November Round Up

You're thrilled aren't you? It's another round up post. You'll have to do what Australian women do (this is a reference to that old joke: Q: 'What is an Australian man's idea of foreplay?' A: 'To say 'Brace Yourself, Sheila''). Right - are you braced? Because I have a zillion things to mention.

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The month began on a shocking note when I opened my quarterly gas bill from British Gas. This was the first gas bill I've had since we moved here, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I knew what my bill was for the same quarter last year, in our old place. I had budgeted for a rise on that because as we all know, gas prices have whooshed up. However, I was quite unprepared for the amount they said I owed. Are you ready for this? It was ...

£533.33

... My reaction went something like this:

Call me naive, but I hadn't expected the rise to be quite that steep; and consequently spent an unhappy day wondering what on earth I'd do if it was correct and they really wanted that much money. Christmas would have been very bad, that's for sure. I rang them as soon as their customer care line opened the next day. The woman conceded there must have been a mistake, very probably due to the fact that all but the last reading (taken in the last week of October) were estimated.

Eventually we discovered they'd made a mistake in recording the meter reading when we moved in here. Once that was put right, I was issued with a new bill, which was actually less than the same quarter in the old property, even with the gas price hike. Phew - I was mightily relieved. I have to say British Gas were helpful, polite and very efficient in sorting the matter out, and you can't ask more than that, can you?

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I now have a small crop of awards to display. I know some bloggers don't really 'like' these awards, and have seen posts about the fact in the past. They (the bloggers concerned) wonder what the awarding of one really means (if anything), and seem to have a general antipathy towards them. Speaking personally, I feel it's a part of the 'culture' of blogging. If someone is kind enough to award me with something, I am going to blog it and thank them publicly for passing it my way. I won't always follow the 'rules' about passing it on, but I really do appreciate that someone, somewhere has thought 'I'm going to give one to Kitty' ... thank you. If I pass an award on to someone who doesn't really want to accept it, or wants to accept it, but not blog it - that's fine; I don't mind in the least. But I hope they'll know that I was thinking of them, and feeling them noteworthy enough to mention, and to link to. Linking takes time and concentration, lots of linking sometimes makes my hair hurt! Through clicking on such links on the blogs of others, I have found some really lovely blogs which I continue to read and enjoy. So ... I shall carry on with my awardage habit.

Here ends the party political broadcast by the Bloggy Bits Party.

I need to say thank you to Jill of Another Day in the Same Life, who passed this Kreativ Blogger Award my way. Thanks Jill - x - coming from someone as 'kreativ' as you, that is a great compliment. It comes with a tag (these awards are much harder work than they used to be - I remember when you just got the award and that was that!) to complete the following:

6 Values that are important to me:

• Tolerance
• Creativity
• Love & friendship
• Compassion & kindness
• Humour
• Honesty

6 Things I don't support:

• Cruelty & bullying
• Ignorance & rudeness
• Malice
• Abuse - Physical, mental or emotional
• Bigotry & prejudice
• Mindless violence

I suspect I'm supposed to pass this on to 6 other 'kreativ' bloggers. I can't possibly choose 6 - there are so many talented bloggers out there who are, in so many fields, producing creative work that is fascinating, stunning, beautiful and inspirational.

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I need to say another thank you; this time to Josie for this 'Gift of the gab' award. Thank you Josie - x - I think it's a compliment?! I'm supposed to pass it on to 10 bloggers I consider to have the gift of the gab, so I'm passing it on to some gabbers who never fail to exercise my titter muscles. Thanks for making me smile guys - some days you've made a difference to my whole day. (I don't generally 'do' rules, so I'm passing it on to 13, not 10):

• Mike
• Grit
• Lauren
• Moogsmum
• Trashy
• Bertie
• Jodie
• Ethel & Edna
• The Mother of This Lot
• Kaz
• Katy
• Monkee Maker
• Suzy

If anyone reading needs a smile in their day, I recommend all of the above for their very humorous writing.

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Another lovely award - 'The Marie Antoinette Award' came my way via two different bloggers: Yvonne at Country Bliss and Kim, at Heart In The Country. I haven't been reading either of these blogs for that long, but can heartily recommend them. Thank you both - xx. Yvonne is a crafty type, who also happens to have four - yep, count 'em - daughters. In a few years, there are going to be lots of hormones, hormones, hormones in that home!! Kim is another of a crafty persuasion. She has teenage sons, and get this ... one in particular likes to cook. He makes such things as fresh lemon meringue pies! Can you imagine what sort of magical properties she must possess to be able to mother a teenage boy so that he grows up (a) capable of doing such things, and (b) wanting to do such things. I take my hat off to her, I really do.

