So yesterday was my birthday which is why I’m a bit late with an update.
I’m now 38 but feel more like 98. For my birthday I had a really nice chilled and relaxed day. Went to knitting with mum and spent a few hours there chatting and working on the socks I’m doing. It’s great just to spend some time again with people I haven’t seen since last year. Just to chill, chat and knit.
I’m still working on the pair of socks I started the week before and mum is working on the jumper she started some time last year, well before lockdown was even a thought in Boris’ mind. I finished the heel flap on the first sock but because I left the pattern at home I decided to stop there and do the heel turn etc at home.
It’s not easy following a pattern on your phone at the best of times but trying to do that while working on a somewhat of a difficult part would have been tempting fate too much to mess it up. So I decided to do it later.
After knitting we went home and did a bit more chilling out. Mum carried on knitting her jumper for a bit and I went into the dining room, also known as my craft room.
I had an idea of what I wanted to get and my birthday money would help towards that. So later in the day I placed an order for my birthday gift.
It’s the Ink Lily 180 pen set that comes with 29 stamps and access to an online course on how to use and work with the pens. As they’re alcohol pens they’re different than using normal felt tips and they’re professional tools. I got an email earlier aswell saying that they had left the warehouse so they should be here soon then I can get lost in the wonderful world of colouring professionally.
Last week there was also a bit of knitting and tangling. So I’ve already talked about my socks so that’s the knitting bit done with. Now on to the tangling:
As I was really late with the post last week I haven’t really don’t much since then. Well apart from the normal stuff like church, eating, sleeping and development group.
During the week I got a bit board of watching Castle on Disney + so I decided to have a root round and look for something else to watch.
So at the moment I’ve just started series 2 of the Ewoks cartoon. It’s old fashioned and cheesy but it’s good background noise and gives me a chuckle every now and then.
As it’s been warm recently my aircon unit has been working a fair bit to keep me and the room cooler and a bit more bearable and at the moment it’s doing a mighty fine job.
I keep finding Zoe sleeping in all sorts of weird and wonderful positions and just had to share this picture.
So now it’s time to return to the forest moon of Endor and see what Wicket and his friends are up to.
Sorry I didn’t do a post on Sunday night, I got distracted.
Knitting started again on Sunday afternoon. It was amazing to see the knitting crew again and talk to them.
So on Sunday I started a new project using wool I got from there. It’s a rule that says we have to use wool from there while we are in their knitting group.
As I’ve been knitting lots of socks recently I decided that I’d do another pair of socks. I’ve wanted to do a cable knit sock pattern so I found one. Being the bright spark that I am I thought that instead of my normal 9 inch circular needle I was going to use Double pointed needles. So instead of one needle I was going to use 5.
When I started knitting originally the first project I tried to do used double pointed needles. I didn’t really get on with them then so I thought why not let’s give it another go. I managed to cast on and do a round or two then realised I should have been doing a 2 by 2 rib pattern and I kept having issues with the needles slipping out. So Sunday evening I gave up with the double pointed needles, pulled it back and decided to start again.
This time though I went straight in with my 9 inch circular. Rib done with no problem and last night I went through the first part of the cable pattern and decided to call it a night there. The wool I’m using for these socks it pretty though.
As per usual I’ve done a few cards and some tangling.
Here are the tangles:
Here are the cards:
I even did some colouring:
I used pencil crayons to colour in this dragonHere I used my alcohol marker.
This last week I’ve found colouring and Tangling to be great escapes from the drudge of the everyday. It’s helped me escape the pain, dizziness and anxiety. In my opinion crafting of any kind is great for mental health. Give it a go, it’s amazing and you get something great at the end of it.
On Wednesday night it was the Gong Bath. The first one in over 12 months. I missed it so much. Just getting an hour to yourself where you can go, do and be anything and everything is amazing.
I was a bit worried at first because of the dry mouth. I was scared that during a deep and meaningful meditation my mouth would go dry, my tongue would stick to the roof of my mouth and I’d have issue breathing because of it. Before the session I made sure to drink plenty of water, used my sprays, put some eucalyptus oil under my nose and even started the session with one of the sweets in my mouth. It turns out I was worried for nothing and during the time dry mouth was not an issue.
During the gong bath I know I was off traveling, learning things and getting some great healing. As I normally do with the gong bath I had some crystals with me. Beside my normal jewellery (Moldavite pendant, clear quartz merkabah pendant, black tourmaline bracelet and a shungite bracelet) I had a piece of auralite 23 in each hand and some apophilite on my heart. My Clear Quartz crystal was also there getting a good cleans and charge in the energy and sound of the gongs.
