E is for 18

This week we are up to "E" in our Alphabe-Thursday challenge. If you would like to visit some other offerrrings go HERE
Next Monday me and him celebrate our eighteenth wedding anniversary. There were some who said it wouldn't last. A 36 year old spinster and a 60 year old disabled bachelor both very set in their ways. I think some of his family thought I was after his money. Little did they know he didn't have any. One friend said "You'll end up looking after him" Isn't that what you do for people you love? In fact I think he looks after me in all sorts of ways. I am amazed that he put up with me at the beginning. I was not the sweet, kind, patient person you see before you now. I have learnt so much from him and he is kind enough to say that he has learnt from me too. I think the people that know us well would say we have been very good for each other
Now, enough of this soppiness! E is also for earrings. I have a few, here's a picture. I do not have pierced ears but I make a lot of my own earrings and put them on those little screw fixings. I love beads. Unfortunately I often lose them so I have an interesting selection of single earrings which are waiting to be re-made into something else
By the way, what do you think of my efforts with Paint Shop, I am spending way too much time playing with it.

Sunday Stealing 14/02

Sunday Stealing: The Clown's Meme 1

I'm doing this on Saturday as I won't have time tomorrow

1. How old will you be in five years? - 10 years older than I was 5 years ago

2. Who did you spend at least two hours with today?- My husband

3. How tall are you? - 5ft 4" if I stand up really really straight

4. What do you look forward to most in the next six weeks?- Warmer weather

5. What’s the last movie you saw? - Blade Runner

6. Who was the last person you called? - a friend to remind her she's invited for pancakes on Tuesday

7. Who was the last person to call you? - my mother

8. What was the last text message you received? - Can't remember, hardly ever use it

9. Who was the last person to leave you a voicemail? - don't have voicemail

10. Do you prefer to call or text? - Write

11. What were you doing at 12am last night? - Sleeping

12. Are your parents married/separated/divorced? - Mum is a widow

13. When is the last time you saw your mom? - Last week but will be seeing her Sunday morning which is why I am doing this on Saturday night

14. What color are your eyes? - mud

15. What time did you wake up today? - 7

16. What are you wearing right now? - grey denim skirt, grey shirt, bright orange tights

17. What is your favorite christmas song? - Three Kings from Persian Lands Afar

18. Where is your favorite place to be? - Sutton Hoo

19. Where is your least favorite place to be? - Any supermarket

20. Where would you go if you could go anywhere? - India

21. Where do you think you’ll be in 10 years? - not far from here

22. Do you tan or burn? - Neither, I don't sun bathe and cover up or stay in the shade

23. What did you fear was going to get you at night as a child? - I didn't know what it was, that's what made it so scary

24. What was the last thing that really made you laugh? - Giles Coren in The Times today (Sat)

25. How many TVs do you have in your house? - 2

26. How big is your bed? - big enough

27. Do you have a laptop or desktop computer? - laptop

29. What color are your sheets? - at the moment they are lime green on the bottom and a sort of sparkly shiny mauve and pink and grey on the top

30. How many pillows do you sleep with? - 1

31. What is your favorite season? - They all have their attractions

32. What do you like about Autumn? - late sunshine, gorgeous colours in nature,

33. What do you like about winter? - the fact that it doesn't last for ever

Woodbridge in the drizzle

I've been for a walk in Woodbridge again and this time I remembered to charge the camera battery, and to put it in the camera, and to put the camera in my pocket. I worked in Woodbridge in the late 1980s and again in the late 1990s. I used to go walk about at lunchtime, sometimes along the river, which is mostly where I have been today, sometimes round the residential roads looking at front gardens. There are some nice houses in Woodbridge, and some grotty ones, but I guess that's what most places are like. There's a market there on a Thursday, and some good independent shops too so it is worth a visit.
Today was not the best for taking photos as it was drizzling and a bit cold but I wrapped up warmly and walked fairly quickly. Once I got away from the busy part of the river walk it got quite grey and spooky and there was a curlew calling and it was very therapeutic
By the way, if anyone can tell me how to put photos side by side rather than one under the other I would really like to know!

Bring me sunshine

I'm all of a flutter because Caralicious has awarded me a sunshine award. Gosh, I'm quite tearful and need to thank my mother, my personal trainer, my stylist, the back room boys (see what they will have) Katie Boyle and everyone else who knows me, sorry I can't mention you all sob! gasp!

