Notes from an appalling blogger

Well I can't really call myself a blogging poster but I am still a blogging reader! Its 3 months since my last post which is particularly bad I should think I have been erased from any previous readers of my blog - which I totally deserve. The photos above that even with tuition some time ago from Marmalade Rose I cannot get in the right place! are of Scarborough and my son's wedding in August

I am now officially a mother-in-law which is lovely as I have a smashing daughter-in-law. The wedding day in August was perfection. There were 30 guests and it was intimate, perfect and memorable. The hotel which was Chapters in Stokesley were discreet, professional, well organised and made the dat into one that was better than any of us expected. The food was sublime, very special and well thought out. The weather was OK not fantastic but pleasantly warm, it rained when we were eating inside but got out again when we were mingling they had huge parasols in the garden which meant we were under cover. The next evening they had a 'do' for 100 with a fantastic disco who were also a live Blues Brothers which were as good as the real thing. Vicky danced the night away in her wedding dress and sparkly flat shoes! A great time was had by all.

My Dad is OK at the moment still with us but tires easily. He has gone with the caravan to the War Weekend at Pickering and then they will shut it up for winter. We had a lovely family bbq in September for his birthday and a gathering atmy brothers for Mam's birthday. He loves it when we are all together and thought the wedding was wonderful.

We went to Scarborough for a few days over the Bank holiday and had a lovely time- the weather was good and we walked miles. We are very lucky to live in such a lovely part of the country and it was nice to stay away for a few days especially when the weather was good.

A month ago we had a traumatic time with our daughter. She had been going out with a nice guy and she was very happy and we were cos he seemed lovely. Whilst we were in Scarborough she and he were driven down to Worcester by a car salesman friend of his to buy an Audi TT. We discovered later that he couldnt get the finance to buy it and he persuaded Kate to take it on as they were now 'together' she didnt think she would be granted the loan but she was (we knew nothing if this until later when she told us) and so there she was with a £16.5k loan over 5 years - aaaarrrgghh - Yes its a lot for someone who actually earns £16 per year herself. Anyway a couple of days after getting the car he was never available and started over the next couple of weeks to cool off and started telling her he had been seeing someone else etc - just generally being horrible and she could never drive the car. This is when she told us what had happened and that it actually belonged to her in the finance and the DVLA log book. To cut a long story short when she asked him for it back he siad he would trash it and cancel her from the insurance policy so she got nothing for it and would be left with the loan. In the end we got the police to go round and point out that he was driving her car without her permission. They got the keys and the finance documents off him - he was threatening her within minutes on her phone. We took the car straight to the local Audi dealer and explained the situation - we were anxious to get rid of it before the first payment was take out of her bank. Wegot a trade in of £12k for it and a financial settlement figure of £16,696. So had to find £4,696.

My parents have £3k put aside for the grandchildren to go towards a deposit for a house when they are ready so we persuaded them to let Kate have hers now - we then had to lend her £1,696 to pay the car off completely. As to the ex boyfriend he kept calling her (we advised her to ignore him) and then the nasty texts for three days until she checked her online banking and realised that he had used her card once several weeks ago to top up his phone and of course it kept the details in his phone - he had been topping up his phone (£40) to send her the insulting texts!

At ths point she changed her phone number. All was quiet till he somehow,through someone else got her phone number and it all started again so she had to change her number again andthat was another £35!!

It has been a strong learning curve for Kate she will be paying us off for a long time and her heart has been broken in the process as she had real feelings for this guy...........its hard being young isn't it and you can't be everywhere looking after them especially at 23 but I would love punch this lads eyes out for hurting my daughter so much.

The worst thing is that he has no debt, there were no charges against him and he is swanking around conning other people now. I wanted to write to his Mum and make sure she knew exactly what her son has done but Kate is scared of the recriminations that might follow.....so I have to live with it.

Right I am off to bed now - we have doors on the landing to paint as the bathroom is almost finished and the cushionfloor will be fitted at the same time as the stair carpet (which has been in storage at the shop since last September!) the tiling will be grouted tomorrow by me and the frame around the bath can go on - the panelling there can go on after the cushionfloor goes down - I am sooooo excited.

Hello there I am back!!

