Wedding Dress

This is the best I can do as every wedding photo has other people in who probably don't want to be splashed all over the interwebulater. in this pic I was standing next a friend who I have attempted to crop out.

I don't have any photos of my first wedding.

Sewing Bee

I love watching the Great British Sewing Bee.

I've made so many things over the years as I made most of my own clothes when I was a teenager. Some I even designed myself, I'd see an outfit and could copy it.

As I'm so short I find it difficult to find clothes to fit so it can be easier to make something from scratch than to alter something to fit.

I made a man's corduroy jacket for a flatmate as a birthday present and a pale blue suit for a boyfriend.

I made Oxford bags, kaftans from curtain material, fancy dress outfits and soft furnishings.

I recovered my first three piece suite in denim, made duvet covers, quilts, cot bumpers, appliance covers and curtains.

I made children's dungarees from ladies trousers, shorts and tee shirts from remnants and party dresses for my daughters.

My children used to sit on the floor and work the foot pedal for the sewing machine as I would call out "Stop or Go"

I made both my wedding dresses, the first one a sort of Laura Ashley style, the second one a Vogue pattern in red lace.

Lots of things to do.

As I said, yesterday's trip to DD1's was definitely an essential trip but it also meant I was able to collect some items that I'd had delivered there.

These are the items I collected.
Two purple suncatchers
A roll of bin bags.
A box of poo bags.
A pack of four inch charm squares.
A part completed tapestry.
A pair of cream fingerless gloves, these are seconds, they came with a scrap of pink fabric and some buttons to cover the fault.

Steve did our weekly shop today, as you may remember he went overboard on the potatoes a couple of weeks ago and last week he bought ten pork pies! This week he over bought on spinach, still at least it freezes.

I WENT OUT

Today I went to my daughter's to collect my bank card.

It was definitely an essential journey as without my bank card I cannot shop for food.

It was lovely to see the grandchildren even if it was through a window.

After greeting me joyfully, Marla's first words were "Where's Busy?" I.e. Steve.

Teddy took one look at what I was carrying and said "Did you bring us some treats?" 

I had taken a packet of Oreos with me.

Anonymous

I have deleted the last comment by Anonymous, I will delete any others that continue the attack on Col and others.

Col you have my utmost admiration for all you have had to deal with, as do all those who care for others.

A handy household tip.

I cleaned the mirrors in the bathroom this afternoon. I don't do a lot of housework as it doesn't interest me. The boat is done to my standards, Steve can always do more to it if he wishes but he doesn't.

Anyway back to the mirrors there are two big ones in the bathroom, probably fitted to make the room look bigger. One just gets dusty but the one over the basin gets splashed and splattered.

To clean bathroom mirrors I first wash my hands thoroughly and then I dry them on a towel. This leaves part of the towel with just the correct amount of dampness to clean the marks from the mirror without leaving any smears. I then use the dry part of the towel to clean the dusty mirror. The towel then goes in the washing machine to await the next wash.

I'm sure lots of people do this, but who knows there may be one reader who now knows this handy tip.

Re a shitty day

Up to, you have my sympathy but actually I wasn't complaining. My post was tongue in cheek, I found it funny that there were so many instances in one day regarding shit.

A day of bits and pieces.

Today Steve started to sand the rust spots on the roof and to treat them. He's doing one roof panel a day rather than attempting the entire roof in one hit.

Beano has had his usual walks and I've divided my day up into chunks. By turn sewing, housework, reading, studying and writing.

Tomorrow I shall start knitting face cloths again just for a bit of variety.

It's been a shitty day

I typed this yesterday but didn't post it as I decided to let people know how Beano got on at the vets.

Steve has an upset stomach and I've had to clean the toilet twice, he's willing but can't see well enough to clean it to my standard.

We took Beano out at 7a.m. when  he did his morning poo something startled him, he turned suddenly and ended up with poo attached to his fur. He stood looking at me until I went over and remedied the situation.

I then got a poo bag and collected his deposit. I picked up a small twig at the same time as it was all mixed together.
In an effort to be helpful Steve grabbed the twig and pulled it out the bag. Most of the poo came with it and ended up on my hands.

As I said, it was a shitty day.

Vets

The vet I took Beano to is working on a closed door policy currently.

I made the appointment for this morning and phoned when I was in the car park.

A few moments later a staff member came out and collected Beano.

He was gone about 15 minutes and then returned to me.

Once home I phoned the vets and paid the bill.

I dropped Steve at the supermarket on the way to the vets and picked him up on the way back.

Beano

Beano has an appointment tomorrow at the vets to have his yearly inoculation. The vets is near a supermarket so Steve can grab some bread and milk whilst I take Beano for his jab.

When we get back we have to move the boat to get a pump out, then move it to the service jetty to have a ladder rack fitted and then back to our own jetty.

Missing them all so much

Rubbish

I'm on a couple of boaters groups on Facebook, useful for sharing information about out of order locks and broken pump outs.

