Making the most of the weekend

After a painting stint in the kitchen yesterday, we can finally say we have no more bare plaster left.  Yay!  In its place we have ivory and pale yellow painted walls which we are more than happy with.  In fact, the kitchen now looks quite bright and cheerful and part of the house rather than the bit that got left out.  I do need to put another coat of yellow on the walls but after that, I think - and I say this quietly - we may have finished the painting.  Phew!  It's been a bit of a slog but the end is now definitely in sight.  

When I put the brushes down, I pick up my sewing needle and continue with the curtains.  I sew most of my curtains by hand and although it takes time, I really enjoy it.  Hopefully they should be ready to hang this week.

Last night we walked into town to watch the illuminated carnival procession.  It was good to see lots of people out to support it and everyone had a good time. 

Apologies for the poor photo.  This stilt-walker had everyone gasping - he was SO tall!

 Although there were a reasonable number of floats, bands and walking groups, N and I found ourselves reminiscing for the days when the annual carnival was the highlight of the year.  Everyone, it seemed, was involved in one way or another.  All the locals youth organisations (Brownies, Guides, Scouts etc) has a float, as did locals businesses, pubs, TGs and WIs, churches and so on.  Nowadays it seems that insurance and health and safety have taken over and few groups can afford to enter a float.  It's seems such a shame;  I have so many wonderful childhood memories of being involved in local carnivals.  Anyway, we met up with a number of friends and ex-colleagues, so a good time was had by all.

Today we downed tools for the day, packed ourselves a picnic lunch and drove to Gurnard.  It was a beautiful day, and we had a lovely walk along to Cowes and back.  Plenty of others had the same idea; there were lots of people on the Green, making the most of a warm and sunny day.  It was, as always, a delightful way to pass a few hours.

In the garden, and in the garage

All that rain has greened-up the grass in the lawn, and the weeds in the veg plot :-(

Where do they all come from, that's what I want to know.  I'm pretty certain that veg plot was weeded top within an inch of its life not so very long ago, and now look at it again!  Grrrrr!!

But something else has popped up in the garden - a bird-table:

 -  a joint effort between grandad and grandson (that's a little bee hotel on the fence; it's not actually part of the bird-table although it looks as though it is).  The two of them had great fun constructing this, with grandson learning how to saw wood, and use a screwdriver and hammer.  It's a little early to start feeding the birds - we prefer to wait until nature's food becomes a bit scarce before giving our feathered friends a helping hand - but the local bird population will hopefully recognise a potential food source.

We continue to make inroads into the choas that is the garage, and actually, things are looking decidedly more organised in there.  Things are finding more permenant homes and now much of the clutter has been removed it's so much easier to see what is where.

This old wooden unit was left behind in the garage when we bought the house.  It's a 'vintage' kitchen unit that has seen better days but with a good wash and a coat of paint, units like these seem to be in vogue again.  At the moment it's serving good use as a store for all sorts of jars and pots and such like and we're of a mind to hang on to it.  N and I can both remember, as children, seeing very similar units in the kitchens of relatives, before the days when you needed so much more room to store all the 'necessary' gadgets and gizmos we're supposed to have these days. 

More phone calls have been made yesterday and today.  We now have a clearer picture of where we are in the grand scheme of things, and have to accept that patience is needed on our part.  Some times in life you simply have to wait.

Soggy days

So, August bank holiday came and went, as is so often the case, in a shower of rain.  Or rather a downpour, all day, then again all day yesterday.  There was so much rain that the storm-drains were inundated and there was localised flooding on some of the roads.  It was very reminiscent of the problems we experienced this past winter; waterlogged ground unable to cope with huge amounts of surface water.  There was a lot of remedial work done in the spring and summer to try to alleviate further problems but it seems that just a couple of days of, admittedly, heavy rainfall and we are back to the same problems.  

The wet weather put paid to any ideas of getting out and about - a spot of walking or similiar - so we had to turn our attention to work indoors.  There's plenty of that still, indeed it was difficult to know quite where to start.  I cleaned the kitchen walls in preparation for painting (remembering just how horrible the gluey residue had been in the bedrooms) and N made a start at sorting out the garage, known hereabouts as the 'dumping ground'.  As so often happens, one job entailed tackling several others (none of which were planned as such) before the first task could be properly completed - you know how it is with these things - and what should have taken half an hour ended up taking about 3 hours and involving both of us!  Never mind, it's just how it goes some days.  A bit more was sorted, tidied away, found new homes for, added to the charity shop pile or put aside for the next trip to the dump.   We are gradually reclaiming the space.

I have finally finished upcycling my old jeans and although they are looking a little thin, they will certainly do another winter at least.  I'm now cutting out the lining for the charity shop curtains we bought a few weeks ago and will press on with that over the next couple of days.  

Our minds are somewhat preoccupied at the moment, waiting for some news which seems to be taking forever to be completed.  It is more than frustrating as we are very much at the whim of other parties and having done everything we have been asked to, and when we have been asked to do it, finding ourselves now having to wait for action elsewhere is becoming extremely tedious, to say the least.  There have been many phone calls and emails recently and our patience is being very sorely tested.  It is beginning to affect us both; our minds are not really on the work we have to do here and we find ourselves struggling to concentrate for any length of time.  Uncertainty can be quite an enemy!

That being said, I'm taking comfort at little achievements and successes - sorting  out a cupboard here; decluttering a drawer there.  The list may be long, but each item crossed off is a step in the right direction.

The scooters are back

Ah, the smell of 2-stroke has pervaded the atmosphere this weekend, as the annual scooter rally takes place.

