DS yodeler of the future perhaps?

Lucky DS is off to Austria. He is so excited as it is a last minute surprise. :o) It's funny how things work out... not only has a spare place come up on the holiday, the spare seat is next to a family friend who was going to be sitting next to a stranger.

It's not only a surprise for DS but for Mr and Mrs Doxie too. What will I do with myself all week? I am sure I will think of something LOL...I just hope we have the house put back together in the next few days so I can get my sewing machine out on the table again...At the moment it seems that every flat surface is buried and there are just goat paths through the rooms downstairs...who'd have thought that the contents of a kitchen could spread so far!

We should have been putting it all back together tonight but rain stopped play...kind of thinking it would be a good idea to invest in a gazebo...at least we could still chop wood etc outside when it rained then!

Note to self, when we move, priority = erecting a workshop...then rain or shine we can battle on. :o)

Doxie, making plans for all that me time!

Lady luck was shining on me.

I had to get Screecher Creature a new cage. The base was very cracked and whilst I am sure he didn't mind too much I am sure it wouldn't take another dismantling when I clean it...and what a disaster that would be...a bird with no cage...eek!

There I was sat in The Nook having a quick surf looking to see if I could see a suitable cage... so far I hadn't seen anything any good within my intended budget when Mr Doxie announced we were going out there and then to the DIY store.

Whilst Mr Doxie was loading the car up with our purchases. I thought I'd run to the pet shop...Right there next to the till was a beautiful cage, but one that would have been way out of my budget but I just had a peep at it anyway for a quick dream lol...and guess what...it was half price! I can't tell you how much better quality it was than the ones I had seen during my quick surf. Needless to say I bought it there and then. I was already chuffed as nuts anyway but when the chap in the shop told me that the manager had only marked it down and put it out an hour ago I couldn't believe my luck...he must have been doing that whilst I was looking at them online.

Sometimes things really DO go your way. :o) Screecher Creature is as happy as a sand boy and I am too ( though maybe a sand girl if there ever was such a thing ) because ...not only is it a quality cage, it is attractive, waaay bigger than what he had before and it has some little perspex guards around the base which stop him from throwing his seed all over the room!

AND...the best of all perhaps...I get to do some sewing as his old cover will not fit the new one!

Well, it started as a small job but...

we got a bit carried away! You know what it's like...once you start renewing one thing in a room the other bits start screaming out at you...We were just going to fit a new kitchen floor this weekend...but somehow we ended up, stripping the wallpaper, washing the ceiling ( I had no idea it wasn't white! ), stripping the skirting back down to bare wood, priming and finally stripping the floor back to bare concrete...the new flooring is still in it's packaging in the sitting room LOL. Oh well it will look super when we've finished so I suppose it isn't a bad thing.

My dining room is now playing host to the fridge and washing machine and we have disconnected the cooker, so along with the fact that the contents of my kitchen cupboards seem to be scattered all over the house means this is not a project we can take at our leisure.

I found some odd things when I was clearing the top of my cabinets.....I have the obligatory fake onions and garlic on ropes that were all the rage in the 90's, it brought back memories of the holiday I bought them on...oh and all those souvenir mugs that I do actually use...I just rotate them, groan... but where on earth the fake chilli peppers came from I have no idea! They are mightily realistic though so I am quite pleased I found them. I also found a nice collection of toy snails LOL.

My trusty weather man is telling me that we are in for a heatwave ( nothing to do with chilli peppers!) I am wondering if hot weather is perfect for decorating or the worst thing possible...it will be interesting to see if the gloss work dries any quicker. I think I will be up at the crack of dawn to do the ceiling whilst Mr Doxie gets a coat on the woodwork before it heats up too much. It'll be fun doing the papering I am sure, that paste is going to dry in minutes I bet.

Poor old Sharp End is a little put out as I have put the stair gate up to keep him from going in the kitchen...never mind modern designer suede look paintwork...we invented fur look paintwork years ago! Anyone whose dog has brushed against wet paint will know exactly what I am talking about... The paint on the doorframes ends up with more hairs on stuck on it than the paintbrush you used to apply it.

Doxie the decorator. :o)

RIP Terry

So sad to hear of your untimely passing. I will miss the weekly updates, your quick wit, charm and humour, your absence will be felt by more than you know. So glad Mungo has a new home.

Rest in peace

XXX

Knock before you dig...

Because you don't know who's in! Well that is when it comes to compost bins!

"Hello"

"This is my best side, aren't I handsome?"

