Jackpot winner

Hello blogging buddies. I've only gone and done it again. The fridge was bare yesterday, now it's full. I wait until I actually need food before I do the yellow sticker run. I have a few staples in the cupboard, tins and packets, but much prefer to eat fresh if I can. Rocky loves it when I arrive back, he wants to know if there is anything for him.

I went at 7.15 pm, it's ten minutes to my favourite Tesco store. When I arrive I go straight to the chiller cabinet, not much in there, then onto the fruit and veg. The reduced had been taken into the back for the final pricing up. I knew that because there were a few people hovering in anticipation. Someone said it had been gone for a long time and was hopeful that it would emerge quite soon. I took a chance and whizzed up to the bread department and got a couple of loaves and some scones. 

The fruit and veg was wheeled out, it was a bit of a tussle, but no nastiness because there was plenty, and not everyone has the same tastes, they want different things. It's best to get in a bit quick though, but after people had drifted away there was still some more for the pickings. Thank you Tesco for letting us have the food and not throwing it away.  

I paid £6.12 for the reduced items, normal price would have been £49.86. 

Total shop was £21.24. Here are the rest of the items I bought at normal prices. Please excuse fuzzy picture, I am not taking it again, ha ha. The vegetable item at the top is a pack of six Value vegetable grills for the freezer. The cooked meats are treats for the kids. I have butter on there, I have to limit myself to this as I would scoff the lot too quickly. One pack every three months is enough. The Quorn mince is on special offer, I wouldn't buy it at normal price. The cat food is dry Iams for seniors, for Bugsy.

It's been a busy morning.Sarah, the journalist came from the Yorkshire Post and was scribbling in her notepad like crazy. Looked like a load of squiggles to me. Then the photographer came and must have taken about a hundred shots. The article is planned for publication on Monday, and will probably be online. The first article written seven years ago is still there, will be interesting to see the difference.

Anyway, can't hang around here, dog needs a little bimble, then it's off to the vet with Heidi cat. My walk will have to wait until tonight. Only did one mile yesterday, didn't have time for more.
Thanks for popping in. Catch up soon.
Toodle pip

PS. Oh dear, I forgot to put the link to the old article from seven years ago, I was in a rush..
It's here.

What's happening

Hiya peeps. Things are kicking off here, busy busy. Four readers were correct in their title guess, it is indeed, 'Outside the Box', a phrase I am always using. Well done, sorry no prizes, skint, no not really, can't be bothered to parcel stuff up and send it. Just a bit of fun. You know me, I like fun.

Another bit of fun, have I worked out Twitter yet? No, that will take a while, if I can be bothered. I've just dumped some of the people I am following, don't need all that stuff coming into my box. I only joined it so I can find out what's happening with the Jo Brand long walk across the country. After a bit of investigating elsewhere I have the route, and it seems she will be starting on Friday not far from me and walking over the Humber Bridge, so I have to go and meet her, don't I. She is not walking from Hull, I s'pose they used that as a well know start point. She is due to finish at the Liver Building in Liverpool on Thursday. It's about 150 miles, she will have some long days if she wants to do 20+ miles a day at 2mph. Best up it to 3mph if she can. I hope she does well, and wish her all the best. At least she won't have a rucksack to carry which will ease the pressure off her leg muscles. GoJo   on Twitter.

I've got to have a bit of a tidy up here today, a journalist and photographer are coming tomorrow from the Yorkshire Post. She wrote about me seven years ago, and now wants to do a follow up article. Blimey, seven years since I was on the tele on Hunt for Britain's Tightest Person. Time flies.

I've just been chatting to Joanna of the 1939 house, I popped down the hill to have a word with her and she was getting ready to show visitors around. She lives in a time warp, everything she does is 1940's down to the clothes she wears and riding a bike everywhere. I caught her chopping wood for the fire in her back yard. Passing her details on to the Yorkshire Post lady, she might like to do a story.

I've picked up the unfinished landscape picture again and altered the sky, which I wasn't very happy about. It looks a lot better now and will soon be ready for framing.

Lovely sunny day today, too nice to be in, but I have to do some housework. I'm up to 58 miles of walking for this month. Thanks to those who have sent in updates, it isn't compulsory, send them if you like. It's nice to see those who are embracing the challenge, and if you haven't got into it yet, no worries, there's still eleven and a half months left. I will be removing the names on the sidebar soon, the list takes up too much space, so to check who is doing what, go to the page at the top below the header.