The rules of this award are pretty simple:
- Put the logo on your blog or within your post.
- Pass the award onto 12 bloggers. (or however many you can manage, I haven't treated the 12 as compulsory!)
- Link the nominees within your post.
- Let the nominees know they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
- Share the love and link to the person from whom you received this award.

And now I'm giving this award to the following bloggers:
(Sorry I haven't had time to sort out 12, having difficulty moving around in blogger so I may add to this over the next few days)

easternsparkle
Lady Banana
PoshTotty
Lynne's Days (who has promised to try harder)

D is for Dictionaries

It's Thursday again and that means another post for Jenny Matlock's challenge Alphabe-Thursday. Go HERE to see other D posts

I have just gone round the bookshelves in our house and found 24 dictionaries. I won't list them all individually but there are 2 Law, 3 French/English, 1 French, 2 Quotations, 4 English, 2 Latin/English, and 1 each German/Eng, Modern Greek/Eng, New Testament Greek/Eng, Bible, Phrase and Fable, Synonyms and Antonyms, Rhyming, Crossword, First Names, Initials.
I don't have an American/English dictionary which is a shame because I now realise that my B post confused a few people because I talked about blackberry jam and blackberry jelly and I now realise that what the English call jam is what the Americans call jelly. Not sure what Americans call what we call jelly in this context because I'm not talking about Jello but a jam that has been strained through muslin to get rid of all the seeds and pips and lumpy bits
We do a lot of looking things up in this house. We like to use words correctly. Like "Decimate" which means to reduce BY a tenth not TO a tenth. So if your crops are decimated it isn't that bad!
Another favourite word of ours that begins with D is "Discombobulated" which I often am. No, not telling, if you don't know you'll have to look it up in a Dictionary

Family mystery

My granddfather was one of 12 children, of whom 9 survived to adulthood. Two brothers went to Canada at different times, and a sister later on, and I am in contact with their families. One "cousin" is a regular correspondent by e-mail and is trying to piece together a family history, with the help of her late grandfathers photo album. One of the brothers (Arthur) who stayed in the UK married before World War One and had one son. Then my cousin in Canada came across some photos of "Betty" in 1932, in which said Betty looks around 5 or 6 years old. One of the photos also describes her as the daughter of Arthur. Now Arthur died in 1917 and neither the info given to me by my Granddad, or information checked out with another cousin (grandchild of one of my Great Aunts) ever mentioned Arthur having more than one child. We are now coming to the conclusion that Betty may have been Arthur's widow's daughter by her second husband. So now I need to try and find Arthur's marriage details to establish his wife's maiden name and then see if I can find Betty by reference to the surname we think was Arthur's widow's second husband's name. But although I think I have found the entry in the BMD of Arthur's marriage, it is before that record recorded the name of the other person so that would mean ordering a certificate without knowing if it was the right one and it's all going to get too expensive. One of these days I am going to try to draw a family tree and I have come to the conclusion that I will have to do it on a roll of lining paper stuck to the bedroom wall!

C is for Catalogues and Choirs

The letter we have reached in the Alphabe-Thursday Challenge is C
C is for catalogues (or, for my friends across the pond, catalogs) and choirs Do you remember the excitement of going through the mail order catalogue when it came, just to see what you might want to buy? Maybe you still do it. I used to go down to my Aunt's and sit with her and her daughter and scour the pages for something to spend my money on - those were the days eh? I particularly remember some awful polyester trousers in garish colours, with polyester jumpers that matched. This was when I had an allowance from my parents that I had to make do for all my personal needs, good training for money management. Then after I started work I ran two catalogues myself and made quite a nice little bit of money from them.
The first thing I bought from a catalogue was in 1969. It was a black evening dress, shirt style top, ankle length sunray pleated skirt and little diamante buttons and buckle to the belt. I paid £4 19s 11d over 20 weeks. Does this require translation? In 1969 we had not yet gone decimal in our coinage so you say that "Fourteen pounds nineteen shillings and eleven pence" And that was very expensive. The reason I bought it was that I needed a full length black dress to sing in my first proper choir. I had been in the school choir and as my voice was quite low I used to sing tenor sometimes (all girls you see) but started off as a soprano so I could sit with my mum when I joined the Billericay Choral Society aged 14. The first work we sang was Medelssohn's Elijah. It was a choir that sang oratorio most of the time and I loved it. I soon found my confidence and switched to the altos. Then imagine my delight when a few years later my first love (another C for Clive - he looked a lot like Hank Marvin) took over as accompanist. He had been my piano teacher until he went to college. My passion was not reciprocated by the way, poor Clive, these days I would probably have been arrested for being a teenage stalker.
Sorry if I find it difficult to stick to one subject, some letters bring so many things to mind. If you have time, please read my Mission Statement (link in my profile)as it is something I feel very strongly about at the moment
And if you would like to see some other bloggers take on "C" go HERE

