This Week - Week Ending 17/09/2022

This week has been pretty busy. It started with a weekend away to South Wales, where OH was competing at an indoor cycling event at the International Velodrome of Wales in Newport.

We travelled up on Saturday morning, had a look around the town and then made our way to the Velodrome for OH to register and warm up for his race. As dogs weren't allowed in the Velodrome, and it was too warm to leave the dog in the car for any length of time, I stayed outside with the dog. I'd taken some patchwork with me, so we sat on the grass in the sunshine and I did that and then we had a little walk around.  I did go inside to watch his race when the time came though. 

Once his race was over, we headed back to the hotel. There was a lovely pub next door, so we had supper there which was a treat. I had a lovely vegetarian curry.

On Sunday, we got up and had a hotel breakfast. OH was competing again, but I didn't want to hang around this time, so I Googled local car boot sales and the dog and I headed off to one. It was about a half hour drive away. We had a nice morning walking around the stalls. I didn't buy much, as I didn't see much that I needed or wanted, but it was a good way to pass the time and the drive was quite scenic.

When we got back, it wasn't long before OH's race, so it wasn't long until OH was finished and ready to leave.  Both journeys were uneventful and there wasn't too much traffic, so we were pretty lucky really.

On Monday, it was back to normal and the weekly food shop. I also needed to post off another online sale from the weekend. I was quite tired after the weekend, so I didn't do a lot else for the rest of the day, just a bit of unpacking and laundry and that was it.

I had an appointment on Tuesday for a Mammogram at a local mobile screening unit. I hadn't had one for a couple of years, so it was good to get it done again, especially with my family history. It went okay, but I'd forgotten quite how uncomfortable it was. The appointment clashed with my usual Aerobics class at the gym, so I wasn't able to make it to that this week.  

I made up for missing my Tuesday class on Wednesday, when the New Age Games free classes started up again and I could return to the Soca Aerobics class. I cycled there, which gave me a bit more exercise, as it was at a leisure centre a bit further away than my local one.

In the afternoon, I watched the procession of the Queen's coffin to Westminster Hall on TV and then later worked on making a curtain for the sewing room (more in another post).

On Thursday, I had to be out early with the dog, as I was expecting a parcel delivery and OH was out.  When I got back I made a curtain for the kitchen patio doors to keep draughts out this winter and provide a bit of privacy too. Whilst I had the sewing machine out, I also finished a lap quilt that I'd started earlier this year, so it felt like a pretty productive day.

The parcel delivery was an ingredient for another natural remedy that I plan to make in the near future. I'll post about this when I make it. I have to do some prep first before I can proceed.

On Friday, I spent the morning doing some preparation of items to sell online. There is so much that I need to list, but I just haven't been feeling motivated lately. Anyway, in the afternoon, I spent a couple of hours ironing clothing and fabric that needs listing and then photographing some items. I really need to spend this Bank Holiday weekend, knuckling down and getting things listed.

On Saturday, OH was going to go into Central London early and try to join the queue to see the Queen Lying in State.  Unfortunately, it was estimated to be over 24 hours long, so he decided against it. Instead we decided to cycle into Central London to Buckingham Palace and see the floral tributes. 

I went to a free gym session first and then had a bit of a potter in the garden, then later after lunch we headed into town. It was a beautiful day for it. Clear blue sky, but a bit of a chill in the air.

We had a nice ride into town, it wasn't too busy until we got to Admiralty Arch and then we had to get off the bikes and walk them through St James Park.  Everyone heading to Buckingham Palace were snaked through the park and around the pond and eventually to the Palace. The last part of the queue was very busy and very slow moving and took well over an hour.  

Here's a view from the queue:

It then took a while to get from the front of the Palace into Green Park, where the floral tributes were left, as the road into the Palace was cleared a few times for incoming cars and no one could pass.  It was very well organised, but so busy. Here's a picture of some of the candle tributes in Green Park:

OH and I split up before we got to the Palace. I stayed in the queue to see the floral tributes, whilst he went off to Parliament Square to see people coming in and out of Westminster Hall where the Queen was Lying in State. We met up again later at the Royal Academy in Piccadilly. I got a bit lost cycling the back streets in Mayfair on my way there, but it was fun to cycle around areas of London that I've never cycled before. At least the whole afternoon spent walking in queues and cycling around Central London meant that I did a lot more exercise.