Thanks for popping in. Catch up soon. Toodle pip

Oh no, what have I done ! ;o(

Oh dear, I wonder if it is my fault. I signed up to Twitter last night, and look what has happened this morning.

I think I have broken it !  OMG, I CAN'T CHUFFIN TWEET. What am I going to do now, I am gutted. My life will never be the same, it's like my right arm has been cut off. Sob sob. What am I going to do without Twitter, I am completely lost and bereft. PLEASE PLEASE COME BACK TWITTER, I AM SO SORRY, I DIDN'T MEAN TO DO IT.

Lots of love, grovel grovel, I love you I really do.
Ilona

An arty puzzle for you

Hello. Twas Crafty Club this morning, I took a bit of sewing with me. Not many members in attendance, I think the cold weather puts them off. It was nice to see Ali back though, after a long absence, and the lady who is moving into the cottage opposite the Village Hall has said she will come and join us when she has got everything straight. We have been asked if we want a stall at the Summer Fete in June. Mixed feelings about that, as our display would be better in the church, but we are not sure if they will be using it. We don't fancy being outside in case the weather is not very good. If it is not blustery I can put the gazebo up, but I'm not doing battle with the winds. We will make a decision on that later. 

When I got back I finished the art work. This is the end result. 

This was the beginning if you remember. I was given some blocks of wood and thought of an idea, my third idea by the way. There are ten blocks, I painted each one a different colour. 

I found a piece of hardboard in my stash, 2 feet square, and stuck some pieces of A3 paper together to make the exact size, and make a plan. I randomly placed the blocks on the paper and marked around them. Now I am calling them boxes. I then added a splodge to every one, something like you might get if a mug is overfilled and the liquid is running down the sides to make a pool.

Then I copied each shape onto more paper and cut them out, keeping the original as a plan to work from. I wanted a black background, my first thought was to paint the hardboard, but I haven't got any black paint, so I looked in my storeroom and found a roll of black window blind material. It's not like fabric, it's tough and durable, with a plastic feel to it, just the job. I covered the board, folding over the edges and securing them at the back. I laid the shapes out as in the plan, and used a pencil to transfer the outlines across.

Then I laid the coloured boxes on to check the look of it and make sure they are fairly evenly spaced. I was going to keep them all in straight lines and squared up, but changed my mind and went for higgledypiggledy. My mind is thinking, don't do the obvious and make them look tidy, scatter them about a bit.

Next I removed the boxes and the papers, I numbered them 1 to 10 on the board so I would know which box shape was which colour. I painted all the splodges, but found they were not big enough, so I had to expand them with several coats of paint. to make sure the black didn't show through. Check again that everything fits right. 

The next step was to write the words on in black felt tip pen. Starting with the first word on the box, and trailing the sentence around the edge of the splodge. There is a reason for doing it this way. You will notice they are all questions I asked myself about this particular piece of work.

The light was fading, I used the white wall of the porch to show the contrast of the black board. To finish it off, I screwed the boxes onto the board, and covered the back with a sheet of black sticky back foam. I put two hooks on the back and tied a length of telephone cable to them for hanging.

Now here's the question. What is this artwork called? See if you can work it out, three words.

Have fun. Thanks for popping in. Catch up soon.
Toodle pip

Go Jo !

Hello. Just popping in before Crafty Club. Something caught my eye in the paper this morning. Jo Brand is planning to walk across Britain from Hull to Liverpool, starting on Thursday. As I have done a similar crossing three times, I think I ought to go and meet her to cheer her on. As usual, the mail haven't quite got the facts right. It isn't a coastal walk, it's a coast to coast walk, and it is less than 170 miles, I reckon about 150.

Read about it here.

Photo from The Daily Mail / Comic Relief. 

Catch up with you later. Toodle pip

Haven't the foggiest ;o)

Hello. I am scoffing a bowl of scrumptious veggie stew, this one has bulgur wheat and pasta in it as well as the usual onions, carrots, and sprouts. It's chuffin lovely, a bit spicier than the last one. 

I haven't been very far today, I've been busy working on the art project. Haven't done a power walk yet, will have to get off my bum and do that tonight. We had a dusting of snow overnight, but that was soon gone by mid morning, thank goodness. I think we might be lucky and miss the worst of it here on the east coast. 