Crochet Jacket

I made this long jacket by sewing granny squares together (in various shades of purple plus some black) and then extending the sleeves and collar with the same groups of three trebles just straight but with a decrease at the shoulder seams to shape the collar. Looks a lot better on than it does on the hangar - honest!

Mission Statement

These days being positive is the in thing. Which is fine if you are that way inclined. I am, sometimes. But one thing which I would like to say is that I am not going to confuse positive with conformity. Lots of women of my age which is 54 and nearly three quarters, are persuaded to think that being positive means trying to be younger, trying to look younger, trying to persuade other people that they are younger. And if that's what you want to do then that's fine. But please accept that it is also fine, if it's what you want to do, to let your hair go grey, stop thinking about sex and buy some comfy shoes. At long last I have realised that I am a grown up and I do know a bit about life, having lived it in various disguises, and it really is OK to be who you want to be and not what other women, or men, want you to be. SO THERE!

Sunday Stealing 31/01

Sunday Stealing: The Pretentious Blogging Meme

Thnak you for some serious questions for once, I am going to enjoy this one, get yourself a cup of coffee and a biscuit

1. How long have you been blogging? -
I started on August 23rd 2009 so that's just over 5 months

2. What made you start? and
3. Who inspired you? -

Easier to answer these two together. I made friends with this person
on Twitter and she had a blog so I started to read hers and a few of the ones that she followed. As I wasn't working full time and seemed to be spending a lot of time in the house I thought it would be a good way to chat away without boring hubby to death by repeating stuff he'd heard 50 times already. Then I came across a couple of arty/crafty challenge blogs that I liked so I started a second blog for my arty/crafty things. Not working at all now so wittering on even more these days

4. About how many hours a week would you estimate you spend on your blog? -

Not that many actually, maybe a couple on each

5. What kind of experience or background do you have with writing? -

I used to write editorial for two local newspapers, mostly articles about local businesses, but also a cookery column for a while and I even got to review a car once. Also had a little business going where I wrote funny poems for special occasions, helped people with writing important letters and did a couple of Company histories to go with presentations to financial institutions. In my life as a lawyer (so long ago now it seems) I had to know how to write clearly and concisely and as a Methodist preacher I write sermons. I have also always been a letter writer rather than a telephoner

6. Talk about how you come up with blog topics. Where do you get your ideas? -

Just started Alphabe-Thursday (we are on letter B) which is a good way to think of something different, and there's this one, of course, and things pop into my sad old brain all the time anyway

7. What or who inspires you and your blog? -

-Everyone and everything

8. Where and/or how do your brainstorming for your blog? -

Have probably answered this already

9. Do you have any blogging rules or guidelines you follow? -

Yes. Stay positive. I fully understand the need to get things off one's chest but decided I would try not to do that so that my reader's could be reasonably sure of finding something upbeat to read.

10. Is there anything you will not blog about? -

Other people's private lives, anything I wouldn't want shouted from the roof tops to everybody I know (which is basically what you could be doing here anyway) And on the art blog, anything that I would be really upset about someone copying

