Summer Breeze!!!

There is a very slight breeze here this morning....subtle but it's there....so I have braved opening the curtains and windows to let some of it in.
It's still 28.5C in the house but it does feel much better than yesterday which was horrendously hot.
Jobs have been done this morning and the kitchen is all sparkly and clean ready for my visitors and I am just waiting for Andy to get up so that I can go and hoover upstairs and change the bedding. Usually when he finishes for his annual leave he doesn't bother going to bed but Sod's Law he will be stuck there until tea time today.

We have very loose plans for the weekend depending on the weather but at some point we need to take Ruby shopping for her football boots, shin pads and gum shield that she needs for her new school. The list of stuff she has to have is huge so Andy and I said we would help out.
Marlowe will also be starting pre-school and she has to have a uniform too. My goodness she will look cute in that and although I don't want their Summer break to fly by I can't wait to see the first day of school pictures.
Sunday will be a definite family lunch at the pub day albeit a later one as they were pretty booked up. That suits all of us except Andy who likes his lunch at 12 on the dot.

So here's to a fabulous weekend with my little munchkins and I hope you all have a great one too.
There probably won't be much in the way of posts now until Monday so see you then.
Sheila-x-

Wilting!!!

Today in Staffordshire we have predicted temperatures of 32C and it is already 29.5C in the sewing room...yuck.
I will not be doing much as I need to squirrel away some energy for the weekend.
A nice gentle day of stitching by the fan with a cold drink.

I hope Andy manages to get some sleep as he has not long come in from a night shift. He hasn't slept well all week.
Only one more shift to do tonight and then he is on annual leave for a fortnight. He is so ready for it.
We're not going away but will have some days out and some days tidying up in the back garden. It will be nice to spend some quality time together.
DD is off too but she will be spending the week getting ready for a few days away.

Sunday will be a family lunch at the pub with DS and DDIL to hand back the girls after their weekend stay. I was going to do another lunch in the garden as we did for DS's birthday but apparently it's going to rain so not a good idea.

I had best get off and book the table now that I know they are definitely coming.

Keep cool today.
Sheila-x-

Busyness!!!

Sorry for the lack of posts the last few days but I am up to my ears in busyness getting the house ready for my two little visitors at the weekend.
Ruby is coming to stay Friday night on her own and then she will stay Saturday night along with Marlowe who will be having her first ever sleepover at Ganma's....she is so excited.
To round off the weekend before delivering them home we will take them out for lunch.
A weekend full of lovely 😁

Today is supposed to turn very hot this afternoon so I am saving the job of cleaning out the fridge until then....I'm not daft....lol. Can't think of anything better than having my head stuck in the fridge on a baking hot afternoon.

Meals are continuing to be very simple with the oven being used for the shortest times possible.
Today will be a cold Spanish omelette with salad to use up any leftovers in the fridge.

There is still cross stitching going on and I have just started a new Christmas chart which is looking lovely. I have a few completed pieces now which I need to rinse and iron before I decide on how to finish them and once I have gathered all the things I need to do that I will have a day of just finishing which should be fun.
I'm so glad that I was inspired to start cross stitching again.

Well sitting here won't get me omelette made will it....lol......so I shall go and have a root in the fridge and get started.

Have a wonderful day.
Sheila-x-

A Day Full Of Lovely!!!

Yesterday was just one of the nicest days.
Just after Andy had gone to work the phone rang and I fully expected it to be a cold caller.....but no......it was an old friend I haven't seen or heard from in ages.....she was passing nearby and wondered if she could call in....well heck yes 😀
We had a fabulous hour or three catching up and I got to meet her new dog who was absolutely gorgeous.
Into me posh clobber and out of the house by six to go and see Ruby in her last school play. Oh it was so good.....a little bit of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, lots of fairies and some beautiful songs.
DD and I hadn't eaten before we went out so she said that as I was in me posh she would treat me to a meal out to make the most of it and we got home just after Andy at gone 9pm.

Today has been quite a bit cooler with plenty of rain for the garden which made it much more comfortable to get some jobs done this morning and I have just come down from a lovely bath that has soothed my aching shoulders....bliss!!!

Now I have an hour or so to stitch before I prepare our evening meal.
I am one happy bunny 😀

Hope you have all had a fabulous day.
Sheila-x-

Just One Cold Day...Please!!!

I am so over this heat now and I would love just one cold day to rack my energy levels up a bit and to not feel like my clothes are strangling me. DD and I are finding that the new sofa and chairs are not conducive to evening tv watching while it is so warm so there is absolutely zero snuggling going on and I miss going to bed with my hot water bottle.
I am a Winter girl through and through.

Household jobs are getting done in a rather flopsy manner with more than usual breaks for cold drinks and life behind closed curtains is becoming rather boring as I try to keep the house cooler.

Andy is still demanding cooked meals at lunchtime. I cannot persuade him to have salad no matter how hard I try. This is one thing I won't miss when he retires in September.

Looking forward to seeing Ruby later this afternoon and as usual there is chicken on the menu....fajitas today with a lovely cool salad....bliss......followed by fruit in jelly with ice cream....but not for me as I'm not a fan of jelly unless I really, really fancy it.