After meeting up again, we cycled home, stopped at a pub for a drink and then treated ourselves to a takeaway supper. I tried the very popular Temple of Hackney Vegan Seitan Chicken, which I'd wanted to try for years and it was very good. This shop used to have a huge queue outside it when it first opened several years ago. It was still busy, but mainly with Uber eats takeaway orders, as well as quite a few people in the shop.

In all, it's been a pretty busy week and quite a bit more productive in some ways. I've made progress in some areas, but there's still of lot of things that I need to do to keep improving things at home and to encourage more online sales.

How has your week been?

Making Curtains

On Friday of last week, when I drew the blind in the sewing room, it completely dropped off it's brackets. When I looked up at the brackets, they had broken, which left me with the dilemma of what to use to cover the window.  

It's a sunny room and overlooks the garden and the back of a row of houses on the next street. As a consequence, without a blind, it is like a goldfish bowl if I'm in there in the evenings with the light on, so I needed to replace the blind with something.

In my current financial situation, didn't want to spend too much money, so I decided that I would make a curtain to cover the window and then just tie it back during daylight hours. I have so much fabric and it always feels good to use some of it. Initially, to keep costs down, I bought some curtain wire for £1 to hang it from, but later, I had a change of mind, as curtains hang so much better from a pole and rings.

Whilst away in Wales over the weekend, I came across some white wooden curtain rings in a charity shop for £1, so I bought them. I then stopped off at B&Q and bought a white wooden curtain pole for £11. I also bought some curtain holdbacks at a car boot for £1 too. They need painting white, but were perfect for the job of holding the curtain back during the day. When I got back to London, I ordered a couple of metres of curtain tape from eBay, and I already had some curtain hooks, so I was ready to make a start.

The first thing I needed to do was to measure the window and then choose some fabric. I had a good rummage in my stash and picked out a fabric that I had quite a lot of. It was curtain weight and would also match a handmade quilt I use on the bed in this room in the winter months.

I made up the curtain and added the curtain tape. I didn't line it, as I didn't have any plain fabric in my stash and I didn't want to spend any more money.  I could always do this at a later date, if I think it's necessary.

OH hung the curtain pole for me and then I hung the curtain and here's a picture of it closed and then drawn back behind the hold back (which still needs painting):

As you can see, it doesn't completely block out the light, but this isn't really a problem in this room. I could make a second one, which would give it a more finished look, but I don't want to lose too much daylight when they are drawn back, so I probably won't. It's not a perfect solution, but is a good enough one.

Whilst I was making the sewing room curtain, I decided that it might be a good idea to make a curtain for the patio doors in the kitchen.  This curtain is primarily to give me a bit of privacy in the kitchen in the winter months.  

When all the trees and shrubs in the garden die back, the houses that back onto ours can see right into my kitchen and can see me sitting at the kitchen table, which I do a lot. It also has the added benefit of keeping out any draughts from the patio doors. It's only really necessary to hang it in the winter months, so it isn't going to be a permanent feature.  For this reason, I used the curtain wire that I'd bought previously for the sewing room curtain.

The fabric I chose from my stash was this linen Liberty fabric called Burlington. I think it must have been the end of a roll, because I bought it nearly 10 years ago for £1 or maybe £2, from a fabric shop in East London.  Such a steal.

I've never been sure what to use it for, as it has a very large print, but it was ideal for this project, as the blue colour in the print fitted in well with the kitchen decor as one wall is painted blue as shown below. (It looks lighter in this photo than it actually is)

The fabric was just wide enough and long enough to cover the doors, if I sewed a very narrow hem on each side and on the top and bottom. As I was using curtain wire to hang it, this was possible.

It didn't take long to make and then OH screwed in a couple of hooks for me so that I could hang it. I'm very happy with how it turned out. The dog, however, isn't so enamoured, as it blocks her view of the garden and the foxes that visit in the evenings and set her off barking. (That was another benefit of making it!)

Here's a picture of it in situ:

It nicely breaks up the white of the walls. I now just need to make a draught excluder for the living room door and we'll be all set for winter this year.  I'm enjoying making some practical and useful things again. It's been a while and it always feels good to use up fabric from my stash.

Have you been making anything that has been busting your stash or will be useful this winter to keep your fuel bills down?

Finishing My Lap Quilt

I've posted a couple of times this year about a paper pieced hexi lap quilt that I was making, for the reading cnook in one of our reception rooms. I organised the hexies into diamonds for this quilt and gave it a dark grey background made from a linen IKEA curtain. I really liked the contrast of the bright coloured fabrics with the dark grey. It fits in well in our reception room too, which is painted dark grey. 

