tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69723482153024061102024-03-14T02:55:43.293+00:00wee mindingson craft and other musesLinnhe Marahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17960310077208873662noreply@blogger.comBlogger93125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6972348215302406110.post-47874876706880219992014-02-17T21:54:00.000+00:002014-02-17T22:23:03.866+00:00Red Dress Revisited....<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">"What is it with you and sparkly dresses?" he asks</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">"Sorry?"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">"Sparkly dresses. You're always looking at them online. You even write about them."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">"Ah, I see. Actually it's not just any sparkly dress. It's red sequinned ones."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">"Why?"</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">So I told him.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Many, many, maaaany years ago a friend (I'll call her Looney Tunes - she knows why) and I went to visit a mutual friend (I'll call her Kate - hopefully she'll know why) in deepest darkest Europe. A bit of a do was taking place and Kate had invited us both for a long weekend. Friday was spent relaxing, reminiscing and recounting tales of college days.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">On Saturday, once we had all recovered from our late night and the after effects of lack of sleep ( that's the story and I'm sticking to it!) Kate decided we had to go shopping. She wanted a new outfit suitable for the evening ahead, and while Looney Tunes was in the habit of attending similar functions and had brought a case full of appropriate apparel she didn't see any harm in having a look for something else. So in the spirit of camaraderie, although I had packed a very serviceable black number, I was more than happy to tag along on the trip.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">A few stores, and a couple of coffees, later Kate still hadn't found anything that grabbed her. Eventually she led us to a small shop, an exclusive little boutique full of rich hues and sumptuous fabrics.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">And that's where I saw It! </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">A deep red sheath, strapless, floor length with a thigh high split, covered in transparent, iridescent, rectangular sequins. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">It was a glorious dress, the most glorious dress I'd ever seen. All three of us were immediately drawn to it. Unfortunately it was a size out for Looney Tunes. Kate tried it on but if memory serves she felt she was an inch or so too small to do it justice. As for me, well I resisted the temptation for as long as I could, after all there was no reason for me to try it on. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I already had something to wear, something that had cost significantly less than this magnificent creation. However much cajoling ensued and eventually I capitulated, went in to the changing room and slipped in to the shimmering curves. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">In true Goldilocks fashion it fitted just right! </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I stepped out of the confined cubicle to have a look in the bigger mirror. I had a bit of Mr Ben moment then because the person in the stunning red sequinned dress staring back at me was someone I didn't know. This person was confident, courageous, daring. This person felt fabulous.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I looked to my friends for their opinion. A couple happened to be walking passed the window at that moment and they stopped for a moment, smiled, gave me the thumbs up then moved on. My friends reactions were almost the same, flattering, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">complimentary, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> encouraging me to buy it.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I didn't.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I took one last look in the mirror, at that stranger, then changed back in to my own clothes and left the shop empty handed. To this day I still have the occasional dream about that dress, the odd regret and wonder whether I made the right decision. That's why I think about red sequinned dresses so much.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">"Why didn't you buy it?" he asks </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">"What?"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">"Why didn't you buy it. If it made you feel so good, so right, why didn't you buy it?"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">"There were lot's of reasons."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">"Like what?"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">"Weeell. It was too expensive. There were better things to spend the money on, new shoes for the boys for instance. I'd never have an opportunity to wear it again. I already had a dress..."</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">"Excuses!"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">"Sorry?"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">"They all sound like excuses, not reasons. You only needed one reason to buy that dress and that was how it made you feel. You should have bought it"</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I thought about that for a while. About whether my reasons were indeed just excuses. About how many other times when faced with doing something a bit courageous or daring I'd come up with perfectly valid reasons for not doing it. About how many opportunities, how many possibilities, how many red dress moments I'd passed up. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">If only I had bought that dress! So I did</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Red Dress of Possibilities</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Well, not the actual dress but one that looks very like it, at least as like it as I can remember ( it was a very long time ago), and at a fraction of the cost I might add. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I have no intention of wearing it (I don't have the right curves anymore) I don't see it as a dress anymore. It's a symbol, a permanent reminder. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">A reminder that I can be confident, courageous and daring if I want to be. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">A reminder that it's important to seize every opportunity that comes my way, I don't know how many I'm going to be given.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> A reminder that no matter how many reasons I can find for not doing something I really only need one to do it. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>Linnhe Marahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17960310077208873662noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6972348215302406110.post-59042202921329765302013-11-08T19:13:00.000+00:002013-11-08T19:14:29.124+00:00Problem pants and A.T.C's<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Have you ever found yourself agreeing to do something or help someone and then thinking 'Why did I just agree to that?'.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I do it all the time. In fact I don't just agree, sometimes I even offer. When I appear with that rather puzzled look on my face the man of the house knows I'm asking myself the question.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">"You've been wearing your 'I can do that' pants again haven't you" he says. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I shrug my shoulders and smile sheepishly.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">The thing is, it would be so much easier if I did indeed own a pair of pants that, when worn, prompted me to help people out. I'd keep them safely tucked in my underwear drawer and only wear them when there weren't a truck load of other things going on in my life. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Unfortunately there isn't. At least, there isn't only one. It would seem the office can be passed from one pair to the next, without any need for election and with alarming regularity, so I never know which ones they are. Subsequently whenever anyone asks 'Can you......?' my reply is in all probability going to be 'Sure, I can do that.'</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Which is why, at the beginning of September, when one of the local worthies (a woman without whose efforts Moffat would surely come to a standstill) asked if I would take part in this year's Christmas Craft Fair my response was 'Of course, I'd love to'.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">When I got home the panic set in. What on earth had I been thinking? I had no stock! I hadn't made anything in months (Why? Probably my abundance of apathy and absence of ability!). What if my muses had packed their bags for good? How could I create without any creativity? </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">What if ... *<i>sharp intake of breath</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">*...</span><b> I couldn't 'make' anymore</b>?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Fortunately, before I went too far on my self indulgent downward spiral, I checked in on some Blogs and was thrown a lifeline. The lovely Ali at<a href="http://veryberryhandmade.co.uk/"> Very Berry Handmade</a> was hosting a textile ATC swap. Aha, the very thing! A small project to get me crafting again before launching myself into Christmas chaos. I signed up as quickly as I could, obviously still under the influence of those damn pants.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">The theme Autumn was decided upon and I gathered a selection of fabrics, flosses, buttons, beads and bits'n'bobs. I discarded over half and settled on this little bundle.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">In choosing them I was only thinking of the theme and what colours it immediately brought to mind. I had no idea what I was going to do with them now that I'd narrowed them down. I also wasn't sure whether my fingers were going to behave themselves and allow me to do some sewing. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">So for the next few weeks I played with a few designs in my head and folded a lot of origami cranes (I'd read somewhere it's very good for maintaining manual dexterity and hoped it would work for regaining it too). Searching for inspiration I found a small stamp of a bare tree I'd bought a number of years ago and used in an art project. I know it wasn't a very original take on Autumn but I decided to go with it. I also decided to hand sew the entire ATC (well...in for a penny and all that). </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Here's what I came up with and as this was posting week it's now on it's merry way to my swap recipient Jude of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/petitejoujou1">'Petite Joujou'</a> </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I hadn't actually intended adding the buttons but I think I may have been a bit optimistic with the whole hand sewing thing and felt the mitred corners didn't hold up to much scrutiny (just between you and me my embellishments often hide a multitude of sins). I've been looking at the <a href="http://www.flickr.com/groups/2189392@N20/">other ATC's</a> being swapped and can't help but be impressed by the sheer amount of creativity out there.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">My swap arrived this morning, sent from <a href="http://www.knottedcotton.com/">Catherine</a>, a very talented lady. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">How lucky am I? Isn't it delightful? A</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> mini masterpiece in textiles.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">It rather reminds me of Van Gogh's Sunflowers. Thanks so much Catherine, it truly is a little treasure. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">And thanks for organising it all Ali. It's been great fun and definitely put me back on the crafting track. To paraphrase Gloria Swanson ( but hopefully less crazily )</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">"Alright bonny Moffat, I'm ready for my craft fair"</span>Linnhe Marahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17960310077208873662noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6972348215302406110.post-11253348607663233502013-09-05T16:04:00.000+01:002013-09-05T21:16:51.186+01:00A paler shade of white<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Two and a half weeks back at school and I'm afraid it can be avoided no longer. The time has come. No more walking by at an accelerated rate. No more averting my eyes at the crucial moment. After a cessation of almost 8 weeks, hostilities have been resumed. Once more I have to engage with ...... <i>(imagine the strings from 'Psycho' here) </i>..... the school shirts!!!!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">This is a war that has been waging from the moment the boys started school. In the beginning I had the upper hand. Admittedly that was down to the fact that I cheated slightly. I mean honestly, what mother in her right mind is going to stick with white polo shirts (White. On small boys. Seriously?), if after a little minor rule bending she can go with sky blue? (It looked better with the navy uniform too if you ask me.)</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">My complacency was short lived. Lines were redrawn the moment we moved from polo shirts to shirts and ties ( well that and the fact I can only flout rules for so long before guilt plays havoc with my conscience) </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Since then it has been a constant battle between my desire to keep shirts white, and the shirts desire to revert to what I can only assume is their natural state - a shade most definitely not white. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Sifting through the washing pile I'm reminded of an advert in the 1980's when Dulux were launching a new range of paints 'White with a hint of...'</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">(</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBF2IfGEyBo">here it is just in case you have no idea what I'm talking about</a></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">) </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;">Only this particular palette consists of white with a hint of Biro, white with a hint of grass, white with a hint of yogurt, white with a hint of - actually, I'd rather not know what that's a hint of.