I will start my post with some of the bargains we have had from the auction since my absence. We have had the best bargains in the last couple of weeks but havent taken any pics of them yet. This little set of arts and crafts drawers were £5 you would weep if you saw the stuff that people dont even buy but I just dont have the room to store it. I have all my material in these as well as the bookcase cupboards in the conservatory. The clock has been waiting to go on the wall since before Easter.

This little desk was a bargain and we will use it for the computer once I have found a piano stool at the auction to sit on.

This is my auction bargain which is lovely and wide and really comfortable I would like to change the front legs but cant this is going to the upholsterer soon and will be covered in a grey deco type material for the back room - it was £18 and is better than the one in the Laura Ashley sale at £680!

The above pic is for Marmalade Rose who wanted to see the shower we had fitted before Xmas. The bathrooom is still bare walls and the new bath is in. The old sink and basin are left in place at the moment. The DIY has been held up here - Alan spent 5 weekends on the trot trying to fix his leaking waterfall he eventually gave up and now we have a one layer waterfall instead of three! Then he tiled round the bath - lovely and now he is slowly adding the panelling to the lower half of the wall. Then I have the task of deciding what colour and deco to do. The shower is lovely and a pleasure to use. Its amazing how you get used to living like this! and we still have no stair carpet down though it is now paid for !

Sorry to have been away so long. It's been a bit harrowing here - Dad has been told his cancer is now aggressive so we are spending as much time as possible with him - he seems fine but tires very easily. His favourite times are when any of his family visit - he perks up so much. Outwardly he appears to be OK but Mam says he sleeps quite a lot some days - he is not in any pain at the moment but has been told that he has months not years. My Mam is handling it a lot better than I thought she would and remaining cheerful - though goodness knows what she feels in those quiet moments on her own. We have told the kids - because they aren't kids anymore. Adam and Vicky have been great - they are visiting and talking to them about the wedding. We know Dad will make that date definitely and he and Mam have their clothes sorted for the 'do'.

Likewise I have my outfit for the day and another dress for the night do the following day. I went to Ann Harvey in York where they cater for the larger lady!! I am really pleased with what I have got - a cerise pink silk jacket, very fitted with 3/4 sleeves. The dress is a pink and aubergine circly pattern. I have pink strappy sandals and will get a bag in our local shop which I saw last week. The night time dress is navy with a sort of cummerbund in the same and I am looking for a silk warp to cover my fat arms!! My daughter told me she will put tan on me (she is insisting I dont show my legs on the day without it!) and has bought me a very light tan cream which we will experiment with shortly. Had a perm last week so it will be good on the day and my hairdresser will come on the morning and do it for me - I am really excited now and so looking forward to it.

There is some cheery news on the job front. My colleague and I are still waiting from March 4th to know what is happening with our jobs and have been told it will be September before we find out. In the meantime a couple of weeks ago it was decided that the new Chief Executive Officer of the Tourism Partnerships needed some help until the posts in her time are advertised and filled. I let it be known that I was very interested in being seconded and it has happened. So last Monday I started working in Thirsk, its about 15 mins from home and is the town where the vet James Herriot had his practice (it is now a lovely visitor attraction) I am working in the market place above the Tourist Information Centre and everyone is lovely I am so happy to be there. I would like to get one of the jobs that will be advertised if possible - they are a great team and the new CEO is an American lady who is so enthusiastic and works so hard. She has been working on the English Riviera for three years and before that Wales. It is such a positive place to be not like where I normally work. My poor colleague is missing me a lot and wanting to follow me!

A week's leave - bliss.....................

I am on a week's leave now with Alan. I need to get out of the habit at work of saving holidays in case the kid's are ill!! They are now old enough to look after themselves - so I end up with days to use up in the Spring which isn't a bad thing but you end up scrabbling with others trying to fit them in. Anyway its a lovely day here in North Yorkshire, the sun is shining but it is cold still better than the forecast tomorrow. I have had tuition on my lovely visit to Marmalade Rose so I should be able to add pictures in a professional manner - Hmm we'll see.

I took my two beautiful Lillipegs (made by the very talented Lucy Bloom ) on my visit to MR, she was delighted with them as I was and I am sure anyone that has bought any will be impressed by the quality of workmanship. They sit resplendent on my shelf next to the mice and Lucy's box shown in the previous post and one is wearing an outfit to match the box.

We had such a hard frost last night it was a real surprise as I watched Kate and David go off to work only to see David arrive back an hour later after his boss reminded him he put today in as a holiday about four weeks ago!

