Overhall, a good move.

 It's going to be a bit of an in and out day today. I went in search of the recycling centre that takes in rubble. Found it. I took three boxes of the stuff to ask if this is what they want. The man sitting in his car, eating his breakfast, he doesn't have an office, said yes they do take it in. He let me dump it on a big pile, and told me that I should take any more  to their main yard near the steelworks. I checked their web site, it's impressive. 

So now it's all systems go. I was becoming swamped with rubble, cluttering the area I want to work in. I will make a trip this afternoon to get rid of the bulk of it which will give me some empty boxes to fill up again. 

This is a much better, and cheaper, arrangement than paying at the Council tip to dispose of it, and hiring a skip would be more costly. Free is best every time. 

It's getting mighty hot here, I have come into the house for ten minutes to do this because the sun is beating down on my back. Now I am off out again after some refreshments. 

Catch ya later  ilona

Shopping late

 It's almost six weeks since I last went to Home Bargains. Tonight I spent £89 on mostly cat food with some bits and bobs for me. An 80 pack of Whiskas pouches costs £17.99, I also got some 40 packs of  Whiskas, Felix, and Sheba. I get Purina dry, Iams dry, and Whiskas dry. 

The birds will get a treat tomorrow. I bought two bags of dried mealworms. The last time I put some out on the lawn, they were scoffed in a matter of minutes. I also got them a bag of suet pellets as well. 

My shopping list had four items on it. Grass seed for when I take those bricks up and hopefully turn that strip back to lawn. Gardening gloves, got two pairs of thick sturdy gloves for £2.49. Women's gardening gloves don't last very long with me. 

I got a pack of cable ties, always useful. A pack of doggy poo bags. An embroidery hoop. A box of oxo cubes. I wanted a couple of ratchet straps, and a reel of white cotton but they didn't have those. 

There was hardly anyone in the shop, it's a big shop, and most were not masked. I like it much better if I can see faces.  

I am sticking with the two places I shop at, and going late when it is quiet. I have no desire to pop to the shops for every little thing I might have forgotten. 

Soon off to bed, so I'll wrap it up here. Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.  ilona

Art with Cassie.

I love this lady. You may have noticed a link on my sidebar to her blog. Cassie Stevens is everything an art teacher should be. I wish I could join her class. 

I liked art at school, but it was just a matter of sitting at a desk with paper and paints in front of me. I can't remember any instruction about techniques, mixing paints, choosing brushes, how to imagine an idea, and how to create a picture. Maybe that's why I am not very confident about painting a picture now. 

Cassie is full of life, full of ideas, and full of enthusiasm for her teaching job. The clothes she wears are all hand made by herself. She briefly shows her wardrobe in this video. Take a look at her classroom, it's amazing. Lucky kids. 

Now I must do a bit more in the garden. Thanks for popping in. 

Catch ya later. ilona 

Boring job.

 I've dug out a heck of a lot of rubble from the strip behind the garage. I wondered why there is so much. Then I remembered, my house had an internal wall taken out some years ago, the previous owner knocked two rooms into one. I think they must have dumped all the rubble from that behind the garage. Now I've run out of boxes and buckets to put it in. My friend told me about a place I can take this to, they put it in a crusher and turn it into hardcore. I will check it out as I don't want to have to hire a skip to take it away. 

I put the metal frame together of the party tent I was hoping to put in the space, but it's going to be too big and too tall. So now I am thinking of other ideas. 

I've made a start of leveling the soil and laying the bricks on it. There are still a lot of stones in it.The old seat cushion comes in handy as a kneeling pad. 

After lunch I bunked off and went for a walk. The sun was telling me to get my boots on and go. A farm I pass has free range hens. I like to see them pecking about. Several people have hens in their gardens in our village. They have a table or a box outside their gate, £1 for 6 eggs. 

I will get on with the job of laying the bricks tomorrow, it's a boring job. Oh well, I suppose it will get finished eventually. 

Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona
 

A little tour around Welton church.

Hello. I said there are three videos from the walk I did on Tuesday last week. Here is the third. Come for a walk with me around Welton Church and duck pond. 

I am posting this quickly as it's taken ages to upload, and it's bed time, so apologies for not many words. 

We'll catch up soon. Goodnight. Toodle pip.   ilona

Life according to Ilona

A few years ago I discovered Ilona Royce Smithkin, and was immediately struck by her energy and her zest for life. In 2010 the photographer Ari Seth Cohen, who created a blog, Advanced Style, which was devoted to the style of women over 60, came across Ilona. He visited her studio many times. 

I just heard that Ilona has passed away at the age of 101. Here is a short film, an interview from a year ago.  

Ilona had many talents, an art teacher, cabaret singer, and fashion model. Here is an extract from her obituary in the New York Times. 