A good couple of months or so ago I found a Slow worm on the bottom patio...on his back! I don't know if a bird had dropped him for I doubt they roll over on their back voluntarily.I thought he was dead but to my delight the warmth of my hands brought him to...so I carefully put him in the compost bin and he whizzed away at lightning speed. Then about a fortnight later I found this little chap when I was moving the compost bin a couple of foot to the left. I don't think he is the same one unless they grow quite rapidly because the other one was a fair bit smaller. I put him in a bucket with some compost whilst I finished moving the bin ( just incase! They are a protected species so I know how precious they are and didn't want him to come to any harm ) and then put him back in when I had finished.

We found our first ever Slow worm in the compost over 5 years ago so it is a real thrill to know they are still around...we must have created just the right environment for them. I think they mate in June so it looks like I did my maintenance at just the right time. I gave up turning my compost years ago , it really doesn't seem to need it once it got established, it kind of looks after itself...so... I hope we will be blessed this year with a family of little slug gobblers...Now I know the Slow worms haven't deserted us it looks like I won't need or indeed want to use slug pellets anymore. :o)

Doxie :o)

Green Beetle, green beetle who art thou?

I am trying to identify the species of a beetle found on one of my succulents.I have narrowed it down to the family Oedemeridae... if my classification skills are clearly way off please let me know...I'd love to know who this little fellow is ( and the ever present biology geek in me wants to know why...hence the interest in Genus species LOL )

Doxie... who is definitely lacking in the Insectology department.

Ruffled Tote bag update

I have had so many people asking me about my ruffled tote bag when I have been out and about with it shopping. It is a real thrill to say I made it myself. :o) It is standing up to everyday usage really well...and boy do I cram a shopping bag full! Did I already tell you this I wonder? Oh well I am too tired to check through my posts tonight so forgive me if I am repeating myself.

Things are quite busy here at the mo so I am not getting as many hours in craft wise as I would like, but am doing my little charity project when I have spare time in the evenings. I forgot just how much you can get done if you do just a little every night...I also forgot how quickly a trick marker fades which is helping me keep on a track a bit LOL.

For X-stitchers and back stitchers: alphabet generator

This site here has a great tool for stitching words and phrases in X-stitch. Play around with it a bit first and you will soon get the hang of it. Have a look under tools and the alphabet generator.

Doxie still avoiding real work but designing some charity stuff instead so doesn't feel so guilty about it at the mo! I am busy, honest!

free pattern finds

A handy knitted bag from I live on a Farm link here



Really cute bear to make here



A knitted goldfish pattern...YES you read that correctly LOL find it here. It is the lady's first go at writing her own pattern... well done to her, it is brill.



Some very different vintage patterns here

Doxie

Using other people's pics in your blog

Some good info on creative commons licenses and how you can use other peoples pics in your blog can be found here on this edublog page.

Avoiding work

... but I don't know why as it is something I love doing and will be so chuffed with the end result...I have a feeling it is a small bit of perfectionism creeping in...because I constantly have a waterfall of ideas crashing into my creative lap, I think I am scared to progress because I am thinking that next week I will come up with something even more exciting ( to me ) and today's projects will loose their shine. Oh gee I need someone to give me a good talking to and to tell me to just get on with it.

It is so weird, the more I do, the more I want to do but then I hit a wall due to the sheer amount of inspiration that hits me...today it is like living in a padded cell but the walls are made with ideas for projects and I don't know which one to hit at to try and burrow my way to the outside so I can actually start.

I think I need to start writing stuff down and just prioritise by date. There are no frogs to eat because I WANT to do it ALL.

Have a good day all,
Doxie running around in circles

Distracted

I have a million and one things to do and a deadline to meet but I am so distracted by all things embroidery at the moment. I have many projects whizzing around in my head. The above picture is part of an embroidery I added to a gift for a neighbour last week. I am working on the assumption that if you get these distractions out of your system by giving in to them you can then get back on track and give your work 100% attention...does it really work like that?

What is your biggest distraction and what should ( ahem ) you be doing instead at the moment?

Doxie giving in to girly whims.

Well he is on a diet so...

... does that mean he gets let off the hook for making a healthy choice and stealing a low fat plain yoghurt pot as opposed to a creamy fruity one?

Don't you just love the way he is hiding the evidence by using the pot for a pillow as he has a post yoghurt kip in the sunshine?

Doxie :o)

A couple of things I'm working on

Trying my hand at upcycling...

This is a dress I bought at full price a couple of years ago and never wore because it is the most hideous cut you have ever seen. I suppose I should have taken a photo of my body in it so you could see what I mean... but believe me, I can't think of any shape fat or thin that could wear it...so I have taken the halter part off and will try and save the rest by making a top or shortie Summer dress.

