Stylish Blogger Award

I've received a Stylish Blogger Award from Catherine at chopkins; thanks very much Catherine!

There are four things I need to do -

1.  Thank the person who gave me the award and link back to them

2.  Share seven things about me that you didn't know

3.  Pass the award onto 15 great bloggers

4.  Let those bloggers know they have been awarded

OK, seven things you don't know about me: 

1.  I have a Blue Peter badge which I won for naming some new puppies on the programme.

                                         

2.  No matter how tight I make it, I can't wrap a towel around me after getting out of the shower or bath and walk more than a few steps without it coming undone.  

3.  I absolutely love Tesco tinned mackerel in tomato sauce and just eat it straight out of the tin with some brown bread from the local baker's.

                                                    

4.  I'm in a choir but I can't sing!  Luckily the choir I belong to believes everyone can sing and when I'm with others who can hold a tune, then I do alright.   My family laughed when I said I was joining a choir but they've been to some of our concerts and have been pleasantly surprised.

5.  I used to be a train announcer and when I went for the interview I had to record myself reading part of the script. 

A few years previously my cousin and I had been messing about with a tape recorder and I sounded terrible - like a small boy.  We were doing different voices  and I did one which sounded pretty good so, remembering that, I used it for my interview recording.  Well I got the job, and spent 10 years making my announcements in a false voice!

6.  I'm a blood donor even though I'm very squeamish about needles.   Even the initial pin prick on my finger brings me out in a cold sweat, yet I know it won't hurt.  It's worth it for the tea (well hot chocolate for me) and biscuits at the end.  At the one I go to they have Tuc cheese sandwich biscuits which I hadn't seen for years before I went there and Clubs, yummy!

7.  I'm a complete numpty when it comes to computers.  I started this post days ago and it's taken me hours to link to the bloggers I'm passing the award to, so please go and take a look at their great blogs so my hard work has not been in vain (wipes brow).

...and my nominations are...

Brown paper packages

Bunny Mummy

Daisie Days

Just hang on a minute...

Knatolee's World

Mum's Monkey

Sweet Birdy Love

Teawagontales

The Cottage Garden Farmer  

The Jolly Bee

The Patchwork Heart

I'm a bit short on numbers because I couldn't get some of them to work!  (see number 7)

                                                     

                                                                                                 

One down....

I've actually finished one of my UFOs.
It's a shopping bag knitted from recycled carrier bags.  One side is a sort of pastel rainbow effect and the other is black with brights and the gusset is just a mixture of colours.  I plaited the handles.

                                                        

I'm still here

I've had a comment asking where I'd got to; well here I am alive and kicking!
I've not had anything to blog about but thought I'd better put in an appearance as it's been so long, and I don't want you to forget me! 


This morning I've been planting out some foxgloves I grew from seed last year.  I've put them at the edges of our little woodland and have made barriers round them with twigs to (hopefully) keep the rabbits off.    This is one lot

                                               click on the photo to enlarge

These old fallen branches are gradually returning to the earth with the moss and grass growing over them.  There are some bluebells just emerging from the ground in front of the snowdrops between the fork of the branch

We've logs in various places for seating - look how the rabbits have been digging little holes in the second photo

And finally a couple of pictures of the hens in the lovely sunshine this morning taking it easy on the garden bench (when they should be in the field).  

Hearts and flowers

Yesterday I made a hanging heart using some of the fabric that I got off freecycle.  It's an organza type fabric, parts of which are shimmery.

I've been on the look out for signs of spring and came across these aconites in a little woodland we've got

These were a nice surprise because I'd forgotten that I got them off freecycle last year along with some bluebells.  If you click on the pictures to enlarge them you can see some twigs stuck in the ground in the one below.  That was my attempt to keep the rabbits off some cowslips.  I've got quite a few of these protecting foxgloves as well.

Here are some catkins

My snowdrops aren't flowering yet but here are some in the local grave yard

Not a lot

I don't know where the days have gone but it's over a week since my last post and all I've got to show for it is this brooch I made for my daughter.

It's not very clear on the photo, but it's quilted using random small stitches.


On the hen front I was wrong when I thought they were all laying.   I'm still not sure about Rosetta because she occasionally goes off in the brambles so I've no evidence; and the day I got four eggs, one was on the floor of the shed and I've since realised that it was probably not laid on that day and had been covered over so there were only actually three hens laying.  

But the good news is that today I got four eggs in the nest boxes and two of them were blue!
Can you believe I've now got two blue egg layers!  I'm presuming they were laid by Violet as she is almost identical to Octavia, the other blue egg layer.