The kids are all fine, Bugsy has been enjoying some fish, kindly dropped off by Janet when she came back from shopping yesterday. Heidi is back to the vet later this week for another blood test, to keep an eye on her red blood cell levels. She seems perfectly fine in herself, has a good appetite. Me and Rocky had a short walk up to Barry's last night, he likes to visit his pal Scruff. 

Here's a puzzle for you, a couple of close up pics of my art work. You probably haven't got the foggiest idea what it's about, but I thought I would throw in this teaser. Painted shapes on a black background. All will be revealed soon. It's almost finished. 

Thank you all for your messages yesterday, you are very kind. Still getting used to the idea that I won't be walking Lady again. I am down to one dog now, plus Rocky of course. Bailey the poodle, as and when required. I saw Joyce this morning near the churchyard, she has asked me to walk him early February, as she is going out to lunch. He is a smashing little fella.

My dinner has gone down, so I'll get off out and walk now. Thanks for popping in. Catch up soon.
Toodle pip.

Lovely Lady

Hello. Please excuse me if I make this a short post tonight. It's not that long ago when Ollie and Alfie the two black labradors I used to walk, passed away. First Alfie then Ollie two months later. Today I have had the sad news that Lady has also passed away. Graham her owner rang me this morning. Like the others, she lost control of her back legs. I don't like the term, 'put to sleep', but the kindest thing you can do for an animal is to not let it suffer. 

I have been walking these dogs for over three years. They have been such good fun. Even though they weren't my dogs, I loved them just the same. Rest in peace lovely Lady, I shall miss you. 

I walked past this spot today where I took the photo. She was in a field of sugar beet.

Sorry, can't write any more, catch you tomorrow.
Ilona.

Let's go puddle jumping

Hello. What a change from yesterday,  sunshine, blue skies, no wind, but still a tad cold. I decided to get my three miles done early and turned it into four miles. A change of route, I thought I would go and have a look at the wind turbines that have been recently been planted just outside the village. There was a lot of hoohaa about it at the planning stage, such a lot of opposition to these huge monsters blotting our landscape. This little tarmac lane turns into a dirt track, down the hill and past the edge of the wood. 

Looking a bit bleak at the moment, lack of foliage exposes the litter which is strewn about. It's a popular dog walking area.

At the bottom it opens out and across the fields is the River Trent. Beyond that there are masses more wind turbines near Goole.

And there is our wind farm, all six of them. It doesn't look too bad to me, I like them better than the ugly pylons. I could hear a quiet humming noise as I passed them.

I carried on past them, walking along the track at the bottom of the wood. A spot of puddle jumping is needed here. 

The frozen muddy water makes a pleasing pattern on the surface. I think this picture looks like an aerial view of a lake, or a coastline.  

Another walker going in the opposite direction.

A lot of trees were felled in the woods a couple of years ago, there is still some tree trunks and branches lying around. I like the way the frost clings to the rough bark giving it a look of being dusted with icing sugar. 

The track comes out at the Industrial estate, I turned left up the road into the village, and took the high road back along the top of the wood, which runs parallel to the track below it.

Someone's back garden is just beyond this rough patch, they have dumped a load of apples over the edge. What a waste. I hope the wild life is making the most of this feast.

The walk took about two hours, I was back in time for lunch. It was nice to get out into the sunshine, best to make the most of it, could be wet and windy tomorrow.

For the rest of the day I have been painting the new art work. It's coming along nicely but after taking a step back to look at it, I need to make some minor adjustments. It's got to be right. Tonight I am scoffing another portion of veg stew. Not much left in the pan, I will make some more tomorrow with Brussels sprouts and carrots, and add the two together. Beats cooking any day, ha ha.

It's Friday, so I've cracked open a can of pear cider, the first this month. I find the best way of drinking it is to pour it in small amounts into a small glass, and pretend it's wine. That way it lasts longer, and I never have the need for a second can. I am not taking part in Dry January, my alcohol intake is so small, a treat once or twice a month is fine by me.

Hope you have a good weekend. Thanks for popping in. Catch up soon.
Toodle pip

Fashionable dog walking gear ;o)

Hello. No matter what the weather, dogs have to go outside for the toilet. But it's cold, mum. Stop complaining Rocky, you have your coat on. 

If you wrap up for a dog walk, it's still flippin freezing. Tip, wear a longish woolen skirt over the top of your trousers, over the top of your leggins. Tuck your leggins into the top of a pair of long thick socks. Wear a thick padded jacket with a furry lined hood, over a fleece, over a sweat shirt, over a long sleeved T shirt, and over a short sleeved T shirt. Gloves and boots and a scarf are essential apparel as well in wintry conditions. My jacket was given to me a few years ago. I bought the skirt a few years ago from a charity shop for 50p. Charity shop boots. I don't care what I look like.