Scooters - primarily Vespas and Lambrettas, but a few other makes thrown in for good measure - converge on the Island from far and wide.  For a few days each August bank holiday the Island plays host to several thousand ardent scooterists.  

Yesterday N and I walked into town to admire the scooters parked up along the front by the pier.  Some of the paint jobs are amazing, real works of art.  Then there are the traditionalists who prefer the original colours.  Some scooters are decorated - and goodness, how many mirrors do you really need on a scooter? - and mascots are strapped onto the back seats. 

Then there are the riders themselves.  N and I had a wry smile to ourselves as we noted that the average age of the scooterists is probably nearer 60 than 30!  A lot of parkas and Doc Martens about.

The shops in Ryde join in with the spirit of scooter weekend, and many had decorated their windows with all the paraphanelia - black and white clothing, 50s and 60s memorabilia, and we even saw one or two actual scooters on display.

This toy shop window display caught my eye - just love the dinky scooter!

Today saw the much-anticipated 'ride-out' from Ryde seafront (I'm never sure exactly how far the route is, or indeed, how many of the elderly scooters actually make the full distance; several didn't manage to make it along the esplanade!)  As hundreds of scooters puttered out of the marshalling area the air turned blue with 2-stroke fumes.  Many had turned out in their best outfits, others were in fancy dress while others were in parkas and jackets covered in badges.  

It's a wonderful spectacle; everyone just seems to want to have a good time.  A really good weekend.

In the sewing room ...

Just after sun-rise this morning.  Vapour trails from planes on their way to far-off destinations.

The 'sewing room' looks like a tip at the moment; I'm having a concerted effort to tidy and organise this little space but I keep getting waylaid by a forgotten - and half-finished - project I'd forgotten about.  I have two patchwork quilt tops, one double and one single, which have accompanied me on my last three house moves.  They must have been started well over 20 years ago.  They deserve to be finished.  They are on the list.

I have a number of upcycling/repurposing projects lined up, too.  Over the past couple of weeks I have had a (sensible) clear-out of my wardrobe and several items are bagged up ready for a charity shop.  Several more pieces of clothing are destined to be turned into something different and more useful, and have now formed themselves into a 'pile' on the floor.  A pair of jeans that I intended to pass on, on closer investigation have a lot more wear in them than I thought and I will alter them to fit better.  I need some stronger thread and top-stitching thread to complete that project, so now I have the beginnings of a shopping list as well.

I've got a few hand-made cards on the go as well, but have just realised that the glue ran out on the last cards I made, so that can go on the list, too.  We're at work tomorrow so I'm hoping to pop into the haberdashery afterwards with my list.

The painting in the kitchen is coming along, albeit slowly, but it is progress.  We may get the flooring tomorrow if we have time.

We had lunch with friends today, in a part of the island we don't venture to very often.  They have a lovely garden; plenty of plants and points of interest, exactly the sort of garden I like.  A few more ideas to store away until we are in a position to get digging outside here.  The meal was very tasty, and afterwards we sat and played a version of dominoes, new to me but great fun.  Great food, great company, interesting conversation.  It was a really lovely way to spend the afternoon.

Helpers in the kitchen

Phew!  A day with the grandkids and we're worn out but I think we've all had a good time  and that is the important thing.  It was a real pleasure to spend time with the youngsters on their own.  

While GD No 1 and I made choc-chip cookies - mixing can be quite hard going when you are only 6, but it's always easy to lick the bowl afterwards ;-) - the boys very kindly restrung the broken line on the rotary drier.  They did a good job and worked well together.  Then there was bread to make; watching the yeast froth up, and then the bread rise caused much excitement.  The apron I made yesterday was much appreciated and a perfect fit - it made me smile when I handed it over.

For lunch we made mini pasties with a savoury chicken filling, and I found myself with a different helper as GS No 1 quickly grabbed the apron and learned how to roll out pastry.  We soon had a little production line going - rolling, filling, sealing and crimping.  And, my goodness, did those pasties taste good!

N and I have always felt that children should be encouraged to eat what the adults have - it can become very difficult, and quite expensive, trying to cater for lots of fads.  Both our youngsters really enjoyed cooking and baking with us today, and were happy to try everything they had helped to make.  There might have been some different tastes and textures that they hadn't had before but that's all part of being adventurous and trying new things.  And there's always a chocolate chip cookie, just in case ...

After lunch we walked to visit the pigs, always a favourite for all ages.  

Making aprons

I have been sewing!  For two hours this afternoon I pottered away in the little bedroom (dare I call it a sewing room now?) cutting and sewing and generally having a bit of fun.

Do you remember this fabric?  I found it in a charity shop a few months ago and knew that it would come in useful for something.

I have now found a use.  Tomorrow we are looking after the grandkids for the whole day (I'm sure it will be fun!!) and someone has asked, many times, if she can make chocolate chip cookies with me.  Obviously an apron is needed for such a task.  Matching ones would be better still.

[Note re the cookies - neither of us has made these before (bit of an oversight on my part, I fear) so I have had a trial run with a very simple recipe.  Not quite the cookies that you see on supermarket shelves but between us, N and I have demolished the whole batch in less than 24 hours, so I guess they can't taste too bad ;-)]

The aprons are lined with some offcuts I had in my stash - I even patched one of the linings to make it big enough, in the true spirit of cutting your cloth accordingly - and the strings are also odd bits I had lying around.  They are bright, colourful and practical.  N has requested one, too.  

We'll see how they stand up to the wear-and-tear of cookie-making tomorrow.