16th February

Sunday

What a week we have had weather wise. On Thursday it was a bit wet but we were so pleased the wind had eased that we zoomed into Truro to visit Hobbycraft and Range to stock up on crafty goodies (I know I have a room full but there is always room for more. Isn't there?). We came home for lunch and buried ourselves in paintings and crafts for the rest of the day.

I am trying to design a box to decorate and I have made a prototype which I will photograph and add to this at some time and whilst in Hobbycraft we found a pack of three round boxes so I will see what I can do with them.

These are the cards I have made in total from the free pack from my magazine (beautifully posed on the dining room table), and I still have some bits left over, including three whole sheets of adorable scorable backing paper. Some of which are too pretty to cover over. Although i want to make cards i have designed, including the toppers, putting the card together from these packs is certainly quicker and impressive looking so I now have a number of cards ready, I just need to find someone who will sell them for me.

On Friday the wind was horrific. We cowered in the house all day. Charlie wouldn't go out in case he got blown away and we had to force him into the garden in the end. Those who know Charlie will picture him skulking out tail between his legs, ears down belly as close to the floor as he could get it. Ahhhhh

Friday afternoon the wind came down the chimney with such force it shook the screen in front of the fireplace. It was a very scary day but despite that we escaped without any injuries at all. One of the panes of glass in mums conse has shifted so that is Janis' job today, to fix that so that when the gales come again the whole structure doesn't take off.

On Saturday just after breakfast the power went off. Sara from across the road told us that it could be off until 6pm so Janis had a lesson in laying a fire and dashed off to the Spa to get some coal because the heating wont work without power and the only cooking is electric. Ali, mums next door neighbour, came round with offers of tea from her Rayburn and with tales of having to take a camping gaz stove to the people putting up the stands for the Save the Children coffee morning, which was supposed to be in the Church Hall but had to be moved to the WI hall at the last minute because tiles came off the roof of the Church Hall in the gales and the rain was coming through. It meant that everything was a bit scrunched up, but we wandered around and spent our pennies and had a cup of coffee and a slice of cake and chatted to lots of people and if the only things I won on the tombola were a bar of soap that looks as though it has been to many coffee mornings, and a pencil case I did manage to find a very nice handbag for the princely sum of £2 to make up for it. The pictures on the walls had all been done by the children in the village school.

We went to Trebah gardens after the coffee morning because the sun was peeping through the grey clouds and even though we had only been trapped inside for one day we all felt as though we had been inside forever.

It was wonderful to walk through the gardens despite the fact the paths are very steep and quiet often stepped. I chose not to walk as far as the beach and Janis stayed with me while Mum went hopping off with Poppy. Instead Janis and I walked through the water gardens and followed the steps up to the feeding pool with the metal heron looking ready to catch any unwary fish. The path snakes back and forth across the water and at one point Charlie actually had to get his feet wet, lots of huffing and puffing about that.

We had a very nice lunch and came home to a fully heated and electrically working home.

This morning the sun is shining fit to burst, has melted all the light frost from the grass and there is a slight mist rising from the dip in the fields below. These are the two pictures i have taken from our bedroom window early this morning showing the mist and the garden resplendent in bright sunshine.

9th February

Sunday

We decided not to bother cooking today and so off we trekked to the Norway Inn for lunch. They do a lovely carvery and it is always packed even at this time of the year. The trick is to find a table out of draught of the many doors.

Whilst there we discovered that part of the bar is resting on an old apothecary chest

Its surprising what you find if you really look isn't it?

Saturday 8th Feb

Mum not so bright today, having problem getting her breath. Worried it might be all the stuff we cleaned her carpet with yesterday after Poppy's accidents. 

Think the plug in we bought to calm Poppy is working - on us as much as her. 

Janis and I walked up to the Church Hall for the farmers market and bought organic bread and home grown veg and home made cakes, drank a cup of coffee and chatted to one or two people then wandered down to the Spa and home. A lazy strolling sort of morning. 

