Succinct

Yoo hoo!

How have you been?

Other than a grotty cold (me, courtesy of Blondie daughter), all's well here.

I'd like to take you back (20-ahem-something years) to my school days if I may and tell you about my English Literature teacher, Mrs Thomas, also my form teacher.  She was small, dumpy, bespectacled, highly intelligent and completely self-obsessed.  She used to like the sound of her own voice so much that she had permanent froth around her mouth - you know, at the corners?  The only make-up she wore was crimson lipstick (which made the froth more obvious).  She had extremely short cropped brown hair and ginormous bosoms.  I don't think she ever liked me.  I certainly didn't like her.  The fact that she inflicted Chaucer on me was reason enough.  I used to while away her lessons marvelling with fascination/repulsion that she had managed to find a husband who was happy to 'do it' with her - and only her - for the rest of his life.

Anyway, Mrs Thomas used to consistently say of me "Heather has the inability to be succinct.  She is far too flowery."

She used to use a thick red pen to strike through the 'irrelevant' parts of my paragraphs, leaving only the bare facts.

Yeah, right.

Ok, so maybe I do chunter on a little but that's no bad thing surely?

Back to now, since we last spoke, I have been doing a little bit of this and a little bit of that.  The danger is though, you see, it having been a while since I posted, I am tempted to drone on a bit and regale you with the unnecessary and uninteresting.  So, with Mrs Thomas and her enormous boobies in mind, (wherever you are you old ratbag), I give you an unflowery and succinct recap on what I've been up to in the last week ...

A little DIY ...

(If I weren't being succinct, I'd remind you that I'd bought this lovely shelf unit last summer from a local house sale for the princely sum of £10.  Up until this week, it has been languishing unloved in our garage.  I thought I'd best rescue it before D starts putting his man gubbins on it!)

Some thrifting ...

(If I weren't being succinct, I'd say that my heart skipped a beat when I spotted this Aynsley china posy to add to my ever-expanding collection; it's in such beautiful condition.)

(If I weren't being succinct, I'd tell you that I love, love, love this little jug.  The price?  20p from a car boot sale!  Are the flowers dog roses?)

(If I weren't being succinct, I'd let you know that this is actually a pair of vintage handmade curtains. There must be about 4 metres of fabric and, at £1.99, I couldn't not buy them!)

A trip to the hairdresser ...

(If I weren't being succinct, I'd tell you that I ALWAYS have highlights put in in May, I call it my 'summer hair'.  I've gone more copper than blond this year.)

Done a little crochet ...

 (If I weren't being succinct, I'd say that I was making slow but steady progress with my dear old blanket.  I've done 28 rows and am aiming for about 100.  The Sublime Baby Cashmere is a complete dream to crochet.)

Had some treats in the post ...

(If I weren't being succinct, I'd tell you that lovely Lynda, Hookin With LaaLaa, and I have done a little pressie swapsie.  She mentioned that she loved a particular pair of my handmade earrings so I sent her some and she, in turn, sent me the most wonderful package of goodies.  So wonderful, in fact, it is worthy of it's own blog post.)

Phew, it's hard being succinct.

See ya.
(If I weren't being succinct, I'd wish you all a fantabulous weekend, I'd thank all new followers for deeming me worthy and say that I love reading each and every comment even if I am a little behind in replying personally.)

H♥

PS.  My name is Heather and I am incapable of being succinct.  Up yours Mrs T.

Oh Sweet Saturday ...

... all about a little of what you fancy.

♥

From The Ridiculous To The Sublime!

Hello friends.  I do hope I find you well.

Do you like my rose?  It's sitting in an Ikea 'milk bottle' on the mantelpiece.  As I walk past the lounge, I find myself popping my head in and gazing at it.  A bit naughty really, but I cut it from my patio rose tree which only has eight flowers in bloom so far - I couldn't resist bringing some of it's prettiness inside.

The blondies both started at their new schools last Wednesday and seem to be settling in so well.  At the end of the first day, Blondie daughter came out beaming from ear to ear and arm-in-arm with her new best friend, which delighted me enormously.  Blondie son is still finding his feet a little with his school - it's large and modern (I think he's gotten lost a couple of times) but he says he is enjoying it.  Both were very chirpy this morning which I think can only be a good sign!!

Anyway, I wanted a little chat about crochet and yarn if that's okay?

It's funny, before I stepped over the threshold of Blogland, I had absolutely zero interest in crochet at all.  To me, it was something done by old ladies with itchy oatmeal wool.  Two of the very first blogs I encountered were Lucy's rainbow world at Attic 24 (synonymous with crochet, say no more) and Vanessa's Coco Rose Textiles.  Both were creating such crocheted gorgeousness I NEEDED to learn!  Vanessa had not long taught herself to crochet and was extremely encouraging.  That was the beginning of last year.  I did teach myself but, since then, I've been a bit like a child in a sweetie shop.  There are so many beautiful colours of yarn, so many pretty things I wanted to make, I think I got myself into a bit of a pickle.  I would buy the odd couple of balls of yarn here and a few more there; I would start a project, lose interest or run out of yarn and completely forget what I was using and where I got it from.  I had little baskets or bags of 'works in progress' dotted around the house.  All this is quite unlike me in some ways.  I am meticulously organised when it comes to my jewellery beads and findings ...

Anyway, enough was enough so, last week, I had a jolly ruthless sort out.  I've unravelled a fair few 'WIPs' I know I will never finish, I've gifted a few odd balls of yarn to Blondie daughter and neatly categorised the rest!!

This, I have decided dear friends, is where my little old blog will come in extremely useful!!!  One thing Lucy does on her blog which I absolutely love is to include the details of each crochet project.  That way, she has a permanent 'crochet log' to which she can refer.  Also, of course, you may well see a particular yarn in a particular colourway that inspires you too.

So, here goes ...

Project 1 : Crocheted Striped Blanket

Started : May 2011

Hook Size : Starting Row 5mm, Remaining Rows 4.5mm

Stitches In A Row : 200

Pattern : None, random!

Yarn :  Sublime Baby Cashmere Merino Silk dk and Cashmere Merino Silk dk from here.

Colours : (top row, left to right) 158 Ladybug, 122 Honey Bunny, 195 Puzzle, 194 Seesaw Blue, (bottom row, left to right) 048 Cheeky, 130 Fleur, 103 Jelly, 125 Bathtub.

Don't you think it's a good idea?

Right, I'm off to catalogue my knicker drawer now ...

Have a lovely evening.

H♥

Ooh, I've just realised this is my 100th post!!!  I think I can feel a little giveaway coming on! :-)

4 Years ...

This is my baby girl ...

We bicker, she answers back, she is INCREDIBLY messy ...

but she is the light of my life.

She is 9 years old but still looks like a baby when she is fast asleep with her arms above her head and her cheeks flushed pink.

I adore her and couldn't begin to imagine life without her.

I'm not a perfect mummy.  I don't think any mummy is.

Four years ago, Madeleine McCann was snatched from her holiday apartment in Praia Da Luz in Portugal.

Madeleine will be 8 years old on 12th May.



Whatever your thoughts about the circumstances surrounding her disappearance, please spare a thought.  For her parents.  For her brother and sister.  Most importantly, for her.

Wherever you are Madeleine, I hope you're safe and being nurtured.  You're not forgotten sweetie.

xxx