Sadly I didn't have a lot of time, so produced this very quick card by colouring the image with coloured pencils and mounting on camouflage Hunkydory card and then on a cream card, adding some die cut leaves and wording written on my Cricut Joy.
This week I have been making all things hedgehog ready for a local May day fair where Prickly Edge Hedgehog Rescue is having a stall. keeping fingers crossed for good weather and good attendance at the popular event.
As next week is King Charles' coronation I have enjoyed making royal hedgehogs along with plain hedgehogs. The lollipop and chocolate holders are made with Cricut Joy.
We also had to use an image from https://www.mirtillamentecraftshop.it/, I think there were 3 to choose from. I chose one called the Queen of Hearts, but wasn't sure how to link it to the rhyme. I decided to just to use the word heart for the inspiration and created an Alice in Wonderland kind of theme. I coloured the image black and read and made some little playing cards on my Cricut Joy and wording Birthday Queen
I have made Alice in Wonderland themed cards before they are good fun.
Pattern from Stitching Cards, was an anniversary card, now framed
For my daughters first school World Book day, I sent her as a Queen of Hearts playing card and we made jam tarts. She is just about to leave high school so I don't get to do things like that now, mind you not sure I could!
We have been watching The Great British menu on Tv and they were making cartoon and illustration themed meals, I would have had great fun with that. We missed earlier episodes so didn't see the Alice in Wonderland themed dessert from the heats or my favourite Pooh Bear themed starter, will have to find them on catch up.
For the Sunday song and rhyme Outlawz challenge this poem was selected;
I was quite surprised to see Robins mentioned in the rhyme as we usually associate them with Christmas cards, but as with all birds they are active in the spring and I decided to use that as my inspiration. The line says Robins come so reminded me of the saying "Robins appear when loved ones are near"
The card is created with Sizzix thinlits Robin and Creative Expressions Entwined Hearts dies, the heart is cut in green pearl card with another heart behind with leaves on, then a background of printed hearts mounted on a pearl green card. The wording is written with Cricut Joy. A pretty card for a sympathy card or to send on an anniversary of death.
At the beginning of each year many of us think this will be the year we make changes and get more out off life and become happy. In reality, not much changes and by the end of the year we feel bad for not having achieved anything that feels worthwhile.
Apparently the top 10 New Year resolutions are ;
Exercise more
Lose weight
Get organized
Learn a new skill or hobby
Live life to the fullest
Save more money / spend less money
Quit smoking
Spend more time with family and friends
Travel more
Read more
I would like to do most these too, except for losing weight and quitting smoking, they are all big things, but we believe that they will make us more happy. Many people will have already given up, or like me won’t even have started yet as life gets in the way and most of the things we want are too vague and we feel overwhelmed by it or just realise it is not realistic. Then of course we get annoyed and feel like we have failed.
I have decided to write a post about each resolution, I would love to say I will do one a day, but know that is far beyond me, one a week would take us to the end of March!! So will just have to see how it goes and how much I ramble on or get distracted by other things, I am way behind even the once a week schedule, so much for resolutions! Well it’s nearly April and here I am still talking about New Year, is it me that’s slow or the year that is fast!!
No 8. Spend more time with family and friends
As I went to start this post I got an email saying that my Friends and Family railcard has expired, I can’t get another as Emily is too old for a child fare. I can get a disabled persons railcard, but I don’t have a valid award letter as PIP still under review from last April. Ah well won’t be going on ay trips any time soon.
I am always beating myself up about this and feel that I am a rubbish friend and family member.
I always feel that we should see family more, but as they all live 40 miles away it’s not just pop in for a cuppa and usually means we have to be away from home overnight to fit everyone in and not feel like we are dashing in and out and not actually seeing anyone. I try to be in touch as much as I can, but not being able to use the phone makes it hard when others don’t like/use messengers. Everyone seems to into video chats now, I can’t hear a thing on them it sounds just awful. Trying to organise meet ups is so hard to get everyone available at the same time and the getting ready and travelling is hard work, I always forget half my stuff, then have to go to shops to get something or manage without or borrow of someone and it makes me feel so stupid. It’s usually due to trying to pack stuff whilst thinking about what else needs doing or remembering or whilst someone else is asking me stuff.