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Now I need to thank the lovely (and talented) Suzy B for this award. It obviously originated in a Spanish-speaking country, and since I don't speak the lingo, I have no idea what it says. It might say 'your blog sucks like a Dyson' for all I know. However, Suzy did leave an explanatory paragraph on her blog:

"This blog invests and believes the PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships! These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or 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"

Cleverly written text? If you say so. But the words above do (I think) illustrate my point about these award thingies, in that they can help foster a sense of community in the Blogosphere, and perhaps a way for relatively new bloggers to get involved. I know I felt a lot bit like a spare part when I first started blogging, so something which welcomes new friends into the fold is a helpful thing in my book. Thanks for passing it my way Suzy - x - I appreciate it.

It says to pass it on to 8 others. I'm not going to do that. I have made so many lovely Bloggy friends, I'd like to pass it on to all of them - if you're in my sidebar, you're awarded. I have added a few new good blog finds to my sidebar recently; if you see some names there which look unfamiliar to you, go and check them out.

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I was in the kitchen the other day, making lunch. The kids were in the sitting room. No.1 was doing some homework, and No.2 was playing chess with himself. They didn't know I was listening.

No.2: I'm missing a pointy one

No.1: That's a Bishop

No.2: Oh bums, I've dropped a pawn

No.1: Isn't that a rude word?

Me: :-O

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This month saw Herbie Hamster's first birthday. We celebrated by cleaning his cage out and giving him some dried apple pieces. We wanted to buy some fresh peanuts, but they didn't have any at the garden centre, so we got dried apple pieces instead. Turns out Herbie loves them - not as much as peanuts, but he does love them. Here are some pictures of the birthday boy:

And of course, being the polite and caring cat that she is, Georgie wanted to deliver her own personal 'Happy Birthday too:

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Also on the animal front, I must show you a picture of a little terror we went to visit recently:

Who happens to have a twin brother:

A friend of mine (and her kids) were at the vet with their old cat, when a man came in with those two fluffballs. He'd found them dumped at the side of a road in a nearby village. My friend's kids of course immediately appealed to their mother - who did what most mothers would do and said 'no ... we already have a cat, and anyway, your father would never agree to it'. The kids worked on their dad, and hey presto ... two new additions to the family. They are so cute and will, I'm sure, get up to all sorts of mischief. Isn't it nice to think that they'll have a lovely, comfortable time after their rather unfortunate start in life?

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I haven't posted for ages about the searches which lead people to The Bloggy Bits. Have a look at these from the last few weeks:

• World record for unfastening bras
• Why did Herbie Stewart die? (I didn't know he had! :-O Mind you, I'd never heard of him before, so I didn't know he was alive or that he'd died. Poor Herbie Stewart - that is sad)
• Snog tutorial
• Policeman's socks
• Men's nipple distance
• Mad gab answer for indeed all cows (Pardon?)
• I had a lovely dream about a Daniel Craig tea towel (This made me laugh so much ... THANK YOU to whoever googled it and landed here!)
• Roy Castle - Record Breakers Theme Tune
• Bits
• Free knitting pattern for Bertie Bassett (Gosh, Bertie is this anything to do with you? :-O )
• Kitty Brosnan ('Oooh, that's me with Pierce Brosnan's surname' I thought. But no - turns out she's a real person: she works in global communications)
• Cousin with nice bum in a good year (Does the cousin not have a nice bum in a bad year?)
• Is No.2 bad? (:-O No! He's not!)
• My red hair is turning blonde (You and me both, sister)

I just love the keyword analysis part of my stats software - it amuses me a whole lot. (Oh and Suzy? The 'milky tites' person is back again. :-O)

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I shouldn't really mention it, because if I didn't I'd stand a better chance of winning, but Joanna at SummerSadie is offering a gorgeous Christmassy cushion as a giveaway over at her blog. You've got to be in it to win it!

Joanna was my partner in Indigo Blue's Christmas Decoration Swap (and Indigo Blue is herself having a giveaway at the moment ... click over to read and enter!) I didn't know the SummerSadie blog before, but I'm glad to know it now - she makes some fabulous stuff (check out her latest quilt). We agreed to post on the same day last week, and each got the other's swap item this week. This is what she made for me:

This year the Wrinkle Crimble tree is to have a pink and green colourway. How did you guess it's No.1's choice? (We have a different colour 'theme' each year - keeps it fresh and interesting and gives us an excuse to make new 'stuff'). Anyway, Joanna's decoration is going to fit in SO well with our tree this year. Check out all those wonderful folds and layers in her handmade ornament - so clever! Her fabric choices are wonderful too - but then I tend to like almost all the fabric she uses in her creations. She also sent a really cute gingerbread card, inside which was a little handmade dangly ornament. I asked her how she made it, and it turns out it's tatted. Amazing - I've seen people tatting, but it looks so complicated, and the potential for much tangling looks huge - especially with kids and a cat in the house. It's so intricate, and very beautiful. Thank you Joanna - x - I'm really glad to have 'met' you, and discovered your blog.

I didn't know what to make her for my side of the swap. In the end I plumped for an appliquéd picture as a decoration. Her preferred colourway was green and red. Here's what I sent:

I used a figure from the mini quilt pattern entitled 'Joy to the World' which I took out of the box when Trashy's box swap reached me. I embellished it with sequins, beads, ribbon, thread and yarn: it worked out ok in the end.