Alan is currently painting Kate's fitted wardrobe doors which she hates but quite honestly we could not justify changing - they are just plain mdf and not offensive in any way. So he is painting them the same colour as her paintwork a colour called 'buff'. We have bought some long handles from Ikea to update them. She has then chosen to have two walls in the buff emulsion and has bought two rolls of leopard print wallpaper which is actually very nice and not as bad as it sounds.

It is now Friday and I wrote the beginning of this on Monday! We have sweated and painted and stripped and painted and sanded and painted and painted. I will take pics later. Kate is very pleased and now she has to have a big clear out of clothes and possessions which will overtake the new room if she doesn't. She did remind me that I have clutter and she has clothes and her clothes only take up one room unlike my clutter!! This is true and I can't argue with that !!

We acquired a little 20's/30's cast fireplace in creamy browny colours for our bedroom on Monday. I know that a little black one would have been lovely but this is more authentic ( and a bargain) I know it is right when I look at my 1930's books and we have one of the pieces of oak we took off the side of the front room fireplace that will do for a hearth- its just the right depth. This means I now cannot put furniture against the chimney breast and fill the room too much. We also have to cover the Lloyd Loom ottoman in the bay which holds Alan's motorbike suit and boots! We have had the foam and the material for months now but haven't got round to it. Ooh to have a bit more time I could do so much.

We went to Richmond today to visit Alan's Mam but we went for a look around the town and some lunch first (don't think we are mean his Mam would not have come with us for something to eat) If you ever visit Richmond (North Yorkshire) please go to Trotter's near the Museum in the market place it is small but the food is fabulous, fresh and the service fantastic. We had a good mooch around and I found a lovely tablecloth in one of the charities with four corners beautifully embroidered. We always go to York House which Marmalade Rose has blogged about and she added pictures. It is a treasure trove with new delights and upstairs antiques crammed into every room - bliss but I was good and only bought a lovely fridge magnet. If Alan hadn't been with me I would have 'run amok' I could have spent a fortune. I am hunting for a new bag at them moment but I am very fussy as I rarely buy so it has to be right.

I had a go at remembering how to embroider last night and managed a couple purple daisy-like flowers, I need to try and create hollyhocks next after being inspired my Marmalade Rose. I have spent the morning cutting out bunting Laura Ashley fabrics. I am making a lot of stuff for my friend Helen show will have some of her friends round and they can buy my bunting and hearts and some of the ideas that are still in the making! The girls I work with have been badgering me to get on with project for ages so I am off the starting line now having cut out 120 flag shapes. The temperature in the conservatory was 82F I had to have the door into the garden open it was glorious. I have already made a test piece of bunting almost three metres long with a daisy LA fabric and another LA 'dressing up ' fabric, alternating. I am pleased with the result, its double sides and looks substantial unlike what I have seen in the LA catalogue. I have also made two hearts as prototypes. I took them all to work and they were well received by everyone so that has spurred me on.

Whilst I was doing all this Alan was helping an electrician to do some jobs, my brother is an electrician but he is more use to me using his plumbing skills ( he fitted our bath last weekend) and I dont like asking him to do electrics as well. So we asked a young man we know who has set up his own business. We now have legal lights in the bathroom! and they have bigger bulbs so we can see as well. We also have a switch near the door into the garage from the utility which is great as I had to go the full length of the garage before in the dark to get the light on! We also have a new light fitting in the hallway - we added an extra one near to the kitchen door where I always felt there should have been one now I need to find three matching shades for the hallway and landing.

Back to the bathroom - the new bath is in situ now - it's lovely very plain and with great taps. My brother is off to America soon so when he comes back we will have tiled around the bath and tongue and grooved the rest of the walls ready for him to change the sink and bath. I will be glad when the upstairs is done though we are on the home straight now. Oh the bliss of some stair carpet I cannot believe how much dust is created on them by us. We have chosen tiles but are still torn between white and cream. We are going to keep it plain and pick up the black panels in the shower. So we are doing two rows of 6inch tiles then a black pencil tile then a row of 6inch again and a black dado tile at the top. The 6inch tiles would be cream or white I know the bathroom suite is white but I really do prefer cream I am not a white person at all. Anyway we need to go and order them tomorrow so will sleep on the decision we are taking our new loo top to the showroom to have a look.