So....I will go and chop up some salad and run the hoover over then I can stitch for an hour until she arrives.

Hope you are having a great day today.
Sheila-x-

Another Weekend Gone!!!

I did the mad thing again yesterday and had the oven on for a roast lunch. Luckily it was quite a bit cooler so not quite as hot as I expected in the kitchen. The afternoon got pretty warm but by then lunch was over and done with.

We went a wander up to the garden centre after lunch for a bit of fresh air and I came away with bargains in the shape of several heavily reduced Dylon dyes from the craft shop to add to my collection for dying my cross stitch fabrics.
We sat and had a cone of local farm ice cream (naughty but very nice) while admiring the most beautiful vintage car parked on the car park.

I didn't start the laundry when I got back as I just couldn't be bothered so that is being done now with a bit of stitching in between loads.
Andy is on afternoon shifts so that means lovely simple meals in the evenings for DD and I. Today will be two small slices of toast with Mexicana cheese and a side salad to clear out the salad drawer before I go and replenish it tomorrow.
The Mexicana cheese is a recent discovery for us and is absolutely delicious......cheese on toast with a good old kick to it....lol.....as it contains jalapeno chillies.

Something is beeping in the kitchen so that will be another load done.
Do all these beeping things drive you nuts?
The fridge beeps if I leave the door open too long, the washing machine beeps as does the microwave....grrrrrr!!!

Have a lovely day.
Sheila-x-

Sitting By An Open Window!!!

I was up late this morning as I only just fell asleep as it was getting light after another hot and bothered night.
I do so loathe this heat.
This morning though there is a very slight cool breeze which I am taking full advantage of by sitting by the open window and sipping my morning tea.
It is quite lovely.
For the moment the house is blissfully quiet as Andy and DD are both out. I have no plans to go anywhere today and only have a few jobs to complete before I can get back to my stitching which I am finding so relaxing that I don't know why I ever stopped doing it.

The peace is shattered....Mr Whirlwind is back (now I know where Marlowe gets it from...lol) and causing mayhem in my kitchen.....I'll add clearing up after him to my list then.

Hope you all have a lovely and peaceful weekend.
Sheila-x-

I Must Have Been Quite Mad.......!!!

.......to have done a cooked meal last night....crikey it was hot in that kitchen.
Salad all the way today as it is already 26C in the sewing room.

The girls were an absolute dream while they were here. I was worried Marlowe wouldn't eat her tea but I needn't have been.......she loved her chicken pie and ate so many carrots I thought she'd turn orange....lol.
They are so different my girls....Ruby avoids veg like the plague but Marlowe hoovers it up....cooked or raw....she doesn't mind as long as there is some at least with her meal.
Her request for tea on sleepover day at the end of the month....fish fingers and salad.....bless her.

I have a couple of jobs that could be done today but they are upstairs and involve a little noise. Andy is in bed so they will have to wait.......and once I have had a quick tidy in the living room the day is mine. I think it will be a stitching day with maybe a bit of a nanna nap this afternoon as I was up way too early this morning after a hot and bothered night.
First though I need some breakfast, a coffee and a read of my newspapers.

Have a fabulous day.
Sheila-x-

It's Looking Like Another Good Day!!!

It's warm and dry but very little in the way of sun today although the light outside is that weird bright that makes you squint.
I'm happy though. The last load of laundry for this week is whirring around in the machine and while I am waiting for that to finish I have a big bowl of dye on the side with aida fabric soaking to turn it from white and cream into a gorgeous grey that will be perfect for some wintery stitching.
I'd like to have a good collection of dyes so that I can make my fabrics whatever colour I like and don't have to trawl the internet looking for just the right colour as I can never find just what I want.

Tomorrow will be named Whirlwind Wednesday as Marlowe is coming for tea along with Ruby. Oh my....that little girl is an actual whirlwind.....she is never still unless she is asleep. 
It will be fun.....once I have Marlowe-proofed the house....lol.

Right....I will go and see if that fabric has taken up enough colour and give a rinse and an iron and it will be all ready for use when I have finished my current project.

Have a lovely day.
Sheila-x-

Rain Did Not Stop Play!!!

Well I think the weekend was about the nicest I have had for ages.....even though we had some rain.
On Saturday DD and I decided to venture over the border into Cheshire and visited Dagfields Antique and Craft Centre. We hadn't been there for years as my main reason for going used to be the card and paper supplier when I was cardmaking and DD's reason was for the huge book shop.
It has changed a lot. The book shop is still there although not the card and paper supplier.
We found an absolutely awesome vintage shop with an amazing range of vintage sewing notions.....jars and jars full of sewing threads and buttons. There were vintage linens, kitchenware, garden tools and so much more. DD almost had to drag me out as I could have stayed in there all day.
It was a little disconcerting though to see things I bought and used as a newly wed and as a young mother now classed as vintage.....lol.......and costing probably ten times what they cost when they were first bought.
Andy will be on annual leave in a couple of weeks and he says he will take me back then for a good look around as he finds those kind of shops interesting too.