Mr Cohen started visiting Ms. Smithkin’s fourth-floor West Village walk-up, a tiny studio so crammed with fabrics, handbags, paintings, magazines and hats that the door could not fully open. Ms. Smithkin served coffee or vodka — “the only two things I know how to make,” she explained — and described how she fabricated her own caftans and turned objects like letter organizers and typewriter springs into jewelry.

Sleep well dear lady, your legacy will live on. 

Time for breakfast. Catch ya later.   ilona

Mr Perry.

 I just love Grayson Perry. He is an artist. This is what he does. 

I didn’t want to upstage the bride so went low key comfy.

Image borrowed from his Twiitterata account. 

Ha ha, very funny, Grayson. 

Toodle pip.   ilona

Village life.

There was a good turn out at the Bowls Club today for their Coffee Morning. Luckily the weather was warm and sunny. A £1 admission fee was charged and for that you got a cup of tea or coffee and a few biscuits. There was home made cakes for sale, hand made pottery for sale, and raffle tickets for some great prizes. Also a chance to have a try at bowls for those who have not played it before. Village life getting back to normal. 

This doggy was happy to pose with my sun visor. 

This is the first job to be done on the garage site. Along the edge of the fence is a lot of buried rubble, half bricks and lumps of concrete and suchlike. I want to remove all the larger pieces and flatten it down, then top it with plastic sheeting to stop the weeds coming up, then add some bricks to make a solid surface. 

I want to remove all the bricks on this side and relocate them elsewhere, and extend the lawn over the bald strip. 

It's back breaking work at the moment so I am doing it in short spurts. Getting up off my knees and doing a few stretches. I need to prepare the ground first before I put anything on it. Luckily the sun is out so I am going outside to continue with this task. 

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

A walk near Welton. Pics and video.

A few pics from Tuesdays walk. It was a lovely sunny day with a slight breeze. Some of these tracks I have done before so I am trying to find new ones. The map is pretty full now where I have marked the previous routes. I walked up the road to Welton Top, then turned right towards Tom Potts Plantation. Then I turned left onto a road, and a track, which took me to Wauldby Scroggs just clipping the edge of Nut Wood. 

There is a Riding Centre nearby. 

There are several recognised longer distance footpaths in this area. I hopped on and off the Yorkshire Wolds Way, the Beverley 20, and the High Hunsley Circuit. Passing Wold View Farm near Brantingham I watched a combine harvester going up and down the field. The two tractors with trailers are ready to collect the corn when they get the signal. 

The tractor pulls alongside and they move forward together, the harvester discharging the load into the trailer. It's amazing how smoothly the operation is performed. 

Love these tall trees. 

Walking through a wood I took a side track to the edge to see what was beyond. In the Video below I zoom in on the fabulous view.  

How cute, a fairy door stuck on the base of a tree trunk. 

When I got back into Welton I walked around the church and the duck pond. I'll post the video of that next time. 

It was late when I got back home so it was a quick dinner for me. Nine miles walked, I really enjoyed it. 

Have a great weekend. It's been raining here today with heavy downpours, so I have not been able to get out into the garden. Hopefully I can tomorrow. 

Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona

Despicable

 Desperation is a word that comes to mind when I see adverts that encourage folks to get their jab. Their jab, as if it has their name on it, as if there is one set aside especially for them. 

Bullying, coercion, blackmailing, bribe, compel, intimidate, demand, and hold to ransom, are all words to describe the campaign by the Government to get everybody jabbed. The onslaught is relentless, and you have to question why. If you believe that they have your best interests at heart, you are deluded. They have a Government department which works on the psychology of manipulation. 

They have had a run of  bullying the whole adult population, they have not stopped yet, and now they are aiming for the children. Are there are no such depths they will stoop to. Promises of rewards, freebee's, and freedoms if you get a prick in the arm. 

The Times Newspaper, which I always thought of as being a cut above the red tops, has now given in to accepting advertisements to bully children into getting a jab. It's all about the money, and control. No one knows what the consequences will be in the long term of getting this. These young people will one day want to become parents. 

This picture appears on billboards and social media. The Times article is here. Get the jab or miss the fun. 

 This whole thing is turning into a sickening nightmare. Did you get the answer to the question? Why are they doing this? It's blindingly obvious now. Money. Which part of the camp are you in? Divide and fall, or divide and prosper? There is only one direction it is going in, and every step is a step too far. I'm pleased that I didn't have any children, I can't imagine the turmoil that some parents, and grandparents, must be going through. 

I'll be back later. Toodle pip.   ilona 

Using the right map.

