Special cards for special people

Each year I make one basic Christmas card design but I make a lot of them!  I've got inky fingers at the moment and I am waiting for some of my cards to dry, but I thought I would show you one of my specials.  These are individual cards designed for special people.

There are some people to whom I always send a special card, basically those for whom the preceding year has been hard.  Maybe they have suffered a bereavement or even worse they know they may suffer a bereavement over the Christmas season.  Maybe they are worried about people whom they love, for example missing children.  Maybe they have suffered hardship, such as redundancy.  Whatever it is, there will be people for whom Christmas will be anything but jolly and sending a "Merry Christmas" card would be inappropriate.

However, like it or not, Christmas will still be going on around them. I know how that feels.  I have suffered three close bereavements in three different Decembers.  I sat by the bedside of my terminally ill sister who suffered on until December 30th.  Christmas felt anything but merry, but it is still a very special season.

So here is the first of my specials, a simple, cross stitched nativity.  I shall add a greeting of some kind but that isn't for sharing here.  

Slobbing out - but stylish!

It doesn't happen very often but once or twice a year nothing else will do.  I just have to have a session of slobbing out.  A trashy magazine, crisps, coke and some chocolate and I can have a thoroughly decadent afternoon.

However, I feel that using good china gives my slobbing style.  

I may be some time.

At Mandy's

Once again I've been to Mandy's to make some cards.  Yes, it's less than a week since I last went, but no, this is not Christmas cards.

As you can see, we majored on butterflies today, with a patchwork jobbie to add variety.  

I've certainly replenished my stock of greeting cards and had a lovely morning out.  Thanks, Mandy

You can find Mandy at http://dunholmecrafter.blogspot.co.uk/.  

Even more delight in my garden!

I love going out into my back garden during the summer.  It is colourful and relaxing.  It supplies many of my fresh vegetables.  It is a place to sit and dream.

And today I finished the second cushion for my swing and I am SO pleased!

 As you can see from the shadows it is a beautiful sunny day here at Frugal Follies. The picture isn't good but nothing can detract from my pleasure.

130 days to Christmas

A couple of weeks ago I said that each Wednesday I would write about my Christmas preparations and so far I've done no such thing.  I do have some excuse - my sewing machine had to go to the sewing machine hospital (again!) and some of the things I have made have been for someone who might just read my blog.

However, yesterday I went to a lovely crafting day and I made a few Christmas cards.  Here you go!

(I couldn't resist that title for a post!)

 

 

Update

I really couldn't stay as pathetic as that for very long!  I had to do something about it!

After I had a sleep my first decision was that I could make tomorrow less boring.  First I put in an hour with the iron so tomorrow I will wake knowing I haven't got that to do and I will have a wider range of clothes to choose from.  There's a certain satisfaction to be gained from seeing a shrinking heap of crumpled clothes and a growing pile of freshly ironed beauties.

The second decision was that I deserve a treat but I didn't want to spend any money.  Simple - I put lovely fresh sheets on my bed.  I won't be having a Sabbath this week but no need to deny myself that little pleasure.

The third decision was to enjoy what I've got so I've just been out into the garden and it brings such pleasure.  I shall probably pop out again later and fetch in some sweet peas.

I still feel a bit bored but I no longer feel pathetic.  And maybe I'll go out tomorrow.

Ennui

I feel really ashamed to say it, but I'm bored. It doesn't often happen.   It's not that I have nothing to do - quite the reverse - but I can't work up any enthusiasm for any of it.

I fetched my sewing machine back from the sewing machine doctor yesterday and I've done an hour or so machine sewing but now my back aches.  I've got a stack of hand sewing to do.  I've cut some card for my tidying-the-sewing-room project for my other blog.  The ironing is threatening to take over the world.  The garden would be happy to see me.  So much to do, but I just can't motivate myself.

I don't want to spend any money because I want to save for my holiday in October so I don't want to just get in the car and go out.  My head is full of good ideas for my crafting and sewing stash.  The spirit is willing but the flesh is incredibly weak.  I don't trust the weather today so I won't go out on the trundle truck.

I shall come back here this evening and there are various possibilities.  I may just delete this post.  Or I may have found something fascinating to do.  Or I may have been to sleep.

Meanwhile I'm going down the garden to eat worms

News of Bobo

Yesterday I met up with Alice, my old school friend who is also Bobo's human.  (I told the tale of Bobo on this blog in the early part of this year - click on the Bobo tag for his story.)

Alice lives a couple of hours drive from Caistor and Alice doesn't drive so we need to choose somewhere to meet that she can get to fairly easily and we decided to meet in Newark which has good rail connections.  I drove there and collected Alice from the station and then we had a lovely day looking at Newark.

Newark is one of those places I often pass through or around on the by-pass but it really is a lovely town.  It has a colourful history of well over a thousand years and recently the National Civil War Centre opened there.  Alice and I didn't visit that but we did go to the castle which was a Royalist stronghold during the civil war.

An inviting passage

Glorious hanging baskets

 The history we were interested in was much more recent - what each of us had been up to since we last met!  We both found Newark to be a beautiful town generously decorated with hanging baskets.

Nottingham Building Society

  We were both very impressed with these building society premises which were originally a pub.  

(New) White Hart 

In fact we liked it so much that we went through that very inviting arch and found a slightly newer pub behind and were able to look back at the ornate building from the rear and enjoy a very leisurely lunch. 

