memoir monday (seven)

26th September 1986

Yesterday on our way to Brownies we saw a peahen and a peacock crossing the road.  They jumped up onto a wall and disappeared over it.  Sometime last winter we saw them but they had tails.  When we saw them yesterday they only had stumps.  After Brownies we came back the same way we had come.  In a field there were cows and with the cows were the peahen and the peacock.  We went on a bit in the jeep and Mum saw a bird.  It was black and white and when it flew off we saw it was a magpie.  It flew over some grass and up into a tree.  The tree started swaying and I thought it was going to fall off.  Just at Slioch we saw a field of cows with sheep in them.  Then on about 2 or 3 yards were some hens.  They were strutting about and clucking.  The sheep were just grazing and so were the cows.

(c)at the weekend

One of the good things about the weekend is getting the time to hang out with Poppy and Lola.  

Both the cats seem to pick up on the different pace of the day and are far more likely to play and to be affectionate.

I left a ball of wool lying about this week and Poppy has claimed it as her own.

Lola is getting to be  a bit of a fatty these days.  She gets tired out after a couple of leaps and needs to have a lie down (not like the old days) usually flat on her back with her belly exposed to the world.

Poppy still looks more kitten-like and busts the odd impressive move.

As I've been typing this, Lola has hauled her ever increasing frame onto my lap.  Warm furry weekend goodness!

caleb

Caleb
Originally uploaded by ashleyg

I am loving the new little boy prints from ashley g a.k.a. kitty genius. I think this one particularly would make the most beautiful children's book. I bought one of her bearded men prints for Graham once because it reminded me so much of him. He has since lost weight and shaved his beard off (Graham, not the print!) so no longer bears such a close resemblance, but the bearded man in the stripy top who hangs just inside our front door (the print, not Graham!) still makes me smile each time I leave the flat.

memoir monday (six)

14th November 1986

On Mondays Laura goes to ballet.  So we go to collect her.  On the way this time I saw a rabbit.  We were coming down the road when my mum put on the brakes.  The bunny managed to get away.

On Thursday we went to Brownies.  We were coming down the road and a cat ran in front of us.  We managed to slow down though.

One morning we were having breakfast.  I (I repeat I) noticed something flying.  It was geese.  Laura claimed to have seen them changing leaders but I don't think she did really.

flying the flag for zips

This is Zippy Aero.  He is strong and proud to be a zip.  He is flying the flag for zips everywhere.

I received an exciting proposition this week and am going to be making (at last) lots of zip brooches with my collection of zips.  All my zips have come from charity shops, some of them are very old (I mean 'vintage', dahlinks!) and they were all in need of a bit of a wash.  So wash them I did.  Here are all my zips lying in a big bundle pre-wash:

Some of the zips were still in their original packaging and one or two of them were made by Aero and had the smashing Zippy Aero as their logo. 

I thought I would share him with you.

memoir monday (five)

13th March 1987

On Wednesday Mr. Scott said we were going to make a radio and television top ten.  Kaye and I were doing the tape.  We went to the staff room and started doing it.  It went like this:

Number ten, Check This

At number nine, He-man

The overgrown pussies the Thundercats are at number eight

The Waltons are at number seven

The Gummy Bears are at number six

Top of the Pops is working its way up at number five

At number four, Question of Sport

At number three, Dallas

And there is a tie for first place between Grange Hill and Eastenders.

We did it twice and sent the second one away.  Two weeks later we listened to Check This and it was on.  Then we got a letter from them.  It said:

Dear Primaries 4-7,

Thanks for taking the time to record a cassette for us - we hope you heard us use it on the programme and we look forward to hearing some more from you soon.

good things come to those who wait

I really love Alexander McCall Smith's Botswana/Mma Ramotswe novels.  The first time I read one, I borrowed it from my sister.  Since then, I've made it a rule that I am only allowed to buy them second hand.  It is also a rule that I must read them in sequence.  I am a book hoarder and always keep the books I've read but (for some reason) I have made it a rule that I must pass my Alexander McCall Smith books onto my friend, Bernadette, once I've read them.  This plan was working well as he is an author you will always find on the shelves of a charity shop, and having to search for each title for a little while helped to eak out the pleasure.  Given half a chance I probably would have read the whole series in a oner.   However, In The Company of Cheerful Ladies has proved somewhat elusive and I'd been looking for it for over a year.  Every charity shop I went into, I'd scour the shelves.  Even if the books were arranged alphabetically this meant looking through all the Ms and all the Ss...  In some shops I found every title of his except this one.  I was getting tempted to buy it from Fopp (where it costs the same as it would in some charity shops) but knew this would be the beginning of the speedy end to my Alexander McCall Smith treats, making all his books just too accessible.  Anyway, this weekend I stopped off in one little charity shop just to have a quick peek and... there it was for £1!  Yippee!  I'm glad I didn't succumb to buying it new because all the searching and waiting and wondering made it all the more exciting to find.  I feel like reading it will be a real treat.  I might aim for a few early nights this week so I can snuggle up in bed (September has really brought the chill with it) and get completely immersed.  Yum yum yum.  Sometimes I find all my self imposed rules and regulations a bit... strange?  unnecessary?  annoying?  restrictive?  But the complicated Alexander McCall Smith rules seem to be working out very well.  Let's just hope he keeps writing them at the same pace as I keep finding them in charity shops.

other people are so darned creative

Collaged Embroidery Envelope dated 1927 

Originally uploaded by hens teeth

Another post about things made by other people. I didn't manage to make anything this weekend myself. Well, that's not strictly true as I did spend some time in the kitchen making delicious cheese and herb fritters with sweet pepper marmalade and a pear and ginger cheesecake to take round for dinner at Kristy and Alex's house. I also made a housewarming card for the aforementioned couple but forgot to take it with me and then posted it today without taking a photo. It was quite cute, I'll admit, but not a patch on this beautiful embroidered envelope.

spinning

hula hoop gal 

Originally uploaded by soraia_bejinhos

I'm determined that at some point in the not too distant future, my job will not rule my life and will not stop me making things and blogging about them. But for the moment that is exactly what it is doing. I don't want my blog to be made up solely of my sister's old diary (wonderful as I think it is) so I thought I would do a speedy blog about something made by someone else. I found this lovely embroidery in the flickr embroidery group tonight. Isn't it great? Simple, pretty, stitched, hula hoopy... Good good good! It puts me in mind of two other images I like, which are here and here.

I'm going to make something (I don't know what!) this weekend. Yippee!

memoir monday (four)

29th August 1986

I've noticed that the leaves are falling off the trees. The one at the bottom of the playground is losing its leaves. It looks all bare and the leaves have made a pile on the ground.  Also our apple tree is producing apples again. When they are ready they fall off and we go and pick them up.  Usually Mum makes apple sauce with them.

5th September 1986

Most of the farmers have started to harvest.  At Troopsmill they have started already.

In our garden the peas are nearly ready.  My granny's peas are ready.  We had a bag of peas. Mum said that peas go quickly.

One day Mum was driving to Huntly when she saw a magpie.

12th September 1986

On Wednesday we saw 2 men putting cows into the field over the road.  I think there are about 10. Every morning I see the farmer coming to feed them. Yesterday they put the cows into the field beside us but one.  I haven't seen them yet.  Also yesterday when we went to Brownies we saw some baby birds.  When we came up they flew away.