tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34978895147207882302024-03-18T16:00:19.433-07:00johnnyjumpsupjohnnyjumpsuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08474137444822527332noreply@blogger.comBlogger1911125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497889514720788230.post-59820840203622653662024-03-17T05:11:00.000-07:002024-03-17T05:11:22.941-07:00A Varied Week and a Fabric Stash Count - W/E 16th March 2024<p>This week has been quite a mixed one. It started off with some bad news for LB. There was another incident at her Uni halls, which shook things up. She was away at the time with her work placement, which I am grateful for to be honest. </p><p>The weather was filthy on Sunday, grey and rainy all day and night. Horrible. I'm over all of this rain, although I know we need it to replenish the water table. Despite the rain, OH and our neighbour managed to get a few more fence panels up, which was good.</p><p>I was working on Sunday afternoon, so after a leisurely morning sewing and pottering, I headed off to work. It was not as crazy busy as the previous Sunday had been, so passed without incident. I even left a bit early. </p><p>LB, meanwhile, was travelling back from the event she'd been to over the weekend, but unfortunately the minibus got a puncture and they had to call the RAC, who came out to them. Luckily, they were at a service station and not on the motorway, which was something else to be grateful for.</p><p>As a consequence, she was home later than expected, so OH and I picked her up from the drop off point and brought her home. It was good to get her home, especially as it sounded like she'd had quite a manic weekend. She needed to rest and get a good night's sleep before heading back to Uni the next day.</p><p>On Monday morning, LB packed up and headed back to Uni. I dropped her off at the station and then took the dog to a different place we don't often go to for a walk, which made a change. It was another grey and depressing day. I'm really looking forward to some sunshine now, when we do eventually get any.</p><p>Later, I did the weekly shop locally, as I was due to work in the evening. The time flew by and after putting away the shopping and having some lunch, it was time to get ready and go to work.</p><p>On Tuesday morning, I'd booked into my usual class. I made sure to book the day after last week's class and got a place easily for once. It felt good to go back. I did appreciate it more for missing the previous week's class. Three sessions in the gym in one week was too much for me, I prefer a bit of diversity in my exercise regime.</p><p>After returning from the class and having lunch, I decided to hole myself up in the sewing room and do an audit of my fabric stash, which I posted about earlier in the week. It was an interesting and enlightening process, when you actually quantify your fabric collection.</p><p>On Wednesday, I had a quiet day at home. I just didn't really want to go anywhere. OH took the dog out and dropped in at the allotment to plant some potato seeds and then when he returned, we moved a few things around in the garden to straighten things up after work was done on the fence at the weekend.</p><p>I spent the rest of the day working on my Hexi Star patchwork project and then continuing with the fabric count I'd started the day before. This time, I tackled the fullest drawer of fabric. It felt very satisfying to get this one done. The remainder of my stash is divided between various locations in the sewing room, so it will be a case of working my way around the room, digging out, measuring and documenting every piece. There's no real hurry to complete the count, so I'll just do a bit here and a bit there when I've got some spare time and the inclination, until it's all been accounted for. I'm quite enjoying the process, but spending at most a couple of hours at a time on it is quite enough.</p><p>Later, on Wednesday evening, OH and I watched a good film on Netflix called Infinite Storm.</p><p>Thursday, was a busy day. When I got up, I needed to I take my 4 weekly body measurements and selfies, as part of documenting my fitness/weightloss journey. My weight loss has once again slowed down this last week, which is disappointing, but I guess that's just part and parcel of the process. I still lost 1/2 lb and my measurements reduced very slightly, but I just have to be patient and consistent and hopefully things will continue to move in the right direction. After having lost 2 and a half stone since last June, I'm down to losing the last 10 or 11 pounds to reach my preferred weight goal and I kind of expect it to be more difficult at this stage and possibly take much longer. I may need to change some of the things that I'm currently doing to get the eventual outcome that I'm hoping for.</p><p>After doing the above, I took the dog out for a walk and then after lunch, I booked a gym session and headed off there.</p><p>In the evening, OH and I had been invited to an art exhibition opening night, by an artist friend of his, so we headed into town for that, which was quite exciting, as I've never actually been to one before. It was taking place in Soho in Central London, so we got the train and tube to Oxford Circus and had a nice walk around the area on our way to the event.</p><p>It was a nice sociable evening meeting and talking to people I didn't know well. After the opening, we retired to the pub for an hour with everyone and then headed off on our own to get something to eat before coming home.</p><p>On Friday morning, I came across an interesting course that I fancied studying locally, whilst scrolling Instagram. Sometimes doomscrolling can have positive outcomes. I applied for the course. It starts in April through to July and it's a Level 2 qualification. I won't give details yet, I'll wait and see if I get onto it. It's not too expensive for what it is and I may be able to get help with the cost, or possibly even pay it in installments over 10 months, which might be a good option.</p><p>Once I'd eventually got up, I needed to pick up the car from where we'd left it near the train station the night before, so I took the dog for a walk and picked it up en route. Meanwhile, our neighbour had rented another van and he and OH loaded it with all the rubbish and debris from the fence replacement work and took it to the tip. They then put up the rest of the new fence. It was nice to come back to a completed fence, no rubbish cluttering up the decking and and raised beds newly unearthed and ready to sew some salad seeds into. Here's a picture of the progress:</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLUhx0KVOs-Gxk5iVfpTlsS1sRv-5Q4fLeP1YB-IMDpoVAsnHb9I7DrZ6k0Ud5jv_tHIpfaiUHvUPBCyGkXbZyUtYj7qDLpqaf8NOvCaIp5Uf4ZMy1OnZ-Ye-L3WNYXLvmnqnBaklfcffonSbAjk1fH8e5eOhKui8O7G8angZryV49205r_CcJDWewejI/s4080/20240315_112038.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="3060" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLUhx0KVOs-Gxk5iVfpTlsS1sRv-5Q4fLeP1YB-IMDpoVAsnHb9I7DrZ6k0Ud5jv_tHIpfaiUHvUPBCyGkXbZyUtYj7qDLpqaf8NOvCaIp5Uf4ZMy1OnZ-Ye-L3WNYXLvmnqnBaklfcffonSbAjk1fH8e5eOhKui8O7G8angZryV49205r_CcJDWewejI/s320/20240315_112038.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p>All I needed to do was sweep up the debris left behind on the decking and through the house which was very easy. I then decided to do a bit of pruning and hang out some bird seed. Our next job will be to dismantle the shed and heavily prune the trees on the other side of the garden, so that we can take the old fence panels out and put new fence panels in. Exciting. I can't wait to get stuck in and get it done. We just need some dry weather to be able to get on with it.</p><p>After lunch on Friday, I retired to the sewing room and then promptly fell asleep for the rest of the afternoon. I must have needed it.</p><p>On Saturday, I headed off to the gym first thing and got in a free session. Next week is the last free session until the end of April. The end of term comes around so quickly. </p><p>OH picked me up from the gym, as we had an errand to run. There was another Zero Waste event today and I had a bunch of stuff that had been clogging up the landing to take and donate. It felt good to drop this off and clear the space. There's just one bag left that I need to take to the charity shop and a couple of items I need to drop off at the Little Free Library. With the pile of doom gone, it looks a lot better.</p><p>I wasn't working this Saturday and OH was out cycling in the afternoon, so I had the house to myself to potter around in. I spent most of it sewing. The Hexi star quilt is coming along nicely and is currently a joy to work on. I love having a hobby that is so inexpensive to participate in and brings me such pleasure.</p><p>Ultimately, it's been a varied week this week, with some progress being made, which makes me happy.</p>johnnyjumpsuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08474137444822527332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497889514720788230.post-72858538980516423822024-03-15T04:59:00.000-07:002024-03-15T04:59:36.767-07:00Allotment at the Start of the Growing Season<p>On Friday morning, I stopped off at the allotment on the dog walk, mainly because the dog wanted to and because I saw that the brown garden waste bins from the site had been emptied that morning and they needed to be put back on site. I did this and then decided to take a few pictures of the plot at the start of this year's growing season, just to document it really.</p><p>Here's a couple of pictures:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqJFRpxS4PRvQPZPooozwJFXwBdLX2qTTK9As2FskEGUvuslTKI4S8fwAqCtKz1dkkcZUgQDO2bwKpT0Hn4SWdg0MdDbHJweihT3f5DIX1__bL3wzUEBt1Bel7fPlWw4yFDdFQplqhyphenhyphenObZ1ilHricIFpLdZhH6nU4BIvUv37SqCYM65BdSFQ5swhvI6qg/s4080/20240315_091044.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="3060" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqJFRpxS4PRvQPZPooozwJFXwBdLX2qTTK9As2FskEGUvuslTKI4S8fwAqCtKz1dkkcZUgQDO2bwKpT0Hn4SWdg0MdDbHJweihT3f5DIX1__bL3wzUEBt1Bel7fPlWw4yFDdFQplqhyphenhyphenObZ1ilHricIFpLdZhH6nU4BIvUv37SqCYM65BdSFQ5swhvI6qg/s320/20240315_091044.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">OH put some potato seeds in this week to get things started.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm0FoKUA6k-LxqBU1_kCkJBTiDSEfPoTOo1qLOvfVjaSrNSnljrS753htNzXbeLcH1lpBtneKMBRXxzKw9e-kW7Wux2d3FyRhFsFiesfy8oof2J03EeON7WCHuA-JeGAKn2dfnbpLBlzsgbNtMXaDoIBML4g9eV39eZhLY1PFY_tZt1eriookPAPIeFVU/s3264/20240315_091204.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm0FoKUA6k-LxqBU1_kCkJBTiDSEfPoTOo1qLOvfVjaSrNSnljrS753htNzXbeLcH1lpBtneKMBRXxzKw9e-kW7Wux2d3FyRhFsFiesfy8oof2J03EeON7WCHuA-JeGAKn2dfnbpLBlzsgbNtMXaDoIBML4g9eV39eZhLY1PFY_tZt1eriookPAPIeFVU/s320/20240315_091204.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">There were some lovely white bluebells growing around the compost bin.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAPc6EQzMMiA9Yn58CJf7n_R0H3lLGiSOO9nM_bqvY4AwR2hWPJTyCOJMLpWjLmyr-GXn_A8dCQ8SOJziEvpdYqqgFfBJVhlkH5vHVHvOLUlYgwkbYw5bCV8ZUDy6J1SdBKpCZkpR-4ViachHw0PIjhx4j5G-HjgrWLh21DEpwMcYq0St8gf5mlC6ibx0/s4080/20240315_091240.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="3060" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAPc6EQzMMiA9Yn58CJf7n_R0H3lLGiSOO9nM_bqvY4AwR2hWPJTyCOJMLpWjLmyr-GXn_A8dCQ8SOJziEvpdYqqgFfBJVhlkH5vHVHvOLUlYgwkbYw5bCV8ZUDy6J1SdBKpCZkpR-4ViachHw0PIjhx4j5G-HjgrWLh21DEpwMcYq0St8gf5mlC6ibx0/s320/20240315_091240.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The strawberry plants had started growing.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglpi9_D0aqTHJ1YGK4Oo_8H0zQTis60UI7IDYYVK-FMlapnxHylIljOFfUGe_qAHl2g7tZxher1Frdtx4Q9rAw-XG_mKWpNJtLYdJNa-3PJ19GOWL3sA8gQbTmFZnLpDeCj1PwiQXQl45TIcYLIZRRH51SC9oOTIx5IbawMipDKfHy3wW3tsE92YZEYfM/s4080/20240315_091222.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="3060" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglpi9_D0aqTHJ1YGK4Oo_8H0zQTis60UI7IDYYVK-FMlapnxHylIljOFfUGe_qAHl2g7tZxher1Frdtx4Q9rAw-XG_mKWpNJtLYdJNa-3PJ19GOWL3sA8gQbTmFZnLpDeCj1PwiQXQl45TIcYLIZRRH51SC9oOTIx5IbawMipDKfHy3wW3tsE92YZEYfM/s320/20240315_091222.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">and my rosemary bush was looking lovely and healthy.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">It's always good to take some photos of it at the beginning of the season when it's bare, all the better to appreciate the difference when the growing season really gets underway.</div><br /><p><br /></p>johnnyjumpsuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08474137444822527332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497889514720788230.post-1739582323871572612024-03-12T15:13:00.000-07:002024-03-12T15:13:37.735-07:00Starting a Fabric Audit<p>This week, I decided to embark on an audit of my fabric stash. It was an idea that I got from Karen of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4zhaWyW6IM">JustGetItDoneQuilts </a>on YouTube. She posted a great video the other week, about counting your fabric. It is something that I've never really thought to do, but I figured that it might be useful to know how much yardage I have, as it would allow me to monitor how much I use. It is also useful to keep myself accountable in terms of buying any new fabric, which I try not to do these days, but I do very occasionally succumb to temptation.</p><p>I decided to make a start by going through a couple of the drawers where I keep most of my fabric. I started with the drawers that held the least amount, just so that I wouldn't get overwhelmed and give up. </p><p>To aid me in the task, I gathered together a brand new notebook (to write down a description of each fabric and document how much I have of it) and a metal rule (to measure the length/yardage of each fabric). Most of my fabrics are full widths, but where they are not, I calculated the yardage approximately by measuring how many fat or thin quarters they contained. </p><p>The process involved a lot of unfolding and re-folding and the first two drawers did take longer than I intially thought they would. I then moved on to measure some of the fabric that I keep in plastic boxes on the sewing room shelves. These didn't actually take very long, as there weren't too many different fabrics in each box.</p><p>At this point I decided to finish for the day. There was still lots of fabric left to measure, mainly in the fullest drawer, but also stored away in other places. </p><p>There are also the fabrics that I currently have out for use in different projects. Karen, herself, doesn't actually include fabric that is currently in use on projects, probably because you're actually using it and until the project is finished, you won't know how much is left over, which does make sense. These leftovers will need to be added into my audit once the projects are finished or once I'm not using any more of them.</p><p>By the end of my first session of auditing my stash, the total yardage of the fabric I had counted was over 90 yards, which equates to approximately 82.5 metres. These figures actually only include full width yardage and not fat quarters and other off cuts, so the actual figure of fabric counted so far is actually much higher than this. I must admit that I was quite shocked at the amount. It is quite scary to think how much I have, especially when I haven't yet tackled the fullest drawer. Thankfully, my one time obsession with collecting and buying fabric has abated in recent years, so it shouldn't really increase in the future. I probably have enough here to last me for the rest of my life. I just need to get creative about the projects I choose to use it up.</p><p>Here's a picture of some of the entries in my stash book (please excuse my handwriting, it is notoriously bad): </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZuAlT7nXS7HTxjoIJjgf5hSgUJwYBnmIos9EbKcNrm6WNaP_vug9ZOV1SZJ6TPAWXWK00NHBPcSzRo8JJ-0KqF8NgfppZ7y8spIcztoJMw_pcJzP-e_zD6o2BTBOTagdkDVTTWoUudK4MDDqE3UHlJpAK1iG0gLSXy_e0mX7FMdlBPfcMd0RUf9WFzQE/s4080/20240312_214847.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="3060" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZuAlT7nXS7HTxjoIJjgf5hSgUJwYBnmIos9EbKcNrm6WNaP_vug9ZOV1SZJ6TPAWXWK00NHBPcSzRo8JJ-0KqF8NgfppZ7y8spIcztoJMw_pcJzP-e_zD6o2BTBOTagdkDVTTWoUudK4MDDqE3UHlJpAK1iG0gLSXy_e0mX7FMdlBPfcMd0RUf9WFzQE/s320/20240312_214847.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>I think this kind of record could be useful, as I could look through this book when I need a specific yardage or fabric width for a particular project and see what my options are, without having to rummage through all of my fabrics. (I made sure to put the width of each fabric in the book) I will also know where to go to find the suitable fabric lengths, as I listed them by location. I have left room in each location for more fabrics to be added once projects are finished and I hope that this will allow me to account for everything in the book eventually.</p><p>It was quite an illuminating process. I imagine you could do the same sort of thing with wool stashes or stashes of other crafting materials. With much more fabric still to count, it's left me wondering what the final total will be. </p><p>I think I may need to seriously think about selling or donating some of it, but I sometimes find it quite hard to motivate myself to do this.</p><p>I'll keep you posted as I progress with the audit. Wish me luck.</p>johnnyjumpsuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08474137444822527332noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497889514720788230.post-71505453463886248702024-03-11T03:01:00.000-07:002024-03-11T03:01:54.445-07:00The Garden Renovation Begins<p>This year, we're hoping to renovate our garden. It's a small urban garden, the size is typical of many London gardens. Here's a little video of the current state of our garden, (please don't judge us) taken the other day:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyUULXJZoySv2tMdzCbiXsPWLjUq8ZnoekGAYb0gc7QYtQxTiPNM2YYuCxl4w5ZY6qhfoj6j5H6YB_VoM2ocA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><p>It's changed a lot over the years, but as you can see from the video in recent years it has really deteriorated, through neglect, I have to admit. Much of the decking is rotting and needs replacing. OH did replace some outside the back door, but the side return and more beyond immediately outside the back door, still needs replacing.</p><p>More particularly, the fences are starting to rot and fall apart. One fence was damaged in a recent storm. This one was our neighbours responsibility, according to the deeds, so he is replacing it and you can see that he has already replaced several panels down the side return. The others, which are our responsibilty, aren't great, so we're looking to replace them this year. </p><p>In doing so, we will need to take down and remove the old shed, which we've had for nearly 20 years. We bought the shed for our first allotment nearly 20 years ago. It then came home to our garden, when we moved to a different plot 15 years ago and has been here ever since. It's not in the best shape, although I did re-roof it a good few years ago and OH has done repairs to it at different times. There are, however, plants growing through it now, which is weakening the structure and we have plans for this end of the garden, so I'm afraid it's time for it to go.</p><p>Here's a few pictures of our current fencing situation:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoG05j2QCu9l-VYEiPZirDtlF2ElBkc3Lp-ZSxC39Ok21yvFlrhqgDDZ4nY-djMNacT_zCFBUmv1ZszCcf0Vzc_AvBitiR3VB_DSaD_d_kFr8nkyc4qVd_161DuK0f1J0s3M36avUZc2rCp5L_PJ96RfrcykzN4mKkT3QuMqW32eDNB9YN6Yy4XvuWdkI/s4080/20240223_094528.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3060" data-original-width="4080" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoG05j2QCu9l-VYEiPZirDtlF2ElBkc3Lp-ZSxC39Ok21yvFlrhqgDDZ4nY-djMNacT_zCFBUmv1ZszCcf0Vzc_AvBitiR3VB_DSaD_d_kFr8nkyc4qVd_161DuK0f1J0s3M36avUZc2rCp5L_PJ96RfrcykzN4mKkT3QuMqW32eDNB9YN6Yy4XvuWdkI/s320/20240223_094528.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiGg2LS-92ghBXB9c4r3A0fdmPrO6shNpChi30LiZeX0H65mWk3dl7UUstMyd5mHinHjNScZiGt_1mOW39xyVp7LvLNZ7pMY8XoCOYWbHO4nQ5JxyKcD7EcHhjA_AVwi7SbTzoqHOsKgR6jUXUdARfHGhhNs3glE6DRgiwAlo6IeONPTxoj2akthEJUKM/s4080/20240223_094615.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3060" data-original-width="4080" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiGg2LS-92ghBXB9c4r3A0fdmPrO6shNpChi30LiZeX0H65mWk3dl7UUstMyd5mHinHjNScZiGt_1mOW39xyVp7LvLNZ7pMY8XoCOYWbHO4nQ5JxyKcD7EcHhjA_AVwi7SbTzoqHOsKgR6jUXUdARfHGhhNs3glE6DRgiwAlo6IeONPTxoj2akthEJUKM/s320/20240223_094615.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqTbSpxt2sv2hDDsMgQfzmhlVVCP12lCEBTFLxBXgpbxdt2clJ0VEZ4YByB7CDVTB2JO-Y5NeXjGPsvfg3mYQgMXPcRXL-56j8ePyX-Hu-2B_m5zXKzaSgLLorT9bDurgEkdeKW96zdg2iKpVULQL9dUew-Zg3FWrLvNgvi7q5BnEa-MpY937DbYMpRlM/s4080/20240223_094539.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3060" data-original-width="4080" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqTbSpxt2sv2hDDsMgQfzmhlVVCP12lCEBTFLxBXgpbxdt2clJ0VEZ4YByB7CDVTB2JO-Y5NeXjGPsvfg3mYQgMXPcRXL-56j8ePyX-Hu-2B_m5zXKzaSgLLorT9bDurgEkdeKW96zdg2iKpVULQL9dUew-Zg3FWrLvNgvi7q5BnEa-MpY937DbYMpRlM/s320/20240223_094539.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>As you can see from the last photo, OH has removed some grass type panelling that we put up for privacy, revealing the old trellis fence on this side, which is falling apart. This is the side that our neighbour is replacing. The other fences are the ones we are replacing. We're starting with the bare bones structural changes, as these jobs need doing before any vegetation springs into life come the spring.