Look After The Pence...

"I am going to be to be Very Thrifty for the next couple of months, Bob. You have been warned!" I announced this week. "How will I know?" he replied. Which is, I suppose, a valid question. I'm not known for my reckless prodigality. Buying myself that plaque on Monday still feels a bit wild and selfish!
But following the demise of all those household items [iron, steam mop, vacuum cleaner] and my car, there are now a load of medical bills forthcoming. Dentist, Podiatrist and Opticians bills don't come cheap [but in old age they definitely come more often, and are generally larger] 

So how am I going to be more careful ?

Diplomat, Polymath and Inventor, Ben Franklin, warned about Little Expenses, and I think he had a point.  I admit that I have got rather lazy in retirement, since we no longer have a monthly mortgage repayment hanging over us like the sword of Damocles. 

Just a few tweaks to my shopping habits could make a significant difference to my overall spending. Here are some things I think I should be doing

• I need to be more disciplined about  taking my collapsible Stojo cup in my bag. If I buy a drink when I am out, using my own cup can usually save 50p.
• and when I buy the aforementioned coffee, I must be firm and not have a piece of cake with it [thus benefiting waistline as well as wallet]
• I need to get back to proper meal planning - it has got a little haphazard lately. 
• and manage portion sizes at meal times. A pudding is a treat. Second helpings are an indulgence. If the pud serves four, then I must prepare half for the fridge or freezer before I put the dish on the table.
• shopping trips must be more disciplined too. In the old days, if I bought something not on the list, I crossed off something else. 

Most of this stuff I know already, it is just making sure I do it. I have been strict with myself about not buying clothes following the Take Five rule. 

I went through my seed box, and realised I had almost all the seeds I needed for sowing my Raised Bed this year. I may take some spares to Gardening Club on Tuesday and see if there are any others on the Seed Exchange Table.

But actually I think Benjamin Franklin wasn't quite right. A small leak, if spotted in time, can easily be plugged. What sinks the ship is usually the large gash from the bit of the iceberg under the surface, that nobody could see. Or the violent storm that blows up out of nowhere.

We are going on holiday next month - and that will not be cheap - but we have been planning it for months, and putting aside the funds to pay for it.

It is the unexpected Big Bills that unsettle me. But I am confident that we will weather the storms. As Mum always said - the Lord will provide. 

I was in a public loo recently, and in front of me was this sign. [It seemed an odd location for such a motivational quote] But it reminded me not to fret - I have proved to myself [and the family] time and time again that I can manage on the tightest of budgets if I have to.Compared to so many others I am unbelievably rich - I am not complaining about my income, just my current inability to manage it properly. This is a Work In Progress.

PS Thank you for all the lovely comments yesterday about Rosie's Puppets 

Grandma's Glove Puppets

The teaser from a fortnight ago, a stack of fabric, and now a little bit more revealed. 

It was all Rosie's idea. When we visited Swaffham Museum in the February Half Term - specifically so she could go in the Carter Room and revel in the Egyptian Antiquities - she absolutely adored the place. When the assistant said "Would you do an evaluation form with me?" our Little Miss Enthusiasm agreed. Final question [Grandma holds her breath anxiously, what will she say this time?] Rosie said the Museum was brilliant, and she liked the fact there were things in the rooms for smaller children to play with. But she liked the Carter Room best, and there was nothing in there for her little sister - "I was in there the longest and if Jess was with us, she would have been bored"

The lady admitted there wasn't anything for Littl'uns. What would Rosie suggest? Rosie said Dressing-up Clothes "We had some, I think they were put away during Covid Lockdown. Anything else?"

"Egyptian Glove Puppets, my little sister loves glove puppets" And the lady said that was a very good idea, but where could they get Egyptian Glove Puppets. "Grandma!?!" declared Rosie, very confidently. And thus I found myself agreeing to make them a set of puppets to be delivered after Easter.

I did my research, finding photos of Howard Carter, the Egyptologist, Lord Carnarvon, who financed it all, and statues of the boy King Tut [I didn't feel I should use his death mask!] Lord C always wore a hat with a wide brim and flat top, he had a big moustache. HC had a smaller hat and smaller moustache. To even things up a bit, I chose two women - Nefertiti and Hatshepsut.

I drew out some designs, and made a cardboard puppet template. Then I created the puppets from felt. My new machine was brilliant for stitching elaborate designs on garments, gold trimmings and more. And I made a bag to carry them all in. This week, Bob and I took them over to the Museum. Tim the Trustee and his staff were quite delighted.

