Wednesday 31 May 2017

Some rummaging, Star Wars and a trip to the seaside

The forget-me-nots (above) were clustered in the corner of a field and are for the victims of the bomb in Manchester.

It was horrifying to wake up last Tuesday morning and hear the dreadful news about the suicide bombing at a pop concert in Manchester. What a truly wicked thing to do. It does nothing to improve the perceptions of Muslims here and elsewhere; as they have now become the new persecuted minority; based on the acts of individuals who carry out these horrible deeds. No one who carries out this type of act is a true Muslim.

My heart goes out to all the children, adults and their families who were killed or injured in this dreadful attack.
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Well, what a wonderful week of weather we've had!

Last Tuesday I was at the food bank and was glad of its coolness, for once, as it was quite a muggy day. When I finished there I went for a walk and walked 6.8 miles. It was my first walk for over a week and I had missed it. 


It was a beautiful afternoon. The mugginess had gone; the sun shone; the birds sang and the bees and insects hummed. I remembered to put Factor 50 sunscreen on my face in the morning before I put my make up on and I did it everyday whilst we had such lovely sunny weather. The back of my neck, upper chest, hands and feet get very brown in the summer as they are always exposed; I have to remember to apply sunscreen to these areas and to wear a hat!


Everything is charity shopped except the Mary Jane shoes bought from PJ Shoes; a local shoe retail shop; about 3 years ago. The trousers are from George at Asda and the blue top was bought from a £1.00 rail somewhere...


All jewellery charity shopped.




On Wednesday I invigilated in the morning and ran some errands in town after I had finished. But first I paid a visit to Barnardo's in Great Denham where I hadn't been for a few weeks. I bought a few things from the 99p rail - it would have been rude not to!

 What did I buy? I bought some brand new, never worn metallic gold slip on shoes; a plaid night shirt (for winter); a grey shrug/cardigan and a beautiful pale lime green, boiled/felted wool jacket (again for  winter). When I finally went into town I bought some lovely silver earrings in the Reuse shop for 2.00. I managed to walk almost 3 miles in the course of my errand running!


I spent the rest of the afternoon crocheting and sitting out in the garden enjoying the brilliant weather. I was determined to finish the blanket last week and spend the next week sewing the ends in (aaagggghhhh - such a horrible job!) and making a border for it. I'll save my next crochet project for Ireland as I'm going to be away for two months...I'm planning to make a V stitch blanket and use up my stash of blue and green wool in making it.


I made this one a few years ago and it's on our two seater sofa where it gets quite a lot of use on cold evenings...


Everything is charity shopped except the kimono which was a Christmas present from my daughter three years ago. Trousers are by Tu at Sainsbury's; linen top no label but from 1.00 rail in the Red Cross.


Because it was such a hot day I had to put my sandals on but my toenails needed painting...


All jewellery charity shopped except the earrings - 99p from e bay.

I invigilated again on Thursday morning and in the afternoon. It was another scorching day.


Top by Principles; 1.00 rail at the Red Cross. Linen M & S trousers; £1.00 rail Barnardo's in Ampthill. I bought the vintage blouse/kimono by Kanga in a charity shop in Cambridge last summer for 2.99.


Shoes; PJ shoes. Can you see how puffy my feet are? They swell in the heat and they're worse when I've been on them for hours as I was on Thursday. I also wore my large turquoise ring on Thursday but I took it off to wash my hands and couldn't get it back on again because my fingers had swollen too...

All jewellery charity shopped except watch (present) and earrings; 99p from e bay.

On Friday I ventured out after the school run for a walk. I walked 8.5 miles and sweated like a pig from beginning to end. Boy, was it hot! I also had to do the food shopping after that and the school run. One that was over I finished my latest library book 'All We Shall Know' by Donal Ryan. It's an absolutely beautiful, emotional read and I can't recommend it highly enough. Donal Ryan's writing is poetic and his use of the rhythms and phraseology of Irish speech is wonderful. It made me cry and laugh and I don't think you can ask more of a novel than that.

On Saturday OH and I went for a rummage. We decided to go to Stevenage and because they only had 5 charity shops we went to Hitchin as well. Hitchin is much smaller and has 8 charity shops! Weird.


I wore a hat to shield my face from the sun. I got my face a little burnt when I went walking on Friday despite Factor 50 sunblock. It wasn't so hot on Saturday but it was nice and breezy; so breezy in fact the hat blew away several times and I abandoned  wearing it.

Everything, including the hat, is charity shopped. I can't remember where I bought the dress; the linen jacket is from the Guild House.  I wore these Mary Jane shoes because they are very comfortable with a raised platform and ideal for walking around.


Bangles and ring charity shopped.


Beads charity shopped in Donegal, earrings bought in the week from the Reuse shop and brooch charity shopped.

Of course, I  had to buy stuff. I bought 3 pairs of earrings for a 1.00 in the Garden Hospice shop in Hitchin; another pair with a Celtic design and a deep red pair both a 1.00 each in two different Hospice shops in Stevenage. I bough a pair of Boyfriend jeans for 1.60 and an ethnic print top for 2.00  on a reduced rail in the Salvation Army in Stevenage; a pink floral pair of trousers for 4.00 in the Keech Hospice shop in Hitchin. A good day's rummaging, I thought. OH did very well, too.

We saw a Storm Trooper (from Star Wars) and R2D2: (edited thanks to Sheila!)



They were part of a fund raising event for Age UK.

On BH Monday we went to the seaside at Holkham, Norfolk with the grand kids. It was bloody freezing! We ate our picnic there.  Holkham is also a nature reserve and when we were leaving we saw 2 Spoonbills flying over head; they looked like arrows, long and thin with wings; it was a marvellous sight and it made my day.