</p><p>Once the fences have been replaced, in the long term, we'd like brick paths laid around our raised beds, which OH built and which are definitely staying, as they are a great place to grow salad leaves and pick them daily as we need them. This may take a while to achieve, as we need to find someone to lay them, but that would be the ideal. The bark chippings that we put on the paths don't work, as the dog scatters them as she runs around and some of the local cats use them as a litter tray, which is certainly not ideal. There are virtually none left now anyway.</p><p>We'd also like a new large shed at the end of the garden, that stretches the whole width, offering both storage for tools, bikes, etc. and a place where we can sit and read or hang out in. It is going to cost a fair bit and might take a while to materialise, but that is the current plan.</p><p>I'll keep you updated as the renovation progresses. Wish us luck.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p><br /></p>johnnyjumpsuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08474137444822527332noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497889514720788230.post-24703512688717654462024-03-10T11:31:00.000-07:002024-03-10T11:31:12.333-07:00A Week of Comings and Goings W/E 9th March 2024<p>This week started with a long dog walk, one where we didn't have to get back for a delivery and we could just take our time and enjoy a leisurely walk. We were out for about two hours in total. When we got back, after feeding the dog, I made an early lunch, as I was due at work for 1pm.</p><p>Work was crazy busy, I think the sunshine had brought many people out shopping and the section I worked was just constantly busy. It did quieten off after a few hours, but it was very challenging for a while. At least the shift passed very quickly, although I was glad to finish and go home to the dog. </p><p>LB had messaged earlier in the day, to say that she was coming home later in the evening, as she was starting a work placement the next day, in East London and it was easier to commute from home. I didn't object, as it's always lovely to have her home for a few days, but especially so when OH was away. She got home quite late, but we had a good chat and caught up before heading to bed.</p><p>On Monday, I was desperate to go to the gym, as I hadn't done any exercise for nearly a week, save for walking the dog and gardening. I headed out with the dog first and then after lunch, I headed straight to the gym. The weekly shop could wait as far as I was concerned. Gym time was a priority. I had a good session in the gym, but I felt a bit tired and out of shape if I'm honest, as it was probably 10 days since I'd done a gym session. I felt a lot better for it though.</p><p>Later, I did the weekly shop at our local Lidl and saved over £8 using the 10% off voucher I'd earned last month.</p><p>As I was unloading the car, LB returned from her work placement and it was nice to find out how it had gone. She'd treated herself to a bath bomb from Lush for a soak in the bath later, as she doesn't have a bath at Uni. One of the perks of coming home.</p><p>For once, on Tuesday, I couldn't get into my usual class. It has been oversubscribed for weeks now and I often find myself on the waiting list, but I usually manage to catch a cancellation, not this week though. In all honesty, I wasn't too bothered, as I'd done cardio and weights at the gym the day before. plus I had stuff to do before OH came back. Sometimes taking an enforced break can be good, as you appreciate it more when you return.</p><p>As a consequence, I could take my time getting up and ready and out with the dog. I took the dog in the car to a favourite spot that is just a little far for her to walk to these days and we had a nice walk..</p><p>When I got back, I had lunch and then decided to head up to the sewing room and start a new small scrappy project. It was something that will be useful.</p><p>OH returned from Sicily later, he brought me a present:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsMQc_7LD6Iy77Q9HWkNLX7y0IMSR7nqsL8a3aNMJcKXzz9fRu67flB_g1uWAzkqERrT28PEEwpwZMaZN_v1YGDfOBU16qj02q75M3aRp9i7ZpB7vnUvA_CRGRn38mbwv0beCmwRc4Im8q14yLyfckVHZ345VTCCymFWQLLM9r4TmPgVIUQ5GkNdPVN2Y/s4080/20240306_102027.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="3060" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsMQc_7LD6Iy77Q9HWkNLX7y0IMSR7nqsL8a3aNMJcKXzz9fRu67flB_g1uWAzkqERrT28PEEwpwZMaZN_v1YGDfOBU16qj02q75M3aRp9i7ZpB7vnUvA_CRGRn38mbwv0beCmwRc4Im8q14yLyfckVHZ345VTCCymFWQLLM9r4TmPgVIUQ5GkNdPVN2Y/s320/20240306_102027.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>Perfect for my daily salads and with such a summery design. He usually brings me food or alcohol, but due to my sticking to a calorie deficit, he bought me this instead, which is very thoughtful. I love it.</p><p>On Wednesday, I headed back to the gym. I had another good session, despite the gym being busier than I'd ever seen it before.</p><p>I picked up my new prescription sunglasses after lunch and did a small top up shop. I'm very happy with them. The transparent frames actually go quite well with my greying hair. I'm looking forward to wearing them when we get some sunshine.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRIgvZk_s640mCefOOkQuCTiwkHS7kS2ZMgH1ojXU0M_UcZJYcYJ9JAA1TaibZjP17PRDMM_KGaU_AuH11UyQGo9vXwYa7V4kgSfgvDrmg4gmGSEdSQSSqbWnDHmnJywFZGNa3ESA66Yk4vVbCI57c2b27wIeCLSDWuE5SSFOBHD2-2muwXiaGBNg9YGU/s4080/20240307_091700.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3060" data-original-width="4080" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRIgvZk_s640mCefOOkQuCTiwkHS7kS2ZMgH1ojXU0M_UcZJYcYJ9JAA1TaibZjP17PRDMM_KGaU_AuH11UyQGo9vXwYa7V4kgSfgvDrmg4gmGSEdSQSSqbWnDHmnJywFZGNa3ESA66Yk4vVbCI57c2b27wIeCLSDWuE5SSFOBHD2-2muwXiaGBNg9YGU/s320/20240307_091700.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Later, I did some sewing. I needed to hem some jeans for LB and then I finished making this pouch. I treated myself to a pair of Bluetooth headphones when I got paid this month, using the staff double discount, so I got a good reduction on them. They weren't very expensive, but they are very useful for walking the dog and for the multiple walks to and from the gym each week, when I like to listen to podcasts or YouTube videos. LB got me connected, as I don't have a clue. I'm such a tech dinosaur.<div><br /></div><div>I wanted to make a pouch for them when travelling or taking them out in my handbag, so they don't get scratched or damaged. I based this on a pouch I made for some sewing shears many years ago. It's a very basic envelope design and it works well for this purpose. I lined it in a soft varuna wool type fabric from my stash.<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOjc1hdH_0NyfAsKx0KA3alAhXni2dZDay8nEcnNSHjjNH7jOXdZ8Q48LVnIqd4HNA4HiqCj1CLI4VzVoUviL_YN0PiG5n2Ow1cXvmfTOREqSEyoZAovWe6fTgxZK7OZX5hB2853DeEtw7vN1Ye77UGH2zVExjLKRI86Qr_Bw9w-HR2u8ZFCw63S6spMU/s4080/20240307_093021.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3060" data-original-width="4080" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOjc1hdH_0NyfAsKx0KA3alAhXni2dZDay8nEcnNSHjjNH7jOXdZ8Q48LVnIqd4HNA4HiqCj1CLI4VzVoUviL_YN0PiG5n2Ow1cXvmfTOREqSEyoZAovWe6fTgxZK7OZX5hB2853DeEtw7vN1Ye77UGH2zVExjLKRI86Qr_Bw9w-HR2u8ZFCw63S6spMU/s320/20240307_093021.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7xiARnBmowHZy6MzSTYB2-m2WBmcBwfF-193hBj2A3bzgOYgmnyLz9ddCtQvpPtVPr4d7jAQjv9uMlG4jmdjTrXT9WMuC6KUbVODI_1qGxNdr9GBUqsCTMTXShIA5NuJvJ-dKBbKHni6ORsjDlDcxXWf6jlwDU00rAEQuSrsSRbcQtPjaPn5W_CAJ9XM/s4080/20240307_092941.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3060" data-original-width="4080" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7xiARnBmowHZy6MzSTYB2-m2WBmcBwfF-193hBj2A3bzgOYgmnyLz9ddCtQvpPtVPr4d7jAQjv9uMlG4jmdjTrXT9WMuC6KUbVODI_1qGxNdr9GBUqsCTMTXShIA5NuJvJ-dKBbKHni6ORsjDlDcxXWf6jlwDU00rAEQuSrsSRbcQtPjaPn5W_CAJ9XM/s320/20240307_092941.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnisVLHbIc2omwjzebLhCEzwsw8R_f5dNwml4dv63xUXZzozUGgMwP4JBPPSA-G86mzKQKEVhdf-H6jl79IkU9mIhFRxAc1c43mNe2bfm8cFam1BvdtLWjUq3019WvioOZRGx4pYSH0DAYxKTNr4BZ6X3Va1l7oF7omC2H0e9_Nkd8yB_vC5KQgTLlwwM/s4080/20240307_092859.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="3060" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnisVLHbIc2omwjzebLhCEzwsw8R_f5dNwml4dv63xUXZzozUGgMwP4JBPPSA-G86mzKQKEVhdf-H6jl79IkU9mIhFRxAc1c43mNe2bfm8cFam1BvdtLWjUq3019WvioOZRGx4pYSH0DAYxKTNr4BZ6X3Va1l7oF7omC2H0e9_Nkd8yB_vC5KQgTLlwwM/s320/20240307_092859.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div><br /><div><p>On Thursday, I was home alone again. LB headed off to the Midlands for a few nights, with colleagues from the artist studio she's been working at for her work placement, to help out at an event and OH headed into the City to attend a workshop all day. </p><p>I took the dog out, had lunch at home and then took myself out to finish off the weekly shop. I needed to head out to Home Bargains, which is out of town, to stock up on quite a few items we were running low on. I always enjoy myself when I go shopping out of town and I managed to stock up on lots of things that we needed, that tend to be more expensive locally.</p><p>On Friday, OH and I needed to do a job in the garden, in readiness for the neighbour putting up the rest of his fence. It involved drastically cutting back a bush. It was a difficult one for me, as it is a beautiful bush when it flowers and there's no guarantee that it will grow back well, but we had to do it and then bag up the debris. It took the whole morning. </p><p>After lunch, I headed out to the gym for my 3rd session of the week. I felt quite tired in this session. I may have overdone things slightly this week, making up for the dearth of exercise last week, but it was good to get it done.</p><p>Saturday, I was due to return to work in the evening, after 5 nights off. I couldn't make it to my usual free gym session in the morning, as OH was cycling most of the day and I needed to take the dog out, hence why I went on Friday. The dog and I had a nice walk and then I spent most of the afternoon sewing, which was nice and relaxing, before eventually getting ready to go into work. Work was good, busy but good, a positive end to the week.</p><p>It's not been a particularly productive week this week, but I've enjoyed getting back to the gym and having LB home for a while. There's always next week.</p></div></div></div>johnnyjumpsuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08474137444822527332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497889514720788230.post-22366720177198784112024-03-07T01:39:00.000-08:002024-03-07T01:39:16.066-08:00Quilting Progress - March 2024<p>I thought I would do a quick post, to bring you up to scratch on the progress I've made on the Hexi Star quilt that I've been working on for probably the last 4 months. I think I last posted about this quilt in November last year, when I'd completed 2 or 3 of the star blocks. I've now completed 10 large star blocks for this quilt.</p><p>I changed tack a little on the second five, as I decided to use fabrics of another colour in these blocks, namely green, so the main colours for the quilt are now navy, red and dark green. The reason for this, is that I had quite a few different fabrics in this colourway, that were similar to the fabrics I had used in a red colourway, so I thought they would possibly go well together and it would add a bit of extra interest to the quilt and help use up more fabrics from my stash.</p><p>I recently laid all of the star blocks out together, to see how they blended. Here's a photo of what they looked like when I did:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1JyIy0K_1x8-0J2OP4GBX97Zr9qMBQtXDwOukkBReFTX-gzTZoUYVhiPfhMk_BgjCww6PdLiUSXFE50FlHBTd1oLYABOZ4X8gHcGKGjOuuzSSWpjVf1uJmKP_4b0Jb81IhQUw79biEbtyaVAmX_ZHO6r_vzb1oXdne8n3dshx7eMmT-BQqKoNWy439XI/s4080/20240305_162507.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3060" data-original-width="4080" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1JyIy0K_1x8-0J2OP4GBX97Zr9qMBQtXDwOukkBReFTX-gzTZoUYVhiPfhMk_BgjCww6PdLiUSXFE50FlHBTd1oLYABOZ4X8gHcGKGjOuuzSSWpjVf1uJmKP_4b0Jb81IhQUw79biEbtyaVAmX_ZHO6r_vzb1oXdne8n3dshx7eMmT-BQqKoNWy439XI/s320/20240305_162507.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9xpfRbzGwWOoRrIeWa7RrTxqU3AZxaHPktGuLDhyvsTaqhBXNuv0pITsi-3oThraywsBxY9SwipRr-tlCsVE63qMtz_lYN7Ma_zBd8HVM93TFY60kW6Ce0Vkity3fK_BAs5Xt83xCNSi9_ycamiOI6UcFxY9TbUbMZYX2KoW-bhg-ynOVxTVv4wRvqN8/s4080/20240305_162525.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3060" data-original-width="4080" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9xpfRbzGwWOoRrIeWa7RrTxqU3AZxaHPktGuLDhyvsTaqhBXNuv0pITsi-3oThraywsBxY9SwipRr-tlCsVE63qMtz_lYN7Ma_zBd8HVM93TFY60kW6Ce0Vkity3fK_BAs5Xt83xCNSi9_ycamiOI6UcFxY9TbUbMZYX2KoW-bhg-ynOVxTVv4wRvqN8/s320/20240305_162525.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>It's a pretty random quilt, but I quite like that about it, no two blocks are the same. You will see that two blocks have been outlined with a row of navy hexagons. All of the stars and other blocks in this quilt will also be outlined in this way and this should help bring together all the different colours and shapes of blocks when all are sewn together and make the actual blocks stand out. You can just about see from the second photo how the blocks will fit together. I'm actually reasonably happy with how well they go together. I think because the navy is used with both colourways, that it helps with continuity. This probably isn't the final layout, I'll play around with it when all the blocks are completed.</p><p>Now that all the hexi star blocks are done, I have moved on to another part of the process of making this quilt and that is to make some smaller blocks in the shape of diamonds, using the same fabrics in different combinations. These diamonds will fill the space between the points of the star blocks and I think I will need to make between 40 and 50 to complete the quilt. I have started to make a few of these blocks already to show you what they look like. These are really enjoyable to work on, as they are much smaller and quicker to make, only using 9 hexies. Here's a picture of the ones I've completed thus far:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIbvK5FAB4_IFzlz_CEfonCHwsNT5RIazeZGxzSBRFH0CrhZMBdsmCXNhy-7ZgLUapYJ_Mvg88ZvGhwUd9lJ65P7UJqlGdm6G57fmZtZneTiwP7DQ-ezDiFW8WhMIPMfrUdhHGgJBGw9pncQMyh_7cpVDhlZ1kYv45JDWg0-mxZ8Qarqcp4jvb8fwMIv0/s4080/20240305_102722.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="3060" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIbvK5FAB4_IFzlz_CEfonCHwsNT5RIazeZGxzSBRFH0CrhZMBdsmCXNhy-7ZgLUapYJ_Mvg88ZvGhwUd9lJ65P7UJqlGdm6G57fmZtZneTiwP7DQ-ezDiFW8WhMIPMfrUdhHGgJBGw9pncQMyh_7cpVDhlZ1kYv45JDWg0-mxZ8Qarqcp4jvb8fwMIv0/s320/20240305_102722.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p>I will also need to source some more plain navy fabric to fill in between the star and diamond blocks in order to complete this project, as I don't currently have enough, so this will, of course, involve a trip to one of my favourite places to buy fabric. It is a particular London high street where there are lots of different fabric shops, so I'll very much look forward to that. I don't really want to buy more fabric, but I have virtually no plain fabrics in my stash and they are necessary to make the kind of quilts I like to make. I will try to use up any fabric I do buy in this project if I can. This will actually be the only thing that I have actually had to buy to make this quilt, which feels good, as it means I am gradually finding a use for the fabric that I already have at home. This is what I love most about EPP patchwork projects, they are great for stash busting.</p><p>I'll keep you posted as the project progresses and the different blocks get sewn together. </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>johnnyjumpsuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08474137444822527332noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497889514720788230.post-84798097995225353492024-03-05T02:22:00.000-08:002024-03-05T02:22:07.695-08:00A Few Favourites<p>I haven't done a favourites post for a long time, partly because I use the same products over and over, but recently, I've come across a few new to me products that are worth a mention here.</p><p>The first couple of things are products to uplift my daily salads. I'm always looking for ways to make my daily salads a bit more interesting and last month I did a bit of research into finding a mango salad dressing. I was inspired by the Chicken and Mango salads that I used to buy from Lidl on days when I was out shopping. The mango salad dressing gave a lovely sweet flavour to the salad and I really enjoyed this treat.</p><p>However, these pre-packed salads have got quite a bit more expensive in the last couple of years, so I rarely indulge anymore. As a consequence, I went on a quest to find a salad dressing to recreate the experience at home. There weren't too many out there, but I did find this one by Mary Berry, which is sold in Waitrose. It's not cheap at £3.80 per bottle, but it tastes nice and once opened lasts a month. I've been using this for the last week or so and quite enjoying it, as a change from just using balsamic vinegar. The calories aren't too high either, which is a plus. I probably won't buy it that often though on account of the cost.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXca1msBM5un3BBKQN0PlLVPOotD_VGZl2lqVCF0fKyJc_piWhBrePmTKEQs-5WJbMsPOYSqCaPawwF4lSa3NErhdpVVYwdwTLIFIEl643DIzKRNyjYuUrjEvhvKhNDPxeX_KhHuu6Y_SdBCelyGh4vWdhhyphenhyphenY9rADahWtep3TwfNAamh8XQLVkPXAejlU/s4080/20240225_112923.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="3060" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXca1msBM5un3BBKQN0PlLVPOotD_VGZl2lqVCF0fKyJc_piWhBrePmTKEQs-5WJbMsPOYSqCaPawwF4lSa3NErhdpVVYwdwTLIFIEl643DIzKRNyjYuUrjEvhvKhNDPxeX_KhHuu6Y_SdBCelyGh4vWdhhyphenhyphenY9rADahWtep3TwfNAamh8XQLVkPXAejlU/s320/20240225_112923.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p>Similarly, I came across these Sweety Drop Peppers in Sainsburys the other week. I've been keeping an eye out for these since we visited Lanzarote last year. I had a lovely salad in one of the restaurants there and it was sprinkled with tiny yellow peppers like these, so when I saw these I thought I'd give them a go. Again, they are not particularly frugal at £2.80 per jar, not something I will buy every week. They're not quite as nice as the yellow ones, but do add a bit of interest to my salad, so were definitely worth a try.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwQvzgXgSJyrRCLjqtcyJxdP3McG2Y1syCOWDVDIoRyb9Ceg0FarnhF9OCmrOHnel111MKF7j59ZKwnlqPaqamGYsIwjd49sKyq9sljIDz3_vGtd5jFlMnnAVLR-0fcahkMMTDgsx-RjUQQCx9-BiOoKiMjsI8S36IwiwetUdTDFlQwegvI84fRmf_YWM/s4080/20240227_180525.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="3060" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwQvzgXgSJyrRCLjqtcyJxdP3McG2Y1syCOWDVDIoRyb9Ceg0FarnhF9OCmrOHnel111MKF7j59ZKwnlqPaqamGYsIwjd49sKyq9sljIDz3_vGtd5jFlMnnAVLR-0fcahkMMTDgsx-RjUQQCx9-BiOoKiMjsI8S36IwiwetUdTDFlQwegvI84fRmf_YWM/s320/20240227_180525.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>In terms of beauty products, I tend to use the same products regularly and just replace them when I run out, but recently, I decided to try this collagen face cream from Home Bargains. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLYoKcsRkpym4yUi7-Vn3OWtbf7nTAwZGRfvP64Mof8EubUlN9wKEggdlfc_sHEnF_g4pDlE1q3hT5FzmrA-9KEaeYnVkySXlJZNUJ4j9YXFF5h7VXedV21QZ7ZlaEY-gQ8mbXsWBNHFPFnM8qLiMT8TyzrG3I09FOVjBweKd83fzkVdjsS-NNh5TPGBs/s4080/20240302_081507.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="3060" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLYoKcsRkpym4yUi7-Vn3OWtbf7nTAwZGRfvP64Mof8EubUlN9wKEggdlfc_sHEnF_g4pDlE1q3hT5FzmrA-9KEaeYnVkySXlJZNUJ4j9YXFF5h7VXedV21QZ7ZlaEY-gQ8mbXsWBNHFPFnM8qLiMT8TyzrG3I09FOVjBweKd83fzkVdjsS-NNh5TPGBs/s320/20240302_081507.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>It's from the Dead Sea Collection range and I've found it to be a really good face cream. Not too greasy, makeup applies easily on top, and it doesn't break me out, so I'm probably going to re-purchase this very soon. If it had SPF too, it would be perfect. I think it only cost something like £2.99 or maybe even less. I have used the hylauronic acid serum in this range too, which was equally inexpensive and it was okay, but I've moved away from using serums recently and gravitated towards a face cream. I know that you can get a gift set of three products in the range for £4.99 in store, which is an amazing price.</p><p>I have also been love, love, loving this Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Daily Skin Therapy lately. I began using their handcream in the same scent, but I haven't been able to find it recently and could only get hold of these larger bottles of daily skin therapy. They work just as well as a handcream though and you get much more for your money. What I love so much about it, is that it smells just like chocolate and I love just breathing it in everytime I use it. It's almost as good as eating chocolate. This is going to be my go to handcream from now on, for definite. I think this bottle cost £3.29 or something similar from B&M. It's a keeper.