I love the gong bath and always feel great after them and I really would suggest dining one and giving it a go. Here is a link to Graham and Ondray’s website where you can find out more about gong baths and the other things they offer.
On Wednesday night I also got my first hug from someone outside the immediate family. It was from Ondray. It was amazing. She gives good hugs anyway but like I said it was the first one from someone else in over 12 months.
At church tonight I managed to get something in about masks and face coverings and wearing them properly. It does my head in that over 12 months later that people either refuse to wear one or don’t wear it properly. They just don’t seem to realise that just covering your mouth defeats the object of wearing a mask in the first place. Fine for the people that can’t wear one for a legitimate reason but don’t come in wearing one then take it off when you sit down. People like you are the reason things are still as bad as they are and why new variants of the fecking virus are floating around and doing untold damage to people.so if you’re wearing a face covering, wear it properly.
The other day I was bored and was having a play around on my laptop and came up with this sign:
It made me chuckle. It’s something that seems to happen quite a lot. When a medium is on the platform doing their demonstration they start giving a message to someone. Rather than just saying yes, no or I don’t know they start giving the medium the full details of what ever it is the medium is talking about.
When that happens it makes the mediums job a million times harder. The point of the demonstration is for the medium to be able to give you evidence of a person that is in spirit. When you tell the medium everything about someone in spirit it doesn’t leave much information for them to give as evidence that you haven’t spoken about.
So if you’re getting a message, don’t give the medium your life story. It’s their job to give you the information, not the other way round.
Sorry, I know I missed another week. Please forgive me. I’d love to say I was skydiving or something but that would never happen. I’m not a fan of heights really and falling from them would be even worse. It was just one of those I’ll do it in a minute things then forget or get distracted by something shiny or a squirrel or something.
What the hell is with people and face coverings or masks. If you’re wearing a mask wear it properly. The amount of people who only have it covering their mouth don’t seem to realise that by doing that there is no point in wearing one. It infuriates me.
The other thing is there are people who wear one while they are arriving somewhere while they’re on there own and when they are in a room full of people they then take it off. Aaaarrrrrrggggggghhhhh!!!!!! What is the point. You aren’t keeping yourself safe and you sure as hell aren’t helping keep your Thera safe either. What the fuck is going on in your head. If you can’t wear one for a legitimate reason fine, just don’t turn up in one then take it off.
By not wearing a mask properly you’re helping keep the virus flowing about and helping it mutate in to another variant that could kill someone you know and love. Be nice and a decent human being, protect yourself and more importantly, protect everyone else.
The update for the last two weeks. As per usual there has been card making, tangling and back to a bit of knitting.
So I’ve made a few cards over the past couple of weeks after getting a new die set from create and craft. The die set is one from Tattered Lace and the collection is called Words and Pages. Here are the cards I’ve made using those dies:
I thing they are quite pretty and it’s the first time I’ve made a card like the one with the gap.
After that mum suggested that I should make some simpler cards without the flowers and the Lacy bits. So being the good boy I am I did as I was told. Well, what was suggested. So here are the other cards I’ve made:
I’m also quite proud of the backing that I’ve used on the card with the pigs. I started off dabbing some coloured ink pads on my glass mat. Then I spray some water on the ink so it was runny. After that I mopped up the inky water with some white card. It looked really good, but, it was a bit pale. So once it was dried I scanned it on to the computer and opened it up on My Craft Studio. On there I played about with the colours and I made them more intense. The original was cool but I feel I made it better.
I also made a card today that isn’t like anything I’ve ever done before:
That is a unicorn shaker card. I think it’s great and I’m impressed with my little self.
Last time I talked about a birthday card that I made for a friend. I didn’t show it then because it was before his birthday and I didn’t want to spoil the surprise just in case he saw it on here before his birthday. But now his birthday has been and gone and yesterday he thanked me for making it and said he thought it was great. So here is the card:
On to tangling now. Here are the tangles I’ve done:
4 tile pics 135 to 138
135136137
I’ve also received the tile from tile swap 4:
this is a tile by Ali Turner
The next tile swap video is tomorrow. I wonder what tangle Sandra will have us do. While I was playing about with the ink for the backing of the pig card I also decided to ink up a couple of tiles then I had some ready for when Sandra decides not to use a plain one on one of the Facebook lives. Here is a picture of the tiles:
Here I used the inky water and then I sprinkled some salt on them. When they’ve dried ithe salt just brushed off. You have to let them dry naturally though. If you use a heat tool to dry them the salt sticks to the paper and you can’t get it off completely and it leaves the paper rough like sand paper.
The salt affects the water and pulls it in and when it’s dried it leaves really cool specks and patterns.
