About Me

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I'm 57 years old, working full time, wife, mother and grand mother, wishing that I wasn't working full time! I love and enjoy our children and grandchildren, our dogs and cat, our garden and allotment. I love crafts - knitting, sewing, crocheting, patchwork and restoring old furniture. I love to go to country auctions and love thinking that I've got my self a bargain!

Sunday 22 July 2012

Is it here at last?.............

Do you think that summer's arrived at last?  it's certainly been like for summer for the last 2 days here so fingers crossed but it's come a bit too late now for the allotment. Oh well there's always next year.

Felt really tired yesterday so had an easy day and cut out the curtains for the bathroom and pieced them together (there's a drop and a half in each curtain) machined them and did the side and hem turnings - just got to hem them and they'll be ready for the linings to be attached.

I know that I've paid expensive for Laura Ashley material but it is so worth it - they have just fell together, you can't see the join at all and the corners mitred up perfectly. I did wonder about doing them with feeling so tired but it turned out to be quite relaxing and as I say so easy to do.

I've ordered a 20 metre roll of lining material off ebay which has only cost £28.00 so quite a bargain and they'll be enough there to do the kitchen curtains too.

The order from Farrow and Ball for the lamp room grey paint for the bathroom was delivered within 2 days - what a brilliant service and would definitely use it again.

Hubby has done half of the glossing in the bathroom and it is a classic colour - really nice, I have spent this afternoon painting a clothes basket with the 'pointing' white gloss  and I found an old mirror down the cellar, which I've painted the frame with the grey gloss. So it's slowly coming together.

I've only got one day in work this week and then 3 days having my grand daughters whilst my daughter is at work, Friday is for me and I will hopefully be putting the linings to the curtains.

Will you be watching the Olympics or not? I'll watch the opening ceremony and then that will be enough for me - I intend to get some sewing done whilst it's on every night - give me a gardening programme, or strictly come dancing any time.

Talking about gardening programmes - have you been watching Alan Titchmarsh's Love Your Garden? it's like DIY SOS but for gardens instead - he has created some fantastic gardens - no wonder he's the best TV gardener out there - Just wished the BBC would realise and get rid of the little shortie Monty Don  and his sidekick Carol Klien and bring back a 'worth' watching Gardeners World.

Oh well teas nearly done - hope you all have a good week

Byeee

Friday 20 July 2012

Greed minus Morals = Idiots!

Thank God the week is nearly over - it's been a long hard stressful week - 2 days of which have been spent in court, giving evidence regarding a customer who you really wouldn't want as a neighbour!

When the young gentleman in question was cross examined, what became more than evident was the fact that he had no self respect, no thought for anyone else but himself, that society and tax payers should do everything for him, why should he be expected to give up his cigarettes to pay his rent arrears? - isn't that what housing benefit is for? Oh and he also thought that we shouldn't be upset if he speaks to us with foul language,  aggressively in our face's - cause that's just how he is - he's not using bad language at us - it's just how he talks to people. ( Sorry it's still unacceptable!)

But what was much much worse was his defence barrister - what an absolute arrogant idiot, who had the cheek to try and make out that a) we're all liers, all buying into a conspiracy against his client (there was 20 of us in court to give evidence on his unacceptable behaviour) and b) that the majority of our customers speak to us this way and also live in extremely squalid conditions (like his client does) that we should just accept this behaviour as the norm and not challenge his poor defenceless client. I would say that the majority of our customer are clean, hard working respectable people, it's only the few, like his client, who cause us all the work.

Can anyone tell me how does this idiot sleep at night? - if you're a decent respectable person, then you have your own set of internal rules i.e. morals that you live by, this middle aged, well spoken, well educated man just can't possible have any morals -  if he can stand in a court of law, and defend this type of person against a group of hard working people and try to make out we're the liars.

I know some people will sell their soul for money and a 'lifestyle' but there has got to come a time when this man looks back at his life, and feel nothing but shame, because on the last 2 days performance he has nothing at all to feel proud about - how does he meet people and tell them that he spends his days defending this type of person.

