Before, during and almost after ...

The trouble with a conservatory is that they have a glass roof.  The trouble with that is that the roof is not insulated.  The trouble with that is that it can be very hot in there during the summer, and very cold during the winter.  The trouble with that is that I sew in the conservatory, and some days I would need to wear a bikini (not a pretty sight) and other days I would need my hat coat and gloves. So we decided to have a new, insulated ceiling put it to help (hopefully) solve the problem.

So here are the before the guys arrived photos

when our dining room looked like this

A few hours later, the conservatory looked like this

and when they left a few days later, it looked like this

Next stage is to get ourselves painted, which should happen the week after next.

Then, perhaps, I can get back to sewing!

Craftsy are doing it again ...

... doing what again? I hear you ask.  Having another fun sale is the answer. (By the way, I have to tell you that this is a sponsored post.)

This one they've called the "Shop to Unlock" sale, You can get up to 50% off online classes for a limited time only, but, what's more, if you purchase a class during the flash sale, you will unlock a second set of classes on sale. For users that purchase, you will receive a subsequent email with a link "unlocking" the next set of classes.  

So, does paper piecing perplex you?  Freemotion feathers fill you with fear? The thought of curves curb your enthusiasm? Want to make quick quilted gifts for Christmas (sshh, only whisper that word)? Well there's courses to help you with all these problems and many others to expand your quilting horizons.

Woohoo, I'm off shopping at Craftsy's Shop to Unlock Sale and all you have to do is click on the link to join me there but hurry, this offer expires on Sunday 9 Nov 23.59 MT.

Scary ....

... I went to the Hairdresser this morning for my regular feather-fluffing session, and wow, my hairdresser has changed in the 5 weeks since I last went!

Happy Halloween everybody

and the winner is ....

Oh hang on, just let me explain first how I chose the winner of this e-book.  The review was posted on this blog, and also on Yorkshire Modern Quilt Group's blog, here.  All the comments on my own blog are numbered, but those on YMQG's are not (yes, I know I said I would get that sorted, but I forgot!).  So all I did was allocate numbers to the comments on there running straight on from those on here.  That gave a total of 64 for Mr Random.org to chose from, and the number he chose was comment number 53

and number 53 is Pauline, who said

Congratulations Pauline and thanks to everyone who entered.  Don't forget to keep an eye on both blogs as there will be another giveaway soon.

and now the party's over ...

... and just in case you were worried about how quiet I was, the reason was the internet connection at the hotel.  As I said in my last post, it was was broken, then it was fixed and we could all get online for the day.  I don't know what happened, but overnight I lost access again and could not re-connect until I got home, although other people were able to.  I could connect via my phone, but there was no way I was going to write blog posts using the phone.

Anyway, now we're safely home again, after a great 5 days.

Our days went rather like this:

Eat, walk, eat, sew. Repeat. I think the hotel proprietors were worried in case we felt hungry.  The food was all superb and everything was home-made by a great chef.  The walking was essential as a weight-limitation exercise, but I'm not sure it worked in my case.  We were on the coast so the walks were along the seafront and as it was really outside the holiday season, it was all fairly quiet. Of course the walks may have included visits to the local quilt shop by some people.

Here we are, just a few hours into our five days, aren't we looking neat and tidy?  That soon changed I can assure you, but no, there are no photos of the same areas later in the week.

As you can see, there were some very talented people making some wonderful quilts.

Of all the projects I took with me, several of them did not even make it out of their bags, but I did finish one quilt top, made some test blocks for some ideas I have for the future, and prepared the pieces for the blocks for another quilt.

By the end of the week, some people went home with completed projects, as you can see.

Scrappy decided to lay some blocks out on a bed, to see what they would like in a quilt.  I felt she needed a glamorous assistant to show them off, but she didn't.  Guess who won that battle?









It was a great week, thank you so much QuiltHaze for organising it.  Now, what date is the next one?

we're here ...

Firstly, I apologise for the 24 hour silence from me.  There has been a problem at the hotel with the internet, but that got sorted out this evening.

Do you think we've got enough "stuff?  Well, just in case, we've also got things on the back seat of the car, and my machine had to travel on the floor behind my seat, poor big Brother.

Anyway, we arrived safely, despite the best efforts of a couple of motor bikes on our way.  By the time we had taken our bags into the sewing room, and our clothes to our rooms, (yes we did just about find room in the car for a change of clothes and our toothbrushes) it was time for afternoon tea and home made cakes.  Then there was time for a little sewing before dinner. The dinner was superb, and the hotel proprietors definitely think that we all need feeding up if the dinner was anything to go by.  A little more sewing after dinner and it was time for an early night.

