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Friday 29 March 2013

Good Friday London.....we went out and about in this freezing cold weather and I can't believe how busy it is around London. The train's were quiet and we took the District Line train to Temple which is one stop away from the Embankment. There wasn't that many people around but once you get onto The Strand, it's busy! We had a walk around for a while and Frank took me to Cath Kidson Store down Shelton Street, which is just full of gorgeous flowery goodness. However, gorgeous flowery goodness comes at a cost! I wanted to have a look at some over the shoulder bags and the one I wanted was £55. That's a lot of money to me so I came away feeling a bit disappointed but knowing full well it is quality stuff. I decided to wait and look on Amazon and Ebay first but if I can't get what I want, I may have to go back and say sod it! It's mine! We then went to a posh charity shop at Highbury Corner and guess what Frank saw straight away! A Cath Kidston Buttoned Messenger Bag for £10. Wow! Grabbed it, it's mine! We had just looked at them in her store and it was £22 so BARGAIN! It's now soaking in some laundry detergent. We came out of there, almost skipping actually, and went to New River Walk. This is a photo of the work's still in progress, they have just finished the new pump system and it looks like they have put in some sprinklers too. It was kind of eerie along this bit, there were no ducks anywhere but as we went along we saw some ducks quacking away.I know I babble on about this place, but I just love it. I can't wait to sit on the bench, feed the birds, have a picnic and do some knitting. The middle photo is of a gorgeous old weeping willow that stretches right across the river and you can just touch it and take it all it's glory. The last photo is of a very very old hut near the end and some rockery beds. Finally, I took a photo from the very end of New River Walk, it just looks so peaceful and trust me..it is! We then went off walking around, got on a No.38 bus all the way to Picadilly and carried on walking around. Took some photo's of some interesting places for tourists to see....can you guess what they are!Trafalgar Square was horrendous, I can't stand all those crowds. We went into McDonalds and that was busy too and then decided it was time to go home! We had been out for almost 6 hours so walked round the corner and into Embankment District Line Train Station. Basically, we walked and bussed our way round in a circle. Brilliant though!

Thursday 21 March 2013

Clutter! What does that word mean? Is it stuff that you need but don't use or stuff that you just don't want anymore but are too lazy to get rid of. For example, I am a firm believer that if you don't use something or wear something for at least 6 months, then you can do without it. For example, I bought these two 6 inch vases, crystal cut about 15 years ago and I have only ever used them for flowers a couple of times. They are mainly gathering dust, getting moved from one shelf to another and I finally thought, 'get rid of the flipping things'. I think maybe, I have got to get my arse in gear and do a spring clean. I am so fed up with this weather, I wish it would make up it's mind. A lot of my spring bulbs are flowering lovely and the past week it's been so cold that the daff's are starting to droop and now its forecast that there may be snow on the way. It's March for goodness sake, let's have some sunshine at least! I gave my dog Tammie a haircut a couple of weeks ago and it's enough fur there for a couple of nest building projects for the birds She loves being pampered and lay's on her back, legs wide apart for me to trim her tummy fur. Here is a photo of her now and that is her look saying 'i want my treat now'!I have just got back from over the park with her and it is so cold, so flipping cold. Oh well, enough moaning Sue, what's on the agenda for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Well, obviously work again tomorrow and then Saturday I have got jogging in the morning, then got to go to local sorting office to collect some parcels. Then I think we are going out with Tammie to a park and then back home for the mundane chores of cooking and cleaning. Sunday, hopefully is rest day! If it's snowing either Saturday or Sunday I won't be going anywhere! I would like to do some cooking actually, I feel like baking some bread of some sort and possibly some cake's but we will see! I am off, sorry there's not much going on here but hopefully will have more to write about. Don't forget....de-clutter cause it makes more space for other stuff like YARN!

Sunday 17 March 2013

New River Walk...drained!This picture was taken by my partner Frank who is standing in the middle of one part of the drained River. (St Paul's Road, near Highbury). The weather has not been helping and although this photo was taken a few weeks ago, most of the work has been done to clear the debris and leaves. However, there was a problem with the pump and could only drain it to a certain depth. They are currently installing new pumps to circulate the water. The wildlife has been tolerating the work but the frog's are not too happy. The duck's are moaning and walking in line's to get their food and I think they are going to be happy when it's all done. The poor ducks have to walk to another part of the river to swim, eat and drink. Hopefully, it won't be too long now and I am getting excited when the baby birds start appearing. I was worried about it but Frank assures me that the work takes into consideration the wildlife.It seem's unreal when you look at the second photo, It was only taken a few weeks ago and the weather now is more for 'ducks' than snow. The local park I walk through (Parsloes Park) is so calming when I know I have got a stressful work day ahead of me and I just love the plants, tree's and the wildlife. The council have been under instruction to cut down a lot of old tree's and shrubs around the lake which is a shame, because it looks bare. I did get rather annoyed that they actually cut down a large oak tree that was gorgeous but there has to be a reason for it. (I Hope)We got an Amaryllis plant at Christmas and it's finally flowered. There's actually 4 flowers on it now but this was the photo I took of the first one. It's such a vibrant red, its gorgeous. Here is a photo of Tammie & Typsy looking out the window the other night waiting for Frank to come in from work. Tammie alway's seem's to know when he is due home. As far as knitting goes, I haven't done a lot. I have had some dental work which has effected me quite bad and I have not been in the mood to do anything. I finally found a Tank Top Vest I liked after reading 'yarnharlot.ca' and it would look good with a shirt underneath. I just hope it will fit when it is finished! Here's a progress picture on it. Oh well, that is it for now. Not much going on, pretty boring lately so hopefully, my next post will be more interesting for you. By the way, I bought a brilliant lipstick the other day called 'Maybeline 14Hr Lipstick' and the sad girl that I am, here's a photo. It wasnt cheap, £5 but it does actually stay on...at least 8 hours! Pucker!!

Friday 8 March 2013

It's finished....Lily blanket is finally done. Well, it was finished a while ago but have not been in the 'craft' mood as of late. I have finished another project and the pattern is from Knitty.com called 'wisp'. It's a free pattern and I used Rowan Kidsilk Haze and some silver beads. I loved knitting it and has washed up lovely. It's currently blocking on my ironing board. We haven't been out visiting anywhere at the moment, Frank has been working overtime some weekends and I have just spent the weekends catching up with boring housework. I must admit though, I am looking forward to Spring finally appearing so we can go visit some more parks and places of interest. Talking about parks, New River Walk is having a celebration in September where people will be dressed in costume's from the era 400 years ago. Apparently, the park was one of the first water supplies to London but you can find out more if you look on the Islington Council website. I will keep updates of it on here to confirm dates, I cant wait to go and see it all when the baby birds are around. Frank and his colleagues have been cleaning the river up the past few weeks, pumping out the water in some parts, clearing the leaves and debris that people throw in and basically, enjoying the work that is involved. He said the bulbs are all popping through now too, so I cant wait to get over there. Am going to finish with this lovely photo of my Amarylis flower that has first opened today. It's a gorgeous red and there are two more buds that need to open. Catch you all later.