Visiting is hard work as you are trying to take in so much information from people and away from home. I have to sacrifice rests as I don’t want to be ignorant and waste the usually short time that we have and trying to sort out what we are doing with who. Last time we visited I ended up spending half the time in bed as I was very unwell and then lost several days when we got home. I am usually the one who tries to make arrangements, but it’s like trying to herd cats! Then just when you think you are sorted someone puts a spanner in the works and it’s back to square one.
At the moment Emily has so many school commitments with exam preparation, that everything else has ground to a halt and we have to be a daily, including weekends, taxi service and even when not at school she can’t be out too long as there is so much to do. The exams aren’t taking into account that they missed best part of two years school and expect them to be up to standard and if not to fit two years work into a few weeks. School are cramming in as many extra sessions as they can, but not really listening to what the students need to learn so it’s often a waste of time and very frustrating. Thankfully it’s not long now and then we will be able to catch up with people again.
Totally irrelevant as we don’t have any babies in the family now, but love this!!!
We don’t really have close friends, you know the type you do everything with and you go out and have fun with. I don’t know how much of that is because of me being ill and having limited contact with people and how much is my difficulty with interacting with people. I never feel like I quite fit. A Third Bliss blog says;
“It’s normal to feel like you don’t belong from time to time and you don’t really fit in.
Maybe you’re around people who are sort of like you, maybe talk like you, even act like you, but some part of yourself still doesn’t quite fit in with them.
And when you’re surrounded by people who seem to know everything – and who seem to know all the answers – it can be hard not to feel like an outsider.
But let me tell you something: You are not alone. There are thousands of people out there just like you who feel like they don’t belong either.
And guess what? That’s okay! It’s actually quite normal. Everyone has a unique perspective on things and no one person is alike. If we were all the same then the world would be a far less interesting place.
Nevertheless, when you don’t belong, you’re never quite sure where you stand.
You look around and it seems like everyone else has their own group and they all seem to get along so well and you wish you could share the same camaraderie.
Feeling like you don’t belong anywhere can make you question your place in the world and eat at your self-confidence.”
The article sites the following reason for feeling that way;
“Your characteristics & traits don’t fit in – We all feel like we don’t belong sometimes. We may feel like we don’t fit in, that we’re not good enough, or that we don’t fit the mould of what a person is supposed to be like”. Yep “You have a disability” “Disabilities such as physical disabilities or mental disabilities can make it difficult for you to navigate in the world and can make you feel like you don’t belong” .Yep “You’re a cynical person” sometimes “You don’t fit the “standard“” “You have trouble getting along with others” “You may have a hard time feeling a sense of belonging because you find it difficult to relate to other people. You think that they are too judgmental and critical of your beliefs, values, and actions. Or that they just don’t seem to understand where you’re coming from and why you act the way you do.” Yep “You have trouble getting along with others” “You have difficulty making genuine connections with others because you’re scared of getting hurt or rejected.” Yep “You are in your head too much“. “One of the reasons why you lack a sense of belonging is the tendency to overthink or self-monitor. When you are inside your head too much, you are not in the present moment. You are either thinking about what happened in the past or worrying about what will happen in the future”. “One of the reasons why you lack a sense of belonging is the tendency to overthink or self-monitor. When you are inside your head too much, you are not in the present moment. You are either thinking about what happened in the past or worrying about what will happen in the future”. Yep “You are awkward, quiet, and shy” “You are afraid of speaking your mind because you often feel awkward, quiet, or shy around other people. You feel like an outsider in every group or social setting, even with your closest friends”. Yep “You lack self-confidence“. “You lack confidence in yourself, which is why you feel unsure and you constantly doubt yourself. There could be many reasons why you lack self-confidence or self-esteem”. Yep
The blog article summarises the feelings much better than I could myself and can be seen in full at Third Bliss if you can cope with all the adds
Most of the people I know now are online and many of them I have never met face to face, and even then I don't really feel like I belong, even with like minded people.
How do you define a friend? “a person you know well and like, and who is not usually a member of your family” (OED). These days we talk about friends in a much more general way as people you have on your social media are called friends, many of these people you may not even know that well.