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">So how do I beat the grime? Having opted for easy iron poly-cotton and as I'm trying to do my bit for the environment the good old fashioned boil wash is out of the question. Fortunately I have reservists on hand. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I think I have tried every stain remover ever marketed, even some made from recipes found in books of household hints and tips , in a bid to be victorious Yes, there have been a few casualties on the way. A handful of collars may have succumbed to an over zealous scrubbing (who knew necks could be so grubby?) and a number of small holes may have appeared when I left the paste on for too long (that recipe was never used again!) but most have come out of the skirmishes if not pristine at least intact. I would say at the moment the score is even.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">So it is with a heavy heart I once more join the fray, armed with Ariel, a vanish bar and a packet of good old Dr Beckmann's Glo' White. Who, I wonder, will win this year?</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>Linnhe Marahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17960310077208873662noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6972348215302406110.post-40757731185215206262013-06-25T15:47:00.000+01:002013-06-25T15:47:11.383+01:00The vagaries of doors<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">On a metaphorical basis however I'm not too sure. My good crafting buddy is a firm believer in the phenomena, that there is indeed a plan to life and that opportunities present themselves according to a pre-arranged schedule. I'm more inclined to think that as in my aforementioned window episode when life closes a door you simply look for another way out, ways that have always been there but up until that point might not have been considered an option. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Coincidence, serendipity, providence, fate. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Whatever school of thought sits most comfortably with you there is no denying that timing is the key,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> that you generally see that other door handle just when you need it most. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Last year I decided to give craft fairs a bit of a break. Although I had a reserve of stock I hadn't been active in my workroom for months and didn't know when I'd get back to making so signing up for events didn't seem like the most sensible thing to do. There was nothing for it but to pack up my wee mindings and leave them to languish under my worktable until I got back on the craft fair circuit.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Weeks after making that decision a friend informed me that a new shop was opening in Moffat - a craft shop to be precise. A craft shop that was to sell craft supplies and...wait for it...goods made by local crafters! What were the chances?</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Crazy Daisy Crafts opened it doors in April last year but it was another 2 months before I plucked up the courage to approach the owner and enquire about shelf rental. Turns out Ann, the owner, had been about to contact me having picked up my business card at an event the previous year. So I rented a shelf for a month and would pop in every now and again to see how things were going. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Now I'm not quite sure about the next sequence of events but I have a sneaking suspicion I may have taken advantage of Ann when she was in a vulnerable position. Only weeks after taking on the shop with a business partner she was left to run the place on her own. Juggling a family while trying to run a full time business can't be easy and during one of my visits a conversation to that effect may have led to me suggesting I worked one day a week in return for shelf space. I'd like to say my offer was purely altruistic, wanting to help Ann out, but if I'm honest it was more as a lifeline for me. Fortunately she took me up on the offer.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">So I go in every Monday, do the window display, move stuff around to keep Ann confused, offer help, advice and chit-chat (whichever is required) and generally revel in all things crafty. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Crazy Daisy and its cosy kitchen table has become an oasis of calm and creativity. I'm not back to full blown crafting yet so it seems as if craft fairs are still on hold, a fact that isn't really bothering me. My crafting buddy says thats because everything happened according to plan, that I am where I'm meant to be. All I can say is I like the view through this door, and it beats being stuck in a hall! </span></div>
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<br />Linnhe Marahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17960310077208873662noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6972348215302406110.post-2535040709157699742013-03-14T13:22:00.001+00:002013-03-14T13:22:45.635+00:00Out of Hibernation<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><i>Soft sounds of movement come from deep within. Faint rustling while a body shifts and limbs extend. Muted rasps as the tingles of waking skin are relieved. A deep, sharp inhaled breath followed by a long, audible exhale. A stretch, a scratch, a yawn. Hibernation is over.</i></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><i>A lumbering form emerges from the opening , blinking in the vernal sun. Sniffing the air it steps into the light , shaking off any lingering languor. D</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><i>efinitely</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><i> faster than a tortoise, hopefully less prickly than a hedgehog, probably not less hairy than a bear! </i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><i>(Okay that might be a bit of an exaggeration but surely I'm not the only one guilty of lapsing in the razor/waxing department during winter!)</i></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Hello! I'm back. My self imposed ( but much needed ) hibernation is at an end. Since all other dormant species in my garden are making a comeback I figured it was time I made a move too. Green shoots are appearing everywhere and since, regardless of the snow and sub zero temperatures, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">the <a href="http://weemindings.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/still-in-pink.html">frogs</a> have returned to the pond I consider it to officially be Spring ( even if I'm still wearing 3 layers of wool in attempt to keep warm). The lethargy of the winter months is slowly dissipating and I'm looking forward to creating. Yay!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Of course that would be a lot easier if my workroom hadn't been commandeered by the man of the house in my absence. When it became apparent that I wouldn't be able to gain access to my worktable without scaling a mountain of Bass cases, amps and guitar stands or navigating my way through a forest of wood I decided a tactical retreat was in order. I grabbed a box of scraps and retired to my favourite chair in front of the fire (yes I know its Spring but remember those temperatures I mentioned earlier?) and began to cut and fold. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">And fold, and fold, and fold....</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Each time I delved into the box I came up with another favourite fabric and possible colour combination. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">...and sizes...</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">...and all in all got a bit carried away.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Ahh, it's soooo good to be back :o)</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Now I just need to catch up on what everyone else has been doing. Blogland here I come!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>Linnhe Marahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17960310077208873662noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6972348215302406110.post-52771116334996811512013-01-04T13:18:00.000+00:002013-01-04T15:29:37.810+00:00A Cupboard Full of Yesterdays<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">'A cupboard full of yesterdays' was a phrase I heard used by <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Oliver">Neil Oliver</a> last year in a documentary about Scottish explorer <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Blake_Glover">Thomas Blake Glover</a>. It was such an evocative expression it stuck in my head for days. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">When the writing group I was a part of met in February </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I put it forward as a prompt. Some wrote short stories, some poetry and there was even a one act play. It was quite intriguing to discover how differently everyone had interpreted the words. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Because I alway find it quite difficult to post at this time of year (</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> I've said before I don't really 'do' resolutions so I can't write about that and as I wasn't particularly productive last year I can't put together any sort of crafty retrospective )</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I thought I'd cheat slightly and use</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> my offering to the group since it could be seen, if you screw up your eyes - tightly , as some sort of new seasons aim. </span><br />
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><b><u><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;">Clearing my cupboard </span></u></b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica;">It's time.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Time to discard</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">the ratty, matted oversize jumpers of failed relationships</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">and missed opportunities,</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">to dispose</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">of the long heavy coat of regret.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Time to cast off</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">shapeless smocks of intended snubs </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">and imagined slights,</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">to shed</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">the old shabby robe of self doubt.</span></span></div>
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</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: Helvetica;">It is time.</span><div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Time to get rid</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">of skin tight suits of expectation,</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">black bin bag</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">the track pants of low self esteem.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Time to let go</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">of the dull, drab tones of disappointment</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">and Parental dismay.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"></span><br /></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">It.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Is. </span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Time.</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Time to make room</span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">for Jessica Rabbits red sequined dress</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Happy New Year to you :o) I hope its a good one.</span></div>
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Linnhe Marahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17960310077208873662noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6972348215302406110.post-22298206648498641662012-12-20T13:05:00.000+00:002012-12-20T13:06:28.967+00:00Return of the Make<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AnhX2nLizO4/UNL67aUMEqI/AAAAAAAAAnU/vSwBkGVw1Rg/s1600/mojo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AnhX2nLizO4/UNL67aUMEqI/AAAAAAAAAnU/vSwBkGVw1Rg/s320/mojo.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">It's back! </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">My creative mojo finally returned, just in time for a Christmas crafting frenzy. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Unfortunately its arrival was not accompanied by any great fanfare. There were no bells or whistles. No purple peacocks, white Persian monkeys or dancing elephants. Not even one single spurt of excess energy to herald its homecoming.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Rather it slunk in very much like an errant youth fully cognisant of the upset its absence had caused and the lecture it would receive on its return</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><i>"You left without saying goodbye. You didn't call, you didn't write, not even a post card! I had no idea when you'd be back</i>"</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">So it was a rather sullen mojo I was faced with. One that was not prepared to face the tundra like conditions downstairs ( I swear there is some bizarre space/time rift going on down there and my workroom is actually a wormhole to the arctic), sit behind a sewing machine for hours on end or do more than was absolutely necessary to get by. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Was I daunted? Heck no! I'm the mother of teenage boys and do battle with sullenness on an almost daily basis, and <i>usually</i> win. No workroom? Fine, I just brought some bits and bobs in to the house. No sewing machine? Okay, I concentrated on smaller projects that could be done by hand. Just enough to get by? Oh that one was easy, it's exactly my philosophy on dusting. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">A small table by the fire became my temporary workspace (as did most of the surrounding area, I'm not the tidiest of crafters!), and the last couple of weeks has seen a flurry of festive fabric, felt, buttons, beads and ribbon( lots of ribbon, lots and lots and lots...). I made more of the ever popular <a href="http://weemindings.blogspot.co.uk/2010/12/normal-service-will-resume-shortly.html">angels</a>, <a href="http://weemindings.blogspot.co.uk/2010/10/angel-vs-fairy.html">fairies</a> and <a href="http://weemindings.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/pinecone-pals.html">pinecone pals</a> to sell in a local craft shop and some <a href="http://weemindings.blogspot.co.uk/2011/02/14th-of-february.html">silk flower pendants</a> as gifts ( sorry you're having to look at old pictures but I've misplaced the camera...again) Eventually, faced with my constructive response to it's state of pique my mojo began to be a bit more co-operative, even offering a few flashes of inspiration once in a while.</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-N3aoVftq1fg/UNMH0UvIkWI/AAAAAAAAAno/kj61zs2HZoA/s1600/IMG_2269.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-N3aoVftq1fg/UNMH0UvIkWI/AAAAAAAAAno/kj61zs2HZoA/s320/IMG_2269.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #4c1130; font-size: small;">My take on the 'Tomte'. With unravelled wool hair, a needle felted nose and a jauntily angled hat he sits on a peg so you can clip him anywhere ( I eventually found the camera!)</span> </span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">However time is marching on, or about to end if you are that way inclined, and in a bid to prepare for Christmas I have had to relinquish my spot by the fire. Crafting is once more put on hold, though hopefully not for as long this time. I'll take the opportunity now to wish you a very happy festive season.</span></span></div>
