Decluttering

Having read on another blog (I'll get the link if I can remember whose it was) about decluttering, and knowing full well that I have far too much stuff, I decided that if I could offload one item per day for the whole year, that would be 365 items. Obviously I have a bit of catching-up to do as I've only just started, but here are my first 18 items

Five ancient feather cushions with crocheted covers, the cushions have been moulting feathers for ages, the crocheted covers weren't clean and weren't even finished off properly, so these went straight into the dustbin.

 

Four books, which will be donated to family members on my up-coming next trip

 

and a bag for the charity shop with one dress, never worn and still with a label attached, a hand-knitted scarf, two jigsaw puzzles, and 5 hats - a couple of winters ago I had a real thing for hats, and bought loads (mostly second-hand, but some new), then last winter and this current winter I've just been wearing two or three of my favourites, so the rest can go elsewhere.

 I have a few ideas about where to look for more things I don't want or need. 

A New Photo Hunt

While scrolling through the blogs I follow (I've been finding lots of new ones this year), I came across a new to me page https://citydailyphoto.org  so I've signed up. This is my entry for February 1st's theme of DOUBLE. It's DOUBLE RIB knitted with DOUBLE KNITTING YARN.

 

 

Not very exciting for a first entry, but it's all I could manage in the time slot. Next month's theme is WHITE, so I have plenty of time to find something more interesting.

January, a round-up

It's been a very wet month, and I don't mind admitting that I'm pleased to see the back of it.

This year I've decided to follow a tree, it's not far from home so I'll be able to get to it quite easily, this is how it looks in January

 I've managed to remember to do the Woodoku Daily puzzle every day this month

 

I usually aim to walk 1000 miles each year, but I'm not setting that as a specific target this year. However I still like to keep track of my monthly totals, January wasn't as bad as it might have been, given how wet it's been this month, as on a few days I used my treadmill and walked to YouTube videos. Let's just say that when I was at school back in the middle of the last century, most of my school reports said "Could try harder"!

 

The highlight of the last week was another birthday, this time it was GO' Ginger One, who was 37. Here he is with his halo shining

 My heart is always gratified to see how well the three cousins get on together

 

I always enjoy having one or more of the girls to stay, this time it was GD5 who shared my room.

 

Happy February, everyone.

 

 

January Photo Challenge : Begins with A

I love a photo challenge, Eileen sets one each month and January's subject was Begins with A.

Here are mine :

Abbot Ale (my favourite) 

 Adventure, my first trip of the year up to London to meet PJ for his 60th birthday

 Afternoon tea, our joint Christmas jigsaw puzzle, part way through and finished

 

Agapanthus : in the pot and in the box

 

Air fryer

 Aluminium

 Annie Martha, our grandmother clock

 Apollo

 April

 Armchair

 Ashwagandha

 Astra (mine)

Atlas

 Atrixo

August

 Auris (his)

 Avocado, tree and fruit

 

Thanks Eileen, looking forward to February's subject.

If anyone knows of any other photo challenges, please comment below. 

January, less than a week left now.

GM is always telling me that I shouldn't wish my life away, and actually, he's quite right. BUT I am pleased that we're getting towards the end of January.

Last week Ben came round to cut back the overhang from the conifers, OK it's not pretty, but it does mean more light will make it into the yarden during the growing season, and that's more important to me.

 

In an attempt to reduce my yarn stash, I've made a start on a cardigan for myself. The pattern is one I've had for a while, and looks a bit old fashioned, but I really don't care. I've knitted it up before and it's relatively easy, meaning I can knit while watching TV. The lovely bag was a birthday present from GD5 last year.

 

Just a little whimsy on my part

 

Once a year, usually starting on Boxing day, GM and I do a joint jigsaw puzzle, this one was actually harder than it looked, we finished it last Thursday January 22nd, so it took us almost 4 weeks!

 

The first 4 squares of my book cover challenge are completed, they will eventually be finished off  and joined with white (which I may have to buy!!), so the disparity in size is not a problem - double knitting yarn these days varies quite a lot in thickness.

 

Just a little bit of stash-busting fun.

See you again soon. 

The Silver Tent

If you are, like me, an over-fifty female, it's possible that you might have heard of, and already be a member of, The Silver Tent. And if not, why not, I wonder?

The Silver Tent is an international community of over 7,000 Wild and Wonderful Women with Wisdom Worth Sharing, and has been running now for over 8 1/2 years. Membership is mostly, although not exclusively, women from English speaking countries, but it really doesn't matter where you are in the world, you are welcomed. We are women from all walks of life, and as our founder, Francesca Cassini, states "We are all unique stitches in the cardigan of life", and our mission is to shift the Global culture to one of LOVE.

I've been a member since just before the Tent's first birthday, and I absolutely love it, I have made so many friends, both virtual and real. Local meet-ups are just one of the many perks of membership, and our everyone welcome get-togethers, SilverFests, at HQ in Tavistock, Devon, UK, have been quite remarkable, with some ladies travelling from far away places to be part of our gatherings.

First entry is via a free Facebook Group, and if you are on Facebook and would be interested in joining us, please contact me. Once you become a member, there's an opportunity, should you wish to take it, to join our optional paid group, Silver Synergy, a smaller and more personal group where deep and lasting relationships between members is not uncommon. The perks of being a Synergy member are invaluable, even if, like me, you are "just a granny".

The Silver Tent also has it's own, sadly currently under-utilised, website, free from the Facebook bots, where conversations about more intense and critical subjects can take place.  

https://thesilvertent.com

I really cannot sing the praises of this community loudly enough, it has been a life-changing experience for me, and probably many others too.  

January, the bit in the middle.

We are now just past the halfway mark of January, and I am grateful for that. January is my least favourite month. GM's is November, but I'm OK with November.

Our next-door neighbour, Richard, popped round and gave us a hand with removing some of the dead growth in the no-man's-land behind our back fence in order to let more light into our very small growing space. Before and after pics below

Before

 After

 

We've done as much as we can safely do with regard to the overhanging evergreens, and I've now employed the services of a qualified tree surgeon, although a date has still to be fixed, but it will be fairly soon.

I mentioned my yarn stash in my last post

 I seem to have acquired rather a lot of pink! 

I found the following on Facebook

 

One of my neighbours, who, along with her teen daughter, also crochets, mentioned a challenge that she did last year, which was to crochet a square to match the covers of all the books she read during the year. I decided to do that challenge, but slightly differently. My friend Janet and I play a weekly word game with a different book each week, so I'm intending to match a crochet square to each of the books I use for the challenge. Due to unforseen circumstances we had to miss the first week of the year, so in order to make sure that I end up with 52 squares, I've done one for my Gratitude Journal, so you get the idea.

 

I went on my first adventure of the year on the wettest day of the year so far. I took the train to London to have lunch with my eldest son, who is celebrating his 60th birthday! He found us a nice pub in the Little Venice area, which isn't too far to walk from Paddington.

 

We enjoyed lots of chat and a couple of beers each with our meal, and completely forgot to take a selfie, so he sent me this on his way home

 and I sent him this on my way home

 

Happy birthday PJ, love you lots.

Chin up, it won't be long until spring.