Last time I shared pictures of Frank the Armadillo. He’s all sewn up and finished now:
Whenever I say or type the word armadillo it makes some think of the Diam bar advert from what feels like a million years ago. “Armadillos smooth on the inside, crunchy on the outside”.
Anyway after finishing Frank I decided to start knitting another pair of socks. I wanted to try something different so went for a Lacey sort of pattern from Paintbox Yarns. I can’t add a picture of the pattern for some reason but here is a picture of the sock I’m on at the moment.
I’ve just finished shaping the gusset and I’m on to the foot bit.
At church I ended up chairing for a few services because Bob wasn’t feeling that great. That was interesting. Basically all I had to do was give a bit of a welcome. Tell people to turn off their phones and ask the medium to do a prayer. Then it’s over to them for the rest of the service and at the end just say who’s on at the next services. Nothing major really but it is quite nerve wracking standing infront of all the people. I’m not really a fan but if needs must I’ll grin and bear it.
I think that’s about enough from me so stay safe, Love and Light.
Do you ever get random questions just popping in to your head?
I just get random questions in my head. The other day I was thinking about the temperature of things. If an object is subjected to something else at 1 temperature can the object get warmer than that?
For example if a cast iron pan is heated by a 100 degree flame, can the pan get hotter than 100 degrees?
Some people will just be able to give an answer without thinking about it but it’s the sort of thing that would go round and round in my head. I think I’d get the answer eventually but then I’d start doubting myself to the point I wouldn’t believe the answer I’ve come up with.
The questions I think of are normally the ones that would be very difficult to put into google. Sometimes I even struggle to make sense of them myself so I’m not even sure about the questions in the first place. I even start wondering what questions like that other people have.
Onto the weekly update. Biggest thing this week was my face. On Wednesday morning while brushing my teeth I got a twinge of what felt like cramp in my jaw. Didn’t think anything else of it other than the fact it was a bit a hey for a few hours. What continued to happen through out the rest of the day was that the side of my face kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger. So with that the anxiety started to kick in with thoughts running through my head that is was something bad like a flesh eating bacterial infection or it was a tumour and that my whole jaw would have to be removed.
I don’t know if it was my face swelling or my anxiety that started making me feel rough. So I had an early night. Yes, I actually went to sleep at about 11pm, still stressing about my face but I was tired so drifted off. I had a text conversation with my sister that night about being an Ogre and sent her a picture:
I know I look dog rough but you can see the swelling on the side of my face.
That night I didn’t brush my teeth because it hurt to open my mouth. I woke up early the next morning because I went to bed early. Katie arrived to say hello to Zoe after dropping Harvey off at school. Because I was up I went to say hi and show her the size of my face. I still felt it was massive and was taking over my head. She said it could be an abscess and I should call the dentist or the doctor. Dad said that because it possibly my teeth that the doctor wouldn’t do anything and we had better try the dentist.
I made katie call the dentist to see if they could fit me in. They said to that if I can be there by 10 someone could see me. So I rushed back upstairs flung some clothes on, packed my bag and was back downstairs and ready to go. again because of the pain in my jaw I couldn’t brush my teeth again but I was hoping the dentist would let me off.
This was me Thursday morning
So dad takes me to the dentist and came in with me to help explain and take in information. They did a bit of prodding and poking and took a few X-rays to try an figure out what was going on. Because it was on the side where I had some teeth taken out a couple of months ago they thought that the problem could be there. Nothing seemed to show up on the x-rays.
Luckily as I was going into the room the dentist that took the teeth out was in there getting something he needed. He went off to deal with whatever that was and then came back. So I had 2 dentists trying to figure out what the problem was. Like I said the x-rays didn’t show anything so they decided that it was a blocked salivary gland and they prescribed some antibiotics and told me that if the swelling gets any bigger or affects my breathing or ability to swallow that I had to go to A and E. so me and dad get back in the car and head for boots to get the prescription sorted. That didn’t take to long an we were back home again by 11:30. Had my first pill then and set up the rest for the day in my pill box. In a ways was hoping that they would be like magic pills and would starting shrinking my face from that moment.
Unfortunately, it didn’t quite work that way but by bed time on Thursday the swelling had started to go down. And it carried on going down to the vet the next few days and by Sunday it had gone completely.
So that was the biggest thing that happened to me last week. Something else that happened that is nowhere near as big or important is that I knocked my pipe off the table and when it hit the floor it had started to come apart. It still worked but I knew I needed a new one because it would be Sod’s law that it would stop working the moment I wanted to use it the most. I got a new one and there isn’t much else to say about that.