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I'll end this post with a photo I took of a particularly beautiful sunrise one morning this month:

Pretty, isn't it? Taken from No.1's bedroom window (she has the best views from her room).

Phew - that's it. All my November bits and pieces safely wrapped up in one post.

© Author

Y'know That Stash of Mine?

The one that's quite big enough thank you? The one that's all neatly folded away in tubs in the airing cupboard? The one that means I don't need to buy any more fabric for the next hundred years? Well, that shouldn't stop me buying new fabric should it? Not if said fabric is so delicious I could eat it?

'No' say the crafters amongst my readers. *Yawn* go the non-crafters amongst my readers. Tell you what, if you're not crafty, just wander off and go and do something more interesting, ok? This post will bore your pants off. Those who are of crafty persuasion, read on.

I must show you some fabric I bought recently from this seller on Etsy. I have admired the 'Park Slope' range from Erin McMorris for some time, and when I saw some FQs of the Dot Leaf fabrics, I decided to treat myself:

I asked the seller (Alison) if she had half yards available instead of FQs, and she was happy to oblige. What's more, she said she'd throw in another piece of fabric, post-free, if there was anything I really liked. Well, I couldn't refuse an offer like that, so the brick red colourway of 'Bright Buds' by Amy Butler, is now also in my stash (yes, I know I don't 'need' anything else in my stash, but ... well ...):

I'm not sure what I'm going to do with them yet - I need to drool over them, and perhaps even fondle them a bit before I decide. Alison also put in a bag of buttons:

The whole parcel (beautifully wrapped) was here in 3 days - has to be the quickest transatlantic delivery ever?! If you're a fabric fetishist like me, pay her shop a visit - she's a great seller.

Mum and I went over to Dunelm recently - the one at Swindon. Do you know what we found there, a bit further on and round the corner? A Hobbycraft, that's what - we had no idea it was there! We had a lovely time, and I came back with some felty goodness:

Actually, the one on the far left was from Dunelm itself. They cheer me up just looking at them! I got some lovely upholstery weight fabric too - they were flogging off ends of rolls for £1 per metre. I can't find it to photograph it though - it's a sort of terracotta/red with gold circles and woven dots.

The blame for the purchase of the next bits of treasure can be squarely laid at the door of this blogger, who posted that this seller was having a sale. I know I shouldn't have, but I clicked on the link Katy provided, and before I knew it, my finger had slipped and these lovely fabrics landed in my shopping basket:

And they got here really quickly too! Jane, the seller, turns out to have a blog of her own, and in one of those strange but lovely quirks of coincidence (some might say synchronicity), she happened to land at my blog the day after I'd bought some of her fabrics. My username at eBay is nothing like my blog name, so there is no way she'd have connected one of her buyers to this blog, and yet she ended up here within 24 hours of me landing at her place. The interweb's a small world sometimes, isn't it?

Now cast your eyes over these little gems of spotty loveliness which found their way into my stash via a bit of shopping recently. I seem to be going through a bit of a dotty/spotty phase at the moment. I do love spots, but then there's also my love of stripes, oh and checks, and of course I couldn't forget prints ...:

I have a specific project in mind for them for gifts for Crimble. Something bright and cheery. If it works out, I'll post the result(s). If it doesn't, they'll just go in the bin and we won't mention them ever again, ok?!

And finally, I found some rather wonderful socks the other day:

Zig-zag socks! Aren't they fabulous? Do these not scream 'funky monkey!' right at you, or is it just me?!

Right, I think I'd better go and think about doing some sewing, don't you?

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PS: I'd just like to say thank you to everyone who left a lovely 'get well' comment on my last post. I saw the doctor (the first man interested in getting me to take my top off in way too long) who found I had a chest infection and an ear infection. Unfortunately my right lung appears to be 'prone' to problems, so I suspected it was coming on. Anyway, I'm on the antibiotics now, so will hopefully start to feel a lot better (although the side effects of the them are pretty grotty too, aren't they? :-O ). Thanks again for all your kind wishes.

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© Author

An Update on the Big Smalls

The last few weeks have been ones of lots of poorliness in the Wrinkle household. First No.2 had a week off school, then No.1 had a week off school, then I was worse than useless for a week ... and another week. I don't seem to be getting much better, so I'm off to the doctor's tomorrow. This month has been somewhat 'challenging' on many fronts, however, sometimes one of your kids does something that really cheers you up, don't they? In this instance, it was No.1 who made me a card:

Isn't it fab? She made it from a kit, and inside she's written that she made it to make me happy, and that I've only to look at it and I'll cheer up. Bless her. I love it, and I love her too.

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Speaking of No.1, it was her school's parents' evening last week. The chat with her tutor was very quick - no problems that they can see, but urging me/us to contact them if there is anything in future which causes us concern or hassle. In the hall they had a large display of students' work, with No.1's work featuring not once, not twice but three times. I was so proud. She was so embarrassed. There was her hand-drawn informative poster about William Shakespeare in the literacy bit. There was her 'healthy menu' in the food technology bit. And in the science bit ... our fabric plant cell! Woohoo! I have to admit there were lots of other wonderful 3D models of cells there, including the 2ft long papier maché sperm cell brought in by one of the boys in her form.