11. Do you have any sort of a publishing schedule in terms of day of week or topic?-

Only in so far as is imposed by the challenges

B is for Blackberrying

This is a new meme wot I am going to do, called Alphabe-Thursday, only I haven't quite got the hang of all the linking that is required. And I haven't yet worked out how to put the logo in my side bar. Sorry I missed last week but I do have a note from my mum. Anyway, as my blog tries to stay positive at all times I am planning on participating in this Alphabe-Thursday with happy and nostalgic posts. When I was little I really hated school and sometimes my mum would see I was so distressed that she would let me stay at home for the day. It was usually worse after the long summer break and we would go blackberrying across the fields near where we lived. Mum and I used to walk a lot together as she didn't drive so we knew a lot of the places where you could get lovely fruit away from the exhaust fumes from the traffic (which in those days were laden with lead) and she would make blackberry jelly with them. It had to be jelly because the pips in jam got under father's plate (false teeth, you see) We used to make little talismans out of cloves wrapped in a bit of muslin to keep the wasps away as we were both very frightened of wasps. It works, you know! And we would walk and walk and identify the wild flowers and try to identify the trees and sometimes we would find ourselves somewhere we hadn't been before.
If you would like to read other people's take on the letter B go to Alphabe-Thursday Letter B
And if you are visiting me for the first time please feel free to look around at this and my crafty blog Not Cute and Not Funny

Hope rewarded?

Following on from this mornings post, we have had a visit from a very nice man who seems to understand the requirements and actually paid attention to hubby and understood that he knew whereof he spoke. Hubby off to look at loos and washbasins tomorrow. Tiles and floor were chosen last year and see no need to change our minds over that. Might be a bit of a wait before it can be done but it will be a huge load off my mind if I know it's going to happen. Watch this space!

Here's hoping

I am full of hope for today. After being seriously let down last year by someone who was going to do our bathroom and then just didn't turn up on the agreed start date and wouldn't answer our calls, and several false starts with people who did not understand the nature of our requirements re the wheelchair, we may have found someone who comes recommended by three people I know and who has a wheelchair user in the family so might just belt up and listen to us before trying to tell us what they want to do. This could be a story that runs and runs. I hate the disruption that having things done to the house causes and the stress that it will put both of us under because naturally I worry about hubby when he starts to get uptight about things. Still, let's be optimisitic about the meeting with the builder today and hope that he and hubby see eye to eye. The sun is shining through my study window as I type this and I am planning on a good walk this morning after I have done the shopping AND the new dishwasher is installed so that's a relief too. A happy Tuesday to you all

Start again

I think I will have to call last week's trying to get thinner and fitter regime a trial run as I am no lighter or smaller than I was this time last Monday. I am not very fit so burning off the calories is not easy and because I have to be a bit careful of my dodgy back it isn't just a question of doing more exercise, it has to be the right kind of exercise too. I am not overweight as such so don't need to loose much but I would like to re-distribute what I have got. I am the unhealthiest shape because I have no bum or saddle bags, which is now reported to be a good thing to have, and I have a huge waist which means I probably have organs drowning in visceral fat which will finish me off any day now. So if anyone has any experience of these things and has some ideas I would be pleased to hear them.
Now, as I am determined to keep this blog optimistic, I am able to report that I feel as if the stress etc that I was suffering last yer has at long last released its grip and I am beginning to think more positively about some of the things I hope to get done in the next six months. I don't go out in the evening but I am even toying with the idea of joining the local choral society so if you hear any noises akin to an animal in pain it will be me practising!

Coo-eee, only me!

