Finally joining the game...

Have you ever visited Penny at 'The Hen House'?  

If you haven't, you really should!  

I'm always pleased when I see she has put up a new post - I like her quirky style and she always has something interesting or funny to say, plus she takes some great photos.

 At the start of the month, Penny 'tagged' me in a bloggy game that made me feel a bit like a swotty kid who couldn't go out till she'd done her homework, euphonium practice and double Latin to Greek translations, because I was too busy to join in straightaway.  

But finally, I have put all that busy-ness behind me, and I can skip off to play!  

Just hope all the other kids haven't been called in for bed now...

Here are the rules of the game:

Rule 1 - No Tag-Backs (you can't tag me back)

Rule 2 - You must tag a further 8 bloggers

Rule 3 - You must answer the questions below

Rule 4 - You must have a link back to the people who tagged you 

Here goes...

If you could be any historical or current character who would you be?

When I was at junior school, this was one of my favourite books...

I thought the story of a rich little Victorian girl who fought against what was considered acceptable to become a nurse was pretty inspiring.  And I liked the look of the ever-so orderly ward she presided over with her lamp! 

Further inspired by this book...

...I spent my entire childhood planning a career in nursing to follow in Florence's footsteps.  But in sixth form, I did voluntary work at the local hospital every Monday afternoon for two years and decided I wasn't up to it.  

Name an interesting fact about yourself.

My knees have dimples which make them look like a pair of cherubic faces.  

Well, if you screw up your eyes they do...

At university, it was my party piece to skilfully contract and relax the muscles 

to make them look like they were talking.  

If you could go back in time and change one thing, what would it be?

Probably the time someone first noticed my knees!

Which character traits annoy you

Intolerance and ingratitude

Name one thing that you would change in yourself?

 Though I'm far from perfect, I can't think of anything deep and meaningful to say here!  I'd like to be a bit more sociable perhaps?

What do you consider your biggest achievement?

Getting away with it so far...

Now the tricky bit, tagging other bloggers.  

Especially tricky because I had to do a similar thing last week with the 

'Versatile Blogger' award. 

So because one of the other things I'd sometimes like to change about myself is my inability to break rules, I'm going to break one here and not tag anyone else. 

There are so many great blogs out there (just look in my sidebar for a few recommendations);  I can't decide which ones to tag;  I haven't enough time to check whether they accept tags and awards and such like (as I did last time).  

So please forgive me for breaking the rules!

A bit of stitching

A little while ago I took delivery of a fantastic bundle of fabric, from the website 'FabricRehab'.  

I pored over the webpages for an age and finally arrived at a selection of fabrics that I thought would offer me plenty of inspiration. You can see them here.  I was longing to get my fidgety hands on their loveliness, but no sooner had they arrived than I was devoid of any ideas as to what to do with them! 

Yesterday I finally got round to looking through some old magazines to try to find something new to make.

And in a copy of 'Sew' from last year I found this...

So I set to with three of the fabrics... 

Tiny Flower Green/Little Quirky Cottage Multi

Lecien Dot Green Mist/Tiny Flower Green

I proved myself to be not very good at following instructions, but in the end, after a couple of hiccups, I had this...

...which opens up to this...

Some of the hiccups are still evident - I'd like the quirky cottages to be a little less quirky, in that they are upside down on the front of the wallet, and I somehow managed to slightly twist one section, so one of the pockets looks wonky. Oh, and the whole thing is the opposite way round to the one in the magazine.  A wallet for left-handed people perhaps?

Determined to learn from the mistakes, I began again with two more lots of fabrics today. I altered a few measurements, changed bits of the method and took more care over the direction of sections, and ended the day with these...

The original plus today's new efforts

Something still to learn here - cut the fabric to have whole motifs where it matters!

I think I've now learnt enough to manage even better tomorrow, when I will have a go with some vintage fabric instead.

PS: The 'patient' is continuing to make a speedy recovery from his surgery!  Thanks for all the good wishes!

An Old Wives' Tale, a Rude Awakening and Probably the Best Cupcake in the World

Friday night I was looking forward to a really, really good night's sleep.
I had had two really bad ones in the run up to Mr U-t-B's surgery, and I was all alone for the night, what with him still in hospital at the time.  But blow me down, didn't the stupid cold that I have had hanging around for the last ten days or so turn to the most irritating and persistent, tickly cough, just to keep me awake long into the night I had planned as 
my 'catch-up' night.  Grrrr!

