Making It Count.......

 
I've just added to this plain black t-shirt, but it's taken more than a year to brave doing it as my sewing machine was playing up. The inserts and cowel neck are from a cardigan that I never wore. 

The sewing machine objected when fabrics were just slightly overlapped with their edges almost under the needle, which is what I needed for a flat zigzag join. I tried all sorts of different things but nothing worked perfectly, so I compromised with laying kitchen paper under the fabrics and sewing through it all, the paper stopped the fabric edge getting caught in the hole under the needle and when it's done I could pull away most of the paper. Hopefully the tiny bits caught in the zigzag stitches will come away when the top is washed. Fingers crossed it doesn't then look like it does when a tissue has been forgotten in a pocket! 

A consequence of starting to go out more added to the warmer weather so no jumper needed is having to iron Hubby's tops and jeans. I can't believe I've managed to not iron anything for the last 16 months! 

SERVSC bloodrunners are now getting back to fundraising activities and on their stand there is always a teddy tombola. They are really lucky to have soft toys constantly donated by the bin bag full. However the member who had tirelessly washed and brushed them all to make sure they were clean can no longer do it. So some of them found their way here as there's another event this weekend.  Into the washing machine...

Hanging up in the shed to dry as it kept raining. 

And on a clothes horse. 
And plenty more waiting. 

Daughter is away working all this weekend so kindly gifted the heap of new potatoes from her veg box. I'm supermarket spoilt and haven't scrubbed potatoes in years! 

That's about it for this week, just hoping the weather isn't too unkind for Hubby's two day fundraiser or for Daughter at the Oyster Fair and sleeping in her little tent. 

Stay safe.

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Feeling Hot Hot Hot........

 
Phew what a scorcher last weekend was and forecast the same for the rest of the week. I tried not to do too much, just pottering when needed then finding a cool spot to sit and knit, sew or online stuff. 

I did make a cake as we had a couple of squishy bananas to use up. 

Meanwhile, Hubby and a small group of the bloodrunners gang had a two day fundraising event. Thankfully they were given a pitch big enough to put up two gazebos so they had enough shade when needed. 

There's been plenty of time for sitting outside and I'm always pleased we thought to have a roof extended over a part of our patio so there's always shade. Not a bad view too at this time of year. 

O decided he needed a games fest, they played them all plus two others after these. 

Having been postponed and rearranged we managed our Florida Club lunch. As I've mentioned before friendsL&K love sharing their part- time Florida home with their friends although never all at the same time, so when we are all back in the UK it's great to get together. Hilarious time had by all (helps that we're all a bit crazy! 

There's an overlap in these photos, there were 12 of us in total. 

We went to The Square and Compasses.co.uk/ as we'd been there before and knew the food was all fresh home cooked and delicious. When friendsL&K phoned to book they discovered that we could have our own function room which was brilliant and definitely better for their other customers as we get quite loud. 

I'd had one other lunch date postponed this week but definitely enjoying seeing friends again and now we are driving off to Canvey Island to visit my nephew and his wife, last seen two years ago but we've not seen their new house so I'll insist on a full guided tour.

Thunderstorms forecast for the whole weekend so I hope you can keep yourselves dry and always keep yourselves safe.

10pm END NOTE: apologies, we were invited out today and left home early, now it's late evening and I've just realised that I didn't actually publish this post before we went like I thought I had! Better late than never eh?  xx

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Remember To Be Kind.........

 
Well I can't write about this week without mentioning sport, Wimbledon where there was some very exciting tennis and new faces doing so so well. A multi-national event where the only thing I saw complained about was slippery grass. 

However, at Wembly the final of Euro 2020 football tournament between England and Italy, not a bad game and equal(ish) right to the penalties..... but sadly on Monday there was full media coverage of fans without tickets breaking into the grounds and security having to physically try to stop them (gatecrashers, literally, that may or may not have been jabbed or even negative tested) ..... so called fans on the rampage afterwards through London leaving devastation for others to clear up...... and at the final a fight broke out amongst the spectators and the Queen's grandson-in-law Mike Tindall stepped in to break it up till security could get there. But the worst was horrid reports of racial abuse aimed at the three black players because they missed their penalties, cowards hiding in social media!  That's not sport to me just the stupid ignorant minority and definitely not how they should behave after this pandemic when they should be so appreciative this tournament actually went ahead with spectators!  Rant over! 

Daughter had been round twice to put the big bell tent up (after E used it)  to brush it and the ground sheet down and make sure it's completely dry before it gets packed away again. First time wasn't quite long enough as they had to get home. Nothing worse than canvas with mould so worth coming back a second day. 

This patch at the front was getting quite weedy through the ground cover, so Hubby took drastic action. 

Hence the expensive trip to the garden centre. 

R helped her Granddad plant them. 

And now it looks like this. 

So 24 new plants, that will grow and spread, but as you can see we need to go shopping for more. 

My baggy night t-shirt has needed a bit more Boro (visible mending) using Sashiko (that's the style of stitching). It's a recurring process to all three preferred t-shirts. One day they could be more patches and white stitches than original fabric 🤣

As a final addition to my top of the page rant, I've now heard that my friend's son has covid even though he has been double jabbed, because he went to the football final at Wembly. He knows that everyone of the large group he went with have all tested positive too! Thankfully I think they all have it mildly and are isolating, however they have it from being in a crowd and between there and the time they were pinged they were potential spreaders! After the Duchess of Cambridge had attended Wimbledon she was pinged to self isolate, so covid was there too! 

Next Monday is being carelessly called "freedom day" as most of the restrictions are lifted, but please please be aware, be careful, be safe.