We went to the Carter Room, and he showed me that the costumes are back in use - and also took photos of the puppets. He said they'd like to have the new puppets out on display, but don't have a stand for them. "I could make one" said my Shed Man!

Tim had asked if Rosie would be coming with us to deliver them. I explained she was back at school in London. So they gave me a gift for her, because she was the inspiration for the puppets. I did an "unboxing" over WhatsApp, that evening. Rosie recognised it instantly. She is quite thrilled with the model of Bastet the Egyptian Cat God. I thought that was extremely kind of them, to encourage a child like that. Swaffham Museum is independent, run by community volunteers, on a shoestring budget. 

I love the way I could use so many of the embroidery patterns already installed in my machine, I think Nefertiti is my favourite, but I am pleased with Carnarvon's hat too. And the inbuilt font meant I could stitch names on the backs [co-ordinating fabrics from one of my curtain sample books]

Have you ever made puppets?

What I Bought In Walsingham

There is always an issue when I go out for the day - what will it cost? And some venues may feel very expensive, and there are "add-ons" like parking, food etc. Our Walsingham trip was not too bad - although we could have spent a lot of money if we'd wanted...

Little Walsingham is a very small place, and everywhere was in reasonable walking distance, we paid £4 for our parking [I do like this sign from another religious venue]

We arrived and parked at 9.30am. After our first visit [the Orthodox Church] we walked back to the village centre, and visited the "Read and Digest" Tearoom. by the old village Pump.

This was a quirky little venue - with an amazing selection of teas, and delicious sausage rolls [plus cakes, scones, coffees and more] We each had two generously sized rolls [his with mustard seeds, mine with red onion] made from local pork, with a good pastry crust, and locally sourced chutney. The teapots each held 2½ cups of tea. The bill was about £15 - for a very filling breakfast.

We then walked up to the Catholic Chapel. We passed another tea and gift shop [closed on Mondays] 

I was particularly taken with the three metal magi on a rocking donkey which was in the window. My photo did not come out [too many reflections] but I found this online. Cute, but too expensive!

Then we visited the "Let The Children Live!"Charity Shop. I have never visited a CS with two rails of ecclesiastical vestments before! Surplices and stoles and scarves etc...And everything at very low prices- books were 4 for £1. I found two I liked, a Pie Minister Cookbook, and an Ian Rankin detective one I'd not read. I couldn't see anything else I wanted, so gave the lady £1 anyway,

There will be pies, Bob will be happy! I didn't buy any candles, or cards saying "I prayed for you at Walsingham", which were on sale in all the churches we visited. I think God hears our prayers wherever we are, and location is not as important as the action of doing it. In the CofE church there were racks of small prayer cards, with a sign saying these were all free, so I took 2 for special friends. 

And then we walked back to the car. I bought my plaque in the Shrine Shop [£12.50]

We drove back via Fakenham and stopped at the big Sue Ryder CS. Bob got a bit of audio gear and I bought a craft book [to be reviewed later] total spend there £7.

We spent around £33 in Walsingham, but that included breakfast - and then there was the CS spend on the way home. The plaque was a special treat to celebrate 3 years of retirement at Cornerstones.

It was lovely to have a morning out together - we've been quite busy with other stuff in recent days. We were home by 2 for a late sandwich lunch.

And I gained a lot from the day which cost me nothing...So I am very happy.

To Be A Pilgrim...*

This is the story...Nearly 1000 years ago, a wealthy woman called Richeldis De Faverches lived up in North Norfolk in a village called Walsingham, A devout woman, she prayed daily, and in a dream, the Virgin Mary came to her, and instructed her to build a replica of her home in Nazareth - the Holy House. So she called upon builders to construct a wooden dwelling, with the plans giver to her by Mary - the place where Gabriel announced to her that she would bear God's son, and the home where Jesus grew up. There were problems with the building, but after a night in prayer, Richeldis found the construction miraculously completed. 

Walsingham became a shrine "England's Nazareth" and thousands of pilgrims made the journey to worship there. There were stopping places along the route "slipper chapels" where pilgrims could find rest and refreshment.Then in 1538, Henry VIII ordered it to be burned to the ground, and all the gold and jewels to be taken back to London. The shrine fell into disuse. In 1896, the slipper chapel at the edge of Walsingham was purchased for Catholic worship. 