Other things that have been happening last week are crochet, tangling and I actually started selling some of my cards. I took them to church on Tuesday night to sell to help make some money for the church. I only sold 2 but it’s a start. I also got an order for 2 others. One a new home card and the other ones is for a birthday card. I really struggled with the new home one. I had an idea of what I wanted to do but I just couldn’t get the picture from my head to become real. I wanted to do the front of a house. I knew I wanted a wall with a door in it but I just couldn’t get the door to look right. Well not the door, it was the windows in the door. This is what I finished with, hope you like it:
Because of all the problems I had with that card, I still need to add a sentiment, I’d only managed to do one other and make a start on the birthday card.
This is the other card I managed to finish:
A friend from church ordered the birthday card for her husband. I managed to get the idea and make a start on it today. As per usual though I’m not going to share pictures just in case they’re seen by the person the card is for. I haven’t done much yet but I think the bits I have done are looking pretty cool.
Now for this weeks tangles:
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Last week I said I had started to crochet an Armadillo called Frank. I finished all the bits and I am in the process of sewing them all together.
It’s not a voodoo doll all the needles are there just holding the head armour in place ready for sewing it on. I really struggled sewing the body armour on. I just found it really difficult. I think that’s because it’s just one open piece that needs sewing on and stuffing. So because it puffs out when stuffed it’s bigger than the space it covers if that makes sense. I had about 6 attempts sewing it on and eventually I was happy with it. Just need to see on the head armour and give him some eyes then he’ll be all done.
During the week I finished watching all of the episodes of American Dad and yesterday I started watching a series called Love Victor. It’s a spin-off/sequel to the film Love Simon. The film is really good film, it’s a coming of age film about a lad called Simon that’s coming to terms with his life and his sexuality. The series is a similar thing about a young lad called Victor that is struggle to figure himself out. Is he straight, bi or gay. He has a girlfriend but has a secret crush on an openly gay friend from school. While he’s trying to come to terms with himself he finds out that his mother had an affair, his girlfriend wants to take their relationship to the next level, his extremely conservative grandparents come to town to celebrate his birthday and kick off about catching some of his gay friends kissing. And to top it off his father seems to be less than understanding about gay people.
I think both the film and the series are really good and would definitely recommend that you watch them. They both have things in them that I can relate to and I know that others will be able to relate to them too.
Coming to terms with your sexuality and coming out is one of the scariest and hardest things you’ll ever have to deal with. It’s a scary and confusing time for anyone going through it. For some it’s quite easy and for others it’s a hard and long journey. Everyone’s journey is different it’s filled with ups and downs. You just have to find the strength and courage to take that first step. And that is accepting yourself.
So go and watch the film and the series it might make you see things differently.
And to finish this off for another week here is a picture of an amazing cutie patootie:
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:
Wednesday Tile 131Friday Tile 132
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.
A new handle arrived during the week so I was able to use it again. When I didn’t have the handle I really wanted to use it but since I haven’t needed to use it a lot. It’s weird how things like that work isn’t it? You want it more when you haven’t got it and when you’ve got it you don’t really want it.
So what else has been happening this week?
All the non essential shops have been able to open up again.
Had an MS zoom social session.
Had a development group session on zoom.
The website issue is still ongoing and for a few days a good game of email tennis has been played. As I haven’t heard anything back from the hosting people in the past 24 hours I’m guessing they finally have all the information they need to look into the problem. I’ll probably need to chase things up tomorrow though.
There’s been crafting, tangling, a bit of crochet and I’ve even made some more hand cream.
So tangles:
Wednesday’s Tile 129Friday’s Tile 130
Sandra did a session on crafting together with all brands on Tuesday and this is my version of the tile:
Crafting Together with all brand 2
Sandra was on Create and Craft again on Friday and Saturday selling her new range of stencils. On Saturday afternoon I sent in a picture of Friday’s Tile and it was shown on so that’s cool. Saturday evening I sent in another email of the tiles I’ve received through the tile swap and named the people they came from. I managed to film the clip and put it in the Sanntangle group so appreciation can go to people that deserve it.
Here is the picture of the tile Swap tiles I’ve received and the next tile swap starts on Monday.
Here is the clip:
With all the tiles I do I add them to the Sanntangle Facebook group. When I put up Friday’s tile it got a g rest reception. At the moment it has 68 likes. A comment was also added by one of the gues demonstrators from Create and Craft called Pauline Wheeler. She said “Love it”. So when I saw that I replied with “eeeeeeeeekkkkkkkk High pitched squeak fan girl moment. THE Pauline Wheeler said she likes my work”. I also added a gif of a screaming fan girl. But I don’t think I can share that on her. To say I was buzzing was an understatement. Getting appreciation for your work is alway a good thing but for it to come from someone you respect is even better.