Well my son and his fiancee Vicky are coming tomorrow as we are cat sitting whilst they visit friends in Immingham. She has her dress chosen now but we are not allowed to see it! I love it when they visit and the cats are lovely but frantic!

I must get some pictures organised - just pretend this is wordless Wednesday!

Only a few weeks late..................................

Hello - yet another upside down post - I need tuition!! Please read and bear with me whilst I get to grips with the problem - some of you must be veryadept at this posting lark!! and some of my pics leave a lot to be desired!Lostthe text somehow - this was my Nana's and the original pencil is still fasteed on the back yet I always remember her using it all the time.

My Emma Bridgewater teapot - bargain charity find £3.99! Love it......................

This is a vase I bought with my Xmas moneyfrom a little gallery in Ripon but can't remember the name of the lady who makes them she is from Lincolnshire and I love her stuff. Plus its very well priced.

The teaset pieces below were £4.00 and I am hoping that when I get back to Elsecar next month I can still buy the rest - I bet its gone I ummed and aaahed over the set and then didnt get it and regretted it all the way home. If its there then I will use this everyday for tea etc as it is so beautiful and should be used and loved. The colours are lovely - so fresh.

This is my bargain shelf from earlier posts it has now moved to the other side of the kitchen and we have added a radiator shelf for more display and it proved to be a good move you can feel the benefit of the radiator much more now and I am happy to have more 'stuff' space! I am wanting to T&G the bottom of the kitchen walls and them add some wallpaper on the top half it shouldn't be too big a job for Alan! we have done it in the last two houses and I love the look - then I can incorporate a nice slubby creamy F&B colour. I love the wallpapers that 'Little Red House' has in her house in America and I know we can get them over here.

The radiator shelf is where my gorgeous box from Lucy Bloom sits with my little mice in it. The two small ones where Xmas decs and reduced to £1.99. They had quite harsh whiskers in black so I took them off they are so well dressed I love them and these mice arent 'just for Christmas'!

These are my Beatrix Potter figures which I have mentioned below. Thispart of the post was the first bit originally I really need to get my head around laying out these posts but not this am. I did this Thursday and its now Sat am just having a cuppa then lots to do. Though Alan is quite settled watching 'Dave' channel - he doesnt know he is going to North Yorkshire Timber shortly to purchase some long shelving for above the kitchen window and door.

I am back in the land of posting having never left the land of blogging, I have been reading more than ever actually finding more to read all the time. Do you ever read a blog and then click on links within the text to another then another until you think - now whose blog did I start reading an hour ago??

On the home front my Dad is not as bad as we first thought. He saw the consultant in early January and he stopped his water tablets, increased his hormone levels quite a lot and sent him to see the kidney man telling him to come back in April. He does not need radiotherapy at the moment. He took some tests and he is going there soon for the results, in the meantime his GP told him that his kidneys were not as bad as they first thought. Dad bucked up so much after the appointment in Jan in fact we all have. Mum said this week he definitely has small breasts forming and sore nipples - Dad doesn't care!The whole family has bucked up after quite a rough Xmas so lets see what 09 is going to bring.

My son and his fiancee have finalised the food for the wedding - they are really glad they aren't spending much on the day and are both quite contented with the plans they are making. Vicky went to Hartlepool (for anyone who watches the news they don't just break up ships with asbestos in them there!!) to a lovely bridal shop and is making her mind up at the moment as to which dress she will have. She discussed with my Mam this week about the cakes as Mam is a wonderful cake lady and her friend Marilyn ices exquisite cakes, its just a matter of deciding on decor now. They are having a fruit cake with royal icing on the day and one for the night do next day along with some big chocolate cakes. I think that's wise then you cover all tastes.

I think I am feeling excited now but am not thinking about what I am going to wear yet! That is too traumatic though there are only 30 people going for the wedding lunch and I know most of them.

Kate's boyfriend returns from training in the Falklands for Valentine's weekend so we won't be seeing much of her! We are cat sitting for Adam and Vicky so they can see friends in Immingham. We will probably start Kate's room whilst she is away.

Whilst I have not been posting our son's little bedroom has been transformed. This is the room we have built out onto the wall facing you as you go down the stairs. He now has a wardrobe built in that space and we have fitted in a 4 foot bed and a chest of drawers. It's a bit like a ship's cabin- without the bunk! but he is so pleased with it and the fact he has some carpet at last of wich there is about 3 feet showing! He says his bed is really comfy and he has at last enough space to spread out to sleep.

