Had a busy day.

Yesterday I managed to get loads done. Last night, I finished closing up four of these little Christmas Robin ornaments. Thinking about it, if I do something like this again I'd use an individual robin rather than leave them joined as I did here, but never mind. I stitched a hanging loop in when I was attaching the binding.
Then added some ribbons and a bell after it was all closed up. I've made four of these, did I say that already? I plan to keep one for myself and gift the other three to my colleagues who will be working with me on Christmas day. I'll be up and at work by 07.45 on Christmas morning and will work until 3 pm. I won't be alone, Eirwen will be with me, at 3pm two other colleagues will relieve us. I'm not sure what Eirwens plans are, but for me Christmas is on hold until 27th, I have two whole days off and plan to do the whole thing then. Hunney and the kids are in agreement, so that's settled.
Another colleague, Bev gave me an organza table cloth thingy and asked me to make her some place mats with it, so with much swearing I came up with these. I've used two layers of plain white cotton and cotton batting in between, then bound them with a gold satin ribbon. That organza stuff was horrible to work with. It was so stretchy and springy and had creases in all over. I tried hanging it in the bathroom for a day or two, I even took a cool iron to it, then a warmer iron through the cotton cloth I use for Hunneys trousers, but to no avail, the damn thing stayed creased.

Some of those creases disappeared with some tweaking and pinning, but it would drive me nuts having those things on my table, I can still see creases. The best of it all, Bev will be away for Christmas, she's going to Canada, the mats are just so her neighbour has something nice to look at when she pops in to feed the cat!

In my quest to cut out some more of the drafts in this place, I was back into the charity shop yesterday looking for something raggedy to fill yet another sausage. This little guy was right there, in my face as I walked in through the door. I just had to have him.

Isn't he adorable. He has faded a little I think, but I don't care. Hunney took one look when he came home last night and fell in love too. That poor Bumble Bee is gonna get it!

Once I had finished all of my sewing, I got on and cross stitched some of my Santa. No pic sorry! I'll save that for another day. I also had a tidy up around my sewing space up in the study and got my Lowry work stand and my daylight lamp all nicely set for use with my new chair. Yesterday was the first time I sat in it for more than 10 mins. I was in it for most of the afternoon then all evening. Even Hunney commented that I seemed to do less fidgeting and was more settled than I had ever been when working up there. I didn't need a foot stool, nor did I drag a blanket over my lap. On the whole I think it was £20 well spent. Now that the area is tidy again I'll take a picture later for posting another day.

My walk yesterday was cut short as the rain started again, but at least I got out. I'm off out again today too. Then I think I'll spend the afternoon up in the study, maybe I'll get Santa finished and can get back to my flowers.

Gratitude's

1) A sunny day
2) A comfy seat.
3) A morning kiss from Hunney.

Christmas Trees.

Chookyblue wants pictures of Christmas trees, so post pictures of your trees on your blog, then leave her a message and let her know.
My blog may have been quiet over the weekend, but I haven't. I got my new chair, and it's soooooooo comfortable. I'll take a pic of that another day, once I've finished messing about and got it settled into my sewing corner in the study.
I have been up there doing a little cross stitch and some closing up of binding on some more little Christmas items. I made a bunch of coaster size mats this time and there are some ornaments sat up there awaiting my attention and some ribbons and froufrou.
The coasters are just 5 inch charms, sweet and simple, and all different to go along with the charming scrappy feel of the other mats I made.
Now for the bit Chooky wants.
TREES.
I don't normally start to decorate until after the 10th which is DS Joes birthday, but somehow this year, one or two bits have sneaked out early.
This first little tree has bells for decoration and a candle in the centre. The bells are not very tinkly, but it's pretty to look at.

No bells on this one, just lots and lots of glitter. Not the greatest picture, sorry.

Another one with bells, these ones are tinkly, though vigorous shaking is discouraged. I think the kids do it just to wind me up. I often hear them telling stories to their friends about little hands playing with trees and my disembodied voice telling them from another room, to leave my tree alone or Santa won't visit!

I love bells and when the big tree goes up, it too has tinkly bells. My early warning system, it tells me when small hands, and in the past kitty paws, are meddling where they shouldn't be. I also think that small hands just love to play with tinkly bells and even though I told them to leave alone, secretly I really do love to hear the sound of tinkly bells. These three little trees are all about 12 inches high and this year are sat on the dresser in the dining room.

Every day last week I went for a walk. Friday was good I went with DD Kay and on the way home we did a little shopping. That was nice.

I didn't walk on Saturday, I did loads of housework though and ran up and down stairs I don't know how many times, loaded up with baskets of laundry and bags of gifts.

Sunday I went for a walk with Hunney, well I say walk, it was more like a route march, there he was strolling along with me puffing along half a step behind! It was good to get out together though.

I need to pop out today to get ribbon, yards and yards of ribbon and froufrou for those decorations I mentioned and a colleague has given me some bits to chop up and remake for her, so that will need ribbon too. Pictures tomorrow hopefully.