Good morning. It will have to be a quick in and out today, I have so much to do outside, and a dog walk later. This video is from the walk I did on Tuesday. I went over the Humber Bridge and walked nine miles in the Welton area. There are some photo's as well, and two more videos, so I will add them in the next few days. 

I have updated the Research page this morning, so some new stuff to ponder over there, for those who are interested. 

Thank you for popping in. Catch ya another time.  Toodle pip. 

It's gone.

Last look at the old garage before it is taken down. They came at 9am, two men and a van. 

It's a wreck, it had to go. 

View of the rear. Remember the beach scene I painted on the back, then changed it to a stripey design. 

The ivy turned into a tree and smothered it. I shall miss the green leaves, but it was a big job to cut them back every year.  

The roof came off first, then the sides. I had already taken the doors off myself and deposited them at the tip. They left the panels intact and cut through the supporting wooden frame, then lifted them out without breaking them up. 

Studying the tree stuck to the panels. Tearing it down before cutting through the frame. 

Not much left now.

The back is down, now start bagging up the smaller broken pieces. Must be double bagged. 

All gone in just over two hours. It was an expensive do, but it needed to be done properly. The biggest cost is in the licences they need. 

Bye bye garage. Octogon Solutions Ltd. 

How it was. 

Now what? 

A blank canvas. Some tidying up to do. Thinking about what I want to put in it's place. I don't think I will be building another summer house, ha ha. 

I did a nine mile walk yesterday, took photo's and made three videos. will post them soon. Now I must get back outside, I think it is going to rain. 

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

Desperate for news. Good for a laugh.

 Ha ha. If you don't have any news, make it up. 

Tesco on lockdown as police seal off supermarket after emergency - shoppers told to stay away. 

Click bait and I clicked. The non story.  A police car was parked outside the shop, customers were being turned away. It is unclear what exactly happened. A nearby resident was surprised by all the activity. Someone said, I know nothing about it. Someone else said, I thought it was a bit unusual. Another nearby resident said I didn't hear anything. 

Some of the comments. 

Someone seen smashing up boxes of breakfast food. Must be cereal killer.

Police found toilet rolls and were flushed with success

All their phones pinged at the same time

Somebody approached the store, daring to not wear a muzzle and full protective clothing, and then coughed! 

"Nothing on the shelves, nothing to see, move on please"......

My local Tesco had a spillage on the milk isle. No word yet from Tesco HQ. More clickbait news please.

It must be story writing for 6 year olds today.

So, a non blog post about a non story in the Express, written by their roving reporter, Oliver Pritchard Jones, who probably never roves anywhere and gets all his stories from the local press. 

Looking good outside. Maybe a walk today. Now for breakfast. Garage removal day tomorrow. I still have some pictures to sort out from my visit to 20 21 Arts Centre. Haven't forgotten. Thanks for popping in. We'll catch up soon. Toodle pip. ilona 

Free bedding

 When I was out walking on Saturday I saw this pile of junk dumped on a farm track which is also a public footpath. I have passed this place before several times and the pile gets bigger as more stuff is dumped on it. Someone is probably saving it up and will set fire to it eventually. It's on private land next to the track so it will be the responsibility of the farmer to move it. 

I noticed some carrier bags, they weren't there last time. I couldn't resist looking in them. I found some bedding, duvet covers and pillow cases. A bit wet because it has been raining. I gathered a few items up and inspected them. Some of them were salvageable. I put them in the orange bag you see there. I carried them with me on the rest of the walk. A bit heavy I have to say. 

Now they are washed and ironed. No I don't iron my own bedding, but I am going to give these away. The red flowery set is lovely. The purple pillow cases are satin and embroidered. The blue and red stripey set is good quality cotton and a little bit more manly than the others. 

I will find a new home for them. 

Now I am going to take Billy out. Thanks to the Walking Group for checking in. The numbers are looking good. I'm proud of you for keeping it going. 

You may have noticed that some of my videos on yooohoootooob have now got adverts on them. This is not my doing. They contacted me some time ago saying that all videos will be having adverts, it's their new policy. You have my permission to skip them.  

Catch ya later. Toodle pip.   ilona

Check in time once again

 Good morning. Here we are again, the first of the month. Seven months gone, let's all stride forward into August. It's time for the International Walking Group to share their news, how many miles have you done this month, and what is your total now. 

My miles on the 1st of July were 518, my miles now are 608, so I am chuffed with that. I can have a day or two off if I have other things to do. I have stuff to do in the garden this week, the garage is scheduled to be  taken down on Wednesday. Now it's your turn, how are you doing. Please leave a comment so we can cheer each other on. 

My walk yesterday, from my front door, 8 miles done, thankfully it didn't rain. 

I'll get off now, time for breakfast. Bran flakes, seeds and nuts, and a banana today. Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip.   ilona