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Linnhe Marahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17960310077208873662noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6972348215302406110.post-87018343381053568372012-10-21T22:38:00.001+01:002012-10-27T12:37:51.630+01:00A bit like Jackanory<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I feel I've got you here under false pretences. I started this blog with craft in mind, both my own endeavours and the myriad of talented others in blogland, but I'm afraid there has been a dearth of all things crafty these past nine months. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I've not been productive in my work room for some time and while I've made a number of comments on that fact they've been rather oblique as to the reason why. Blogland is mighty big and I've always felt that the only way to maintain some semblance of privacy is to keep personal information to a minimum. However in this instance I'm getting just a bit tired of all of the pussyfooting around and think its time I spill the beans (and drop some clichés while I'm at it).</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">So if you have time I'd like to tell you a story. Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">It was a dark and stormy night! I've always wanted to start a story that way but actually, no, it wasn't. It was a rather ordinary Friday evening in the middle of January and I was sitting in front of the fire reading a book. A few chapters in I was having difficulty focusing on the page and decided perhaps I should be wearing at least one of the pairs of glasses I have scattered around the house, especially since I'm constantly reminded that that's what I got them for. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">So I stood up to go and get them .... and almost fell over. Whoa! Must have stood up a bit too quickly. I waited for a moment to regain my equilibrium. But it would seem it had left the building without informing anyone and I was left to stagger from the room like a bagatelle. Don't you just hate it when the minimalist effect you were going for leaves you with very little furniture to hold on to ? </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I was reminded of a similar occasion a number of years ago when a virus of the inner ear had knocked my balance off and prevented me from attending a belly dancing taster session (probably a blessing for all concerned!), and assumed it was the same thing. Fortunately I had an appointment the next week with my GP as my arm, the one that had bothered me <a href="http://weemindings.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/perils-of-poor-posture.html">last year</a>, was bothering me again. So for the next three days I bounced around the house holding on to whatever I could, if I could see it clearly that is, or crawled when it felt safer than standing up (the boys thought that was hilarious). On Tuesday t</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">he doctor confirmed my diagnosis and I left with a prescription that would see me upright and functioning again. Yay! </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Two days in and the medication didn't appear to be doing much but I knew sometimes these things could take a while. I stumbled to bed that night, washed my face, brushed my teeth, and spat the toothpaste on the floor. What!!!. Well I say spat, what I actually mean is sprayed since my mouth had lost its ability to spit. I would have whistled at this discovery, but I couldn't do that either!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Stupidly I went to work the next morning where I got an ear bashing from my good friend about my lackadaisical approach to the whole thing and a promise from me that I would go back to the GP that afternoon. By the time I got there the entire right side of my face had stopped working, including my eye. Oops! Needless to say a trip to A&E was immediately organised.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">After the usual poking, prodding, and the same questions being asked by at least half a dozen different people I was sent for a CT scan. Much to my delight while it proved that I do indeed have a brain (something that had been brought in to question on more than one occasion) it also confirmed that there was nothing else in there taking up space it shouldn't be. They would have liked to have done an MRI to double check but as it was the weekend it would have to wait. I was allowed to go home and told an appointment would be sent out to me.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I was pretty much confined to Moffat for the next three weeks. I couldn't drive anywhere, I always feel its best to stay off the road when you can't decide which white line you should be keeping to the left of. When walking I needed to keep my hands free (thats when I discovered I didn't have any bags that went across my body, what an oversight for someone who makes handbags!), and out to the side slightly to maintain balance. I looked rather like an overgrown penguin and drew some curious looks (and the conclusion in some quarters that I'd taken to drink!). I was still able to go to work, the shop being narrow enough to navigate with plenty to hold on to. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I took to wearing an eye patch, as much to alleviate the effects of the double vision as preventing scaring babies and small children with my static, unblinking eye. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I wish I could say I looked as good as Daryl Hannah but without the sword,...</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">.... or Gabrielle without the voice......</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">but</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> in reality I probably looked more like Eli Wallach...without the stetson </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I tried to make light of things. There were numerous quips about where I'd parked my Galleon and what my parrot was doing. At home the boys delighted in swaying from side to side when talking to me, just to see my eye NOT move. There were smiles, there were laughs, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a tad worried.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">The day of the MRI dawned, and wouldn't you know it it was the day of <a href="http://weemindings.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/ice.html">Ice</a>. There was a mild panic that morning as it was proving impossible to get down off our hill. With the help of my good friend a plan was hatched and I made it to my appointment.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">The following Tuesday, Valentines day, the boys birthday, I got a call from one of my GP's asking if I could come down to the surgery. Oooh, you know its not a good sign when they won't tell you news over the phone. Long story short the MRI showed lesions in some areas. Lesions that were indicative of MS. Multiple Sclerosis. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Later, my husband and I sat in the car. He let out one short, succinct expletive, squeezed my hand until the bones squeaked and then we set off home. I shut myself in the bedroom , called my sister and then my friend. Strangely, telling them, consoling them, letting them know that I was okay made me feel back in control. A quick cold cloth to the face and it was time to continue with the boys birthday celebrations. Well that's what you do isn't it?</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">A</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> few weeks later a </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">consultation with my neurologist (a rather handsome young man that had me feeling like a Harry Enfield character), suggested there was a possibility that my symptoms were caused by a simple viral inflammation. A lumber puncture would be required for a definitive diagnosis. Oh goody! What? Were we going with the good news bad news scenario here? </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">By mid April there was no doubt. MS it was then. A few intensive treatments had my balance restored, my eyesight almost back to rights and my arm more or less behaving itself.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> I started driving again in June. Life is pretty much back to normal. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I administer medication every week to hopefully slow down its progress and any further relapses, but other than that I'm not thinking about it too much. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I had hoped that once the physical symptoms had been resolved I would get back to my work room but it seems my crafting mojo is still on sabbatical. Please bear with me. I'm sure, like Arni, it will be back :o) </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>Linnhe Marahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17960310077208873662noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6972348215302406110.post-56368215844513837702012-10-09T17:13:00.000+01:002013-03-15T10:35:02.744+00:00Flatpack Frenzy<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;"><i><b>Space... the constant bugbear.</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;"><i><b>These are my voyages down the aisles of Ikea. My continuing mission : to explore strange new shelves, to seek out new drawers and new storage solutions, to no doubt buy what everyone’s bought before.</b></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">You may remember last year I posted about my <a href="http://weemindings.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/and-so-to-bed.html">addiction to flat pack furniture and no.1 sons new bed </a>. Apart from the struggle I had changing the sheets (stechie me!) I'd discovered, whilst dismantling it, that the solid construction of the bed base had reduced airflow through his memory foam mattress, resulting in the formation of mould/mildew (ewww!). Fortunately this wasn't a problem for no.2 son as his mattress was an old spring one and seemed to cope with the limited ventilation. </span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">When those very springs began to interrupt his sleep, poking him with a relish I find difficult to attribute to an inanimate object but have his assurance was indeed the case ,it became apparent that a new mattress was required. Subtle hints were dropped that he would quite like a 'comfy' one like his brother (okay not so subtle really)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">With last years discovery in mind I eventually managed to persuade him to give up his old bed in favour of something more practical, and less likely to become a biological hazard. A</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">new slat based bed was promptly ordered, although I'm afraid my coaxing didn't go as far as getting him back to floor level. Another high sleeper it was then, very similar to this one (I would have taken a picture of his but I finished it quite late and couldn't find the camera. He had 'colonized' it by the following day and I couldn't bring myself to post such a horrific image).</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">His two chest of drawers fit neatly underneath but with the loss of the integrated wardrobe, shelving and desk there was a distinct lack of storage, many items having to languish on the floor. One shopping trip, two days and a case of screwdriver fatigue later...... </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">...two new chest of drawers for his brother (my formula for a happy household: never give to one without giving something, what is not important, to the other. Besides I needed his old drawers in the laundry room)... </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">...two small drawer units for all of the various little "things" they usually keep in their pockets(*shudder*)...</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">...and last by no means least, a shelf unit that should accommodate most of no. 2 sons books, those that until now have been doing rather wondrous impersonations of the leaning tower of Pisa. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">I'd had to admit defeat by this time ( my arm went in a huff) and the boys actually helped me with its construction, even followed the instructions for a while (leading me to believe it's not genetic, it's learned behaviour!)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">So was the mammoth flat pack session a success? As far as having my jigsaw fix for the year goes then yes it was. Did it give them a space for everything so that everything could be in its place? No, of course it didn't. It would appear that teenage boys deem any horizontal surface a suitable storage solution, even if they have to walk around, over or through it. Who knew?!</span></div>