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7EAGAWB2VPihXFqgVtHJDgX577LcXUyGfM1WvCdc0zozNn2RhnTDDw3GVAgtUVdG0iCOMCXxjUUnU4cdYymYtZW21ZSw2hi_p3N1EBlrALqfWkKk17plQFVvEREcWVBk8aViHPnojivkL1Xw24Bgf3GYy81zxrMQMLdC1L5DBDZxgIt1phrUbLyjIRwk/s4080/20240228_080538.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="3060" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7EAGAWB2VPihXFqgVtHJDgX577LcXUyGfM1WvCdc0zozNn2RhnTDDw3GVAgtUVdG0iCOMCXxjUUnU4cdYymYtZW21ZSw2hi_p3N1EBlrALqfWkKk17plQFVvEREcWVBk8aViHPnojivkL1Xw24Bgf3GYy81zxrMQMLdC1L5DBDZxgIt1phrUbLyjIRwk/s320/20240228_080538.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p>Finally, another current favourite of mine is this book by John Lane called Timeless Simplicity - Creative Living in a Consumer Society. I put this book on my Amazon wishlist years ago, but never actually got around to buying it and then Vivi from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gT5QDm6hd8s">What Vivi Did Next</a> on YouTube reviewed it in a video the other week and it spurred me on to buy it there and then from eBay. It only cost £4, but it's a subject I love to read about and Vivi's review was so positive, that I just had to buy it and read it.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJsHvfviWBgyFhj2g_dqIwWLsmjcCdXrpHUiKhg7Ux_4VsuKY4itZizBy4XrGG9217xs-6Vz7Xl6KKItGlRDHpG5sZTPtO6iQu2BBewEIOznV_FnepbCcEwPPItHT3HBgvnSxgYjFNTb0-g2AZkExvL0r8wBmPEyAwGUkMsdVT-NnlfO58-lR43etnfGo/s4080/20240301_083541.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="3060" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJsHvfviWBgyFhj2g_dqIwWLsmjcCdXrpHUiKhg7Ux_4VsuKY4itZizBy4XrGG9217xs-6Vz7Xl6KKItGlRDHpG5sZTPtO6iQu2BBewEIOznV_FnepbCcEwPPItHT3HBgvnSxgYjFNTb0-g2AZkExvL0r8wBmPEyAwGUkMsdVT-NnlfO58-lR43etnfGo/s320/20240301_083541.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p>Having already picked it up and started to read the introductory chapters, I know it is going to be something I'm going to love. It was published between 2001-2004, but it is still completely, if not more relevant now. It's a thin book, but with quite small print, just to warn anyone who might want to buy it, but this does not detract from it in any way.</p><p>Have you stumbled upon any new favourites lately?</p><p><br /></p>johnnyjumpsuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08474137444822527332noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497889514720788230.post-21427585067885129542024-03-04T08:12:00.000-08:002024-03-04T08:12:41.244-08:00A Busy Week - W/E 2nd March 2024<p>This week started off a little busier. I was working on Sunday afternoon from 1pm, so I had to get up and walk the dog, then have an early lunch before heading into work. It was a tough shift, partly because I'd not been there for 5 days and felt a bit rusty and partly because the department I was working in was quite messy and I struggled to get it finished on time. I came home feeling quite frazzled.</p><p>I then spent the evening watching TV and sewing my star patchwork. We watched the final episode of Expats on Prime, which has been an interesting series and then we watched a movie on Netflix starring Julia Roberts called Leave The World Behind, which was really good.</p><p>I slept well, which I haven't been doing lately, so that was good. My weight finally dropped a little the next morning, after a 10 day plateau, which I was very grateful for.</p><p>Monday, as always, is weekly shop day. I headed out of town this week, even though I was working in the evening. I needed to pick up some medication I'd ordered from the pharmacy en route. I took some lunch with me, as I always get hungry and it stops me spending extra money on convenience food while I'm out. I did the main part of the shop at Lidl as usual, and have now spent enough this month to qualify for a 10% off voucher on next week's shop.</p><p>I couldn't help myself and decided to visit my new favourite charity shop. I found some really lovely and useful things this visit, so I've made a separate post about them. I really enjoyed myself.</p><p>Anyway, I then had to head home, as I was due at work for 5pm and needed a shower. Work was okay. I was on a calmer job this shift. </p><p>A parcel came for me today, which was exciting, containing something that I'd ordered for another scrappy project. I can't wait to give it a go. I'll make a post about it once I've made progress with it.</p><p>On Tuesday, I was booked into my usual class at the gym. After l'd had lunch, I decided to go into the garden and do a bit of clearing up. It's in a big mess at the moment, as our neighbours are replacing the fence on one side and OH has removed our grass type panels from the fence and removed any vegetation growing up them and this was left in piles in the borders. </p><p>I raked it all off and put it in bags ready to take to the tip and then cleared another fence panel down at the end of the garden, of a climber growing up it, so that it's now clear and can easily be removed and replaced. I enjoyed being out there with the dog and just tidying things up. It's still a total mess, with lots more work to do, but at least I made a start and it was good exercise too.</p><p>On Wednesday, I decided to head out into the garden again. This time to wash all of the dirty pots that were kicking around. I don't always get around to this in the autumn, so it was long overdue and it was good to get it done before the new growing season starts. It took a couple of hours, but led to me tidying up the greenhouse and things now look a lot better outside the back door.</p><p>Later on Wednesday, I was heading out to meet some friends. We used to go to gym classes together for years, but now we're all doing different things, so we meet up every few months and keep in touch, which we enjoy. It was good to catch up with everyone's news and I had a lovely Persian lamb dish which I really enjoyed.</p><p>OH headed off out of the country on Thursday for a few days with some cycling friends, for a cycling holiday in Sicily. I could have gone over and met him, but I didn't have my new passport in time. However, I did get notification that my passport would be delivered on Friday, which is just over a week since I applied for it. I was very impressed with the speed of the service and they email you at every point in the application, i.e. when the application has been received, your old passport has been received, your application has been approved, your passport printed and then with expected delivery.</p><p>I was working on Thursday night, but managed to get quite a few jobs done during the day before I went. I wrote myself a long list of things I wanted to do whilst OH was away and I'm slowly ticking them off the list. Work was OK, but I was glad to get back home to the dog.</p><p>I was out as early as I could with the dog on Friday, as I was expecting the delivery of my passport between 11 am and 3pm. We had to have a short walk so that I could get back in time. It rained intermittently, so finding a break in the rain to go out in took a while.</p><p>Whilst waiting for my passport to be delivered, I did some blogging, made some more small egg muffins. I really love these and ended up eating three as soon as they were ready. They are so moreish. I called it part of my lunch.</p><p>After lunch, I decided to do a bit of patchwork sewing. I couldn't really get started on anything else, as I wanted to head straight to the gym once my passport had been delivered. Annoyingly, it wasn't delivered, so I had a bit of a wasted afternoon, which was very frustrating. I made progress on my patchwork, but not much else. I hate waiting for deliveries, but sometimes it is unavoidable.</p><p>On Saturday, I got a message to say my passport was being delivered between 10.40am and 2.40pm, so I got straight out of bed, did some weights (because I was missing the gym again this morning) and got ready to take the dog out before my delivery came. It then started to rain, of course, so I had breakfast until it stopped and the sun came out (momentarily) and then we headed out. I needed to be back for 10.15am at the latest, as with hindsight, I think I missed the delivery the day before because they came 10 minutes early. (I saw the postman's van as I was returning from the dog walk, albeit on another street).</p><p>We got home about 10.15am and I decided to make more use of waiting in for my passport, by getting on with another job on my to do list. This was to declutter the baking drawer. I'm not really a baker. I very rarely bake anything, so many of the ingredients in this drawer were out of date by 18 months or even 4 years in some cases. I decided to get ruthless and threw most of it out. I will replace vanilla extract, baking powder and buy a small bag of self raising flour, but that's it. I will just have to buy anything I need if I do decide to make something.</p><p>It's not perfect or particularly aesthetically pleasing, but it looks a lot better. For someone who doesn't bake, it's a very full drawer, but some things do get used for other purposes, such as preserving, etc. Here's a picture:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieh185lGefDtRSUDSwUKjSygqnOrcJDxdyhWDSu7gGMCDzApLi9U-DlfIZrt_k6Zlx0JCPX6d3T8Tl3D9na6-oSVNfVQj87o2I1y5EMg6o8aj1xI1u9C8_BmxJgtIsLMC7uZzT7oQR7SGAc4SNkRdYbRe1EztUQOyJnF6QzLchbvj4fnk3ZdAoEzTrnAc/s4080/20240302_134051.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="3060" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieh185lGefDtRSUDSwUKjSygqnOrcJDxdyhWDSu7gGMCDzApLi9U-DlfIZrt_k6Zlx0JCPX6d3T8Tl3D9na6-oSVNfVQj87o2I1y5EMg6o8aj1xI1u9C8_BmxJgtIsLMC7uZzT7oQR7SGAc4SNkRdYbRe1EztUQOyJnF6QzLchbvj4fnk3ZdAoEzTrnAc/s320/20240302_134051.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p>I then decided to clean out the drawers above, namely the crockery drawer and cutlery drawer and then followed this with cleaning all the cupboard and drawer fronts, which desperately needed it. It felt satisfying to do this. Not a total deep clean, but a good start in the time that I had available.</p><p>My passport finally arrived around 1pm whilst I was eating lunch. YAY!!! I only had a couple of hours free after lunch, as I was due at work and needed a shower, so I sat at the kitchen table and did a bit more work on my star quilt.</p><p>Work on Saturday night was busy, but more enjoyable than it had been earlier in the week. I bought a few things at work today, as our staff discount was doubled this weekend, so I made the most of it. I bought three bowls for the kitchen, a coconut wax candle, some coffee beans for OH's birthday in a couple of months and a 10kg kettle bell for me in the hope that I will progress to working with this size eventually. It's a big enough weight for OH to use occasionally too.</p><p>It was nice to get home to the dog. I'd pre-made some chilli to eat for supper and just heated it up when I got in. It's been cold the last couple of nights, so I was very happy to get wrapped up and jump into bed later.</p><p>So, here ends a busy week, with quite a lot of things going on aside from work. When OH is away, I find I have a lot more things to do with regard to caring for the dog. The exercise I get walking her every day is good though and she's lovely company when I'm home alone.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>johnnyjumpsuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08474137444822527332noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497889514720788230.post-15988846940987848122024-03-02T05:58:00.000-08:002024-03-02T05:58:13.177-08:00A February Charity Shop Haul<p>I couldn't resist a visit to my new favourite charity shop this week when I did the weekly shop and I'm so glad I did, as I found some really nice items. I thought I'd do a small haul of what I bought, as I love to see a charity shop haul myself.</p><p>I spent £22, which included a 50p donation to the cause. Here's what I got for my money:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVv57-QLnpZD5oGYS9Wsrb5Hec8JHBOZQEQ5_N75dFIbilDp-sm8FDoDPBVwNIMZAHwqPVgGARI9HPN4i2a7YnjQrAWcLorqStHMAUhaJGP0rMibLX29BhpUPguGLf283xGJvzBC-Go8gAxXMS6R_Z2c6VT21_zoO8vOoG7wAnSucQekwwFgd7VW0i6qg/s4080/20240228_142450.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="3060" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVv57-QLnpZD5oGYS9Wsrb5Hec8JHBOZQEQ5_N75dFIbilDp-sm8FDoDPBVwNIMZAHwqPVgGARI9HPN4i2a7YnjQrAWcLorqStHMAUhaJGP0rMibLX29BhpUPguGLf283xGJvzBC-Go8gAxXMS6R_Z2c6VT21_zoO8vOoG7wAnSucQekwwFgd7VW0i6qg/s320/20240228_142450.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p>OK, so this first purchase was a big fail, but hear me out. It was a pair of black PU paperbag style trousers in a size 14. I tried them on and really liked the fit and style. It felt great to comfortably get into a size 14 too. I figured they might be great for work or even going out. After previous experience of PU disintegrating when I've worn it, it was a bit of a gamble, but at £3, it was worth taking the risk. </p><p>I decided to wear them out first to a meet up with friends this last week. Sadly, the same thing happened. The PU just started disintegrating again around the inside leg/crotch area. By the time I got home they were a mess. Luckily I wore a super long sweater with them, so no-one could see. A big disappointment, as I really loved these. Maybe PU is not the way forward for me. They are now fit for nothing but the bin.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivfRKfEDyKc72MRZAmLrTFgo6q3EIOqjjSoWUsJW0tx8u37e0QUmN3WeTm4_Cz_FN2xo4trbqyGsHvfAQB-encFq6y2NQIO9EzOb67yYhAsELPJnoQnY42duwR8ksB2GxJjuNISuJihKMux6yXoVTSAKS4aLZHCzepofELepflLbmtM03NiM8wzn0NTfA/s4080/20240301_083156.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="3060" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivfRKfEDyKc72MRZAmLrTFgo6q3EIOqjjSoWUsJW0tx8u37e0QUmN3WeTm4_Cz_FN2xo4trbqyGsHvfAQB-encFq6y2NQIO9EzOb67yYhAsELPJnoQnY42duwR8ksB2GxJjuNISuJihKMux6yXoVTSAKS4aLZHCzepofELepflLbmtM03NiM8wzn0NTfA/s320/20240301_083156.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p>Hopefully, this next pair of trousers will fare better. They are from M&S and are a cotton/linen mix. I'm not sure if they've been worn at all as they are in really good condition and the pockets were still sewn up, although I know this isn't really always indicative. They are a size 16 and a little on the large side as M&S tend to be quite generously sized, but I'm hoping to wear them this summer. I may look a little like Rupert bear in them though, but I don't care, I love a bit of plaid. These cost £3 too.</p><p>I found this top hung on the rail in the changing room. It was size Medium, and if I'm honest it is a tad snug, but I'm hoping it won't always be. It's quite sheer, so will need to be worn with a vest or other layer underneath, but I loved the pretty sheared neckline and cuffs. So flattering. Also, I liked the button down back. A bargain for £3.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Gf_f4bql2SfxpZgEily0OjETjzdtgkVMsBGbSyfz-0m9YEnAdZVGI9iKPqxTvsRiatpur8cMRC6yZNoemh19499kzHgp6ruYQxZVsnXs8RSuFOXKaVqYIJoKAsW8ipPsT8QHNXNMAl1qcQmcb4vjQMKN8wMGzOfxjQObP2cema4MeduY3jRnjG4fQuQ/s4080/20240301_083100.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="3060" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2Gf_f4bql2SfxpZgEily0OjETjzdtgkVMsBGbSyfz-0m9YEnAdZVGI9iKPqxTvsRiatpur8cMRC6yZNoemh19499kzHgp6ruYQxZVsnXs8RSuFOXKaVqYIJoKAsW8ipPsT8QHNXNMAl1qcQmcb4vjQMKN8wMGzOfxjQObP2cema4MeduY3jRnjG4fQuQ/s320/20240301_083100.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Lz64Mo75Fat6np5iHRucBoyH3PxDiVEQqtlB_Mhhaxg0PpZ2kcQdp1pINCyQGHUA35j-3pZKE7zRm8Y2kfEvWwNvF6H2TwTnM7cL8wrNjiysMl5K_HUEJmPop2e1O-Ht0xQ7nbLCVBIGSB3rcKgkfTVy0P3COe48KLkscDjE8cxaGz78uOGp_0Lq5A4/s4080/20240301_083122.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="3060" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Lz64Mo75Fat6np5iHRucBoyH3PxDiVEQqtlB_Mhhaxg0PpZ2kcQdp1pINCyQGHUA35j-3pZKE7zRm8Y2kfEvWwNvF6H2TwTnM7cL8wrNjiysMl5K_HUEJmPop2e1O-Ht0xQ7nbLCVBIGSB3rcKgkfTVy0P3COe48KLkscDjE8cxaGz78uOGp_0Lq5A4/s320/20240301_083122.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p>I also bought a brand new pair of H&M Conscious 3/4 black leggings in size Medium. It feels great to get into these sizes as I've been wearing XL for so long. These are always great under skirts and dresses in the summer if I don't want to go bare legged, so was a no-brainer at £3.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixInbUB0pgiyt0QN-rK5STdewjdsiD5B5Jmv5M3tttR0WSux957GAPm_JbA3zJWJWAyGQ91CnJb9ZAQWlnodujNdT59e_zMchJIYKbwmiFy6mI6LaALQMobQIBrtf04aQBvZGyKq0fKGaVJnDEN7niZcm8Jtv8yS8Maix7_5OET4S7qv_cGB0EJ8mgdCo/s4080/20240301_082957.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="3060" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixInbUB0pgiyt0QN-rK5STdewjdsiD5B5Jmv5M3tttR0WSux957GAPm_JbA3zJWJWAyGQ91CnJb9ZAQWlnodujNdT59e_zMchJIYKbwmiFy6mI6LaALQMobQIBrtf04aQBvZGyKq0fKGaVJnDEN7niZcm8Jtv8yS8Maix7_5OET4S7qv_cGB0EJ8mgdCo/s320/20240301_082957.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwcWmOXyLjY55dneqRzomSiQf0W6DQVheXnhXY0cBSi2YjcO0S1p3OR6nARZsvAd8rIIjbecBEzAJfXffVaaRmSWm1x_1jS655Dv7risZwHywE1YMBGTHJW9Z_zLG8rhlpBnryTwZUUGW4UptZYBHVHwDHguDyNv8GpO3cFm5VF-8w2owr68TrVD3H8jU/s4080/20240301_083504.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="3060" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwcWmOXyLjY55dneqRzomSiQf0W6DQVheXnhXY0cBSi2YjcO0S1p3OR6nARZsvAd8rIIjbecBEzAJfXffVaaRmSWm1x_1jS655Dv7risZwHywE1YMBGTHJW9Z_zLG8rhlpBnryTwZUUGW4UptZYBHVHwDHguDyNv8GpO3cFm5VF-8w2owr68TrVD3H8jU/s320/20240301_083504.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1VwUTurCJUIPQeLS-2Vl_AnS3OVPI4rhtA7ixpeJwERO_0j4YD0FdHARLkJ4aF2qmIaUG3fsjUr4Rg9XSNEc3KxvO1wOCKRFmNmK7JC6KgHJX8SpcL6ojKtdjQebib6ieWoN8RzeznbhvmzYFUadCEoxsaoOR2rK623RwRI4a6FbPW3puHWlrFpipkuI/s4080/20240301_083518.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3060" data-original-width="4080" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1VwUTurCJUIPQeLS-2Vl_AnS3OVPI4rhtA7ixpeJwERO_0j4YD0FdHARLkJ4aF2qmIaUG3fsjUr4Rg9XSNEc3KxvO1wOCKRFmNmK7JC6KgHJX8SpcL6ojKtdjQebib6ieWoN8RzeznbhvmzYFUadCEoxsaoOR2rK623RwRI4a6FbPW3puHWlrFpipkuI/s320/20240301_083518.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>Finally, in terms of apparel and footwear, I bought these pretty gold wedge sandals for £4. They are in very good condition and I bought them with a view to wearing them for a wedding later this year. They've got a good sized heel, but the wedge makes them very comfortable.</p><p>In addition to the clothing, I also bought a couple of books. They are priced at two books for £1 in this shop. The first I bought was actually one physical book and two audio books by Alan Titchmarsh.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU1JZPE3uVHetOGrY1KD6SMvRLFMB2BVs6ouH3fFT9lq_bnK2x8KMc4hc4hnBENl6YFm_o8bday_FFcH5-XPsjsMAKklew2lksrC5Hwln86KKNlyS9h7OloiI6uYQ_BTyGBWLymnD8bgYR-JcOHkPYHAclaVUD93J6oIEHHcGGMeP-Ap8when20SE2qDo/s4080/20240301_081731.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="3060" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU1JZPE3uVHetOGrY1KD6SMvRLFMB2BVs6ouH3fFT9lq_bnK2x8KMc4hc4hnBENl6YFm_o8bday_FFcH5-XPsjsMAKklew2lksrC5Hwln86KKNlyS9h7OloiI6uYQ_BTyGBWLymnD8bgYR-JcOHkPYHAclaVUD93J6oIEHHcGGMeP-Ap8when20SE2qDo/s320/20240301_081731.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p>It is still sealed in it's packaging, so an absolute steal at 50p for 3 books, even if I only listen to the CD's in the car. The second book I bought was this biography of Joni Mitchell, which will be a gift for OH's birthday, as he loves her music. It is in great condition and I couldn't resist it. I might read it myself when he's finished with it.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOUykH70SBnkIJpfoSr5Nye6GS02I1gly2YaRqYi0KLZ70ZotNRNIQ8w09qVciUXwBspiDvLkd3clvxMOGia0ainHfj2iSuqwFpr8jB7I5xGvrchbSk0eaICQs2F-JuMjSZd1t7-91NzsHDokaa5L6w022g_SyxBF_2b8-J1udq0I7NWw5_0fwwyX9bAA/s4080/20240301_083731.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="3060" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOUykH70SBnkIJpfoSr5Nye6GS02I1gly2YaRqYi0KLZ70ZotNRNIQ8w09qVciUXwBspiDvLkd3clvxMOGia0ainHfj2iSuqwFpr8jB7I5xGvrchbSk0eaICQs2F-JuMjSZd1t7-91NzsHDokaa5L6w022g_SyxBF_2b8-J1udq0I7NWw5_0fwwyX9bAA/s320/20240301_083731.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>The final few things I bought were a bit random. This shop has a few baskets of what look like Amazon returns. In there, I found these two packets of coloured tissue paper for £1 each. There are 25 sheets in each pack, which I thought was good value. They will definitely get used, as I often wrap gifts in tissue paper for birthdays and Xmas.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijIzl1xylwV1-0XM6ddPwVyj7K3yRpiGrP9CCQcQWHd23hZ3rlaX5hta4DqbHfA-1qHLPYoaCvMp821rg2sVTBsmMBaqEJbT7URRpIlZG-neKi9fo8OaeNorJix-21k1ozrH_CNgDa5e3su9hJU3Fq7SAztJU_I9iqygn5azYoe1ArphrcqQOVchwK24U/s4080/20240301_081839.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="3060" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijIzl1xylwV1-0XM6ddPwVyj7K3yRpiGrP9CCQcQWHd23hZ3rlaX5hta4DqbHfA-1qHLPYoaCvMp821rg2sVTBsmMBaqEJbT7URRpIlZG-neKi9fo8OaeNorJix-21k1ozrH_CNgDa5e3su9hJU3Fq7SAztJU_I9iqygn5azYoe1ArphrcqQOVchwK24U/s320/20240301_081839.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div>I also found this pack of cotton fabric squares for £1. There are 100 6" squares in this pack in lots of different designs. I don't really need any more fabric and I rarely buy any these days, as I'm focussed on using up my stash, but I couldn't resist this. It equates to a metre and a half of fabric or something like that. In view of my love of scrappy projects at the moment, this will add a bit of interest to my scrap collection and I have a new project on the horizon that it will be perfect for. It was not something that I could easily walk away from.