Yorkshire Travelling Journal

I have been busy working on a wrap around cover for my new Yorkshire Travelling Journal. A project that I participate in with my friends from 'Up North'.  My old one, which has been completed by all over the past two years, is due for return to me shortly, all now fat and full, therefore I can show you some of the entries ... starting with mine ...

Just recognised the sketch on the right hand side.  It is from some photographs I took at the allotments next to the railway line in Knaresborough some years ago!

I feel like life is passing me by at the moment and I am not achieving much, so it is nice to look back over my entries in the Yorkshire Travelling Journals over the past two years and see that I have actually made some nice things that I can be proud of.  I also have some lovely like-minded friends who take part in this project for which this past year has been particularly challenging for several of them without the added pressure of making entries for the journals every six weeks. Well done all of you and here's to another year.

For my birthday earlier this month I had a pattern for a thing called a 'Quilt-o-Fax' which is a wrap round holdall for your 'quilty stitchy' stuff.  I have been stitching this off and on for the past week and it has not been the easiest thing I have ever made but is almost finished now.

Spring Flowers

Just when you think it is a miserable time of year, lots of cold and wet weather, you spot something in the garden that makes you smile.  The honeysuckle on the fence in the front garden has leaf buds bursting forth.




In the back garden there are primroses in every colour possible, plus a cyclamen that has produced dozens of babies which will need transplanting elsewhere once the weather is better.



These snowdrops were pot-bound and just pushed into the garden some time last year - just look at them now!  Behind them is a Christmas Rose about to open up its buds.

Back on Line

At long last have purchased and set up our new desktop computer. What a nightmare.  It has Windows 8.1 operating system and I have had to load all my old software onto it which used Vista!  Not sure it is working properly but I will get there.  I have not yet managed to get all my files off the old hard drive, but do have some of them on a separate hard drive that I keep photographs on.

This lovely chap above was found in Tiverton.  We had a couple of nights away last week to visit DH's aunt in Sidford and found him whilst looking for somewhere to buy some flowers to take with us.

PC'd Off!!

No photos today on account of the fact that our desktop PC has ceased to work.  Having now phoned Dell, they have advised me that the most economical solution would be to buy a new one.  I am not best pleased and am missing having access to all the software on there that I use.  I have also always had a hatred of laptops and find it difficult to happily work on one, but at the moment I have no other option but to use the one we have. I am finding it difficult to face up to sorting out the problem at the moment but need to make a decision fairly soon. Apart from that we have 'snails pace' internet connection at times and there is not much hope of it being remedied in the short term as we are too far from the main box apparently.

On the upside DH is on holiday this week and he has actually rehung the cloakroom door (which must have been off for almost a year) and put up two toilet roll holders (not in the same toilet I might add!).  Unfortunately I never get anything done when he is at home as he always seems to need my assistance when I have started a task of my own.  Yesterday, after almost 4 years of living here, he decided that he should clean one of the upstairs windows that does not open far enough to clean from the inside. I had to stop what I was doing and hold the bottom of a ladder in case he fell off.  Not much hope of my saving him as he is much taller and heavier than me!!

Birds and Bees

One of my lovely friends is having a bug house built for her by her DH.  I promised to post a picture of my very scruffy des res for bugs.  I keep adding things to it when I find them.  My earlier version, which I had to move as the piece of wall it was leaning on was due for demolition, had attracted some solitary bees which were very interesting to observe.  As far as I know there are still some in there.  The horrible frog was an unwanted present, so he sits in this dull corner looking grumpy.

This is one of the things I have been doing this week, but I cannot tell you more about it at the moment.  Perhaps later in the week.  It is a small Khadi paper concertina book from Art Van Go.