The boob part was way too sloppy...if you had been the size to fit it, the under-boob band would not have fitted and below that band you would have had to had a pot belly to make the stomach area have any shape at all and not just hang like a shapeless baggy rag...so it isn't suitable in my opinion for a stick or a tree trunk or even a preggie lady.

I bought this top in a charity shop, it says Next Woman inside. It was way too big and a very chunky unflattering cut around the top...I am wondering if Next Woman is a maternity range as it said size 12 but was way bigger than a standard 12 in my opinion. I bought it with the view of chopping it around a bit, at £1.99 I thought it was a gamble I could afford to loose as the fabric is rather yummy and could easily be made into something else, especially as it is lined too.

My enthusiasm could wane a bit seeing as the weather is due to take a turn this week, but as long as I get to wear them at some point over the Summer I will be happy.

Doxie

few links

Zakka and more, will probably add to this list as time goes on


Zakka pouch at black dog designs

Urban Debris don't let the odd but clever name put you off, this is a great recycling/crafting site. :o)

Loads of Zakka type links

Zakka life

I am loving all things Zakka just lately since I purchased a wonderful Japanese craft book which I will no doubt post about again in the future because it is so inspirational.

I did a bit of a search on free Zakka patterns and found this lovely site.

Also on the same site are these lanterns they'd be great made out of some of the vintage Christmas pics you can find on the web...and there is a little bit of sewing involved! I think I can guess how my home will be decorated Christmas 09.

Worth a look around the site there are some lovely ideas on there. :o)

Doxie

Am I imagining this or...

...can this really be the case? I have observed that in the back garden the last few days there are just girl baby birds being fed by their Mums and the boys appear to congregate out in the front garden. I wonder if anyone else has noticed this behaviour. When they were very young, as in still quite fluffy they all seemed to join in together...now they are still young enough to be fed but have split into groups.

Either way there will be enough food to go around as I bought a 20kg bag today, I am hoping it will last a good way through the summer.

Doxie

cucumber chutney

preferably white vinegar but can use whatever type you have in cupboard

salt and black pepper

onion and cucumber sliced as thinly as is humanly possible

small amount of fresh chilli again very finely chopped

Chuck it together in a bowl and leave flavours to infuse for a bit...again nice as a side dish for curry

edited to say I forgot to say add fresh coriander

Fresh chutney recipe

tomatoes sliced very thinly
olive oil
salt
black pepper
fresh chilli pepper chopped up into TINY pieces
onion finely sliced
Fresh coriander snipped up with scissors

Bung it all together in a bowl, cover and leave in the fridge to chill. Makes a nice side dish to go with curry etc

oh blog life how I have missed you

...I did something weird to my machine which meant I could not get on the net until the talented Mr Doxie managed to wave his magic wand and make it all okay for me again...Oh boy oh boy, I had not realised just how much this blogging lark had become so much part of my life...I have really missed this.

Anyway I am back now and hopefully will have something interesting to post over the next few days.

The sun has been out here and I have been in the garden alot. I have also had the chance to catch up with a lovely friend and neighbour and that inspired me to start another little crafting project which I will post about soon.

Take care all wherever you are,

See you soon,

Doxie who is sooooo glad to be back. :o)

Les Petits Moineaux

I have had so much pleasure the last week or so watching the petit moineaux in our garden. We bought a new hanging feeding bowl and I have been filling it daily with bread soaked in water. There has been a constant coming and going of parents feeding their babies. It is sooo sweet to see the little babies fluttering with impatience as they sit in the tree, and then pestering their parents something rotten when they return with a few morsels...it amuses me so much when you can't tell the babies from the parents because they are exactly the same size, it kind of makes me think they are big enough to get their own food and are probably just trying it on LOL.

Soon I want to pop into an Equestrian place nearby that also sells poultry feed, I am hoping they do some kind of chick crumb which will probably be far more nutritious than granary bread LOL.

We have a dove nesting for the second time this year just outside of DS's bedroom window, I am planning to take some pictures when she is facing the right way...she is either very trusting or oblivious to our presence as she doesn't seem to mind us looking out at her, especially as this is her second clutch in the same spot this year.

What a dull place the world would be without wild birds.

Doxie :o)

Seneca pond crafts

This cat looks like such fun to do

so cute!




Don't you just love the sentiment behind this stitchery?



Found a nice place to visit...You can find other stuff like the pics above and oodles more ( is oodles a real word? ) at Senecapondcrafts.com. At the time of looking there were a few freebies to download...The generosity of people is amazing...but don't just go to look at the freebies there is some nice looking stuff to inspire. :o) There was even a lampshade kit thingy that had a sewing machine on the shade, how lovely that would be for the craft room... it was sold, not surprised!

Doxie who must stop looking at other's peoples stuff and get on with her own LOL.