In the grounds of the abbey is a space where the 'house' stood. Now there is the main shrine in the village centre [CofE - greatly extended in the late 1960s] the Slipper Chapel [RC] a new RC church right in the centre of the village [built in 2006] and two orthodox chapels. [One in Little Walsingham, the other in nearby Great Walsingham] And thousands of Christians from many traditions make their pilgrimages here, every year.

In 1965 when we moved to Norfolk, people said it was an important place to visit - even for Nonconformists like my family. It was dark and gloomy in the old chapel - my little brother had never seen so many candles, and thought it was Jesus birthday, and wanted to blow them out for Him! My parents were bothered by the gift shops selling statues of Mary and I felt it all seemed full of superstition. But we prayed that God would bring light, love and hope to all those who came in search of Him.

Fast forward nearly 60 years. "What shall we do tomorrow?" said Bob. And I said I wanted to go to Walsingham ["to make a pilgrimage" sounds rather OTT] It was an interesting experience. There are a lot of new, bright, light places for prayer and worship. Obviously still lots of Marian theology - signs of previous visitors: Roman Catholics, High Anglicans and Orthodox believers, much in evidence. 

I did like the sign on the Pilgrim House, reminding late night revellers to be silent!On a damp Monday in late April the village was quiet, and peaceful. I took loads of pictures. As well as visiting the churches, we went in the TeaRooms, and Charity Shop. 

In the Shrine Shop I treated myself to a lovely Black Dog Tile, the "Somerset Blessing" to put up at Cornerstones near the one Liz gave me.. 
I will put more pictures in a future post. I am still processing my thoughts and feelings about the whole idea of what it means to be a pilgrim in 2024

*this is the refrain from John Bunyan's great hymn, which comes in Part 2 of his book The Pilgrim's Progress

My Creative, Crafty County

I managed to get to this event on Friday - and ran out of time to see everything. Then I needed to go into Norwich on Saturday, so made a second visit. There was just SO much to see and do this year. I didn't take as many photos as I intended because I was caught up in chats with other crafters, and sometimes the crowds of people milling around made pictures difficult.

It is nearly eight years since I exhibited at the C&TA event at the Cathedral, and decided I would join the association when we retired. I have finally signed up! 

But I do think the logo looks like "Costa" don't you?

Upstairs there were lots of have-a-go stands. Do some stitching, ragrugging, painting, crochet...knit a few rows for the Giraffe-Scarf etc. Next years GoGo Trail will have five different animals from the Savannah. I knitted a couple of rows at the scarf table! 

Two years ago they were working on a woolly mammoth

When not Cross Stitching, Kirsten is exploring ZeroWaste clothing, and bog coats. So I just had to sent her pictures of Cat, who makes ZW jackets from old embroidered tablecloths. A very friendly woman.

I think I might wear one of these as a summer cover up over a strappy evening frock, or for a wedding outfit.

Also on the ground floor, in the side gallery, were lots of C&TA exhibits, recent, and going back a few years [the show never happened during covid, but people did even more stitching then]

Fab Tudor project - Queen Bess has hair made from unravelled copper scouring pads! And there is a new tapestry under construction for the Castle- 

these are some of the items which will also be on show there.
The Spinners, Weavers and Dyers have made a regal banner too.

At first I was confused by the title 

Charles III R 2023 - A King for all Seasons.
Elizabeth died in 2022, didn't she? Then I realised, they had to wait twelve months until he had been on the throne for all four seasons!

In the basement part of the Forum, there was a display of all Margaret Seaman's knitted treasures. She is 92 now and says this is the final time she will come and exhibit. She has raised thousands of pounds for charity over the years. 

There was such a lot to look at, lots of inspiration - and I did enjoy myself. The C&TA stand had some of their literature on display, including the programme from the Norwich Shawl exhibition in 2016. I turned the pages over, so it was open at the one showing the picture of my three tea cosies!

I've paid my membership fee now - so I think I can display a bit of my handwork!

This event is well worth attending - it is free - and you get to meet some very talented people, and have the opportunity to explore new crafting skills.
If I keep practising with my new machine, I might have something for next year.

One final poster by the exit door was very touching. Loose Ends is a global charity which aims to ease grief, create community and inspire generosity by mixing volunteer 'handwork finishers' with projects people have left unfinished due to death or disability. What a lovely idea!

Taking A Short Cut

It's sheer vanity, but I decided to take a selfie on my birthday. Bob was busy in the kitchen preparing our steak dinner, to be eaten by candlelight. My hair has got far too long [apart from my fringe, which I foolishly trimmed myself - very badly] I have been wearing it tied in a little ponytail to keep it off my face. On Friday I went into SuperCuts in Norwich, and Karen rectified the damage. I think it looks a lot tidier. [Thanks K]

Think Before You Speak...

