My museum work

Over the last few days i have had e-mails and calls from some of the people at my local museum. Last year in the summer i joined the museum on the events committee and helped plan a number of fund raising events for the rest of the year. All of them were successful in their own way, none of them made a loss- which is a bonus.

Now i have been asked to put together a proposal for the chairman of ideas and people who would be willing to be on the Events team with me heading it up. We would be doing the same job as last year, but form the sound of it more of the events that were run last year will be coming under this banner. I would also be working closely with the education team, which is another of my interests.

This is something I'm really excited about as i hope i will be able to make a difference to the community in a small way, to the museum in helping to keep it open, and to families and children by helping to show them that museums can be fun and educational at the same time.

for more info on our local museum please check out the website Bexhill Museum

Having sorted pages, how do i post on them?

Now i have worked out separate pages with many thanks to a link one of my followers sent me, i only need to work out how to add new posts to each page. So far all i can do is edit the main part of the page, but then it doesn't show as individual items.
For example on my crafty page for each item i have made i would like to do a post with some pictures. I can't work out how to get that now. I have tried to go to that page on my blog, and then hitting the new post button from there, but it saves the post in this Home section.

I guess what i'm really saying is do any of my followers (or those just passing through) know how to do this and can they please advise this very computer illiterate person.
I will be eternatlly grateful.

I won a book!

Yes my readers i actually won something.
Anyone who knows me will know that if i enter a competition i don't win, but in this case i did.
I entered via a blog i followed that hosts competitions. Not expecting to get anywhere and i'm so excited that i did.
The Monster of Silver Creek  http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4809088.Belinda_G_Buchanan

Now i will admit that horror is not a genre i normally read, but there was something that drew me to the front cover of this book, and i am intrigued, so i entered. I am now eagerly awaiting its arrival, and although i have a couple of books in line before this i will be getting to it as soon as possible. Once finished i will be leaving my review here and on my book blog for those interested.

Crafty weekend.

I had no children this weekend so had a nice lie in on saturday, followed by tidying up and crafts in the afternoon.
In the evening i went to a friends and we both sat making crafts. I finished off a woven bag, did some knitting and we watched The proposal with Sandra Bullock. I'd wanted to see that since the clips came out at the cinema.
Today i got up late, pottered in the garden and spent the rest of the day doing more crafts. I finished off a scarf, found a pattern similar to a jacket i want to knit, and spent more time creating some new creatures. I haven't finished the 1st one yet, but it won't be long the rate i'm going.

I am also half way through a book i am reviewing. Its taking longer because i've been so busy and its quite involved with lots of references in. The review will be posted once i've finished reading it.

Check out this blog

http://seamstress-waffle.blogspot.com/2012/02/well-this-is-pic-of-some-of-knitting-i.html?showComment=1329954210790#c1452252705928788859       This is by a lady who also does lots of crafting and reading.

Victorian Bag Part 2.

Here is as promised the concluding part of my attempt at a Victorian bag. It has i think personally

come out rather well considering i have only had various internet pictures to go by.



Part 1 repeated for those who may not have seen it.

Once the front was finished, crocheting the back was the easiest of all.





The back



Sewn together


Sewing the front and back together was the second hardest part. The beads all hang down and they kept getting tangled in the thread



The Lining



Finished front



Finished back

The clasp is unused genuine Victorian



My gorgeous friend from Morgaine le fey Antiques gave me the red lining with the suggestion of it being stunning and i agree it works. The red is also a Victorian cotton.



Open with its glorious lining


 The hardest part was sewing the bag and the lining onto the clasp. The holes in the clasp are very small so the thread used was not the same as the crochet cotton. If this were made in Victorian times the cotton would have been thinner and the beads smaller. As it was i went for the smallest glass beasds i could find.


My aim was to recreate a bag for my Victorian street costume, and i think i can safely say i have done so. There are a few things i would change because it is not entirely to my perfect standards, but for the first attempt i am very pleased with it.

Tuesday after shcool madness

Tuesday is gym day on our house, so when daughter gets home we have time for a snack, a drink, get changed and out again to drop her off. I then come home make dinner for son and myself, eat and just about have time for cup of tea before shooting off again and pick daughter up.
This week however was more rushed. Pancakes! But with some added temper tantrum and rushing involved.
It started so well with daughter making the mixture while i sorted sauce for Spag bol dinner while she was out. She told me she wanted small pancakes. Fair enough i can manage that, so i set too and started them. That's when it all kicked off. "Mrs M (the headteacher) used oil for the pan not butter" she shouts. I point out that it makes no difference since all I'm doing is greasing the pan slightly to stop them sticking. But NO this was not good enough and a sulk ensued. When i asked for a plate as hers were almost ready the situation go worse- "I only wanted 1 small one, and a big one" NOT what she originally asked for. I pointed this out too, but was promptly told that what she meant. By this time daughter is crying and snapping and i am getting exasperated. I unfortunately snapped back at this point and stated that i didn't know this because when someone tells me they want small pancakes i assume they mean that, not that they want 1 small and 1 big. Daughter starts shouting, so i tell  her if she won't stop then the pancakes will go in the bin and she can have bread and butter.
Son takes this point to arrive home and this makes tings worse as he wants to know what is going on, daughter doesn't want him knowing.
She storms off upstairs bangs some cupboard doors, cries and her pancakes have gone in the bin!
We were having such a nice time together to start with and it ended with her shouting, me shouting and stressed.
To top it off we had to rush to gym to get a new leotard and she was late for her warm up.
Then i had to get home finish dinner and get to a school meeting for son, that finished just in time to collect daughter.
Once home we did have our pancakes in a calm manner and both children went to bed happy.

