It has to last you

Hello. I had an idea of what I would write about today, but reading an article on the BBC news web site has changed all that. What I read has not only surprised me, but shocked me.

A few weeks ago, when the weather was warm enough to do a bit of gardening, I was out on the front trimming my hedges. It's a very relaxed community round here, people have time to stop and chat. A neighbour from up the road was passing, she was on her way back from the doctors surgery. It's also a medical centre and a dispensary, so a one stop shop for minor ailments. We are lucky to have that facility so close, I pick my hearing aid batteries up there.

My neighbour was complaining that they weren't being very quick about dispensing her medication, she had dropped the prescription off some days before and expected it to be ready. She came back empty handed, still not ready for a couple of days. Luckily she hadn't left it till the last minute and still had some tablets left from the last lot she had. Then she asked me if I had had problems getting my meds. I was puzzled, and said I don't take any. She was equally puzzled and asked, 'what, none?' I replied, I don't need any. It got me thinking, is it the norm to take some kind of medication? Surely not!

Then I just read this article.

Nearly 50% take prescription drugs. 

Apparently half of women and 43% of men are regularly taking prescription drugs, according to the Comprehensive Health Survey for England. The cost to the NHS is in excess of 15 billion pounds a year.

A few quotes from the article if you don't want to read the whole thing.

Nearly a third of prescriptions were for cardiovascular disease with more than 65 million prescriptions for tackling high blood pressure, heart failure or cholesterol levels.

Simvastatin - which lowers cholesterol - was the single most prescribed item with 40 million prescriptions.

"That half of men over 65 are taking cholesterol-lowering medicines reflects the high risk of cardiovascular disease in this group.

"Stopping smoking, being a healthy weight, eating more vegetables and fruit, and being physically active reduce people's risk of these diseases, for people who want to avoid taking medicines."

I find these statistics pretty shocking, I didn't know there were so many people popping pills. I blame all the junk food that's everywhere nowadays. It's too easy to get hold of. Jeez some people must have pretty rubbish diets. I know some of you are going to shoot me down, some illnesses are down to genetics, and yes they are, but surely not all of them. Surely some of it is down to what we put in our mouths. 

So, a percentage of the 50% who are taking meds, do so because they inherited some of their problems from their parents, but that means the rest who are being propped up with pills have ailments that are self inflicted. I'm struggling to get my head round this. I know what's bad for me, I eat crap and I am crap, so I try not to. 

A few years ago I had to have a camera down my throat, not a very pleasant experience. Things weren't working well, feeling sick, bloated, and lethargic. Somewhere on this blog is a photo of my duodenum, it looks lovely and clean, not a blemish on it. Some people thought that was a gross picture to publish, buy hey ho, you get me, inside and out. Thank goodness that my sicky state was down to my samey boring diet. As soon as I knew that, I could take steps to improve matters, vary it a bit more, make changes. Bingo, that was the answer. The cake thing last week was a reminder, OMG I shouldn't have done that, but now I am back on track. I will not buy a whole cake again. A small one maybe, but it has to be reduced, ha ha. 

Please please look after your health as best you can. It is the most important thing in your life. Love your body, love how it all works, love your heartbeat, love every part of it, and don't abuse it. It has to last you. 

Toodle pip. 

Big shop - little money

Wow, the shopping was brilliant tonight. Lucky I was there at the right time, lucky that it was late and no one else was around so I didn't have to fight for it. The fruit and veg lady dun me proud. I'll let the stickers speak for themselves. 

Six packs of super food beetroot, going to be scoffing those.

Six packs of diced onions. Going to be making soup and stews with those, for the freezer. I've got a bean stew pack to go with these. Already got some carrots. 

Starting to buy potatoes again, now mine are finished.

Plenty of salad items, love potato salad. Won't be having cooked meals for a while. There's also pasta salad and cous cous.

Nearly everything had a yellow sticker, apart from cat food, olive oil, wine, and tuna for the cats. Total was £17.25, the non sticker items were £14. So, £3.25 for two weeks worth of food. It is widely said that supermarkets waste a lot of food, maybe some do, but my Tesco store sells it off for 1p rather than chuck it. Thank you Tesco.
I am a happy bunny tonight. Toodle pip.

Five minutes of your time

Hello. I've got a few minutes to spare before I get ready for college sewing class. Not enough time for a full blown post, but found this little 5 minute film you might like. I'm a big fan of Random Acts of Kindness, try and do as many as I can, don't always talk about it, no need.