I finished it a few months ago, and have since been working on a matching cushion cover with the fabric that was left.  My progress has been stalled however, as I don't quite have enough of the grey fabric to make the cushion cover large enough, so I'm currently contemplating my options in this regard.  I may put a border around it in a different fabric to get around this.

The quilt just needed backing. I decided not to wad it at all. We have lots of thick quilts for the living room, so I wanted a lighter one and I didn't want to actually quilt it either. I found a fabric in my stash that I liked and wanted to back it with. It is an African Waxed fabric that I found at a local charity shop.  There were 5 metres of it and it cost just £10. It was just wide enough to back the quilt, so I cut off the required amount and it has been sat in the sewing room for weeks awaiting further work.

When I took the sewing machine downstairs to the kitchen table to work on the curtains I made recently, it was a good opportunity to work on this too, as it meant that I had lots of room to work. I sewed it together differently from my usual quilts, so that it can be used as a wall hanging if I so wish. As a consequence, I didn't need to bind it.

I had to hand sew the 4th and final side, but I always quite enjoy finishing things off by hand.  I was pretty happy with the outcome and at least it's ready in time for the autumn/winter when I'll be most likely to use it.

Here's picture of the finished quilt and the backing used:

Now this is finished, I can happily concentrate on my current new patchwork project this autumn/winter.

This Week - W/E 11th September 2022

This week has been a strange one, with it being the first week without LB around.  We're getting used to it though and we're in contact quite a bit over What's App. 

In order to distract myself from her absence, I've been a bit more productive this week, which is good. I think her going off to University was weighing on me mentally and I just couldn't put my mind to anything before she went.

On Sunday, I ventured into the garden and did some potting up of strawberry runners and some lemon balm seedlings that had self seeded around the garden. I also separated a house plant and made several more plants from it. I'm hoping they all survive the separation process.

Monday, was quiet. I did the weekly shop as usual. I felt a bit irritated by the cashier in the supermarket, who commented on my buying a bottle of gin on a Monday. He said 'you're buying gin, it's not Friday', like I had a drink problem or something. I was buying it on a Monday, because I shop on a Monday and we'd run out. So rude and inappropriate. He shouldn't be making judgements about my shopping. I should have complained, but I couldn't be bothered.

In the afternoon, I picked up some patchwork quilting again. I'd not done any in quite a while, and I find it very calming and grounding. I started working on some small hexies that I'd made a while back, to use up small scraps of fabric. I'm currently just making flowers, but I don't know how they're all going to be put to use or put together yet. It just keeps me occupied and it's very therapeutic.  Here's a few photos of what I'm working with:

I'm liking the browns in particular, quite a retro vibe. 

On Tuesday, I booked into my usual class at the gym and didn't get charged this time. I'm not complaining. A free class is fine by me. It was a good class too.

Later in the afternoon, I decided to have a deep clean of LB's bedroom. It hasn't been done for a while and it was quite dusty in places, so it felt good to give it a good clean and change the bedding, so that it will be nice and comfortable for when she next comes home, whenever that will be.

I need to clean the whole house to be honest.  I've let it slip lately, as I've had other things on my mind and just couldn't get in the right frame of mind to do it. If I take it room by room, it should be manageable and not too overwhelming. 

On Wednesday, I got on my bike to do my weekly circuits of the Marshes. I needed to post out an online sale, so I took it with me in my pannier bag, but the local Post Office was shut due to electrical problems, so I had to ride over to another one, which gave me a bit more exercise. As there was supposed to be a postal strike over on Thursday and Friday, I wanted to post it off straight away to minimise any delay.

It was raining on and off for most of Wednesday, so after lunch I decided to continue to do some more cleaning, tackling the bathroom this time. It got a good deep clean and looked so much better for it. It only took a couple of hours.

By the time I'd finished that, it was time to get ready and go out to meet a couple of friends. We meet up every month or two.  We all met at the gym and have been good friends for quite a few years now. We had a nice meal and a bottle of wine and caught up on each others news.

Thursday, I booked myself into the gym for a session. I ended up watching coverage of the Queen's health concerns whilst there, which were all over the news. I was shocked when later it was announced that she had passed away. Although she was obviously looking much frailer, it was still a shock. I wasn't expecting it at all. A very sad day. 

We have lost a great lady, role model and stabilising influence, who has served our country and the Church selflessly, with faith, loyalty, dignity and a super strong work ethic, until the very end of her life. Thank you for your devoted service, Ma'am.  May you now rest in peace with your beloved husband.