Rear of the old White Hart (now Nottingham building Society

And you will be pleased to know that Bobo is well but chose not to come down to ground level when Alice's eighteen month old grandson visited from Australia.  Sensible bear.  

If (not by Rudyard Kipling)

~~If you can start the day without caffeine...

~~If you can get going without pep pills...

~~If you can always be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains...

~~If you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles...

~~If you can eat the same food everyday and be grateful for it...

~~If you can understand when your loved ones are too busy to give you any time...

~~If you can overlook it when those you love take it out on you when, through no fault of yours, something goes wrong...

~~If you can take criticism and blame without resentment...

~~If you can ignore a friend's limited education and never correct them...

~~If you can resist treating a rich friend better than a poor friend...

~~If you can face the world without lies and deceit...

~~If you can conquer tension without medical help...

~~If you can relax without liquor...

~~If you can sleep without the aid of drugs...

~~If you can say honestly that deep in your heart you have no prejudice against creed, colour, religion or politics...

THEN, MY FRIEND, YOU ARE ALMOST AS GOOD AS YOUR DOG.

This has been going through my head.  I hope you enjoy it.   I have no idea who wrote it.

A delightful morning out

You may perhaps have noticed that I like going to Normanby Park!  I have a season ticket and it's been £13 very well spent.

I try and get there as soon after 9am as I can and last week when I arrived it was still very quiet but by the time I left at about noon it was bustling.  At this time of the year there are lots of families enjoying the fresh air and the space to run around.

This wonderful wild flower display is just by the entrance and I thought it so beautiful that I went back to look at it once I had got the TT out of the car.  

There's a small "petting" area for children.  Who could fail to be enchanted by this fine fellow?

The kitchen garden is at its most magnificent with a glorious mixture of fruit, vegetables and flowers.

And even if the weather had not been wonderful, Normanby grows its own sunshine.

A Gloriously floral week

There are times when I think I am the luckiest woman alive and this week has been one of those times.

Jack's roses

My apologies for the lack of posts on either blog but I have been feeling slightly out of sorts and VERY lethargic but despite that I have had a lovely week.

First you will be glad to know that Jack has been forgiven.  Mind you, I'm still not sure why I should get scared and soaked at some ungodly hour in the morning and Jack should get the sympathy but we'll let that pass.  He turned up with a peace offering, worked his socks off, had coq au hook for lunch and left the garden in a glorious state.  (I'll do a garden post soon.)

Sweet pea "Fragrantissima"

Alstromeria

The garden is wonderful and every two days I am now getting a glorious bunch of sweet peas.  I wish I could put smells on the blog.  These are called "Fragrantissima" and they are well named.  I'm also enjoying lavender but leave most of that for the butterflies and bees.

I helped with a meeting in a divided family and they sent me this wonderful bouquet of alstromeria.  

Then just to complete my week our Women's Institute meting last night was about flower arranging and here's my effort.

Arranged by my own fair hands

Altogether a gloriously floral week.

Another guest post from you-know-who

I guess you all know about the mistake I made on my last visit.  It was so funny to get my friend out of bed so early.   I hadn't allowed for her Boss's intervention!!  I was sure He would be looking out for her.

I have a static caravan at Mablethorpe.  We go there for two weeks, then home for one week.  At least one of you knows that the air on the east coast is so fresh and clean that it does you good.  This week I am home.  I am flat out trying to keep everyone happy.

We got home Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning I was off 16 miles to see a lady who really does rely on me a lot.  I was putting six fence panels in for her and nothing fitted.  I finished them by 2pm but The Boss was taking His revenge for my mistakes at my person's.  I sliced my palm on one hand and cut my thumb twice on the other hand.  Another lady asked if I could make a wedge to stop her fence banging.  Whilst doing this I hit the same thumb with a hammer.  That's what you get for doing a good turn.

Before all this happened, on Monday afternoon, I was in my garage looking for something.  I was holding a plastic bag.  The handles broke and it hit a sword which I am cleaning.  The sword flew in the air and managed to hit me longways on my forehead so there was blood everywhere from a 1½ inch cut.

Then Tuesday I went to another lady who’s like a second mum to me.  She’s partially blind and she wanted her garden bench mending because the wood was rotten so of I went to the wood yard..  The Boss was at it again and the road was blocked so there was a detour. 

Next, with the rain closing in I went to my brother who has dementia.  I cut his grass which takes 1 – 1 ½ hours depending on how long it is.  My kind-hearted daughter takes him shopping and helps him around the house as much as she can.  This week she and her family went to my caravan which is a 55-60 mile trip each way to his house.  All my family are kind-hearted which makes me so proud.  It rained before I could finish his grass!

Wednesday came and I cut my own grass by 10.30am and I pruned all my roses which this year look excellent.  I washed and hoovered out my car and I thought The Boss had had a change of heart for me but how wrong I was.  I took my little yorkie dog out for  a walk to the park and we’d only been gone ten minutes when the heavens opened and the little dog and I were both like drowned rats.  That night I had stern words for The Boss and I hope He listened because I’m off to my person on Friday.  I think I had better look closely at the dinner she gives me because she will conjure up something weird to shock me.

If I live though it I will look forward to your comments.  Take care and be happy.

Note from FC.  I'll be back with what happened when Jack came here.