By the time you read this the crisis will be over and I will be back online. At the time I am typing this I am bereft, missing all my chums, and my virtual fish have probably died by now for lack of virtual food. I must say that I am a trifle alarmed by the fact that it is bothering me as much as it is. Fortunately I do actually have a real life in which I have real friends, one of whom I had arranged to meet for lunch on Saturday, although, (this is a worrying thought,) we originally met via Twitter. As Ipswich has been so busy recently we decided to go to Woodbridge instead. I used to work in Woodbridge and I go there fairly regularly to shop. The lunch was very good company wise and passable food wise but I had done a bit of a reccy earlier in the week and found that the choice is a bit limited if you only want a light meal but want something more exciting than a sandwich, (although sandwiches can be very exciting if you make the effort..) My friend also had the dubious pleasure of meeting him indoors so now when I tweet about hubby she will have a picture in her mind, but I'm sure she could get counselling if she needs it.
I know a lot of people don't get Facebook and Twitter, they think it is a waste of time; they think that if you want to communicate with people you should pick up the phone or write a letter, or visit. For me, however, it has become, in part, a substitute for the bus queue, the coffee machine, the photo copier, the lunch club, all those places in my working life when I used to have little chats with people I didn't really know very well. I would become quite friendly with some of the lawyers I used to talk to on a regular basis because we would find ourselves on either end of a number of transactions, even though I never met them. When I travelled by bus I would see the same people every day and gradually learn more about their lives, interests, hopes and dreams, and listen to their troubles too sometimes, and they would do the same for me. There was a benefit in talking to people who you didn't see any other time. And occasionally I did make a friend who became more of a part of my life. Now, of course, if you are reading this then you don't need to be convinced but I hope I may have given you some thoughts to pass on when someone else tells you that it is a waste of time.
The internet is not, however, only about social networking and I am also struck by how many times in the day I would have looked something up on Google, IMDB, Wikipedia etc. I know that you have to be wary of the information that you find and if it matters then, as a rule of thumb, try to find the same information from three different sources before I start to trust it, but it's mostly trivia, like who wrote the music for a film I am watching, and what else did they write, or do Waitrose sell the particular fruit juice that my mum wants or have I sold anything on amazon today (oh dear, I hope not or I shall get a black mark for a slow response) I wonder if any of you who are into Sci-fi remember Dark Angel which was set in the US but after a terrorist "pulse" had knocked out all the computers so nobody could get at their money, all the Social Security records, criminal records, medical records etc were unavailable and so on and so forth. Now there's a thought

Serendipity #002

I love charity shops. A large percentage of my extensive wardrobe has come from them, but I have enough stuff now so I am trying not to even go in and look. I also love India and Indian things, not just clothes but music (both classical and Bhangra), films (when I have time, they do go on a bit)and "bits". As a hippy I loved all that Indian style tie dye and still have quite a bit of it. A while ago I acquired a pair of Rajasthani puppets which I have hanging on a wall. And yesterday I went to Woodbridge to go to the bank and decided I would allow myself a visit to one charity shop while I was there. And so here are my two new friends!

Fit for nothing

A few of my Tweeting friends have decided that getting fit might be a good idea and I have decided that it might be too. If you are a stranger and a tweeter you can try #f450 to see what we are on about. Because I have back problems I have gradually reduced the number of activities in which I engage and walking is about the only exercise I get now. I used to fence, which is a great sport for people with bad backs because it helps develop good posture, but it also develops the calf muscles to an alarming degree! I used to play badminton years and years ago but have no one to play with anymore. At school I played cricket (quite a good all rounder) and rounders ( liked fielding at 1st deep as the ball hardly ever came my way) and netball (Goal Attack) I was forced to play hockey in the winter (cruel and unnnatural punishment) and always seemed to end up playing a small butch girl who we will call Christine (because that was her name) I soon realised that the only way I was ever going to cope was to let her go gallopping off up the field and just wait until she came back again. I am grateful that we did not do cross-country or lacrosse like the convent girls did. I never learnt to swim but my greatest triumph was beating said Christine in the float race because she couldn't swim either.
So, at the moment all I am promising is that I will try to do my exercises every day, and walk more and cut back on the unnecessary calories and we'll see how it goes. I will report on how many pounds and how many inches round my middle I have lost but am not going to admit the starting points for either. I carry all before me which I am told is the most unhealthy shape there is. Hey ho.

Sunday Stealing The Trivia About Me Meme

By the way, if you notice a lot of weird traffic on my Feedjit it is because I spent a lot of time last night going in and out to edit posts so I could start putting labels on

Sunday Stealing: The Trivia About Me Meme

Opening…

Do you get regular massages?-Used to but go to Chiroprator now

Do you have an answering machine?-Yes.

What cuss word do you use the most?-Out loud or in my head?

Are you underweight or overweight?- A tad over at the moment but working on it. With me it's less about the overall weight and more about the distribution thereof!