I know they are just normal people like everybody else but it’s praise and appreciation still the same.
On to card making now. I’ve only done 2 cards this week. My excuse is because my big shot pro was out of action. I said earlier that I have a new handle so production should pick up again soon. Here are the cards I’ve made:
They both need sentiments but I’m not sure what to put on them.
My proudest achievement this week has got to be finishing off my monster and getting it all sewn together. I don’t have a name for him yet and nothing is springing to mind. Do you have any ideas:
I also started crocheting a Tapir called Steve the other day. I’ve don’t the head the body and the legs. The heads was the last part but I was very lucky in a game of yarn chicken. That just means that the ears and tail will either be in a different colour or Steve won’t have them.
Hand cream, I’ve shared my recipe before but every time I make it the amounts increase and the recipe changes a bit. The first time was 1 pot, the second two pots and this time 3.
It’s an amazing picture isn’t it?it really shows you what it is. Anyway I enjoyed making it and it’s useful for dry skin so no harm done. I’ve been calling it on my hands then putting in my murderer or butler whit cotton gloves.
The difference with the recipe this time was I added a bit of glycerin and because I have run out of coconut oil I just upped the amounts of the other oils to make up for it. I think I might have added a few more drops of the essential oils too but I’m the only one using it so it doesn’t matter.
On Create and Craft on Friday they launched some new Fleurs flower dies. During that show I sent in a picture of the large flower I made a couple of weeks ago:
This one
The was some nice feedback given by the host and the guest. They said that I was pretty active on Facebook on their posts and live but they both decided I was a woman. So they kept saying she. I know I can be very camp at times but I’m pretty sure I’m a boy. I did drop the guest a message on Facebook to point out that I am male and she did apologise.
She was on again today doing something different. And it’s her birthday today so the host was having a bit of fun with her and they were trying to come up with songs that would go on a playlist for her party (not a real party) and they asked for people to email in with song suggestions. So I sent an email in suggesting Pour Some Sugar On Me by Deaf Leopard. And I signed the email off as Chris the boy from Facebook. And they read out the email and that bit too which made the guest give another apology.
Another thing that happened today was I had a trip out with dad. We went to the pet shop to get some more food for Zoe and then to the fag shop to get some more liquid for me. I wanted to share another picture last week but I completely forgot I’ll blame all the issues and stuff:
Me and Zoe having cuddles.
Yesterday was Prince Philip’s funeral. I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. I had mixed emotions. Part of me felt that it should have been a private family thing where they could all mourn in peace and out of the public eye but the other part of me thought it was a nice goodbye for him.
I couldn’t help thinking though that he was there looking down on the day and the service saying “at last, a day where I’m the most important one”. I know this won’t have been the case but It added a bit of light relief to the day.
The other thing that shocked me was people wearing masks. I was so pleased to see that everyone involved was wearing one and that they were all following the social distancing guidelines. I thought that it was setting a really good example and showing that even the royal family etc were following the rules.
I watched a Facebook live the other day by someone I know called Fi. She decided to have a live session giving out messages from spirit. On that, I ended up getting a message which was unexpected. I watch them more to see how other mediums work rather than expect to get a message. I was also watching to get an idea of something to do with the development group the next day. Anyway, It was from my gran and it was basically telling me to stop ignoring her and start working with her.
Normally when it comes to working with spirit I tend to ignore the spirits that are there for me. That’s because when I’m working in that way, more often than not It’s for other people and not for me. The funny thing is that for the past few days I have noticed a few things that make me think of gran. It might be from the whiff of a certain smell that can’t be explained, the song that’s playing on an advert or just a memory popping into my head about her. So, I’m taking it that they are all messages from her telling me to pull my finger out and talk to her. So, I am determined to set aside some time over the next week to do just that.
I’ve had another play about with the look and feel of the website. Hope you like it.
I tried to post an update last week but it wasn’t working but I think that was because things in the back end of the website were being updated. PHP I think it was. But I’m still having issues adding pictures. I’ve had to do this on my laptop. I’ve had to use the pictures from my phone. send them to my email address then the file size can be reduced. Then I’ve had to up load them to the media library and from there add them to this post.
The major thing that happened last week was that mum had taken a trip to her favourite place again. Yes, last Wednesday mum went back in to hospital. She’s home now though.
It wasn’t because of breathing issues this time. She was having a major issue with sickness. As it had been happening for a while we made her go. When she went in they thought she had issues with her Kidneys. Because of the sickness they took a hammering but when the hospital started with the drugs and IVs they started working again properly.