I've done a poop, can we go home now ?  Yes, Rocky, let's skidaddle.

 Aaahhhhh, that's better. In my favourite place, bed.

 Give me a shout when dinner's ready. I'm going to get some shuteye.

The snow is starting to fall. I'm off back out to do my 3 miles before it settles. I'll need a wooly hat. Thanks for popping in. Catch up soon.
Toodle pip.

A mop to die for ;o)

Hello. Eeee by 'eck, I do lead an exciting life. Who else would go, 'oooh, I must have that mop, it's lovely and soft.' Did I buy it because I needed a mop to clean my kitchen floor? No. I bought it because of the softness of the fibres, and because it had been reduced to 99p, and if I took it apart I could make something with it. Maybe incorporate it into some arts and crafts project, possibly. A bit bonkers eh!  

The blue bands were stitched on so a lot of careful unpicking. The fibres were attached to the plastic bit with cable ties so a sharp stanley knife sorted that out. And here we are, all untangled and wrapped round cardboard. It will come in useful for something.

Not a lot happening at Tightwad Towers. It was a dry day so I got a load of washing out on the line. No sun, no wind, so it didn't dry too well, but it had to be done, I was close to running out of clean pants. While I was in the housework mode I got the Dyson out and gave the downstairs carpets a good going over. It's not nice walking on cat litter in your socks. Some of that was my fault, not all the cats doing. I wasn't looking where I stepped the other day and my foot caught the edge of the litter tray and tipped it up. All clean now once again. I had shopping bags to unpack from three days ago, and the pets food cupboard to sort out. Then I did a Rocky bimble, and a Lady dog walk. I've made a big pan of veg stew so I don't have to cook for three days. Brussels sprouts, carrots, onions and a tin of mixed beans. Not sure that is a good combination ;o)

I got a bit wet while doing my walk tonight, it rained. Only did two miles on account of doing a one mile dog walk earlier. I am recording my progress on the Walking Forum. Several people on there are doing it as well. If you want to see how they are doing, take a look here. Some of them are experienced walkers though, they are striding ahead. As it's on a forum we can all update ourselves on there.

Howzabout another except from the 1989 diary. Following on from the overnight stop in Hereford. Thursday 12th January. Raining this morning, but warm. I left Hereford at 6.45, not sure of the best road to take. I decided on the most direct. I arrived on site at Llandrindod at 8.45am and was empty at 10.30am. On the way back I rang the office from Bromsgrove, no load. Then rang again from the cafe at junction 5 of the M5, still nothing. I went home and rang from there. The message was load at Balfour Beatty at Derby. I loaded two pieces of tower crane and set off. There was no rush so I pulled in at the BRS Truckstop near Chesterfield for the night. I rang Colin, he was at Poplars Truckstop at Lymm. It's strippers night at Chesterfield tonight, I had a couple of pints and had a laugh with the drivers. Bed at 11.30pm

Friday 13th Jan. No need to rush this morning, I don't have to be in Scarborough until after 10.00am. It's a good job I saw Stringbean pull off the site or I wouldn't have noticed it. I tipped my load at 1pm. I rang the office and Jim said there is a load of plyboard at Hull to pick up. I could have done without that really, but work is slack so they are trying to pull in some extra loads. I had to pick up the paperwork in the city centre before I loaded at the docks. It was 5.30pm when I set off back. I got in the yard at Ellistown at 8pm and rang Colin. It was 9pm when I left the yard and drove straight down to Southampton in my car. It was very late when I got to Rownham Services and Colin was there to meet me. So, on this day, the 13th of January in 1989 I was at my boyfriends house in Southampton.

When I look back at the miles I used to cover, not only driving the truck, but trying to keep up with my social life as well, which was all over the country. It was a crazy but exciting life.

That's all folks. It's 10pm and time to wind down with a mug of hot chocolate. Thanks for popping in.
Toodle pip.  

A one handed blog post.

Hello. I think it will have to be a short one tonight, I'm having to do this one handed. Why? My left arm is a cushion for an elderly moggy, Bugsy insists on lying across it. He is purring like a diesel engine. Not a lot of excitement today. I woke early at 4.30am and took a while to get back to sleep again. I really should have got up because I didn't wake again until 8am, half the day gone. The morning was spent painting blocks of wood and thinking about how it is going to fit together. I have a plan, it should work.