Only two weeks ago, I had been saying to my family (who were all here for lunch on the Bank Holiday Monday) that I had heard that rubbing Vick's VapoRub on the soles of your feet and donning socks overnight was a sure fire way to deal with night-time coughs, but that as I never, ever get colds, I hadn't had a chance to see if this was true.

Image coutesy of sublimeseaglass.wordpress.com - I love seaglass!

Less than twenty-four hours later, the cold virus claimed me 


(obviously my boastful statement had incurred his wrath)


but I wasn't wise enough to go and buy some Vick's straightaway. 

On Saturday, after the Friday night cough-a-thon, I did, and dutifully rubbed it into my feet when the coughing began at about nine-thirty.  A definite improvement, but I wasn't actually in bed yet (had to pick up Miss U-t-B from a party at ten-thirty).  I rubbed a bit more in before bedtime, and slept like a baby!

So that's the old wives' tale!  Admittedly my cough isn't really bad (it's just a cold), but I would recommend it (even though I can't abide to wear socks in bed!)


After a good night's slumber, I was a bit lazy getting out of bed on Sunday and was finally downstairs at eight forty-ish, halfway through making tea and toast for 'im-upstairs, when there was the sound of a speeding car, then the eerie sound of wheels not making contact with the ground and finally a sickeningly loud thud.


This is what happened right outside our next door neighbour's house.

View from our bedroom window - blue car the culprit

This one's in a bad way too - it bumped the white car, but that's not too badly damaged

Three cars written off, plus a fourth damaged, a bollard knocked down and tossed through the air into our neighbour's sitting room window (luckily it didn't break), but fortunately no-one badly injured.


Not even the drunk driver...


All I can say is it was a good thing it was a quiet Sunday morning, with nobody on the pavement.  Had it been a weekday, the pavement would have been busy with children on their way to the school where I teach, or the one Miss U-t-B went to.  Doesn't bear thinking about...


It was like a pyjama party out there (only without any food, drink, balloons or mirth!) with neighbours from five houses all out in their jimmy-jams and dressing gowns, waiting for the ambulance and the police. 

The paramedics checked the driver over, then he was taken away by the police.  
A bit of a dramatic start to the day...


Later on, Miss U-t-B and I went down to my parents' on a flying visit to see my cousin from Argentina, who we last saw five years ago.

Miss U-t-B with two of my cousins' children in 2006

My sister was there too, with yet more goodies to make sure Mr U-t-B doesn't fade away whilst he is recuperating...

Tiramisu Cupcakes 
from The Hummingbird Bakery's 'Cake Days' book.

...which you can get at a very reasonable price from 'The Book People' whose photo I have pinched...

These are seriously yummy - I am dribbling at the mere mention.  


Now I am off to tidy my sewing room, which got a bit untidy last week as we had a visitor for five nights.  I am feeling in the mood for new projects, so hopefully I will have something to show-and-tell soon!

Home again, home again, jiggety jig

First of all, thank you for all the kind messages and positive thoughts after yesterday's post!  

I am very pleased to say that  all the positive vibes from the blogosphere and family and friends who called and texted must have counted, because Mr U-t-B has made a fabulous recovery from his discectomy so far. On regaining consciousness, he could already feel the difference in his legs and feet, with numb areas sensitive again and the vice-like pains gone!  By yesterday evening, less than ten hours after being operated on, he was able to walk to the loo, without crutches or walking stick.  Yay!

Today he was quickly signed off by the physiotherapist as able to be discharged and later on by the doctor. So he's now making our bedroom look untidy again!

But look what he's been delving into already...

My naughty sister sent him a toolbox!

Luckily, the contents are a little unusual...

And also rather delicious, in a chocolatey, biscuity kind of way!

The only tools he'll be let near for some time to come - I may even need to lock the real ones away!

The biscuit toolkit is from 'Biscuiteers'. 
I knew of the book...

Image courtesy of amazon.co.uk where you can buy the book, of course!

But I didn't know of the fantastic website with its glorious range of original biscuit-y gifts.

Image courtesy of gouk.com

Image coutesy of pillarboxpost.com

Anyway, better go now - Mr U-t-B wants a spanner!

Displacement Activity

What I might have done on a day like today is wander the house forlornly, nibbling on anything I could find with no nutritional value whatsoever, making constant cups of tea or coffee till the caffeine made me buzz,  picking things up and putting things down and generally worrying for Britain. 

But today, my good friend Jane took me in hand after I got back from the hospital, having left Mr U-t-B about to don revealing gown, anti-embolism stockings and paper knickers - oh the indignity!