Courtesy of Google images
We then drove to Wells Next the Sea; which is about mile and a half away -  a pretty little seaside town where we warmed up in a cafe with hot drinks; wandered about; spent ages in the arcade and finally left as the rain was coming down. Of all the days to pick to go to the seaside we chose the worst one!


Wells Next the Sea

Wells Next the Sea

I've now finished my crochet blanket and done the edging. There's only about 300 tails to sew in so it will take me some time...

My Chromebook (which I inherited from the eldest grandson) is in terminal decline. The screen has a line across it and what looks like a side view of a breast with a silouhette on the right hand side of the screen. I don't know how much longer it will last; the 'breast' is getting bigger and is blocking some of my page content. I'm hoping it will last until I go to Ireland but I may have to buy a new one soon and that will eat into my holiday money. We'll see. Hopefully, I 'll be able to post next week but if I don't you'll know the Chromebook has died!

18 comments:

  1. Oh Vronni, I hope your computer manages to hold on a bit longer...I for one will miss your posts if not. Well done on completing the blanket, sewing in the ends is a ghastly job isn't it? I'm just about to embark on one for the van.
    Of all your outfits this week my fave is the maxi, which is unusual as I'm normally attracted to vibrant colours, but you look stunning in this muted ensemble and the chazza jewellery couldn't be better. xxx

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    1. Thank you, Fi, You are too kind!

      Yes, I'm dreading the sewing in of the ends - should have started it today but have been trying to blog, read blogs and looks at laptops instead!

      xxx

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  2. Jos woke me up with the awful news last week, which brought back the memories of last year's bombings in Brussel. Absolutely terrible ...
    I so love your trousers in that first photo, and I once had a similar pair of shoes. The earrings are gorgeous as well. I'm also eyeing that massive rack of earrings behind you! You really have quite the collection. That maxi looks fantastic on you. We too have been having gorgeous weather, although it was too hot for my liking on Sunday. Always complaining about the weather, eh? Hope your Chromebook holds out a little longer ... xxx

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    1. Thank you, Ann.

      I'm looking for a new Chromebook as I type this...

      Is it next week you are off to Wales?

      xx

      Delete
  3. If your computer can hold on a few weeks longer, the "Back-to-school" sales start and the prices drop dramatically. I know it seems odd to have back-to-school sales just as summer is starting, but I guess that's when they do it. I bought my laptop at a very good price in June.

    I thought it was just me-if I wear a ring to go for a walk or run in summer it isn't coming off! My hands turn red and puffy after five minutes outdoors in the heat.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Puffy fingers and feet are a pain aren't they?

      I reserved a new laptop then didn't collect it as I thought I might be able to hang on a bit longer - I now have three lines on the screen - plus the 'breast' but it's readable...

      Delete
  4. Firstly, am loving your hair cut. Shows your pretty face beautifully.
    Secondly, fabulous outfits as usual, you find amazing things, I never seem to find anything much when I do the charity shops. Think you have a good eye.
    And thirdly, as I read the post I was thinking, surely this lady logs every single item she buys, from where, and how much. Impressive. Then I got to the dress and discovered that you didn't remember the detail. The I realised you are truly impressive as you don't write it all down, youremember all that detail!

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    1. Thank you, Mary for your very kind comments.

      I think when you charity shop regularly (as I do) you do develop an 'eye. I really dislike how many charity shops organise their stock by colour, as I'd rather look at a rail of skirts, say, or a rail of jackets. Anyway, my strategy is to scan the rails for colours and patterns and pounce if something catches my eye! I scour the 1.00/99p rails very thoroughly....

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  5. Ha, that isn't C3PO, that's R2D2! :) I know my Star Wars!

    Loving all your outfits, especially that lovely striped maxi dress - so amazing on you. Horribly sad about the Manchester bombings. One of my best friends is from Manchester.

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    1. Thank you, Sheila - I've changed it now.

      I thought I knew my Star Wars characters but clearly not!

      xx

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  6. The Manchester bombings are just horrible, and some people's response does nothing to help My town seemed to have escaped the post-Brexit-vote rise in racism, but the local paper did report a Muslim lady got shouted at at our local Tesco after the Manchester bombings. The local mosque held an open day in response, and there has been widespread support for the poor lady who was shouted at. Terrorism shouldn't be allowed to undermine our communities.

    You're a dedicated walker, doing it in all the recent heat.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Mim. I walked today and it was hot, hot, hot...

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  7. Lovely clothes, and you look so slim, have you been losing weight.We often visit Wells when we stay in Norfolk,we are off to I.o.W. for 2 weeks in our caravan on Sun. Hope weather is good.

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    1. Thank you, Polly. No I haven't been losing weight; it's just that some clothes make you slimmer than other...

      Hope you have a fabulous time and great weather on the IoW!

      Delete
  8. Fab outfits, as always! I absolutely love the striped maxi with the big hat, you look stunningly lovely in that ensemble (not that you don't always!)
    I met a little girl at the weekend who'd lost two of her best friends in the Manchester Arena attack. What on earth do you say to a child who's suffered so much sadness? I had to admire her resolve of being determined to come to a festival and not let anything intimidate her. xxxx

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    1. Thank you, Vix!

      Good on that young girl - we need that sort of determination and resilience to show that we won't be cowed.

      The terrorist events of recent weeks bring back unfortunate memories of the 1970s where it was a difficult time to be Irish because of the IRA bombing campaigns.

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  10. The terrorist attacks are awful. Truly awful. I have no words.

    That bird is something else. I've never seen one like that before.

    Love your striped maxi dress.

    bisous
    Suzanne

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