On Friday someone who moors nearby, posted a pic of two Strongbow cans left on the bench by the lock we walk to every day. The pic was accompanied by a long rant about inconsiderate people leaving litter and visiting places they shouldn't.

We didn't walk to the lock on Saturday as it was raining and Beano and Steve both hate the rain.

Today we walked there and the cans were still on the bench, I used a poo bag to pic them up and put them in the bin that is about two meters away.

I cannot understand how someone can go to all the trouble of taking a photo and typing a rant but not throw the cans away.

Grumpy post

The weather hasn't been good today it's rained on and off and has been chilly.

Steve has been obnoxious all day, biting my head off because the WiFi signal is crap.
I bought him a SAD lamp a while ago but he won't use it, he enjoys wallowing in misery far too much.

DD2 uploaded a stand-up routine but I can't watch it, it just keeps buffering.

Even Beano's been grumpy, he's had his flea treatment and I think it makes him feel unwell.

Two reasons

There are two reasons why I don't clap for the NHS.

1) I never know what day it is.

2) I never know what time it is.

Tapestry

I've also finished this.

Fire lanterns

Please don't set fire lanterns burning for the NHS, they are a risk to animals and people.

The fire service has enough do as it is, Priti Patel has announced they are to help the police with domestic abuse on top of their normal duties.

Please don't add to their problems.

Scrubs

Pair of scrubs with a laundry bag made from a pillow case.

Nightmare

I had a nightmare last night, I awoke in a state of panic.

It seems I had murdered two people, I'd done it some time ago but was suddenly very likely to be caught, a collapsing building was going to reveal the bodies.

The two people I had murdered were my niece and one of my nephews.

I don't have a niece and all three of my nephews were alive and present in the dream.

What a lot of money

There are 160 boats in the marina, it isn't a residential marina so in theory liveaboards are not permitted, your boat can be in the marina full time but if you are a full time liveaboard the boat must leave the marina regularly, three days in and four days out seems to be the preferred rule.

Of the 160 boats approximately twenty are occupied by liveaboards.

Of the liveaboards, three are part of the marina workforce, six are winter moorers who were stuck because of the Red Boards on the cut and are now stuck because of the "No unnecessary travel" rule and eleven have jobs that mean they work away some of the time so they are not on their boat full time.

That leaves 140 boats of which about fifty are taken out of the marina by their owners for holidays and ten have owners who spend time in the marina on their boat but never take their boats out.

This means there are a lot of people who are paying between £200 and £300 a month mooring fees for a boat that is never used or visited. Some of them have been left for ten years or more.

My life in the Country

She and her DH are ok but she has closed her blog as she was tired of people trolling her.

Lazy day

Today we had no alarm set so got up late.

I did no washing and no cleaning.

Beano had a few short walks around the marina instead of one long walk, we were worried that the towpath would be busy if we walked later on.

I had a shower and did some more sewing, I still haven't drawn up the different scrubs top pattern, maybe tomorrow.

I'm lighting a candle every evening, thinking about all those suffering.

Another freebie.

There is a table near the marina office where people put stuff they no longer want.

Today as we walked by there was an unopened bottle of ginger wine. I love anything ginger, wine, beer, biscuits, cake and crystallized. 

The bottle is now in my fridge, I'll have a small glass tonight.

What a lot we saw.

As we set off for our one hour walk with Beano this morning I thought there was a broken umbrella right at the top of a tree.

Closer inspection proved it to be a conformant drying its wings, we often see them with their wings outstretched to dry but I've never seen one so high in the trees.

Also high in the trees the herons nest, they are strange looking birds.

We also saw a thrush, wagtail, blue tits, crows, blackbirds, sparrows, starlings, robins, Canada geese and ducks.

50 and counting

Thank you, the information is so very helpful.

Pic

First scrubs top, just needs hemming. Trousers tomorrow.

Says it all really!

The difference between people.

 50 and counting went to all the trouble of writing a list of information on how to make my scrubs as useful as possible. I knew that a drawstring waist was best rather than elastic but I was uncertain which of the many pockets provided in the pattern would be best to use.
Thanks to 50 and counting I now know which pockets to use and where to place them.

Anonymous, on the other hand is small minded, petty and spiteful and assumes I'm complaining because I've been caught out.  Exactly the sort of person who spends time reporting neighbours for any infraction. I know of at least two people who have been reported for going out unnecessarily when in fact they were going to work as key workers.

Kate, I love the thought of the farmer letting the bull loose in the field.


I have spent the afternoon wrestling with my first scrubs top. The pattern I ordered was out of stock so I was offered a substitution and accepted. The substitution called for jersey fabric as well as poly cotton which I don't have. So I spent some time re-draughting the pattern. The fabric I bought is good quality but all the seams need to be enclosed and I broke a couple of needles even though I was using denim needles.
I hadn't allowed for the deterioration in my eyesight so navy blue wasn't the best choice, hey ho. Of course I've done all this with Steve explaining to me where I'm going wrong!