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Linnhe Marahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17960310077208873662noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6972348215302406110.post-60260864880449964862012-09-22T20:32:00.000+01:002012-09-22T20:32:29.302+01:00Brrrrrrrrmmmmm!<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> Yup,that's right, it's me! Or it least it was me last weekend at the <a href="http://www.tirallyschool.co.uk/index.html">TI Rally School</a> in Yorkshire. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">The day was a gift, last years Christmas present actually, from my husband, and I can honestly say it has to go down as one of the best presents I've ever received. It was absolutely fantastic. I doubt very much if he will ever be able to cash in the brownie points earned on this little jaunt.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">So why the rally driving experience? </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> I'm not </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">by any means a petrol head (as far as I'm concerned torque is a type of neck jewellery). </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">N</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">or am I</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">an avid rally fan ( </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">if not for the power of google</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> I wouldn't even know who Sebastien Loeb is ) but having caught a bit of the world championships on TV, one of those channel flicking moments, I remember saying it looked like fun and I'd love to give it a go. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Which just goes to prove he does listen to me occasionally ;o) </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> </span></div>
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Linnhe Marahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17960310077208873662noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6972348215302406110.post-74189488860210387092012-09-12T18:13:00.002+01:002012-09-12T18:13:14.198+01:00Post Wedding Holiday Holiday<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Eek! Where did the last three weeks get to? We arrived back from our holiday, which included the wedding, on the 19th and I had every intention of taking the time the following week to let you know how the ' killer heels ' had performed. But it would seem I needed a holiday to recover from our holiday ( does this happen to anyone else? ) and it's taken me longer than expected to get back in to the swing of things. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Still, better late than never eh? </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br />The wedding was wonderful, a truly joyous event. The bride was radiant, the groom jubilant ( or was it the other way around?), and I swear it was almost possible to eat the accumulated joie de vivre with a spoon. I think I may just have enjoyed it a smidgen more than my own.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Living so far from home it must have been hard for my sister-in-law, planning the event without the usual input and support from family. Then again she's a bit of an organisational genius so it was no surprise the day went so well. However I'd love to know just who she spoke to in order to arrange the appearance of this particular phenomenon after the ceremony. Clever girl!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I was asked for a little help a few months before the big day. She was in need of two ring bearer pillows and hadn't seen any she liked. Initially the design was going to be a bit fun and quirky, much like her, but then I was sent a sneak preview of the dress and decided to go for something a bit more elegant. You can see why!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">It was doubtful that my limited beading skills could match such stunning embellishment but I thought I could simplify it slightly. I focused on the shoulder detail of overlapping leaves and the simplicity of the front of the dress. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">A brief forage in the garden provided me with birch leaf templates to work from. Yes, yes, I know, I could have found any number of templates online but I was feeling a little bit sentimental. My Sister-in-law used to live in our house, many of the birch trees in the garden grew up with her, and I wanted a little bit of home to be with her on her day. Okay, so it's a tad lame, what can I say? Everyone gets to be as gooey as a toasted marshmallow sometimes.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">And as for those shoes of mine?</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Well, I didn't fall over, not once, not even when clambering up a gangplank ( long story that doesn't involve handsome pirates so not really worth the telling) which I feel is always a good thing to be able to say of any days events ( the not falling over bit, not the lack of handsome pirates).</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><i>Now you may have guessed that I'm not keen on posting recognisable photographs on the web thingy but since I've been asked so nicely for a view of the dress here it is.</i> </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">So the fabulous footwear behaved itself and I managed 8hrs before I finally succumbed to the fanciful flatties I'd taken with me just in case.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I shouldn't have worried though, not when there were three generations of handsome men on hand to lend a supporting arm if required. Who needs pirates :o)</span><br />
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Linnhe Marahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17960310077208873662noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6972348215302406110.post-57487945688911915582012-07-31T23:49:00.000+01:002012-07-31T23:49:21.803+01:00Dinner Shoes<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Well, that's what I call them anyway. Perhaps you know the ones I mean? Fabulous shoes that make you look stylish. Sensational shoes that make you feel sexy. Awesome shoes that unfortunately will only take you from the car to the restaurant before the balls of your feet start to burn. Shoes that should have no place in the wardrobe of a woman of my age and supposed wisdom. Ha!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">To be fair I've avoided the lure of such footwear for the last four years. A combination of uneven paving slabs, a ticking clock and a pair of red patent peep toe 4 inch wedges left me with a flake fracture, torn ligaments and a new respect for 'killer heels'. My shoe cupboard has become a heel free zone.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">There are times however when only a pair of Stupendous shoes will do, when the fear of possible injury must be overcome for the sake of stately extra inches and well defined calves. My sister-in-law is getting married in a couple of weeks and I felt it was time to loosen my self imposed stiletto embargo. These were the result.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I didn't actually mean to get a pair that were quite so high. I blame the need to colour match them to my dress. These were the only pair I could find that were exactly the right shades ( yes, my dress is pink and orange, part of the whole getting used to colour I mentioned way back </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><a href="http://weemindings.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/colour-of-spring.html">here</a>, but it is tempered with some ivory and beige, can't have me getting too carried away now can I</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">)</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Having worn flatties for the last few years I look upon my new shoes as something of a challenge. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I thought it would be best to wear them a few times before the wedding, breaking them in so to speak as well as acclimatising myself to the thinner air at altitude. So for the last few weeks I've been prancing around in them while doing my chores, much to the hilarity of the men of the house. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">The highlight for my charming family came when I went to do the ironing. I stood for a good 5 minutes trying to work out why the board was jamming at a lower level than normal. Try as I might I couldn't get the damn thing to rise high enough. It was bad enough when my own stupidity dawned on me, that moment when I realised the board wasn't shorter, I was taller. But my dopiness had been witnessed, and judging by the incredulous looks and voluble mirth I doubt very much if I'll ever be allowed to forget it. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I've given up practising and have decided that if I get my 6 foot plus boys to walk at either side of me I can hook my arms through theirs and they can hoist me up half an inch. It's a bit early in the year for 'walking in the air' but needs must. Besides, having done it for them so often when they were younger I think its payback time.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">One last thing before I go. Since it took soooooo long finding the shoes I decided it would be easier to make a bag myself. As luck would have it I had some pink silk in my stash and wonder of wonders it was a match. As my sewing skills still aren't quite back to normal I cheated slightly and bought a clutch case and frame. My slightly wobbly hand was actually a boon when it came to spreading the glue :o) I think it turned out rather well if I do say so myself. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> </span>Linnhe Marahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17960310077208873662noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6972348215302406110.post-24936152446424308702012-07-11T13:47:00.000+01:002012-07-11T13:47:40.385+01:00Nomenclature.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Housewife! Grrr. I hate the term. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Somebody somewhere has to come up with a better name for it. I mean for goodness sake I'm not married to the damn thing am I? If I was you can rest assured it would have sued for divorce years ago on the basis of irreconcilable differences and neglect. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Homemaker isn't much better in my book. I am not the only person responsible for making our house a home. It kinda denigrates the input of the rest of the household don't you think? Not only that but it makes it sound as if I should be following some universal recipe or pattern, which I've yet to receive by the way.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">As for Stay at Home Mum! Okay, so I'm a mum and I don't actually have a paid job that requires a 9-5 Monday to Friday routine, but I sure as heck don't stay at home every day either. There are numerous volunteer positions out there that wouldn't be filled if we mum's did decide to confine our duties to our own little enclave. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">With that small rant over I have to admit that regardless of which label is eventually decided upon it's not going to change the fact that I'm not a very good one. One of the reasons is my lack of organisation in some areas and an over abundance of it in others. In other words I get caught up in the teeniest tiniest of details, often fixating on them, and subsequently ignore the bigger picture.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">For instance, while all of my flatware may be polished and facing the same way in the cutlery drawer, there could very well be a couple of casserole dishes soaking in the sink. For every pair of socks patiently matched and flyped ( and believe me with 3 males in the house there are more than a few ) there is likely to be a shirt languishing in the ironing basket. While the mirrors in the house may be sparkling and smudge free its debatable whether the sun would be able to shine through the grime on the windows to reflect in them.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">But my particular domestic drawback is never more obvious than when I go grocery shopping. The usual weekly provisions are deposited in the basket with little thought, so ingrained that if I were a spy I would probably recite bread, milk and cheese instead of name, rank and serial number. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">It's when I have to replenish an occasional consumable, the ingredients that are only used once in a while, the problem presents itself.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">You see I don't write things down, it would be a waste of time since I've never quite got the hang of taking a list with me. Instead I try to remember the required items. And shockingly I do remember them - quite often for the next five shopping trips! Once its in my head its there to stay , no matter how many times I buy it. So I find myself with cupboards filled with a glut of bottled lemon juice, mango chutney, Worcestershire sauce, desiccated coconut, mushroom ketchup ....... the list goes on. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">My latest fixation was mayonnaise. I now have 6 large jars of it at my disposal. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">In an attempt to rectify the situation, and since I have still to return to my workroom, my creativity has moved to the kitchen and I'm currently experimenting with ways and means of incorporating mayonnaise into our meals. So far the results have been edible, always a boon I feel, and while many efforts will never see a saucepan again two new family favourites have emerged. One uses the mayonnaise almost as a carbonara sauce substitute. I figured it almost had the same ingredients so why not give it a go with some bacon and tagliatelle. The second one is this....</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">...I can assure you it tastes much better than it looks, please put it down to poor photography. A combination of beef strips, mushrooms, onions, mayonnaise, french mustard, horseradish, stock and mushroom ketchup ( see what I did there, I managed to use two of my excesses! ) We haven't given it a name yet, I just get asked for that beefy mayonnaise thing, but I have taken the time to write down ingredients and amounts so I'm not the only person in the household who knows how to make it.