Do you make New Year's resolutions? Not me. I've made too many in the past that never even get off the starting block so to speak. I do make a sort of mental to-do list though, split into two. Things I need to do and things I want to do. The latter should be easier to acheive but for some reason never is. I suppose it's because it consists of things I would like to see/make/read/do/visit as opposed to neccessary things such as 'paint utility room wall/finish lagging loft' etc...Time management it appears, is not my greatest skill and therefore hobbies and the like always get pushed aside until 'jobs' such as these are done. I somehow feel I don't deserve time off to do things I enjoy until the nasties are out of the way. Maybe that's something I should work on this year!
The new year is always a good time for a clear out or a change around though so I've been doing that...swapping some bit's of furniture from one room to another and outing others altogether, changing curtains etc...
Over the Christmas break I found this...here... a favourite hunting ground. It's a CWS (Co Op) Numaid, dated on the back 1938 and in my most favourite colours. Having said that, red and cream was my top choice as a foil for all the cream and green I already have but I'm not complaining. It still has it's original enamel surface on the back of the drop down door...great for pastry making.
It's always been high up on my 'most wanted' list so when I saw it (at a very reasonable price I might add...they want £300 at Newark!!) I pounced. Did it deter me one iota that I hadn't reeeeally got a home for it (you've heard this before, I know!) Nah! I always squeeze things in somewhere. I do sometimes wish I had a husband who would say "No. Absolutely not. We don't need it. We've no space for it etc..." so I blame him..he does encourage me by not discouraging me, if you see what I mean. He's not one for putting his foot down. This is what he regularly says..."Oh, get it if you want it".
That's no help is it? Anyway, I digress.
This is how we spent New Years day. A kitchen in chaos.
I'd have been quite happy with it in the dining room where the most trouble we'd have to go to would be to remove a shelf or take down a picture or two but A once again made work for himself by suggesting we put it in the kitchen (admittedly where it should reside) Unfortunately this entailed moving a very heavy pine wall cupboard about 2" to the left, not to mention spending £15 on bolts to hang it because you can't reuse the ones already up there.
But all came right in the end. It needs a little tlc and a right good clean (not dirt just baking remains...it has a strong smell of flour and butter!) but I'll do that outside when the weather warms up. I found some super red polka dot sticky back plastic for the shelves and then it's good to go! Another step closer to my (completely) un-fitted kitchen. It won't be in this house though.
Something that's been occupying far too much of my time this last week is my new DSLR. I've long hankered after one and finally took the plunge and Oh...What a joy! We have an old style SLR so I'm not a complete novice but add to that the ease of digital and it's out of this world. I hated my last compact but it was a quick, cheap(ish) replacement for a fantastic Panasonic Lumix that I loved but which I broke. In fact, I broke two Lumix. And another sort. I have a problem you see... I drop cameras.
I stand need to be taking on a new hobby (see first paragraph!) but it's something I'm determined to improve upon. I guess the sewing will get put on the back burner again.
Needless to say I've been playing around a lot and I was so pleased to take these shots of Flo. In all the the years we've had her, I've only been able to get a few good pictures of her. Being the colour she is, she tends to come out as a featureless black splat when in fact she's a very pretty little thing, save for the one eye!
She's thirteen now, so it's about time I had a nice shot or two of her. Don't expect anything too David Bailey-esque just yet...it's going to be a 'wip' for some time.
That word again...time. Never enough of it. I'm another one of those bloggers who feels the need to cut down on posting/reading/commenting. I thought when I started it would take a couple of hours of my time a week whereas in reality it takes more than that a day. Is that constructive use of my time? Not always. Do I enjoy it? Mostly. So it comes down to where I draw the line. I started this blog to run alongside my website keeping people posted on what was going on and sharing my love of all things vintage. But as time has gone on, I find I'm spending far too much time reading blogs when I should be doing other things and while this is enjoyable, it interferes with other aspects of my life and well...something's got to give. I'm the sort of person that has to reciprocate where bloggings concerned. It comes down to manners really. I wouldn't dream of not visiting the blog of someone who's taken the time and trouble to not only read my blog but comment as well. There are millions of blogs out there and if someone has chosen to comment on mine, I think the least this deserves is a 'thank you'. But this, coupled with trying to keep up with my favourites and my lovely regular visitors is such a drain on my time. I still hope to post...after all, my customers tell me they enjoy the blog and they're the ones that really matter. I do it for them. But I've also 'met' a lot of nice people that otherwise, I would never have known. So...(deep breath) I'm toying with turning off comments for the forseeable future (after todays post that is) I do feel awful about resorting to this as well as a bit sad but I would rather take a breather like this than stop blogging all together. I'm going to be very busy over the next few weeks and I just won't have the time to dedicate to visiting and commenting like I usually do. I hope everybody will understand!
I'll leave you with a picture of poor old Betty, mid-moult.
Needless to say, she isn't sitting down at the moment...ouch! xx