They've arrived

My fabric and scrubs pattern.

Bad language

It's not easy living in close confines at the best of times and these aren't the best of times.

It can be a struggle supporting someone with mental health problems at the best of times and these aren't the best of times.

But I notice the "Be Kind" movement has been exchanged for the "let's attack everyone who isn't doing it my way" movement.

For fecks sake mind your own business, how about "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone"

There are pics around of people who are supposedly breaking the rules, in some of the pics the trees are in full leaf so are not recent pics.

Some people just like to cause trouble, they could no more be kind than they could shit on a sixpence!

An un-shopping list

Steve decided he wanted to do the shopping today. He's not happy with the stuff I buy. I don't buy enough crap.

So I wrote him a list, when he came out of the shop the trolley was full  of crap.  He had bought almost everything on the list. Unfortunately he also bought potatoes as I'd probably forgotten to put them on the list and also baked beans for the same reason.

We now have four bags of potatoes and 11 tins of baked beans.

Next week I shall write on the list don't buy any fecking potatoes or beans, we don't need any.

• Still I got my own back, we had jacket potatoes with baked beans tonight. Steve's not happy as there was no meat and a meal with no meat isn't really a meal.

I do love a freebie.

We went for a pump out on Friday, we bought a new gas cylinder, a new chimney brush as ours has been nicked or blown off the roof and we needed a bag of coal.

The coal was free as it was a split bag, it couldn't be sold in case it was under weight so we were given it. I do love a freebie.

I managed to save enough from my pension to transfer some money to DD2.

She was still in her probationary period when the lock down started, she hasn't got a contract so she is not getting paid. I can't help much but it's better than nothing.

Get a fecking grip!

The Canal and River Trust are being inundated with demands by boaters to close the towpath.

Some boaters are constantly phoning the police to report people walking on the towpath.

A boater has tried to stop people passing his boat by putting noticed up claiming he and his wife are in isolation, if they are then why are they both still working and shopping every day.

One boater has reported that 3700 people are passing her boat every day.
If she's looking out her window for ten hours a day that's 370 people an hour.
Considering where she is moored that is highly unlikely.

Some poor bugger is getting hundreds of emails complaining about the use of the towpath, I hope he's not trying to answer them all.

Hot Lips

I have a trout pout, in fact I have a hot trout pout.

No I haven't gone mad and had filler injections.

I'll tell you what happened.

I was walking Beano around the marina, at the same time a chap was walking his dog Gyp, she is a Jack Russell Staffy cross.

Beano and Gyp are great friends and there is no way to keep them apart once they've seen each other.

The two dogs were racing around chasing each other and then both ran straight towards me. I bent down to stroke them both as Gyp jumped up.

We met in he middle and Gyp managed to headbut me straight in the mouth.

It was a complete accident, Gyp is a lovely girl and just wanted a cuddle.

Peaceful day

Steve went to bed early yesterday, he stayed in bed most of today. He finally got up at 4pm but he stayed up only long enough to watch the news and eat a meal. He was back in bed by 7.

I've spent the day taking him sandwiches and drinks but I don't mind that. It's been nice not having him sat at the breakfast bar like a thunder cloud.

I've just watched an episode of GP's behind closed doors. One of the patients had kidney stones. It reminded me of the Christmas when my ex husband had kidney stones. His mother insisted that I'd caused the kidney stones by not cooking the turkey correctly!

Another day

Today started with a bang, literally, I took Beano out at sparrowfart o'clock as normal. He was just sniffing around, deciding which patch of grass to gift with his morning dump when someone fired a shotgun.
This happens a lot round here in posh Berkshire and Beano usually takes no notice. This time he took of towards home like a bat out of hell. Initially I thought he'd been hit as he was running on three legs, but on careful inspection I could find nothing and I think he just hurt his leg as he took off so fast. Beano was quite distressed, shaking and trembling, it was some time before he calmed down.

The day didn't get much better, Steve has a cold, lots of sneezing but no temperature, he is bad tempered and convinced he's at deaths door. Fortunately he spent the afternoon in bed which gave me a bit of a break. He wants me to buy a thermometer as he is convinced I'm lying about him not having a temperature.

This evening I was working on my tapestry when my phone rang. I put the tapestry needle down carefully on the table and answered my phone. Once I'd finished the call I looked for my needle, there was no sign of it. I do have others but needed to find it in case someone stood or sat on it.

Eventually I remembered that my phone case has a magnetic catch on it. Sure enough, there was the needle stuck to the case.

I'm not making scrubs because I'm generous, it's because I'm bored and desperately need things to fill my time.

Sewing Mamie, we could leave the marina but there are no mooring spaces available close enough. Usually all the boats move around but even the canal is now on lockdown