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">So does that make me a chef? A cook? No, it just makes me a slightly obsessive compulsive 'housewife' who needs to clear out her cupboards and learn to make lists. </span>Linnhe Marahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17960310077208873662noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6972348215302406110.post-72234201061726194582012-06-28T17:48:00.001+01:002012-06-28T17:48:47.146+01:00An awkward silence<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Actually that should be "awkward silences" since they seem to me to occur with frightening regularity. Quite surprising really for someone who is known amongst close friends for my ability to talk for Britain. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">There I'll be at some do or another exchanging polite chit chat, keeping things going, passing the discussion back and forth like a ball in some PE warm up exercise. My attention will begin to wander, diverted perhaps by something on the periphery, and before you know it the conversational ball has been dropped. Silence ensues. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I now have two options. I can scurry after the ball, not quite sure which direction it was headed in, and try to get it back in play. Or I can bow out of the game and move on ( it's not been the first time a glass of wine has been perfunctorily quaffed to allow an excuse for escape). The option taken depends on the company I'm in, how brave I'm feeling, and quite possibly the number of wine glasses I've emptied already. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">But what happens when the uncomfortable interlude is not just a lull in conversation due to a lack of concentration. What happens when its due to an unreturned phone call or a letter that deserves a reply? </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I'm ashamed to say I have created more than my fair share of those particular silences. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">A silence that grows more awkward as time ticks by, a silence that becomes increasingly difficult to break with each day that passes. I consider myself very lucky to have friends and family that are very accepting of this failing of mine and are willing to forgive my lapses in communication.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I do eventually pick up the phone or put pen to paper. So getting back to blogging shouldn't be so different....should it? </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>Linnhe Marahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17960310077208873662noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6972348215302406110.post-43042418787030144752012-05-11T17:47:00.001+01:002012-05-11T17:47:57.174+01:00Onwards.....<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I've been a bit lax with my blogging and blog reading these last few months. I do hope none of you lovely bloggers out there that I usually comment on have taken offence at my silence, it's nothing personal I assure you. It's just that I'm afraid life has intruded somewhat and I've found it difficult to concentrate. Some things take a bit of time to get your head around and don't leave room for much else.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">However the other day I decided to go for a walk in the woods. I hadn't taken that particular path since Deefer, our beloved dog, left us 18 months ago. It was a bright Spring morning, one to be taken advantage of since they have been in short supply here since the season began.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">The ground was slightly moist underfoot and each step I took released the pungent odour of nurturing decay. I caught myself inhaling deeply and realised I had missed the smell. With every breath I could feel my heart lighten and a smile tug at my lips. The sun shone through acid green leaves, the undergrowth rustled with wildlife and lambs were making a rammy in the field beside me. And the turmoil in my head became calm.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">No, I didn't have a miraculous revelation or some blinding flash of insight. I simply felt good. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I passed a couple who were sharing a small picnic on a fallen log. We exchanged pleasantries, commented briefly on the weather, as you do, then I moved on. I smiled at them as I left, and I think it was my first genuine smile in almost three months.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I continued round Gallow Hill with a renewed spring in my step. Well I did until I stumbled, nearly fell, righted myself then looked around self consciously to make sure no one had witnessed my inelegant flailing of arms ( think 'windmill'). The journey was concluded at a more sedate pace. A spring in your step is all very good but only if it doesn't lead to a bruised derriere!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I arrived home with my head in a much better place than when I had left, much to the delight of the man of the house (he hates seeing me distressed, dislikes it even more when he can't fix things for me). </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I've believed for some time that life doesn't throw anything at you that you are not equipped to deal with, I'd just forgotten that for a while. Time, I think, to get on with it :o)</span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> </span>Linnhe Marahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17960310077208873662noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6972348215302406110.post-88211587853588787642012-04-16T22:18:00.000+01:002012-04-16T22:39:34.554+01:00April showers<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I like to think I have my inner drama queen under control. Yes, occasionally </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I can feel her struggle against her restraints</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">, like when I drop a gloopey spoon on my newly washed kitchen floor or discover I've been sewing for the last few minutes without thread in the bobbin, but generally she stays put and fumes quietly to herself.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">These last few weeks however have seriously tested that control. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">It started with a hospital appointment. I'm not going to bore you with all the details but that pinched nerve I mentioned way back when, well it wasn't. It turned out to be the result of inflammation which has caused another few issues ( hence my workroom being a no sew area!)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Anyway I had to go for some tests to see what's causing it. The procedure itself wasn't a problem but the poking and prodding required before hand by the registrar and the ubiquitous trainee left my lower back feeling as if a troupe of Leprechauns had just performed Riverdance on it, and stayed for four encores.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><i>She'd raised her head having sensed the possibility of a rant.</i> </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">After getting the boys off to school the following morning I decided the safest and most comfortable place for me would be back in bed. I hadn't taken No 1 sons desire to tussle with a hedge in to account, or his inability to keep a cycle helmet on his head past our garden gate. The hedge won, his head lost.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-d2N7U17FYK8/T4yGPF2SiuI/AAAAAAAAAgU/LDYmyFYfN8U/s1600/IMG_2191.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-d2N7U17FYK8/T4yGPF2SiuI/AAAAAAAAAgU/LDYmyFYfN8U/s320/IMG_2191.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">He takes his helmet with him but it spends more time strapped to his bag than on his head</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">One mild concussion later and there I was, trying to find a comfortable spot on the couch beside him in order to monitor his condition as per the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">GP's</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> instructions, all the time fluctuating between the desire to hold him, comfort him and berate him for not wearing his helmet. The conflict of motherhood! How often does the hand that soothes the fevered brow itch to administer a clip round the ear?</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><i>She'd now thrown her hands in the air, gesturing wildly.</i></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">A few days after that the plumber called to let me know our new water heater had arrived and could be installed the following week. We needed to move our existing one to allow for remodelling the bathroom and had decided to replace it with one that could be used with solar panels - it all seemed such a good idea at the time. Ah, hindsight!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aGOQL_Y6GZQ/T4yGN8461YI/AAAAAAAAAgI/-RZ_IkAtWbg/s1600/IMG_2187.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aGOQL_Y6GZQ/T4yGN8461YI/AAAAAAAAAgI/-RZ_IkAtWbg/s320/IMG_2187.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Our new, all singing, all dancing Dalek of a hot water tank</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">A flurry of cleaning ensued.(Ridiculous really since from previous experience I know that the house will descend into chaos within minutes of any workman arriving, but it somehow makes me feel better knowing it's clean to begin with.) Halfway through this frenzy the vacuum cleaner started to make some very strange noises. The drive belt had gone! Well, I guess the hoovering would just have to wait until it was repaired. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">The first week of the holidays arrived and at 8 a.m on the dot so did Dave the plumber, much to the disgust of my two teenage sons who had been looking forward to a fortnight of 'lie ins'. They made sure everyone was aware of their displeasure.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">The swap over of tanks did not go as smoothly as planned (now there's a surprise). Years of extensions and remodelling had left a labyrinth of pipes </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">under the floor</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> as well as </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">in the loft that Daedalus would have been proud of. Poor Dave spent three full days trying to find out which ones were redundant before he could complete the job. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xEzyvR1L00w/T4yGMi9qKsI/AAAAAAAAAgE/F-CQpP3jHZs/s1600/IMG_2178.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xEzyvR1L00w/T4yGMi9qKsI/AAAAAAAAAgE/F-CQpP3jHZs/s320/IMG_2178.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Just some of the pipes under the floor</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">That wasn't the only problem. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">We knew that the shower in the bathroom would no longer be usable but since it was due to be replaced it wasn't an issue. What we didn't know was the two remaining showers would also be unusable as they were supplied by a different source and there would be incompatible water pressure. To get to the pipes to rectify this we had to sacrifice our en suite.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5eSl6dKBSeU/T4yGIpkaL8I/AAAAAAAAAf8/UqGlrvF3fe0/s1600/IMG_2171.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5eSl6dKBSeU/T4yGIpkaL8I/AAAAAAAAAf8/UqGlrvF3fe0/s320/IMG_2171.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">My de-tiled en suite. Oh well I wanted the tiles replaced at some point anyway.</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><i>By this point my inner drama queen was tearing theatrically at her hair.</i></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Two days in to the four of us using the remaining shower, the one we'd had fitted last year in preparation for the destruction of the main bathroom, I discovered it was leaking. While I was searching for more old towels to mop up the water the phone rang. My vacuum cleaner couldn't be fixed without considerable outlay. Great! The carpet hadn't been hoovered for a week and was beginning to make me twitch. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Okay, I can deal with this I thought. I decided to borrow the spare that my husband keeps in his workroom. Twenty minutes after switching it on it suddenly stopped. I'd managed to kill another one, only there was no possibility of an expensive resurrection this time.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><i>She was beginning to slip free of her restraints.</i></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Trying to see a silver lining I remembered an ad. for a Dyson special offer that would give 20% off a new vacuum if you sent them back an old one. The man of the house was dispatched to retrieve the belt deficient hoover. His van was blocked in by the joiners who at that moment were tearing the rest of the bathroom apart so he decided to take my car. It wasn't playing. Since I hadn't driven it for three months it would seem that in a fit of pique the battery had discharged itself. That's when we discovered the jump leads that had been in the shed were now conspicuous by their absence.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I let her out. I'm not proud of myself. The collected towels were thrown on to the floor, a few choice words were expelled and the deceased vacuum was kicked on the way past as I flounced with Bette Davies haughtiness from the room. It took a couple of damp hankies and a few glasses of red but eventually I regained control.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">So today when the bathroom fitters went through an electrical cable and took out all the plug points in the kitchen I smiled serenely </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><i>She collapsed in a swoon, the back of her hand raised to her head.</i> </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>Linnhe Marahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17960310077208873662noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6972348215302406110.post-53290475854163156602012-03-20T23:24:00.000+00:002012-03-20T23:24:22.783+00:00An ever expanding list (part 2)<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Passports!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Well, passport photo's to be precise. I have yet to meet anyone, correction, any woman who is happy with her passport photograph. It offends our sensibilities and seriously messes with our self esteem. Not surprising really, that unsmiling stare doesn't do much for anyone. Mine usually makes me look like a combination of deranged psychopath and the intellectually challenged. Although to be fair after an early morning/late evening start, a three hour wait in an uncomfortable airport, a flight of however many hours in a less than spacious plane serving dubious 'food' it could be said that it's probably doing me some favours :o/</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">With that being said, while I wasn't expecting the boys to come back with shots that made them look like the next teen heart throbs, I was hoping for ones that wouldn't make me want to be standing three aisles away, looking in the opposite direction during check in.