Sorted!

I injured my foot when I was a child, most of the time my foot doesn’t hurt, but sometimes, if I am not careful, or there is alot of rain it really hurts for a while.

Just because I am in my forties, my foot doesn’t miraculously heal, I still have to be careful with it, and not aggrivate it too much. When it hurts, i take care of myself, do things that ease the pain, knowing that in time, the pain will cease and I will be free again.

So what does my foot have to do with being forty and resolving my problems?

We all have human parents, some of us suffer in our childhoods. I sometimes get to thinking Shouldn’t I be over my childhood by now? Shouldn’t I be a strong, loving woman with high self esteem after all my therapy, self help reading and hard work? After all that I should have “sorted” things or “got over it now”

Sometimes my gremlin tells me “told you it did not work, you are right back where you started!” In a really high pitched whiny voice!

Those thoughts may lead me to feel a failure if the same issue comes round again. So not only do I have to have the same issue, but I also load on the guilt for “not sorting it” or “not getting over it”.

So instead I like to think of my rejection sensitivity is something that happens now and then, just like my foot. It hurts, sometimes it really really hurts, I need to give myself tender care for a while, nurture myself and know that the pain will ease, in time.

Maybe it will happen again, and maybe it won’t, who knows? It doesn’t mean I have failed.

It might not be something that works for others, but for me it helps.

with love

Spring has sprung!

What a lovely weekend, the sun was shining again, after the rain it was great to enjoy the sunny days.

The lovely Karen came over for a crafty evening in the shed on Friday; we made some very pretty photo frames using napkin decoupage. Haven’t quite decided what to put in mine, but they both looked lovely, Karen went home with her gorgeous poppy frame and here is mine.

I learnt napkin decoupage from my charming friend Anna; I made this little canvass when I visited her last week. It is so addictive, as you can get some very lovely effects; I have bigger plans so watch this space.

After our chicken keeping course last week, we decided to revamp the chicken coop (I think we are on the sixth revamp now, I am sure Clive enjoys the challenge and needs to get out his saw, nails and hammer!) We put them in a little run in the garden and they had a glorious dirt bath! They really love to lie on their backs, rolling around in the dirt, scooping it up with their wings. They make the most delightful cooing sounds while doing it!

Digging out the earth was no mean task, but it needed to be done, they now have a nice little grit box so they can bathe with ease! The only problem is that they could not find their bed when the time came so I had to gently put them to bed this evening when it got dark.

I tidied up the garden, which has not really recovered from the devastation of the free range chooks in September. I am also delighted to see my seeds are coming up nicely and will hopefully be ready for the beds in a couple of weeks. It is the first time I have used seeds, so this year I bought a little plastic green house, to see how it goes and maybe next year, (if I keep it up and it isn’t another of my five minute wonders!) We will buy a glass green house next year.

While out shopping with Karen on Saturday, I found a gorgeous pre loved Boden spring dress for a tenner! However I was a little disappointed to find it was a little tight! After my leg injury last year I put on a little weight, but I don’t seem to get the exercise I used to. After seeing the photo of me at the murder mystery I could not ignore it anymore! Clive has decided he wants to lose weight and as usual approached the challenge by purchasing an all singing all dancing weighing scales! It even has a USB option so you can put it on your pc and graph your weight loss! A fantastic device, it will even tell you how much water, fat and muscle you have! Unfortunately it told me that I now weigh more than I have ever weighed in my life!

As usual I have approached the challenge in my usual way, with an IPhone app! There is a wonderful one called get running. You are able to listen to music and it kicks telling you it is time to walk, then you have a minute of running. The idea is that you will be able to run 5k in six weeks, so we can only try! Just in case the app is not enough I have scheduled a run with my friend Julie tomorrow! Then at least I won’t be able to back out of it!

Happy Sunday!

By any other name!

