In memorium

Sir Jimmy Saville died this week. He was a true icon in our pop history and a proper gentleman from Yorkshire. I met him actually. Many years ago I lived in Shropshire and was a member of the local Young Farmers Club where I lived. We did a lot of fund raising activities over the years, including for Stoke Mandeville Hospital for Spinal Injuries. A group of us went down to Stoke Mandeville to present our cheque to Jimmy, and it was a very special occasion. There were photos but I unfortunately don't have one any more. Just hearing about his death made me think of this again - an almost forgotten episode in my memory - but it just goes to show that it is never lost completely. He was a total enigma in many ways - always Jimmy Saville, and listening to them talking about it on the radio at the moment, it was that eccentricity that made him so special. A unique individual and a sad loss.
Sue xx

If at first...

you don't succeed, try and try and try - until you get your first square made!! Hip hip!!  hurray!!! I think a square has been born! It's only tiny, but it does look like the one in the video so I am not going to make it any larger, no sir, I am going to make another one instead!! My mini blanket will have lots of smaller squares as it is the first thing I am trying to make. Time for coffee!!!
Sue xx

My Christmas Card Sampler

So I might not have done my crochet but I did find out how to make this sampler on the internet and voila!!! Here are some of my cards to date. It is really interesting to see how my ideas change as I look at which ones I did first, what I am enjoying doing now, and what I have got in mind for the next batch. I have always loved making only one of each design, but just sometimes I  make one I really love, and then I make two!!! :-) I hope you like seeing them but please, don't use them for your own personal gain, just as inspiration for your own pleasure. Ideas are free, but stealing someone else's imagination is really cheap.
Sue xx

Monday

and its the 1st of November tomorrow!!! Just two more months of the year to go and it has simply speed by this time. Could it be true that time really flies the older you get?!

In the paper this morning I was reading about the eulogy Steve Jobs sister gave at his funeral. She said his last words were "oh wow, oh wow, oh wow" whilst he looked beyond his family into the distance. I wonder what he saw? Whatever it was, it obviously held no fear for him, instead a sense of wonder and excitement about what lay ahead. A remarkable man indeed.

So making every day count is well worth remembering!! We never get our time back, we can never retrace our steps, we can never undo what is done, so the only thing left is to move forward with all the positivity we can muster!! (tell that to me later when I have wrestled with my crochet once again!!)

I like the look of this film - see trailer - which is about the secret resistance force Churchill established in 1944. One morning the women in a Welsh valley woke up to find all their husbands were gone. Churchill was preparing for any future German occupation apparently . . .It is based on a true story and has Michael Sheen in it which bodes well. This is definitely one for me and Tim!!!

Ah well, think I had better return to my Monday housekeeping before I get too settled down in here!!!
Sue xx

Sunday

and did you remember to change your clocks? "Spring forward; fall backward" is how I always learnt it!!
This morning I managed to stay asleep for quite a while as a result, but I suppose it was the normal length of time really. I was tired from too many nights dreaming and not enough deep sleep. I continue with my struggle to learn to crochet, but I did find an easier youtube video and have managed to get as far as the third round!!! Then it all started to look rather messy and I have temporarily stopped trying for this morning.
Instead I found huge blackberries at the supermarket and am going to make a Blackberry & Apple Crumble for dinner! My ultimate and all time favourite dessert, let me tell you, with custard!! TIm has his friend Chris here gaming so I think two hungry boys to feed calls for such warming fare. And I am just spending the day crafting as I want to free up some time soon to start my essay. Have to!! Karen comes over on the 12th so I must have something to share before then....probably she will be finished.

Also came across this film trailer which I would like to see if it comes out here - 25th November in the UK so maybe even not until 2012 here I imagine:- RESISTANCE.