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">It was so much easier when they were younger. Perhaps easy is not the right word. While I completely understand the need for children to have their own passports (although can't quite get my head around why only lasting for half as long as an adult one they cost more than half the price!) did anyone at the identity and passport service actually stop to think how difficult it was going to be for parents to get an acceptable photograph of their infant?</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I was fortunate. The boys were nearly two and a half before we were invited to join their grandparents on holiday. I dutifully set off, with the help of my mother-in-law, to obtain the appropriate images. After two aborted attempts at the photo booth it became apparent professional help was required. Down a little side street in Dumfries we came across a photographers that was open. In amongst all of the wedding and Gala day shots in the window was a sign advertising passport photographs. Result!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">The door had one of those springy bells hanging above us that jingled as we entered. It was quite dark inside since all of the windows had been blanked out with black velvet, the perfect backdrop to the pictures on display within them. A door creaked at the back of the room. I looked at my mother-in-law at the same time as she turned to me. The door creaked again. Okaaaay. So that was a bit spooky! </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">The door opened a bit further and then, with a violent pull, it was opened to its full extent revealing a small woman, dressed in a high necked blouse and long skirt, who must have been about a hundred and three. For some reason Arsenic and Old Lace immediately came to mind.</span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XNyqVyDcov4/T2jhivdB3JI/AAAAAAAAAfk/H1QveuNquAk/s1600/arsenic-and-old-lace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XNyqVyDcov4/T2jhivdB3JI/AAAAAAAAAfk/H1QveuNquAk/s1600/arsenic-and-old-lace.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Feeling a bit like a landed fish, mouth wordlessly open and gasping I eventually got out the usual pleasantries and explained what we were there for. Full of a charm and grace that is sadly missing in most receptionists these days she informed us that yes, indeed we would be able to get passport photographs of the boys taken that day and ushered us in to the studio. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">It was much lighter in there, white back drops and bright lights creating the illusion of daylight. I was expecting to see the photographer in a corner doing something technical with a light meter and lenses so was completely at a loss when this tiny little woman, wearing orthopaedic braces on both wrists started manhandling a tripod with a camera on top across the room. I looked to my mother-in-law again. She looked back with a raised eye brow that would have done Spock proud.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">It transpired t</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">he receptionist</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> was the mother of the photographer, who not only minded the shop but could also fill in for him when he wasn't around. She fussed and tutted for a few moments murmuring to herself, leading me to question her suitability for the job in hand.She then proceeded with a strange bird like efficiency to position the boys just so, and somehow managed to get them to stay that way while she took the photographs. Which was a good job really since she wasn't using a digital camera but rather a passport specific instant Polaroid ( producing four identical images on one sheet).</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">She did however have a problem pulling the paper from the camera, eventually enlisting my help with the procedure. At this point my mother-in-law and I silently, almost telepathically, agreed not to look at one another again in case we offended the old dear by collapsing on the floor in a fit of the giggles.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EfjqwIWMxuE/T2jsmkk-KsI/AAAAAAAAAfs/7cBsNHrtuAw/s1600/IMG_0002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EfjqwIWMxuE/T2jsmkk-KsI/AAAAAAAAAfs/7cBsNHrtuAw/s320/IMG_0002.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47; font-size: small;">No 1 son looking suitably worried, as every innocent person going through customs usually looks</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yAmktkclxZA/T2jspIlyhkI/AAAAAAAAAf0/A3RtuR2Evsk/s1600/IMG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yAmktkclxZA/T2jspIlyhkI/AAAAAAAAAf0/A3RtuR2Evsk/s320/IMG.jpg" width="215" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47; font-size: small;">No 2 son couldn't help a small smile, it's in his nature, and at the age of 2 is excusable.</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Fortunately for my peace of mind by the time the boys next passports were due the local chemist was offering a photograph service. I don't think I could have kept my face straight if I'd had to see her again. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">This years upcoming school trip to Belgium meant another renewal was required. I sent the boys off, stupidly thinking they would be capable of obtaining a decent photograph themselves. Vanity thy name is woman, because its glaringly obvious it doesn't belong to my teenage boys .</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">They both came home with mug shots that any police file would be proud to sport. All that was missing were height lines and serial numbers along the bottom. No 2 son looked like an ASBO waiting to happen, complete with hoodie, one that he had only been allowed to wear under the explicit instruction it was removed before any camera made an appearance. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">No 1 son on the other hand had excelled himself. He looked like some sort of drug dealer that had sampled too much of his own product.If I hadn't been so taken aback I would have been impressed. What was even scarier was that the assistant had asked them to check the images before she printed them off and they hadn't see anything wrong with them! Geesh!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I met them from school the other week, oversaw the new haircut, frogmarched them back to the chemist and had new photographs taken. Looks like the independence is going to have to wait a while. Either that or I'm going to have to learn to relax:o)</span>Linnhe Marahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17960310077208873662noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6972348215302406110.post-65175432652030902422012-03-07T22:03:00.000+00:002012-03-07T22:03:43.709+00:00Avian antics<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">The expected return to the workroom the other week didn't materialise. Boooo! Why is it that the only time you have a burning desire to do something is the very time when you are unable to do it? The contrariness of human nature I suppose ...... or it could just be me.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">The upshot of my further delayed return is that I have no new projects or finished products to show you. What I do have is a short video. You may remember me telling you about <a href="http://weemindings.blogspot.com/2011/11/if-only-it-were-tuppence-bag.html">Wee Mental</a> a few months ago. A scruffy little bird that had taken to battering at the kitchen window. Well he has been a constant visitor throughout the winter and I managed to capture his antics on film the other day.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">He does this at least 6 times a day for about a minute and a half on average. He doesn't limit it to the kitchen window either. There is food aplenty outside, there are no spiders on the glass so I'm not entirely sure what he is hoping to achieve. It's quite possible, after so many blows to the beak, that he can't remember what he's trying to achieve either. But it's entertaining nonetheless and I've come to expect his visits, often stopping whatever housework I'm engaged in to watch him (as if I need an excuse!).</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I started uploading this post a few days ago and I'm sad to report that I haven't been visited for the last three days. My hope is that Wee Mental is otherwise occupied. It is Spring after all and he may be too busy impressing the ladies to pop round and entertain me. Thats what I'm telling myself anyway :O(</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>Linnhe Marahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17960310077208873662noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6972348215302406110.post-14629518597434976552012-02-21T16:43:00.000+00:002012-02-21T17:52:04.852+00:00An ever expanding list (Part 1)<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Get a haircut.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Have a new passport photograph taken.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Two more items to be added to my mental list 'Tasks not to be undertaken by my teenage sons without adult supervision'.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I sent them out the other morning with those instructions. I thought I was helping with their personal growth, giving them some responsibility, encouraging them to make decisions on their own. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">In hindsight I should have known better. Their downfall didn't lie in the absence of ability but rather their lack of vanity.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Haircuts have never been high on the list of priorities, in fact for the first couple of years they weren't even an issue. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">The boys</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> newborn auburn fuzz gave way to gossamer. Hair as soft as silk, as fine as spun silver. It would glow in the sunlight, a luminous halo above their cherubic faces.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">It also meant they looked bald for the first 10 months! </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">When it did eventually begin to sprout and darken we discovered that No 1 son had been blessed with what has become affectionately known as the</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> 'bedlam barnet' ( or 'Muppet mop' on occasion). Of course, in the age old tradition of good cop bad cop, that meant No 2 son has hair that <i>usually</i> behaves impeccably.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Initially, and somewhat nervously, I dealt with the few curls that crept over their ears or nestled messily at their napes (The first ones cut are tied with a ribbon and kept in a small box. What can I say? I'm a sentimentalist!) But their hair became longer, thicker and beyond my dubious skills. Was it time to let someone else loose on their locks?</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Enter the man of the house. With clippers. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">He's cut his own hair (or what's left of it) for years and after a bit of wrangling over which guard was to be used I agreed he could take over. So for the next four years they were bi-annually shorn like sheep. It worked really well in the summer, preparing them for the anticipated heatwave (snort!), but meant that winter attire always had to include a natty line in hats. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">If it got too untidy to wait for the next clipper session I took them to the 'Gents Hairdressers'. They liked it so much their dad was given the heave- ho.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">( I think it might have had something to do with the lollipop the barber would give them on the way out)</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">It's a</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">n unassuming little establishment, </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">set in off the street</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> almost hidden from view,</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: Times;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> easily missed if it weren't for the barbers pole.</span></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Walking through the door is like taking a step back in time. Not to the dim and distant past, just a decade.... or four:o) </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">The floor is covered in vinyl, the pattern of which has long since been worn and scrubbed away. Two large barbers chairs, all shiny chrome, cream enamel and burgundy faux leather, take pride of place in the middle of the room. Since the proprietor is also the sole employee only one of the chairs is used. It's artificial ageing is a distant memory, the dark red worn to bright cherry, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">polished by countless posteriors. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">To the right, under the window, is a wooden bench. There is no appointment book made up weeks in advance, here</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> you simply walk in, take a seat, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">and wait your turn (be it for a haircut, a fishing permit or to drop off your pools coupon). </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">It will be a</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> quick, no nonsense cut of the short back and sides variety, and no paying over the odds for fancy products or verbal inanities.