I was out shopping last week with my gorgeous boy! It was his nineteenth birthday on Friday so we celebrated by shopping our hearts out! I know he is a talented hairdresser, but this creation was my attempt at seeing if blondes really do have more fun! (we had lots of fun in the wig shop!! I am still a very dark/mahogany brunette!) It was terrific fun and we giggled most of the day, unfortunately I did not get a picture of us at the hat store!

Easter Egg Tree

I saw this delightful tree in John Lewis on Thursday, I have always wanted one, as the simplicity of the little wire tree opens up a host of lovely ideas for the seasons. My gorgeous son Will bought it for me and the charming little birdies that are nesting within. (See if you can spot all three!). I had all the little yellow and pink eggs already, so it is nice to have a little tree to hang them on.

I am enchanted with this little object, and look forward to using it throughout the seasons but for now it heralds the joy and beauty of spring with all the new life.

.....

We were visiting our favourite tea shop after our chicken husbandry course today, and there was a lovely little girl who must have only just been around three. She had the most gorgeous pink wellie boots and pink flowery rain coat! It left me wondering, why do we as adults stop wearing bright colours? (I obviously haven't grown up as the lady at the course laughed when she saw my bright pink wellies and flowery raincoat) I hear so many of my friends and colleagues talk about wearing bright colours as if it is a shameful thing to do! One of the secretaries in our office coveted what she described as a beautiful pink coat, she wanted to buy it for her birthday. When she talked about it she was really animated and excited. A week or so later, I asked her about the coat and she said she looked at the sleeves and they were a bit puffy, so she talked herself out of buying it. She was also worried that everyone would stare at her if she wore a pink coat!

I was also talking to someone about their childhood and they told me about a lovely red coat they had as a child, it was their best coat and they only wore it on special occasions, so she only wore it twice before it was too small for her. Her mother passed it on to her cousin, who because it was second hand, was able to wear the coat every day!

So, don't save things for a special occasion, or worry about what other people think, you only have this moment, so wear your party pants and live!

Its a mystery!

Here we all are gathered for the Mystery of the Missing Clock! I enjoy playing these games as it gives me a chance to act and dress up! This was set aboard HMS Gigantic a year after the Titanic Disaster! I was playing a can can dancer, and as you can see we all got into the spirt of the thing!

It was a great evening, I can thoroughly recommend them, although make sure you invite your most extroverted friends, especially if they know each other! We usually buy the Murder a la Carte boxed games, this was one we purchased from the internet, and it was not as good. The characters were a little one dimensional, and the game was a little disjointed so I won't recommend them here, but as I say the boxed games are very good.

I won't tell you who the culprit was, just in case you fancy having a go yourself!

Happy Mother's Day

Oh what a lovely Mothers' Day, the sun was shining and the cold winds dropped and it was a lovely day for a walk on the beach! This is my lovely mum, we spent a really happy afternoon wandering along the shore chatting. I am so lucky to have her in my life. She is amazing, and only 72! Happy Mother's day

Feeling Hearty!

Perhaps it is because we have just celebrated valentines day,
but these little square canvasses caught my eye and
I found myself using a heart motif.
After that it became a little addictive.
(I seem to get an idea in my head and go over it again and again!)


It all started with this little heart,
I must have had these little roses for at least five years,
sitting on my shelf waiting;
then an idea struck to use these beauties to create a little heart.


Anna came round to the Shed on Sunday, she is such a lovely friend,
so easy to talk to! She made a beautiful earring frame,
while I created yet another heart canvass.
I love the combination of beads, hearts and pink paper.
I adore the indigo background but I love the sparkly glitter.






This is my attempt to move away from Pink,
so this is baby blue, sparkly blue admittedly!



All three of these little canvasses are
currently being exhibited locally
which is very exciting!


As it is Mel's birthday soon,
I thought I would make her a little heart canvass.
The words say, First the Dream,
because she would like to write a book, I am sure she will.
I hope she will keep this close to encourage her!



When Mel came round to the shed for our usual Writing (gossip) session,
my heart addiction was still going strong
so I suggested we have a crafty session instead!
Here is her lovely heart all done in a couple of hours!
I just knew there was an artist bursting to get out!