Rescuing Toys From Landfill And Caring For Pets

It was a bit of a disappointing day yesterday as it hardly stopped raining. We had promised Scarlett that we would go to the playground and then take her to feed the ducks and the geese at the ponds which she loves but it was just too wet. I have a supply of toys I have bought at car boot sales for her and I try and get a different one out each week. This week I got out a Baby Annabelle crawling doll I bought for a £1 and she chose a new outfit for her from my bag of dolls clothes that I have acquired over the months. She loved her and it was definitely £1 well spent, especially considering they are £50 new. I think it is so important for little children to care for and show empathy for pets and Scarlett loves our dogs and cat but she is still a bit small to care for them so we get our little guinea pig Chip out for her to feed, stroke and gently brush which kept her amused until lunch time. But it was still raining so back to the stash of toys!

   I have often thought when I am at Jumble Sales and Car Boot Sales the world doesn't need any more dolls! I think there should be a slogan the same as for dogs "Adopt Don't Shop" Thousands of perfectly good dolls must end up at landfill every year. I can't resist those poor little unwanted toys at Jumble Sales and have lots I have fixed and put in new clothes which I  will either give to Scarlett or just give away now they are cleaned up .I enjoy fixing them and making them look as good as new again so don't really care if I don't make any money for them. A few years ago I bought this little doll for 50p at a car boot sale. 

     She was filthy but I managed to clean her up with upholstery cleaner . I bought her a little dolls baby grow for 20p and she looked perfect. I had intended to sell her but ended up keeping her for Scarlett as she is just the right size for her. She has turned out to be one of her most precious toys that she keeps on her pillow every night when she goes to bed. The little doll couldn't bring more pleasure if I had spent a fortune on her.

      After lunch, as she was so disappointed that we weren't going to feed the ducks I promised her we would wrap up and go to the local Charity Shop so she could choose some new books. She has a lot of lovely books already but it was more to make up for the disappointment . When we returned the rest of the afternoon was spent curled up on the sofa reading the new books which she loved. And so did I! Not quite the day we planned  but she seemed as happy as can be.

  The weather is a bit brighter today and I am off to see my Dad so hopefully there will be no problems on the trains. Have a lovely day what ever you are doing. xx

Give Me A Child Until He Is Seven ......

....and I will give you the man, or woman I suppose. I had never really given much thought to this saying other than regarding the TV programme "7 Up" but in the last year have thought of it often. Just over a year ago I posted a school photo in an old school group on facebook and asked people to tag themselves. Before we knew it a group of us from my year where back together chatting about school days. We were a very happy school year, not much of a bullying problem and generally a lot of laughs, I think we were lucky. We started a Watts App group and we have been chatting ever since. Rarely a day ever goes by without a few words to each other.
  A couple of us were at primary school together too but most of us met at 11 when we started at our local comprehensive. Things we thought long forgotten we have reminded each other of and strangley we are all quite similar people. Shared values from an era or a type of education, I'm not quite sure what it is but after 43 years apart we have managed to pick up where we left off. This is me just after I started at secondary school aged 11.

  I'm not sure what a pshycologist would make of our little group as there is one thing I am sure of we haven't really changed! The kind chatterbox little girl is a kind chatterbox woman, the shy girl who never pushed herself forward is just the same as a woman, the school maamish sensible girl is a school maamish sensible woman, the cheeky jokey pair of boys who were best friends are a pair of cheeky jokey men  who are best freiends, and so it goes on. We have all met up a few times and have had such a laugh.
  But the person who has amazed me most is the naughty boy! When I say naughty boy he was really naughty! Confident, good looking, he ruled the boys and was fancied by the girls. I shall call him Dave but that is not his name.  Likeable and funny but totally uncontrollable, it was a terrible mixture for the teachers to deal with. If any of the boys stepped out of line Dave would hold a meeting of his inner circle and a "beating up" would be organised. Terrible though this sounds, Dave hated bullying, and that would be a typical "crime" which I think is why it was so rare in our year. Any girl in our year that had a leaning towards bullying would hide these kinds of traits from him as they all wanted to look good infront of Dave.
  In our school the boys were caned, by the deputy head on a Monday morning as a punishment for any very bad behaviour the week before. It always done in front of the class a bit like a public execution. Dave was caned weekly as he made all the teachers lives hell. After a few light strokes for all the others, the deputy head would be purple with rage as he meeted out Dave's prolonged punishment. I can remember it still, at the end of the beating Dave would give the deputy head a dirty look and saunter back to his seat with a waft of Brut aftershave and a smirk for the class. It had definitely become a battle of wills. I can't remember what the final breaking point was but at just turned 15 he was expelled from the school with a final warning he would amount to nothing. How wrong those teachers were.
  He has nine lovely children he adores, and a successful business he honestly toils at all week to keep them in the style he wants them to be brought up in, which includes a swimming pool and a stableblock and yard adjacent to his house with numerous horses. When we are all out together I've noticed he is still the one who organises the rounds of drinks and when we eat. He is a larger than life man with the biggest, kindest heart you could meet. One thing he is adamant about though is he won't hear a word against the old deputy head, now long dead. "Lovely man, God bless him!" he says. "Made me the man I am today!".It's a strange world.
   Well it's the start of a new week, Scarlett will be here shortly for the day and as Tom is off we are going to take her out somewhere if this rain clears up. I hope everyone has a lovely day what ever you are doing. xx