Will pop into Tesco on the way home to see if there are any bargains. I'll post again later if I have time.
Toodle pip.

Sort of a book review, and other stuff

Hello. I didn't get much sewing done at the craft club this morning, spent the first hour nattering. I took the Hudl with me, to show the ladies who didn't come to the Christmas Fair, the pics from Saturday. But I clumsily swiped the screen and lost the blog page. I couldn't pull it out of the history list either because I wasn't online. I noticed that a lot of my older photo's have ended up on the Hudl, a bit annoying because I have no need for them to be there. As I flicked through them, like looking through an old photograph album, I forgot I was supposed to be sewing. I picked a few out to show the ladies, hey look at this one. It was a laugh. 

Right, what's on the agenda tonight. I was going to do a post about a book I am reading by Barbel Mohr, called The 21 Golden Rules for Cosmic Ordering, but I got waylaid on the internet doing some research on the author. A lot of what I found is in German, there are videos of her on yoootooob, but I can't find a button to translate. 

Ok I'll write a bit about the book now, but my brain is not fresh at this time of night, so it may be a bit garbled. Does anyone know anything about Cosmic Ordering? I know Noel Edmonds was talking about it a few years back, he said it worked for him. In the introduction it says it's asking the whole of creation for help when you have a problem you can't solve yourself. 

It goes on to say that the more you are thankful for and value life, the happier and more childishly unself-conscious you are, and the easier it is for you to automatically allow life to direct and lead you. Anyone who incorporates singing, dancing, and childish play in their life is being led by the cosmos and can hear the answers it provides. This person probably does not need to read this book, as they will already communicate with the cosmos. 

Well that's flippin amazing. I sing all the time around the house, I dance in the kitchen, and I like acting like a big kid. It's nice to know there is nothing wrong in being childish. Then it goes on to say the more we lose our joy in existing in the present moment, or the stiffer, more blunted and joyless we have already become in our daily lives, the more practice we will need to find our way back to our true natures.

I've picked out a couple of quotes which I find interesting. 'Being thankful and making the most of each moment is like turning your inner navigation system to the autopilot for happiness setting'. 'If all you do is whinge about the way your life is at present, you are criticizing the godliness within you'. 

The first rule in the book says, 'The world around you reflects the world inside you.' Hmmm, this needs further investigation. There are some very interesting messages coming through. Sadly Barbel Mohr passed away in 2010, but her husband Manfred is carrying on with her work. The English version of her web site is here. 

On a completely different note, I'm getting to the end of this bottle of moisturizer. It must be about four years old, don't splash it on willy nilly, I use all my lotions and potions sparingly. The bottle stands upside down so the contents run to the top. I've been scooping it out with a tooth pick, but now I need to do something else to use the last drop. The top doesn't screw off....

so the only thing to do is to cut around it with a stanley knife. There is another months worth of face cream here.

The label on this baby lotion has faded, it's been in the bathroom window sill. It must be old because they changed the labeling a couple of years ago. I still have half the bottle left. You can tell I don't go overboard spending on toiletries, ha ha.

It was very cold this afternoon, but nevertheless I still went for a walk in the park. Here are a few pics. Thorns sticking out of a tree trunk so I stuck three leaves on them. Tree art. 

Reflections in a pond.

Teeny weeny mushrooms on a tree stump.

Yes Rocky came, didn't bother taking a pic of him, you're not that interested are you  ;o))
Wind down time. Toodle pip

Visit to the Festival of Christmas Trees

Hello. I've been to church today, the Old Brumby, United Church. It's not an old church like those I visit on my travels, it's a mere fifty years old, so quite a modern building in comparison. Every year the Rotary Club hold a Festival of Christmas Trees to raise money for Lindsey Lodge Hospice. Entry is free, a donation is appreciated, and refreshments are available.

I've seen it advertised before, but never been to it, so I thought this year I would. It was very busy and seems like a popular event. There are over eighty trees to view, all decorated by local businesses, schools, groups, clubs, charities, and the council. Some of them are stunningly fabulous, all of them are super. Here are a few of them. Enjoy.

This had to be my favourite, I love quirky. Driftwood picked up from the beach, cleaned and sanded smooth. Each branch has a hole drilled through the middle and is threaded onto an upright post, the longest piece at the bottom and the shortest on top. Amazing isn't it. 

And the band played Christmas Carols. There is other entertainment throughout the two weekends, choirs are booked to perform as well. 

A lot of the decorations are hand made. There are colourful Suffolk Puffs on this one.

