Firstly my friend came to convalesce at my home for a month. She had donated one of her kidneys to her daughter and needed to recuperate slowly without the housework and cooking that the rest of her family needed. Her daughter has taken on a new lease of life following the kidney donation – she is 27 with two small children so needs all the strength she can muster. My friend has done very well despite a couple of setbacks and has gone back home now but, while she was with me we devised a couple of projects to stave off the boredom as she went through the recovery process.

We both knit and there seems to be a lot of new babies around so Trish knitted tiny garments and we went to visit the new parents bearing gifts….. we also had a couple of visits to her home on my days off – just to check her husband and son weren’t wrecking the place, and while we were there we harvested the fruit and veg.

Some went in her freezer and some came over to my freezer but what to de with the rest????

Yes, we bottled them – following the recipe from my Mum’s cookery book

This is just a small amount of the jars we have filled – beautifully preserved fruit and vegetables – very decorative and delicious too!!

On the work front things are still great – I meet some amazing people and they are all on holiday so happy and pleasant…… here are just a couple of them…

They had just come back from a week on a canalboat hired from the marina, and were heading back to America the very next day.

They were an absolute pleasure to get to know!!!

My job involves helping people to keep safe on the water so I fit adults and children with life jackets and buoyancy aids….. but its not just the people…

Here is Hippie, my daughter’s greyhound showing off her new buoyancy aid – she loves the water but greyhounds do not swim well so her new jacket will keep her upright when she chases the ducks!!!!

Also I have had a visit from my son and daughter-in-law – not to mention the gorgeous Harry!!!!!

He is adorable and such a happy little boy..

just doesn’t stay still for the photos!!

While they were visiting they designed and manufactured a gate for my kitchen doorway – very necessary to keep the ‘would be destructive’ Alfie in the kitchen while I am at work……

And so much better than the dog crate to block his way

He quite likes it too!!!!

These photos were taken with my mobile phone and do not do it justice  – but the colours are clear and it was a lovely moment…..

to the left of me….

and the centre…..

Just need to find the fella with the crock of gold now!!!!

and the right of me….

But Alfie hardly turned a hair at the sight of this animal – in fact he ignored it…..

even when the meerkat fussed him…..

For three whole days the meerkat stayed in one piece filling a big area of my kitchen – I thought they were going to be friends for life.

On the 4th day, however, Alfie attacked the meerkat’s nose and tore it off…..

from then on it was war,  he ran around the garden throwing the toy in the air

it was really funny to watch – the meerkat was so huge he nearly tripped over it whilst carrying it around…..

But just as he was heading for serious play – I noticed that the main stuffing was polystyrene beads…… very small polystyrene beads……

No way was I going through that again – those beads are not easy to clean up.

The meerkat ended up in the wheelie bin almost in one piece…….. and Alfie……

he just got down to more monkey business with his favourite chimp…..

before some relaxation exercise with his favourite greyhound..

I don’t think he missed the meerkat at all really!!!!

I have been working as a temp at Sawley Marina for ten weeks now, and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it, and now they have given me a permanent contract!!.. I work in the Chandlery there, and sell all sorts of items to some of the nicest people!!!

The Marina is very large and attracts many visitors  for the boat brokerage, moorings and canal boat hire, not to mention the passers by – on boats or otherwise – so there is always a holiday air about the place. The Chandlery sells a huge amount of things, everything for the boating enthusiast from dinghys to outboard engines right down to the smallest shackle – the list is endless. There is also a part of the shop that caters for basic food shopping for the new arrivals – just to start them off…… then there is clothing – including wetsuits, maps and souvenirs….

Try counting these for next months stock take!!!!

And outside the boats go by – narrow boats and cruisers – it’s idyllic….

This is the first time I have worked in a retail environment and I love it – I have previously dealt with customer service but usually on the complaints side – we don’t get many complaints here!!!

And if you need any splicing doing – this is the guy to ask……

Rope and splicing expert!!!!

And on the left here is our Honda and Chandlery expert- she is amazing!!!

Which just leaves me – a people expert with computer skills!!!!

I am enjoying every minute!!!!

As the title suggests it sells hand made dolls houses but not for children – these are definitely for grown ups!!!

Chris, the owner of this business has a workshop where he creates these beautiful houses, some with brick facia and some without – they are truly amazing and without the modern influence really take you on a trip to times gone by.

hand finished and beautifully furnished – this house is lovely

I think they have the look of one of our stately homes in miniature, exquisitely decorated and furnished.

with a choice of bathroom suite

and bedroom accessories – its all there

This is a finished dolls house from the outside – and below is one under construction

each of those bricks has been placed by hand – true craftsmanship.

I thought they were lovely – what do you think?

My friends have been helping but they have their lives too and conscious that this is my problem I looked for alternatives.

One alternative was employing a dog walker but they are expensive and I am not really happy leaving my keys with people I don’t know, however honest they may be.

So……. plan B was to get a dog flap fitted in my back door – then Alfie would be able to come and go as he pleased.