This has just popped up on my Facebook
I’d love to have a close friend to do things together and spend time together, but it would be hard work and often expensive too. I have friends who I talk to, but feel guilty if I haven’t been in touch with them, but then realise I am almost always the one who makes contact, I am beginning to realise that it’s not my fault at all and maybe I am not cut out for close friends. The influence of TV programmes and social media posts makes us feel we are missing out, but often life is not that rosy at all.
I often feel that my closest friend is my cat, but then she is family anyway. She is often the one who knows when I need company or comfort and she snuggles up with me when I am on my own and follows me around to see what I am doing. In return, nothing is without strings, I house her, feed her, play with her, attend to her at 3am and accept/dispose of her gifts!
So what can I do? I don’t have the energy to go out and find friends and have been let down and messed about so many times perhaps I am better by myself. Would be lovely to feel this way though and would love Pooh to be my friend;
Wherever I am, there’s always Pooh, There’s always Pooh and Me. Whatever I do, he wants to do, “Where are you going today?” says Pooh: “Well, that’s very odd ‘cos I was too. Let’s go together,” says Pooh, says he. “Let’s go together,” says Pooh.
“What’s twice eleven?” I said to Pooh. (“Twice what?” said Pooh to Me.) “I think it ought to be twenty-two.” “Just what I think myself,” said Pooh. “It wasn’t an easy sum to do, But that’s what it is,” said Pooh, said he. “That’s what it is,” said Pooh.
“Let’s look for dragons,” I said to Pooh. “Yes, let’s,” said Pooh to Me. We crossed the river and found a few- “Yes, those are dragons all right,” said Pooh. “As soon as I saw their beaks I knew. That’s what they are,” said Pooh, said he. “That’s what they are,” said Pooh.
“Let’s frighten the dragons,” I said to Pooh. “That’s right,” said Pooh to Me. “I’m not afraid,” I said to Pooh, And I held his paw and I shouted “Shoo! Silly old dragons!”- and off they flew.
“I wasn’t afraid,” said Pooh, said he, “I’m never afraid with you.”
So wherever I am, there’s always Pooh, There’s always Pooh and Me. “What would I do?” I said to Pooh, “If it wasn’t for you,” and Pooh said: “True, It isn’t much fun for One, but Two, Can stick together, says Pooh, says he. “That’s how it is,” says Pooh
This popped up on my Facebook too, definitely never happens to me!
A challenge not to make a card, I had lots of ideas, but pulling this one together seemed to fail at every step! Either what I tried didn’t work or I didn’t have the materials I wanted so this is a bit if a disappointment, but meets the challenge ofOutlawz No Cardstheme music makes the world go round.
Photographing was very difficult due to the reflectiveness of the Cd’s, but does show how they would catch the light when hung. Originally I wanted to stitch a design onto the Cd’s, but drilling the holes was hard and then some of them cracked and then needle would not pass through the holes. I chose Cd’s because they are round and they are music, and the notes and treble clef for music. The notes and clef are made from black sticky gems, the smaller notes are confetti. I sandwiched ribbon between the 2 cd’s and stuck them together to create a hanging. In the end quite a simple creation that anyone could make with old Cd’s.
At the beginning of each year many of us think this will be the year we make changes and get more out off life and become happy. In reality, not much changes and by the end of the year we feel bad for not having achieved anything that feels worthwhile.
Apparently the top 10 New Year resolutions are ;
Exercise more
Lose weight
Get organized
Learn a new skill or hobby
Live life to the fullest
Save more money / spend less money
Quit smoking
Spend more time with family and friends
Travel more
Read more
I would like to do most these too, except for losing weight and quitting smoking, they are all big things, but we believe that they will make us more happy. Many people will have already given up, or like me won’t even have started yet as life gets in the way and most of the things we want are too vague and we feel overwhelmed by it or just realise it is not realistic. Then of course we get annoyed and feel like we have failed.
I have decided to write a post about each resolution, I would love to say I will do one a day, but know that is far beyond me, one a week would take us to the end of March!! So will just have to see how it goes and how much I ramble on or get distracted by other things, I am way behind even the once a week schedule, so much for resolutions!
No.7 Quit Smoking
Well this is one I don’t need to do as I have never smoked, so that’s easy enough.
