Last night I was drawn to screw up a piece of paper and use that as a basis for this post. Don’t worry I’ll still bore you with the things I’ve been up to in a little while.

The sun has been shining bright recently which has been charging your batteries. It’s been helping you feel better and rise above the grime and grit of what’s been going on. It’s giving you a sense of freedom and it’s a signalling that you still have a connection to the world outside.

Spend time outside, you don’t have to go far. Your back garden is still outside and a place in nature. Take in the sights, sounds and smells. Feel the heat of the sun, the chill of the shadow and how the air is moving round you.

JUST BE. No stresses or strains, no aches or pains just focus on the now. What’s coming tomorrow or what happened yesterday doesn’t matter. Yesterday has been and gone, tomorrow hasn’t happened yet. This time is for you, no one else, just you.

You can’t carry on doing everything for everyone else if you aren’t running on all cylinders. Take a moment for you, get back to being shipshape and Bristol fashion then you’ll be ready to take on the world.

Just remember Love is at the centre of all things. Just don’t forget to love yourself. If things are done without love, they become toxic. You will start to hate what you’re doing and despise the people you’re doing it for. Let your heart sing and shine with love. Then the daily grind will just float on by easily with no issue.

You are a star, you’re awesome and amazing. You’ve got this. You need to start believing that you can do it. It’s hard to stop putting yourself down and believing that the things you do don’t matter.

They do and so do you. Give yourself a pat on the back for a job well done. Just look again at the picture of the bit of paper. It might be battered and bruised but it’s still paper, you can still write or draw on it. The same goes for you. You might be weathered and worn but you can still love and you are still you. Just remember you matter and that you are fabulous. Light the flame in your heart and shine bright.

X marks the spot of the buried treasure and its right there over your heart. Dig up that treasure and live on the bounty and abundance it brings.

It might sound corny, but it’s true. The rarest and most valuable thing in that buried chest, is you. Please remember that and take it with you.

So I hope you liked that and can take something from it.

So I’ve been doing the usual things this week. Tangling, card making, tv watching and a bit more crochet.

So here are the tangles:

I’ve only made 2 cards this week but that’s partly down to having a go slow week and some frustrating time with my die cutting machine.

Here are the cards I’ve made

So the frustration was down to cutting out the lace bit of the red card. It took forever, I had to run it through so many times, flip it over and round, add extra layers of card to increase the pressure. You name it, I tried it. I was getting really annoyed with it.

Did I need a new machine?

Do I need new plates?

Is the machine broken?

I asked for help on Facebook from one of the crafty groups I’m in and they gave loads of different suggestions. A lot of them even suggested getting the chrome precision base plate and that it would solve all of the problems. I knew that wouldn’t work and if used I ran the risk of breaking my machine. That plate is not compatible with my machine. And like I said it could damage or even break it. I eventually got it to go through and cut out the card but it took forever and at the end of it the card I was cutting was all marked and embossed from the extra pieces of card I used to increase the pressure.

You can see on there the state of the card afterwards. That’s why I ended up adding extra layers to the front of it and inside just to hide the damage that was made while cutting it out.

While asking on Facebook and searching google and YouTube the suggestion of using wax paper came up. I couldn’t see how that would work as it’s thinner than normal card so just put it out of my mind and finished off the red card I was making.

On Friday afternoon I thought what the hell and decided to go it a go. I don’t have any wax paper but thought grade proof paper is the same thing and it’s a damn sight cheaper. So I rifled off to the kitchen to go in search of the baking paper. I found a random bit in a draw and went back. The first thing I cut out was a doily die on some scrap paper. I’d had issues cutting the die out in the past so thought this should say if it works or not. I ran the doily through the machine and back. I took the plate off expecting the worse but low and behold it had gone straight through with no issues.

To say I was shocked was an understatement. I could not figure out what kind of witch craft was going on but it worked. Then I decided to try the die I’d had the real problem with. It took a few goes but it was a hell of a lot easier and quick than the last time I’d used it. So a roll of baking paper will be added to the shopping list.

Crochet wise I think I mentioned last week that I was making a Tapir. As I ran out of yarn of the colour I was using I had to stop because I decided that if I changed colour it wouldn’t look any good so this is where I got to and stopped:

It’s cute and cuddly

I’ve also crocheted a squid called Dante:

I’m in the process at the moment of crocheting Frank the Armadillo.when it’s done I’ll add a picture.

TV wise I’m up to season 15 episode 14 of American Dad. I’m working my way through it. Some think it’s rubbish but I find it funny.

Tomorrow I have a training thing for The MS group about restarting services after COVID and how to get the new paperwork done. It shouldn’t be too bad.

This week has been quite monumental. The right decision was made by a jury about the murder of George Floyd. They decided that a scummy chippy floor scraping fryer licking human piece of shit was guilty of Murder.

When I found out I was happy about the verdict. I also watched a video of the verdict being given. I was shocked and sickened by what I saw. There wasn’t a nanogram of remorse shown. I think he looked shocked at being told that someone dying after kneeling on their neck for 9 minutes was murder.

To say I was shocked was an understatement. I lost my words and just didn’t know what to say (well type) and do. I’m not ashamed to say that I even cried. My emotions are mixed up and broken anyway but that just pushed me over the edge.

I’m even finding typing this upsetting and I can feel the tears building. There is relief that the right verdict was given there is some happiness in there too. There is also some sadness that it has had to go this far and someone had to die for the world to take notice. I do feel though, that Georg Floyd’s name will go down in history. From something so bad happening to him it has and will continue to bring about positive change. Big love to him, his friends and family.

Something else has also come out of the trial. The medical examiner that testified on behalf of the killer saying that he did not kill George Floyd is having the cases he dealt with reviewed independently.

“Hundreds of doctors signed a letter to Maryland’s attorney general demanding a review of people who died in police custody during Dr Fowler’s 17 years in the job between 2002 and 2019.”

“Our disagreement with Dr Fowler is not a matter of opinion. Our disagreement with Dr Fowler is a matter of ethics,” the letter stated, according to National Public Radio.”

That’s taken from an article from The Independent.

So the cases are being reviewed and god help him if it comes out there has been another cover up.

So now it’s time for me to leave it there for this week.

Love and Light

Humbug.