Jane and I went to a local garden centre and had a lovely slice of coffee cake and a cappuccino, then mooched around the plants and the gifts till it was nearly time for me to make a phone call and find out how the operation had gone.

And I am very pleased (and relieved) to say that it has apparently gone well.  I can't go to see him (or rather there's no point, as he's 'heavily sedated') till this evening, and then I will hopefully learn a bit more.  But we have got over the hurdle of the operation itself and I am really hoping that my lovely husband will now have a smooth recovery and soon be back to his normal, active self!

With the majority of the time between half ten and one o'clock spent in the garden centre, it was rather unlikely that I would have left without a small purchase or two - retail therapy and all that...

Sadly I cannot reveal what is inside this bag as it is a certain somebody special's birthday soon, and if I can bear to part with it, this might be part of the present.

I have remembered to take photos so I can show the contents later!

Then I found some great greeting cards.  I don't know about you, but I always struggle to find good cards for boys and men.  So the range by 'Armed Forces Art' (www.armedforcesart.co.uk) is a great discovery.  Here's an example I bought...

The website has lots of other vintage-y items - well worth a visit!

I also found the 'Vector' range from 'Abacus Cards'  -

'Celebrating the golden age of planes, trains & automobiles, Vector is based on 1920’s & 1930’s vintage travel posters and other classic art deco advertising material'

Right up my street then!

Here's one of the ones I bought...

I think that the website is more of a trade one, but tracking down a local supplier would be worth it for any vintage lovers.

Last but not least a bit of cheap frivolity!

Five pretty, polka-dotted plastic windmills!   I think I'm reverting to childhood!

Yay!  I've been given an award!  

And, as the only other award I can remember receiving  was the 'Hostess' award when I was in the Brownies, it is really rather special!

So first a great big

Thank You

to Sophie, of 'Fading Grace',

a blog filled with vintage gorgeousness, sweet memories and special projects.

If you haven't already visited her blog do nip over and admire the eiderdowns and pretty fabrics, the family photographs (and the stories that accompany them) and her amazing display cabinet revamp, amongst many other things!

I looked up the 'rules' and here's what I am to do...

1. Thank and link back to who gave you the award - check!
2. Share 7 random things about yourself - oh golly...
3. Pass it along to 7-15 blogs you've recently discovered and enjoy - what fun!  An excuse for blog-hopping if ever I heard one.
4. Leave your recipient a note, telling them about the award

So, here we go...

Seven random things about me

1.My name is Alexandra, but nobody ever uses the full version, needless to say.  Probably just as well as it used to drive me bananas when people called me Alexander!  I've even heard well-known TV presenters call a certain X-Factor winner Alexander Burke!  I spell Alix with an 'i' - it was my act of teenage rebellion...

2.  My birthday is 31st August, which here in the UK is the last day of the school year, so I was always the baby of the school year.  Every year in primary school my report always used to start 'Although the youngest in the school year...' or something along those lines.

3.  I was once kissed by Shane Richie.  I'd gone with colleagues to see 'Boogie Nights' and he was playing the lead.  At one point in the singing, he came out into the audience and chose to plant a smacker on me!  Everyone else was very jealous!

4.  Were it not for a cruel twist of fate, I might have been a famous musician. 

In the first year of junior school (age 7) the teachers of each class in my school had to test their pupils for musical potential and chose a girl and a boy from each class to receive free violin lessons.  Mrs Marks (my amazing and most-favourite-ever teacher) liked the way I sang (she'd chosen me to play the part of Mary in a Nativity play that never got put on, mostly based on the way I shaped my mouth in a little 'o' when singing a lullaby, apparently) so I got chosen, along with a boy called David.

Lessons began, with us trudging down the school drive to the village library each Friday morning.  The 'lessons' consisted of going into a small side room and listening to the teacher play notes and tunes and answering questions.  I never even got to touch an actual violin, though I think I once got to hold the bow...

After about six weeks, the lessons of all but two of the 24 chosen children were terminated (me and my sister included).  My musical career was ended, before I'd even held a beautiful violin!

The boy chosen with me was one of the two selected for the actual lessons.  The fact that he is now regularly credited at the end of TV programmes for either composing, playing or leading the band makes me feel ever so slightly better about this cruel rejection...

Smiling bravely through the pain of thwarted dreams...

5.  If I had to chose one record to take with me to a desert island, I think it would have to be 'Teenage Kicks' by the Undertones.

