Bye Bye to Buy! Buy!

 

I’ve thought long and hard about committing to this. Basically for all of 2014 I will not be buying stuff, at all, nothing, nada – gulp!

 

 

I’ll be afflicted with empty trolley syndrome. There’ll be repercussions though,  Amazon’s profits will drop drastically, Ikea will have to lay off some of their lorry drivers and Appliances Online will be sending me a get well card. On the other hand my postie’s bad back should improve loads and I look forward to seeing him happily skipping down our road with a virtually empty bag.

 

Painting by Karen Hollingsworth

 

There are rules and exceptions to them -

Food and drink for me and pussycats and local wildlife – allowed.

Petrol and cut price rail travel – allowed.

The odd cup of coffee when I’m writing in internet cafe – allowed

I’m allowed to buy craft supplies for my business and if my laptop blows up I can get a replacement as it’s needed for my writing.

I’m not allowed to buy craft supplies for personal use though and if I want to make something I have to delve into my sizeable stash. The exception to this is my crochet flower afghan, I’m using up odds and ends of wool for the flowers part but I need white DK wool for the background so that’s on my permitted list.

 

All books will be borrowed from the library in person (no paying 60p a time in online reservation fees).

No clothes buying either as I have loads in my wardrobe and if I get a little bit more exercise in 2014 I can drag out the ‘one day I’ll fit into this’ clothes box from under the bed for even more choice!

Definitely no more buying of vintage sewing patterns – this is going to be a hard one to keep and there may be tears (lots). I’ll just have to make stuff from the patterns I already have.

 

 

No sweets, packets of biscuits or great big door step sized scones oozing thick melting butter and fruity jams. No I will simply turn my back on them (who am I kidding?).

A bit of a stern year ahead, but I do plan to have fun on the cheap in my own weird and wonderful way. And the reason for this adopted frugal lifestyle? I’m building my own beautiful little eco house, off the grid and as self sufficient as I can humanly make it!!

 

Slainte

 

Linda xx

An Indie Christmas

This year I’ve resolved to stay away from the High Street and not do any Christmas shopping in big name stores like M&S, Debenhams etc. Instead all my Chrissie pressies will either be handmade by me or bought from independent craft artists and sellers. I’d rather support a small business where the goods are well made and unique in style. For instance I’ve just bought something via a fellow Brit crafter – (can’t say at the moment what it is as the recipient of the pressie reads this blog and it’ll spoil the surprise). It arrived beautifully wrapped with a lovely little card. A small business owner who obviously takes pride in her work. Beats the pants off a cardboard box and miles of paper stuffed inside from Amazon, who I am sure will be sending me a get well card this year as I haven’t spent a single penny with them.

 

 

As a recipient of handmade gifts I love that the maker has thought enough of me to make something that he or she knows I will like. You can’t get that on the High Street. Actually you can’t even get parking on the High Street these days. My local council’s parking charges are so ridiculously high that they are doing real damage to small trader businesses.

 

So many family owned shops have disappeared over the last year. All those unusual quirky little shops gone for good and what we have left are the stores selling uniformity. Yuck, what a nightmare! As Ray Davies once sang “Here come the people in grey”

 

From the film “Metropolis - 1927”

So why give your local little one man or woman band business a try this Christmas and support someone’s dream. It’ll be a much more rewarding experience than filling the coffers of the Fat Cat Factory owners who don’t give a damn about products or people.

 

Slainte

 

Linda xxx

Watch the Birdie

Yesterday I took myself off to our local RSPB reserve for a bit of a wander with my bins. I’m impressed with myself cos I normally forget them and leave them on the kitchen counter. I think I might have picked the wrong day to go a visiting as there were hordes of people on the reserve – could have been a club outing. Probably about 5% of them were actually interested in the wildlife. I cannot for the life of me work out how groups of people all walking around a wildlife sensitive area with all the latest scopes and bins hanging off their bodies and gabbling at the tops of their voices expect to see any birds at all.
Or going to the other extreme when you are on your own and about to pass another single person when that person will put their head down or look into the distance and totally ignore you (I was dressed normally and wasn’t wearing anything scary – honest). Weird – I always give a cheery hello to everyone I pass. Had two of those yesterday.
Anyway despite the gabblers I managed to see some beautiful Teal wildfowl, loads of Canada Geese and Lapwing.