I seem to have spent all my life quitting things mainly due to health problems, so i don’t want to have to give up anything and want to focus on things I can do and trying not to let things get the better of me and having to give them up. I actually just found this on Google Quitting and giving up may seem the same but they’re not. They are two different forms of letting go. “Quitting is our decision to let go or pull the plug on something that is not serving its intended purpose.Giving up is when we hand our decision to a voice that tells us we should stop”.
Many of us are familiar with this verse
Don’t Quit
When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low but the debts are high,
And you want to smile but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must, but don’t you quit.
Life is strange with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many failures turn about
When we might have won had we stuck it out.
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow –
You may succeed with another blow.
Success is failure turned inside out –
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
You can never tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit –
It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.
So now it’s time for me to quit this blog for today and and go and do something that I need to do.
At the beginning of each year many of us think this will be the year we make changes and get more out off life and become happy. In reality, not much changes and by the end of the year we feel bad for not having achieved anything that feels worthwhile.
Apparently the top 10 New Year resolutions are ;
Exercise more
Lose weight
Get organized
Learn a new skill or hobby
Live life to the fullest
Save more money / spend less money
Quit smoking
Spend more time with family and friends
Travel more
Read more
I would like to do most these too, except for losing weight and quitting smoking, they are all big things, but we believe that they will make us more happy. Many people will have already given up, or like me won’t even have started yet as life gets in the way and most of the things we want are too vague and we feel overwhelmed by it or just realise it is not realistic. Then of course we get annoyed and feel like we have failed.
I have decided to write a post about each resolution, I would love to say I will do one a day, but know that is far beyond me, one a week would take us to the end of March!! So will just have to see how it goes and how much I ramble on or get distracted by other things, I am way behind even the once a week schedule, so much for resolutions!
No.6 Save More/Spend Less
Well we certainly haven't been saving or spending less recently with having a new kitchen, it's an expensive business, but pretty much finished now and most things have been bought. Frustratingly is that we wanted to get it done several years ago, but we couldn't find anyone who wanted to do it and then Covid hit, so it is costing a big chunk more than it would have done, but that's the way things go. Now it is almost finished it is a much better workspace and very bright, so a much nicer kitchen to work in, especially after 4 weeks of cooking everything in the microwave or air fryer in the dining room! Today we are having our first roast dinner in over a month and at my daughter request mashed potatoes as hob was only connected yesterday and we haven't been able to boil anything till now. There are a few bits to finish off and splashbacks to fit in the next week or so and then the final payment to fitters. It does feel a bit like paying out for a new kitchen and equipment and then having to live on baked beans as it cost so much!! There were a few unexpected expenses like the freezer in the garage getting unplugged and losing all our gluten free frozen food and discovering we need more shelves than we ordered and storage boxes that fit in the cupboards!
On the flip side we haven't had time to look at buying other things and haven't made any impulsive buys. I haven't bought any craft items, that's not to say I haven't looked, but haven't being tempted. P.S Have ended up buying some white card. Emily Annoyingly my 9 month old Cricut Joy stopped working, luckily it was still under warranty so a replacement was sent, but the replacement has gone missing, tracking shows it as delivered and signed for by me!! There is also a picture of the delivery that shows it in an outside storage box that isn't ours and we have no idea where it is. I posted the picture on Facebook to ask if anyone recognised it and had my parcel, but as is the way with Facebook I just got loads of smart comments and no help. The delivery company told us to ring back tomorrow and the sender hasn't got back to us! To use Cricut you have to pay a subscription to use the design space so I am still paying that, but not able to use it, so rather frustrating and there were thing I wanted to make so have had to change plans as I have no idea if or when the problem will get sorted. How do you prove that you don't have something that is sent to you and who takes the financial hit? P.S I finally got it, it had been delivered to someone along the street despite clearly having my name and address on it.
February is an expensive month is our house with 2 birthdays to celebrate and valentines day. Thankfully it quietens down a bit now.
Emily is having extra lessons after school in the run up to GCSE's and there is not a school bus for them. we were picking her up, but now the weather is getting a bit better, well maybe and it is lighter we asked her to catch service bus and then we would pick her up from there or she can walk. We buy her bus ticket monthly so were paying her bus fare and then using petrol as well to pick her up which seemed a bit daft with financial and environmental cost to it, we also wanted her to be a bit more independent as she will be going to college next year and will have to get around by bus. Last night she went for the bus and waited nearly half an hour for the bus which runs every 15 mins, I ended up going to collect her and as I arrived there were 2 buses arriving at the stop over 40 mins since she had arrived for bus. The school is closed tomorrow except to GCSE pupils so we will have to take and collect her, it's lucky my husband works from home and works longer hours than he used to work in office so he is able to collect her most of the time unless he is in meetings.