Breakfast was a 3-course meal again.  After that Scrappy and I went for a brisk walk along the seafront into the town and wandered around town for a little while.  Believe me, we needed to walk off the breakfast, but guess what?  When we got back, we found that morning coffee and home made biscuits were laid out waiting for us.  We did fit in a little more sewing, before lunch, followed by sewing, afternoon tea, a walk, sewing, dinner, sewing and then the internet was back, so here I am.

So that was yesterday, and today. Tomorrow I'll try and show you what we've been working on.

Ready to go ...

In a couple of hours I'm off on a five day quilt retreat.  Do you think I've got enough "stuff" to work on?

I've got three machine projects, (all throw size quilts, only one of which has been started so far), one hand applique table topper and a  load of experimental things to play with.  I've never been on a retreat before so I am very excited, but really don't know how much I should take with me.  I must remember to pack a toothbrush and change of clothes somewhere too. And I'll need my camera, and my Kindle, my phone and my laptop, oh yes, and all the chargers, some sachets of my favourite hot chocolate for when I'm awake in the middle of the night, and I've just remembered I need to take some Steam-a-Seam and some freezer paper.  Now I just need to keep my fingers crossed that Mr Fixit and my father stay fit and well while I'm gone so I don't need to come home early. 

Assuming the hotel has wifi, I'll be back soon to tell you what I've been up to.

By the way, don't forget my giveaway, here

Remember these?  A few weeks ago I was making 200 9-patches, each measuring 3 1/2" for a swap being organised by Barb over at Fun With Barb.

Well, this week I received my swapsies back, and they are gorgeous.  I really want to start playing with them, and I even know what I am going to do with them.  All I need now is the time!

Giveaway ....

(This book is published by Martingale Publications, and all the photography shown is by Brent Kane.)

Simply Modern Christmas by Cindy Lammon, has some great patterns which will allow you to dress your house for Christmas.  It includes 14 projects ranging from bed quilts and wall hangings, to Christmas Stockings and a table runner and a tree skirt. 

Although most of the patterns are shown in traditional Christmas colours, ie red and green, I think they would all work in other colours for other times of the year.  Imagine this one, for example, 

 made up with that  special fabric you can't bear to cut up, and this one, with its many pieces, would make a fantastic I-spy quilt for children.

As I would expect from any book published by Martingale, the instructions are very clear and each pattern has many diagrams. I also enjoyed the photography in this book.  Each quilt is shown in a styled shot (I love the Christmas tree they used on the front cover too) and as a full-face shot so you can see exactly what you are getting into before you start. 

My favourite project?  This Christmas Tree skirt, which I might just have to make before I put my tree up this year.

Now, I think I may have mentioned a giveaway in the title of this post?  Well, Martingale Publications are offering an e-book version of this book to one of you. All you have to do is leave a comment below telling me what colours you use to decorate for Christmas.

The giveaway small print:

1.     This giveaway is open to everybody, wherever you live, BUT please remember to make sure I can contact you if you are the winner.

2.     If you are a no-reply person, you will not be entered unless you leave an email address in your comment as I will not be able to get in touch with you.  (Note, if you are a Google+ person, you will be no-reply).

3.     This giveaway will also be available on the Yorkshire Modern Quilters' blog.

4.     The giveaway will close next Saturday, 25 October.

5.     The winner will be selected using Mr Random Generator.

Calling Sharon T ...

Update: due to changes in EU taxation laws, I am no longer selling my patterns on Craftsy, or on my blog.  However, some of them are available for sale on Payhip.


Hey-elp as Penelope Pitstop used to say.  Does anyone know Sharon T?

Sharon has just asked me, via a comment on my blog, how she can buy a copy of the pattern for Tubix, but unfortunately she is a no-reply blogger so I can't reply directly.  If anyone knows her, please would you pass this information on to her, or if you see it this post yourself Sharon, here is the answer.

I will be uploading this pattern to my pattern store on Craftsy tomorrow, so you can buy it then, or you can buy it directly from me, I will put a new page on the blog tomorrow it can be purchased then.

You couldn't make this up ...