Pic Courtesy of UK Nature Blog

The deer were out in full force as well

But the icing on the cake was the sighting of a Peregrine falcon sitting high up in a tree overlooking the wetlands. She’s been a resident at the reserve for a couple of years now and this is her favourite spot. Sadly I didn’t have my long lens with me, so had to be content with looking at her with my bins.

Of all the birds of prey photos I’ve taken over the years this Peregrine pic is my favourite. That hooked beak is lethal!

Off now to make the tea and get cleared up before Amazing Spaces comes on – steady now Ilona!!!!

Slainte

Linda xx

Inertia

The dictionary definition of Inertia is “the tendency of a body at rest to remain at rest”. Just substitute the word ‘blog’ for ‘body’ and you have the previous state of this blog!

I think it was the shock of having another birthday that rendered me immobile/unable to write/find Windows Live Writer on my laptop. On my birthday I sat in a lovely garden with the sun shining on my face and basically that’s the last thing I remember – all is a blur since then. But now back on track. The first thing I did was catch up with Mean Queen’s brilliant blog. If you ever want an example of how to get off your backside and live a full life then read her blog. I don’t know how she fits half of it in.

Re the Birthday Giveaway, Sue you are the winner! So if you’d like to email me with your details I’ll send the little Kitty clutch off to you xxx

Tabikat is still with me and is thriving. For a cat that lived on the streets during the early part of his life, he is extremely good mannered. He’ll sit and wait for permission to jump up on my lap and at feeding time he sits patiently for his food. My other three that I’ve had since kittens jump all over the place and will sit on me without a by your leave. Lily has taken to trying to sit on my hands whist I’m typing. She is currently sitting on my right wrist as I’m writing this.

So chuffed with finding a 1960’s dress pattern the other day in a charity shop. All parts are there plus the instructions. Cost 50p. Yippee.

 

 

I find it amazing that something so fragile as a tissue paper sewing pattern has survived for 50 odd years.

 

I’ve recently started to watch George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces on C4. Such a brilliant programme. It features people who have built or converted incredible places to live and work. It’s well worth a visit to C4 to catch up. My favourites are The Cube, The Hive Haus and The Owl Shelter (this one was on last night’s programme).

 

 

Must dash now – just about to do something vaguely Steampunky!

 

Slainte

 

Linda xxx

My Birthday Giveaway!

It’s my –th birthday on 10th October and to celebrate (or commiserate) I’ll be giving away one of my  handmade silk clutch purses.

I’ve chosen the embroidered Playful Pussycat Purse.

I thoroughly enjoyed making her. She’s lined in a pale sea green silk, the outer layer is cream silk dupion.

So if you would like her please just leave a comment  below on why you like cats!!

I’ll make the draw on my birthday.

 

Slainte

 

Linda xx

Life’s a Beach

Why is being at the beach so good for my soul? I’d been carless for about a week (don’t ask!) and while I’m within walking distance of all the necessary amenities – post office, library, vet, pet shop, corner shop etc, the one place I couldn’t easily walk to was the beach and that really upset me to feel so cut off from it. So when my car was fixed yesterday the first place I promised myself I’d go to was the water’s edge.

 

It’s 9.00am and I’m sitting outside with a free coffee (those loyalty cards really pay off!) from the beach side cafe, watching a Cormorant sitting on a groyne drying its wings. Dogs of all shapes and sizes walking past me, dog walkers of all shapes and sizes walking past me. A lady at the next table glancing over at me, probably visually disturbed at the bright fuchsia colour of my fountain pen ink against the white paper.

 

 

The horizon out to sea is one lovely long unbroken line from east to west. I can’t see France from here but I can see clouds ranging in colour from pure snowy white to steely blue gray. The sun is weak but getting stronger poking through the clouds as it travels across the sky.