Sew Much Fabric, Sew Little Time

 That phrase just about sums me up. I'm always keeping little bits of fabric. I can't resist scouring jumble sale tables for pretty or retro fabrics. I have lots of fabrics and lots of ideas but never get started. It's not just lack of time though, I keep putting off the getting going. The other day when I went down to the Co-op I looked across at the little wool and sewing shop we are lucky enough to have in our local parade of shops and went in. All I needed was a new needle for my old sewing machine to get me going and that was it, it was bought. Yesterday afternoon I propped up my tablet and found a wonderful woman on youtube called Lizzie Lennard who has vintage sewing videos. She has a lovely voice that reminds me of a 1950s radio broadcaster. I easily followed her instructions on how to wind a Singer long bobbin and load the shuttle. See how easily the words come to me now! Thank you Lizzie.
  Once it was set up the mechanics of sewing came flooding back and I had a fun afternoon trying out my Victorian sewing machine. I cannot believe how well it works. All these years unused and every part of it still works. I tried it out on an off cut of 1950s style kitchen material and once the edges were hemmed, there it was a new tea towel. With just a bit more practise with the tension on the machine and I will get going on the new curtains for our caravan. Then matching cushion covers, more tea towels and a tablecloth. There are no boundaries to my imagination!

   I wonder what the woman who owned this in the 1890s when it was new would make of the things I am making now. I am sure she would be delighted it is being used all these years later. I have polished the wooden case until it shines. Now I have got it working I feel it is very important that while I am it's owner, I take the best care of it I can, as we are only really temporary custodians of possessions in life that have come our way.
 Tom was another late shift, so I had a chat with my eldest daughter on the phone as she had been over to see my Dad today and then settled down to listen to some music while I sorted through my piles of fabrics. Tom and I nearly always listen to music on a saturday night but he's not really a David Cassidy fan so I thought I may as well make the most of an evening on my own and work my way through some of my old LPs.
  So for all you David Cassidy fans out there here's a little reminder from the early 1970s. Have a great Sunday what ever you are doing. xx

The Power Of Positive Thinking

I always think I am a very positive person. I try and be upbeat about things and never, ever dwell on negative thoughts. If they start to creep into my mind I get up and walk about and do things until they are gone. However the specialist stroke nurse who visited my Dad yesterday was a step beyond what most people could dream of in positive thinking. By the time she left after two hours of talking I think my Dad was starting to think he will be a healthier man after the stroke than before! A young Hungarian woman, she was kind, funny and straightforward. The day she left Hungary to come and work in this country was a good day for the NHS. It had been a complete pleasure to meet her and at the end of a stressful week she was just what we needed.
  Although it was even later when I arrived home yesterday evening and Tom had already left for work again I definitely felt brighter. Better weather is on the way. I may even be able to catch up with a bit of gardening and the dogs can have a few nice long walks. I have been admiring the crab apples this year on our little crab apple tree I bought in Morrisons a few years ago and may finally get round to picking them, if they haven't started to rot, and making some crab apple jelly.

  There is a big vote going on in parliament today, but I am just sick of it all. I'm going to get on with my little life and try not to turn the TV on. Have a great day everyone what ever you are doing. xx

A Long Day.

   I left home yesterday morning to go to visit my Dad again. He had a day of appointments, specialist nurses and physiotherapists. It was a busy day when he is still tired out from his stay in hospital. Although my Dad only lives about 7 miles away from me I have to get three trains to get there. It's a tedious journey swapping platforms and hoping I don't miss my connections. I was trudging up the stairs at Sutton station when I caught the eye of an old man next to me. He had a cockney accent you don't hear around as much now as he kindly said "It doesn't get any easier as you get older does it mate!" Oh dear, I better put a bit more of a spring in my step no matter how I feel!
  By the time I got back home yesterday evening Tom had left for work on a late shift and I couldn't really be bothered to catch up with any housework. After our evening meal I just sat and chatted with youngest son and daughter for a while about their day at work .It was nice to have a bit of family time. I spent the rest of the evening copying a box of slides I found at my Dad's house the other day. Some of them I have seen before but others are a a total surprise. It was a nice end to a long day. I had to share one of the photos as it made me smile so much.