... My father has decided to apply for a Blue Badge which would then allow any car he is travelling in to park in designated disabled parking places.  He is now over 90, with a dodgy heart and has difficulty in walking more than about 20 yards without needing to stop and rest.  In order to get this badge, he has to attend an assessment.  With me so far?

OK, so he makes an appointment for this assessment, which will be in mid-November (good job this isn't urgent then isn't it?).  When the confirmation letter arrives, it also tells him that the assessment centre is moving from it's current location to a place right, slap bang in the middle of the Big Scary City.  (You know, where I don't drive if I can possibly help it cos it's big and busy and scary, and they keep changing the one way system so I get lost.) Helpfully they also include directions on how to get there.  They read something like this, with my comments in italics:

1. if you are coming by car, please note there is no on-road parking nearby, however there is a multi-story car-park fairly near. (remember this is in the city centre and the chances of there being any spaces at all is so remote that it's not even worth trying)
2. if you are coming by bus, the bus station is a 10-minute walk away (what?)
3. if you are coming by train, the railway station is a 20-minute walk away (whaaaattt???)

We decided that getting there is actually the assessment - if you arrive at their office, you are reasonably fit and don't need a Blue Badge.  We had to laugh really at how well thought out this plan of moving into the City centre was.

It's almost as good as an assessment centre my sister had to attend a few years ago.  She is in a wheelchair, and my father had taken her to the appointment.  When they got there, the entrance to the building was via some steps.  No ramp or anything.  Dad had to ask a couple of strong-looking guys to get her up those steps.  Another well thought-out plan. Ain't bureaucracy grand?

What I've been up to ...

... Last Saturday was a meeting of the Yorkshire Modern Quilt Group that I belong to.  We had a great demo from one of the members about how to do porthole applique.  I had a go and thought it was great.  I can see more of this sort of thing in my future.

The other thing that has been taking up my time for the past week is this.

Yes, I've started knitting again.  I haven't done any for years, but recently have had the urge to play with my knitting needles.  Of course, being me, I couldn't possibly start with an easy project could I? No, that's far too sensible.  Instead I chose a pattern with a 40-row repeat on it!  The trouble is that it's a very lacy pattern with lots of knitting stitches together, creating extra stitches, passing them around the room, standing on my head whilst doing it, etc.  I can tell you that when it went wrong it was easier to undo it all and start again than just trying to undo one row, so the first few rows were knitted more than once, twice, or even three times. My problem is that I was knitting in the evening, with the TV on, and was therefore being distracted. I think I've cracked it now though.  I've found that it's much easier to follow this pattern by using the chart that was provided rather than following the "words".  I've never used a chart before, so I'm feeling a bit proud of myself, and am up to row 30. Tonight I'll do some more so wish me luck.

Falling over autumn

(this is a sponsored post)

Apparently, we're coming up to the start of fall (autumn to me in the UK) in the US, and so Craftsy have decided it's the perfect time for a sale.  I think I agree with them.  After all, if it's getting chilly and maybe wet or windy or even, heaven forbid, snowy, what can be better than learning something new?   (Apart from spending time with your sewing machine that is.)

So, the BIG Fall Course Sale is happening right now.  Remember, you can learn from the world's best instructors in the comfort of your home, and there's up to 50% off all ALL online classes! Once you enroll you can watch your classes anytime, anywhere, forever. Hurry, offer expires September 22, 2014 at 11:59 PM MT. 

I've already decided on which classes I want to take, how about you?

Pattern Testing again

One of the people who bravely volunteered to be a pattern tester for Tubix was Joanne who blogs over at Splitting Stitches,  

I have stolen a couple of pictures from her blog to show you what a great job she did.  I hope she doesn't mind.

Joanne had quite an adventure during the making of her quilt and she has written a great post about what she learned about herself on the way. Fortunately, she loves the quilt, or at least, that's what she says in her post about it here. Do go and read what she had to say, and make sure you read right to the end - there might be a giveaway involved - just saying.

Don't forget about the Craftsy special offer I wrote about in my previous post.  You can save up to 50% off on Sewing, Quilting & Knitting classes until 15 September (that's Mrs Nomad's birthday).

It's sale time ...

... 

While I have been spending time with my foot up I have been having fun on the  Craftsy site.  I signed up for two classes, one called Designing Modern Quilts with Weeks Ringle as the tutor, and the other, which I have been watching, but not "doing" yet is Creative Quilting with your Walking Foot with Jacquie Gering as my tutor.  I have been enjoying both of these courses, and love that I can access them at any time at all, forever. Anyway, because I am about to put some of my patterns up for sale on the site and because I have been having such fun, I have signed up to be an affiliate of theirs. This means that I will be paid a small commission on any purchases made by people who click through to them from links on my blog.