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiWZdKIJXK0123hEikHGsymqB28qgFKz1a9KreaWzsuL2B5RhuS2ZyVfoBD5k4fDczHv42l2pKd2lV1cbrdiwgw5RUyybi-3VrWgvKwLus_ZwOvBbReNKupyOgtvROmaK8NAiX7wVr2TtrNQZXoDdq_qO2gX3BmjCr2P4nWwZeaUrqMgSYFeEzl1ST2BE/s4080/20240301_081937.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="3060" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiWZdKIJXK0123hEikHGsymqB28qgFKz1a9KreaWzsuL2B5RhuS2ZyVfoBD5k4fDczHv42l2pKd2lV1cbrdiwgw5RUyybi-3VrWgvKwLus_ZwOvBbReNKupyOgtvROmaK8NAiX7wVr2TtrNQZXoDdq_qO2gX3BmjCr2P4nWwZeaUrqMgSYFeEzl1ST2BE/s320/20240301_081937.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div>Finally, I bought a new phone holder for if/when I start running, for £1.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit3yWwHZbAm3tzusvYJ0duC9rxwFHxpJYmMgjZSzg6wU9BNdqKHf1rWZpo6RH1uohUNQn2pNoiEJf1869wbeFo4gHMYDaiGiNSERoG7REDhOyxUUWP2Xa2lkyNzFUSmHoTXnnvQCEY6owXouj4jrcUvrWXWvI1D1ugTiricldF6goaq553AOHLkzADtfM/s4080/20240301_081803.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="3060" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit3yWwHZbAm3tzusvYJ0duC9rxwFHxpJYmMgjZSzg6wU9BNdqKHf1rWZpo6RH1uohUNQn2pNoiEJf1869wbeFo4gHMYDaiGiNSERoG7REDhOyxUUWP2Xa2lkyNzFUSmHoTXnnvQCEY6owXouj4jrcUvrWXWvI1D1ugTiricldF6goaq553AOHLkzADtfM/s320/20240301_081803.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div>and I also took a punt on this lovely pleated lampshade reduced to £1.50. It is in such good condition, but unfortunately it is a tad small for the lamp I had in mind. I am keeping it though as it might yet find a lamp base to call home.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgynUcLUIpGiCCHyFetcjQen-BRR4fpqC4_FnqyigFzrcVfGAS_DhoqZUW-VevRXsewTYL-7-s9b16e8Gub7Rad9E4N0yEAeoRvIllvrLEERRZgRnV6WERe97H1osLF7GrhLPSTLcjiAYIZ_UJ_awmRMMRwBZP1kErEuAVHtlD7rqp7z6w8m8lGgVgzSAM/s4080/20240301_083813.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="3060" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgynUcLUIpGiCCHyFetcjQen-BRR4fpqC4_FnqyigFzrcVfGAS_DhoqZUW-VevRXsewTYL-7-s9b16e8Gub7Rad9E4N0yEAeoRvIllvrLEERRZgRnV6WERe97H1osLF7GrhLPSTLcjiAYIZ_UJ_awmRMMRwBZP1kErEuAVHtlD7rqp7z6w8m8lGgVgzSAM/s320/20240301_083813.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div>So, that's what £22 bought me, which I think is quite a significant amount. I was very happy with this haul and can't wait to put everything to use. I hope you've enjoyed this post and have found some bargains lately.</div>johnnyjumpsuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08474137444822527332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497889514720788230.post-54188668265923422202024-03-01T00:50:00.000-08:002024-03-01T00:52:08.246-08:00February Progress<p>February has been a productive month. Paid work has eased up a little this month now my contract has changed, so I've found myself with more free time, which has been a lovely luxury. It means I'll earn less money, but I don't need too much to get by these days.</p><p>As a consequence, I've managed to do a bit of cleaning and re-organising in the sewing room and vestibule cupboard, which was much needed. There's still a lot more to do, but I'll just continue doing what I can, when I can and trying to make progress.</p><p>Financially, it's been a less spendy month, although I have invested in a new pair of prescription sunglasses. I've also finally applied for a new passport which should be arriving today and I also got a hair cut. These three things have been the biggest expenses this month, but were all long overdue. I also paid for LB's eye test, but need to pay for some glasses for her in March.</p><p>In terms of my fitness journey, things have slowed down considerably this month. I had what felt like a long stretch of plateau (over two weeks), with my weight not moving hardly at all. I don't think it helped that I was overeating a little and probably eating at maintenance level, as opposed to sticking to a calorie deficit, but at least weight didn't go on, it just stayed the same. I'm hoping to get back into the calorie deficit in March and get the scales moving in the right direction again. </p><p>I tried something new this month, with my first weightlifting personal training session, which OH treated me to as a Valentine's gift. I enjoyed it, but haven't gone back for further training or to classes yet, but I have been trying to put what I learned into practice in the gym, so it was very useful in that respect. I'm not sure what I'm going to do going forward.</p><p>Still no attempts at running or Couch to 5K yet this year. Just not yet feeling it, but I'm not putting pressure on myself. I'll do it when I feel the time is right or not if it isn't. The weather doesn't help when it's still cold and wet.</p><p>The Walking 1,000 miles in 2024 Challenge, that I set myself this year is still going okay. I didn't walk as much this month as I did last month, but I still managed to surpass the monthly target of 135km, by walking just under 139km, so I'm still on track. It wasn't too bad, considering February is the shortest month of the year, but I'm hoping that as the weather gets better, I'll be inspired to get more steps in.</p><p>Finally, I've had a really good month in terms of sewing and making. I've done lots of scrap fabric making projects, which I've really enjoyed and I'm making progress on the star hexi quilt, although there's still a long way to go with it. I've also altered a few clothing items to make them more wearable.</p><p>I haven't got a lot of expense on the horizon in March, as there are no birthdays I need to buy for, no major expenses planned, save to pay for some new glasses for LB, so hopefully it should be a better month still on the spending front. I hope so anyway.</p><p>In conclusion, it's been a good month with lots of progress made. How has your month been?</p>johnnyjumpsuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08474137444822527332noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497889514720788230.post-10993572244670561492024-02-27T08:59:00.000-08:002024-02-27T08:59:38.348-08:00Another Scrappy Make<p>On Thursday last, after a morning walking the dog and working out in the gym, I looked forward to coming home and spending the afternoon in my newly re-organised sewing room. I had an idea for a new project that we really needed.</p><p>Our dog has two beds, one is a big oversized bed, that I bought from Joules when she was a puppy. It's stood the test of time and it's still her main bed in the kitchen. However, a few years ago, I bought a smaller cheap dog bed that she uses in the living room, I can't remember where from, but it has been useful as an extra bed and one we can take away with us if we travel, as it's a bit smaller and takes up less space. </p><p>She seems to like both equally, but recently I've noticed that the small bed has really deteriorated. The stuffing has gone all lumpy after it has been washed numerous times and is now distributed unevenly and I can't imagine that it is very comfortable for her to sleep in anymore. Here's a picture:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA8UXNB-863dtdhvAHqqD63lGwG7QU7rCPwN24nMg4aPkj9-k00RpZ3uVURvLlxqDGB9Po6dlFQcMxoDmdofsg1jsakSNG2MeSkba0ACfGecriK1pIgi33WEIv-i3piLNX_I4bi2vs8YPhIeDrk0y4vTiPrU_j6KUP-dViPsvJ-TRkafttWBjdMKBk90w/s4080/20240222_165215.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="3060" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA8UXNB-863dtdhvAHqqD63lGwG7QU7rCPwN24nMg4aPkj9-k00RpZ3uVURvLlxqDGB9Po6dlFQcMxoDmdofsg1jsakSNG2MeSkba0ACfGecriK1pIgi33WEIv-i3piLNX_I4bi2vs8YPhIeDrk0y4vTiPrU_j6KUP-dViPsvJ-TRkafttWBjdMKBk90w/s320/20240222_165215.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p>I took a look online, with a view to buying another one and that's how I got scammed by a fake Joules site a few weeks ago, trying to buy another of their dog beds, as they are great quality. Anyway, having recovered from that experience, I've been looking in shops to find another dog bed, but I haven't found any that I liked, so when I got the idea to try to make one, I thought, why not.</p><p>I decided to make it another scrappy project, because I really love the process, love using up my scraps and it is a joy to make fabric from them. I just need an excuse and this was a perfect one. The dog won't care that it's scrappy, so long as it's comfortable. I had also found some thickish wadding in my stash when tidying it last week. I had lots of odd offcuts and I figured that I could probably make them work for this project.</p><p>So, I set about making the fabric one evening by firstly laying out the pieces I was going to use. It's a super random design and nothing startling. I just used darker coloured scraps, because, as anyone who has had a dog knows, their beds get super smelly and dirty, especially in the winter, so I figured dark fabrics wouldn't show the dirt so much. Luckily, I still had plenty of scraps left, despite my recent attempts at making scrappy fabric project bags. Here's a picture I took of the layout:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrq49k-WD7ikEQQXkqAMnFheMOK6BOwpFn_Rx5G_UOJ5btuxpkiZBH6LeOPj8OnBbDNS2YEdGY_jglS134NSo_7HbV7oHuulZnoe6w5eimMexIXXyatYKzWAcEJ7jSmIyY0O81laL8nxy_6_zp0AUozclhXuebN8kiLHv-C8gKdXV7MNZUBxT93TNHSiA/s4080/20240221_230419.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3060" data-original-width="4080" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrq49k-WD7ikEQQXkqAMnFheMOK6BOwpFn_Rx5G_UOJ5btuxpkiZBH6LeOPj8OnBbDNS2YEdGY_jglS134NSo_7HbV7oHuulZnoe6w5eimMexIXXyatYKzWAcEJ7jSmIyY0O81laL8nxy_6_zp0AUozclhXuebN8kiLHv-C8gKdXV7MNZUBxT93TNHSiA/s320/20240221_230419.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>As mentioned above, I spent an afternoon sewing all the scraps together. It is much easier and quicker with a photo of the layout to guide you. I was going to add some hexie patches again and the odd other shape, but I decided against it in the end, as the dog tends to scratch her basket and they could get ripped off. </p><p>Once I'd made the scrappy top fabric, I backed it with some fabric from my stash and then slotted in the wadding, with long thin pieces around the edges and a square piece doubled over in the middle. I then closed the bed up at the end using the backing fabric to bind the edge and machine quilted the wadding in place around the edges and in the middle. </p><p>I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. Here's a front and back view:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4JcjwbzXTDdEQmCckhdS4JSL6t6gLJD527Llg1YjYRZMdXa_G3emQm1TPW7AVkhVoRQldx4gwyVfXuQgu-4Ux6ZbG3fMgzT0RCPTYNxBSk2tv-KRGi7pUikL_ky8WrDFT6eTthKiqncdSE1mfFoAlVG_safT9RH4pEN8Dq4-qOqKSk9Io3mO9W7LJQ7Q/s4080/20240222_164937.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3060" data-original-width="4080" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4JcjwbzXTDdEQmCckhdS4JSL6t6gLJD527Llg1YjYRZMdXa_G3emQm1TPW7AVkhVoRQldx4gwyVfXuQgu-4Ux6ZbG3fMgzT0RCPTYNxBSk2tv-KRGi7pUikL_ky8WrDFT6eTthKiqncdSE1mfFoAlVG_safT9RH4pEN8Dq4-qOqKSk9Io3mO9W7LJQ7Q/s320/20240222_164937.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYlnKP46SkEno1YQqjDSkDgTr2M1mqSSKWt-wzePkxVA-e2dzZ2Ag7ig637XnCgxw1KdxYPfUnkmNJmtFJOwfyJUpe4hUkgUw3Z3qFB_QiCZgo9g85oyWqrFqQRJGvZUeJP3lr64STQ4mKow-_hKg3Pc_072QHHVKJHCMGfMv1kv_3yvNjR9EB5t3ayDM/s4080/20240222_164853.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3060" data-original-width="4080" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYlnKP46SkEno1YQqjDSkDgTr2M1mqSSKWt-wzePkxVA-e2dzZ2Ag7ig637XnCgxw1KdxYPfUnkmNJmtFJOwfyJUpe4hUkgUw3Z3qFB_QiCZgo9g85oyWqrFqQRJGvZUeJP3lr64STQ4mKow-_hKg3Pc_072QHHVKJHCMGfMv1kv_3yvNjR9EB5t3ayDM/s320/20240222_164853.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>I actually quite like the back, we could always use this side by reversing it sometimes. It's not the thickest cushion, as I didn't have any stuffing to use. LB had disappeared off to Uni with it for her crochet projects, so I just had to make do with the wadding I had.</p><p>It's definitely not perfect. I actually nicked one of the small scrappy pieces, whilst trimming and had to cover the nick with a patch, but being scrappy, it didn't matter so much. That's the beauty.</p><p>So, is it perfect? - No, but it's good enough. Did it save me money - definitely. Did it cost me anything? - No, only time, as I used supplies I already had. Did I enjoy it? - Heck, yes and I can't wait for the next scrappy project. Did the dog like it? - The judge and jury are out on this one, but here's a photo of her lying in it and she's been sleeping in it most nights since I made it:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieqk3sf1_eoUV4ULsxC5McM__Q2oKtrh8PkXKBemT67goTenbUrCiLSh1JF6Xib1e85REJ993tH3Fr32y1KcPkD1KWuhKNqsS8eSWYAkDPttjVGEgTAojYa8_VaJ3tjAqXyJkxW5rNMmfMiIYxpSm7JfG0b47-M5JyyD4v8Ao0gx97U7bM6x9v5KuNark/s4080/20240222_201758.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3060" data-original-width="4080" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieqk3sf1_eoUV4ULsxC5McM__Q2oKtrh8PkXKBemT67goTenbUrCiLSh1JF6Xib1e85REJ993tH3Fr32y1KcPkD1KWuhKNqsS8eSWYAkDPttjVGEgTAojYa8_VaJ3tjAqXyJkxW5rNMmfMiIYxpSm7JfG0b47-M5JyyD4v8Ao0gx97U7bM6x9v5KuNark/s320/20240222_201758.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>She was a bit reluctant at first because it was new and unscented, but once it gets her own smell on it, I'm sure she'll get to like it a lot better.</p>johnnyjumpsuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08474137444822527332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497889514720788230.post-37069716287161664132024-02-26T02:04:00.000-08:002024-02-26T02:04:47.964-08:00A Bit of Cupboard Love <p>Last Friday evening, I was home alone with the dog, as OH had gone out for a few drinks with some cycling friends and I decided to give the cupboard in the vestibule a bit of love.</p><p>This cupboard has four compartments, a pantry shelf, a DIY beauty shelf and a couple of sections housing miscellaneous things such as sports equipment, birthday/Xmas cards, xmas lights, vases, candlemaking equipment plus various other bits and pieces. It's the kind of place that things gravitate to, when you don't know where else to put them, so it often becomes a bit of a dumping ground and of late, it's been a bit cluttered.</p><p>I started with the pantry shelf, as OH had complained that the plastic lidded box I'd put dry goods such as rice/pasta etc. in, prevented him from getting to the cans of baked beans easily, as the lid jutted out.</p><p>Here's a before picture:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8OTmUiDfz3fe2FcqYmO69P1Y5fHTXxyUCurYp2BbgrxtZda3IehoYPvHHLR46mBQhboFX8uKeEQc1scpfiImE5fV3JIgeIOCuAuF3-qGiRII08en48E0i62kZRPbSV12t1sxkIUIsZ4q-eRcYUG-Ds-KO0rosni_QXYVL3-NUtCATi_Jc8DckZ_sJuas/s4080/20240223_205630.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3060" data-original-width="4080" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8OTmUiDfz3fe2FcqYmO69P1Y5fHTXxyUCurYp2BbgrxtZda3IehoYPvHHLR46mBQhboFX8uKeEQc1scpfiImE5fV3JIgeIOCuAuF3-qGiRII08en48E0i62kZRPbSV12t1sxkIUIsZ4q-eRcYUG-Ds-KO0rosni_QXYVL3-NUtCATi_Jc8DckZ_sJuas/s320/20240223_205630.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">I bought a new box on eBay, which I originally bought as a possible receptacle for my fabric stash. Unfortunately, it wasn't as big as I'd hoped, a completely different colour to what I expected and was not right for the job, I'd bought it with the pantry in mind too, as I figured that if it did'nt work for the fabric, it would be fine for the pantry. Hence, why I just ordered one.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">Anyway, I took everything off the shelf, checked the dates and anything out of date or close to BB date I left out so that we would use it up quickly. I did relocate a couple of things, throw a couple of things out and also put a couple of things we wouldn't use aside to donate to the food bank. When putting everything back, I put them in date order so the older things would be used first. It looked a lot better, created more space and everything could be seen and accessed a lot more easily. Here's a picture after the re-organisation:</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsM9aQ8er8y2_IRXbMoM31ReEPJhC1DFMqIaAG_BFthmUMrqb93Sd3hl1XK-Lir3Lr1hRkjwXXn8XUkvtQtrFEXGNbHfXUltLbc6dyg4VESj6JYMGDfU0PEojpciuzTQHjgKISCN8Mb7ZZAwRJRFeryTwxR_bjoJQ7RZVKskRLzsHYNPXQsDycK9F-PFI/s4080/20240223_212223.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3060" data-original-width="4080" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsM9aQ8er8y2_IRXbMoM31ReEPJhC1DFMqIaAG_BFthmUMrqb93Sd3hl1XK-Lir3Lr1hRkjwXXn8XUkvtQtrFEXGNbHfXUltLbc6dyg4VESj6JYMGDfU0PEojpciuzTQHjgKISCN8Mb7ZZAwRJRFeryTwxR_bjoJQ7RZVKskRLzsHYNPXQsDycK9F-PFI/s320/20240223_212223.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>The next shelf down, was the shelf I use to house all of the ingredients for making DIY beauty products. In all honesty, I haven't made much in recent years, just some roll on deodourant and some paw balm for the dog. Here's a before picture:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvxxJtedBF9GsIyWx2ePUmB0vNMndDEPkt4KajD6F_z4EoQMTU6ehIh6pJNfEyF4mgNjC3awSLLD89Bi15OXZSTtxj958I715Xmm9IJPHPOPmHBtFTLjKP6HWvvTKMVjHGACuopsWQHq186yQ3mcI3OILJCrIsabBRAyeKoyrS0anz3LyBpFE8lUYqjTc/s4080/20240223_212619.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3060" data-original-width="4080" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvxxJtedBF9GsIyWx2ePUmB0vNMndDEPkt4KajD6F_z4EoQMTU6ehIh6pJNfEyF4mgNjC3awSLLD89Bi15OXZSTtxj958I715Xmm9IJPHPOPmHBtFTLjKP6HWvvTKMVjHGACuopsWQHq186yQ3mcI3OILJCrIsabBRAyeKoyrS0anz3LyBpFE8lUYqjTc/s320/20240223_212619.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>Many of the ingredients were out of date or many years old. I decided to be ruthless and throw some of it out. I will replace what I will use, such as shea butter and vitamin E oil, but some of it I won't replace. I did move a couple of things into either the baking drawer or the cleaning cupboard as they were multipurpose items, such as cornflour and citric acid and would probably get more use in their new location. </p><p>I also recycled some containers that I'd kept from beauty products I'd bought and used. I needed to be ruthless, as they are just taking up space, with little likelihood of being used. Again, it looked a lot better when I'd finished:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi46BT8OMOOGeOvj_3vnrFveq-F1uARGY7DGircJeKngnBCVHmO_0CPx55UP0Hp4RaQnRcpWsI9o49K_IFIhkRFt7_HYUfBQgJHMfKQXghUahomHLW55nKQePraVLXD9vRzLufGyrpIDfNejW_Q3tbHe5dweyxpJzpSoL1jcB198qgyC9psas9s2bfKmFg/s4080/20240223_221310.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3060" data-original-width="4080" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi46BT8OMOOGeOvj_3vnrFveq-F1uARGY7DGircJeKngnBCVHmO_0CPx55UP0Hp4RaQnRcpWsI9o49K_IFIhkRFt7_HYUfBQgJHMfKQXghUahomHLW55nKQePraVLXD9vRzLufGyrpIDfNejW_Q3tbHe5dweyxpJzpSoL1jcB198qgyC9psas9s2bfKmFg/s320/20240223_221310.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>There's a few more things to go back in here when I've washed them, but it will still be an improvement. I may even decant some things into smaller containers too, to take up less space. I called it a night after this shelf, leaving two more shelves to clean and re-organise, which I did the next day. I didn't take before pictures, but here are the after pictures: </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCO_Nba3GSX3IVp-8HjgQCQmmTjZ9KuwGLovoLsIYjgqBk6RzO4iA9TtUNRsFzFgF9ura1vHJXY0qy4eTINd4YgPDMEIgDYCnQfQwdHFccKfqCQ1OIpBPkcqKpTlO5-gwG_HiajE3blWddzKcoahrP7zV3nBAfjLeLQPJ12ZO46fTHgbDuscGQ5lh2IkU/s4080/20240224_154957.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3060" data-original-width="4080" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCO_Nba3GSX3IVp-8HjgQCQmmTjZ9KuwGLovoLsIYjgqBk6RzO4iA9TtUNRsFzFgF9ura1vHJXY0qy4eTINd4YgPDMEIgDYCnQfQwdHFccKfqCQ1OIpBPkcqKpTlO5-gwG_HiajE3blWddzKcoahrP7zV3nBAfjLeLQPJ12ZO46fTHgbDuscGQ5lh2IkU/s320/20240224_154957.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>There was very little change, save the spaces are now much cleaner. I then continued on to clean the vestibule area, the stairs leading to the hallway, the downstairs toilet and kitchen floor, which all really needed it. Baby steps to getting on top of the house, but a definite improvement.</p>johnnyjumpsuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08474137444822527332noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497889514720788230.post-50280353471826362422024-02-25T03:41:00.000-08:002024-02-25T03:41:23.090-08:00Enjoying a Better Work/Life Balance and a Bit of Re-organisation - W/E 24/2/24<p>This week, it finally started to feel like I'm managing to get a better work/life balance. I've been feeling it for the last couple of weeks actually, as I haven't been given as many shifts at work, and this suits me down to the ground.</p><p>I worked the first couple of days of this week (i.e. Sunday/Monday) and then I was due to be off until the Sunday of the following week, which was exciting. I was looking forward to having some free days to do as I pleased.</p><p>I had a bit of a lie in on Sunday. I was supposed to be walking the dog, as OH had planned to go cycling, but because of heavy rain overnight and into the morning, he decided not to go and took the dog out, so I had a lovely leisurely morning before going into work for 2pm. I quite like Sunday shifts, as I finish at 6pm and am able to eat at a reasonable time with OH when I get home.