LB came home later on Thursday. It was so lovely to see her and catch up with her news. She was heading out to a friend's house in East London that night and didn't want to travel all the way back to South London afterwards, so arranged to come home for the night. We were very happy to see her, of course, especially on such a sad day. She seems to be settling in well.

On Friday, LB was still here, so it was nice to spend a little time with her before she went back to her Halls.  We went to do a little bit of top up shopping before I dropped her off at the station to go back.

I bought some curtain wire whilst we were out, as a blind fell off the wall in my sewing room on Friday morning. I decided that instead of buying a new one, I would use some of my fabric stash to make a curtain that I can just gather to one side. It seemed a frugal option, as it will cost just £1 for the curtain wire. Maybe not as attractive as a blind, but it will do for the moment.

Wishing you a good weekend.

Feeling Autumnal

It is starting to feel decidedly autumnal these last few days. I have to say that for me, it's a welcome change. The sun has been way too intense for me this summer. I was a real sun worshipper when I was younger, but in recent years, I've kept well out of it.

Now, I'm sleeping with a heavier quilt on the bed again, instead of sleeping under a sheet and a light quilt and I'm contemplating wearing a jacket or an extra layer of clothing on some days.  Soon, I'll be getting my winter wardrobe out of storage and then it will really feel like the end of summer.

I was an autumn baby, born in October, so I've always loved this time of year. I've always loved September too, as I looked forward going back to school after the summer holidays.  Call me strange, but I loved school. I may yet go back to school myself this autumn, as there's a couple of things I'd like to study, finances allowing.

With LB moving out to go to University this year, it feels very strange. I guess when you've got one child, that empty nest syndrome hits as soon as that one child leaves the nest. It might have been easier if I'd been working and busier, but then again, it might have been much worse, so I'm not going to give any thought to that. At least we've had all of the summer at home together everyday, which has been a blessing.

As a parent, all you can hope, is that you've done enough to prepare your child for their independence. LB has been quite independent from a young age, so I'm sure she'll thrive. Besides, we're not that far away over the other side of London, if she needs us.

OH is also happy to see autumn arrive, as it brings the growing season to a close at the allotment. It's been a pretty good year for produce, but the harvesting and watering has been intense and it's always nice when it slowly grinds to a halt and his time is his own again. 

It's a satisfying feeling to put the plot to bed for the winter. Most things have now finished, save for a few tomatoes in the garden at home and some courgettes, cucumbers, and raspberries at the allotment. But they won't be there for much longer. The only downside, is that I'll have to start buying everything again soon. OH has already dug over one side of the plot, that was empty of crops and sown a green manure crop to over winter. He's going to do the same with the other side too. It's the first time we've tried this.

I'm looking forward to cooler evenings curled up under a quilt watching TV, wearing thick sweaters and socks and feeling the wind on my face. I think the changing seasons are what I love most about living in the UK.

How do you feel about autumn approaching?

Off to University

As mentioned in the weekly post, Saturday was the day that LB was going off to University. It's a big milestone and I'd been dreading it for months, if I'm honest, because I know I will miss her a lot. I don't mean that to sound selfish and make it all about me, it's not. I'm just being honest. 

I've felt sad at times on and off for weeks, but I think that was a good thing, because I was actually processing my feelings, allowing myself to feel them and then by the time we actually took her to her student halls, I felt okay and much more positive. 

It was quite a long drive across London, to South London, where she'll be living from now on. I have to admit that South London, to me, is like a whole new country. I rarely venture there. The drive down was a good opportunity to get a feel for it and it was interesting. 

I was reassured when we got to her actual Halls of Residence, as it seemed to be in a nice quiet residential area, but within reach of public transport.  They even had a free mini bus that takes them to the nearest Tube Station at various times.

The accommodation seemed nice too. She is paying extra to have a very small ensuite bathroom, but I think she'll really appreciate that.

Here's a few pictures from her room:

It's not a huge room, but it is clean, modern and well thought out, with her own small fridge/freezer and lots of storage, both in the ensuite (not shown in the photograph) and the room itself. (There's a big wardrobe too, but I couldn't get this in the photograph).  

I was really pleasantly surprised.  She took a car load of things with her and after everything was put away, it didn't look too cluttered, which was good. I did a bit of the Mother Hen thing, cleaning the surfaces and putting her bedding on the bed, so that I knew she had a nice clean bed to get into that evening. I couldn't help myself.

She even has a distant view of the Shard in Central London, which was cool. Not a great photo, I realise, but a cool view nevertheless, despite it being so far in the distance. (The netting is to keep the pigeons off I think, this was just a small side window).