So, you're all wondering why my post header says it's sale time aren't you?  Well that's because I can now offer you the chance to buy some of the best-selling  Craftsy classes at bargain prices for one week only.  You can save up to 50% off on Sewing, Quilting & Knitting classes taught by some of the world's best instructors. Once you purchase a class, it's yours to enjoy forever. Every class comes with a money-back satisfaction guarantee!

Now, stop hanging around here reading my witterings and hustle on over to  Craftsy to see what you fancy learning.

Disclosure:  The Creative Quilting course was supplied to me free of charge by Craftsy, and if you click through to them from my website and purchase something, I will receive commission.

Ouch!!!

I have just got back from the doctor who has confirmed that I have gout which is a form of arthritis apparently. After Friday my foot got worse and by Sunday was swollen to about twice it's size, bright red, and painful doesn't even begin to describe it!  He thinks it's caused by some other pills I've been taking, even though I've had those for years.  I have to stop those, but take the anti-inflamatories and the painkillers he's given me, keep off my foot and keep it raised for a week and that should clear it for now.  Then I start the pills again and we see what happens! I'm feeling sorry for myself!

The winner .....

... of this great book

Well, before I tell you the name of the lucky person who will receive a copy of this e-book, I want to explain how I chose someone.  This review was posted on my blog here, and also on the Yorkshire Modern Quilters blog.  All the comments on my blog are numbered, but those on the other blog are not - hmm, must get that sorted out before the next review.  So all I did was allocate numbers to the comments on the YMQG blog running straight on from those on here.  That gave a total of 49 for Mr Random.org to chose from, and the number he chose was

and no.45 is Harrysmum, who said

I will send Harrysmum an email, but congratulations to her and thank you everyone who took the time to enter.  I will have another book review and giveaway in a couple of weeks, so do keep coming back and checking to see what you could win next time.

Yesterday, today and tomorrow

Yesterday I went to the Great Northern Quilt Show, where I met up with loads of friends. Susan who is over here on holiday from Australia at the moment and I had arranged to have coffee together, and QuiltHaze joined us, which was lovely.  Susan was just as I had imagined she would be, and we did a little shopping together as well as looking at some of the quilts.  We arranged to meet some other friends of mine for lunch, but it was all so busy we managed to keep missing each other. Unfortunately, I am currently suffering from some form of arthritis in one foot, so I was not able to stay as long as I would have liked, but as you can see, I did manage to do a little bit towards helping the economy!

Today I am sitting with my foot up and feeling sorry for myself, but I do have a magazine to read, and what looks like a great book called Essential Guide to Modern Quilt Making to read.  There's a funny story attached to this book.  About a week ago, Aunt Marti, from 52 Quilts in 52 Weeks had a giveaway for this book, which I entered.  A few days after that I bought the book from Amazon, completely forgetting about the giveaway. It was delivered on Friday and then yesterday Aunt Marti announced the winner.  In my blog reader, I get the name of the blog and the first few words of the new post, and so the first words I saw were telling me the winner was from the UK.  I thought it would be just my luck to win, (after all, I know I've got two eyes, but that doesn't mean I can read two copies of the book at once) but luckily it wasn't me.

Also today I will hopefully package up 200 of these, and send them off to the US for the 9-patch swap I'm in.

As for tomorrow, well that is when I will ask Mr Random.org to draw the name of the person who has won this great book, so you still have time to enter on my previous post, here.

Book review and giveaway

I'm sorry, this giveaway is now closed.  You can see who won here

(This book is published by Martingale Publications, and all the photography shown is by Brent Kane.)

As its title suggests, this book contains quilts designed by well known bloggers from around the world.  There are 19 stunning quilts included, all with very clear instructions, plenty of diagrams and templates where necessary.

The book starts off by stating the main rule about modern quilting, which is that “there are no rules”.  So, anything goes really in terms of shapes, colours, designs and quilting, and this is certainly borne out by the quilts which vary from minimalist, such as Petal Pod to quite the opposite, like Scattered and from a modern take on a traditional quilt such as Rainbow Stashbuster to improv piecing seen in Improv Color Blocks.

When I read the book, I loved the tips that are often included such as how to sew a smooth curve.  I also like the fact that many of the quilts also show suggestions for optional, pieced backings.  This is not something I’ve ever done before, but I can definitely see myself trying them in the future.