6. At ten, I had my arm broken by one of my classmates dive-bombing onto it during an exciting PE game.  It wasn't a complete fracture, just the green-stick variety, leaving my arm bent into two near-right angles, like a step.  
 Quite dramatic. 
The Royal Berks hospital declared on my notes it was one of the most spectacular they'd ever seen.  Beat that...

Lightweight...

(I remember looking my arm and thinking, 'They'll never be able to sort that out!'  I was pretty calm considering I really did think they'd chop it off!)

7. The most spectacular place I've ever been to are the Iguazu Falls on the Argentine/Brazilian border.  

And now the really tricky bit (because there are so many to chose from)...


I would like to pass the Versatile Blogger Award on, 
to (in alphabetical order)...

Colette Moscrop

Fifi and Hugo Go to France

Life in the Bubble

Lovely Grey Day

Picket Fence Fancy

Shortbread and Ginger

Two Bones and a Bagle

Vintage Sunday

All lovely blogs, do hop over and have a read!

A head full of butterflies

Golly gosh - it's been over a week since my last post...

In order to have a decent excuse, I'd like to be able to say that the computer exploded, or that the internet came a-cropper or Blogger decided to be monumentally unco-operative (which I know it has been doing for a lot of people), but I can't.  

I simply haven't had the right level of patience and concentration for the last eight days to sit down at our rather slow and ponderous computer and put up a post!  My head has been full of all sorts and I have been flitting from one thing to another like a fly with a blue bottom.

Mr U-t-B has finally been getting much better - just before his surgery is due, and he will therefore be limited in what he can do again! 

He is able to wander around the house and make crumbs (my kitchen worktops have been amazingly crumb-free for the last several weeks!) He can even sit up for reasonable periods of time, so we even managed to go for three short jaunts in the car, each time treating ourselves to a bite of lunch whilst we were out.  

I did a bit of impromptu decorating, inspired by my sister's talk of painting her ceiling.  I found the old tins of sage-y green and pale yellow and gave a fresh coat to the hall and up the stairs, and the tongue-and-groove in the kitchen.  Then I bought a bit of white and did all the rest of the woodwork in those two areas, plus the utility room.  It only took Saturday evening and Sunday morning, and it has made such a difference!  Well worth the effort.  And all it cost was £11.99 for a pot of white paint.

This has now been declared a clutter-free zone - I created an umbrella stand from a vase and have placed a little dish on the window sill to stop everyone leaving 'stuff' there!

The 'comfy corner' in the kitchen

The spindles are still awaiting the Nitromors treatment...

I also tried (somewhat in vain) to get going on the sewing front, to make some new, more summery things for last Saturday's market.  I did manage a few new creations...

...using some beach huts that I cut out from vintage fabrics last year and bravely trying my hand at using the machine for some of the stitching, which needless to say you can't see as our camera does NOT do close-up.  Grrr!

Last Wednesday (my work-in-progress day) I nearly finished the two dressmaking projects...

This is finished except for a hook and eye.  But I had made adjustments to the pattern based on the pattern's measurements and mine and now it is too big!  All right if I want to wear it on my hips, but until I have a washboard stomach (which of course is likely to happen oh-so soon!) I don't think this is a great idea.  Seam-ripper, anyone?

This needs the armholes binding and the hem stitching.  It looks kind-of okay artistically arranged on the floor.  Sadly, arranged on me it looks pretty much like I am about seven months pregnant.  I am considering adding some ties to the side seam to draw it in.  I think this is a pattern for ladies less busty than me...

What else?  

I have the bad back to prove I have been down at the allotment, hoeing and planting.  

These are the left-over sweetcorn that I am planning to give to our neighbours and some gone-leggy runner beans that I might plant in the garden just to have something edible close by.

The garden is a delight to step into at the moment, with the beautiful aroma of roses and honeysuckle.  I'm dead-heading like mad to try an keep the roses going...

This is our neighbour's rose, which always creates a fantastic show on our side of the fence too!

I also had a couple of blogging firsts - I was 'tagged' by  

Penny of 'The Hen House' 

(and will try to do the necessaries really soon!) 

and was given a 'Versatile Blogger' award by 

Sophie of 'Fading Grace'. 

(Again, I will do the necessaries asap)

As these are two blogs I love to read, I was really chuffed!  

Thanks Penny and Sophie!

And it is probably down to these two that I have quite a few new followers! This is great, not just because it's nice to know there are people out there reading 'the ramblings', but also because it leads me to new blogs to read, admire and be inspired by!