Which leads me nicely onto another homework project she and I have been working on. For her latest science project she had to make a 3D model of the human digestive system. That's a bit different, isn't it? She so enjoyed making the fabric plant cell, that she wanted to make this project in the same way. It was a bit more demanding, however we got there in the end and I think it's rather brilliant:-

We drew the diagram to size, cut out some vaguely 'flesh' coloured fabric for our 'body', then stitched around it, leaving an opening for stuffing. Once she'd stuffed it, I slip stitched the opening closed for her. Then the fun part - we went through my felt box and found what colours she wanted for her bodily organs. (Do you know, that's not a sentence I ever imagined I'd type). She then cut out the shapes, we pinned them in place, and she stitched them on to the 'body'. Her stitching is improving all the time, and she's really starting to enjoy sewing. I'm so pleased. You haven't lived until you've stitched a large intestine.

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No.1 wasn't the only one with an autumnal parents' evening. A few weeks ago, I attended No.2's parent's evening. Fellow parents amongst you will relate to this: you know how some teachers seem to grasp the essence of your child, whilst others totally miss it? Well this teacher has got No.2 taped. He listed a whole load of No.2's qualities (and foibles) for me, but then quickly followed them by saying 'he's incredibly like me at his age'. Now No.2 has vast reservoirs of respect and affection for his current teacher, so when I relayed back that last bit of information, he was over the moon.

Before this teacher joined the school to replace a retiring member of staff, the school had no male teachers at all. He is still the only one, but for the boys in particular, it has been an incredibly positive thing to have him there. Not only does he take them for the after school Football Club but he provides those in his class with a fresh method of learning. I guess by dint of his gender, he comes at the subject matter from a male perspective, which seems to make it easier for the boys (at least it does for No.2) to learn. I am really pleased No.2 is in that class - he and the teacher get along brilliantly, and No.2 is learning and retaining knowledge in a pretty impressive fashion. Oh yes, and his maths teacher (he is in a different class for maths) said to tell me "he's a gem!" Awww ....

I just want to note here (for my own information as much as for other parents who might be interested) that No.2 has found a series of books he loves. 'The Littlest Dragon' stories, written by Margaret Ryan seem to have grabbed him. Instead of playing on the PlayStation, he has his nose in a book - amazing!

I'll leave you with another of those chats between No.2 and me:

"Mum?"

"Yes love?"

"I've forgotten what I was going to say."

"I expect it was 'Mum - you are soooo lovely."

"No, it wasn't."

"Maybe it was 'I'm so lucky to have you as my mum - you're brilliant, you are."

"No, it wasn't."

"I know, it was 'Mum, I love you and I always will'."

"NO! It wasn't!"

"I don't know then matey ... :-( "

"I know what it was ..."

"Oh yes?"

"Why do girls always slam doors when they're cross?"

I confess I laughed. A lot.

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© Author

Yo, Ho Ho ... and A Bit More Making

I've been doing a bit more making recently, so thought I'd show you all what I've been up to.

Firstly,I would like to introduce you to Long John Monkey:

He was a donation to the latest fundraising effort of this blogger, who does quite wonderful work in the raising of funds for autism. The theme of their most recent event was 'Pirates and Treasure', so of course a pirate monkey was just the thing.

Sounds simple? Well, I thought so, but when it came to it, I had a LOT of trouble. I had visualised a captain of a monkey in a red velvet coat with gold frogging, a tricorn hat and a skull and crossbones. Did I end up with any of those? No. I tried. God knows, I tried. (Please note MM, that I cannot do just 'anything' ... this time I bit off more than I could yo ho ho). When I sent off Long John to MI, she asked what I had called him. My response was 'I'm afraid I mostly called him 'you little b*st*rd' because he would not go right!' I must apologise if he has picked up any bad language from me ... I might have used the odd anglo-saxon term in the course of his completion.

Anyway, he successfully sailed across the seas, and took part in MI's fundraiser. I'm completely thrilled that he made a grand total of $95 in MI's auction (at the current exchange rate that's £63.801998). I am soooo proud! I am assured he is now happily living with his new family who, I trust, will only use clean language when in his presence.

A couple of weeks after I'd sent off Long John Monkey, I received a box. It arrived on a day when I wasn't feeling great, so when I opened it up, the contents cheered me enormously:

It was from MI, to say 'thank you' for my sending Long John. Oh my, oh my ... she sent me so much fabulousness in this one box:

There were sweeties ... lots of sweeties. We have now sampled our very first Hershey Bars! We don't have them over here, so the kids and I had never seen or tried one before. There was a lovely hand-crocheted scarf in a swirly curly pattern. There were some note cards. There was a greetings card made by this blogger. There were lots and lots of beads. I know I have posted about my love of fabric and yarn. But I've never mentioned beads, have I? I might have a tub of beads amongst my stash, and the contents of that tub might now be even lovelier. I especially liked the little chicken beads, the bluey-green lampwork beads, the heart-shaped beads, and all the other beads! There were some oils which smell divine (I love that one of them is called 'wicked' ;-) ). There was a CD of music, a treasure chest of golden chocolate coins and bars, not to mention the drool-worthy Amy Butler paper, and all the ribbons that were the wrapping. There was a beaded necklace, and a beaded glasses holder which MI made herself ... you need to blog about your creative makes hun - they are fabulous!

