WOYWW

First of all, thank you so much for your birthday wishes and I'm very sorry I didn't get round to visiting any of you last week. My bad!

I have to get straight into it this week as I am completely manic with preparing for:

• Friday 10-2 Charity Craft Fair in Hove
• Friday 3-4.30 card making class for THIRTY children 50 miles away
• Saturday 12-2.30 Busbridge School Christmas fair

Then the following Saturday I have another fair then that's it for fairs. Then I only have to make:

• 6 mtrs of bunting
• 7 ribbon trees
• 9 Christmas cakes
• a lampshade

And anything else I've forgotten!

Terrible photo as I took it on auto for speed. On the right is my to do list. In the centre my trusty ATG plus some very narrow DST. Towards the back are ten thank you cards I made last night using my 'swoop' technique. And then right at the back is my box of fabric with a cushion I made yesterday plus some bunting which requires some attention! The combination on 1940s crepe and too narrow bias binding was fatal.
So far this week I've made:

• 10 jars of cranberry and apple chutney
• 10 Christmas cards
• 10 thank you cards
• 15 metres of bunting
• 1 cushion
• 24 advent houses

Somebody remind me to start preparing for Christmas in January next year!

 Ten Christmas cards in the making

 Twenty Four Advent Houses waiting to be filled

Cranberry and Apple Chutney (yummy with Brie)

Right, got to dash as I'm teaching in 13 minutes!

Jump over to Julia's blog and have another peep into the mad world of crafters.

WOYWW

Julia is going to love this week's post as I don't have time to write, just a photo!

Today is my first day in my fifties!!

To take a look at some more traditional craft tables go over to Julia's blog and have a nose

Cheerio, got to dash my husband's taking me out to lunch to the pub we had our first date in!

Well It's Here

Well it's here, my last day in my forties! What do I do tomorrow? Change the blog title? Retire from blogging? Add a subtitle? Or just carry on regardless?

I think I'll do the latter.

So it's been quite a year and quite a decade really. This time last year I was going to spend the evening in London and wake up on my birthday in the big smoke. As for the decade? Well, traumatic would be one word to sum it up really.

What has this year brought? 

• Lots of fun on the internet with my 'cyber' friends. 
• The opera at Glyndebourne with a 14 year old boy. 
• Fund raising the only way I know, making cakes. 
• Strange birds in my tree.
• Sending Christmas trees in the post and getting a discussion about it started on radio 2!
• Going to Wigan for the first time in my life
• My oldest friend emigrating to the other side of the world
• Vintage craft fairs
• Visiting relatives from America
• Peacemaking between my mother and Godmother (praise be that's sorted)

I'll leave the bad and sad things which have happened as I try to always be positive.
Right that's it, I'm off to enjoy my last day in my forties.
Fifty? BRING IT ON!

WOYWW

Well here we are again at Wednesday. Do you know what today marks? It is my last 7 days in my forties! Yes this time next week my WOYWW will be covered in gifts, cards, cakes and, well who knows?
Here is my WIP this week:

At the front are three recipes for plum chutney, I will do an amalgam of the three, in other words whichever ingredients I have/don't have! Resting on one recipe is a little red frog which came from a Christmas cracker on Sunday. At the back are the latest ribbon trees which I have made and to the left is a scrap of paper with some very tempting details of a holiday to Malta!
I have had a lovely week with a craft fair on Saturday and my niece, her husband and their son coming for dinner on Sunday. It was bitter sweet as they flew back to San Diego on Monday and we don't know when we will see them again. There were a few tears and a lot of hugs.
I am so busy between now and December the first that I have written a list with something to do on every day!
I'll leave you with a few photos and urge you to take a look around the world via Julia's Blog

             Another party shot, guess which one is me!

A selection of cards and tags

                      Bunting and lavender bags

  My two boys and Corbin, my great nephew. Great? He was awesome

Have a great WOYWW

WOYWW

Here we are again, I've been missing for a couple of weeks and this week's desk isn't crafty but it will be later!

So, at the front we have a cake box containing half of a huge cake which my M-I-L made for my joint birthday party on Saturday. The other half is at my brother's. In the middle is half a bag of goldfish crackers and at the back is a box of toys.
Explanations required?
On Saturday I had a party with my brother, he was 40 last week and I will be 50 in two weeks. My niece, her husband and her little boy came over for the event, hence the goldfish crackers. Yesterday I spent the day with them in Brighton and then they came back to mine for toad in the hole. Although my niece is American and has lived in the states for all but six weeks of her life, she absolutely loves English food and I have to cook all of her favourites whilst she is here.
The box of toys was half of the mess that Corbin and my two boys made while they were here. It was so lovely to see my boys actually playing with real toys rather than their IPhones!
My lovely niece came bearing gifts for us all including a DCWV paper pad for me and these little beauties

Just in case you are wondering, it is a FOUR pound jar of peanut butter and it is amazing on crumpets

OK, I have to go now but don't forget to pop by Julia's blog to travel around the world being nosy.
I'll leave you with a rather amusing shot of me at my party. I believe it was rather late on during my dancing hours!

Missing In Action

Forgive me Father for I have sinned it has been 15 days since my last confession blog post.

Why?

I'll let the pictures tell the story:

                                                       My husband's birthday

                                             Dusting off the vintage china

            Throwing a tea party to raise money for Epilepsy Action

                                                Gratuitous shots of cake

                   Lemon drizzle cake would appear to be the favourite

      The generosity of people whom I've never met overwhelmed me

                               Pukin' Pumpkin & Wizzard Smiley Pumpkin

My Halloween Pussy

                                                               Craft Fair

                                          Turn your computer on its side

                                             Lots of lovely lavender bags

                                               Baby ribbon trees (sold!)

                      Natural History Museum, I needed the toilet!

                 Afternoon tea at a fancy hotel

Am I forgiven?

Normal service will be resumed shortly