Another quirky one, by the council recycling department. I'm not sure I like this one very much. The idea is good but I think they could have been a bit more imaginative with the construction.

 Small knitted socks covered this one. Cute.

Looks like all the children in the school made a fairy out of a clothes peg. Great idea to get them all involved.

I've got some more photo's but I'll save them for later. Hope you like them.
Toodle pip.

A busy day at the Village Hall

Hello. I'm falling asleep in front of the keyboard here. I think it is the one hour of heating I treated myself to that's done it, turned it off now. Or could it be all the nattering I've been doing at the Christmas Fair. Here is me and Hilary, one of our crafty ladies.  

Lots of lovely colourful displays. Seated is Carol, another crafty lady. She is manning the Village Hall stall, with her assistant.

All manner of stuff for sale.

 Ali is selling her beautiful hand made wares. She is also one of our crafty ladies.

Blimey, they've piled that one high.

The busiest stall of the lot? The Womens Institute cake stall of course, and before you ask, no I didn't indulge. That's Judy handing over her dosh.

More cakes, such a lovely display.

And an overall view of the Village Hall. The Fair opened at 11am and closed at 3pm, and it was busy most of the time. 

There was entertainment from the school choir, a local dance school, and the Scouts did a presentation. Santa put in an appearance, and there was a fancy dress competition for the small children. A pretty fairy won that. Refreshments were served, tea and coffee, sandwiches and cakes, and home made soup. All in all a great afternoon was had by all. A great effort by everyone, it's good to see the village community coming together. We didn't sell very much but I wasn't expecting to. Charities benefited by doing their own fundraising, and the Village Hall, which has to be self funding, also did well.

Now I'm going to chill. No alcohol tonight, haven't any in, a juice drink and a read of a book will suffice.

Hope your Saturday went well. Enjoy your Sunday. Toodle pip.

Apologies to my stomach

Hello and welcome, come on in. I'm trying to tick off jobs on my 'to do', list and not making much progress. Some jobs have been completed but more have been added to the bottom. It's never ending. Getting ready for the Christmas Fair has been priority, but there is one job connected to that which hasn't got done. Our Craft and Chat banner has disappeared. It was last used in June, in the church. I wasn't there when the display was taken down. I've asked everyone if they know what has happened to it, no one does. We have one member who is on holiday, surely she hasn't got it in her house, has she. Too bad if she has, she's in Spain. I did wonder if someone had passed it on to me and I put it somewhere safe. I've searched the house from top to bottom and I can't find it. So I'm going to have to make a temporary one, some cut out letters from coloured card. I can do without that job tonight, still got to sew up two bags. 

These fabric bowls are done, I've made eight small ones and one large one. They will be for sale if anyone wants them. 

Digging up taters has been ticked off the list, they are all up now. The last few. Not very pretty, some knobbly ones, but they will scrub up well. The veg garden is now closed.

My lunch today was egg noodles and spring onions, (yellow stickers), with two scrambled eggs, very filling. Dinner tonight is a plate of steamed veg with grated cheese. It's sprouts all the way now, plus the bargain veg I still have in the fridge.

I have a confession to make. I bought a cake on a yellow sticker on Monday, it was a sponge cake with a cream filling and icing on the top. Half price at £1. I only buy treats when they are reduced, and as I hadn't had anything sweet for a while I thought I might indulge in a little lip smacking delishusness. The cake would have made four or six portions. I should have spread it over four days, but can I save cake, can I hell! I scoffed it in two days. My eyes were bigger than my belly, and boy did I suffer. Not just feeling sick, but feeling really ill. I had a headache and felt tired, and had to sit down. My body felt like sh1t. I ate some for breakfast, because it was there. Half an hour later I thought I had a rock in my stomach. I sent some porridge down to absorb all the crap. Sorry stomach, I appear to have abused you.

They say sugar is poison and I believe it. I took my eyes off the ball for a moment and suffered. I can see how easy it is to do that. Forgive me stomach, I'll try not to do that again.

Must go, the weekend is here, I hope it is a good one for you. Toodle pip

Free sprouts

Hiya and hello. I've got five cute little cubes now. Someone (I'm hopeless with names), suggested they could be made into dice. What a good idea, yes they could. Might make some more, but I'll move onto something else now, got other stuff to do. Things to finish for the stall on Saturday. 

I went to town today. Took three bags of unwanted stuff to two charity shops. Most of it is what I got out of  a skip, which didn't sell on our cat stall on Saturday. 

