Tuesday 31 December 2013

Gone Fishing......

Well hello, it seems like ages since I wrote my blog and when I checked the date of my last post... It was!!

So this is a bit of a marathon, grab a glass and probably a small snack, put your feet up and try not to drift off................................


I hope you have all had a lovely Christmas, but I know for some it was a traumatic time with our freak weather. We were lucky enough to escape with a few rough windy days but otherwise unscathed. For those not so lucky I hope 2014 brings you some better times.

So what have I been up to to keep me quiet for so long (I know a very unusual occurrence). 

Well there was a super weekend break at the beginning of November in Clitheroe, where we discovered an amazing Antique and Collectible emporium covering 2 or 3 floors in several warehouse buildings, and returned needless to say with one or two little treasures. We visited Whalley Abbey and took a lovely walk alongside the Whalley viaduct, an amazing construction with 48 brick built spans...




 I took another trip to Scotland to visit my sister and had a wonderful few days including a trip to Edinburgh, where we looked around the German Christmas market and even went on the 'Eye'......



made jars of mincemeat, Christmas cakes and hubby pickled onions by the score...



We made table decorations from old fruit crates......




But most of my time I went fishing..........!!



You know whats its like when you make what seems like a simple statement which then somehow explodes, well this was one of those. My DD found out just before Christmas that a supplier of one of their regular Christmas products was no longer supplying trade, and being mother when I discovered that 'these' were cat nip filled fishes, I immediately said 'I'll do some if you like'. I mean what could be more simple!!
So I made a couple of prototypes, she chose her favourite and a made up about 3 dozen! I naively thought that she might want a few more, but didn't reckon on the 300+ that I eventually made before they turned the ordering off. Okay so they  weren't the most technically challenging. I could cut and sew 4 dozen in an evening....however you wouldn't believe how long it takes to stuff one and sew the opening up invisibly. If you then add to that the fact that I went into the workshop for several days to help out in the last manic couple of weeks and you will see that my absence was more necessity than desire.

I have managed to read a few of your lovely blogs each day though, so have kept in touch a little, and hope that now I will be able to get back to some regular posting.  Despite all that I had one of the most organised and enjoyable Christmas' ever, surrounded by my family and friends and count myself very lucky indeed.







 We even had a fleeting visit from you know who.................

 So all in all it has been a busy couple of months but very happy ones.

So finally I would like to wish you all a very Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year from myself and family and hope to catch up with you and all you get up to in 2014.

Cheers

TTFN
Jenny xx