Plus he was rubbish at his job - he came into court without reading our statements - he would then read a paragraph from out statement and ask a question, you would answer it and then he would stand there for another 2 mins and read the next paragraph and you would have to stand there and wait for the next question.

The judge lost it with him on a number of occasions and spoke to him like the absolute idiot that he was.

I went into the witness box determined that this idiot would not put me down - every time he tried I gave back as good as I got - and then got a mention in the judges summing up that I had given  good quality evidence and that I should not have been doubted by this idiot.

It just puzzles me how he lives with himself - his poor Mother must be so ashamed to say he's her son - because he really isn't anything to be proud of.

Till next time......... going to have a stiff drink tonight - I think I've earned it!

Byeee

Sunday 15 July 2012

Rain, rain, go away.....



When is this rain ever going to go away - it is really getting to people now isn't it? We've just really given up with our allotment - the onions have keeled over along with the 120 runner beans - strangely though this weather doesn't seem to have the same effect on the weeds - they just keep growing stronger and stronger.

I feel for the poor farmers - the vegetable prices have already gone up in Morrison's and I can only see it getting worse and worse in the future for all of us.



So, for now,  we're going to concentrate on the house, and getting a few jobs done, the garden is looking really good now and I'm so pleased that we went with the green and white theme

We're going to paint the inside of the summer house next, and then start in the conservatory, it needs painting and we want to put a carpet down in there to make it warmer under foot for the winter.

Then it will be the bathroom -I've ordered a large tin of Farrow and Balls Lamp Room grey for the bottom half of the walls which is panelled and then it's going to be Farrow and Balls Pointing for the top of the walls - Laura Ashley have a sale on their materials at the moment, so I have been and  have chosen some rather nice pink gingham, which when the curtains are made will set it all off very nicely - all I have to do now is find the time to make them!  (then again if I'm made redundant I'll have the time to make all these home improvements but not the ready cash - hence the reason why we're getting all the paint etc., now whilst I can still afford it!).

Then it's the turn of the kitchen - it's a hand built pine kitchen - too good to take out but pine's dated now so we're going to paint the units and then put a new floor down  - I would love a new range cooker, mines 9 years old now - but we'll have to see how the pennies go with that one..............and then it will be Xmas!!

Has anyone else noticed - someone, somewhere seems to make the hands of time go much faster on a weekend than in the week - I hardly seem to blink and the weekends gone!

No other news so I'll wish you all a good week

Byee xx

Saturday 14 July 2012

Anyone seen a little blue police box?...........



When I was little, back in the 1960's I used to always go up to my Nan's, early on a Saturday evening, I would wait there, whilst my Dad went and fetched my Mom, who used to work on the biscuit counter in our local Woolworth's.

I used to sit on my Nan's little black leather pouffe (which more than 50 years later is still as good as the day it was brought and sits in my little front lounge) watching their little black and white T.V. set - I used to sit and watch Dr Who, who used to take on the dreaded Darlek's (remember them and their dreaded monotone voice saying 'Exterminate, exterminate') Dr Who was the good guy and no matter what the Darlek's tried to do to him, after  a few episodes he  always defeated them and came out on top.

The situation at work,  is now getting worse and worse - we're an organisation, who don't make colleagues compulsory redundant is what they tell us - that's why 2 ladies who had a combined total of more than 50 years service have recently been made to go, although they didn't want to.

The dreaded Newbies, keep taking over more and more, what does it matter if the customers suffer, just think how many bright university qualified people we have working for us now and how many more could be working with us if only they can get rid of the older ones - you know........ colleagues with  years and years of experience  of knowing our service and our customers - that counts for nothing these days. Well not according to the Newbies.

They perminate through our new clinically white soulless office, on their kitten heels, with their Armani glasses and sharp business suits and don't they think they are something special and as they go you can almost hear them saying under their breaths when they look at us older ones (with all our years of experience) 'Exterminate, Exterminate!'

Hopefully by the end of the year, I shall know whether I still have my job and my career till then, my work and my ability to earn my salary is at the mercy of the Newbies

Where's Dr Who when you need him?!

Byeee