</p><p>Before going into work, I did a few household chores and pottered around. Our neighbour knocked on the door. He's replacing the fence between our gardens and was taking lots of garden waste from clearing the fence, to the tip in a van he'd hired, so OH was able to put the fence panels we'd removed from our side of the fence into the van. This was very useful to clear them out of the garden. There's still more to take down and the fence itself to remove, so another van trip will be needed when work begins proper.</p><p>We're hoping to replace the rest of the fencing around our garden, as it's all getting very shabby and starting to fall apart. I'm looking forward to it all being done and dusted if I'm honest, but it will be a while. I'll keep you posted.</p><p>Anyway, I went around the house and watered all of the plants. I then decided to clean the leaves of some of the bigger plants as they were looking very dusty. I don't think I'd done this since Lockdown, so it was long overdue. The plants look much better for it too.</p><p>Work was good today. It was a shorter than usual shift and I managed to just about get everything done in time. OH made us a lovely Shepherd's pie for supper and we spent the evening relaxing in front of the TV.</p><p>On Monday, I was up early and out with the dog. We had a nice walk, but it was raining on and off and we got a bit wet.</p><p>When I got home, I headed out to do the weekly shop. I shopped locally this week, due to the fact I was working in the evening. I wasn't able to get everything locally this week, so I topped up at ASDA on the way to work.</p><p>I got a few bargains at both Tesco and ASDA. Here's a picture:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaBQ-EM-mmolRuU4kbrc5KYLZK-Ch391Oi9K1V5LadNME5gcFos1nH3nfs-vY61K7XSDtEafv5_BH7KJcOMQYVawsfbafJGEorc08jSJa07bcWwB5ooazIRu_CvI7Jefa-BtAl2Ei9sykFttSz21lMrQz4xYHnMAJOKfZPZBB2G9M-9c7O_f_ik6FKNNY/s4080/20240221_115338.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3060" data-original-width="4080" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaBQ-EM-mmolRuU4kbrc5KYLZK-Ch391Oi9K1V5LadNME5gcFos1nH3nfs-vY61K7XSDtEafv5_BH7KJcOMQYVawsfbafJGEorc08jSJa07bcWwB5ooazIRu_CvI7Jefa-BtAl2Ei9sykFttSz21lMrQz4xYHnMAJOKfZPZBB2G9M-9c7O_f_ik6FKNNY/s320/20240221_115338.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>The large jar of sliced beetroot was reduced to 30p in Tesco, so I bought 3 jars, as I eat this daily. It costs well over £1 everywhere but Lidl, where it's 99p. This will keep me going for a while. In ASDA, I picked up 2 of these cajun quinoa packets for 36p each. These will be perfect for power bowls when I next feel the urge to make one. All of the items still had over a year's shelf life left.</p><p>Anyway, work was okay on Monday. I was doing a different job, one that I'd done before, but which was a bit calmer. It took a bit of getting used to doing it again, but it was nice to go back to it, especially on the last night of a 4 night stretch, as I was feeling quite tired.</p><p>OH had arranged to go on a cycle ride to Brighton on Tuesday, so I was charged with getting up early and walking the dog. Just as I was setting out, two traffic wardens were patrolling the street and I could see them taking an interest in our car. I decided to go back and they told me that our parking permit ran out two days ago. I knew this and was pretty sure OH had renewed it, but they said it wasn't showing on their system. </p><p>To avoid a ticket, I took the dog out in the car to a favourite local spot and we had a nice walk. I then left it for the rest of the day, as I don't have time to watch over it. We didn't get a ticket and OH confirmed he'd paid for the renewal and had a receipt. We never see the wardens, until the permits expire and then they come out in force trying to catch people out. Seems a bit cynical to me.</p><p>I headed out later, to go to my usual class which was good and then after lunch I decided to head up to the sewing room and reorganise my fabric stash. I had been inspired by Karen of Just Get it Done Quilts on YouTube, who posted a great video about fabric storage.</p><p>Most of my fabrics are kept in drawers, but they were a bit dishevelled after I'd recently taken some out to use on projects and then put them back haphazardly and I wanted to re-fold everything, so that it all fitted better into the space. It took me the whole afternoon, but it looked a lot better when I'd finished. </p><p>I had a long lie in on Wednesday morning, after having to take the dog for a midnight walk due to her having an upset stomach. When I did eventually surface, I put away some laundry and headed down for breakfast. I didn't have any plans for the day, as my usual class had changed venue, and as a consequence, I wasn't feeling it, as I would need to cycle and it was raining.</p><p>Instead, I decided that this was the day that I was going to do a task that I've been putting off for over 6 months, i.e. applying to renew my passport. It's a very simple task, but I'm terrible at getting around to tasks like this and OH had been bugging me to do it for months, so that we can maybe take a holiday abroad. I'd hung onto my old passport, so that I could use it for ID when I started my new employment in November, but since then I haven't had any excuse for not renewing it, I've just continually procrastinated.</p><p>I went online to do the application and I was surprised at how simple the process actually was. Within 15 minutes it was done and paid for and my expired passport was packaged up ready to send off. My self taken photo even seemed to be adequate for the process, but we'll see if they ask for another.</p><p>It was a huge relief to get this task done, as it's been in the back of my mind for so long. I was put off, thinking I would have to crop or alter the size of the photograph to upload it and in the end I didn't need to, so I could do it all myself without any help. I also thought that there'd be some other type of issue that would make the application difficult, but there actually wasn't. I would recommend the service to anyone. It felt like I'd really made progress today, just because of this one small thing, that I'd needlessly made into a big thing. Why did I do that?</p><p>On Wednesday afternoon, I decided to do a bit of sewing. I needed to alter a couple of garments to make them more wearable, so out came the sewing machine and I spent a nice couple of hours working on it. It was nice to get these things done and it removed a couple of items off the to do list. </p><p>Thursday, it rained all day. I managed to get out with the dog early in a break in the rain, but it started raining as we were out so I cut down the walk a bit. I then booked myself into the gym and headed off for a good workout. I hadn't been in the main gym for at least a month and felt the difference using the machines in there.</p><p>When I got home, I decided to spend the afternoon making a new scrappy project. (More in another post) So I had a lovely afternoon, doing one of my absolute favourite things.</p><p>Friday, I decided it was time to go and get my hair cut. It was long overdue. I hadn't had it cut since before I started my job in November. I took myself off to the local mall, where I always go. It felt good to do something nice to try to make myself more presentable and it was good to actually get out of the house and go somewhere different. I found a £5 off voucher in my handbag, from my last visit, so I used that, which made it a little less expensive.</p><p>I had a little look around a few shops whilst at the mall and bought a few things we needed, but I didn't linger too long or spend too much money. Another thing crossed off my to do list.</p><p>I spent the remainder of the afternoon working on the star patchwork quilt. I'm close to finishing the last star block, which is exciting. In the evening, OH was out with his cycling friends, so I decided to do a bit of re-organisation of the cupboard in the vestibule. (More in another post)</p><p>Saturday morning, I was off to my usual gym session at 9.30am. I won't be able to get there for a couple of weeks, so I was glad to go this week and enjoyed the session.</p><p>I spent the rest of the day finishing cleaning and reorganising the vestibule cupboard and doing a bit of cleaning. LB rang and we had a nice chat and catch up.</p><p>In the evening I went back to the mall with OH. He wanted to buy a new phone and we stayed out for something to eat, which was a nice treat. I don't go to the mall often, but typically, I then end up there twice in two days.</p><p>Anyway, it's been a good week. I've enjoyed not being at work for the majority of it and having time to work on projects and do some re-organising. I also feel like I've ticked a quite a few important boxes on the to do list, which makes me feel like I've made good progress this week. I hope you have too.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>johnnyjumpsuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08474137444822527332noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497889514720788230.post-75933458478227675082024-02-21T09:30:00.000-08:002024-02-22T00:56:41.048-08:00Sewing Room Spruce Up - Part 2 - Making Some Progress<p>It's been a couple of weeks since I posted that I wanted to re-organise the under desk area in the sewing room and I've managed to make quite a bit of progress. Once again, here's the before photo of this part of the room:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBbILupxm1jTISvX6fKp8WvfzWteoe6i3CJhDuFE46Eg_vnjzy8r4Kmcc7z0GGQPllz5tGtvkdCZdrT5OvRXE694mnMXAigfzGw6T9sgCNmjt4qoljOhTBEFi6-AakpcuZRF0yNCfQd9zXrvRSWK9fg5Dk8LqJ8-HGCqkPK0GlyAAzD_BagBI1xfq_OlI/s4080/20240210_125428.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3060" data-original-width="4080" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBbILupxm1jTISvX6fKp8WvfzWteoe6i3CJhDuFE46Eg_vnjzy8r4Kmcc7z0GGQPllz5tGtvkdCZdrT5OvRXE694mnMXAigfzGw6T9sgCNmjt4qoljOhTBEFi6-AakpcuZRF0yNCfQd9zXrvRSWK9fg5Dk8LqJ8-HGCqkPK0GlyAAzD_BagBI1xfq_OlI/s320/20240210_125428.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>I won some more wooden IKEA drawers on an eBay auction, which ended up costing me £16, plus £4 for sample pots to paint them with. I got straight onto the job and they were finished and ready to use within a couple of days. I transferred the contents of the metal drawers into them and they are now insitu underneath the set I found on the street.</p><p>With a bit of rearrangement, I was able to make this space a lot more organised and streamlined. It's still pretty cluttered, but in a more organised way that gives me more room to work at the desk. Here's what it looks like now:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6z0kqrjBEVdo9yevqHmrJ7BvraKdYHkgBxdLQWu0Ho4gHjScHS64LhJM-jdO_fiJiHWgyXovkUpzVHY2Tqm1ax0ZSYFhirj5YLDYdyVLxvEJOcl89aqlJMJ-IhN9FLCMdCoWTpaGWyWxRl8PObPbzHtvQSNjdvbR9uvHpVW3IaFPTBxge4b87bPihCZs/s4080/20240221_133851.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="3060" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6z0kqrjBEVdo9yevqHmrJ7BvraKdYHkgBxdLQWu0Ho4gHjScHS64LhJM-jdO_fiJiHWgyXovkUpzVHY2Tqm1ax0ZSYFhirj5YLDYdyVLxvEJOcl89aqlJMJ-IhN9FLCMdCoWTpaGWyWxRl8PObPbzHtvQSNjdvbR9uvHpVW3IaFPTBxge4b87bPihCZs/s320/20240221_133851.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p>There's still stuff under the desk, but I have got more leg room now and I was happy with the outcome of this part of the makeover.</p><p>I then went on to try to re-organise my fabrics which are housed in a chest of drawers. I'd pulled out lots of fabrics to use them recently and I'd not really put them back tidily, so some of the drawers were a bit messy. I've now gone through all of the drawers and re-folded all the fabric to get it to fit in and utilise the space better. Here are some photos:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh84-U8oL6qWE42CeajdwT3-XNXQTKF6PystcecuuCqetxJbHdIjKMgjXh2IlIqlTuU4GHqHSzsUGyZeg0vPmFEeEknY2mQF-TanrZaMNd_7Tol2-w9R8PbDdsenXRGy1kB8sFISDSI0FiQG1JMDff-QxmfEij-YUAN8xuCKiie2vTvQRkhj-PGv2MSSz0/s3264/20240221_133436.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3264" data-original-width="2448" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh84-U8oL6qWE42CeajdwT3-XNXQTKF6PystcecuuCqetxJbHdIjKMgjXh2IlIqlTuU4GHqHSzsUGyZeg0vPmFEeEknY2mQF-TanrZaMNd_7Tol2-w9R8PbDdsenXRGy1kB8sFISDSI0FiQG1JMDff-QxmfEij-YUAN8xuCKiie2vTvQRkhj-PGv2MSSz0/s320/20240221_133436.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQp4ByCXyIeIVTq7IMJlfXPgcYMoPtuEEDRcOixMgPJxlW7F_PCGhyphenhyphenG1aA6FStpmJDW3Yz8prITBl4SWbFk60uCmwAY_s489FORSxsIHKXM6G8kPKqzzTspRfhF_cDT6uBDflGlhpDSrvAY0d7ykiYe0byA0ex6z93FFeOUjbbmir3UGixu4ZKrV_T0wM/s3264/20240221_133524.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2448" data-original-width="3264" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQp4ByCXyIeIVTq7IMJlfXPgcYMoPtuEEDRcOixMgPJxlW7F_PCGhyphenhyphenG1aA6FStpmJDW3Yz8prITBl4SWbFk60uCmwAY_s489FORSxsIHKXM6G8kPKqzzTspRfhF_cDT6uBDflGlhpDSrvAY0d7ykiYe0byA0ex6z93FFeOUjbbmir3UGixu4ZKrV_T0wM/s320/20240221_133524.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuZG48rLW5aoU3jBCJ-FvulppWPNq39G8nquX9vtI-y-a4d0-uBPQALmE5u9uNAiuvhEoUb54Nd3BjmsE9H4lrnobqAERnb4UNGmtdbGxFpxUkRqdmTkaQtGWf4S1FSH2z_1AkVCeE8x3uMT8CiaBMXDZApiah0xbAjSu0kdhF2ZD9i5HE87hq55A91sw/s4080/20240221_133626.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="3060" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuZG48rLW5aoU3jBCJ-FvulppWPNq39G8nquX9vtI-y-a4d0-uBPQALmE5u9uNAiuvhEoUb54Nd3BjmsE9H4lrnobqAERnb4UNGmtdbGxFpxUkRqdmTkaQtGWf4S1FSH2z_1AkVCeE8x3uMT8CiaBMXDZApiah0xbAjSu0kdhF2ZD9i5HE87hq55A91sw/s320/20240221_133626.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p>I've now just got to re-organise the fabric that I keep in boxes on the shelves here:</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoGeE0mGjvYPUmYtyxx13OUWLnAg2jUzVEtlsSk0RayMAaYDR2Or4BA0qcETd6zZIPMtX6KgtM4s4gDyw7IGuLvbBgx2CWFxkzM8niTOfl_Ch1Zjq3mPdFX0XU8o4FD2rB-14qK29DMzu3cpFJyRSG_SYKXJRg_XERMm6LIQNwBLRwBikxXGC4U3iB9Zs/s4080/20240221_133659.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="3060" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoGeE0mGjvYPUmYtyxx13OUWLnAg2jUzVEtlsSk0RayMAaYDR2Or4BA0qcETd6zZIPMtX6KgtM4s4gDyw7IGuLvbBgx2CWFxkzM8niTOfl_Ch1Zjq3mPdFX0XU8o4FD2rB-14qK29DMzu3cpFJyRSG_SYKXJRg_XERMm6LIQNwBLRwBikxXGC4U3iB9Zs/s320/20240221_133659.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>These boxes have been a great temporary solution. I bought them for £4 each from ASDA quite a few years ago now and they were a super cheap solution at the time. However, the shape of the boxes does not make them ideal for fabric storage, so I'm looking out for something a bit more suitable, that also looks a bit better. I have a plan for re-using these boxes, so they will be used for another purpose eventually. </p><p>I'll keep you posted with progress on these shelves.</p>johnnyjumpsuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08474137444822527332noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497889514720788230.post-84576348262593401962024-02-21T09:07:00.000-08:002024-02-21T09:07:04.692-08:00Making Use of Another Street Find<p>As you probably know by now, I'm a sucker for a street find, and where I live, people are always putting things out on the street when they don't need/want them any longer.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNtnIv0LdDo4HqHAugMrVoM6wAzpvKfu4VkOuFXRBj5EteCzO0oCxKF2NdtAalMp3fjIOm9CoXWM7MWRd1dCXi3CFkQfJujFj5Ir2T5rMSBv069oAYhvQVkMMRzmMoPsW_eJ7JyIH25v3Vexi7_sRI3oHx3HDFutOKEcBChEr-zy3TveNwKMW7iX4EeTk/s4080/20240211_134103.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="3060" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNtnIv0LdDo4HqHAugMrVoM6wAzpvKfu4VkOuFXRBj5EteCzO0oCxKF2NdtAalMp3fjIOm9CoXWM7MWRd1dCXi3CFkQfJujFj5Ir2T5rMSBv069oAYhvQVkMMRzmMoPsW_eJ7JyIH25v3Vexi7_sRI3oHx3HDFutOKEcBChEr-zy3TveNwKMW7iX4EeTk/s320/20240211_134103.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>The other week, I was walking the dog and I happened upon this plywood Virgin wine box. It had been left out on a night when it rained heavily, so it was a bit wet. (A few days on OH's underfloor heated office and it had dried out perfectly) I carried it home with me, as when I looked inside, it was compartmentalised and I was sure I could make good use of it for something.</p><p>After letting it dry out, I took it up to the sewing room, as this is the place where I probably have most need of good storage at the moment. I had an idea that it might be just what I needed to house all of my ink stamps.</p><p>They were currently housed in another box, which didn't fit all of them in, and I figured it would be good to get them all into one container. I removed one of the sections (they'd both got a little warped by getting wet, but were still useable. </p><p>When I tried my stamps and ink pads in there, they all fitted perfectly. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi21luNbFfIFC6eGKcBnaymRVQ-RkeEuBzDQy5CY8UpB44oNXNY_-EJuIaZuhCh9kkDuUWij-_d3lhlHfZauyyicq7fyk793uKR1h87ERbUpuwck1khz-XaKVbf_UckT4cfTxb-Dta4O-nB0HKXJ9N6MrIt-myd-llZCua_QvC08J7g0r5bX-np4PCxzVU/s4080/20240211_134555.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3060" data-original-width="4080" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi21luNbFfIFC6eGKcBnaymRVQ-RkeEuBzDQy5CY8UpB44oNXNY_-EJuIaZuhCh9kkDuUWij-_d3lhlHfZauyyicq7fyk793uKR1h87ERbUpuwck1khz-XaKVbf_UckT4cfTxb-Dta4O-nB0HKXJ9N6MrIt-myd-llZCua_QvC08J7g0r5bX-np4PCxzVU/s320/20240211_134555.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>I then just needed to paint the red lid, to make it blend better with the storage I already had in the room and I stuck some pretty paper on it. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHglXmaD5F9GhWxEqMg__Xgcrn6-sLZq676P3koqsO-p_T6Mfav0fHi89-UmigNMcxzCdfaMyVbrOt3bPBLosdwWNVsfSBl6Njx1yI6Nx5URT45jY7zzIS9RuWKnrQcPh2WfBPF9DkgTnYE_oBHtLwrkWAoxFWfeYJ11FQp3pa-L6fTSmk2kdihIpneLQ/s4080/20240221_134004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="3060" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHglXmaD5F9GhWxEqMg__Xgcrn6-sLZq676P3koqsO-p_T6Mfav0fHi89-UmigNMcxzCdfaMyVbrOt3bPBLosdwWNVsfSBl6Njx1yI6Nx5URT45jY7zzIS9RuWKnrQcPh2WfBPF9DkgTnYE_oBHtLwrkWAoxFWfeYJ11FQp3pa-L6fTSmk2kdihIpneLQ/s320/20240221_134004.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>I'm very happy with the outcome. These items can now be moved from under the desk, to somewhere else. I repurposed the box they were in to put my small travel iron in, that I sometimes use when sewing. </p><p>Baby steps to creating a better crafting space.</p>johnnyjumpsuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08474137444822527332noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497889514720788230.post-12589251953132672662024-02-18T10:38:00.000-08:002024-02-18T10:38:38.567-08:00A Mixed Week and a Romantic Gesture W/E 17/02/24<p>This week began in the usual way with a dog walk. I wasn't working again this weekend, which was great. When I got back from the dog walk, I had a lovely lunch and then took myself off to the sewing room again. I wanted to carry on working on the new piece of fabric I was making from scraps. </p><p>I spent a lovely afternoon working on it. It took a while to finish and use all the pieces I'd sewn together, but I was happy enough with the finish. I decided to try to attach iron on interfacing to this piece, to strengthen it and make it slightly less floppy, but when I did try this it was a disaster and created all sorts of creases in the fabric, so I ended up ripping it off. It was a learning curve.</p><p>OH made us a lovely soup for supper, which was very tasty and we spent the evening watching a very crazy film about a record producer from the 1960's, which neither of us particularly enjoyed, but we got so invested in it we couldn't stop watching it. I did a bit of work on my tiny cross project whilst watching TV. The crosses are looking so much better, now that I'm sewing them together with coordinating thread.</p><p>On Monday, I took myself off to do the weekly shop, out of town this week. I needed quite a lot of things this week, so it was a more expensive shop. I used my £8 off voucher at Tesco, where I managed to bag quite a few yellow stickered items, so that helped and got a couple of free items from Lidl, using Lidl plus.</p><p>I bought some new dahlia tubers for the allotment at Lidl. They were only £1.49 each, so I bought these 3:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzCggTUmRDDn8p5cotqPG-nUo-LTNsxsXsDVBg6K8bSHJAE0-7luXg7mrlDLsf0GLBjF42TxPrA5G7MWE1libdOtK3A1IA7vbHgTobRhYeOqJ7eVczBTFkDVdShKgrtMdW7yduQwcSC9by_qccLuKOZ75NaL0E5VFb6hVsq9K7iFtUYBsV2rxlpN2Jdf0/s4080/20240212_171835.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3060" data-original-width="4080" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzCggTUmRDDn8p5cotqPG-nUo-LTNsxsXsDVBg6K8bSHJAE0-7luXg7mrlDLsf0GLBjF42TxPrA5G7MWE1libdOtK3A1IA7vbHgTobRhYeOqJ7eVczBTFkDVdShKgrtMdW7yduQwcSC9by_qccLuKOZ75NaL0E5VFb6hVsq9K7iFtUYBsV2rxlpN2Jdf0/s320/20240212_171835.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>These cactus type dahlias are my favourites, as they have large flower heads. I also bought two packs of cress seeds for 29p each. I'm going to grow this on the kitchen windowsill and add it to my salads. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8XAcJMMf1Y3wzMMGQ_gjAx8ahZelaWLQLzSQkX9sxVdpqGSx49qcg9QUkkXeKpYb8T-HBbMYByp_1OrLlMKLPuCeR-47W86Uv8Nsv0_ClLzPPnh9rMSDZNoTWEdkdLr8v35F0NP53AAu7C4owuZZQj48ZNKFu77d8T4PjUhzIKoFK-omyMwbvR457mek/s4080/20240212_171904.