Creeping back in

Why does an unplanned bloggy break make you feel like you have to apologise and make excuses, like you are the driver of some overdue bus, or a child who has failed to hand in the homework?

Anyhow, I'm going to resist the temptation to do either and just plough on with a whistlestop tour of the last, er, um, six weeks, via the photos on my camera.

First up was the White Dove Collectors Transport Show, which we went to for the first time.  It raises money for our local hospice and was a great excursion on the way to a Sunday pub lunch to celebrate family birthdays.  There was a huge range of vehicles, all sitting polished and pampered in the August sunshine for all to enjoy.

We used to have an MG Magnette a bit like this when I was small (ours was only the paler shade of green though).  My brother and I felt very nostalgic looking at its beautiful walnut dashboard and battered leather seats, remembering the time he and his friend Phillip were playing in ours and let the handbrake off, resulting in it rolling down our sloping drive into the middle of the road!  

We also had one of these, a Renault 10.
You know you're getting on when several of the cars you remember from your childhood are featured at vintage car rallies!  

My brother and I had a Morris Traveller - it was his first, then he sold it to me, allowing me to get to my final teaching practice much more easily than on public transport.  I called it Bellamy, after David Bellamy, on account of its outstanding services to wildlife (the moss and mushrooms in the boot!)  

We both loved it, but when its trunion went and I found myself bumping along a country lane singing 'Three wheels on my wagon, and I'm still rolling along...' I lost confidence in it, in spite of its retro charm, and off it went to be sold!

Mr U-t-B's Mum used to have an Isetta. How cute are they? 

This little beauty was for sale.  A snip at £12000! 

Can't help but feel I would love cruising along in what must feel like a motorised sofa!

Then there were all sorts of desirables. 

Next, according to the photographic record, was a week and a bit in France.  Miss U-t-B brought two friends along.  Shame we didn't take along an adjudicator from Guinness World Records, as it seemed the three of them were on an all-out attempt at the longest giggle-and-chatter fest!

Occasionally they paused for breath and read...

Derek the donkey and his companion Vanille were there.  A friend who has horses looked at the photos and says that she thinks there may be the patter of small hooves soon!

Mostly it was just relaxing in the sunshine!

Upon our return, Miss U-t-B got her GCSE results!

Cue one very happy girl and two very proud parents - all at A and A* grade!

Then I got stuck into some serious preparations for a party. 'Tea and Cocktails' to celebrate my half century!!!

(We'll try to overlook the fact that we completely forgot to make even a single cup of tea.  I think the innocent looking 'milkshake' and 'lolly' cocktails may have been a bit stronger than anticipated!)

Retro sweet went down well, especially the sherbet fountains!

The sun shone and I had a lovely time with family and friends.

(Just in case you're wondering, this was NOT a lolly cocktail!)

Since then, it's been the start of a new term and a new educational establishment for Miss U-t-B and me trying to get back into my stride with sewing, teaching and life in general!

Back with some of the stitching soon!

  

Home again, home again, jiggedy-jig

A busy few days away in France - somewhat impromptu - but I'm now back home and catching up with life (well, the washing mostly!)

Whilst away, we were able to enjoy beautiful scenery...

(You could believe you were in the Caribbean - the vegetation, the 38 degrees of heat and the violent cloudbursts!)

Barbecues with family and friends were on the menu too.

(Thanks M & H for a fabulous meal - what you'll be able to do when you have electricity and proper mains water and drainage will be completely awesome!)

Our main reason for this trip was to take this beast of a woodburner - an Ebay bargain at just a little over £200 - over to Mr U-t-B's 'project'.

Mr U-t-B did lots of work, I handed tools to him and did a bit of cleaning, then finally, on our last day, got stuck in to some tiling...

I also managed to finish these...

(Ergo, much weeping was done.)

I also started this - I am already predicting more weeping!

At night we were mesmerised by millions of stars in the inky skies and 
the glow-worms studding our grass (which I'll have to leave up to your imaginations to picture, night-time photography not being my camera's 'thing')
and our early morning wake-up call came from Derek...






...who is still living a contented life with Vanille.  No sign of a baby donkey yet, but I'm no donkey midwife, so wouldn't know unless it was really obvious!

Grinding to a halt - and trying to jump start the blogging mojo

Oh dear!

What happened there?

One minute it's all chugging along in a pretty standard way, and then WHOOOMP!  You have a few days away from blogs and blogging and return home to find you just can't get it all started again...Maybe the battery is flat; perhaps the starter motor has seized up; perhaps it's the spark plugs?

Whatever it is, I am attempting a bit of tweaking and rummaging today, in the hope that I can get the thing up and running again.  Otherwise known as 'doing a post'...

So, Mr U-t-B and I had a few days away to celebrate our wedding anniversary. 

We headed off to the Limousin countryside, perhaps best known for the pretty (but apparently quite fierce) cattle...

Okay, Monsieur Bull - I get the hint!

It may not sound the most glamorous way to celebrate, but I went over to his 'retirement project' to help him tidy his tools!

Oh the fun!  

Seriously though, I really did enjoy this!

That IS the 'after' photo - and though it may not look like it, it really is super-organised now!

Mr U-t-B has a lot of tools, and he is always so hell-bent on doing the next job, and the next one, and the next, that he ends up with a right old chaotic mess and then slowed down when he can't lay his clever hands on what he requires.  

Our quarters were rustic, but clean and with a beautiful view.  Owls hooting made the only night-time sounds, cuckoos in the daytime and bats were pretty much our only companions.

At Mr U-t-B's project, there is no electricity, unless you switch the noisy generator on.  So light is courtesy of solar lamps, hot water is provided by a 'camping' shower (which luckily is plumbed into an inside shower, as it was flippin' freezing outside!) and the much needed extra heat is provided by a paraffin heater.

No internet, intermittent phone signal - bliss!

The weather was pretty ropey - cold and drizzly, which meant we were only too happy to get on with the inside tidying jobs, so that in his next stint of work,  Mr U-t-B can turn this area into a bedroom.

The morning we were to set off for home, the sun finally decided to put in an appearance.

Driving home, we stopped for lunch and a wander around Chartres.

Anyway, once back home I had a swap to take part in.

I had another attempt at making a textile ATC, this one trying to tailor it to my swap partner's likes.  

I decided that this was the one to send, as I hoped it was most in tune with the recipient's likes.  

I was then lucky enough to receive this sweet and beautifully made card from my other partner...

Thank you to Hilda, of inkythings.blogspot.co.uk.  I love the image of the girl, the colours and fabrics.  

It is now sitting happily in my workroom, where I can see it often.  I enjoyed taking part in Ali's swap, and if she runs one again, I'm sure I'll be signing up!

Well, I think that is quite enough as a test-run.  Hopefully back very soon - I have books and sewing to share...