything suitable. Aha, wonder if they would fit into here, and they did. 

 I mixed up the different sizes and colours. It was tricky to squash them all in because as I pushed them together to add more and close the gaps, they kept springing out. They are squashed up against the glass, nothing else holding them in place.

I put some packing inside the back so they wouldn't move about and dislodge themselves, then closed it up with a piece of strong cardboard, the type used in picture framing.

It's different, it's unusual, and quite quirky. I like it. 16cm x 31cm.

Oscar has beat me to the best chair today. Seems I am third inline for this chair, after Mayze and Oscar. He is a handsome boy.

Well that's sorted the rest of the day out. It was sunny, but now it's raining. I need to make a start on the garden and it's brown bin collection day tomorrow. It might not get filled now. If it's a shower I might pop out for an hour later.
Toodle pip.  ilona

Going round in circles. New Mandala.

I thought I might as well fill the second 50p small frame while I was in the mood. I like mandalas and found one in a colouring book. I traced the outline onto greaseproof paper, then transferred it onto two pieces of yellow silk already stretched in the frame. Behind that I put a circle of thin wadding to stabilise the stitching. It's finished and I'm just about to close up the back. 

Pull the gathers tight and use up the thread to stitch across the middle a few times. Next cover it up with a circle of felt.

My mandala. Some of the lines were already there, but most of it I made up. I added an extra circle around the edge.

The centre is a piece from a necklace but it's a bit buried with sequins and French knots.

Heidi was on hand to supervise.

I'm really pleased with this, it looks lovely in real life.

Thank you to the International Walking Group members who have checked in with their miles. If you haven't yet done so you can go to the post any time and add your totals to the comments. 

Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona

Walking Group check in for the first two months.

Let's start the new month with optimism shall we. February is gone, finished, we can't change what happened. Bad weather held a lot of us back, no fun walking in the rain. But whatever we didn't achieve last month we now have a brand new month to catch up, and still ten months of the year to go. All is not lost, we can do this.

Here's a throwback picture to whet your appetite for walking. Holiday on St Mary's Isles of Scilly. One day it will be sunny again and we can all get outside.

I finished February on 160 miles, eight miles short of target. Now I need to get on with it, no slacking. So what mileage are you on now? Did you reach your target? Let us know so we can congratulate you, or commiserate.

The weather continues to be crazy here. Severe flooding not many miles away, places where I have walked before are under water and no sign of it receeding. They have been pumping water off the fields and into the river. A horrible sight, now we can see the extent of flood damage with the invention of drones.

I'll leave it with you, check in here, after breakfast I'm going to do my three miles while the sun is still out. Who knows what will happen later, another deluge maybe. Toodle pip.  ilona