Me and Rocky had our usual bimble to the church and back, a walk that takes half an hour. He enjoys the sniffing. I see someone has removed the broken wire rubbish bin sited next to the seat. This has looked an eyesore for a long time so I am pleased to see it gone. The post is still there, firmly fixed to the ground, I hope they are going to take it away and not bring another bin to put there. There are bins at all three entrances, so anyone leaving the churchyard can deposit their rubbish in one of those.

I popped to the retail park for an hour this afternoon. It's not far, only three miles.On the way I called into the Cash and Carry and stocked up on the 20p cartons of rice milk, and the 30p packets of linseeds. I bought a bag of Kelkin High Protein Granola, 380 grm, for £1. Not had it before, I will put it in the mini chopper with the fruit and nuts, for my breakfast.

I had another appointment at the docs at 5pm in the next village. The wart on my cheek is still there albeit slightly smaller. More ointment was dabbed on and he said I should come back in ten days for another treatment if it is still there. I don't know, what a lot of faffing. The doc says they are not allowed to cut it out because it is on my face, if it was anywhere else on my body they could take the knife to it. Sounds barmy to me.

I popped into the small Tesco after the docs, managed to get three packets of six wholemeal bread buns for 15p each. The rest of the yellow stickers were not worth having. Not much in the Co op either, just a punnet of grapes at half price.

I had to wait for the rain to stop tonight before I could do my three miles. That's why I'm a bit late doing this. I can feel myself getting fitter, my energy levels are rising. I saw a man I have seen before, he always walks fast by himself. Me being nosy I got talking to him because he was going the say way I was. His stride was longer than mine so he was a good pacemaker. A bit further on I saw a friend with his black labrador. The dog knows me and gets excited when he sees me. Unfortunately I had no treats in my pocket, I must remember to take a few with me because you can bet your bottom dollar that I will see a dog at some point on the walk.

I'll sign off now, I think Rocky may want to go out for a short walk up the street. I'll have to untangle myself from this cat. Thanks for popping in. Catch up soon.
Toodle pip.  

What's been going on today?

Hello. Busy Monday again. I should have washed my hair yesterday but didn't so I had to do it this morning before Crafty Club. I didn't have any work ready to take with me, so right at the last minute, moments before I stepped out of the door, I grabbed some balls of wool and a couple of crochet hooks. I need the practice if I am to have a go at making a piece of Scrumble art, like what Briony makes. Have you see her beautiful work, I have put her Scrumble blog on the sidebar. I can't see me making something as good as that. 

Our Crafty Christmas Tree was collected from the church this morning and was dismantled. We each took our own decorations home with us. Next Christmas we will be using the same tree but making new decorations for it. Having a theme was mentioned, maybe all bells, or all angels, or whatever ideas the members come up with. 

After Crafty Club I went round to Linda's house, she has missed a few weeks and we wondered if she was ok. She invited me in for a natter. She has been poorly but hopes to get to the club next week. 

This afternoon I went to the mobile library and swapped some books. Had a natter with Stan. It appears that the people at the Medical Centre which is where the van is parked, don't want it there any more because the patients are having difficulty getting in and out of the car park. A new place has to be found for it.  

Here is a sneak preview of my new project. I came up with several ideas for the blocks of wood which Bob gave me. One idea was a political statement, and another would have meant time consuming intricate painting. As you can see, they are getting painted different colours, I chose the third and easiest option. Those sample pots of paint I bought from Woolies for 4p each, before they closed down have come in useful for all kinds of jobs. Not telling you any more, you will have to wait and see what I do with them.  

A few Walking Group reports are coming through and I am adding updates to the members list on the Challenge page. You don't have to send in reports, but if you do it keeps up the momentum and hopefully everyone's motivation gets a boost. Don't worry if you are not able to make as much progress as you would have liked, by merely having a go and doing some walking means you are thinking about improving your fitness and general health. Remember each and every one of you are doing it for yourself, a few miles here, a few miles there, all adds up.

I had a change of footwear tonight. Normally I walk in my old boots, they are dead comfy, but tonight I put these trainers on. A free pair I got out of a skip, well I actually got them before they went into the skip, because the owner gave them to me. These have more of a spring in them, felt like I was walking on cushions and found them not as clumsy as boots. I even managed a bit of jogging tonight, not a good idea if you don't wear a bra, ha ha. I'll be wearing these from now on, unless it snows, then I'll be back to the boots. I am keeping to three miles a day, and it varies what time I do it. I am now in the habit of building the 45 minutes into my daily routine.

