Rufus

A sloppy animal story. This came on my tweeeter feed this morning. I support Goodheart Animal Sanctuary. Meet Rufus.

Looking good outside. Yesterday was dull, wet, and miserable. Time to go out today methinks. Have a good day. Toodle pip.   ilona

Katie speaks

Yesterday was a sunny morning. I went to Central Park to meet up with the gang. There they are, over there by the fountain, which looks a sorry sight as it has been drained of water. A dozen or so of us enjoyed a natter, and some delicious home made cup cakes. They meet every Sunday morning at 10am. Just a small bunch of people from the minority group. I go occasionally if I have time. Mostly I am busy doing something else.  

Easy to find them, look for the yellow flag. A Stand in the Park

After an hour I walked a circuit of the whole park, it is pretty big. There were plenty of dog walkers, children playing on the swings and slides in the playground, youths playing footie on the pitches, kids kicking a ball about, and elderly people enjoying a stroll in the sunshine.  Just how a park should be on a Sunday morning. 

This tree is heavily laden with bright red berries. It really stands out next to all those which have lost their leaves. 

Can you see me mother, I am holding the line. 

On the way home I called in the Ford Dealer to see if they had some kind of plastic shield to put over my windows when I am car camping. If I crack a window open the rain gets in, a shield would stop me getting wet when lying in my bed. 

The salesman came out when he saw me mooching about. I like to see what stock they have in out of curiosity. I asked him about the shield. He said no they don't try Halfords. When I told him why I needed one his ears pricked up when I mentioned car camping. He said I have just the car for you. I followed him across the yard. 

Oh WOW, he had a very swish looking Mondeo. Almost the same colour as my Focus, almost the same age, with 5000 fewer miles on the clock. Mine is low mileage anyway. He got the keys so I could look inside. There is more room in a Mondeo than a Focus. 

We vaguely discussed money, what he was offering for mine was very fair I thought, but they make these promises to reel you in. His eyes lit up when I said I only buy with cash, and I could afford it. 

Now here's the down side. The car has a 2 litre diesel engine. These are best used for high mileage and motorway driving, and I don't do a lot of mileage. I have just spoken to the garage man who looks after my car to get his opinion. He said I would be better sticking with my petrol Focus. Diesels need to do motorway miles, and most of the time I try and keep off motorways. We don't have many in North Lincolnshire. 

I was pleased to get his advice. The car I have is suitable for what I do, the types of journeys I make. No point in going for bigger and flashier. 

This post is supported by Katie. Have a listen. 

It's a bit dull outside. I have a dog walk to do this afternoon. Thanks for popping in. 

Toodle pip.   ilona

Normanby Park video.

Hello. Howz your Sunday been? I went out this morning. I'll do a write up about that tomorrow. Here is the last bit of my visit to the Christmas Market yesterday at Normanby Hall. Not many pictures I'm afraid, but I did make a short video. 

The stalls were well spread out. I had a quick glance at what the traders were selling but nothing much took my fancy. I did manage to spend £5 with a lovely local couple who make home made cakes in their kitchen. Very nice they are too. 

The children's railway was busy. There was a queue to get on. Normally these engines would pull extra carriages, but they didn't have them out. Each ride was limited to two or three family members. 

There are some views of the Hall in the video, then I walked through the Market and across the park to the Duck Pond.                                                                                                                                                            

I've topped up the walk I did this morning with another three mile village walk this afternoon. Well on the way to the 1000 now. 

We'll catch up tomorrow. Toodle pip.   ilona

What I did today.

After a hearty cooked breakfast I went off to Normanby Hall. They are having a Christmas Market this weekend. The Hall is open to visitors, a good opportunity to take some photo's. I didn't go to this last year, it was 2019 when I last went. I've just looked back at the blog post, there are a lot of similar pictures there. Have a scroll through these. If you click on one it will open up a slide show.   

The Christmas Fair was quite busy. I was determined I was going to buy something to help a local business. Last time I bought some Lincolnshire beer, I didn't see them this time. I opted for some localish cake, baked in a kitchen near Goole. Very nice it is too. 

I wanted to make a video but it was a bit difficult with the amount of people there. Some don't like it and quickly scuttle away when they see a camera. Filming inside the Hall was not a good idea. I went outside and did some filming of the outside of the Hall, and walked across to the duck pond. I will put that on yooootooob tomorrow. 

As I was wandering around I got chatting to a member of staff who was on his break. I asked lots of questions of course, ha ha. His story was very interesting. I won't go into the details here, all that needs to be said is that he is in the minority group. Those who watched my last coffee chat video will know what I mean. The conversation we had gave me a real boost.  It was nice to find someone on the same wavelength. 