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Juggling The Calender........

 
Last Saturday Daughter did her first craft fair for her Tudor Prints. Sadly hardly any public and sold nothing. Thankfully didn't lose too much as shared the pitch with two friends, but a lot of work creating enough stock, a very early start and driving nearly an hour each way. So when the heavens opened early afternoon they packed up. 

Sunday and an actual fundraising event for Hubby and a small team! He said the forecast day of rain didn't keep the public away. 

Meanwhile I turned the last of the freezer fruit into jam.

Monday coffee morning was really warm and sunny and one conversation was do we continue this weekly "end of the drive" event after freedom day or go back to the monthly event in my house....... unanimous conclusion was stay outside weekly and review again when autumn/winter weather comes.

After lunch had my nails done and when we got home the guy was here to talk about what he could offer to do the toilet makeover! Soon after he left Daughter arrived with the dog and shortly after that E arrived with her boyfriend C to have a cuppa then load up all the camping stuff. We ended up with a very late dinner, a little tv then bed. A bit of a nonstop day. 

Tuesday had a long video call from friendHG and we booked in to meet up on 20th for a pub lunch. Rearranged after having to cancel going to her 7th birthday dinner, which actually went ahead but with much fewer numbers because of changed rules. I'm sure when we meet at the pub about 11:30ish we won't leave till about 5ish hahaha

Tuesday late lunch was a pub lunch with friendM. She had just finished her quarantine from coming back from Spain and she's flying back there tomorrow so a catchup in between was needed. We went to the Swan at Levington, haven't been there for many years, and the seafood platter was really really good. 

Next Saturday's visit to my nephewE's new house has been moved to the 24th. 

Thursday friendsL&K came over, after checking out of the hotel they had holidayed at with two other couples. We'd had to cancel meeting them all there, so seeing two of them here was lovely. Lunch then later tea and cake here then pub dinner. I'm obviously out of practice and felt uncomfortably full up. 

 

Today E and her boyfriend are bringing all the camping stuff back. They had a very successful camp and the weather was really kind to them despite all the forecasts. 

So feels like we are getting busy again. Hubby has another two day fundraiser on the calender this month and we've still got 20th, 22nd and 24th written in....... unless they get rearranged again. 

And of course this Sunday is the big England v Italy euro football final. 

Enjoy your week, planned or spontaneous.

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Quietly Content...........

 
We have a tulip tree in front of our house.

The chestnut tree that used to be there was rotten but as it had a preservation order on it we had to replace it after we had it removed. The chap from the forestry commission (who needed to inspect and sign off the paperwork) recommended the tulip tree and got us one at a very good price. 
Wikipedia says - Liriodendron is a genus of two species of characteristically large trees, deciduous over most of their populations, in the magnolia family. These trees are widely known by the common name tulip tree or tuliptree for their large flowers superficially resembling tulips.

We were told they can start to flower after about 15 years and we planted a 15ish year old tree, so we've looked longingly for flowers every year since it was planted about 15 years ago!!! Yes that tree is now about 30 years old!!!

So excited as today (Sunday) we looked and were rewarded with maybe half a dozen beautiful flowers 😁

I suddenly noticed the fruit outside is growing, not sure why it felt sudden probably as we haven't had proper spring summer weather and time has felt a bit odd for the last year and a half! So I thought I'd better use up some of the fruit frozen from last year. The jam is thick and sticky and Daughter declared it very yummy 😋 

I'm a very tolerant lounge sharer as at the moment tv is mostly Euro football, Wimbledon tennis or England v Sri Lanka cricket, often with remote flicking back and forth. I have my knitting and online Words With Friends (scrabble) until it's time to watch something together. 

Hubby was on call Tuesday night for SERVSC and he got a call to pick up three boxes of blood from Bury St Edmunds to deliver to Ipswich Hospital, but thankfully he didn't have to leave home till 10:30pm so he watched the whole England v Germany game uninterrupted. I thought it was a totally boring game showing almost no skill apart from lots of tripping up and pushing over, however 2-0 to England was a great result. 

Daughter had quite a busy Thursday afternoon mostly at my house. R had rehearsals all afternoon and evening, so after taking R to the theatre she came over with O and the dog. E is going camping with friends next week so Daughter came over to sort the camping equipment box that's stored in our shed. E was working all day so after picking her up from the station at 5:30pm they came back so E could learn how to put up the bell tent on her own. They left at nearly 7pm and R would be finished at theatre 8:30pm and need collecting so none of them would be with us for quiz night. 

This was week 66 for Jay's Virtual Pub Quiz and Hubby and I haven't missed any since week 2, sometimes part of a team of eight with Daughter, R, O, M and a couple of R's friends in the US online too and twice just down to three with just R joining us and any combination in between, but this week just me and him and we struggled. Final score 38/50 and mentally drained hahaha. 

I'm cutting the dead poppy heads to save the seeds and so far the hardest bit has been walking back and forth to the shed trying to find secateurs that actually cut..... now trying the fourth pair. I need to put a report into the head gardener!

I know a lot of people can't stand Jeremy Clarkson, including Hubby, however with nothing else to watch after Hubby went to bed I started watching his usual bumbling bafoon persona take on farming. I really enjoyed it, especially meeting his support team who apart from his girlfriend are all local and fun characters. 

I've watched them all now so will have to look for something else. If you have any suggestions for light easy watching for late at night that would be great. 

I'm still amazed that it's been 66 weeks since this pandemic panic all started in earnest. 66 Wow!

Till next Saturday be good and be safe.

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