We have bought a tumble drier which I said I wouldn't use a lot as they are expensive to run, but have used it a lot in last couple of weeks as there was so much washing to get done and the weather has been awful and we had very little space to hang washing to dry. It's great being able to wash and dry so easily, but will have to keep an eye on the costs. We now have heating in the kitchen which we didn't have before so hopefully it will get easier to dry the hung up washing once the hanging rail is in place.
We have replaced most of the kitchen appliances, the others were old and well used but still in working order. we couldn't sell them, but did get rid of them for free with freecycle so at least some people have benefitted and will save some money for them. We shopped around for new ones getting best price we could find so had them from all over the place.
Prices have gone up so much recently, but even before that I was always shocked at the price of food and eating out. I think part of it is not having my own income and basing prices on what they used to be when I worked and did food shopping. Gluten free food is very expensive. Thankfully we don't eat out a lot, but have done a bit more whilst having kitchen done. It feels a bit like we have spent so much getting kitchen done that now we will have to live on baked beans so don't need a new kitchen. Hopefully we will get a bit more adventurous with cooking as it's so much easier to work in the kitchen now.
I saw an online course I likes the sound of yesterday. I probably wouldn't have been able to do it physically or cognitively, but it sounded great, until I saw the price, over £4,000 plus other expenses, so that was that. As I am not able to work it's probably pointless for me to have another qualification, but I do find myself looking at things and wishing I could do them. Can I now say i have saved £4,000?!
The cost of being ill/disabled is so high, obviously equipment is not cheap, I had to buy a new wheelchair a few weeks ago as mine was dangerous. I have hearing aids which are very expensive and will probably need replacing soon. But other less visible costs are only having one income and one person paying all the tax (we would be much better off if we both had lower paid jobs or even both worked part time), needing to go by car everywhere instead of being able to walk or use public transport, being at home all the time so using gas and electric and wear and tear on the house due to constant use, having a restricted diet and specialised food being a lot more than ordinary food and no cheap alternatives, having to pay people to help with every day tasks. On the flip side we don't go out a lot, but when we do it is expensive. Having a blue badge means that parking is mostly free, but not always and we have got caught out before and cost us a parking ticket. We need to have a car that is large enough for a wheelchair so an estate, which we may not have otherwise. When I lost my Motability car we had to find a way of financing another car which boiled down to buying a second hand car or having a lease car. Rob's boss told him about a scheme for NHS employees which works in a very similar way to Motability and was the cheapest way for us to get a lease car. Our lease ran out in October, but our next car is delayed, despite ordering it a year ago we are probably still looking at another six months before we have it. We have been able to extend the lease on the one we have, but still paying the same for a car that is now over 3 years old so it's not as good value at the moment, but probably still cheaper than any other way of funding a car. Emily will be able to drive next year, but won't be allowed to drive the lease car so need to think again about a car then. The new car is a plug in hybrid and as most of our journeys are short we will probably be able to run most of the time on electric. Our electricity usage will go up of course, but should still work out cheaper than petrol and most of the charging can be done at home rather than public pay chargers. The electric range is about 42.2 miles, our longest journey normally is to family 42.4 miles away!! It may not be as cheap as it would have been when we decided to buy it, but should hopefully save a bit and it is better for the environment.
Well I have rambled on for days here so how can I spend less/save more? Mainly I think by shopping around for things and finding best price, this doesn't really work for supermarket shopping as by the time you have driven round several shops to get best prices you will have spent the savings in petrol. Not looking at things we don't need and not being tempted by offers on things we don't need. Making use of the craft stuff I have rather than buying more, except for essential base materials. trying a bit harder to sell items I have made, but I am so slow at making them and so much effort is needed to sell them, it's not really worth it. I share them on Facebook and sometimes get some interest, things that don't sell I use myself or give to charity. Be sensible about using appliances that are expensive to run. We got an air fryer when we had no kitchen and it is much cheaper to run than the oven so we will use that more than the oven, especially when cooking small amounts.