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3060" data-original-width="4080" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8XAcJMMf1Y3wzMMGQ_gjAx8ahZelaWLQLzSQkX9sxVdpqGSx49qcg9QUkkXeKpYb8T-HBbMYByp_1OrLlMKLPuCeR-47W86Uv8Nsv0_ClLzPPnh9rMSDZNoTWEdkdLr8v35F0NP53AAu7C4owuZZQj48ZNKFu77d8T4PjUhzIKoFK-omyMwbvR457mek/s320/20240212_171904.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>Some colourful beetroot seeds came home with me from Poundland for £1. They look lovely in the jar, when you pickle the different colours together.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlRTWp5EcQ4knpVn2CZ2W1s57hhkYRuSHY1xEQmmFUqAz3geUSC8wg2Jh3ztKqC20lwMp3dAQX0O69-LbmVC97kYtRu7YSb97Lg63moC3foSjHAcKMVu7yY-LZ0HB8LYTROcjRXjyMun0ft9ZALdOrLnX-WCoFkEawrjBox9q8R3mr3TlAG8DLdwDLY84/s4080/20240212_171740.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="3060" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlRTWp5EcQ4knpVn2CZ2W1s57hhkYRuSHY1xEQmmFUqAz3geUSC8wg2Jh3ztKqC20lwMp3dAQX0O69-LbmVC97kYtRu7YSb97Lg63moC3foSjHAcKMVu7yY-LZ0HB8LYTROcjRXjyMun0ft9ZALdOrLnX-WCoFkEawrjBox9q8R3mr3TlAG8DLdwDLY84/s320/20240212_171740.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p>I was out for most of the day, and then when I got back I did some banking and got up to date on financials before making supper.</p><p>OH surprised me today, when he told me that he'd booked me a personal training session at a local weightlifting club, as a Valentine's gift. He knows that I'd love to learn how to lift weights/strength train properly, but he knew I would never book myself to do it, so he did it for me. I arranged to go along on Thursday of this week and was quite excited/nervous to see how it goes. A strangely romantic gesture.</p><p>Tuesday, I was booked into my usual class. It was a good workout. I was due to work in the evening. I didn't actually get a lot done before work, as I was preoccupied with a task that I'd got very behind on. Work was busy, but passed quickly. I was a bit late getting home as a consequence, but I wasn't due to work again until Friday, which made it okay.</p><p>I took the dog for a long walk first thing on Wednesday and then headed to Soca Aerobics. I wasn't really feeling it on this particular morning, as I'd got a bit wet on the rainy dog walk, but I made myself go and I enjoyed it when I got there. </p><p>In the afternoon, I needed to go and collect my new prescription sunglasses from the opticians. It ended up being a bit of a disaster, as they'd put clear lenses in them and not tinted. I got the impression that they thought it was my fault for not expressing what I wanted. I'm pretty sure I made it clear, but they didn't seem willing to budge. I said I'd be willing to pay half the cost of getting the lenses replaced for tinted i.e. £15 and later got a call to say they'd agreed to this as an act of good will(!), but I came way feeling very disappointed with their inability to get it right in the first place. </p><p>I dropped into B&Q afterwards, to get some more paint for some drawers that I bought on eBay at the weekend and that I'm hoping will be delivered later in the week.</p><p>After the disappointment over the sunglasses, I spent the rest of the afternoon in the sewing room, making up the third and final project bag. I was pretty happy with how this one turned out. I used some left over hexies to add a bit of interest to the plain pieces of fabric. I appliqued these on later. Here's a couple of pictures:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTyxctoQWr6lvqzVjDPKqdUWVTFXZyPLn_lI5Ix-vK-GAUfO5PjqP_2a1UEih_NeV0Eiab3LXvkQpwLL-0lCN969EoQrWp7FvMER6zremieK9_45BvpJj2Blzukm1YSy_eyNI6wBXLvFhn5oprHDHHa4ptxlk5HDFZ03JL-NiIA_GZGB8Mv8Lrq1O4bOQ/s4080/20240216_094034.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3060" data-original-width="4080" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTyxctoQWr6lvqzVjDPKqdUWVTFXZyPLn_lI5Ix-vK-GAUfO5PjqP_2a1UEih_NeV0Eiab3LXvkQpwLL-0lCN969EoQrWp7FvMER6zremieK9_45BvpJj2Blzukm1YSy_eyNI6wBXLvFhn5oprHDHHa4ptxlk5HDFZ03JL-NiIA_GZGB8Mv8Lrq1O4bOQ/s320/20240216_094034.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrq-XXg9l0Cg5n10PtvEDSLN0n2YJajnFxZbsQdh5FVNcHcxK1_ARLUsDeE63AR55i_5K4puGKygyvXy1JAKOONIKpn-wELdIQ1SQsKDItKpt5ef3qI3gdWprapc2CoFwNTKPqKxkltQ0YxtiEjra2w6pWUzGzgqSYGGITqO5POUSKFb0933KB1ZGZhpE/s4080/20240216_094056.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3060" data-original-width="4080" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrq-XXg9l0Cg5n10PtvEDSLN0n2YJajnFxZbsQdh5FVNcHcxK1_ARLUsDeE63AR55i_5K4puGKygyvXy1JAKOONIKpn-wELdIQ1SQsKDItKpt5ef3qI3gdWprapc2CoFwNTKPqKxkltQ0YxtiEjra2w6pWUzGzgqSYGGITqO5POUSKFb0933KB1ZGZhpE/s320/20240216_094056.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">(Apologies for the dark pictures, the lighting wasn't very good)</div><p>It is now housing the hexi star project which is getting bigger.</p><p>On Thursday morning, my wooden drawers arrived. They are pretty much the same as the ones I painted last week. I started to paint them the same colour, as I want them to stand on top of one another. I did a bit of painting each day until they were finished.</p><p>In the afternoon, I went for my personal training session at the weightlifting club. I'd never done anything like it before. It was interesting, but there was a lot to take in with regard to technique and the exercises I did, even with very light weights felt quite strenuous. I came away with legs like jelly and have been stiff ever since. I'm thinking of continuing with it by attending classes, but I probably need another personal training session before I do. I'll keep you posted with what I decide to do.</p><p>Friday, I was working in the evening, so I stayed home and caught up on some small jobs, did more painting of the drawers, laundry etc., before getting ready and heading into work. Work was steady, but busy as always.</p><p>On Saturday morning, I went to the free gym session again. I had a good session and needed it to loosen up the tightness in my muscles after the weightlifting training. I felt better for it. I then finished the painting of the drawers, lined them with paper and transferred the contents of the metal drawers into them. The new arrangement looks a lot less cluttered and I'm pretty happy with it. I'll post separately about it when I've made a few more changes to the room.</p><p>Later, I got showered and ready for work. I was scheduled to work 4 consequetive nights and then I should get 5 nights off, unless the rota changes, which it sometimes does.</p><p>This week has not been quite as productive a week as last week, but I have tried to make some progress each day, on the various things that I'm trying to achieve, be it my fitness journey, sewing or re-organising the sewing room.</p><p>I hope you've had a good week.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>johnnyjumpsuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08474137444822527332noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497889514720788230.post-92096004181417656382024-02-12T02:00:00.000-08:002024-02-21T09:08:29.726-08:00Sewing Room Spruce Up<p>My sewing room has been feeling a bit cluttered of late. This is especially the case on and around the desk area. I spend quite a bit of time in the room, sewing and journalling and I'm not entirely happy with the current layout.</p><p>Here's a picture:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy7oYRvQP5b9pYNDmI3Idv87fpyNNqFSmFRmZa8z6EriR1u5wdDH9HdEHFhMFasQCi2vpVVYyJxtWBxcCbCOAgPiddZjjkCnN6t8-0kFEOn36_X2EnOGgdM5zCeGogTqRJzrf5oIQH3nVAjy5v7FVXgJZ47CKu2JXY172GWZLnopMfTcWZ4eLnsnDHfaQ/s4080/20240210_125428.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3060" data-original-width="4080" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy7oYRvQP5b9pYNDmI3Idv87fpyNNqFSmFRmZa8z6EriR1u5wdDH9HdEHFhMFasQCi2vpVVYyJxtWBxcCbCOAgPiddZjjkCnN6t8-0kFEOn36_X2EnOGgdM5zCeGogTqRJzrf5oIQH3nVAjy5v7FVXgJZ47CKu2JXY172GWZLnopMfTcWZ4eLnsnDHfaQ/s320/20240210_125428.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>I feel a need to completely re-organise this corner of the room and find better storage solutions, even if it means spending a little money to do so. It is very congested, especially under and around the desk. Ideally, I want to remove the metal drawers, but need somewhere to store the contents, which include items such as my hot glue gun, heavy duty stapler, fabric paint, lino cutting tools, etc.etc.</p><p>The shelves in the alcove aren't too bad, as they have plenty of storage that houses quite a lot of things I use regularly, but I would like to make a few small tweaks here and there too.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEievRG7LAwSwfOHrPXgZsZf93ZTNlJJAnUkmEy_j_qLLNPr4N-94Dsu1IfVTp-zZ8IcfCPJP6PyXA-itvZIHklNLYMQlfxswiFYfj3D2b4zube0v4BaoStZuFFpzAHRrkfI0rAh2QYj_7p-Cdofvk9NOWN8rjizDeJW5bFlsOqFvmZE6A68dCobcrgZlnQ/s4080/20240206_180546.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="3060" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEievRG7LAwSwfOHrPXgZsZf93ZTNlJJAnUkmEy_j_qLLNPr4N-94Dsu1IfVTp-zZ8IcfCPJP6PyXA-itvZIHklNLYMQlfxswiFYfj3D2b4zube0v4BaoStZuFFpzAHRrkfI0rAh2QYj_7p-Cdofvk9NOWN8rjizDeJW5bFlsOqFvmZE6A68dCobcrgZlnQ/s320/20240206_180546.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p>I own a lot of vintage thread, that I am slowly working my way through. This is a throwback from my thrifting days, when I frequented charity shops more than I do now. I would always pick up odd reels of vintage thread for pennies and I have quite a collection. I decided to sort through it. I have an idea to store some of it on a little shelving unit that I bought a few months back. I decided to try it out and here's what it looks like: </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBgETLpbppcNhywOiic_f2K-BkixFXYsYdbziYgQy9044GHI6p5K2ln8PGSgUcJmG5J6Xl-YpAaMwKmw58RZvVP1bydIVwj1aiHBQiS-VEbicca3J86tl18jPACqhAUEcJrLpDglpunVcMCLfVTM8e1V0vs6ieSgLNCRNpmsOUEDBpotzrBbxDo4g6m9o/s4080/20240210_133257.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2637" data-original-width="4080" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBgETLpbppcNhywOiic_f2K-BkixFXYsYdbziYgQy9044GHI6p5K2ln8PGSgUcJmG5J6Xl-YpAaMwKmw58RZvVP1bydIVwj1aiHBQiS-VEbicca3J86tl18jPACqhAUEcJrLpDglpunVcMCLfVTM8e1V0vs6ieSgLNCRNpmsOUEDBpotzrBbxDo4g6m9o/s320/20240210_133257.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>I quite like it. It would be hung on the wall next to the desk and would make the thread very accessible. This way, I would probably be more inclined to reach for it and actually use it. I would most likely secure the reels with sticky dots or velcro to stop them falling off.</p><p>I also have a sewing basket that I keep threads in and a spool holder that sits out on the side, so as you can see, I have a lot.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihbl-nqoHpjJDw0OvMNQdQ-8MAa69jlr_4fKnWsmxCrjuItH1eiOiDvLvjqpb8KIKvBEyCr9jOqn4KB1FYfocpMq9U93Fcwm6JkTY_LVP40WeQidkGJp3-S-WZIdf_usaK9IFLRfz9BpauevGra6ZPksjCvhqLwyRUNl22kVzUDgabu1Dry_29rb4ltQo/s4080/20240210_133612.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="3060" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihbl-nqoHpjJDw0OvMNQdQ-8MAa69jlr_4fKnWsmxCrjuItH1eiOiDvLvjqpb8KIKvBEyCr9jOqn4KB1FYfocpMq9U93Fcwm6JkTY_LVP40WeQidkGJp3-S-WZIdf_usaK9IFLRfz9BpauevGra6ZPksjCvhqLwyRUNl22kVzUDgabu1Dry_29rb4ltQo/s320/20240210_133612.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>The top layer is brand new thread, still sealed in it's packaging, some vintage, some modern. Below this, is another layer of threads of various less appealing colours.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_OQ6ur5AZkrIStGilOTicSnitKb1funBKIEbVeSI4r_i-TTsMTiQBzfOtiYF2gG84ZF2hrTM8Bmo-qagXjGh2fz0-0RZMm1wreVVMnfRMB9q2h5Zg6jDdgNVTZwVvZHHpSdX09M7u4Tvz0XHUVU_smzupyRK_iHYfQbcwq44u-ODKWoM_GWjWOOtwQXQ/s4080/20240210_133650.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="3060" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_OQ6ur5AZkrIStGilOTicSnitKb1funBKIEbVeSI4r_i-TTsMTiQBzfOtiYF2gG84ZF2hrTM8Bmo-qagXjGh2fz0-0RZMm1wreVVMnfRMB9q2h5Zg6jDdgNVTZwVvZHHpSdX09M7u4Tvz0XHUVU_smzupyRK_iHYfQbcwq44u-ODKWoM_GWjWOOtwQXQ/s320/20240210_133650.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p>This spool holder is perfect for the threads I use most often. I use bright colours for basting when I'm doing patchwork. I also like to keep a selection out to use on various scrap projects.</p><p>You can see what I'm up against, and this does not even include the fabric I have stored in this room. Fortunately, most of this is all stored out of sight in drawers or boxes, which keeps it quite tidy and orderly. I'm hoping I can find some better solutions to make this room look tidier and less cluttered. I'll keep you posted with progress.</p><p><br /></p>johnnyjumpsuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08474137444822527332noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497889514720788230.post-43441465826289663192024-02-10T10:27:00.000-08:002024-02-10T11:17:23.833-08:00A Productive Week - Part 2 - W/E 10/2/24<p>This week has so far passed in a relative flurry of activity on my part, which has been rare in recent months. I think having a few days off over the weekend allowed me to recover from what has been a very busy period and I came out of the other side feeling much more motivated and energised. In part one of this week's post, I mentioned what I'd got up to at the beginning of the week. This post will carry on where the last one left off on Wednesday of this week.</p><p>On Wednesday, I got out early with the dog again, so I had 45 minutes before I needed to head to Soca Aerobics. I decided to make it count and set about sorting the death pile on the top landing. Here's a picture:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4FM8L4Lr6g8QfIrN8T6RZiIpoNWMvIQpZqwsZLiHjGbhcZtOfY7lvDbFE2zkfPFzO1iGR4gB5mEBjD-QBM4dylJKXbjtVo0bTpOzULqxgr6f6mVYZlCWk3Yyk07GEoKDMDB7pd_FRfBJK5c4XEVzdyL1Ic8utZSqFuUgR_BB2Qbs44Ln_6rE95IXZ6yE/s4080/20240206_183537.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="3060" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4FM8L4Lr6g8QfIrN8T6RZiIpoNWMvIQpZqwsZLiHjGbhcZtOfY7lvDbFE2zkfPFzO1iGR4gB5mEBjD-QBM4dylJKXbjtVo0bTpOzULqxgr6f6mVYZlCWk3Yyk07GEoKDMDB7pd_FRfBJK5c4XEVzdyL1Ic8utZSqFuUgR_BB2Qbs44Ln_6rE95IXZ6yE/s320/20240206_183537.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><p><br /></p><p>It's the place I put everything that I want to donate and it builds up over time. It was looking a bit unruly, so I wanted to get it in some sort of order. It didn't take long and looked a lot better afterwards. At least everything is boxed and bagged up ready to go. I did add some clothes to the pile the following day, so it is now slightly bigger.</p><p>I walked to my class. It was a different teacher this week, but she gave us a good class. It took me to over 10,000 steps before lunchtime.</p><p>In the afternoon, I decided to tackle the ironing basket, as we'd run out of kitchen/tea towels, as they were all sat in the basket. I then put all the laundry away, so that's another job I managed to get up to date with. I was at work in the evening and it was busy, as the section I was working on needed a lot of work.</p><p>On Thursday, I had nothing planned, not even a dog walk, as OH was taking her out, so I had the whole day to do as I pleased. It was filthy wet outside, so it was a day to spend inside at home. I decided to carry out a big wardrobe declutter. I've been struggling to get anything in and out of the wardrobe lately, as it was so full and some of the items in it, I probably don't wear and won't wear again now that I've lost weight. </p><p>I decided to be very methodical and ruthless. I tried on almost every single item of clothing in the wardrobe, (save for a handful of things I knew I wanted to keep). Anything that was way too big either went in storage if I still really liked it, or was donated if I didn't. I'm not taking for granted that I can keep the weight I've lost off and I don't want to struggle for clothing if I do put some weight back on. Hopefully, I won't, but who knows what might happen in the future.</p><p>Anyway, it took about 3 hours, but by then end I'd accumulated a big pile to donate and the space in the wardrobe was much easier to navigate. In order to make room to store the clothes I didn't yet want to part with, I went through a stored bag of clothing, that I've kept from when I was a smaller size. I tried on everything in that bag too and was so happy to find that the vast majority of the items now fitted me. A few made their way back into my wardrobe and some were transferred to the summer clothing bag, that is also stored away. I will go through this bag when the time to get the summer clothes out comes around. I'm sure there'll be lots more things in there that are way too big for me now. I'm looking forward to wearing some of the items that now fit me when the weather warms up.</p><p>A few things in the storage bag were still very slightly snug, so they went back into storage until I've lost a bit more weight and then I'll try them on again. I can't explain how lovely it was to know that I could now fit into most of the stored clothes. Some of them are like old friends and some I've never actually fitted into since I bought them, believe it or not. Just goes to show you can never say never, although I've wanted to lose weight for a long time, I never thought I'd be successful in doing it.</p><p>By the time I'd finished it was 3pm and I just had time to make a late lunch before I needed to get ready for work. Work was busy. It's constantly busy on the section I work, to try to get everything tidy by the end of the shift.</p><p>In other news, I received a couple of Tesco clubcard vouchers through the post on Thursday, giving me £8 off my next shop there, regardless of how much I spend. These will come in very useful. Certainly not to be sniffed at.</p><p>On Friday, I had a bit of a lie in, as I often find it hard to get to sleep when I work until 10pm. I didn't really want to get out of bed, if I'm honest, but once I did I went into the bathroom and decided to give it a deep clean. It's been bugging me for a while, but I've just not had the motivation. It felt good to get on top of it. Another job done. </p><p>Later, I continued the cleaning by vacuuming and mopping all down the stairs and the hallway. It doesn't take too long, but does make a big difference when you come in the door. I've got a lot more cleaning to do in the house, so this was a start at least.</p><p>I had a late lunch again before work. I'm finding that having a late lunch before work, is working well for me and makes me much less hungry towards the end of the shift, which is good. It's difficult to do on days when I've been to the gym though, as I come home ravenous and need to eat lunch straight away.</p><p>On Saturday, I went along to the free gym session in the morning. I really enjoyed it and had a pretty good workout. I had my now usual weekend breakfast later. I find I really look forward to eating something different for breakfast on the weekend. A small habit change, but it is very enjoyable.</p><p>I was feeling a bit grumpy on Saturday afternoon, because of something that happened when I got back from the gym, which I won't go into here. Nothing to do with myself or OH, it was a third party that put me in a grumpy mood. To soothe myself, I took myself off to the sewing room for the afternoon, as it is my happy place.<br /><br />I did a bit of sorting, with a view to reorganising the space a little. (More in another post coming soon). I then proceeded to make the second, much bigger project bag from the fabric I made the other day. Here's a picture of how it turned out:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQELq7tjCIDjeqs9F7gDsoy8ivgBmYFVs-BZCpYVaksDI1WNSNXFX1HHw9T7WdQSMiBhp9wNcW-2GJvOLGUIkHxhjg5VQdwpmgE_Y4fMNt7k8USXSwtMaXeWJSObCptiCUui16m8rtq8dwr0kZvPePnSub__s8Yj1AkgIDFYx16VN0pxXskdHP9VqD_4c/s4080/20240210_150011.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3060" data-original-width="4080" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQELq7tjCIDjeqs9F7gDsoy8ivgBmYFVs-BZCpYVaksDI1WNSNXFX1HHw9T7WdQSMiBhp9wNcW-2GJvOLGUIkHxhjg5VQdwpmgE_Y4fMNt7k8USXSwtMaXeWJSObCptiCUui16m8rtq8dwr0kZvPePnSub__s8Yj1AkgIDFYx16VN0pxXskdHP9VqD_4c/s320/20240210_150011.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>This bag is very big. It currently has the grey quilt I'm making inside it and the fabric I'm currently using to make it, and there is still plenty of space. This is a good bag for projects that are well on their way to being completed or that I am using lots of different fabrics to make. I was happy with the outcome.</p><p>I also started making a third bag, again this one is going to be quite a large one, as the one that is currently housing my star quilt will not be big enough for much longer. This one is being made with navy, green and brown fabric scraps, some of which were left over from making small quilts for our dog. This time, I just sewed lots of random scraps together. I didn't lay out all of the pieces first. I'm just kind of making it up as I go along and hoping for the best. I'll let you know when I progress further with it.</p><p>I wasn't working again on Saturday night, so I made us a meal of beef burgers with sweetcorn cobs and roasted new potatoes. It made a lovely change. Later, we planned to settle down to watch a series on Prime called Expats, that we started watching last week. It stars Nicole Kidman and is quite good.</p><p>It's been a very productive week this week. I wish every week could be just as productive. The house would be in a much better state if it was. I hope you've had a good week.