Been away since May

Back again for a while. Here's a few pics that will, hopefully, fill in the gap from May 'til today.



Holidays with family - eating, drinking and soaking up the sun and scenery.





Holidays with friends doing just the same.

Days at home working, resting and playing.

 Out and about dancing, walking  and celebrating the seasons.

2020 is now upon us and hopefully we can do it all again. Food, family, friends and fun - in any order or all together. Great combinations to be had. Hope your New Year will be all you wish it to be.

xx

From my seat

Getting back to fitness after a major operation takes time - baby steps each day. 

From my seat at the Tower ballroom I see many people keeping fit by dancing. I'm now able to hold my own in all of the dances.

To my left is the stage where the organist plays for the sequence and ballroom dances.

Above me are the extravagant light fittings in the ballroom.

Behind me is a picture in tiles comparing the height of different towers in the world.

And in front of me is my fan - it's hot work tripping the light fantastic - and my water to keep me going.

Not only did I dance all afternoon but I also walked home too. That's my exercise for the day - done in the beautiful surroundings of the Ballroom. One of my favourite hobbies is helping with my recovery journey. Can't be bad. I shall be walking tomorrow.

xx

Going where the fancy takes me

It started out as my January blanket and ended up as this,

… looking nothing like a blanket at all. No, it's not a blanket folded up.

It's a dance bag to hold my dance shoes, fan and other bits of paraphanalia. I was inspired part way through the blanket by this post by Tangled Happy and the fact that my other dance bag had given up the ghost.

The buttons were cut off a garment that went in the rag bag and all the wool is from the stash.

I didn't follow any pattern but just edged the part blanket in single crochet (UK double) making some button holes at one edge. The gusset is just single crochet and is attached with a contrasting wool.

I've not lined it and I don't think I will unless I find it difficult to find things in the bag. I want it to hold my dance shoe bag, fan, phone and purse. I may look as though I'm turning up with a crocheted cushion on my person but hey ho, I'm a big girl,  I'll put up with it. I've seen some ladies at dances turning up with a crocheted fan holder. I'm not going that far though as they look like ...

--- willy warmers!

(Please note that I have not supplied you with a picture.)

xx

Posting for Joy

Joy asked how I've set about using my new to me Filofax as a Hobbies organiser. It's only in its infancy at the moment but here's a first walkthrough.

My monthly divider cards are made from and old calendar. I probably don't need monthly dividers but at the end of the year I will be able to see how much I've done each month.

The first section is for Ebay listings. I'm trying to de-clutter and one way of getting rid and recycling at the same time is by selling on Ebay.

I have made an opening section to quickly list in order the items I intend to sell. The top headings include date of listing, starting price, whether auction or buy it now, postage price etc.

Following on I have more details for each item and a place to put the proof of posting.

The next section is for ...

my foreign language practice and includes various exercises from different course books.

The third section (and on this divider I have stuck a photo of some dance friends) is ...

...for notes on different dances. I'd kept a few handouts in my gym bag and now I have the ideal place to store them. My intention is to use this section as a reference for the different dance steps.

I have quite a few other hobbies that won't necessarily end up in this organiser. For example my recipes have a book of their own. Our music group sessions are recorded in a separate book too. Crochet, knitting patterns and more recipes are stored on my computer.

I wonder if I should start a Gardening Section or list my Lego collection. If I'm not careful I'll end up as just having the one hobby of - 

organising

with no time for anything else!

xx

From my seat

Ahead of me is the ornate decoration in the Tower Ballroom and many people enjoying an afternoon of dancing to the Wurlitzer organ.

To my right is one of the pillars and ...

to my left I have a view of the stage just after the change over of organs. The Wurlitzer rises up from below the stage.

Behind to my left is some decorative fretwork ...

and behind to my right a tiled picture showing the height of the tower compared to others around the globe. It is of course no where near as high as these other towers ...

being about half the height of the Eiffel Tower.

I changed seats to one in the balcony so my view now is of the whole ballroom floor. The tables around spill out over the floor at the sides.

Well that's my exercise done for the day!

xx

Answers

1. My home is in which famous seaside town?

2. How many cats do I have?

3. What do I call my days out?

4. What adjective do I use to describe my back garden?

5. Name one of my hobbies.

Here are a few that I have mentioned in the blog.

baking

crochet and knitting

A blackberry beanie

A wavy ripple based around this pattern minus puffballs plus extra black!

Valentine slippers

And another scarf in garter stitch. Methinks I have too many projects on the go.

dancing

playing

reading

recycling and re-using

sewing

6. How do I describe the majority of my Christmas cards?

7. Name my favourite home grown vegetable.

8. Name one of my crocheted blankets.

Autumn blanket

Bloggy Blanket



Christmas granny blanket



Granny zigzag



Spring ripple blanket

Summer blanket





2012 blankets





9. What is my volunteer job?

10. What was the original aim of this blog and am I still achieving it?

Thank you to the people who commented yesterday and well done to Jill who was able to answer most of the questions. (Sorry, Jill, I've missed putting you back on to my side bar. I will rectify this forthwith!)


'I think I shall simply record all the things I do as I live my simple life. I cannot promise to put in everything. It depends if I have time. Let's see how it goes.'

xx