Another no spend day

Since Christmas my spending has been reduced but I haven't recorded it. I am going to from now on.  I am determined to think about what I'm spending and why. I know I can reduce our grocery shopping and as we have quite a lot of food in the fridge, freezer and cupboards, I'm determined only to buy items such as bread, fruit and veg for a while. Buying more food in Aldi will also keep the grocery shopping bill down.

However I do know my spending on sewing will continue as I have two courses booked and I also need to look carefully at the lighting in my sewing room. Sewing is my passion and I feel justified in spending on this but will still need to ask myself if the item/expenditure is really needed. One area I can cut down is on fabric. I have lots and am determined to use what I have rather than buy new.

The decluttering is continuing and I'm quite pleased with how it's going. I have got better at getting rid of items but it's an ongoing project that will take possibly another couple of years. What I must be careful of is replacing the clutter I'm getting rid of

Hi all.
Have decided to restart this blog as a record of my life in 2015. I took early retirement in 2011 and although have achieved quite a lot since then it is easy for time to slip by without being fully aware of what you have done and what has been achieved. That is no longer. This blog will record it all.....

The new year started with celebrations in the Bosley household that lasted from 7pm on the 31st to 5pm on the 1st with a few hours off to sleep. We all had a great time which included quite a lot of alcohol, board games,  a jig saw and  a lovely evening meal and a fully cooked brunch on the first. Reluctantly we returned home and chilled.


Friday the 2nd saw Harry returning to work and I took the opportunity to get lots of the Christmas decorations down....they are all in the conservatory now awaiting the bags to put them in. Evening meal was soup which was made from a packet found in the back of the cupboard and dated 2011.....the start of our 'eat all we have in the cupboards, fridge and freezer before we buy more campaign'. It tasted fine...those best before dates really annoy me as so many throw good food into the bin because of those dates.

Yesterday was Toby's second birthday. As Harry was still so unwell I drove over to take his present and spend a few hours with them all. Toby was in great form and loved all his presents. The dustcart with wheelie bin that I'd bought him was a great success especially as the bin could tip into the dustcart just like the real ones.....result lots of screwed up bits of paper everywhere!  Tea was another packet of soup and was just as good as the previous one.

Watch "Bounty Hounds -Live at The Apex" on YouTube

Weekend sewing

I'm doing this on my mobile so not sure how it will work.  Have made 2 orders . .a liberty fabric cushion and a dress. Both have worked out fine.

Snow yet again

 So yet again we wake up to snow. Here in East Anglia it has snowed all day and is forecast to snow all night too. When is it going to end?  This was the view from my craftroom this afternoon taken whilst I was cutting out a girl's dress - there's nearly enough for a snowman!

I found this picture on facebook and couldn't resist pinching it as it seems so appropriate.....















What's it like where you are?  I suppose I should be grateful that I don't live in other parts of the country where it is a lot worse but still I am finding it hard to keep motivated when winter seems to have lasted so long.
Really what I want to be doing is sorting out the garden and potting up some plants....

 Hi all......again I return to my blog.
 A cup of freshly made cappuccino to help the creative juices to flow sits on my desk ready to be sipped and I browse through some really inspirational blogs....surely I can do that too, I think. The most inspirational belongs to Lynne at Textile Treasury. If you get a chance do visit her blog.  So here goes; yet another attempt at getting my blog to flow.
I'll start by showing some places in my home:

My favourite seat in the house. It's by the front window so if I wish to be the nosey neighbour behind the net curtains, I can be. Lots of books are nearby to read and browse . A reading light so I don't strain my elderly eyes is positioned by my side and the obligatory small table at hand to put coffee cups, books, pens, notepads, wool , crochet hooks [the list is endless].





The conservatory, a room that has been largely ignored during the winter, except for my weekly teaching session. How I long for the sun when this is an amazing room to be in. With the sun shining the temperature soon rises and it becomes a really relaxing and pleasant place to be. However the winter months have taken their toll and the room needs a good sort out and declutter - a job maybe for this weekend.

 My desk, where my laptop lives most of the time. I try hard to keep this area tidy but am not always successful. This weekend I have a few more pictures I want to put up or should I admit, get Harry to put up for me. The shelves are full of history books including family history, maps and a few craft and hobby books. Both Harry and I have been researching our family history for years and it's certainly a hobby that never ends.