It's my long weekend off work, so I have two more days to play. I'll get out for a walk if the rain stops, if not I'll dig out my dancercise DVD, if there is an earthquake, you know what caused it!

No Maria today, she is away, but hopefully by having two weeks between visits I'll be able to sit there next week and say I lost a couple of pounds! I feel better about myself.

I'm off to the shops.

Gratitude's
1) Two days off.

2) A recent plethora of little finishes.

3) The rain has stopped.

Loads of Pictures.

An assortment of stitchy and scenic pictures today.
First up, I made myself a new hand bag. I popped a wee tartan Scottie dog on the front.
Doesn't he look grand, just so pleased with himself?
A simple wee bag, similar to the ones I made for Hunneys nieces. I know the pattern is in some of the Tilda books if you're interested.

I'm rather pleased with it, it's plenty big enough to hold my money purse, keys and phone. What more could a girl need?
I also got DD Kay's bag finished. She wanted extra long straps so it would go on her shoulder, even with a winter coat on.

Your wish is my comm......No I'm not admitting to that. I managed long handles dear! LOL
There was still more than enough tartan duvet cover left to make a sausage for the sitting room! I used a double layer of a really threadbare patch for this. This one contains a rolled up threadbare kingsize duvet cover I purchased in the charity shop at great expense, £0.50 LOL.

And would you believe I've managed to put away some of the tartan off cuts in the drawer for another day?

I've been ever so good and walked every day. (For three days) Today I had a 1 1/2 mile hike from the bus stop to my brothers house! Yesterday I took a more scenic route and took the camera along.

Here we see the islands only mountain, yes it qualifies, at 2034, it just makes it! Yesterday it was living up to the name the Vikings gave it, 'Snaefell' means snow hill in the Norse language.

At the summit there is a cafe which is open in the summer. There are also radio masts and a civil defence mast. Hunney climbed both masts when he worked for Manx Radio. (Link in the side bar)
If you click on the next image, you can just see some grey blobs on the horizon. They are Scotland! Which is actually only about 22 miles away at the closest point. This view looks North along the Mooragh prom. The park is over to my left.

This is a beautiful beach for walking on and many dog walkers are seen here every day. The water is not so good for swimming though, there are some treacherous currents which run along this stretch of the coast.

Heading south I come to the harbour again. Here I'm looking straight out to sea between two long break waters. I cross the famous Ramsey Swing Bridge, but forgot to take a photo.

As I got to the other side of the bridge I stopped to take pictures of the rest of the harbour. Here you see the inner harbour, inside of the bridge obviously. If you keep on going up there and around to the right just a bit you pass under another bridge and on into the Sulby river.

If on the other hand you about face and cross the road you see the outer harbour, and it's flotilla of swans, geese and ducks.

That weird wooden contraption is what the bridge rests on when it has swung. The swinging is not a daily occurrence at this time of year, but in the summer it does swing almost daily to allow boats to pass from inner to outer harbour and on out to sea.
The harbour was very quiet yesterday, the calm weather meant that our small fishing fleet, along with my DS Jonathan, were out at sea. As were our small fleet of carrier vessels. They transport coal, crops, timber, animal feeds and various other itmes to and from England, Wales and Ireland.

Someone suggested that this is not a good time to start dieting. I wholly agree, but I'm not planning to diet just yet, I just intend to move more! I'll see about eating less in the new year. Thanks for the support though, anyone want to join me? That always helps.

I worked in my office role in Onchan today, during my short lunch break I scooted up the hill to a sewing shop and got my sticky paws on a couple of fat quarters. Christmas fabric of course! I want to make a special gift bag for Hunney. I met Moya there too. She spent more than me! LOL After work I met Hunney at my brothers and we went to do the grocery shopping. Yay, no fighting with the masses on saturday.

For now I'm off upstairs to sit in the study with Hunney. I'll get an hour of cross stitching done before bedtime.
Gratitude's
1) The grocery shop is done!
2) A long weekend off work and no on call. (4 Days)
3) Take away dinner.

A walk in the park.

In true Loulee fashion all my photos are jumbled up, but at least you'll get a taste of my walk yesterday.
There was a North Westerly breeze blowing yesterday, straight off the Arctic, so bitterly cold, I was wrapped up in my big coat, scarf and gloves, which came on and off and on and off, so I could use the camera. We have a large recreational park area called Mooragh park. The whole thing and the harbour near by were created by the Victorians, prior to that the whole area was a swamp.
We have our own mini crazy golf, which is meant to represent the TT course. There is a type of palm tree that has managed to toughen itself up to withstand howling gales and freezing temperatures and survive here, known affectionately as 'The Manx Palm'. There are lots of little gardens and quiet areas to sit. I couldn't get into the sensory garden as the guys were in there working, I'll get a pic another day.

Although the area was drained it never totally dried out, so the Victorians created a lake, which can drain and be replenished via a sluice through into the harbour. During the summer there are sail boats and row boats for hire.