I was very reassured to see that the accommodation, as a whole, was very well organised, with hall reps to help the new students as they registered and got their keys. They had also organised events and trips into London and to other places, to give them a chance to get to know one another and the city. 

There was a full timetable of events for the next two weeks, so there should be plenty of opportunity to make new friends. There is also a gym and common room (where refreshments were kindly put out for parents and students) and LB's room is right opposite a small laundry, so there'll be no excuse not to do her washing!

I don't think she'll be cold this winter either, as her room was very warm, without any heating on. So warm in fact, that we needed to go out and get her a fan. We left her settling in, whilst OH and I went to get some lunch and buy her a few bits that she needed or had forgotten.  We also got to have a good look around the area and local high street, which was very diverse and interesting and there's a nice park near to her accommodation too.

It wasn't too busy on the day, as the main day for students moving in is next Saturday, but LB wanted to go on the earlier date to get settled in. I think it was a good decision, as I think it will be manic next week when the majority of students arrive.

We returned with the fan and other bits and then left her to it. I thought I would be more emotional on the day, but I was able to keep it in check and not spoil things. I'm really excited for her and it was good to see that the accommodation has really thought a lot about the needs of the students, which put my mind at rest. I was able to leave feeling confident that she's going to really enjoy her time there, which is all you can ask.

I'll keep you posted with updates about how she's getting on, as I find out myself.

This Week - W/E 3/9/22

This week has been a tough one for me emotionally, as it has been the last week of having LB at home before she went off to University. I've felt a bit emotional, and sad at times.  Don't get me wrong, I'm so happy for her to be getting on with her life. It's been a tough year/18 months for her and she's so excited. 

I'm super excited for her too, it's a fun time of life for teenagers, meeting new friends, learning new things, living independently. I'm just sad that we won't see so much of her. I'm going to miss her. I'm sure it's natural to feel like this and most mothers have felt this at some point. I've just got to work through it and get used to it. Letting go is all part and parcel of parenting.

Other than this, the week has been okay. I did the weekly shop at my local Lidl on Bank Holiday Monday, using a £10 voucher and attended my usual class at the gym on Tuesday. I got an email telling me about he resumption of free New Age Games classes from 12th September, so I'm looking forward to that.

On Wednesday, I did some online listing work, after my new lightbox arrived.  It was very inexpensive at less than £5 and it is good for getting better photographs of small items that I list. I have been struggling using my phone, because of light issues and the fact that it has very little available storage, so I have now gone back to using a small compact digital camera that I borrowed from OH. The quality of the photos is much better, so I'm hoping it helps. 

In other news, a friend messaged me on Wednesday and arranged a meet up for next week, which will be nice.

On Thursday, I decided to do a different kind of exercise and took my bike for a spin around Hackney Marshes near to where we live. It's quite a big circuitous route, which probably takes 10-15 minutes each circuit. On my first circuit I saw some herons on the river, but I didn't stop to watch them (I love herons). I instantly regretted it, so I promised myself that on the next circuit I would stop for a while and take a look, after all, it's not as if I don't have the time at the moment. 

I almost had an accident getting down a steep bank next to the river bank, but was luckily saved by a runner who came to my rescue.  Anyway, it was worth it, as there was a mother heron and 4 chicks on the river. The chicks were playfighting and chasing each other, whilst the mother fished nonchalantly close by. It was a lovely thing to see. I've never seen heron chicks before.  They were quite grown, but they were a sight to see. I felt very priviledged.

The whole ride took 40+ minutes and it felt good to get out and breathe in the fresh air. I'm going to try to do it at least once a week, weather permitting. It's exercise, it's free and I do love riding my bike.

Later on Thursday, I drove to an out of town huge Tesco store to get some things that we needed. Mostly storecupboard items and branded condiments that I can't get from Lidl on my weekly shop, as the range they sell is limited. I had a £4 off a £40 spend voucher to use, which saved me some money and made the trip worthwhile. Needless to say, I had no trouble spending £40, but at least we are now stocked up on the main things that we use regularly, which will make weekly shops just the basic essentials for the rest of the month.

When I got back, I spent the rest of the afternoon cooking up offal for the dog, pickling beetroot and making a chilli for supper.

On Friday, I booked a session at the gym. I headed off there after walking the dog. I didn't do a lot else that day. It was the last day before LB headed off to University, so I just had a chill day.

Saturday, was the day we took LB to her new student digs. I've written more about this in another post. 

It's been quite a big week here in our lives, but it's been a positive one. I hope you've had a good week.