The back door was a upvc one with two glass panels, top and bottom. I searched the internet for ideas and discovered that it was do-able either fitted into glass or replace the bottom panel with a upvc one and fit a dog flap into that one. I sent emails to various companies and received some very different quotes – one company said they just didn’t cover my area of the country which was a possibility that hadn’t occurred to me.

Then I found Colin , I had seen his website www.catflapfitter.co.uk  and sent an email asking for advice, he actually says on his website that he doesn’t cover my area of the country but the testimonials from his customers led me to believe that he was at least worth contacting.

He answered my email almost immediately with a quote that was way less expensive than others, and requested that I call if I needed further information.

I rang and we discussed the possibility of getting this job done relatively quickly – amazingly, he agreed to travel to my home and carry out the work that very day! Now that’s what I call service!

He arrived at 1.30 p.m. and the job was done – exactly as I wanted.

Alfie was very scared at first but after a lot of throwing biscuits through the flap and tying up the piece of the frame that rattled until he gets used to it, he is now using his new door!!!

Brilliant and I can now be out of the house for a few hours without worrying. The garden is secure and Alf just loves lying in the sunshine……

 Thank you Colin! that was customer service beyond belief!!!!

His name is Harry Thomas Patrick and he is beautiful…..

my lovely son and daughter in law have come from this…..

to this…….

I had my first visit just a few days ago and spent very special time with the new family.

Isn’t he gorgeous?…..

All 8lbs 8 ounces of him- 7 days old on this picture!

Just beautiful – well done Keiron and Emma – enjoy every minute!!!

Iramble has been given a new look thanks to my lovely son – it is now looking very smart and very pink!

This was part of my mothers day present and I think its lovely.

I remember a conversation between my son and I many years ago when he asked me what I thought about him spending £10 a month on setting up a webhosting company. At the time I was concerned that my impoverished software engineer student was taking a risk – but this risk has paid off.

www.betterwebspace.com was born and is still growing, not only with webhosting and reseller packages, but web design, content writing and full support including a back-up service and all still at easy prices.

Well done Keiron and thank you for my facelift!!!!!

One of my colleagues at work got engaged and asked me to make a cake for her party, here it is during the making stage:

just before I added colour to the names piped on the top and wrapped the ribbon round….. no
I didn’t get a photo of the finished article as it was whisked away just as I added the ribbon…. But, I did try a piece at the party and it tasted really nice!

Grace, our new rescue greyhound neighbour called in for a visit while Hippie was here and for a while it was mayhem with long dogs everywhere – none of them stood still long enough for a picture – well apart from Hippie that is:

but even that was fleeting!!

Alfie thought it was great fun having visitors and after a moment standing and looking at the two girls:

…… he played chase for quite some time…. and they tore up most of my lawn!

Here is Grace with Hippie – a rare quiet moment……

And here is Grace’s finished knitted coat…..

I can’t wait to see her wearing it!

And the surprise? Well – Grace’s owner said she would make me a collage painting of Alfie, Max and Hippie because I wouldn’t take payment for the coat.

Just look at this…..

It is beautiful – I am so pleased with it – they are all captured perfectly and no photo will do it justice but I just had to share…

Made from wool that was at least forty years old – I use it for dog walking on cold days.

So then it made sense to use up what was left in a warm coat for my whippet puppy – yes, I know – he looks like a girl but hey – its keeping him warm – whippets need that extra layer:

But then – of course there was Hippie – my daughters rescue greyhound and she would need to keep warm too…… this time it was the Aran wool and it was quite a project, she is a very long dog!!

She loves her new coat – I think she sees it as a housecoat….

I thought that was the end of the dog coat project until last week I saw my neighbours with their new addition to the family.

Her name is Grace, she is a rescue greyhound, 5 years old and is a beautiful shade of fawn – with black eyeliner….. she is gorgeous!

I don’t have a photo of her yet but her mum says she needs a coat like Alfie’s so out came the knitting needles and yet more of the wool…

It should be finished by next week.

So that has used up a lot of the wool and left me with some projects still to do….

The patterns that I found with Mum’s wool were, obviously all vintage knitting patterns – some over 60 years old, but they are still really nice particularly the baby patterns……

This one is a real favourite, and, as my first grandchild is due in May – I can enjoy making some tiny knits…….

I never really considered myself to be much of a ‘knitter’ until now. I made things for my kids when they were little but I have problems with my hands and sometimes they don’t work very well – so it was easier to buy jumpers.

Now though I enjoy the therapeutic value of knitting and even though I make mistakes and drop a stitch or two – I correct it as I go and have at least found a use for all the wool that has gathered around me.

You would think that all this is making some space in my cupboards, and only yesterday I found I had a whole top box above my wardrobe clear where the wool used to live …… then my daughter came to see me with the news that her mother-in law had sorted out a lot of……….. yes, you guessed it…….. WOOL! And she wanted to give it to me!!!

Apparently there is a huge amount – so the cupboard will be full again and i will have to make more plans to use it up!!!!

Any ideas out there?