Everyone Has Been So Generous

As you may have noticed my blog has been somewhat neglected over the last month but it is for a good reason. After Husband and I attended the sales and marketing course we decided to go for a new image and complete relaunch for his company. Over the last few weeks I have been been doing a lot of research and writing to helping him redesign the website. We have also designed a new logo to go with the new look and just sent the final design for the new flyers off to the printers. The next job is a new company brochure but that will have to wait for a little while.

We launched the new website earlier today so at long last I can catch up with my blog. I might even get time to do some sewing as well, or maybe that's just me getting carried away!!

Well I might have disappeared from the world of blogging for most of this month but I certainly haven't been forgotten. Over the last few weeks so many nice things gave happened to me but before I tell you all about them I must say a massive thank you to everyone involved and apologise for appearing to ignore you.

The first nice thing to happen was when Karen has given me not one, but two awards. Thank you so much Karen for thinking about me and I'm so sorry it has taken me a month to acknowledge them via my blog.


The first award which was given to me on the 26th February says. "These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these kind writers. When you pass the award along please include these guidelines. I am to choose eight friends to share this with."


The second award which she gave me on the 4th March asks you to list your top 10 blogs. Now I have to be honest I don't have a top 10 set of blogs as I like all the blogs I read equally, some of which are on my blog list and some of which aren't. Each blog appeals to me for different reasons and picking my 10 favourites is a bit like trying to say I like one child more than another, which obviously I don't. Now this isn't a habit I intend to get into but on this occasion as I know if you have commented on my blog or registered as a 'follower' of my blog I visit your blog on a regular basis please consider yourself as one of my favourite blogs.

Next Helen let me know that I'm going to be running the bank in her village that she stitching for the Me Myself and I Round Robin blog. Apparently I got the job because I was the first to apply but I thought it might have been because I promised to lend money to small businesses and not take a big bonus!!

The next treat was when Sally sent me this wonderful biscornu she stitched as a PIF for me.




She knew that I'm developing a passion for Shepherd's Bush designs and so she stitched me Woolpack Sheep and I absolutely love it. It's my first biscornu and my first Shepherd's Bush design. Thank you so much Sally.

When we had finished quizzing on Thursday the landlord of the pub gave me a heather for my garden.


Only the day before I had been thinking that it would be nice to have some more heathers in the front garden and then one appears out of the blue. It will be planted in the front garden next week.

Then yesterday morning the postman knocked on the door with a parcel for me to sign for. I hadn't ordered anything so I had no idea what to expect. It was a free copy of the OFC's Photographic Annual.


Apparently Peter who set up the OFC and a few other OFC members had decided I should have a copy. Now I'm not sure what I did to deserve a free copy, when everyone else had to pay for their copy, but it really made my day. I don't know who the 'others' are and as I only know of one OFC member who reads my blog I'm hoping Peter got my email saying thank you and has passed my thanks on to the relevant people.

So as you can see I have been completely and utterly spoilt over the last month or so and I don't know what I did to deserve it but thank you, thank you, thank you, to everyone involved.

One other thing that was shared with me was my father-in-laws cold. We invited him to dinner last week and he had an appalling cold and cough which he has very generously passed onto me. That I'm not so happy about LOL!!

Now I know I've said this before and nothing has happened, but if I whisper it may be it will:

'I'm off to do some sewing'

Don't tell anyone.

We Won

I guess the heading says it all.

Last night with a perfect score of 10/10 we won the Beer League. We were playing away from home but rang up a team member who wasn't at the game and they joined us back at our home venue for a celebratory drink or two. Well everyone else had a drink, I couldn't as I was driving. Our home venue is on the opposite side of town from our house and Son, who normally picks us up, wasn't available as he was out with his friends.

Husband and I also attended a sales and marketing course earlier in the day and it was certainly worthwhile as we have come away with plenty to think about and do.

Right housework and Sainsburys beckon, then maybe at long last I'll get some sewing done.

I'm Still Here

The time just seems to be disappearing on me at the moment although I was busy last week sorting out Husband's accounts and writing up a walk for a magazine.

I still haven't found any time to pick up my needle and I've managed one walk and to read one book since my last post. The walk, last Monday, was a 9 miler across Longstone Moor, through Cressbrook Dale and back to Longstone Edge via Monsal Head.

St Peter's Stone, Creesbrook Dale

Monsal Viaduct from Monsal Head

Having worked all weekend Husband joined me on it and we were tempted into the Stable Bar for a drink after the steep climb up from the viaduct to Monsal Head. It's ages since we have sat alone in a bar together chatting over a pint, so it made a real change.

Tuesday to Thursday was then spent either doing the accounts or writing up the Crich Stand walk. Friday was a catch-up on the housework and shopping day. Saturday was meant to be spent, with Husband, on a Sales and Marketing training day. Having got up early and driven the 30 miles to Buxton we arrived at the hotel to find out there was no course running there that day. When we got back home we discovered we'd been sent the wrong details and should have been in the university buildings. Anyway we are now doing it on Thursday in Chesterfield. We're both looking forward to it as we know we will come away with a marketing strategy and hopefully a good collection of ideas for promoting the business.

Thursday is hopefully going to be an exciting day for us as it's also the last day of the Quiz League and we are top of the Beer League. With the exception of the previous two weeks we have been top all season. Having regained the top spot last week we are determined to hang on to it this week so we have been truly sad spending the evenings looking up Double Troubles . To explain, the Beer League runs after the main quiz and is one round of fun questions with the losers buying their opposite numbers in the winning team a pint. Now John and I have argued that we have had to win it out of necessity this year as if we are both playing and lose it's goodbye to £10.00. The question setter gets to choose the format of the Beer League and this year he has done 10 Double Troubles in alphabetical order. A double trouble is a question with a two worded answer where both words start with the same letter, e.g Q: Where do Derby County play their home games? A: Pride Park. As we are weak on Reality TV, soaps and as I'm not playing there will be nobody with any knowledge of Harry Potter, Husband is now mugging up on all the possible answers/questions these topics could throw up. We need to get 8 points to win and as it will be our first title for a good few years we're taking it quite seriously. As I'm the Results Secretary if we get less than 8 points I will know before anyone else if we have won it or not.

The only book I have finished was Escape to London by Mary Jane Staples and set in Vienna just after Germany has invaded Austria. Sadly I can't really say that it was a great read. Whilst it was easy reading it wasn't really believable, so that ruined it for me.

In my opinion it was bit like reading a Mills and Boon whereby you always knew the girl would get the bloke in the end and for a war-time story this one was just too nice. I've since started the Book Thief and that is far more to my taste.