 

The cafe is starting to fill up with weekenders sauntering in to order their breakfasts. All the dogs here (it’s a dog friendly cafe) are ever hopeful of snaffling bacon sandwiches from their owners or other sympathetic diners.

I can be full of tension, nerves stretched tight like a drum skin but half an hour walking along the shore listening to the waves rolling in leaves me calm and I don’t consider it a proper walk unless I come back with wet feet and tiny pebbles between my tootsies!

 

 

I think this is a little Turnstone. There were loads of them on the beach this morning. They’re aptly named as they dart around turning over stones looking for food.

 

 

I have absolutely no idea what this is! It is a white gelatinous mass – possibly a jellyfish washed up. I gave it a prod with my toe and it wobbled a bit. I loved the shape of it. Could those be two eyes over on the left?

 

 

Now this house is just behind the green sward which separates it from the beach. It’s up for sale now, so if you fancy a holiday home and have £2.8m in loose change it could be yours. 

 

 

You can see how close it is to the beach. If you’d like a look inside see here. Enjoy!!

 

Slainte

 

 

Linda xx

Simply Red

I’ve been away for a few days concentrating on some aeronautical engineering and here is the result!

 

 

 

Okay, he might not make it into the Red Arrows but I love him anyway! ‘Little Red’ is part of my “Complete All My UFO’s Before I Buy Any More Yarn”  project. He’s been languishing at the bottom of a bag in my wardrobe for yonks. I’m so pleased I’ve finished him as he makes me smile when I look at him.

 

More Red. I decided to treat myself to another of Button Meadows crochet hooks. This time I’ve gone for a nice red and white spotty one.

 

 

Again, something to make me smile while I’m finishing another one of my projects.

 

Not red, but just a pretty summer daisy chain. I enjoyed making it but I don’t think I’ll be doing another one – far too many ends to weave in!

 

Slainte

 

Linda xx

Experiences are Cooler than Stuff

I’m almost at the end of another de-cluttering session. When I say session I mean a period of about 4 or 5 days over the last month. Most of the things I’ve been getting rid of have generated thoughts like “What was I thinking?” or “WTF!”.

Then I got to thinking about those days spent moving my stuff around, the time spent deciding what to do with it, the petrol spent ferrying unwanted bags of it to charity shops and the totally knackered and unrecyclable to the dump. All that time and energy devoted to stuff. It wasn’t productive time or fun time, although there was the satisfaction of seeing a pristine empty space at the end of it all. But what if I didn’t have that stuff to begin with, what if the money I spent on it had bought experiences instead? £15 spent on a few magazines could have bought admission to a beautiful garden on a lovely day with enough left over for a coffee or two. Then I would have had the experience and memories of sniffing roses (I can’t keep my nose out of them – I see a rose, I’ve got to sniff it), chatting to fellow visitors, snapping away at a few favourites and getting inspiration for my own flower beds.  Instead my £15 bought me some shiny printed paper which is currently languishing at the bottom of my recycling bin.

Me after my first Gliding lesson

£30 for a glossy coffee table book on photography could have been put towards the petrol for a pre dawn trip to the Jurassic Coast to photograph Durdle Door at sunrise. You probably get where I’m going with this.  The money used to buy pointless stuff could have bought something much more precious instead – memories, a connection with people and nature. Where is the money now? On it’s way down the road in a huge refuse lorry.

My lovely blog friend Ilona of Mean Queen fame has the right idea. She regularly goes on what she calls a ‘Bimble’. She picks a location and either walks or drives to it and then has a bimble around looking at local landmarks, she chats to practically everyone she meets and records her experiences on her camera for her blog. She’s got hundreds of followers eager to read what she’s been up to. I don’t think any of us would read her blog if all she posted about was what she read in a magazine or how much stuff she bought last week (actually she’s far too canny to spend her money on rubbish). No, all we want to read about are her experiences, to feel that connection when she writes about somewhere we’ve been to as well.