I have several other places to show you but I'll leave that for another day as I must get on ....catch you later , Viv

Happy New Year

Tomorrow will be the start of a new year and yet another new beginning. As a family we are eagerly awaiting the birth of Toby but he seems quite settled in Sian's tummy and is not showing any signs of wanting to leave.

In the true spirit of a new year I am going to make some resolutions:

Lose at least 3 stone
Be more organised in meal planning
Declutter more of the house

These are quite general purposely so as to make easier to achieve.

Hope you all have a good year ....xxxx

Sewing

Another passion of mine is sewing. From a very young age I have sewed. From the dress I made at the age of 10, to my first wedding dress at 19 and to the clothes I now make for my granddaughter Ella, I am never so contented as when I am at the sewing machine or sitting with a needle in my hand.

I sew all sorts of things from clothes to curtains to patchwork blankets, to Christmas stockings and doll's bedding. I have a small craft room which is bursting at the seams with fabric and craft items, and in another room I have book cases of craft/sewing books and magazines and a chest of drawers full of fabric.

My very latest creation is the Liberty fabric cushion pictured above. I bought it as a kit from Patch Fabrics in Lowestoft which is owned by a friend Claire Davidson. Claire started her business on line running from a bedroom in her home but finding it getting larger, she took over some premises at Bevan St East. Since that the business has thrived and I can be found there every Weds at the Quilt Club and on occasional days at workshops. To find out more visit Claire's website http://patchfabrics.co.uk.

Today's sewing an advent calendar of 24 mini stockings ......

Folk music and festivals

This is another important aspect of my life and one which takes up quite a lot of my free time. I suppose it all started with going to Cambridge Folk Festival in the late 1990s where I discovered folk music. Not the finger in the ear music that is its usual caricature but music that has roots in the everyday man of the past , present and future. In fact many who say they don't like folk music are rather surprised when they hear some, to find that it's like music they are already listening to or that they rather enjoy it.

To be fair, my folk roots possibly started a lot earlier than that, when I was a student in the 1970s going to the Albion fairs and listening to Melanie, the Byrds, Bob Dylan, Lindisfarne, to name but a few. So when in the 1990s I discovered folk festivals it was like being young again. Camping at festivals and escaping the 'real' world for a few days. was the ideal way of escaping the stresses of modern life and of teaching in a challenging school.

Then the interest in the music spread to some of the other folk traditions and Harry and myself got involved in morris dancing. Now unlike many believe, morris dancing is not all men dressed in white waving hankies. There are many forms of morris and the type we got involved in is called Border morris as it originates form the Welsh borders. So first it was working with Pretty Grim [seen above], then Moonshine and also Green Dragon. These days I don't dance but go along to support when I can. Harry has now also got involved with Milkmaid Molly an all inclusive side that includes those with special needs. This side dances in the East Anglian tradition of Molly.

The folk music, the festivals and the morris dancing means we have quite a good social life but most of it not in Ipswich where we live. This generally means quite a bit of travelling but we have decided to continue living in Ipswich as that is where Harry works. All this means that he is about 5 minutes from work but that we travel for pleasure.

Finally the other aspect of this that's so important to me is our friends The Bounty Hounds, a folk rock group based in Bury St Edmunds. Harry now does the sound for them and this has led to more involvement in the local folk scene. The Bounty Hounds play locally and at various festivals up and down the country and are well worth a listen to if you get a chance.  I can't imagine my life without music and festivals and hope to continue with both for many years to come.

Being a grandma

I thought I'd write a few posts about what is important to me in my life. I'm going to start with 'being a grandma'

When I married Harry I immediately became a 'Nannie' to Charlie who is now eleven and beginning to really develop his own life. Soon after that came Conner, followed almost immediately with Samuel. All three are great lads and I love them all. However I am only step-nannie to them and have always been conscious that they have a real grandma. This has not stopped me doing things with them and am at the moment working on Charlie and Samuel's Christmas craft boxes that I always provide at the beginning of December.

However January 2011 something really amazing happened.....my daughter Sian gave birth to a little girl Ella. At the moment Ella is the 'apple' of my eye but any time now my daughter in law Emma will be giving birth to Grace and around Boxing Day Ella will be getting a little brother, Toby. I can't wait.