The pain and dizziness was pretty crap last week. I decided to go outside and play fetch with Zoe. Then she decides to leg it off up the street because she got distracted. So what do I do? Start to follow her up the street to get her back. Let’s say I didn’t get very far. But because of that silly little thing I spent the next 3 days in agony.
It was a tough couple of days but eventually things started calming down. The pain hasn’t been great since but at least it isn’t as bad as it was.
This week hasn’t really been that different. There has been pain, dizziness the usual things really. the major thing that happened as that on Friday I had jab number 2. It was weird the way it happened. I had mine on Friday, dad had his on Saturday and mum had hers on Sunday.
I’ve not had any issues this time, I’ve been quite tired and I e slept a lot but I’m not sure if that’s jab related or just because I’m tired and not sleeping well. I had the jab in my left arm, and woke up Saturday morning with pain in my right arm. I think that was because I slept on it funny and nothing todo with the jab.
Today though where I had the jab aches a bit but nothing major. Dad has been fine since and mum has been ok too. I think we’ve got off quite lightly with it. But it’s better than being on life support in hospital. So when you’re called for your jab, please go. It will keep you and your loved ones safer.
There has been quite a lot of crafty things over the past two weeks. Cards, tangles and even some crochet.
Here are the tangles:
I also received the tile from the tiles swap. It arrived on the post it arrived really late on Friday afternoon. That day the post came at about 5pm. Late but it still came. This is the tile I received:
I think this tile is amazing, I love it.
I’ve made quite a few cards over the past two weeks and here are the pictures:
The main problem I’m having now is finding something to do with all the cards I’ve made. I did have them all in a smaller box, but now I’ve had to go shopping and buy a bigger box for them to go in and that, is slowly filling up.
One major issue I’ve had with card making is that the handle on my Big Shot Plus broke:
Since that happened I’ve struggled figuring out what to do. I was pretty limited because I had to use my Gemini Mini and that can only take Dies that are below 3 1/4 Inch wide. It seems silly to say that I felt limited when I haven’t been using dies for that long but it is amazing what a difference they make to project. Using dies make things that are cut out look so much neater.
I decided to do a bit of colouring with my alcohol markers:
A sheet of cute little animals. I am tempted to cut them out and use some blue tack then I can move them about when I feel like it. But, I’m not sure if that is something I want to do or not.
Harvey is here this week because its still the Easter holidays. He is back at school next week though. I did a bit of crafting with him yesterday and we made a birthday card that his mum can use for someone at work. I didn’t get a picture though. We made a card with a quilled flower on the front. I helped with the delicate bits like adding glue but he did the rest himself.
Back to the handle. I’ve contacted Sizzix and they are sending out another one and I just have to wait for that to arrive.
Something I should really talk about is something else that happened on Friday. It’s a sad case, Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh passed away. Obviously. I only knew of him and he wouldn’t know anything about me. But it is a sad time for the Queen and the rest of the family and I really do feel for them. Losing a loved one is never an easy thing to deal with. You just have to remember the good times and know that they will forever have a place in your heart.
On that sombre note I’ll wrap it up there and get back to trying to sort this website thing out.
Today I booked my second jab. So a week on Friday I’ll be getting my second does of the Astra Zeneca COVID vaccination. The letter they sent out inviting me to book it had the wrong details of the original vaccine though. That letter said I had the Pfizer does and said I should book the second does. So had to get mum to make some calls and send some emails to figure out what to do. They replied saying that letters were sent out with the incorrect details and that I just need to book it anyway and make sure I pick the right vaccine.
So it’s booked now. Just need to wait for it. Just hope it doesn’t make me feel sick this time.
So as per the usual things have happened over the past week. Tangling, card making, church, the MS Cafe and some giant flower making.
So let’s start with the giant flowers:
The white one is just plain printer paper and I was playing to figure out how to put the flower together. The blue and yellow one is made from flower forming foam. The white one ended up being sent home with my sister. While making the blue one though I had a bit of a falling out with my hot glue gun. I ended up with a burn on one of my fingers.
It’s only small but my god does it hurt. I only caught it on the glue gun but it ended up with some glue on it and I ended up picking the glue off and taking the blister with it. But that’s enough about my little burn.
On to tangling
The round one is from the session on Wednesday. The one on the green tile is from the session on Friday. Sandra was on create and craft on Friday afternoon so she couldn’t do the normal Friday afternoon session. She had to do it on Friday evening at 7 but I couldn’t join then. I was doing the development group session on zoom.
I really enjoy doing the development group sessions and I think those that join in enjoy them too. I just love helping people develop their skills working with spirit.