Oh yes, and she also sent this badge:

It's to highlight awareness of autism, and I have worn it already. What's more, it has prompted others to ask what it represents, and so the issue is being discussed - here, thousands of miles from where MI does her work. Of course autism and all its inherent problems exist here too, and I'm more than happy to promote both the cause, and the fundraising for it. Thank you again MI - x - you are an extremely generous, kind and all-round good person. I'm very pleased to have made your acquaintance via this wonderful world we call the Blogosphere. If you are having future fundraisers, and they are of a 'theme' which I can adapt for monkeydom, just let me know (well ahead of time!)

Another monkey who has recently left the Wrinkle household is this fellow:

A tiddler monkey (so no buttons or other 'bits' which could come off) who, like Long John, made his way over the Atlantic Ocean, as a gift for a very small person who is the offspring of this blogger (Ms C.rag) and this blogger (Mr Angryman). With parents like those, you just know that little chap is going to be bright, capable and entertaining. He put in an appearance quite a bit earlier than anyone expected, so is still in the hospital at the moment - I'm sure I'm not the only one who hopes he is home soon, and that all concerned can get on with enjoying their new family life. Welcome to the world little man - I hope you have a happy, healthy, fantastic lifetime.

Do you remember those sewing sets I made, when 'piddling around' in an attempt to make something for my mum's quilt group's sale of needlework? Well, I'm happy to say they sold, raising some funds for the local Air Ambulance appeal. What's more, a couple of people said 'I like those ... would you make one for me?' As a result, this sewing set (she asked for purple; boy did she get purple!:

together with these sets ...:

recently made their way to lovely people.

And back on the monkey front, I posted off a couple of monkeys this week to Hetty. She asked for a girlie monkey, saying that her little girl was especially fond of the colour red. This little miss was the result - Matilda Monkey:

And then she asked for a little boy monkey, suitable for a titchy person, so this chap is what I ended up with - Morris Monkey:

He looks a bit wonky in that picture doesn't he? Reminds me of that old joke about naming someone 'Isiah' :-O Anyway, I hope the two little people concerned enjoy their monkeys.

Blimey, that all makes it look like I've been quite busy, doesn't it? And here's me thinking I haven't got much done!

© Author

I must say 'Thank You' for all the good wishes in the comments after my last post. I am starting to feel a bit more human now. What a horrible virus! No wonder both the kids were wiped out by it.

A Question of Loyalty

Earlier on in November I attended a 'friendly' match for No.2's football team. I say friendly in inverted commas because it was never, in a million years, going to involve anything remotely friendly.

Last season there was the Coach - as I've said before, she's a laydee coach, which is unusual in kids' football, but she's fabulous, and the kids love her. There was an assistant coach too - let's call him 'Mr Gone-Now' shall we? Late on in the season, a new boy joined, and new boy's father (who by profession is a martial arts teacher) asked if he could help with training too. The Assistant Coach had his nose put out of joint - not literally, via a martial art, but because there was another male on his territory, and all that masculine malarkey. So he left.

He decided to start a new team and act as their coach, and thus a nearby village acquired a boy's team of that age group, with a brand spanking new coach. Nothing wrong with that. Where it started getting a bit questionable was when Mr Gone-Now started poaching players. I guess it was up to the parents of those boys to decide where their sons would play football, but surely the question of loyalty and/or allegiance arose? Anyway, by a fortunate quirk of fate the two teams weren't drawn together for any matches in the league for this season; but when a gap in fixtures occurred, Mr Gone-Now approached Laydee Coach and said 'how about a friendly then?' and, even though she wondered if she should, she couldn't resist.

The boys were very keyed up about it. No.2 had a teammate pal over for a sleepover a couple of days before the game: they were up chatting for ages about tactics, how they could win, how many they could win by, etc. The day dawned, bright but freezing cold. There was much parental support on the sidelines. The boys were ready. The respective coaches were a good 20 feet apart and not speaking. For the first game, our lot's (new) Assistant Coach (let's call him Mr Jujitsu) referee'd. All went smoothly, apart from the fact that their lot won 3-2. No.2's team weren't great in the first half - obviously nervous; but in the second half they were brilliant - the half just needed to last another 5 minutes so they could score again.