This is my favourite, my sister and I at Chester Zoo in 1962. Weren't animals enclosed in zoos in those days and look at my little head scarf! The other photo which I loved was this one of my Dad building a model of The Cutty Sark also taken in 1962. 

  He was always building models when I was young and I remember this ship on the shelf at home for years. I loved finding it but for lots of reasons yesterday, it made me a mixture of happy and sad. I had a bit of a restless night listening to the rain and Tom getiing home as he wasn't in until 2am. This morning is a bit of a rainy dark start and I'm back to my Dad's house again, but no matter how bad the train journey is today I'm going to try and walk in a cheerful way! I hope everyone has a great day what ever you are doing. xx

Protect And Preserve Family Treasures

I have so many items that have been given to me over the years from members of my family. Each one has a little story attached often that only I know or have been told. So many items we have found since my Mum died that she had carefully kept. Many we know just why she kept them or my Dad knows, but others we look at and wonder why our Mum, who was so tidy and organised carefully kept it. She may have told me years ago, but was I listening, obviously not?
  One item Mum gave me, that I know the history of, has been in our garden shed for probably twenty years. Years ago when I was very small we had my Grandma's copper kettle on display in our living room .Shining and bright Mum would tell us it was the kettle they used all her young life on the range where she lived. After church on a Sunday my Grandma would invite everyone in the bus queue in for a cup of tea to wait for the bus. The gleaming kettle would be boiling on the range whilst everyone sat and chatted about their village life. When my Mum and Dad married and copper kettles on ranges were no longer needed my Grandma gave it to my Mum and it was polished and admired for years with plants and dried flowers in. During this time the lid was lost but it still had pride of place.
  Over the years copper kettles went out of fashion and it was put away in their shed. Twenty years later my Mum gave it to me as I had such fond memories of it as a child. I tried to clean it but it was so tarnished and dented I gave up and it was put away in our shed. These last few years have changed my views of possessions so much. I have realised the only ones that matter are the treasured ones. I rescued it from the shed determined to clean it up.

  I thought it had really gone beyond the point of no return but bought some "Brass and Copper Bath" from Amazon. I followed the instructions and had to use all four sachets as I measured out so much water in an empty plastic storage box to cover it. 

When I took the kettle out it certainly didn't look as gleaming as the illustration on the box but it was much cleaner. I wiped it clean and then used Brasso. I have only cleaned it once and although it still has a long way to go I am very pleased with how it has started. I will keep cleaning it every few weeks until it improves more. Sadly the dents are all too obvious still but I shall put a trailing plant in it to cover the worst, 

  Maybe one day the fact I have recorded the memories of this kettle here will mean that this old dented kettle will be special to another member of the family. 

Routine, Routine, Routine

I feel as though in the last week I have been running non stop. I have been running up the hill to the nearby station every day and running down the hill to home at the end of each day. I have been at the mercy of signal failures, faulty trains and even suicides. The week has been stressful and worrying but one of the hardest things has been the lack of routine, I love my routines. Routines come and go, and I adapt quite quickly to new ones but I like to have one. Scarlett has been coming to our house on a Monday for nearly two years. Sometimes she comes on other days but always on a Monday. We have our little routine and we have such fun. This week as I was going to the hospital Scarlett didn't come and my whole week has been thrown into confusion. I know I will be muddled about what day it is all week until she comes again.
  We are conditioned into routines from an early age. Double Maths and double French on a Tuesday morning. I remember that awful year at school when I dreaded Tuesday mornings but can still remember the weight that was taken off me when the lunchtime bell rang. It took me a long time to forget that low feeling on a Tuesday when I opened my eyes.
  There was another day of the week at school though I remember the routine just as clearly but for completely different reasons. I know exactly what I would have been doing on Thursday mornings. Reading a Jackie magazine. I loved Jackie as did all my friends. Thursdays were eagerly awaited and I remember our Biology lesson, which was first period on Thursday, was always ignored while we sat on the back science lab bench reading every word of it. We poured over every problem in the Cathy and Claire page, answered all the questions in the quizzes about such important matters as "Am I the right girl for him?" and memorised every beauty tip. I still quote hair care advice I read at the time to this day. Even the boys in the class joined in and we would read out their horoscopes whilst they listened seriously. It's no surprise to say I failed my Biology 'O' Level miserably.

   We loved the photo love stories and the latest news on pops stars such as David Cassidy and Donny Osmond. In an age of no internet or social networking I think it made young girls feel connected and not so alone. I know I look back with very fond memories of my experience with the magazine. It's just a shame about the Biology 'O' Level!
    I'm hoping I may get back into a bit of my routine now. Today, hopefully, I will be at home all day to catch up. A bit of work, answer my emails, the usual bits of housework and then a job or two I have been thinking about doing for a while. Home routines can be very reassuring when you have had a lot of upheaval and I am looking forward to it despite the fact it's raining again.
   I hope you have a lovely day what ever you are doing. xx