So I did Friday’s Tile on Saturday. Sticking with tangling for a moment there is a new Sanntangle Facebook group and I’m glad to say I helped Sandra create it. So it’s a little claim to fame for me. Anyway the love that’s being shared on that group is amazing. Everybody on their is interacting with each other and being so nice and friendly. All the work that is shared in that group is truly brilliant. During the week I had to search on the thesaurus website to find different ways of saying that the work is awesome. I
have had the chance to have a couple of fan girl moments though. When sharing some of my work on there Sandra commented and so did one of the other Create and Craft Guests. So yeah that was great buzz, getting a compliment from a professional and someone you respect really is something special.
On to card making. Here are the cards I’ve made this week:
I started another card today. That one is a circular easel card but as it’s not finished yet I didn’t want to share it.
The card with the elephant on it was made for my sister to give someone she worked with as a leaving card. As it’s on a backing of note paper I suggested that to bring it all together that she should just write the sentiment on to the card front rather than having a stamped one. I thought that would look better. The other two I just made for something to do.
The card I posted last week with the daffodils on. Last week it had 158 likes, that’s gone up a bit over the last week and it now has 183. To know that so many people like something I’ve made is great. It’s shocking and I’m not quite sure how to take it. If do find it strange to get praise from people I don’t know.
So Friday was the last Friday of the month which means it was MS cafe day. That went well and I think it was the longest zoom session we’ve had for a while MS wise anyway. It was great, just a nice time chilling out and chatting with friends. This next week is the MS team meeting on Wednesday and I think there is also a zoom session to talk with other groups and get to know a contact in the national office. That should be fun. I like putting faces to names even though I probably won’t remember either of them. Bit that’s not the point.
I started watching the TV series called It’s A Sin the other day. I’ve got through the first 2 episodes and we’ll into the third. I’ve had to give it up though. It upset me. One of the characters, a nice quiet lad from welsh Wales has just been diagnosed with AIDS. The program is set in the early 80s in London. It’s at a time where no one really knows anything about it. It’s being classed as a cancer for gay men. The character has it and is in hospital but they e locked him up in there as. They feel he is a threat to public health.
I’m so glad that a lot more is known about it now and that it’s not a death sentence the way it was then. But seeing the character being locked up in hospital and treated like crap because he is gay upset me. So I just had to leave it there.
It’s been a bit of a creative week. I’ve made quite a few card this week and I’ve done the Wednesday and Friday Tangles.
So here are the cards I’ve made:
They’re the cards I’ve made and I’m pretty impressed with them.
Here are the tangles:
This one is from WednesdayThis is Fridays Tile
I also did my tile for the tile swap but I’m not sharing the picture yet. Maybe further down the line I’ll share it.
Wednesday was MRI day and it was a long day. I didn’t sleep very well Tuesday night and had to be up earlier on Wednesday for the monthly blood test.
I had a bad headache from the moment I woke up on Wednesday morning I think it was caused by lack of sleep and dehydration. I had the blood test with no issues and because of the dehydration I had a few things to drink. I moved to the dining room also known as my craft room. I still had the headache and I was really fighting to keep my eyes open. The problem being my sister was cleaning up my room so I couldn’t go back to bed.
I just said to mum and dad that I was going to steal their bed for a bit. So went upstairs and grabbed a bottle of Vimto and went to sleep on mum and dad’s bed. I only slept for a couple of hours because I set my alarm to get up in time for the Tangle session. I felt a bit better after the sleep, not as tired but still had the headache. I did the tangle shared it on Facebook and then it was time to set off to Salford Royal hospital for the MRI.
Something I noticed on the way to the hospital was that as lots of things are closed at the moment there was still a lot of traffic on the roads. It really did make me wonder what everyone was or had been doing.
So we got to the hospital went through the different hall ways and found the MRI department. I checked in and we sat outside the MRI rooms. Then my name was called. It turned out that I wasn’t having the MRI inside. We had to wind our way through more hallways and out to one of the MRI trucks. Because I was in my chair I got to use the lift up the side. That was a bit freaky, I haven’t been on one of them before so at least it was something new. It felt a bit rickety while it was moving but the worst bit was when the gates were shut. For some reason, I found that bit really strange. So when I was up there the side door opened, it was like a garage door and that rattled. So yes I went inside lay down had my head wedged in and then the cage went on.
I understand the need to wedge the head in as you don’t want it to move but I’m not sure why the cage is needed. There will be a reason for it but I have no idea what that is.
There is a hell of a lot of love out there from the tangle and craft community. While sharing the cards I’ve made on Facebook the reception has been great. The card with the daffodils on it at last count has 158 likes. Which is amazing and all of the comments on all of the cards shared have been really positive and nice.