On the way back we called at Bridgemere Garden Centre for a cup of tea and a visit to Hobbycraft where the bargain of the day was found in the form of Anchor embroidery threads being sold off at 50p per skein. I duly relieved them of sixty six skeins 😁the poor lad at the till nearly had a heart attack when he saw them all and decide to count them and put them through the till that way rather than scan them individually...lol.

Sunday was just home based although we did go out for lunch which was really lovely and this morning I have been for my blood test, been weighed.......no gain or loss so I am happy with that and blood pressure was checked and is fine.
So....all in all a good few days. Let's hope it continues for the week.

Today I am finishing off the laundry I started yesterday and tea will be very simple.....pork skewers with a salad and some parmesan and garlic roast potatoes....yum, yum.

Hope you have all had a lovely weekend.
Sheila-x-

Keeping Cool!!!

It's a tad warm here today....27C in the sewing room before the sleep was even rubbed from my eyes this morning but it has now settled to 26.5C.
I am up to date on jobs so today is day for me and I will be stitching with the curtains closed and a cool drink to hand. The curtains have to be closed to stop the sun flash on the cars down the road which bounces into my eyes and nearly blinds me.

Ruby was thrilled with her fairy skirt and it fit perfectly so I am one happy Ganma. I'll get to see it action when we go to watch the play. That will be quite a sad day as it will be her last performance at this beautiful school.....she leaves the day after the play.
She enjoyed her induction days at her new school and was full of news and excitement when she came for tea.

If it's not too hot at the weekend I may venture out for an airing if DD fancies it. I'm not sure where we'll go yet but it will be something to look forward to and it will be a nice easy weekend as I won't be cooking Sunday lunch....Andy has booked us a table at the pub 😁

Have you got anything nice planned for the weekend?
Hope you have a fabulous one whatever you are doing.
Sheila-x-

A No Sew Woodland Fairy Skirt!!!

The skirt is done and I think it turned out pretty good.........

........and no sewing involved at all.

I just need to try it on the fairy herself and maybe adjust the waist a little.

The little things hanging from the hook are the wristlets that were asked for.

I hasten to add that she will be wearing leggings under the skirt....lol.

.....and while I am showing that pic I will also show the set of Halloween cross stitch pictures I did............

I'm still trying to decide how to turn them into a finished piece. I love them but I am definitely off pumpkins for life after stitching that lot.

So looking forward to seeing Ruby today and hearing about her first induction day at the new school she will be going to in September. I'm not sure if she has had a hot dinner or pack up so I am hedging my bets and doing hot lamb koftas with a side salad and a crusty roll. I think she'll like that.
I will not be partaking of any salad today as I seem to have developed a bit of a reaction to it and have spent all night in the bathroom. This has happened a few times lately.....always when I have had salad....even just a small side salad. Goodness knows what I shall do if I can't eat it any more 😟

Just a bit of tidying to do and the hoover to run over then I shall have an hour on my new cross stitch before the munchkin arrives.

Hope you are having a lovely day in the sunshine.
Sheila-x-

A Bitting And Bobbing Day!!!

Today I have a few odd jobs to clear up. I need to finish Ruby's skirt for the play so that she can take it home tomorrow and I have to take up two pairs of trousers for Andy.....oh how I hate that job. These must be the longest I have ever had to shorten......they need eight inches cutting off before I hem them.
There are also the sofa blankets to wash and put away.
I'm glad there are no heavy jobs to do as it is so warm today. There's not much sun to see but there is a warm breeze blowing through the windows.

Last night we just had a quick sandwich for tea before going out so I don't have to think much for tonight....we'll have the chicken strips and salad we were going to have......one brain cell saved for another day....lol.

Now I have to butcher two metres of fabric by tearing it into strips to attach to a waistband for the woodland fairy skirt so I had best go and get on with that. I hope this works as I haven't a clue what else I can do.

Hope you are all having a smashing day.
Sheila-x-

Three Days Gone In A Flash!!!

I meant to blog every day of the last three days but you know what it's like....life got in the way as usual.
The weekend has been a mixture of shock and anger regarding BIL's situation, nice things and this morning a very aggravating time with Mr Tea Towel.
There were plans to be doing some sorting out upstairs today ready for a mega sleepover with both of the girls later on in the month but I just thought 'sod it' and have spent the last couple of hours making headway on a new cross stitch and I am now down off the ceiling and somewhat calmer.....lol.

Nice things.......we needed a new tv and as luck would have it Andy got his half yearly bonus from work so we now have a rather large one sitting in the living room. It's so big that I can watch it without my glasses on......in fact I think I'd still be able to see it if I went and sat at the bottom of the road....lol. It's a 'smart' tv whatever that means and has way too many buttons on the remote for me to fathom out so there will be no daytime watching until I get the hang of it.....not that I do anyway.

I've not given a thought to what DD and I are having for our tea today. It will be something quick and simple like chicken strips with a pea shoot and piccolo tomato salad. I'll see what she feels like when she comes in.
After tea I need to go out and do a top up shop which was going to be done this morning but we had the plumber here fixing a leak so there was no time.

Anyhoo I had best get off and run the hoover over before DD gets home.

Hope you are all having a lovely day.
Sheila-x-