 I went to get some cash from the machine inside the bank, and it ate my card. My fault, it went out of date on the 30th. I have a new card but hadn't swapped them over. Must get it activated tomorrow. I paid a visit to the Arts Centre to see what was new. A very colourful exhibition by Nick Sharratt, he illustrates childrens books. It was all very interesting, he has amazing talent. Sorry didn't take any pics. Here is a link to his very colouful web site.

My next port of call was the library, I chose some crafting and sewing books. Who should I meet outside with her bicycle was Joanne from the 1939 house. You may remember I wrote about her a while back, she lives down the hill from me. I keep bumping into her just lately. She was struggling to fasten her shopping onto her bike before the ride home. I offered to take her bags back in the car, but she was adamant that she lives the 1939 way, and this is what she does. She's a gutsy lady, it's five miles each way to town and back,. with a couple of hills to struggle up. I do admire her commitment to her chosen lifestyle.

Last place to call at was the pet stall in the market. They often have offers on short dated pet food. Just opposite is a fruit and veg stall and they were packing up for the day. My eagle eye spotted a couple of sprout sticks sticking out of a bag left out for collection, destined for the bin. Nowt wrong with them I thought so I asked for them. What a waste to chuck them, a bonus for me though.

Remember the story I told you about the green phone box full of wires being smashed up outside my friends house? She doesn't live there bye the way. As I walked by this morning I saw workmen had come to replace it. Knowing that my friend was not best pleased where they had put the previous one, overhanging the entrance to her drive, I dashed back home and got in my car and went to tell her that they were about to put the new box in exactly the same place. I gave her a lift so she could maybe get them to stop the job before it was too late. I sat in the car watching her remonstrate with them, her arms waving everywhere. I had to chuckle, she doesn't stand no messing. Didn't do any good though, they were only following orders. She has already had a lot of argybargy with Open Reach the telephone people. Looks like the saga of the box in the wrong place will go on and on, she won't give up until they move it two feet to the right, ha ha.

Anyway, I'm off to bed now, with my library books. Toodle pip

How to make a Suffolk Puff

Hello. Did anyone see the gorgeous sunset last night? I spotted it looking out over the rooftops, from my bedroom window. Boots on, coat on, off to the churchyard for some pics. I like to play around with the flash, sometimes it works really well at picking out objects close by, and sometimes not. It depends on how much natural light there is. Love how it picks out the red berries. 

Silhouettes of the bare trees against the moody sky.

Love how the flash picks out the railings. It was still quite light at this point.

Love how the lush green leaves add even more colour to the red sunset. 

I like to try and frame the picture to draw the eye deeper into it. Looking for overhanging branches or strategically placed bushes.

Talking of pictures, I mentioned that someone wanted to use one of mine in a publication. I am happy to allow that, and it's nice that I was asked, rather than it just be taken. One of my photo's was used as a cover for a community brochure in Lincolnshire. Another was used in advertising material by someone in the USA who was coming to London to give a presentation at the London Palladium. He wanted a photo of the venue without any advertising boards on the front. I happened to be passing when there wasn't a show on and got the picture. Here is a link to Bed Times, my picture of a bed spring gate is at the top. From what I can remember I was in Derbyshire when I took it. 

What was I doing last night at sewing class? Making Suffolk Puffs. I don't know why they are called that, I think the common name is yoyo's. These are for embellishing the cushion cover I am making from a mans shirt. Still need some more. 

There is a gadget you can buy to help you make them. A circle of plastic which sits inside another circle and sandwiches the fabric between the two. They clip together and have holes around the edge that you sew through. Last week I borrowed one from a class mate, but she didn't bring it this week so I carried on making them without it. It's quite simple. Probably most of you know how to do this.

Cut a circle twice the size of the puff. Fold a single hem around the outside. I didn't bother to iron it, just folded as I was sewing. Basically you sew a line of small tacking stitches around the outside, and when you get back to the beginning you pull the thread tight, gathering the fabric into a puff with the raw edge on the inside. Then you finish off with a button.

I've just watched a video which demonstrates this, but the lady didn't make a hem, she sewed round the raw edge and pulled it in. I think this way is a bit messy and if you were going to wash the piece afterwards the raw edge would fray.



Here is another video which shows the hem method, and how to make square puffs.



If you go onto yoootooob and search Suffolk Puffs there are lots of ideas on what to do with them. Happy stitching. The sun is out and I am off outside. Got to dig up the last of my spuds. Hope all is good where you are. Toodle pip.