On the tangle video on Wednesday I said I wasn’t feeling great and had to go for an MRI later in the day and people replied with really nice comments and showed lots of support. After the MRI when I got home I put up another post just to say that everything went well and to say thank you for all the support and how great the tangling community was. The feedback from that was also great.
Another amazing thing happened last night while I was at church. When dad got back from dropping me off someone walked up the path. It was 2 ladies from the development group. They came to drop off a bunch of flowers to say thank you. All this was unknown to me because I was at church. They then left the flowers and went down to church themselves. When I saw them there they didn’t say anything. When I got home had my tea then I saw them. They are a really nice bunch of flowers.
Today when mum was sorting out the flowers she came across a note attached:
The note was so nice
This evening I had a majorly messed up time. I had feeling that I just couldn’t figure out. I was upset but not in a bad way and I was feeling a bit rough as well. I talked to mum about what I was feeling but I really struggled to explain what was happening.
Mum managed to come to the conclusion that I was overwhelmed because of all the love, support and positivity that came from people in different ways and I wasn’t used to all the positivity. When it was explained things started making sense. I knew I was tearful and crying but didn’t feel bad or upsets. I felt good. Having mixed up emotions and stuff is hard work, especially when you seem to have conflicting feelings. I have also felt a bit rough today and sickly but again no idea why that was either. But with everything added together it just really confused me and I wasn’t sure what to do and how to deal with the feelings I was having.
So a massive thank you to everyone for all the love and support that’s been shown over the last week.
This is something I made up when I started tangling. It means Humbug, it has all the letters just mixed up and organised in a different way.
I know it hasn’t been that long since the last post. It’s only been a couple of days so not much has been happening. I’ve made a few cards, done some tangling and a couple of other things.
So let’s start off with a card I made for mum for Mother’s Day.
I made it a couple of weeks ago and tangled the pattern. I did get some help from Sandra when it came to the shading and adding the colour but it looks cool. What do you think?
I’ve done some other cards too. This one is the one I’m most impressed with:
It looks good and I’m really happy with the way it turned out. I followed along with the project in issue 86 of the tattered lace magazine. I already have the floral die collection from Tattered Lace so I just printed out flowers and cut out the picture using the die. Then put everything together.
This is another one:
That’s a nice card that came from a kit by Hunkydory
It’s a decoupage kit that has quite a few layers but looks great when it’s done. Unfortunately though the card is a sympathy card for a friend of mum and dads that’s passed away.
Here is another card:
That one is based on a project from the Tattered Lace magazine issue 3. The layers on there were supposed to be straight but as I messed up getting the dark green layer straight I thought I’d put the next one on slanted to make it look like that is the way it’s supposed to be.
I’ve also been playing with some of the other dies I have:
Some cute little animals.
On to tangling, I’ve only done one tile since the last post and here it is:
This one looks awesome and I’m really happy with the way it turned out. I have no idea where Sandra gets her ideas and inspiration from but the things she comes up with are amazing. The fact she gets people like me to produce pieces of art like that is unbelievable.
It’s the next tile swap tomorrow. Tile swap 3. This time though there shouldn’t be any problems with the post because Sandra said she’s going to use a different address to send the tiles to. I think I’m going to put a bit more planning into the tile this time round. I am determined to make this tile really good. Anyway we’ll have to wait and see.
Knitting wise I’ve been struggling to decide on what to do next. I know in the last post I said I was going to carry on with the pangolin. Yeah I haven’t got any further than I was last week. I sort of haven’t really done anything with it. I have started on something else though. I decided to start on another oven cloth.
It’s recycled cotton but it’s nice colours though. Two different balls of yarn knitted together. I’ve no idea how big it’s going to be I’m just going to carry on until I get bored or decide it’s big enough.
So today was Mother’s Day. You’ve already seen the card I made for her but I got her a scented candle and some new PJs.
As it was mother’s day she said she wanted a steamed sponge pudding so I made her one.
So this next week is a bit of a busy one. So there is church on Tuesday and Saturday. Wednesday is bloods in the morning then in the afternoon I get to have a half down lie down in a loud polo. Whoop whoop, it’s time for an MRI, it’s been a while since I’ve had one. It’s at Salford. I’ve had one there before I just hope it’s not one of the smaller tight machines and it’s one where they can play music through the headphones.
At some point before hand I will have to take all of my metal work out. I don’t think it will be difficult, it shouldn’t be. But at least this time though I shouldn’t have to worry about the holes healing up. There is the development group session on Friday evening and probably some other things too but as per usual I can’t think of them.