For the second game, their lot's Assistant Coach referee'd. Never seen him before in my life so I feel pathetically unable to give him a fitting moniker. It very quickly became clear, however, that this chap wasn't the most objective referee going. He gave lots of fouls against our players, but very few against theirs (I later discovered he is their coach's brother!) One of their players in particular (he's a bigger boy than all the others, and admittedly a good player) was getting stuck in with an enthusiasm our lot aren't used to. A couple of our players were hurt to the point of tears. Oh dear. When one of 'ours' next got injured courtesy of that player, and was on the floor having a little sob, Laydee Coach ran onto the pitch to assess the injury. She appealed to the Ref to ask if he could please advise that particular player to tone it down a bit. The Ref apparently said 'if you think you can do better, do it yourself', promptly threw his whistle at her, and stomped off the pitch. :-O This was not only unchivalrous, aggressive and rude, but not the way for a referee to behave. Laydee Coach said she didn't expect to be spoken to that way, that it was a lousy example to set the kids, and she was calling it off. Game abandoned. Mr Gone-Now was not happy and made his feelings known. It was all very unfortunate (especially as our lot were winning 2-1!)

It made me think about the issue of loyalty as a whole. Are people not as loyal as they used to be? Do some of us not value the quality of loyalty as much as others? What, precisely, makes one 'loyal' and what are the parameters thereof? I googled:

loyalty

Noun

pl -ties

1. the quality of being loyal

2. a feeling of friendship, allegiance or duty towards someone or something

I guess it's a question of an unspoken alliance and whether or not we are prepared to commit to said alliance? Obviously to remain allied to someone or something which makes us unhappy, upset or hurt, might not be good for us. Mind you, I've supported the Villa through times which have made me unhappy, upset AND hurt - it hasn't stopped me remaining a supporter.

Some companies offer Loyalty Cards of course. A scheme through which (if one remembers one's flippin' card) one can reap 'rewards' or benefits through continued custom. (On the subject of which, I've lost my Boots card. I've searched everywhere, can't find it ... where could it be? I was in there last week buying yet more Calpol, went to hand it over and it wasn't there, where it always lives. How strange.) Some companies offer great incentives for new customers (I'm thinking mobile phone deals, magazine subscription deals, even banking and mortgage deals) but they're often not so quick to reward old, loyal customers. Is it only humans who practice loyalty, or are animals loyal? Dogs have a reputation for being very loyal of course - I've never had a dog, so can't compare, but I like to think the cats I've owned have been committed in their allegiance. Or maybe that's just because I fed them?

I imagine Mr Gone-Now would say being Assistant Coach once Mr Jujitsu joined in, made him unhappy, upset and/or hurt. Perhaps the boys who defected to his new club felt unhappy at their previous one? A few days after the game that got abandoned, an anonymous 'someone' made an official complaint to our club's Chairman about the conduct of Laydee Coach in calling off the game. Since the referee had left the pitch in such circumstances, what else should she have done? She was worried about losing her 'job', but thankfully once he had heard what happened, the Chairman was fine about it.

The whole episode has left me quite thoughtful. Those young boys have had an early lesson in the quirks of human nature. I hope it's taught No.2 something about the question of loyalty, and the various ramifications thereof.

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PS: I'm sorry I haven't been round to read and comment on lots of blogs over the past few days, but I succumbed to the kids' germs, and have been (and am) feeling a bit *bleurgh* :-(

PPS: My guess at the films No.1 would want to watch whilst she was poorly, were completely wrong. What we actually watched was 'Harry Potter & The Philosopher's Stone', 'Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back', 'High Society' and 'Beauty & The Beast: The Enchanted Christmas'.

Poorly Kids & Old Fillums

No.2 has been a rather poorly boy. I'm not sure it would have been possible to get more mucus into his feverish body, than was there last week. He's so good, he doesn't make much of a fuss, other than wanting cuddles. It feels very strange when he's ill and there isn't the regular cry of 'I'm hungry ... what can I have to eat?'. Anyway, an ailing child is the perfect excuse to cuddle up under a blanket on the sofa and watch a fillum. (On a wet, grey afternoon we watched Walt Disney's version of 'Robin Hood'. Brilliant songs, cracking story and wonderful animation).

No.1 has now been infected with her brother's germs, so Saturday found us all snuggled under blankets, watching 'Oliver'. In these days of super-dooper action movies, and all kinds of whizzy special effects, I was thrilled when No.2 pronounced this 40 year old film: "wicked". (It's been one of those lurgies that makes your taste go funny. No.2 found the things that 'tasted right' were apples and Pringles. No.1 says pasta, Angel Cake and ice cream (though not all together) 'tastes right' to her). So ... I'm in full Florence Nightingale mode here: it means the house doesn't get cleaned and I don't get much done (I'm horribly behind on the monkey front - apologies to those waiting), but never mind.

