I've got brain itch

You know that sensation when you've got a whole lot of ideas bouncing around in your brain, so many that they're causing a buzzing sensation that in turn causes an itch.

I've too many ideas and not enough energy or time to do it all.
I've been trying to design my next tatt for ages and all of a sudden a totally different tatt has entered my head, so now I'm trying to come up with the design for two new tatts. I have 6 already but they're all fairly small, these two are big uns.
I'm trying to sort out my craft room which still looks like the temple of doom, well it feels like it. If you move something then something else falls on you.
I'm trying to build up the energy and find the time to rip out the fitted wardrobes and carpet in my room but this also involves clearing out my bedroom plus finding the money to pay for new walls and new fitted wardrobes, oh and new flooring.
I'm trying to help big one through her exams. She's got her last one this Friday. Hooray!!!! She's in 4th year and taking her Standard Grades which are basically your GCSE's down in England and Wales.

AND

As you may have read in my previous post 'The You Know Who You Are Letter' you may have guessed that I might be having a bathroom refit. Well I'm hoping you assumed that and didn't just think I had a random bath on my patio. :)
So the work on it started over 3 weeks ago, they guy I've got doing it is a friend of a friend. He's a great guy and very particular about everything being perfect, which is unfortunate in this house as none of the walls are straight in fact not even the window is in straight! Anyway what with the extra work, his various other commitments it's felt like this has been going on forever but the end is in sight. My friend (who's his friend) was going to give me a hand to tile the bathroom to try and save me some money but she turned up one day but was called away. So I've done a wee bit but the very nice man has done the rest. Bills going to be bigger now but the tiles will look a whole lot better around the window than if I'd been left to it. LOL But I'm helping him out where I can as a fetcher and carrier, holder and drinks maker so I've not been able to get much else done.
I will be sharing pictures with you as soon as it's finished. I just wanted to be able to do the whole before and after shots so you can all gasp and coo appropriately. Trust me the before was grim and I've been living with that for nearly 8 years.

So that's why my brain is feeling all itchy but there is no q-tip big enough in the world to reach right in there to scratch it.

Brass buttons, green silks and silver shoes

Warm evenings, pale mornings, bottled blues
And tiny golden pins that she wore up in her hair
Brass buttons, green silks and silver shoes

My mind was young and then it grew
My thoughts known only by a few
A dream much too real to be leaned against too long
And all the time I guess she knew

Her thoughts still dance inside my head
Her comb still lies beside my bed
But the sun comes up without her, it doesn't know she's gone
And it remembers nothing that she said

Brass buttons, green silks and silver shoes
Warm evenings, pale mornings, bottled blues
And tiny golden pins that she wore up in her hair
Brass buttons, green silks and silver shoes
Brass buttons, green silks and silver shoes.

Song Name: Brass Buttons
Artist Name: Gram Parsons


It just seemed appropriate to my post being all about buttons today.
I'm trying to recreate the button box that I used to spend hours playing with when I was wee. Of course I do also intend using 'some' of them eventually.







My arty shot!!!


And my button box so far....

Baking, bargains and blogger awards

Get me with all my B's :)



Award - Lets be Friends

Samsara has passed this Lets be Friends Award to me. Thank you hon!

The award says: “These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers.

Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.”

So here goes dinosaurtoes , Flossie and Tom , ShabbyChick , cocoa and blankets , Alex ,
MarmaladeRose , Twiggy ,
Deanna

Remember the other day how I was saying I am not very domesticated well check this out. Today me and eldest small person did baking.
She made these lovely blueberry muffins,


and some ginger cookies.


Both taste devine. Wee one was out playing at a friends but when she got home and saw the goodies her little eyes lit up.

And yes I did say we did some baking although technically I'd have to say that my 21st Century gadgets did most of the work.
Firstly I made my first ever Lentil Soup and used my Slow Cooker for the first time. Ok the picture probably isn't the most appetising but honestly it's a much nicer colour in real life and it tastes gorgeous. Wee one is not usually very adventurous with soups but she had a massive bowl and is already planning on having another bowl tomorrow.


And my ever faithful bread machine baked me some sun dried tomato bread. This recipe is another first. A friend brought me up one of her loaves last year or so and it was lovely so I've always wanted to try and make it myself.


As you can see the loaf was a bit big for my machine so maybe next time I'll reduce the ingredients a bit.

See the lovely goodness?


And that yes that blurry hand is wee one helping herself to go with her soup.


And my final B. The bargains. How could I resist these mugs from Matalan. Each was filled with sweeties and wrapped up with a pretty bead flower. And the best bit? Reduced to £1.71 each.


Am sitting here watching Underworld: Evolution having just watched Underworld. Good old FilmFour you sit down to watch just one and suddenly you find yourself still sitting up at 1am in the morning and there's still 15 minutes to go.

Fireplaces, long days and work, work, work.

Off I went to work yesterday and guess what time I got home. Yes ridiculous o'clock or in English gone 4am. Have a guess now how tired I was today. Yep exhausted but I'm not looking for any sympathy. If you party hard you have to take the tiredness. LOL It was a great night though. Work was crazy busy but the end of my shift soon came round and then I could take off the santa thing that we had to wear. Trust me I have no problems with dressing up but I think they bought these tops from a special badly made santa top shop. Anyway I was over the bar and joining in the festivities.
Fortunately I woke up today feeling human (that was not expected) because I was working again tonight. The bar was mad busy when I went in but by 11pm the bar was getting quiet and the boss decided there was no need for two of us to work through till close at 1am so here I am sat on my comfy new settee, admiring my wonderful fireplace which I can't light until Tuesday. Yes there will be a grand lighting ceremony :)
Anyway I'm off to bed now to snuggle up to him indoors and tomorrow I can finally get my Xmas tree put up. Hooray!!!!

Here we go

Well I'm new to this blogging malarky as you will no doubt discover with my slap dash attempts of blogging but bear with me as I hope to use this blog to share all the crafty and thrifty goodness that comes my way. I was brought up in a house where most of our clothes were home made/knitted and if something broke then you tried your best to fix it because there was no money to just pop out to the shops and buy a new one. So despite my teenage rebellion when "I just want to wear something from the shops!" I have since returned to the "I could make that myself" frame of mind (especially since having my own small people) and love nothing better than rumaging around in our local charity (thrift) shops to find myself something wonderful.
Recently I have discovered fascinating sites online such as craftster.org and from various searches in the vain attempt of re-teaching myself crochet I have stumbled across some wonder blogspots. Wow I thought they're just like me so here I am. With my own shiny new blog :D