You will also learn something about each of the contributors, as they have all written a little about themselves and you can visit their blogs to see more of their work.

Which are my favourite quilts?  That’s not easy to answer as I really love Trees, which I could see in all sorts of Christmas prints and Starflower, which I think would look great in plain colours.  Then there’s Petal Pods which I’d love to make in shades of orange and raspberry, and Knots, which is calling (actually it’s shouting) out to me to make it in aquas and blues.

Now all I need is a magic wand to make my days longer so I can make them all.

As a reward for reading all this, Martingale Publications are offering an e-book version of this book to one of you. All you have to do is leave a comment below telling me what colours you would choose to make one of the quilts from this book. If you are a member of the Yorkshire Modern Quilt Group, leave another comment telling me so for an additional entry into the giveaway.

The giveaway small print:

1.     This giveaway is open to everybody, wherever you live, BUT please remember to make sure I can contact you if you are the winner.

2.     If you are a no-reply person, you will not be entered unless you leave an email address in your comment as I will not be able to get in touch with you.  (Note, if you are a Google+ person, you will be no-reply).

3.     This giveaway will also be available on the Yorkshire Modern Quilters' blog.

4.     The giveaway will close next Saturday, 30 August.

5.     The winner will be selected using Mr Random Generator.

Telfie ...

... ooh, look, our toes decided to join in the selfie craze yesterday after our wonderful spa day.  Guess which toes are mine and which are Mrs Nomad's.

Spa day ...

...   woohoo.  Today Mrs Nomad and I are off for a mother-daughter day of pampering and being spoilt at a local hotel's luxury spa. Massages, facials, manicures and pedicures are all on the agenda.   I am soooo looking forward to this.

We'll also have lunch in the Champagne Bar there, and to heck with the diet, even though it's weigh-in night at my slimming club later.

Two weeks,

a fortnight, 14 days.  However you want to look at it, I can't believe I abandoned this poor blog for that long.  Where on earth has the time gone, and what ever have I been doing with myself?  Well, I think the truth is that I've been going through a lazy patch, which means I haven't really been doing much, so there was nothing to blog about.  However, that's all changing now.

One thing I have been doing is making these cute little 9-patches.  I have joined a swap being organised by Barb, and she has a wonderful tutorial here showing a great way to make these blocks which will end up being 3" finished squares. The idea is that we will each make everyone in the swap a pair of blocks. There were originally 24 of us in the swap, but we needed 25, so I said I'd go in twice - after all they're only small blocks aren't they - which means I need to make 100 blocks. No problem, they're only small aren't they? Then someone said why didn't we all make 4 blocks for each person.  The majority thought that was a good idea, so now I have to make 200 blocks - but they're only small, aren't they! I have realised that it takes almost the same amount of time to make a block, whether it is a 3" or a 6" or even a 9" block.  Next time I decide to volunteer for extra duties, please someone gag me so I can't say the words.  Mind you, I love the blocks I'm making and think I am going to have a problem when it's time to send them off to Barb to be redistributed.  So far, I have 110 made plus 16 almost made.

Yesterday was the monthly meeting of the Yorkshire Modern Quilt Group that I belong to.  Unfortunately, Scrappy couldn't make it this month.  I was late, which meant there was no space on the table I usually sit at, so I joined the so-called "naughty table".  Oh boy, I now know why it's called that - there was far more talking, joking, and most importantly, laughing than sewing going on round this table.  As one other person said at one point, "I have just spent the last half-hour or so laughing instead of sewing".  That summed up the day.

On the domestic front, Dad is now the proud owner of a shiny black mobility scooter.  He bought it on Thursday, after checking that he was happy "driving" it and that I could dismantle it and get it into the car, and we had our first outing with it on Friday when he had optician and audiologist appointments.  It all worked well, and will at least mean that he can now get out of the house rather than being stuck in all the time.  Since he was ill, he has not recovered the strength in his legs and can barely walk now, so this will make a big difference to him.

After a few weeks of glorious weather, it's all changed this week and has gone to being wet quite often, windy most of the time and relatively cool all the time, with temperatures well below average.

So now, I think I'll take myself back to my sewing machine to make some more 9-patches.

Hello ......

.... I'm still here, but are you still there?