Over the last 3 months, I have watched a fair few old films. I found a box whilst I was unpacking, a cardboard box with words printed on the outside. I think it once housed tins of pineapple. Inside the box were VHS videos that hadn't seen the light of day for many moons. More than many moons - many years. Some of them were 'proper' videos, with pictures on the case and 'blurb' included; some I was pleased to see, some I wondered how the hell I'd got, some I put straight in a black bin liner, and some I vowed to watch again. Thus the last few weeks have seen me sitting before 'Rain Man', 'Wuthering Heights' (the Laurence Olivier/Merle Oberon version), 'The Shawshank Redemption', 'The Breakfast Club' and 'A History of Aston Villa FC'. :-D

(Picture copyright, of course, belongs to Disney)

There were my Disney videos: yes, yes, I know ... why would a grown woman have Disney films? I don't know the answer to that but I seem to have somehow acquired a 'collection' and some of those films are, in my humble opinion, masterpieces of animation and cinematography. 'The Jungle Book' is my all-time favourite Disney film, but others I think are brilliant are 'Beauty & The Beast', No.2's favourite Disney - 'Robin Hood', 'The Lion King', and more recently 'Monsters Inc'. I've just counted my Disney collection: 44. Gosh, I didn't know I had that many.

But there was a whole pile of videos that I'd obviously used to record 'stuff' from the tv. Some of it was marked: 'The Life of Carl Gustav Jung', 'BB King in Concert', and 'BBC2's Birth Night'. Does anyone remember that last one? I think BBC2 spent an entire evening showing programmes to do with pregnancy and birth, including following some midwives 'live' to witness some births as they happened. I'd forgotten all about it, and have no idea in which year BBC2 broadcast it, but can recall thoroughly enjoying it. I think it was probably around 1993/4/5 - years during which I was desperate to have a child, but suffering from infertility. Now there's a blog post subject for the future, maybe?

I'd recorded some films - 'One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest' (one of my all-time favourites), 'The Last Emperor' (another favourite), and 'White Christmas'. But there were a whole pile of films with no labels, just letters on the spine. Hmmmm, how intriguing. I was pretty sure they were all films, but had no idea precisely which. Instead of just chucking them out (how could they be that 'precious' to me, when they hadn't seen the light of day for 15 years?) I decided to watch each and every one of them to see what was on them.

It turned out to be a treat! I have seen 'Ghost' - I'd forgotten all about Patrick Swayze's best friend being a baddie! I have chuckled through 'Life of Brian' - fan-bloody-tastic. I stuck one video on whilst clearing out a box, and found it to be 'Love Story'. 'I won't watch it', I thought ... 'I'll switch it off in 10 minutes'. But I didn't switch it off, I sat through the whole thing as impossibly young versions of Ryan O'Neal and Ali McGraw fell madly in love, dealt with life, and with death. I had to do the school run with a red nose and tear-stained face that day.

Another afternoon I sat down with a bit of knitting (only a hat for a monkey) and found I was watching 'Cry Freedom' - I had forgotten how superb Denzel Washington was in that film. A few days later I found myself watching 'Jagged Edge'. In fact I found I had two copies of this film - so I guess I must have liked it. *Note to self: Never, EVER watch this film alone, again* - Crikey, at that bit near the end, I jumped so high I almost hit the ceiling!

All in all, a bit of a 1980s/early 90s film fest, and I'm thoroughly enjoying it. I only kept a fraction of what I found - and there are still a couple to be watched. For the next few days, with an ailing No.1, I'll be watching her favourites: 'Forrest Gump', 'Grease', 'St Trinian's' and the like. Do you like old movies? Do you keep them on video/dvd, or borrow or rent them? What is your favourite old film, dear reader, and why?

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More Monkeys

Do you know, this time last year I had never even attempted to make a sock monkey? How bizarre is that? I can't imagine not making them now - they are such fun; and people seem to like them. I've done some more since my last monkey-make post, so thought you gluttons for punishment might like to take a look at them.

First up are these little twin monkeys - for little twin people. My forum pal Snozz (that isn't just a random limerick she wrote - it was posted on the limerick thread ... just thought I should make that clear!) asked for these monkeys a shamefully long time ago, and what with moving house and all, they didn't get round to being made. I sewed the socks when I was at mum's I think - it's just taken me this long to get round to stuffing and assembling them. Please give a warm welcome to The Twin Kadinkies:

Midget monkeys made from midget socks. No buttons for eyes as the children are under three - the appliqués are very firmly stitched on. I hope the little twin people enjoy playing with their little twin monkeys.

Next up are more sibling monkeys. Some friends wanted two monkeys for two nephews of theirs. They asked for 'boyish' monkeys, with an appliquéd initial on each. Not just any random initial of course, because that would be silly: The initial(s) of the respective boys. I managed to find some brightly coloured socks with no pink or purple in them (and that's actually much harder said than done). Here is 'O' Monkey:

And here's his brother - 'T' Monkey:

Here's the obligatory family portrait:

Although it looks like 'O' is bigger than 'T' in that photo, I made absolutely sure I used the same brand of socks for both monkeys, and that they were exactly the same size when finished. Because I know what it's like to have two children with two toys - it wouldn't be long before the cry went up 'Mine's bigger than yours' ... that's boys for you ;-)

And lastly for now, here is a young lady monkey. The brief from another forum pal - Madfriend (known to all as 'Mad' ... if the cap fits ;-)) was for something pink and girly, so that's what she got. This monkey is wearing a pink and white polka dot dress with a pinked skirt hem and a net underskirt. She has an appliquéd felt heart on her dress, with some beading round the heart (that's the appliquéd heart, not her monkey heart). She looks very prim in this photo, but I suspect there is a rather naughty personality beneath the butter-wouldn't-melt expression:

She has been named Tallulah by Mad's daughter, and I know she'll be spoiled rotten living in that house.