(The barber, being born and bred in Moffat, probably knows more about you than you do yourself so has no need to ask if you're going on holiday. In fact she could probably tell you where, when and for how long you're going, and what the in flight film will be! )</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">To pass the time while you wait there is a choice of reading material in the corner, a couple of daily tabloids, invariably turned to the sports section, and a pile of old Dandy annuals (the boys love them). </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Sometimes though, when 'bedlam barnet's' curls and ringlets act up, slightly more styling is required. That's when I make them an appointment with my hairdresser. Which is what I did. And made the mistake of letting them go themselves! </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Perhaps I wasn't clear enough. Maybe I should have written it down. When I said, 'a haircut' No 1 son must have heard 'a hair cut' because that's apparently what he got. I could detect no discernible difference when he arrived home. I just wonder how he decided which hair to sacrifice? </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">As to No 2 son, well what can I say. He came home looking like a Paul Weller tribute act! ( I'm sorry if that offends, but lets be honest here, for all his musical talent that man has <i><b>never</b></i> had a decent 'do )</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">So its back to the hat box for a few days until I can arrange another appointment, and this time I'll be going with them!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">As for the passport photographs. Well.........</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>Linnhe Marahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17960310077208873662noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6972348215302406110.post-74996949584986069082012-02-17T21:14:00.001+00:002012-02-17T21:14:43.016+00:00Rescue and refurbish<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I should be able to get back to crafting by the end of next week and I can honestly say, for the first time in ages, my fingers are twitching to get started. I have no idea yet what they want to get started on, they don't keep me that well informed. I just know if I don't make something soon I'm going to pop ( I don't do explode - too much mess to clean up afterwards)</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">In preparation I have been squirrelling away some finds from the charity shop. When you can't make, hoard! Many people bring in textiles that aren't fit for resale but can get sent for recycling. The shop receives a donation for each bag they send off. We often have to decant the bags brought in by the public into sturdier pre-printed bags we have for transporting to recycling depots.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">It was during this task, sorting through grubby net curtains, frayed </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">towels and pobbley brushed nylon sheets that I came across these.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I took them out , checked them over, but could find nothing wrong with them other than the fact that they were slightly dated and the donor obviously thought no one would want them. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Ha! I fell in love with them on the spot. Which was quite strange actually since they are so 'not me'. But that's the thing, I think I was drawn to the vintage novelty of them, if that makes sense. So I rescued them, measured them, priced them and bought them. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do with them, the only thing I am sure of is that they will no longer be curtains. ( I say that but judging by past experience they are likely to remain in their present state for some time to come)</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I few days later I arrived to start my shift and found this little treasure at the till point.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Can you tell what it is yet?</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">Perhaps if I open it up....</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8ShkZfGtB8s/Tz659u-YpNI/AAAAAAAAAfE/trWp4epFTDs/s1600/IMG_2106.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8ShkZfGtB8s/Tz659u-YpNI/AAAAAAAAAfE/trWp4epFTDs/s320/IMG_2106.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">...add the trays....</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y9XQkGbslYU/Tz65_zQa2jI/AAAAAAAAAfM/muAQTOQJAGQ/s1600/IMG_2108.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Y9XQkGbslYU/Tz65_zQa2jI/AAAAAAAAAfM/muAQTOQJAGQ/s320/IMG_2108.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">...and flip down the sides?</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8FhSYdjfQTg/Tz66DAKN1qI/AAAAAAAAAfU/JAXeu4bmum8/s1600/IMG_2109.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8FhSYdjfQTg/Tz66DAKN1qI/AAAAAAAAAfU/JAXeu4bmum8/s320/IMG_2109.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">A slightly shabby but fully working butlers table!</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Well I couldn't resist. It just had to come home with me. With a little bit of TLC,(I'm still not sure whether to sand it down and wax it or paint it in some trendy colour. Any ideas?),it will be perfect in my workroom. I'm a bit of an untidy crafter. I invariably have half started, or worse still half finished, projects strewn across my worktable, taking up valuable space. It makes it increasingly difficult to lay out patterns or cut out fabric. </span><div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">This butlers table will give me somewhere to put works in progress, keeping my large table free of mess ( well that's the plan anyway:o)), with the added advantage of trays I can bring in to the house with me of an evening should I feel the need to contin</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">ue some crafty endeavour.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I can't wait!</span></div>
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</div>Linnhe Marahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17960310077208873662noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6972348215302406110.post-833580252396536612012-02-13T17:19:00.000+00:002012-02-13T17:19:18.231+00:00Ice!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">There's a lot to be said for living at the top of a hill. Its quiet, there is little chance of flooding and the view is not obstructed by ariels and satellite dishes.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jfNSEJ5RahI/TzkALfaxuII/AAAAAAAAAdc/vc4IsybL600/s1600/IMG_2056.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jfNSEJ5RahI/TzkALfaxuII/AAAAAAAAAdc/vc4IsybL600/s320/IMG_2056.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">However, when a layer of ice covers every surface horizontal, vertical and all 90° in between....</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-J6GjDr6-690/TzkANaJQYFI/AAAAAAAAAdk/PIOROjSw_Kg/s1600/IMG_2073.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-J6GjDr6-690/TzkANaJQYFI/AAAAAAAAAdk/PIOROjSw_Kg/s320/IMG_2073.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">....getting down off it can prove to be a bit problematic.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cwQoucaD_-A/TzkAPQUVcxI/AAAAAAAAAds/ZgukfJATQwc/s1600/IMG_2070.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cwQoucaD_-A/TzkAPQUVcxI/AAAAAAAAAds/ZgukfJATQwc/s320/IMG_2070.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">A car won't manage, no matter how many wheels are driving, if it has nothing to grip on to! </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">A bicycle would just be folly ( although the boys seemed to manage it)....</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">.....and my walking boots didn't come equipped with crampons.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">How about a tea tray? I could pretend it was the skeleton....</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">...then again perhaps not. Maybe I'll just stay up here until it thaws.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> Now that seems like a plan I can work with :o)</span></div>Linnhe Marahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17960310077208873662noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6972348215302406110.post-20995293790612815742012-02-07T11:38:00.000+00:002012-02-07T11:38:41.945+00:00Winter visitors<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I've been unable to craft or blog much recently ( or catch up on all my blog reading!) for one reason or another. I hope to get back to it all soon but in the meantime I thought I'd share these with you. One of the things I love about the snow is the evidence our garden visitors leave behind :o)</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jAKZrBWui18/TzEJA00WXrI/AAAAAAAAAcs/5MVAzGRK_0Y/s1600/IMG_2064.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jAKZrBWui18/TzEJA00WXrI/AAAAAAAAAcs/5MVAzGRK_0Y/s320/IMG_2064.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">After we had all come inside Billy, one of our resident badgers came out for a stroll.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mprWSNXt9aM/TzEJJpRbojI/AAAAAAAAAc0/3L_c43qzuao/s1600/IMG_2059.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mprWSNXt9aM/TzEJJpRbojI/AAAAAAAAAc0/3L_c43qzuao/s320/IMG_2059.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">After a tour of the garden he climbed the 15 stairs up to the balcony...</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VmpXANhOUOA/TzEJPSrOF6I/AAAAAAAAAc8/Q-xjJNo14c8/s1600/IMG_2061.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VmpXANhOUOA/TzEJPSrOF6I/AAAAAAAAAc8/Q-xjJNo14c8/s320/IMG_2061.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">...had a little wander about ( I always imagine him doing this while humming tunelessly to himself)... </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">...then left to let another visitor have a go.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qoTeSZ8As9I/TzEJeGVbm4I/AAAAAAAAAdM/CbH6XhKopaU/s1600/IMG_0014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qoTeSZ8As9I/TzEJeGVbm4I/AAAAAAAAAdM/CbH6XhKopaU/s320/IMG_0014.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">They decided to stay for breakfast...</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace; font-size: small;">...and seemed a bit embarrassed at being caught in the act.</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>Linnhe Marahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17960310077208873662noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6972348215302406110.post-87649814858243299802012-01-25T16:31:00.000+00:002012-01-25T17:06:41.330+00:00True or Faux<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Sometimes a memory pounces on you with little or no provocation, like a frisky kitten after a short nap.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">'They're aw fur coat and nae knickers!'</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">That was the snippet I overheard as I was walking past a gaggle of old dears the other day. And that's when the memory jumped me. I wasn't reminded of someone displaying false airs and graces, or even of a case when outward appearances had been deceptive. No. I was recalling a coat. A fur coat. My mothers knee length, mink coloured, musquash fur coat to be precise.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AXvTQNawZfA/Tx7bkO0fUTI/AAAAAAAAAb0/HvM1DWRmXvc/s1600/10efm18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AXvTQNawZfA/Tx7bkO0fUTI/AAAAAAAAAb0/HvM1DWRmXvc/s320/10efm18.jpg" width="220" /></a></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">It was a luxurious coat, so thick and sleek it was impossible not to want to reach out and stroke it. I remember as a wee girl sneaking in to her room, opening the wardrobe, and </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">burying my fingers deep into its silken pelts as I rubbed my face against it, back and forth, lost in its downy softness.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> Whenever she wore it I would get as close as possible, my face either nuzzling her sleeve or snuggling in to the skirts as we walked. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">But probably the most vivid memory I have of that coat is like something from a <a href="http://www.ibras.dk/comedy/billy_connolly.htm">Billy Connolly sketch</a>. It was the 10th of December and we had just moved house, only to discover that the previous occupant had pocketed the money my mum had given them to buy enough coal to see us through the coming week ( our arrival fell in the middle of the delivery schedule). The house was freezing, being unheated for two weeks prior to our arrival. My sister and I were to share a room and we set about unpacking every bit of bedding we could find. We went to bed wearing our night wear as well as extra cardigans, jumpers and at least two pairs of socks. It wasn't enough. Out came the coats and they were added to the pile of duvets and blankets. Ahh! But who would get the fur coat? An argument ensued in the midst of which I pulled out the top trump of being the pitiful little sister ( well, all's fair in war and fur coat procurement!).Needless to say I fell asleep cooried under its comforting weight, feeling slightly guilty, but more importantly <b>warm</b> :o) </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I'm afraid the coat spent most of its later life in a cupboard. It became very unacceptable to be seen wearing the fur of any animal, in some cases down right dangerous. Mum thought about a faux fur replacement but it wasn't the same. None she looked at were as soft, warm or inviting as the real deal. It was fur or nothing - she opted for nothing. T</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">hat hasn't been the case for everyone though.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">A couple of months ago I bought some velboa, a low pile faux fur fabric (try saying that when you've had a few!) that's meant to look like antelope hide. It's not a fabric that I usually go for but I wanted to try something a little different, and the antelope was the most subtle design I could find. Every handbag I have made from it so far has sold almost immediately. This is my latest one.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Faux fur definitely seems to have appeal. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">As far as I can tell you can get a fabric that replaces any kind of pelt or skin you can think of. Crocodile, snake, leopard and mink to name but a few. Even leather, suede and sheepskin have a fake alternative. It's quite obvious that we still love animal fur/skin (I think it must be primeval), but feel better about ourselves if we use a faux version. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">And this is where I come to a moral crossroads.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">It is indeed reprehensible to breed and farm animals solely for their pelts. Yet I eat meat, fish and poultry, also bred and farmed, and have no intention of becoming a vegetarian. What is the difference between skin and flesh, and why do I feel so different about them?</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">While I agree that keeping these animals in cramped cages is deplorable, freeing them in to the wild is not always the answer. Non indigenous species play havoc with the balance of nature. We have, at times, had our fish pond raided by mink , no doubt descendants of those released at some point by a well intentioned but misguided activist. Would it be deemed acceptable if they were housed in a more humane environment?</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-61jo2HuYvbM/Tx7hpwtugaI/AAAAAAAAAb8/z-BmxqVoUGY/s1600/Unknown.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-61jo2HuYvbM/Tx7hpwtugaI/AAAAAAAAAb8/z-BmxqVoUGY/s1600/Unknown.jpeg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #a64d79; font-size: small;">Musquash, or Muskrat, in the wild</span></td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">And what about all of those pelts that have already been used? I'll admit that I would love a vintage fur coat and occasionally have a look on line for one. Oh to be so warm and cosy! I like to justify that aspiration by saying that these animals were killed years ago, long before my time. I had nothing to do with it and don't condone any further killing.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Then again by wearing such a coat would I be saying I thought it was okay to wear fur,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> regardless of what age it was? Would I be guilty of perpetuating the desire for such products? But to my way of thinking even the use of faux fur panders to this desire. Should it be frowned upon too?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Just what is the problem with fur? Is its use vilified solely for humane reasons or does it smack slightly of the politics of envy?</span></div>