My first Bungee jump - backwards!

Me hanging around in space

Coming back down to earth and raring to do it again!

So why do we fill our lives with stuff? Have we been lazy and not worked out life for ourselves? Have we handed our decision making over to advertising companies who tell us our lives would be better if we bought x, y or z. I can tell you that x, y or z can’t give you a hug when you’re feeling down, selflessly leave you the last choccy biccie or leave a romantic post it on the fridge door. I’m now looking at my lovely empty spaces and I’m determined to fill them with laughter, clinking coffee cups and spontaneous ukulele lessons.

Slainte,



Linda xx

And I’m Not Very Good at Picking Lottery Numbers Either!

Just watched Doctor Who live to find out that Peter Capaldi has won the coveted sonic screwdriver.

 

Whilst I’m DEEPLY disappointed that Benedict Cumberbatch won’t be thrilling us in time and space, I think Peter will be excellent. I thought he was great in Torchwood and he has appeared in Doctor Who as Caecilius in The Fires of Pompeii with David Tennant. A real character actor.

 

But to console myself and Compostwoman here is another photo of Benedict….

 

And one of my all time favourite Doctor Who pre the Russell T Davies productions

 

 

Slainte

 

Linda xxx

All Will Be Revealed on Sunday

Of course I am referring to the identity of the new Doctor Who. The BBC are screening a special edition of The One Show on Sunday at 7pm. The new Doctor will be revealed then.

 

 

I have no idea who they’ll pick, however I am hoping with all my digits crossed that he (has to be a he I’m afraid) will be Benedict Cumberbatch. I think he’d make a great Doctor and after all he did get a bit of sci fi training in the last Star Trek film.

 

 

It is a long shot I know as he’s filming the new Sherlock series at the moment and he can’t be in two places at the same time….or could he??

 

Apparently Ben Daniels and Peter Capaldi are also favourites for the role. If I had to go for second and third choices they would be Richard Armitage and Rupert Penry-Jones.

 

 

 

I do trust the judgement of Steven Moffat the lead writer and executive producer of Doctor Who and I know whoever he picks I will like. I find it so heartening to know that such a fuss is being made of this programme. I cried buckets when Michael Grade, Director General of the BBC gleefully axed it due to his personal dislike of the Doctor. What goes around comes around Mr G.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/doctorwho/articles/The-Next-Doctor-will-be-revealed-on-Sunday-04-August

 

Slainte

 

Linda xx

There’s a New Hooker in Town!

And here she is…..



I treated myself to a new crochet hook (apologies to anyone hoping to find reference to anything less wholesome!)

This pretty little crochet hook is made by Sue at ButtonMeadow. There are quite a few different designs and I know I’ll be treating myself to a few more as time goes on. I like the red and white spotty one. I did a test run last night and crocheted the blue rose you see above. It was lovely and light to use and very comfortable to hold in the hand. Do pop in and have a wee look at her shop.






Slainte

Linda xxx

Thames River Trip

Totally unplanned trip on the Thames in London yesterday. I was going to do something else but it was such a beautiful day and the prospect of sitting on a boat in the sun on the Thames was too good to miss. So this is almost a wordless post!!

 

The stunning Battle of Britain Memorial by Westminster Bridge. So clever and effective to model it on a ‘Scramble’

 

Canary Wharf

 

The Cutty Sark at Greenwich

 

The London Eye

 

The wonderful replica of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre

 

The Shard – I adore this building

 

The Tower of London

 

The Trinity Hospital Almshouses – beautiful building

 

Quantum Cloud Sculpture by Anthony Gormley. Can you see the shape of a man inside it?

 

The Emirates Air Line Cable Cars over the Thames

 

The O2 Centre

 

Half a boat – don’t ask, I have no idea why anybody would want to slice a boat in half!

 

The Thames Barrier

 

Thames Barrier close-up.

 

Fantastic trip and thanks very much to my dear friends Graham and Jan who made it possible and always spoil me when I come up to London and who also let me hug their cats (lots!).

 

Slainte

 

Linda xxx