I am a bit late posting the April calendar picture. A good reminder for all of us who write blogs. Perhaps I shouldn't have ranted quite so much recently!

Catching The Post

A little bit of a moan. On Thursday, a card arrived stating that there was a package, at Dereham Parcels Office, and I needed to pay £1.50. I could either 

1. pay and collect in person [providing evidence of name and address] 
2. pay online and have it delivered,
3. put stamps to £1.50 on the card, post it, and parcel would be delivered.
4. ignore it
   

I decided against 4 [it might be a birthday present]

I have stamps, and was about to choose option 3, when I realised the address on the card was wrong - not Corner stones,  but Corner House,  and it said Road not Close.

What about Option 2 - no this is no good, as the online form asked me to 'fill in the address as on the card' - which was wrong [and no postcode either] and the identification number had not been filled in. So it's option 1. 

"I will go in to the sorting office this afternoon or Friday" I said to Bob. Except there were three possible options for the opening times listed online. I rang our lovely village postmistress. "I'm sorry, I can't tell you, Angela" she apologised. "They have sent me two different sets of times - they either open at 8 or 9, and close at  either 10 or 12"

I went at 9.30 Friday figuring that way I might get in.

And yes the office was open.

I passed the card through the slot. The woman didn't ask for any identification. She found the "This is too thick and too heavy- you should have more stamps on this" I politely pointed out I was not the sender, but the recipient, and gave her the cash. "Could I just say, I had real problems finding out your opening times. How do you know when the office is open?" "Its 8-10 weekdays, 8-12 Saturdays" "Yes, but how does anyone know that?" and she actually said "Well I know because I work here, and also there's a sign on the wall" "But online, you have three sets of times listed online, and when I rang my village post office, I was told they had been sent two different lists" "That's not my fault" "I am not saying it is, but can you ask somebody higher up to sort it out, please?"

When I got outside, I looked at the envelope - the person who sent it had written my address correctly, legibly and  included the postcode. Whoever filled in the card at the Sorting Office hadn't even bothered to get those address details correct. Oh well, at least I got my birthday gift, eventually.

My daffs outside are coming to an end, and the wind blew this one over - I picked it, trimmed the stalk and stuck it in a bottle to brighten the kitchen. Four small blooms on one stalk. It is a variety called "Cheerfulness"- I decided to adopt this attitude rather than be grumpy all day. 

And life gradually got much better as the day progressed! The rain stopped, the sun came out, and I went into Norwich and met lots of lovely people.

More People "Ort" To Do It!

 Elizabeth David the celebrated food writer wrote that a good cook does not have leftovers. I disagree completely! Leftovers are not a sign of failure. Let me explain why I think her assertion is incorrect... 

If you are catering for a family, or a number of guests, portion control can be difficult. Maybe one extra person will turn up, or maybe someone else will be particularly hungry. It is important to have enough for everyone at the table - and therefore sometimes there will be leftovers. 

If your oven is on, it is a good idea to cook as much as you can, to get maximum benefit from the energy you are paying for - so that may mean cooking food for a later meal. 

We had guests for lunch yesterday. I wanted to provide a meal where they could pick and choose how much to eat. I served jacket potatoes, salads, cheeses and cold meats. And I cooked extra spuds. 

So yes, we have leftovers in the fridge. We each ate a spud, with butter, on Thursday night, and we will be eating up salads and cold meats for a day or two. [I may add rice or bread as our carbs.] And these meals are produced with minimal energy.

As much as I can, I double up on cooking to get Planned Leftovers. 

If I'm boiling spuds, I'll keep a few back from the mash or whatever, and they get sautéed with Saturday's breakfast, or diced into a soul or salad. An extra cooked sausage or two makes a great sausage sandwich, or gets sliced and folded into pasta. Less waste, money saved, we all benefit. 

The old English word "Orts" meant a meal made with leftovers - I think it's time we revived this word. Forget Ms David's snobbish attitude - and fight food waste! 

What is your favourite orts meal, made from leftovers? 

A Get Well Gift

Bob came home on Monday with a gift - he had been in Wymondham, and popped in a Charity Shop - where he found a book he thought I would like. I have blogged about the Quaker Tapestry before. Check out the website here. The Centre in Kendal sells embroidery kits. This book is a guide to the stitching, with a particular emphasis on the Quaker Stitch.