I never imagined that I'd become such a doting grandma. .....but I am. Every Wednesday sees me getting up early to drive the 33 miles to where Sian, Ian and Ella live. It's so lovely to be greeted by Ella's friendly little smile

When my children were young I was working full time and was always busy. Hopefully they would say I still found time for them but looking back, how I wish I could have spent more time with them. Being a grandparent gives you another chance to be important in a child's life....its such a privilege.

What does being Frugal really mean?

Over the years I have read and have even followed religiously, several 'frugal' websites and blogs. In them the writer always stresses how much money they save doing this or doing that and gives out plenty of advice. But now  I have had a light bulb moment - I have always been 'frugal' but haven't called it that.

If we go back to my childhood years, I made presents, recycled items and made my first well loved dress at the age of 10.  This continued through my teens with altering of jeans to make them flares, embroidering flowers on them and the making of my blue with silver stars Marc Bolan jacket [okay, I'm giving away my age here].

During my university years I had a great time but still saved the deposit for my first flat out of my grant and holiday earnings; my wedding dress was made from Laura Ashley fabric for a fraction of the cost of one bought new and my sisters helped me make all the food for the reception, including decorating all the cupcakes [ although they were called fairy cakes then!]with bright green and blue icing; I bought text books secondhand and cooked all my own meals [no uni canteen for me]; my furniture was bought from secondhand shops and altered to my taste and finally wine and beer was brewed. None of this I considered being frugal - it was all just natural to me.

My 'frugal' ways have enabled me to pay off a mortgage, [taken out after a marriage breakdown] in ten years and take very early retirement.   In those ten years I also remarried and had the wedding and honeymoon of my dreams[including flying over Niagara Falls in a helicopter]  all for under three thousand; had several holidays abroad and attended so many folk festivals I have lost count; bought a caravan and both myself and other half have our own cars. No I didn't marry someone with a large income,just average but we have made decisions about what is important to us.

And coming back to my 'light bulb' moment, I am no longer going to idolise these 'frugal' bloggers...because I am one of them. We are all just people who have made our own decisions on what is important to us. For some its where they live, for others the size of their house, or what they eat, or how they spend their leisure. We are all different and all have to make our own decisions. Yes, I'd love to move to another area nearer the coast but that would mean getting another mortgage and so I'd have to return to work in order to finance it. For me it's more important that I stay healthy and have time to spend with my family.  So I will continue being careful with my money but if cold I WILL put the heating on, I WILL occasionally have a takeaway of fish and chips, I WILL buy a magazine, books, cds, dvds - all because I know the way I budget my money allows it.

Meet Stanley

Last night I decided to have a play  and Stanley was born

From my mobile!

<p>Trying to see how this  works....

Weekend Away

Have returned from a super weekend away with a border morris side, Pretty Grim and the Bounty Hounds

My revamped caravan

Dinner cooking

And served up

Bounty Hounds playing on the Saturday

Pretty Grim dancing late on the Saturday afternoon

On Sunday the rain finally stopped and music began 

Tiny caravan at the Farmers Market

Loved this sign......

Bad blogger returns

 It has been such a long time since I've blogged but I have been really busy. My personalised bunting really seems to be taking off and I have had 5 orders in the last 2 days. I completed one for another crafter then started on the example above which is for one of my daughter's friend's baby. I posted it on facebook not expecting too much but the orders seem to be rolling in.

I have also been working on handmade cards after selling a few at my first craft fair

 Again after posting a few on facebook I got an order for a pink VW campervan thank you card

 Tomorrow I am off to see Sian, Ian and Ella again.....am charging my camera battery ready for more photos of Ella....you have been warned!

New venture - new blog

Lots of exciting things have been happening. I have decided to concentrate on my sewing and craft activities and forget about my past teaching life. To that end I have began advertising myself on facebook and have created a new blog - Baytree Creations.

Already I have got a few orders and the opportunity to display my work in a retail shop. It's all early days and I have loads to do but its so exciting

Grandma's phone

Things have all settled down at the moment and on Thursday I visited my two favourite girls, Sian and Ella. Ella loves going through my bag and this week decided to have a go with my phone. Not only did she turn it on but she also managed to connect to the internet - she will be texting by the time she is 3!!

Stop the world I want to get off!!!!!!!

‎"When shall we three meet again......"

From today' Daily Telegraph - Can you believe it - makes you wonder if anyone actually proof reads it or checks it in any way. 

Ella's first step

Today Ella aged 13 months took her first step and it was towards her grandma. I am such a proud grandma.......