It's not very obvious from my pictures, but there is an island in the centre of the lake.

This is the old harbour, which the Victorians created. It's used now mostly for pleasure craft and as you see the majority of them are lifted out of the water for the winter.

This foot path runs the full length of the old harbour. That wall right at the end...the park is on the other side of that, there is a road, then the boat house and then the lake.

The sluice gates for the lake drain out just where the wall runs out in the center of this pic.

On my way home from my walk I called in at a charity shop which I don't often visit. I'm glad I did, I found the perfect chair. For some time I've been looking for a back saver chair, you know the kind, you see them in hospitals and nursing homes. Good straight supportive back rests and sturdy arms. They have them for sale in the furniture shop, just a few doors away from here, but I'm not paying £500 plus for one chair. The one I found yesterday was £20. The varnish is a little worn on the arm rests, but the upholstery is in perfect condition and it's very comfortable to sit in. Hopefully Moya will loan us her car to collect it at the weekend, it should go in that with the rear seats down.

Yesterdays visit to the charity shop reminded me of my finds on Friday when I was out with DD. These pictures uploaded backwards too! You'd think by now.......?

I made this sausage from one of my finds. Two whole meters of the stuff. The sausage picture is a better representation of it's colour, which apparently is VAT?

Some large companies have their logo woven into the carpet and have soft furnishings made from a particular range of fabrics so that no matter where you are in the world, you know which company you're visiting, just by looking at the furnishings. Do the treasury also have their own livery? And if so, how did this end up in the hospice shop at £2.00 for two meters? Anywhoo, stuffed into the sausage is one of my old raggedy bath towels and a few off cuts of fleece that were too small to get used anyplace else. I've put it across the study door, there is a howling draft that blows up the stairs and right under that door. That's a drawback of living in an old house.

My other find on Friday with DD was this old Tartan duvet cover. I've already got a tote bag started for DD, but she was mumbling about handles so I'll finish it off when I pin her down and see just what she wants me to do to the handles.

I don't think I'll be doing any sewing today, I'm going for another walk, and I have a 'pinflair' project to make for Hunneys Christmas card.

Gratitude's

1) Finding the perfect chair.

2) No ice and frost this morning.

3) Another late shift.

Tuesday.

A few years ago I had a bash at making cards, I did enjoy it, but soon came back to my needles and all of my card making stash lay gathering dust and taking up space so, when we moved house earlier this year I was very good and sorted through all my crafty stuff and gave the majority of the paper craft items to a colleague of mine. It included rubber stamps and inks, pretty papers, old cards and twiddly bits saved off crackers and gift boxes, bits of ribbons and pretty much anything I thought may be useful for making cards. Needless to say I didn't just pick a random colleague, I chose someone who had given beautiful handmade cards last Christmas.
Yesterday she 'repaid' me, not that it was expected or necessary, but look what I got.....
An assortment of Christmas cards,

A pile of all kinds of cards, from Birthday to Get well soon,

All beautifully packaged into a pretty box.

They are beautiful, ever so pretty and sparkly and shiny in real life, much better than my photography would have you believe. I am tickled pink. I'm only sorry she hasn't signed them in some way. I may have to see about getting her a special stamp or some labels. What a truly wonderful lady.

When I bought the robin fabrics to make mums mats the colleague who was with me asked to see the finished product. So yesterday I rounded up all my recent offerings and took them to work.

I think I could have sold the lot 5 times over! I also took them with me when I went to see my therapist, she had asked what happens in a good week. LOL

She was curious to see what was tucked away in the bag and also asked if I would sell them.

Stop reading now, if you don't want to see the personal stuff.

We cut our session short yesterday, two good weeks in a row, wow! Last week I finally managed to say out loud to a colleague of mine, the lady who made the cards, that I had had an awful childhood because my father is a bully. We chatted for 10 - 15 minutes about how it has affected me. Although it was difficult it was made easier by the support you folks showed to me the week before and I know I chose the right lady, she gave a huge hug and encouraged me to say it a second time. I can't begin to describe how empowering it is to find so much support. Maria asked me how I feel about myself, on a scale of 1 - 10 where is my self esteem? It was actually about a 6 - 7 yesterday, I'd had everyone praising me all day over my sewing and My friend had given me that box of cards and I felt pretty good. I'd had a good week, all my Christmas shopping is done and most of my Christmas sewing. We also talked about a few weeks ago when I was feeling very low and I admitted to feeling as low as -2. We also talked about what else may be affecting my self esteem, since quitting smoking 2 1/2 years ago I've put on weight, 3 stone or 42 ish pounds!! That is getting me down. Time I did something about it. Hunney has talked about getting a rowing machine, I love to swim, though I'm not sure that Ramsey is ready for the current me, in a swimsuit! LOL I promised myself that I would do something everyday, something extra. I have to go out to the post office today, so I'll add to that and go for a walk as well. I'm going to keep a note of what I do in my diary.

Gratitude's

1) A box of beautiful cards.
2) Wonderful friends.

3) Two late shifts!