So now it is Saturday night and I am happy to relax and watch a couple of videos. A glass of wine will go down nicely, with a piece of cake of course. 

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

A good day

Good morning. The view from my window this morning. I get the feeling it's going to be a good day. There is a Christmas Market locally today, within walking distance, mostly outdoors, and the Hall will be open to view the decorations. All free. Yipeeee.

No time to waste, wash hair, get breakfast, and go. Catch ya later.   ilona

A corner of North Lincolnshire.

Yesterday I left my car in Winteringham Village opposite the butchers shop. A wide road with no parking restrictions. Down the road towards the River Humber is Winteringham Haven. The weather was a bit overcast with patches of blue coming through. It wasn't too cold. 

There is quite a substantial boatyard here with a club house. 

And if I zoom in I can just make out the Humber Bridge in the distance. 

The site is for members only so I couldn't get a closer look. 

I took the path along the river bank. Three miles to Whitton, that is going to be doable in the time I have got. There are no views of the river along this stretch as the reed beds block the view and it is not possible to get down to the waters edge. 

Canada Geese all chattering away as they landed for a break from flying. 

The Church in Whitton looks a solid building.

The door was locked. 

A little bit of road walking as I came out of Whitton, then a left turn down a track. I see by the marks on the map that I have been this way before, but it was quite a few years ago. At one point I didn't seem to be going in the right direction. I came to a junction and decided to follow the arrow on a post, and walk where others had walked before me. I followed the boot prints in the mud. Luckily that was the right thing to do as in the distance I could see the church that I was heading for. I made it back to the car at 4.20pm, just as it was getting dark. 

Check out this short video I made. 

Winteringham has a famous posh hotel and restaurant. It has won awards for it's food, and is visited by wealthy and famous people. Have a look at their web site. 

That's it for now. We'll catch up soon. Toodle pip.   ilona

It crossed my mind.

 I did a six mile walk today, drove half an hour to get to the start of it. I really enjoyed it. Not too cold, and not raining. It took me two hours. I will put some pictures up tomorrow.

Tonight I have been on the Trans Siberian Railway. The scenery is magnificent. Everyone was happy to be on the holiday. Plenty of eating, drinking, and sightseeing. It made me sad to think that travelling for ordinary people is coming to an end now. Only people with a lot of money can afford to charter private travel, trains and planes. The cost of  testing and quarantining is going to be beyond what ordinary working people an afford. 

Another thing crossed my mind. There is so much space in Russia, why can't the people who are having to leave their country go there. Russia could accommodate many more people. I know someone who sold up here and went to live there. He bought a house, said it was an OK place to live. It was a few years ago, not sure if he is still there. 

My next train journey was in the cab going through Switzerland. Two hours through deep snow. Beautiful scenery there. It made me think that there are so many places in the world to see. I let my passport go a few years ago, I couldn't see me flying anywhere again. An overland trip across Europe would be nice, but with all the hoops to jump through it's never going to happen. Feeling a bit sad about that. I shall make the most of my time on this island as interesting as I can, with the scenery we have here. 

Got to go, another train to catch. Toodle Pip. ilona

New artwork and a coffee chat

Here are a few photo's of my new artwork. This is how it started out. A piece of fabric which fits perfectly on a 12 inch canvas. The canvas is second hand from a car boot sale. I did a collage on it but didn't like that.

And this is how it ended up. There was no plan, I just kept adding bits and bobs to it. 

The small flower sequins were from WH Smith, they have a reduced section of stuff they want to get rid of. 

 

The flower petals in the centre is an artificial flower which had been in the garden for almost a year. The red colour had faded so I painted it purple. After it was stitched on I decided that it needs some sparkle, so I painted it with red glitter glue. 

The centre is a broken brooch. The lace and red beads I have had for years. 

The silver chain is covered elastic. I inherited it from a friends house clearance. 

I laced the finished fabric at the back to pull it tight over the canvas. Then covered the back with a piece of plain cotton fabric. I like a tidy back. 

And here is a coffee chat video in which I show it. 

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

A slight adjustment.

I said to my friend, back in August 2016, let me know when you have finished with that jacket, I would like it. So she gave it to me. 

I haven't worn it very often since then because I have other jackets, but it is coming in very useful in the high winds we are having at the moment. The only trouble is the furry hood is loose fitting and is either hanging down at the front over my eyes, or the wind is blowing into my face and pushing it backwards. 

I gave the fur a haircut at the front and that has helped a bit. I have tried fastening the buttons and press studs right to the top, but it is too tight and half strangles me, and the hood is still loose. There must be an alteration I can do. 

A strip of fabric and make two ties. Sew them onto the hood through buttons. 

That's better. Now it fits snugly around my head. 

Ready to do battle with the Arctic winds. Catch ya tomorrow.  ilona