7th February

Friday

What a beautiful morning. The sun shone and we were so fed up of rain and wind that we dashed out to Pets at Home in Truro and bought something to help Poppy who is having problems, either because we moved in, or moved all the furniture, or bought Charlie, or because of the high winds and storms. Then we dashed off to Swanpool for a walk on the beach. The sea was coming in, which Mum and I discovered when we got drenched - in fact one of my shoes went for a sail all on its own. Luckily i managed to catch it but wearing it again wasn't much fun.

Janis found the whole thing far too funny.

Then we walked up the concrete path that climbs the cliffs alongside the beach although we didn't stay there too long in case Mums feet froze, besides which the grey clouds were starting to gather.

It was a lovely walk and it really set us up to survive the winds and rain that were back in force before the evening.

Cornwall has certainly thrown some weather at me since i arrived, but it is so beautiful when the sun shines that I forgive it.

6th February

Thursday
Well it is an odd sort of day weather wise, but calmer than it has been for a long time.
We decided to go in to Falmouth and go through Trago's, always a mistake because they are such a browsable store. I bought some card and card blanks and one or two little bits, it was nice to wander and check things out.

Then we went in to Northern Harbour and had the most wonderful fish and chips looking out into the harbour. We watched a traffic warden giving a car a ticket, taking photo's and walking all round but we didn't see the driver and where we were sat we couldn't see why he got the ticket either. A little excitement to go with the lunch.

I did manage to do a couple more cards in the afternoon, though i made a hash of trying to do a stepper card, i need to find more tuition on that.



In the evening Mum had her book club meeting here, so we set out cheese and crackers etc and lined up the bottles of wine and glasses ready. Once we had done that Janis went out to the Social Club in the village to see what it was all about.

The book club had been reading A Possible Life by Sebastian Faulks and it generated a lot of discussion which then spread out to other books people had read. I was pleased to see that i am not the only one who forgets the plot of a book once they have moved on to read something else.

We wont go to the next meeting because Jackie will be here, which is very exciting.

5th February

Wednesday.
 The weather is still appalling and we are starting to wonder if there will ever be a day without rain - somehow it doesn't seem likely.
Spent the day in the craft room, or as much as I was allowed.
Janis took my cards, just the four of them, down to the Charity shop to sell, my first venture into commerce. Very Scary.
I decided I would make cards out of the free pack from Cardmaking and Papercraft and made six cards one after the other. I must admit they made themselves really, nothing to do with me. I love working with Adorable Scoreable it just works so well and the images have a real sheen to them.
These are the 5 cards I made using the free kit.

In the evening we went to the cinema in the Tolmen centre. This is quite an event and includes a meal (fish bake and pavlova), a bottle of red wine, a comfy sofa and a rather cold room. The film was called Broken and was about a young girl about to go to senior school who witnesses violence and slowly all sorts of ugliness come to the surface. I felt very sorry for the girl and some of her neighbours. Although the language was earthy the overall feel of the film was good and it made me sniff a little in places.

I love the fact that the cinema is now down stairs instead of in the theatre upstairs, much cosier and the seats are more comfortable.

As I said - the room was a bit cold.

Valentine Day cards

I am now settled into my craft room. I have changed things around a little bit, sorted crushed envelopes out of the box below boxes of blank card and envelopes bought before I got the confidence to make my own; even re wound some ribbons in the general melee of ribbons, dreaming of a handy storage unit that would hold them all tidily rolled and displayed.

As well as all this i have made four cards to give to the local Save the Children charity shop because i am not confident enough to try and sell them for myself yet.

Having my set up and ready to use means i have even printed inserts and, on the rainbow cards, almost completely made the card by playing on Microsoft.

The photographs aren't excellent but i am still learning.

Yesterday we had lovely sunshine and today it is wet and windy and cold again. My craft room is cosy as long as i dont sit too close to the window and i can hear the birds singing outside in the garden, even over the top of my audio book.

I really want to learn to draw because more than anything i want to be able to make cards that are unique to me, but when i try i am always disappointed in the result, and i am impatient and want to draw actual things so the 'how to' books dont really help me. Not their fault i just dont do what they tell me.

Ah well i have a light box so i can always trace cant i? Or is that cheating???????