Can you see your veins?-Yes, parts of me look like an underground map

Favorite…

Soap?-Lavender unless someone's bought me some Coco Chanel

Fruit?-Crystallised

Kind of red meat?- No too sure what qualifies as red, does lamb?
Fish?- Nemo

Candy bar?-Toffee Crisp

Have You Ever…

Eaten a whole bag of potato chips?- Yes, they don't keep you know

Eaten lobster?- Yes, many times

Climbed a mountain?-No

Been skydiving?-No but would love to only not sure what it would do to my dodgy back

Been water skiing?- No, can't swim, stay away from the water if at all possible

Do You…

Wish you could change something about your life?-I would so like more energy

Like your nose?-Yes, it's very small and sweet and people used to comment on it when I was little

Like salt and vinegar chips?- I would if they weren't so strong

Eat salsa?-Yes, my own home made

Own a boat?-Yes and there are two little plastic sailors that go inside it

What Is…

A small thing that people let slide but that actually has dire consequences?-Disciplining their children

Your most macho trait?-I can read maps and bowl straight

The longest relationship you’ve ever had?-18 years in February

Your most embarrassing thoughts?-I'm thinking them now

Your most shameful moment?- Having trouble deciding which is the most


This/That…

Bath/Shower?-Shower, have problems getting out of the bath

Markers/Crayons?-Depends what I'm using them for

Pens/Pencils?-Depends what I'm using them for

Jelly/Cream Cheese?-Depends what I'm using it for. Anyway, in UK Jelly is a disgusting glycerine and E-Number concoction

Bagel/Toast?-I tried a Bagel once but it was too chewy

Finish…

My greatest weakness is…-Bryan Ferry

I wish I was…-fitter

Three things I wouldn’t do for a million dollars are…- You'll call me old fashioned but I can tell you 10 things I wouldn't do

The oddest thing I’ve ever put in my mouth is…- A cup of coffee that I thought was tea

Firsts…

Credit card you had?-Access

Loan you got was for?-House

Paycheck was for how much?-I started on £5 a week but was paid cash so the first cheque I go was when it went up to £10. And when it went up to £15 I had to start paying tax

Time you had stitches?-Only ever had stitches twice and they were both at the dentist

Time you went to the hospital for something?-First and last time I was an in-patient was when I was born

Lasts…

List everything you ate in the last 24 hours?-Scrambled egg and smoked salmon, yogurt and stewed apple for tea last night, cereal and fruit for breakfast this morning, cheese rusks and an apple just now. Have to avoid eating between meals

Last thing you used a credit card for?-New dishwasher

What was your job previous to the one you have now?- Don't have a job now
Last thing you celebrated?-Christmas but quietly

Last time you were at a sports bar?-Not sure what a sports bar is but doubt I have ever been to one

Serendipity 2010 #001

One of the things I love about "listening" in on people on Facebook and Twitter is that I come across things which across I might never have otherwise come. I posted up some photos a couple of days ago which I had taken when walking to the shops to get a few essential supplies in this unusually wintery weather. A friend (both Twitter and Facebook) said that they reminded her of a favourite poem by Robert Frost. Now I have to admit that I am not a great scholar when it comes to poetry. What I know tends to be mostly 17th Century and I don't know such a lot of that. We "did" Ted Hughes for A Level and I don't remember much of it. Anyways up, I looked up the poem and was instantly transported back to my walk, except that it was night time and I distinctly heard the bells on the harness of the pony who didn't know why I had stopped, because all he wanted was to get back to his stable and his hay. Another comment by my friend pointed me to another poem so I Googled around a bit and now have a free e-book with 118 poems to read. It has reinforced my intention to try and get better acquainted with more modern poets. So, if you are reading this and have a suggestion as to who I should investigate after Mr Frost (how appropriate is that, ha ha) then I should be glad to receive them
There are some of the photos on my other blog and an album on Facebook of the ones I did today.

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Robert Frost

Back again

I've been a bit down but now I am up again! I think it is partly because at last it has sunk in that, for the moment at least, I have all the time in the world to do the things I want to get done. Sorry, some of you will no doubt think I am being smug and insufferable, well, sorry but it's a situation that isn't going to last forever so I shall revel in it. I went out to the shops today, with my knapsack on my back and trusty walking pole in hand. The snow had fallen quite thickly which actually makes it safer because the wellies grip on the soft stuff. I don't have any waterproof boots with softer rubber soles. I do have some little grippy things that you can strap round the shoe but I haven't tried them yet. On the way I took some photos and the sun came out for a while and I took my time and it was great. Got some supplies and hubby's newspaper and hopefully will do it again tomorrow.
I have also been doing a bit of sorting out and discover that I seem to own rather more pairs of socks than is reasonable for one human being!