Dad is well on the way to recovery now, and this morning he even got up, showered, dressed, downstairs and had his breakfast on his own and is intending to do his own lunch too, so I think he's on the road back to independence.  I have recovered from my laryngitis, and also from the bronchitis which followed it, so I think I too am on my way back to what passes for normal around here.  Thanks to people who have emailed me to check on me since I've been so quiet.  Talking of quiet, there was a funny side to Dad being ill and me losing my voice.  Dad is pretty deaf and wears hearing aids in both ears usually, but not when he's in bed, so just imagine the fun and games we had trying to communicate when he had no ears and I had no voice. Also, one day, I had to go round to Mrs Nomad and forgot to take my mobile phone.  When I got there, their front gate was locked although I could hear them in the back garden, but I couldn't make them hear me.  I went home and sent her a text that went along the lines of "why the bleep, bleep, bleep is your front gate locked?"  She rang to say it wasn't locked, but I needed to have pushed harder, but why didn't I just shout? Hmm, ever tried shouting with no voice?

On a different not altogether, remember this quilt, made by Vicki when she was pattern testing Tubix for me?

Well, just look at it now

all bedecked with pretty ribbons.  Vicki decided to enter her quilt (now called Orange Slices) into her county fair and won a blue ribbon and also Reserve Champion award for it.  Well done Vicki.  In fact, she entered 13 items across various categories, and won 10 blue ribbons, 2 red, 1 white, a Grand Champion, 2 Reserve Champions and an honourable mention.  Obviously a talented lady.  If you go to her blog you can see all the items and loads more eye candy too.

So, what's my excuse ....

... this time for being absent from the blogiverse?

Well, last weekend I went down south to stay with my son's family for Mr D's 8th birthday.  We had a good weekend, but I must confess that pizza, birthday cake, chocolate brownies and cheese sandwiches did not do my diet any good!

When I got home I found that my father was not well, and Mr Fixit and I had to help him to bed.  He had a pain in his chest, and could not stand up or walk.  This happened about 10 days earlier too, but that time he fell and couldn't get up.  We called an ambulance that time who took him to hospital where he was kept overnight but they weren't sure if it was a heart attack or not.  This time, I called the doctor out.  It is still unclear what the problem was, but it was possible that he'd had a heart attack, but it was by no means clear.  Anyway, long story short, Dad has been in bed all week with the doctor coming in every day.  The doc now thinks he has had a virus or an infection of some sort.  I've been going in and checking on him, making sure he is drinking water, etc, all week.  Yesterday he felt better and got up for a short time, and Mrs Nomad cooked him some pasta and a light sauce, and he managed to eat some, so she is now taking credit for the fact that today he managed to get up and come downstairs, He is obviously on the road to recovery now thank goodness, but still needs a lot of looking after, so that's why I've been quiet again.

Oh look ...

... I'm at it again.

Why do I never learn?  If I think  I don't like it after a couple of rows, why do I think I might like it when it's three-quarters finished?  So here I go again, busily un-quilting!

Proud grandmother post coming up ....

.... I have 3 grandchildren, The Professor, age 16, his brother, Chatterbox who is 12, and their cousin (who used to be known as Little Person when he was young, but he's too grown up for that now, so I think I'll refer to him as Mr. D.) who will be 8 on Friday.  Recently they have all made me feel very proud.

The Professor recently came 3rd in the whole of Britain in a maths challenge that all schools were involved in.  The funny thing is that he hadn't even told his parents he was in the challenge, let alone the results.  His mother only found out when she saw the award certificate in his room and asked him about it!

Chatterbox was selected by his school, along with a couple of others, to represent his school in a literary project, where they were going into other schools and talking to younger children about literary things. Afterwards his headmaster wrote to his parents to praise how well he had acquitted himself and to quote some wonderful comments from the other schools about him.

Mr D., pictured here

recently won a Leadership award at school. Doesn't he look pleased?  I know he was very excited about it. It is his birthday on Friday and I am going down for the weekend, which I am really looking forward to. 

I must be getting old ...

... there is no denying it any more.  For years I have needed glasses for reading and glasses for driving but last week I had my annual eye test and found that really the time had come for some all-day-every-day ones and I had to give in and get some varifocals.  To me, that means I am now, officially, old.  How has that happened when I know I only turned 30 about a year ago!

There is one good thing about it though - the world is far more detailed than I had realised.  Trees have individual leaves rather than just a green cloud round the branches, small flowers have petals, etc.  There is also a bad side to all of this and that is that I can see the dust on the furniture!