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>johnnyjumpsuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08474137444822527332noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497889514720788230.post-35068901979978726952024-02-09T04:48:00.000-08:002024-02-09T04:48:00.823-08:00A Productive Week With More Spare Time - Part One - W/E 10th February 2024<p>This week started with a few days off. I wasn't working over the weekend and my hours for this week got changed, so I was working less shifts. I was very happy about this, as I'd previously been down to work five evening shifts this week.</p><p>As a consequence, I had a few consequetive days off, which meant that I had lots of spare time to do a few things that I'd been meaning to do for a while.</p><p>On Sunday, I had a nice walk with the dog, as OH was cycling again. Later, I decided to do the weekly shop a day early, as we'd run out of a lot of the foods we eat regularly. I stayed local and went to our local Lidl again. It does help to keep me away from the temptation of going into some of the many shops on the out of town retail parks where I normally shop.</p><p>I did a bit of patchwork on and off over the weekend, which was nice, as I hadn't done any for quite a while and then on Sunday night, I felt like I wanted to do something creative, so I went through my scrap basket once again found lots of scraps I wanted to work with to make another project bag. This time, I chose purple and burgundy scraps and added in a few other fabrics from my stash to make a big enough piece of fabric to work with. I set them out on the bed in a way that I thought would work well and then set them aside to sew together another day. This definitely scratched my creative itch.</p><p>On Monday, I didn't need to go anywhere. OH was walking the dog and I had done the weekly shop, so I got to spend the day at home. OH and I finally got around to putting the Xmas tree and decorations back in the loft, which cleared a lot of space in the sewing room, so I did a bit of a tidy in there.</p><p>Later, I went down for breakfast and then spent the rest of the morning deconstructing a patchwork project that I wasn't a fan of (more in another post). In the afternoon, I did a bit of painting. I'd picked up a small set of wooden drawers off the street, on the way to the gym a few months ago and I finally got around to giving it it's first coat of paint. I had a couple of tester pots in the cupboard that I used for this, so it didn't cost anything to do.</p><p>Here's the before:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgktegkpFyK-dEpntXcZGc6ihtVgKvuP7y7ShHrKPryn2gEwWVcJMPqx9QVHBwa1k90SLx_L_x3G7R2a1tOReuH-6WhZXJDtHPJjECD1sP5I03yKfSd9V9jay23Q4gkcFNUjJUelsETnHUrj93biMLNr6AmL5EsaqzhSm3-mdhMMUbAH8bV2FxnzpomK6o/s4080/20231128_111027.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="3060" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgktegkpFyK-dEpntXcZGc6ihtVgKvuP7y7ShHrKPryn2gEwWVcJMPqx9QVHBwa1k90SLx_L_x3G7R2a1tOReuH-6WhZXJDtHPJjECD1sP5I03yKfSd9V9jay23Q4gkcFNUjJUelsETnHUrj93biMLNr6AmL5EsaqzhSm3-mdhMMUbAH8bV2FxnzpomK6o/s320/20231128_111027.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>There were a couple of drawers missing, so I painted the front of the bottom and determined to line it with pretty paper to make it into a shelf. I planned to put the drawers in the sewing room alongside others that I have. </p><p>I was going to paint the second coat in the evening, but I got a call asking me if I would work, so I got ready and went in for a few hours to help them out.</p><p>On Tuesday morning, I got up and ready to go to my usual class at the gym. I had an hour to kill before heading out, so I put another coat of paint on the drawers. It felt good to get this done. It's a small job to spruce these drawers up, but I just hadn't found the time or inclination in the madness of the last couple of months. It's done now though and I'm very happy with the results. Good enough, for something that cost me nothing but a bit of time and effort. Here's a photo of the drawers finished with pretty paper lining the drawers and 'shelf':</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_5yHVZG83O4ZlWCAKdpjGEDZ2fiI2cmF7AF9DnT4bD_1NJazuxH0odEQ5C3KcypqwVm9IvK_KHRNydk7YRuXpvyA8xutK78MgqAnEntloYOSnlVg4OKvLvoOGl8wDVlB9gL6Vl3FNoextl9q-kmjBRjWLFui92s0-b2aazuZNenKxsl0UJ5Aeai19J70/s4080/20240206_180456.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="3060" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_5yHVZG83O4ZlWCAKdpjGEDZ2fiI2cmF7AF9DnT4bD_1NJazuxH0odEQ5C3KcypqwVm9IvK_KHRNydk7YRuXpvyA8xutK78MgqAnEntloYOSnlVg4OKvLvoOGl8wDVlB9gL6Vl3FNoextl9q-kmjBRjWLFui92s0-b2aazuZNenKxsl0UJ5Aeai19J70/s320/20240206_180456.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p>Here's another picture of them insitu in the sewing room:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipOglyn6xjye8JQYkgPRdStjm0JTbDgACDJ1faAMOrpKUI-df0akIBfIiI136nrVXzg0PppjVpP0up3lAH7XBwIbcuLHg1JGQUy_21cwLW578D6sgRZxYFrnHIZjddec9rSdRbYe2-2cLr3bvZ8Nl0cdNBSjM8G2567cmKRFulPhtMAX_hmNAc8TZkpxs/s4080/20240206_180546.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="3060" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipOglyn6xjye8JQYkgPRdStjm0JTbDgACDJ1faAMOrpKUI-df0akIBfIiI136nrVXzg0PppjVpP0up3lAH7XBwIbcuLHg1JGQUy_21cwLW578D6sgRZxYFrnHIZjddec9rSdRbYe2-2cLr3bvZ8Nl0cdNBSjM8G2567cmKRFulPhtMAX_hmNAc8TZkpxs/s320/20240206_180546.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p>I proceeded to fill them with things that I need to get access to easily when I'm sewing. Baby steps towards better organisation in the sewing room and hopefully making it a less cluttered and more easily useable space.</p><p>I then did some sewing on my machine on Tuesday afternoon and made up another piece of fabric using scraps to make into another project bag. Here's a picture of the fabric made:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyBAFB2bSAqs_hfxv9385lyyFpgKecEPLYf7xxRHIXdzjLktHmY-rSOpA8e1S6ByJ9Iozmdw2_bihD0L0upzUPKkw599R5Ju3GHZLPhJacesVM_lK-82eEkqkdVkeTZZV_Er-EeC_GCNkR89SOEk2V53-sAUDzAtVIpoLDkWV4u2Trha2GPTVyMEZZl4Q/s4080/20240206_170324.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3060" data-original-width="4080" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyBAFB2bSAqs_hfxv9385lyyFpgKecEPLYf7xxRHIXdzjLktHmY-rSOpA8e1S6ByJ9Iozmdw2_bihD0L0upzUPKkw599R5Ju3GHZLPhJacesVM_lK-82eEkqkdVkeTZZV_Er-EeC_GCNkR89SOEk2V53-sAUDzAtVIpoLDkWV4u2Trha2GPTVyMEZZl4Q/s320/20240206_170324.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>This is a much bigger piece than the last one, but it actually took less time to make, partly because I'd made one before and knew better how to assemble it and partly because many of the pieces were larger, which also made it quicker. It should, hopefully, make a much bigger bag/basket. I cut some fabric to size for the lining and made an inside pocket from more scraps and now I just need to sew it all together.</p><p>As I've been quite productive this week, I've decided to divide this post into two parts. See you in the second one.</p><p><br /></p>johnnyjumpsuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08474137444822527332noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497889514720788230.post-41278462751082161842024-02-08T07:59:00.000-08:002024-02-08T07:59:05.140-08:00Sewing with Scraps - A Fail - Deconstructing to Reconstruct<p>Last year some time, I found a great little quilting kit in the charity shop. It was for making projects with one inch square pieces. I figured it would be a great size to use up lots of small fabric scraps I had in my scrap basket.</p><p>I almost immediately set to using up my fabric scraps to make inch square pieces that I then made into small cross blocks and I then started to sew them together. I wasn't quite sure what I was going to use this patchwork for or what it would end up being. </p><p>Here's a picture of how it progressed:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxUOr79aCAf00H6CZUXz_K4v2tMfwMAZQZv5ss8Gy2TBDyGsiagq5SyuX46uPSJHVwBYLnFcCi_HJhBItLUxHMAPmTJcp-9E0BbrOgY5VFFFhguTTIzBs5fGmrnN5KbxX3kIAZyg_2eMkHVMayqp76nAI6rhlfehFLGTy6xjNBVa2mIxNqcUrGXjqvsV8/s4080/20231104_084135.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="3060" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxUOr79aCAf00H6CZUXz_K4v2tMfwMAZQZv5ss8Gy2TBDyGsiagq5SyuX46uPSJHVwBYLnFcCi_HJhBItLUxHMAPmTJcp-9E0BbrOgY5VFFFhguTTIzBs5fGmrnN5KbxX3kIAZyg_2eMkHVMayqp76nAI6rhlfehFLGTy6xjNBVa2mIxNqcUrGXjqvsV8/s320/20231104_084135.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">The problem was, I wasn't very happy with it, for several reasons, so I put it aside and gave up on it. I came across it again the other day and had a serious think about it. I didn't want to continue with it the way that it was. The main reasons being that my stitching was sloppy and I'd made my stitches way too big. I'd also made the mistake of using only white cotton to sew all the pieces together, regardless of the colour of fabric and on some of the darker fabrics, the stitches were very noticable and just stood out way too much . </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">A second mistake I made, was using any old fabric that I had to hand, in my enthusiasm to use up my scraps. Some of the larger prints just didn't really lend themselves well to being made into such small patchwork pieces and in addition, some of the different styles of the prints didn't seem to blend well together. As a consequence the outcome just didn't look the way I had hoped. I just didn't really like it.</span></div><p>I decided that I could do one of three things: carry on regardless of my doubts and complete a make that I didn't like and which I knew would irritate me; throw the whole thing away which seemed too much of a waste; or deconstruct it and start again using only the fabrics that I thought suited the project well. I decided to do the latter.</p><p>It took a few hours to unpick all of the blocks. I set aside the ones I wanted to keep and then I deconstructed them further back into 1" squares, so that I can sew them back together using matching coloured thread. I have no excuse not to do this, as I have a basket full of cotton reels of all colours. I think I was just being lazy using white cotton unilaterally.</p><p>I'm now looking forward to re-making it, whilst trying to make my stitches a lot smaller and less noticeable. I'm sticking with very ditsy floral or spot prints for the theme going forward, as I think it's important to consider scale and size of the fabric print used when making tiny patchwork pieces. It's definitely been a learning curve, but hopefully I'm now on the right track.</p><p>I'll let you know how it progresses.</p><p><br /></p>johnnyjumpsuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08474137444822527332noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497889514720788230.post-34585537823026596252024-02-05T08:53:00.000-08:002024-02-05T08:53:15.647-08:00Sewing with Scraps - Making a Project Bag/Basket<p>I've been working a lot over the last few weeks, so I haven't really had the chance to do anything very creative. As a consequence, when I did get a bit of free time a couple of weeks ago, I decided to use it as sewing time. I'd watched a couple of videos since Xmas, of people using scraps to make fabric and then making something out of the new fabric, and it made me want to have a go myself. One particular video was by Kate at The Last Homely House. She made a lovely little sewing pouch out of her scraps and it really inspired me.</p><p>Anyway, one afternoon I took myself off to my sewing room and started with a good rummage in my scrap basket. It was a bit of a mess, so I sorted through all of the scraps looking for inspiration. I sorted some of the scraps into piles to use, namely all of the grey fabric scraps and some blue/green scraps. I decided to work with the grey and black scraps and so I then set about making a piece of fabric from them.</p><p>I had a vague idea of what I was going to do with it once it was made. I wanted to make some sort of project bag for my quilting projects, to keep everything tidy and at hand. I've always got quite a few projects on the go at any one time, so it's useful to be able to keep them separate and have individual bags to put them in. </p><p>I proceeded to lay out all of the grey scraps on the bed to make up a reasonable sized piece of fabric and then I began the long process of stitching them all together using my machine. It was quite fiddly and frustrating at times and you have to be quite methodical about the order you stitch the various pieces together, so it took quite a long time, probably 3 hours. By the end, I had a new piece of fabric and had virtually used up all of the grey/black fabric scraps in my basket, which felt very satisfying.</p><p>I then had to decide what I was going to do with the resulting fabric. I decided to make a kind of bucket bag/basket. I stitched two of the sides of the made fabric together to make a bag and then made a lining out of some more coordinating fabric from a bigger length. The back of the pieced together fabric was a bit messy, so lining it was essential to hide this. I wanted to make it stand up, so I sewed across the corners and cut the excess fabric off to give it a flat bottom. I did the same to the lining. I then rolled the inside lining out at the top to make it look a little like a basket. I also added pockets to the front and the inside too, to hold needle books, scissors, thread, etc.</p><p>Here's a picture of the finished result:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_VTRXpKNluw02mVHsI-2GRLiA8Re1ZYVHlzZwiKLwEbOeREAJmPOmjoc2rdhn1htdATleDr9GxbNc4l6ADgB4wTNGZrihfGKirRu5Na5B8sV7-I5ZyFFtNUHUPi2MK5_XYAXzKsIXoheq5_sg3goaQgVsgvswechFQmEV6nvv2L0deVgfigd-OH71q9Y/s4080/20240205_163313.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="3060" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_VTRXpKNluw02mVHsI-2GRLiA8Re1ZYVHlzZwiKLwEbOeREAJmPOmjoc2rdhn1htdATleDr9GxbNc4l6ADgB4wTNGZrihfGKirRu5Na5B8sV7-I5ZyFFtNUHUPi2MK5_XYAXzKsIXoheq5_sg3goaQgVsgvswechFQmEV6nvv2L0deVgfigd-OH71q9Y/s320/20240205_163313.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Front</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvyn6RScKVyrEEG3UM8e91LlqWGOkcAVwO61wO2xs5vuN353kF6GHsfSxGILmran2Hfozq6Z60r7mm9j2Eip2WtiyJ6h8gsWAmKyg-sN7bWJJiig54FiXfBBOY7mflC9i38xvN7tvQ3fSyzyvksXYh5BuDY57OdfdqUQFrcDYVQx1YRYlqzCP18kmbZAY/s4080/20240205_164205.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="3060" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvyn6RScKVyrEEG3UM8e91LlqWGOkcAVwO61wO2xs5vuN353kF6GHsfSxGILmran2Hfozq6Z60r7mm9j2Eip2WtiyJ6h8gsWAmKyg-sN7bWJJiig54FiXfBBOY7mflC9i38xvN7tvQ3fSyzyvksXYh5BuDY57OdfdqUQFrcDYVQx1YRYlqzCP18kmbZAY/s320/20240205_164205.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Back</div><p>It's not perfect, but I was really happy with the outcome. It's housing my current star quilt project at the moment and it feels good to have made something useful and practical out of my scraps again. It's one of my favourite things to do. I need a few project bags, so I may have a go at making more when I get the chance.</p>johnnyjumpsuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08474137444822527332noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497889514720788230.post-69998358849224313582024-02-04T04:58:00.000-08:002024-02-04T04:58:49.958-08:00A New Month - W/E 3rd February 2024<p>This week got off to a lovely start with an old favourite dog walk on Sunday morning. I bundled the dog into the car and we went to a not so local park, where we used to walk a lot, until they changed the parking restrictions. It was really busy. There were kids playing rugby at the nearby rugby club, lots of rowers at the rowing club and people playing tennis in the park, in addition to people jogging and walking dogs, etc. London parks are so well used, especially on weekends. We had a nice walk though and then made our way home.</p><p>In the afternoon, I decided to christen my new muffin tin and finally make some breakfast muffins, after seeing another YouTuber make some on a video. They turned out okay. Here's a picture:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgFNWG04bcNqBjvCUyuwHN2dLEkBiwpqMhnTzg9EXXYkc9RGcGDtIDG9ncu1lrWj_TSU67jQGUQTFwfydy_5H6vILCRcpi9u4Z92YO4_rgWdzGmWZVdZZ9E7XtGDGsbuuIxjGEqCC7k3EGqZpplWxl7dtZGbqcciyFpiEtnk7B-s6afVhbfN3rhGqv1QE/s4080/20240128_140404.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3060" data-original-width="4080" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgFNWG04bcNqBjvCUyuwHN2dLEkBiwpqMhnTzg9EXXYkc9RGcGDtIDG9ncu1lrWj_TSU67jQGUQTFwfydy_5H6vILCRcpi9u4Z92YO4_rgWdzGmWZVdZZ9E7XtGDGsbuuIxjGEqCC7k3EGqZpplWxl7dtZGbqcciyFpiEtnk7B-s6afVhbfN3rhGqv1QE/s320/20240128_140404.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>I probably should have waited until they'd cooled down, but I couldn't resist trying one as soon as they were out of the oven. So simple to make. I used 4 eggs, salt and pepper and a splash of milk and then chopped up onions, peppers, tomato and chorizo to add in. I cooked them at 180 degrees for 20 minutes and they cooked perfectly. They'll be a nice savoury addition to salads or even just nice to eat as a healthy snack. They probably don't contain more than 100 calories each.</p><p>On Monday, it was weekly shop day again. (It comes around so quickly) I stayed local this week and went to my local Lidl. It was very busy. I had a 10% off voucher to use, so I saved £7 on my shop which was good. I can't buy everything I need at the local store, so I had to go to a large local Tesco store to get the rest. It was a lot lower spend this week, which is a relief at the end of the month.</p><p>Tuesday and Wednesday were pretty normal days. Classes at the gym in the morning, work on the evenings and time inbetween to do necessary household tasks, keep on top of my finances at the end of the month, a bit of reading, some sewing and anything else I fancied doing. </p><p>As mentioned in my last post, I was offered a permanent contract at work on Wednesday evening, which was good news, with a slight hourly rate rise, but slightly fewer hours, all of which is fine by me. It's a relief to know that I don't need to start looking for a job again. I'm happy to do a couple of shifts a week on a regular basis. I don't need heaps of money to get by these days, as I've honed my skills in living simply and generally spending less (December and January excluded).</p><p>On Thursday, I had a nice walk with the dog. We were out early and it was busy with parents dropping off children at school. I rarely get out that early when I walk the dog. I was back by 10.30 am and as I wasn't due at work until 5pm, I decided to clean out one of the kitchen cupboards.</p><p>I started with the food cupboard, as I'd been meaning to do it for a while. I'd noticed there were lots of crumbs on the shelves. I was quite ruthless this time. Anything we don't eat, or that was long out of date went in the bin or food waste bag. There's no point giving kitchen space to things I've bought on a whim and then left in the cupboard for years. I threw out quite a few spices that had hardened in the jars. I mostly had fresher replacements, but if I didn't they were probably things we never use anyway. It felt good to get the job done, except for the fact that I was tempted into finishing off some peanut butter.</p><p>Later, before getting ready for work, I decided to read for a while. I'm currently reading Capital by John Lanchester. I bought it from a charity shop. It's a fictional book about a street in South London and the residents who live and work there. It's not that recent, as it's set just before the 2008 financial crisis, but it is still very relevant today, in relation to the themes of the book. I'm really enjoying it, which is unusual for me, as I rarely read these days.</p><p>After reading for a little while, I suddenly remembered that I had to catch the bus to work as OH was using the car that night, so I quickly had to get showered and ready, as I needed to allow more time. Luckily, the buses I needed to catch arrived promptly and I got there half an hour early. I ended up killing some time in Poundland and spent more than I intended, when I got tempted by some gym leggings for £10. (I've worn them since and they fit super well and are very good quality.) I definitely don't need anymore now.</p><p>Work was good. I managed to see one of the managers before they left for another store, which I was happy about as I didn't think I'd get the chance to say goodbye. She was very sweet and kind and I enjoyed working with her. OH picked me up later on his way home.</p><p>On Friday, I booked myself into the gym and had a really good session for an hour and a half. When I got home, I had a little time to get ready before heading out to ASDA for an eye test at the opticians there. I used to go there for many years, but changed to a local optician. However, I've changed back, as I got fed up of all the extras that they tried to persuade you to pay for. Going back to ASDA was so straightforward. The price on the glasses included lenses and I just had to pay for the eye test on top. No hidden extras. </p><p>My prescription had hardly changed, so I didn't get new glasses, but I did order a new pair of prescription sunglasses, as the optician said there were signs of some sun damage to my eyes. I think my current pair have a very old prescription in them and the frames are a little large and fall off my face all the time, so it was time for a change. The new ones cost £80 and are a bit of a style departure for me (I'll post when I get them), but this seemed very reasonable and I'm excited to be all set for summer.