There always seems to be anniversaries for something or other, commemorating different events in history. If it isn't for the beginning or the end of a war, it's Googlie with their fancy logo's celebrating the birth or death of some ancient composer or engineer long gone 150 years ago. There must be something I should be celebrating in my own life, so I've been delving in the diaries again.

On this day, Wednesday January 11th 1989, I went into work at 8.am, and because there wasn't much to do, I worked on my lorry. I was employed by Leicester Heavy Haulage at the time. I painted the front bumper and grille, and it looked a lot better. After dinner, Jim sent me to Conder for a load of steel for Mid Wales, it was 50 feet long. I left Burton at 3.30pm. I parked up in Hereford on the Cattle Market, as that was the only place I know you can park. I expected the roads to get narrow from then on, so I would rather tackle them in the morning. I had a chat with another driver, he was from Van Leer, and chatted to local breakers on the CB radio. I rang Colin's cab phone but there was no answer. where is he? So, on this day 27 years ago I was sleeping in my cab on the Cattle market in Hereford. I vaguely remember it, ha ha.

All is well at Tightwad Towers tonight. Rocky is due a little Bimble any time now, that's if I can rouse him from his snooze. The kitties are all sleeping, but you can guarantee that when I move from this chair and go into the kitchen they will miraculously wake up and demand food, ha ha.

Thank you for popping in. Catch up soon. Toodle pip.

Free Life Coaching

Hello and Good Morning. Every morning when I log onto my Blogger Dashboard to check if any comments have come in overnight, I usually find the odd spammer has been able to sneak into the 'Awaiting Moderation', list. At first glance they appear to be my best friend, they are hoping that I will not notice their comment squeezed in between the genuine blog readers. The foreign spammers are easy to spot by their broken English, and always sign as Anonymous. Their comments are usually rambling gobbldygook. These mainly go into the Spammer Box anyway, so one zap gets rid of those. 

But there is a new breed, they have a Google profile which gives the impression that they are genuine fans of the blog, so they are able to hide behind that. If any of these come in and I don't recognize the name, I always click on it, which is often a link to their Google page or web site. I then make my judgement as to whether to allow it or not. If there is no sign of adverts and it appears to be a legitimate reader, I look for buzz words or phrases in the main text of the comment which look odd, and put them into Google search. Quite often it will come up with a web site which is promoting either goods or services for sale. Ha, gotcha, they are trying it on, advertising by the back door. You ain't coming in here matey. 

I get requests for link swaps, from people who want to promote their blog or web site. Any requests are denied. I will publish a link only if it is relevant to the post I am writing and will provide additional information to the subject matter. The blog links I have on my sidebar are my own personal choice. If any of them have a few adverts but the content is interesting I will allow it. Any blogs with excessive advertising are a turn off for me. 

Anyway, I digress. I zapped a spammy comment this morning, from a Life Coach. If you Google Life Coach you will find they are quite secretive about their fees, a course of sessions could set you back a few hundred pounds. 

I've had this leaflet for a few years now. All looks interesting to me, have a read. Would you sign up to this Life Coach? A ten week course perhaps to help you get the most from your life?  Would it be worth spending the money?  

Do you want to align your goals, master change and touch the sky?

If you answer yes to any of these questions, then just keep reading my blog. Yes, Dianne Richardson is me, and you have been getting your Life Coaching free for eight years. Anyone can produce a leaflet like this. All it takes is research on the internet, some design and layout skills, and you're done. I have no formal qualifications, all my writings are from my own life experiences and thoughts, I am a student of  the University of Life.

I don't know everything, I learnt as I went along, picked things up, watched, listened, and took it all in. I'm still learning. Which is exactly what you are doing now. Sometimes the path through life is not always straight forward, you have to look to the sides. Sometimes you go through a fog, sometimes a storm, you need to find your own way back into the sunshine.

You have the answers, not me, or any other life coach. If you need help read library books, read web sites, go to support groups, friendship groups, talk to your family, and talk to your best friends.

I'm off to take the dog out. Thanks for popping in on this cold but dry Sunday.
Toodle pip

PS, I never did Life Coaching. It was something I thought about and after much research I decided that it wasn't for me.