What an afternoon. I have to wonder what set daughter off like that. It won't be something as superficial as me doing things differently to the headteacher. But if i probe i know i will either get i don't know as the answer or nothing at all.

Half term.

Its been an interesting one, and Feb is always the worst of them for some reason. Perhaps its something to do with the weather.
Anyway, nothing happened the first part of it as i felt so rough. I rested as much as possible and my wonderful son looked after me as much as he could. He was making me breakfast every day.
This is him eating his "Manwich". It was bread then fried egg, another layer of bread and another egg topped with tomato ketchup and bread. He ate the lot. I also got hot water bottles regularly and lots of cups of tea.

Wednesday i was feeling lots better and his Warhammer figures he saved for arrived, so i treated him for all his help and we went to Hastings and got the paints he needed for them.

Thursday i went to Zumba for the first time, was exhausted afterwards but made it through the class. Daughter came with me and earned some pocket money doing some chores for the lady who runs the studio and happens to be an old family friend.

Today my Corsets and Crinolines book arrived with the boning for the corset so I'm all set to go now. Mum came and helped my fit the skirt to me properly, a dummy is all well and good, but not quite the same shape as me. For a start she doesn't have all the lumps and bumps in the wrong places that i have. We also did a big tidy up together, son and daughter had a little competition going on who could clear the most up. With soe in livingroom and daughter in diningroom, i oversaw from the kitchen and we had an almost acceptable downstairs again. Not that you can tell now that they were playing in one room and i got the sewing out again in the other.

Tomorrow is Reiki share in the afternoon, I will be together with like minded friends and we share meditation and healing for each other. Doing this sort of work its nice to be on the receiving end occasionally. We meet up once a month and share, it gives us all a boost.



So all in all half term ended up being somewhat of a washout. Son is away this weekend with his dad, so i can have girlie time with daughter.

Part 1 of Victorian bag

This is the front part of a Replica Victorian Crochet bag i am making to go with my Costume. I have made the beads up randomly, but the style is as near as i can get the shape with my limited experience. This is actually my first attempt at crocheting with beads.
I now wonder whether i should have picked something simpler.

I will follow this up with more pictures as i finish more of it.

Monthly Makes

I've subscribed to monthly makes. The idea is that you make a different craft each month. It can be anything you like, knitting, crochet, cards, scrap booking. Anything crafty you can think of.
Last month i made a scarf. Its maroon wool with random beads knitted into it. This was my first attempt at knitting with beads and i really enjoyed it. This is done in a round on one of those circles with pins on.

Once that was finished i started on a big hoop to make a snood.

The monthly make i have subscribed to is hosted by:
http://thefeltfairyuk.blogspot.com/2011/12/make-month-2012-sign-up-here.html

Review of Discovery at Rosehill

I have just read this book on my kindle in one sitting. I couldn't put it down. Being interested and having worked with Spirits for a while now i was fascinated by the descriptions used by the author. I was gripped by the multiple story lines and felt for amost all of the characters in the book. This book had me in tears, made me angry, and happy at varyious points throughout.

It describes a lady who is lead to bid on a house and land at auction only to discovery it has spirit guests. Throughout the twists and turns the reader is lead on a journey of discovery with the new owner of the house. It has its love interest that also has a secret to unearth. I found myself guessing as to what all the secrets were, and in some points quite tense at coming so close only for something to stop us finding out.

Overall i have to say i would recommend this read to anyone who has an interest in the afterlife, ghosts, living in the country and generally for a good read on a cold day.
http://crystaljigsaw.blogspot.com/p/discovery-at-rosehill-blurb.html

Another wasted day due to Fibro

I woke this morning to a bright sunny day which seems a good thing until i tried to move. Not a good thing to do, i was hurting in all my joints and had this distinct bunged up feeling in one nostril. I was freezing cold and my eyes were burning. It could only be two things. Just a cold or Fibro flare or both together.
After moving some more it turns out to be both. I hurt even to hold a book. That is the worst part, normally i ride it out with plenty of hot water bottles and my kindle, and that's a struggle.
My son however is having a lovely day, he's been allowed a rare treat of dvd's all day. He's done homework and unloaded the dishwasher, he helped me by bringing some bits i needed upstairs and by lunch time was on his 4th film.
Don't get me wrong, i don't condone watching tv all day and it is a rare occurrence, but his sister is at her dads and his dads partner has flu so he's had to miss his weekend. Even when i'm ill i normally only allow a film in the morning and one in the evening in bed, but i've made the exception today. He's quiet, and happy under a duvet downstairs.
All i need now is for my flare up to go quickly, this cold to disappear into nothing so i can get on with enjoying half term with him, and with daughter when she returns mid week.