I have more monkeys on the go here, including one for an upcoming giveaway ... watch this space.

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Halloween (2008)

It came round again, didn't it? The night of Halloween, and the following day of Samhain. So now summer is officially over, and we must all tuck down for winter. Don't know what the weather's been like in your parts, dear reader, but here it's been pretty wintry for all of half term. One evening I went out with some friends and it was sleeting fairly hard. :-(

Following the success of Boris the pumpkin last year, my kids were keen for us to have another bash at the carving thing. I'd heard that the pumpkin harvest wasn't good this year, given the appalling summer we had, but good old Mr Tesco came up trumps, and for the princely sum of £1.49, (a 50% hike in price from last year - I only know that because I looked at last year's post where I'd mentioned it cost 99 pence) a pumpkin was ours. No.1 wanted to 'do the lid' again. After a brief flirtation with the idea of a pink and girly pumpkin (tsk) she decided on black as her colour scheme. No.2 and I concentrated on the face, he was urging me to make it look 'really mean'. Anyway, a morning getting pumpkin-y resulted in this chap:

They named him 'Snape the pumpkin'. Personally, I don't think it looks at all like Alan Rickman, but there you go.

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No.1 was invited to a Halloween Party this year, and went dressed as a very pretty black cat/catwoman type thing (except cat woman didn't wear a pink skirt or pink nail varnish, did she?); this was her mask:

I'm afraid I didn't make it - it came from that well known couture house - Maison Sainsbury. She had a great time, and I'd like to thank the hostess mother - B - for giving the girls such a good party.

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One of the most lovely Halloweeny things was receiving a parcel from Jennie of Falling Down The Rabbit Hole. She had a giveaway to celebrate 100 posts at her blog, for a Halloween Bunny she'd made, and guess who won? :-D We now have the pleasure of the company of Buffy the Bunny:

The fabric Jennie used for the dress is perfect - dark and glittery cobwebs in a sheer material, over an orange cotton. Buffy has a little white felt skull on the orange bow on her head, and another on the back of her dress. She also had her own little orange felt pumpkin 'bag' on a black ribbon handle: so much stitchy attention to detail. Jennie put so much loveliness in this parcel. A hand-drawn card, LOADS of sweeties for the kids, some Halloween stickers, a pop-up ball game, Halloween stencil, and a little puzzle. Thank you so much Jennie - x - it was very kind and generous of you. My kids were over the moon (as was I).

When the postman brought this parcel, he had a sort of grin on his face. He said

'Excuse me ... can I ask you a question?'

'Of course?' I replied.

'Who, exactly, is this Kitty Wrinkle person?'

'Ah ... that's me.'

'But you're not Kitty Wrinkle, you're Mildred Featherplucker'.¹

'I know I am, but I'm Kitty Wrinkle too ... it's my 'internet name'.'

'Oh ... I see. Well, you've given us all a good laugh at the Sorting Office. It's a stupid name, and every time we get something addressed to it, we hold it up and say 'look! Here's another one for Kitty Wrinkle!'

':-O'

So that's nice isn't it? I've provided a public service of laughter to the boys and girls at the local Sorting Office. Super.

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The kids were at their dad's on the day of Halloween, so I sat at the sewing machine, and made some little Wiggly Bags for Gina.

If anyone reading would like to help Gina out with this cause, just leave a message at her blog and she'll email you with an attached instruction sheet. They weren't complicated to make - If I can do them, anyone can.

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Lastly, I must apologise for not getting round to everyone's blogs over the past week. I have had ongoing *issues* with my broadband connection. I have been experiencing a dropped connection at least a dozen times a day, and it's been driving me nuts. Surely it's not normal to be asked to reset one's router that many times a day? I started to wonder if there was a problem with the phone line in general (even though the 'line test' facility at BT's website said there wasn't) or the general wiring of same? I was not happy. I called BT, and was warned that if an engineer came out and found that any problem was my equipment/fault, they would charge me £116 plus VAT. Well, an engineer did come out (they said to expect him between 1 and 6pm. He was here at 9.30am). A very nice, friendly chap by the name of Dean, who found that I had a wire loose at the exchange. That is not a metaphor for my being one sandwich short of picnic - I really did have a loose wire. Thanks Dean (oh, and I hope you win the bargain waxed jacket at eBay. I don't know why people tell me all sorts of extraneous things about their lives, but they do ... and where Dean was concerned it was the reversible Burberry jacket he's spotted on eBay).

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¹ If you had a name like Mildred Featherplucker, you'd use a pseudonym too, wouldn't you?

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