</p><p>I spent the rest of the day chilling, baking, doing laundry, watching a limited series called Fool Me Once, that I started began watching on Netflix this week. Absolute bliss. I made some more egg muffins using the same recipe, but smaller ones this time. I bought another muffin pan, that makes 12 small muffins. These are a much better snacking size and are probably only 50 calories each. They turned out well. Here's a picture:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFBNorIkgKDtLUWtvwDAXuWTELlNYljxgb8AAOWWYDEEW2qfO8cPvsQ7RdOrmbbkmw92QE2UNYA95-LprUqUNNrXM_cx1ZHY8Ts9Q4p2WQ_FYRj3egmyAzDDA2-2dV_FQF_xfmhK3ctmIxxF-Fm6wGdzMAjTRtWcz1GvmkEk9OErxh-zbvqyGWCvo7TYk/s4080/20240202_150058.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3060" data-original-width="4080" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFBNorIkgKDtLUWtvwDAXuWTELlNYljxgb8AAOWWYDEEW2qfO8cPvsQ7RdOrmbbkmw92QE2UNYA95-LprUqUNNrXM_cx1ZHY8Ts9Q4p2WQ_FYRj3egmyAzDDA2-2dV_FQF_xfmhK3ctmIxxF-Fm6wGdzMAjTRtWcz1GvmkEk9OErxh-zbvqyGWCvo7TYk/s320/20240202_150058.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>One other small highlight of the week, was that my amaryllis started flowering this week and there's still another unopened bud waiting to burst into life too.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJfTwsDDAmYVwoGom3cIWXEhl_lLNIMuhiP5DMjI3sbDIRRQ_Ypcyrh7vqnLLbCBIq9nx_sVvBAuOI5Emj46SQeQP6beEY8E6EYeN3AwhrT28uC0L0CHL-z3Jc7B-D6FPD-cNlfAxNqdO0ZQgcBaysDgELd_GEByJCaEjVUIUTYGdG3lhn4tE0QoddHMo/s4080/20240202_150603.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4080" data-original-width="3060" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJfTwsDDAmYVwoGom3cIWXEhl_lLNIMuhiP5DMjI3sbDIRRQ_Ypcyrh7vqnLLbCBIq9nx_sVvBAuOI5Emj46SQeQP6beEY8E6EYeN3AwhrT28uC0L0CHL-z3Jc7B-D6FPD-cNlfAxNqdO0ZQgcBaysDgELd_GEByJCaEjVUIUTYGdG3lhn4tE0QoddHMo/s320/20240202_150603.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p>On Saturday, I didn't go to the gym, as I'd gone the day before and OH was out cycling, so I needed to take the dog for a walk. We had a nice walk over some marshland, which we haven't visited for a while. Later, I did some jobs around the house, some sewing, pottered in the garden doing a bit of pruning and tidying here and there and then made us a vegan sausage casserole for supper. I wasn't at work at all this weekend and it was lovely to spend the weekend at home.</p><p>It's been a very positive week on the whole. I hope your week has been positive too.</p>johnnyjumpsuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08474137444822527332noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497889514720788230.post-29565840668368265842024-02-01T02:50:00.000-08:002024-02-01T02:50:13.172-08:00January Progress<p>It's been a very busy January for me this year. It's always a little busy, especially at the beginning, as LB's birthday falls in the first half of the month, so I'm usually preparing for that the first couple of weeks and we usually have a family night out at some point. We had the odd extra event to attend this month too, but most of my time was spent working.</p><p>As I've previously mentioned, I have been employed on a temporary contract for the last few months and didn't know if I'd be kept on beyond the end date in February, so I'd accepted extra hours when they were offered, to make the most of the time left. It has left me a little tired at times, but I'm not complaining. To be honest, I'm always thankful for the distraction of being busy, particularly when LB goes back to Uni after Christmas, so it's mostly been welcome. Anyway, I was offered a permanent contract on the last day of this month, so that has been a positive this month. It's for slightly less hours, but that is fine as I'd prefer to work a little less as opposed to more hours.</p><p>On the financial front, I haven't been as low spend as I intended at the start of the year. I've had a few visits to charity shops and bought a few items for myself to wear/use, plus other bits and pieces. I don't regret any of them though. I think it's sometimes hard to get back to normal spending patterns after the spendiness of the festive season and it usually takes me a few weeks for my spending to settle down, especially if I'm working and have money coming in regularly. Also, there are always sales and special offers out there at this time of year and it's easy to get tempted by them.</p><p>I have replaced a few things in the house this month, by buying things at work using my staff discount, namely some kitchen towels and a bath mat. I've still got a few more things to buy, but there is no hurry and they are not particularly expensive items. I'm waiting for products that I like and that are practical to come into the store. (I like dark, as opposed to light coloured textiles for using around the home, as I think they last longer, in the sense that they don't stain as easily, especially when in daily use, i.e. tea towels and kitchen towels)</p><p>I have utilised quite a few money off vouchers, at both Tesco, Lidl and Poundland this month, which has saved me some money and meant that I've stocked up on quite a lot of things. As a consequence, February should be a much lower spend month on food and toiletries. I also don't have any big birthdays to buy presents for in February, so that will make it a less expensive month in that regard.</p><p>I have decided to got back to putting money aside every month this year, to buy birthday and other gifts, as I have my nephew's wedding gift coming up later in the year, which will be quite a big expense. I'm going to try to put aside at least £50-£100 per month for gifts, birthdays and next Xmas, so that I don't need to get anxious about money as the festive season approaches again.</p><p>In relation to our house, OH has also made progress this month with some DIY. He started and finished work on the front bay windows, that were replaced this time last year. They are fine from the outside, but the trims inside needed to be replaced and the shutters re-hung and he has now done this work and painted it all, so the living room is now back to normal. I for one will be grateful for having shutters up again, as they do afford more privacy.</p><p>In other areas of life, I feel like I've also made progress in January. I've been to the doctor's for a blood pressure check, tracked my BP and pulse readings for a week and been told they were within normal parameters, which is good news. I've been to the dentist and paid for a check up and having my teeth cleaned. I've booked an eye test and I've continued on my weight loss journey. My weight is slowly starting to move in the right direction again, after all of my festive indulgences.</p><p>The walking challenge I set myself, to walk 1,000 miles in 2024 is going well. I need to walk approximately 135 km per month to meet the target of 1,000 miles in a year and I have walked 165 km this month, which puts me a little ahead in the challenge. This is despite not tracking steps on a couple of days, when my pedometer accidentally got switched off.</p><p>I haven't yet started doing any running at all. Not sure when this will happen, but there's still plenty of the year left to make a start on this. </p><p>I feel happy that I've made progress in January. I'm hoping that February will be a bit less spendy, but I do possibly need to order a new pair of glasses when I have my eye test, I need to complete the much procrastinated task of applying for a new passport and I need to get my hair cut, which will all cost money. I'll keep you updated with how I get on.</p><p>How was your January?</p>johnnyjumpsuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08474137444822527332noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497889514720788230.post-82030689113221496152024-01-28T06:23:00.000-08:002024-01-28T06:23:19.019-08:00Making Progress - W/E 27th January 2024<p>This week started with my finally getting a day off after a very busy week at work. It felt so good not to have to go to work on Sunday. All I did need to do was to walk the dog, which wasn't a hardship. We had a nice chilled walk around a local disused golf course. It's one of our regular haunts.</p><p>Once home, I made myself a lovely big salad for lunch, which was much needed. To be honest, I didn't do a whole lot for the rest of the day, save for a bit of work on my current quilting project, as it was just nice to chill and not feel compelled to do anything. I was quite tired, if I'm honest, and just needed time to recover from the week at work. I'm quite a bit older than the majority of the staff at work, and working virtually full-time hours last week took it's toll. I even had a nap in the late afternoon on Sunday, something I haven't done in months. I felt a lot better for it though.</p><p>In the evening, we watched a bit of TV. I ended up staying up quite late catching up on a few YouTube videos, as I wasn't tired enough to go to bed on account of napping.</p><p>On Monday morning, I didn't need to be up too early, but when I did get up, I needed to take some photos and measurements as part of my fitness journey. I'd completely forgotten to do it last week and I like to keep a record of my progress. There wasn't anything startlingly different, just an inch lost around my waist, but it's all good.</p><p>When I went downstairs, I noticed that the fence to the side of the kitchen window had virtually blown down in the storm of the night before. Here's a picture:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhePF3J0Ub-2CdydZukicsbK8BXxdcTKsddnJuajDRV9mbDc9WGdsQcUE8hgXF-m96yGOxjGFOYuIyOCASKhgdC4ciriI4b8T1MKknQ7kAAtSwJjJSDF09FynCxhaUM419orviQk714AhDe68pLcEhOqt-e1Yg4pEnT_edVKEWyEnT27ga1TPpwxLJPs6E/s4080/20240122_092331.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3060" data-original-width="4080" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhePF3J0Ub-2CdydZukicsbK8BXxdcTKsddnJuajDRV9mbDc9WGdsQcUE8hgXF-m96yGOxjGFOYuIyOCASKhgdC4ciriI4b8T1MKknQ7kAAtSwJjJSDF09FynCxhaUM419orviQk714AhDe68pLcEhOqt-e1Yg4pEnT_edVKEWyEnT27ga1TPpwxLJPs6E/s320/20240122_092331.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>OH propped it back up when he got back from the dog walk, but it probably needs replacing. We need to do so much work on our garden this year. It might have to be added to the list of jobs to be done.</p><p>As usual, it was weekly shop day. I took myself off and used my final £6 off a £60 spend voucher at Tesco, by doing most of the weekly shop there again. I bought quite a bit of yellow stickered meat to put in the freezer, so it should keep us going for a while. </p><p>Next week's shop should be pretty minimal and mainly consist of fresh foods we use all the time. I will be doing virtually all of it at Lidl, as I will have a 10% off voucher to use there next week. The Tesco vouchers have caused me to buy more food than I would normally, but as a consequence, we are well stocked up at the moment, so it should make February a much cheaper month for food shopping. I didn't have to use the vouchers, but I like to, as it does amount to quite a bit of money.</p><p>I was relieved not to get a call from work asking me to go in, so I could enjoy my second work-free day. Annoyingly, however, my pedometer accidentally got switched off today, so I didn't track any of my steps. It's so annoying when that happens. I made a guess at what the total would be. Only a few thousand, due to walking around a huge supermarket and a couple of other shops.</p><p>On Tuesday, I needed to walk the dog before going to my usual class at the gym, but she was scratching at the front door at 6.15 am, which was way too early for me, as it was still dark outside, so OH took her. I got up later and got ready and headed off to the gym for my usual class.</p><p>When I got back, the dog wanted to go for another walk, so I had some lunch and then took her out for an hour. When we got home I had to quickly shower and get ready for work/the dentist. I was due at the dentist at 3.30pm, for a 6 month check up and clean. I'd paid half of the cost of the clean at my last appointment in July, so I just needed to pay the second half and the check up fee. It wasn't particularly cheap, but at least it's done for the next six months. </p><p>I went straight to work from the dentist, but got caught in a bit of traffic. Work was okay, but it was a bit of a later finish, I think because we were understaffed. I was asked if I would work an additional shift on Wednesday night, which I agreed to.</p><p>On Wednesday morning, I decided to return to the free Soca class that had re-started last week. I needed to squeeze a bit more exercise in where I could, to help keep the scales moving in a downward direction. It felt nice to get back to what felt like my normal weekly exercise routine, for probably the first time since mid November. This class is very upbeat and fun and I have missed going along for the last month or two.</p><p>After a busy day the day before, it was nice to just chill in the afternoon and not really do a lot before getting ready for work in the evening. I headed off a little early, so that I could pop into an opticians near work and book an eye test for next week. Another small job done.</p><p>On Thursday, I didn't have anything planned for once, so I was able to get out for a nice long walk with the dog. I was working in the evening, but I had most of the day to do as I pleased, so I had a lovely pottering at home kind of day, putting away laundry, catching up with my finances, journalling, etc. It felt restful, but productive. I'm all about making small progressive steps at the moment.</p><p>On Friday, I had another nice long walk with the dog. I was looking forward to having a day off, but suspected I might be asked to work, which I was and did agree to, mainly because I know they are very short staffed at the moment and I didn't have anything planned. I got a call from the nurse at my GP surgery today, who told me my blood pressure/pulse tracking for the week was within normal parameters, which was good news.</p><p>On Saturday, I headed to the gym in the morning and enjoyed the session. It helped to rejuvenate me a little after working a lot again this week. I just had one more night to work on Saturday. I was pretty tired at work. Five consequetive nights on the same, quite demanding section, just took it out of me. I was so glad to go home and chill, knowing that I had two days off ahead of me. </p><p>OH and I watched the last episode of the second series of The Traitors, then headed to bed.</p><p>Another busy week, but one in which progress was made towards my goals, so I'm happy.</p>johnnyjumpsuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08474137444822527332noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3497889514720788230.post-92200289170049869792024-01-24T06:51:00.000-08:002024-01-24T06:51:20.927-08:00ASOS Sample Sale Haul (December 2023)<p><i><b>Disclaimer: This post refers to items I bought in December, but didn't get around to posting about before Xmas. I have decided to still go ahead and publish it.</b></i></p><p>After seeing a video on YouTube, of a YouTuber's haul from an ASOS Sample sale, I became curious. I've often bought items from ASOS in the past and in the Sample Sale, most of the items cost £5 or £3, with some being a bit more expensive at £10. After seeing what this particular YouTuber bought for £5, I decided to sign up to be notified of the Sample sales. As a consequence, periodically, I receive an email when the sale drops and I enjoy looking through and ordering a few bits.<br /></p><p>The last sale dropped a few weeks before Christmas and I found quite a few things that I couldn't resist buying. Here's a few pictures of what I bought:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFRTBLaLUqw4dVK-jqygXMQGNa9qgCiVAxZsZbtY7neQztcl66Ev-kkvCzO9vCOdyBJDF27zQ2-R6Lk5rWYPTVUzA2O5qdzKJ_Mpisw0lCogDXPYiiSlmkx7AYWKjDjkpW-TdzG-qU-ysX-ecuRtfdOn8_Km5Ssgz6xE2Pl5MsJYXYxIGUxehuWcxPcjM/s2576/20240109_102836.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2576" data-original-width="1932" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFRTBLaLUqw4dVK-jqygXMQGNa9qgCiVAxZsZbtY7neQztcl66Ev-kkvCzO9vCOdyBJDF27zQ2-R6Lk5rWYPTVUzA2O5qdzKJ_Mpisw0lCogDXPYiiSlmkx7AYWKjDjkpW-TdzG-qU-ysX-ecuRtfdOn8_Km5Ssgz6xE2Pl5MsJYXYxIGUxehuWcxPcjM/s320/20240109_102836.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p>The first item was this pair of Vagabond leather calf high platform boots in a beige colour they called Lark. They're a bit of a departure for me. I don't usually wear this length of boot, but they are lovely. Possibly a bit young for me, but I don't care. I love them and thought they should look good with both skirts and trousers. </p><p>The only problem was that they sent the wrong size. I ordered a 7.5 UK size and received a size 6 UK. Luckily for me, I am a size 6, but always buy a bigger size in boots, in case I want to wear thick socks. They are thus very slightly snug, but as they are leather they should stretch with wear. They're not uncomfortable though, so I'm not going to send them back. For just £10 they were a steal.</p><p>(I've worn them on a couple of occasions now and I'm happy to report that they did look great with a skirt and they were very comfortable)</p><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnrmO62kuPiC2GdE45Q_uYglfE1Hzu0yDeLp6w7p_M3dUFlA6lcru2nsDTPOJD3jeyYfT_37Qqttush3dmdpbcAYfgt_oE6qtwl2HBPRcj4ExlVT0IHXlLXyrP-UObBg0HzsOD1krNCTQantMLaZmrA-7XjFw3t2f0lUV5EGyi-xIP2tUax8H_LZrrhxo/s2576/20240109_102945.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2576" data-original-width="1932" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnrmO62kuPiC2GdE45Q_uYglfE1Hzu0yDeLp6w7p_M3dUFlA6lcru2nsDTPOJD3jeyYfT_37Qqttush3dmdpbcAYfgt_oE6qtwl2HBPRcj4ExlVT0IHXlLXyrP-UObBg0HzsOD1krNCTQantMLaZmrA-7XjFw3t2f0lUV5EGyi-xIP2tUax8H_LZrrhxo/s320/20240109_102945.jpg" width="240" /></a></p><p><br /></p><p>The second item of footwear that I bought, was this pair of patent PU apple green platform loafers. I've had my eye on these for months. I'd even saved a picture of them in my Pinterest account. </p><p>They reminded me of a pair of shoes that I had in my late teens/twenties, but which were white and made of patent leather. I wore them until they fell apart. I used to work part-time behind the bar in a pub and eventually the beer that got spilled on them rotted the leather. I loved those shoes though. </p><p>These are a similar style, but a bit more platform and a much brighter colour. They are slightly large in a size 7 UK, but I've put some inner soles in them and they fit much better. These cost £5, but were originally £38. What a bargain.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ_b3lI7lbhKvcZ_urBsv5JkN69zfDUNFrjMb-SQwsXZlfHyOfS3vgGM7u1i_T2U7Lh9t6OpDDJne19k7ySsQq3-PFqJ75YbpzUMr8qexsNF4ogahOzLGmQIa6DUccfio6wcF_VztYqyZhuY3KUilLDGman7ooT1TNWP2IBQiKENjkDzClyMm1nf9KA4Y/s2576/20240109_102820.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2576" data-original-width="1932" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ_b3lI7lbhKvcZ_urBsv5JkN69zfDUNFrjMb-SQwsXZlfHyOfS3vgGM7u1i_T2U7Lh9t6OpDDJne19k7ySsQq3-PFqJ75YbpzUMr8qexsNF4ogahOzLGmQIa6DUccfio6wcF_VztYqyZhuY3KUilLDGman7ooT1TNWP2IBQiKENjkDzClyMm1nf9KA4Y/s320/20240109_102820.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p>In addition to the footwear, I bought a black twill cotton dress. It's button down with a collar and drop gathered skirt. It will be nice to wear in the summer, or possibly spring with a sweater over the top. I bought it in a size 16 on account of my weight loss and it fits fine. It cost £5. The only issue I have with it, is that it is maxi, not midi as I thought, which isn't ideal as I'm a bit short in stature, but I'll see what I can do to style it.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfKR32BqqnUotzLipgDloO-OjXR7IUi-w2adzuUAZLuQcNVbQOUxkhsdazQ3z5UDhyphenhyphen40EDE_R1Q0tHi115LQR8HRlZvk9lOVvoA-9sdGSygWsBAdl4fZjvAztOt8H0d4s64PvyytNbZpziF_pkDxpqog_t_67CdXqdH9zWTuq9UbCW5fC9yRP-m0SBFYo/s2576/20240109_103548.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2576" data-original-width="1932" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfKR32BqqnUotzLipgDloO-OjXR7IUi-w2adzuUAZLuQcNVbQOUxkhsdazQ3z5UDhyphenhyphen40EDE_R1Q0tHi115LQR8HRlZvk9lOVvoA-9sdGSygWsBAdl4fZjvAztOt8H0d4s64PvyytNbZpziF_pkDxpqog_t_67CdXqdH9zWTuq9UbCW5fC9yRP-m0SBFYo/s320/20240109_103548.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br /><p>The last few items were all gym related. I bought two of the same style of Under Armour black vest top for £5 each. I've had my gym vests for over 10 years now and they need replacing. I am always on the look out for new ones, so hopefully these will be fine. They are slightly cropped, which I didn't realise, but should still be okay. These fitted well and I'm very happy with them. They are usually worn under t-shirts anyway.</p><p>Finally, I bought two sport bra tops for the gym. They were to wear under the vests and I wanted some that weren't wired, as I find wired bras very uncomfortable these days. I bought them just to try them out for £3 and £5. One of them didn't fit too well, so I've given it to LB who is hoping to start using the gym in her Halls this year and the other is okay, but not super supportive. I may still wear it on days when I'm staying home pottering and I don't want to wear an underwired bra. For £3 it's okay.</p><p>So, for just over £40 with postage, I got quite a lot of new items for my wardrobe and the gym, which made me very happy. </p>johnnyjumpsuphttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08474137444822527332noreply@blogger.com3