My 9 yr old cooked dinner tonight

Tonight my 9 yr old daughter decided she was going to do dinner for me and her brother tonight. The plan was for spaghetti Bolognese. We had no jars of sauce left so she had to make the sauce from scratch.
She chopped the onions, put mushrooms in even though she doesn't like them. Cooked the onion off then added the meat. Used tin of chopped tomato's, tomato puree and various herbs. These were single herbs that she added to the correct taste. She cooked the pasta perfectly.

Wish I'd taken a picture of my plate- she'd even put the pasta in a circle and the sauce in the middle.
I have an amazing daughter, she knew i was hurting from all the walking to activities due to no car. She did a gorgeous dish and I'm very proud of her.

Tesco's are running a competition for 14 days in Africa http://www.tescomagazine.com/competitions/win-an-amazing-african-experience-.html
Go on enter and try to win, i have

Busy, busy, busy

The last couple of days have been very busy. After my walk on Sunday i forgot that the car would still be out of action for a few days.
Monday is Freestyle gym for son, so it was a walk to gym and hang around for an hour and half. Luckily for us we got a lift home, I'm not sure I'd have managed the walk back, my hips and legs were really protesting.

Today (Tues) i went to a primary school nearby to deliver an outreach programme on toys for 2 classes of year 2 children. This was my first one for Bexhill Museum, and luckily i had the expert with me to follow her lead. I think it went very well, we had lots of reactions- good and bad from the children and some very interesting questions. I can't remember any of the dates now though!
Tonight was gym night for daughter. It would have been another walk there and wait around for 2 hours this time, but luckily mum didn't need her car at work after all so i could borrow that. Thank you mum!!! It saved me a lot of pain today.
Tomorrow hopefully i will get my car back working. And i will be lots of pennies poorer. I find it very hard without my car, and feel very restricted.

Snow

Today, as with most of the country we were covered in snow. I went out with my daughter for a quick check on the main road (i was expecting my son back and was looking to see how near he could be delivered to the house). Anyway, we ended up going a little further than i expected. Daughter wanted to go to see our friend nearby. I have never managed to walk to his house so was a little nervous at 1, just managing it and 2, getting there without falling- I'd not brought my stick since it was only supposed to be to the main road and back. On our way there i called and found out he was up Galley hill,a trek for me but i persevered. I had a little stop to take picture of daughter on the rocks on the beach, then continued my climb up the hill. I made it a way behind daughter and with wobbly legs. Had a breather, took a couple of pictures, watched a snow ball fight between daughter and friend.

Following that daughter went home with friend while i had a break and visited another friend who'd not been too well over the weekend. We had a great chat and cuppa. The only drawback was i had to go out in the cold again and this time on my own- Something i have a bit of a fear of. But i did it. And didn't get lost on the way. Got to friends house and he and daughter were snuggled on sofa watching dvd.
We stayed for a drink, i got dragged out again to meet son from car park and went back there for dinner. Then once dark we walked home escorted by friend. A great support since the snow was slush and turning to ice, i had someones arm for the bad bits.

I have to say i love going out in the snow despite it being cold. The world is a wonderful sight covered in white, and its so quiet as no one wants to drive. You get children being children outside doing the age old sledging on anything they can find. No computers, t.v, something so low tech keeps them happy for hours. And although we saw lots of children on the hill, it would have been nice to have seen more children outside playing today.

I was told not long before starting this that i made my daughter very happy today. I know i will probably suffer for it tom but I'm proud of what i achieved today, it may not seem a great deal to some but to me the distance and the hill are a big deal since i don't walk very well and the best of times. And I'll take all the pain I'm given knowing we had a great day and my daughter is happy.
I may moan about the pain tomorrow.....but then I'm only human!

Good night all.

DLA appeal result.

Well readers i finally feel up to letting the world know about the DLA appeal. After a 40ish minute interview with a legal rep, care rep and Dr they decided i am entitled to the lower rate of care and nothing for mobility. Apparently being in severe pain while walking and needing to stop often is not enough. Also falling regularly and going to A+E and coming out on crutches with sprained ankle tendon is also not enough. The photo's of my many bruises were pretty and ignored. As always i ended up in tears when trying to tell them how i struggle to look after my children at times, and how they look after me. So i will get something, which i believe is better than nothing, but when so many people get so much more for 1 medical condition that is not nearly as bad as my 3 are individually i get upset.

Anyway, it has made me all the more determined to try and beat this. I will never cure any of my conditions but i can learn to live with them better and as the Dr said- Gentle increased exercise. So i will be starting back at Pilate's, and at home i will get on the wii again- By doing that i can stop and start when it is best for me, and i can even try some Zumba without making an idiot of myself. If i go to classes, yes i get the benefit of others, but i also can't get home if i should collapse. Not only that they will be catered to the fully able bodied- i need my own slow pace and can't afford classes each week.

I will also start swimming with my children more now they are safe alone in the pool.
I will keep this up to date with my progress. Fingers crossed i will also lose some weight.