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">So many questions! Which road do I take? And how can I be sure that the choice I make is because that's the path I want to travel down, not just the one it would be more politically correct to follow? </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
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</span>Linnhe Marahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17960310077208873662noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6972348215302406110.post-87075760488376003532012-01-17T18:32:00.000+00:002012-01-17T18:35:54.921+00:00A matter of taste.<span apple_mouseover_highlight="1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">"Oh I love your scarf. It's gorgeous," she said.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> " Where did you get it?"</span><br />
<span apple_mouseover_highlight="1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">"Thanks," I said as I fiddled with the fringes " It was a gift"</span></span><br />
<span apple_mouseover_highlight="1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">"Well whoever bought it for you has excellent taste."</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">"Yes, they do." </span><br />
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<span apple_mouseover_highlight="1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">That was the brief exchange I had at work last week and I've been pondering over it ever since. Excellent taste? </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Hmm, bit of an assumption to be made based on one scarf don't you think. Also fairly egotistical on my part to have agreed, the inference being that I also had good taste since I was wearing it. Just what is good taste anyway and who gets to decide?</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8TxxPeqNHbg/TxWbGqcDWpI/AAAAAAAAAbc/7fWKdfKRjYs/s1600/il_570xN.111354811.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8TxxPeqNHbg/TxWbGqcDWpI/AAAAAAAAAbc/7fWKdfKRjYs/s320/il_570xN.111354811.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/37135882/picasso-quote-good-taste-is-the-enemy-of"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Picasso quote pendant on Etsy</span></a></td></tr>
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<span apple_mouseover_highlight="1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">My dictionary defines taste as </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Baskerville;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47;"><span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">' a</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">person</span>'<span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">s</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">tendency</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">to</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">like</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">and</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">dislike</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">certain</span> <span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">things'</span></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Okay, so everyone has taste then.</span></span></div>
<span apple_mouseover_highlight="1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span apple_mouseover_highlight="1"><span apple_mouseover_highlight="1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></span></span><br />
It then goes on to elaborate </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47; font-family: Baskerville;">'taste: the</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #741b47;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Baskerville;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Baskerville;"><span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">ability</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Baskerville;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Baskerville;"><span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">to</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Baskerville;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Baskerville;"><span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">discern</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Baskerville;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Baskerville;"><span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">what</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Baskerville;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Baskerville;">is of</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Baskerville;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Baskerville;"><span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">good</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Baskerville;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Baskerville;">quality or of a high aesthetic </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Baskerville;"><span apple_mouseover_highlight="1">standard'</span></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13;">Ah! Now that changes things somewhat doesn't it. While good quality might be quantifiable I can't help feeling that a 'high aesthetic standard' may be a bit more subjective. </span></span><span apple_mouseover_highlight="1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">If </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">nothing else, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">working in the shop has shown me how ludicrous that concept is. One mans junk is another mans treasure (and aren't all charity shops grateful for that!).</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">After a moudie around the interweb thingy most of the images I found would seem to indicate that our concept of good taste in all things is minimal, neutral, highbrow and expensive. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Well I'm sorry but I'm just not buying it! </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Whats wrong with a bit of clutter and </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">colour? Good taste can be cheerful and cheap too you know. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">My two closest friends and I have different tastes. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">One fills her house with some of the most amazing charity shop finds. I doubt if she has a minimalist bone in her body. Her home has more in it than I'm used to but it works for her. The other is far braver with colour than I am and has a very definite style that mirrors her confidence. She has a voracious appetite for books and buys them anywhere, caring little for authors and the prizes they've won, recommending them only as long as the story is good.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I like to think of us as sine waves on an oscilloscope. Occasionally our wavelengths cross, we find a pair of shoes/painting/music that we both like, but in general we are more than happy to merely appreciate the others choices, offer admiring comments while continuing to travel our own path.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">So what does that say other than our tastes are complimentary? Are they good, bad or merely mediocre? What do our tastes reveal about us, if anything? </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>Linnhe Marahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17960310077208873662noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6972348215302406110.post-63110153392389692542012-01-10T14:11:00.000+00:002012-01-10T14:11:33.707+00:00Blue - more than just a colour.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I really struggle at this time of year. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I used to put it down to the end of the festivities. An excess of socialising had left me tired, exposed to numerous bugs and viruses and seeking solitude. Removing the twinkling lights and tinsel was bound to make everything look dull and uninteresting. A fortnight's diet of rich food was enough to make anyone crave simple pasta dishes and uncomplicated carbohydrates. And after all the hype and excitement in December it was understandable if it was replaced by a certain amount of lethargy in January and February.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I would go in to a sort of 'semi hibernation', sleeping longer, avoiding company and rarely leaving the house. Well if some animals could do it why shouldn't I? Okay, so not much was achieved for two months but I would emerge at the end of March ready to face anything. Surely that wasn't a problem, was it?</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">A few years ago a friend came to visit me in the middle of my hibernation.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">"This is sad you know." she said</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">"Well a bit unconventional perhaps, but I wouldn't have said sad exactly." I replied</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">"No, I mean this is S.A.D., Seasonal Affective Disorder. Loads of people suffer from it, but there are things you can do to help alleviate the symptoms"</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">When she left I summoned up enough energy to have a little Google and see what I could find out about <a href="http://www.sada.org.uk/">S.A.D</a>. and just how to beat these winter blues. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Logically it all made sense. Unfortunately there are times when logic is of absolutely no use whatsoever, unless you happen to be a Vulcan and have your emotions firmly under control. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Any time I see the word 'depression' logic takes a back seat. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I suffered a mild case of post natal depression after the boys were born. It took me three months to admit it though. My head knew that the way I was feeling was due to hormones running amok. My emotions on the other hand had me convinced it was because I was a failure as a mother already. I would make a terrible job of bringing up my children if I couldn't even cope at the beginning. If I asked for help I would be admitting defeat and letting everyone know just how useless I was. Fortunately very supportive family and friends got me through it.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Now, according to these articles, it would appear I'm so weak I can't even cope with a change of season without becoming depressed. I'm a failure at getting through the winter! Yup, those emotions completely failed to register the bits about lack of sunlight, melatonin levels, serotonin levels, you know all the stuff that proves there is a biological reason for feeling the way I do. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Friends and family came to the rescue once more. Logic was forced back in to the drivers seat and I've taken steps to make winter as bearable as possible. Blinds have been taken down and curtains are open as wide as they'll go to let as much light as mother nature can manage( and to be honest I think some days she could try harder) in to the house. That's been supplemented with a light box and a daily dose of vitamin D. My work table, should I ever get around to actually doing any, has been moved closer to the window. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I'm back to working two days a week so I have no option but to socialise, while the walk to work gets me out into the light and provides some exercise ( yes I know I should be doing more but hey, baby steps!)</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I'm not going to lie and say I've got it completely beaten but, as with most things, once you recognise the problem and admit to having one it no longer has the upper hand. And we all need a little help sometimes. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">As Eeyore says...</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TOXHhcYguYk/Twtf8XTHobI/AAAAAAAAAbM/mBaapsR3QlI/s1600/eeyore.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TOXHhcYguYk/Twtf8XTHobI/AAAAAAAAAbM/mBaapsR3QlI/s320/eeyore.jpg" width="258" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #a64d79; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><span class="maintext" style="line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;">'We</span><span class="maintext" style="line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none;"> can't all, and some of us don't. That's all there is to it.'</span></span> </span></td></tr>
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<br />Linnhe Marahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17960310077208873662noreply@blogger.com7