And I was astonished by the amazing preview of what the Queens Armada will turn out to look like on June 3rd 2012!! A sight worth seeing indeed. It is one of the highlights of Her Majesty's Golden Jubilee 4 day celebration, and it was incredible to see the artists impression of it on The Thames. Must make a note that I want to watch BBC on those days!!  I think I am having my annual period of homesickness actually. Hits me every winter when we are getting closer to Christmas, and I wish I was at home. It sort of creeps up on me each year, and even though I am trying to temper it with the knowledge of our holiday next spring, in Cornwall, it is still a yearning in my soul for something I can't find here. So I may feel a little somber at times, sorry.
Sue xx

ok, what am I doing wrong?!!!

My first square looks more like an egg cosy than a flat square. I have followed the demo on youtube meticulously, and cannot find out where I am going wrong?? Help...anybody...help!!!!
Sue xx

Getting ready..

to start my crochet adventure!! These are the beautiful colours I have chosen for the granny square blanket (or cushion if its difficult!) with the ergonomically designed hook I bought this morning in Hoorn. We deliberated over which size hook I needed, and in the end went for 3.75 as a compromise between 3.5 & 4!!! It is a really good wool store in Hoorn, and I was dazzled by the fantastic array of colours and wools stuffed into every available nook and cranny. They do patterns in English. I checked!
But first I need to begin at the beginning, with something easy, and only when I have succeeded with this can I consider a lovely knitting project for the winter telly season! It is very expensive I know, to hand-knit these days - but it is soothing to do, that I remember from times past. I used to knit so much! Then I sort of moved off it when I couldn't feel inspired by the wool that was around at the time. For a long time wool shops just disappeared off the face of the high street, but they have been back for a while, and I for one am glad. Now all I have to do is learn how...
Sue xx

Losing it!!

Kilos, that is! The diet has started well. Since Monday I am 2 kilos less. I will take that!! It's not been perfect, but I have followed the rules almost to the letter with the odd biscuit at work snuck in on occasion, but today I am going to the super to stock up on good diet foods for the coming weekend/week. I know it off by heart really, but I still have to cook for Tim so there are other meals to be considered.

First this morning I am taking the cats to the V.E.T.S ( in case they are reading this!!) Genghis comes along for the ride as he doesn't need anything, but it is annual jab time for Miss Finka so he has to come  to preserve the peace and harmony of the household upon our return. I have had their basket in the hall for a few days letting them see it, and dwell on what is to come; lovely red blanket in it too, and a hottie about to go in....well, they deserve some mollycoddling!! The Dreamies will be in my handbag for their treat afterwards - here they are called something else but re-stocking is no longer a problem. Phew!

It is a soft day here - 12C already before the sun rises, so I am happy about that. The month is ending on a quiet note. I am reading more and more UK blogs and really love seeing the countryside as it moves into its sleepy quarter. I am an autumn/winter lover so have no SAD syndrome issues or worries about dark evenings (so long as I don't have to drive). My Debbie Bliss arrived yesterday and I had a mini tutorial at work yesterday so I can now make a crochet chain - yey!!! The colours are Beautiful!! Just as I hoped, thanks! Will let you see them once I get cracking. But now I need to write the list, warm up the carrier and coerce the cats towards it with a dreamie trail . . . .
Sue xx

Turmoil

Ever have the feeling that there are all these different sides to you that you can turn to when faced with choices that have too many different outcomes?
I do!
And I suppose that is why this blog has the title it deserves, since there are so many paths we can choose and each one will result in a different destination.

I thought this about myself this evening:-
"there is a realist in me that knows. An optimist in me that hopes. A dreamer that wishes magnificent things. A heart that beats with love." I would have to add that there is also a doubter that fears, if I were being truly honest, but then who hasn't got one?! It has to do with which one you chose to listen to at any given moment, and which one ends up being the strongest and most persistent voice of all.
Am I a realist? Not often.
An optimist then? Undoubtedly.
Dreamer? Most of the time!
Romantic? Without question.
Doubter, sceptic, well, they are in the mix that is for sure, but they don't get to come to the party too often thank goodness. If they did, I would live my life so differently, be someone I am not, miss out on all the emotions that travel side by side with my sensitivity and never take a risk again. Imagine never being able to fly again?....or to know what it feels like to walk on air....I simply wouldn't want to live like that. Do you?
Sue xx