There was an awful mirror with a really rough surround left above our bed which we put in the garage it was rescued by Alan who cut hardboard pieces mitred them round it and painted it white it is perfect for Davids room. We have added some floating shelves and just have another two to go up this weekend and some spot lights then its done.

I am going to try and add some pics of my little cabinet that Alan has rescued for me with some paint. We added some dolls house wallpaper and some ribbon on the edge of the shelves. It is to put my Beatrix Potter figures I love so much. I have collected on ebay sets of books and stuff like bookends ready for the childrens, children to enjoy the stories and animals like I did.

This is the end of a very upside down jumbled post hope it doesn't put any of you coming back!!

Happy 2009

Hi I am back in the land of the living - have to be its back to the coal face tomorrow! I am dreading it - time away from work always fills me with dread. Does it you?

We have had a quiet Xmas here - spent time with the family and especially Mam and Dad. He goes for an appointment on Wednesday at the hospital they want him to see the Renal specialist as there is apparently some damage to his kidneys and they need to be careful with the medication they are going to prescribe as part of his new treatment plan in order not to cause any more damage. They are increasing his hormpone treatment and starting with radiotherapy. My brother is going with them in order to ensure we know as much as possible about what is going to happen. Dad isn't driving at the moment so Mam is very cut off- they live in quite a big village but it has no real facilities and she is 80 and doesn't drive. So we will see what Wednesday brings.

I am pleased to say that I am now in aroutine with the tablets (Metformin) for the diabetes. I lost a stone over the time I was ill and am not pleased ot report that 2pound of it has returned!! Still its given me a kick start on what is going to be a very long journey ahead. I have to ring tomorrow to see how the blood sugar is coming along since starting the tabs, so fingers crossed for that.

I have become an ebay addict again over the Xmas break I am sad to say though I spend a lot of time watching instead of bidding! I have just sold my daughter my car though I didn't get any money for it just a standing order to the bank for £100 per month! She now has her own insurance and is no longer on mine. She reversed into some one in the summer - it was a touch by her and hardly a mark on the car but sh thought she had damaged the other car above the wheel arch. To cut a long story short - my husband took pictures of the cars amd measurements of the areas and they simply did not tally ie she could not have caused the scratch along the top of his back wheel arch unless she had gone along side his car with the side of hers. However the insurance would not accept our dispute with the damage and myself and Kate now have to report the incident for five years for insurance purposes. It was a complete farce and now because I only have on more chance before I lose my protected no claims we decided it was time Kate was on her own insurance!

I appealed some time ago at work after my job was evaluated and I lost £2k per year and just before Xmas I found I was successful so I am due a lump of back pay at the end of Jan hence the car change!

Some of it has to go on my son a new bed. He has the little bedroom at the front of the house and we have built a cupboard on the wall that faces you as you go down the stairs but accessed from his bedroom. Its about 25 inches from the florr but gives him a good sized wardrobe and room for a chest of drawers for his undies. It has been really worth it for the difference in his room. We had a chat and agreed that he would like a bigger bed and use the room only for sleeping in ( he and Kate have the front room to themselves for tele etc) so I need a four foot divan now and the decorating begins again!

We now have a beautiful, gorgeous classy shower installed at the cost of an arm and a leg I might add! It is wonderful and we were so pleased with the workmanship we have booked them for end of March to do the rest. This is my extension money I am dipping into but I would guess that by the time we are finished the kids will have left and I wont need one!

I will post pics later - we had some but they got deleted by me in error. I have been reading all the blogs since I posted my previous one and you have all kept my spirits up.

I have been lucky as a person and a family not to have had any illnesses or loss so what happened came as a shock but I am well aware of how lucky we are and I am approching this year in a much more positive frame of mind now. We would cope with what happens with Dad and will just increase our love to him. I am also adjusted to the dreaded Diabetes and the doc was sure that once the sugars ar a bit more controlled I should be able to decrease the dose (it is giving me a terrible tummy!!! I cannot be fair from a loo at the moment - it is one of the side effects!!

So heres to a good 2009 for all of you out there - back to normal tomorrow - but I have had a good break - right off to Ireland to my new Maeve Binchy book - bliss. Was it just me or was the tele pretty diabolical over Xmas??