One Sunday in 1981, a twelve year old boy called Jonathan Stocks asked why he had to just do colouring with the younger children on a Sunday at the Quaker Meeting, Wasn't there something more interesting?  From this, Ann Wynn-Wilson developed the idea of the Quaker Tapestry. A piece [similar in idea to the Bayeux Tapestry 900 years before] work as a collaborative project, to tell the story of the Quakers, their faith, their history, their deeds... It took 15 years to produce, with 77 panels, and around 4000 people involved. Now you can see in on display in Kendal. Cumbria. It is a wonderful piece in a beautiful location.

The fabric used is a woollen fabric with a random warp producing a low key stripe. The weave and stripe provided a guide to keep lettering and buildings vertical. It is backed with calico, which carries the design for the picture and wording on the front.



Quaker Stitch was developed especially for the tapestry and is now recognised by the Royal School of Needlework

Quakers have always promoted gender equality- and one kit features a bicycling woman! My book shows how to recreate this piece, and personalise it.

There is also information [and an alphabet guide] for stitching your own words!

I have had such fun reading through this book, and I suspect some of the ideas may make their way into Collaborative Project #3. 

I have learned too, that the word crewel comes from the ancient word describing the curl of the staple of the wool. Crewel wool has a long staple, which is fine and can be strongly twisted.

I love this book!

Thank you Bob! And thanks too to everyone else who has posted kind Get Well Comments - my sore throat is improving [but I am grateful not to have any preaching commitments this weekend!]

This book gets a *****rating from me! 

I think it is wonderful too that the Quakers refer to themselves as The Society Of Friends. 

A Lot Of Hoo-ha

 According to the Cambridge English Dictionary, hoo-ha  means "Too much interest or discussion about something that is not important. Synonyms; commotion, disturbance, kerfuffle" There's plenty of hooha in the sporting world right now.

Those who know me well will be aware that I am not in any sense a sport sort of person - I don't support any football teams, or watch sport on TV. I cheer Steph and Gaz from the sidelines when they are running. That's about it.

 My only competitive game is Scrabble. And don't get me started on the 'new' version announced last week. All I can say is words fail me!

This summer the Olympic Games will happen in Paris

The French team revealed their outfits recently, designed by Stephane Ashpool, the guy behind the popular Pigalle streetwear brand. I quite like it, well thought out, using the tricolor as its overall motif - and clever twists [check out the link above - I like the fencing kit - all white apart from the tricolor mask]

We've yet to see the Team GB uniform - but there was some hooha when they revealed the new flag. There has already been so much fuss about the pink and purple that they have had to agree that the team themselves will have the traditional red-white-and-blue flags.

But if you really want kerfuffle, take a look at the outfits designed by Nike for Team USA

For starters, these are all different colours, there's no cohesiveness about them. Then [you can't see this here] the script on them is apparently very close to the despised comic sans. But worst of all, the kit appears to many to be extremely sexist in design.

Nike have said "On the apparel side, why it's a game changer for us, is that because we've now been able to take athletic insights, along with data, and use that algorithm to create something that allows us to get to a level of specificity, fidelity and accuracy that we've never been able to do before"

For track and field events, men get to wear shorts, but female athletes have a sleeveless one piece which is high cut and extremely revealing round their ..lower regions [in the US often referred to as the hooha]

There has been an incredible amount of backlash. These garments have been declared totally unfit for purpose. Many sportswomen have said they would feel unable to run, do long jump, or high jump, or walk - basically, they feel any movement might trigger an embarrassing "wardrobe malfunction". Not to mention chafing and general discomfort. 

One suggested that they might like to get EuropeanWax to be the team sponsor. Others have questioned where they got their "Athletic insights" saying "men just need to worry about their athletic performance, women have to worry about chafing...and getting a bikini wax. Definitely equal opportunities, huh!"

Nike is worth $138 billion, they surely are aware of the impact of this design. These garments imply sexism and incompetence. Girls are twice as likely as boys to drop out of sports by the age of 14. Dealing with body mage and self-esteem issues is very hard, without being expected to wear such revealing, uncomfortable outfits. Nike have got this one very wrong!

Let's hope someone at Team GB is taking note, and when the British kit is announced later this month, it is a little more appropriate. This is meant to be world class sport, not a throwback to the days of Baywatch [toned down porn]

When the first modern day Olympians said "Faster, Higher, Stronger" the second word did not refer to the cut of the garments!!