Saturday 17 May 2008

More information than you need to know.

There will be more words in this post than I am used to because I’ve been tagged by ethel and edna

This means that I have to answer some questions about myself and then find 6 more people to tag.
Are there any volunteers out there?

Before I start, here’s a picture of a surprise in my garden.
I’d forgotten I’d planted the cowslips last year so I was happy to see them amongst the forget me nots.



I have a problem garden. Its shady, sometimes very windy, with a clay soil and its over-run, or should that be overslithered, with slugs and snails. My expectations were high once but as I saw my lupins languish, sweet peas stubbornly refuse to flower, and delphiniums disappear without a trace my optimism faded.

I have heard of people who watch cookery programmes on tv and then suffer from 'Kitchen performance anxiety'. I watch Monty Don and Rachael de Thame and I suffer from 'Garden performance anxiety'

All I can do is enjoy this time of the year when those plants which are happy, flourish in the adverse conditions.

Can you spot the damage?
Flushed with success at the sale of two of my green and orange brooches on ETSY I've made a lot more.


Brooch






And now for the questions :

The rules of the game get posted at the beginning. Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.
1) What was I doing 10 years ago? 1998....? My sons were 13 and 15 and the older one was not interested in school so I spent a lot of time ‘encouraging’ him to finish his coursework for his GCSE’s.
I was working a lot as a supply teacher, and excited at the prospect of starting to exhibit and sell my embroidery. I was also approaching 47! I remember the week before my birthday I said to a friend ‘I’m 47 next week. Yippee’ in as deadpan a voice as I could muster to illustrate the prospect. Strange how that prospect would seem much more exciting now I am approaching 57!
2) What are 5 things on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order)
Answer these questions and post them on my blog.
Check for comments.
Check for comments
Check for comments. (Can you tell I’m quite keen on comments?)
Go for a walk.
3) Snacks I enjoy: Toast with marmalade, ice-cold chocolate.(But I’m not fussy I’ll force it down if its at room temp.)
4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
I’d have to start by getting rid of a lot of it by giving it to all my friends and relatives and respond to appeals I’ve heard now and then which have caught my attention, and hope I could really make a difference. There are so many.
Employ someone to remove all the slugs and snails from my garden then I could grow my favourite flowers.
Get the roof fixed and the house painted.
Buy a big chunk of the local countryside so it won’t get built on.
Buy a laser eye machine with staff for my local hospital. My Mum had her eyes ‘lasered’ which enabled her to drive again but she had to wait longer than she should have for an appointment at another hospital. It changed her life so much for the better.
Buy a cottage in the Lake District with a view to moving there to live. (I couldn’t just upsticks and leave my house..it would take me a while to ‘separate’) But I am aware that Lakeland residents can’t afford to buy houses for themselves, because of outsiders raising the value, so I’d use my money to find a solution because I’d feel guilty otherwise.
5) Places I have lived:
Not many: Penwortham, Near Preston; Strawberry Hill, Twickenham and Teddington, (when I was at St Mary’s College); Twickenham again for 3 years teaching; Penwortham again; Manchester for 6 weeks (in my husbands flat when we were first married before we bought our own house); Higher Wheelton; and finally for the last 23 years, Brinscall.
6) 6 peeps I wanna know more about: There are a lot more than 6.
I am not brave enough to TAG anyone in case they have already done it, and in this early stage of my blogging career I have to play safe, so if 6 people would like to volunteer........?

And finally...next week Issue 4 of Finished folding mirror.

Have you noticed the colour? Its a coincidence. Honest.

16 comments:

Sara lechner said...

oh, jackie, i'm totally in love with your brooches and pieces. You have a very distinctive style now, kind of celtic but not really. You will have much success with them, i wish you this!! the frames are wonderful. if you have any questions about blogger, please ask. Perhaps you don't have to waste a whole day trying to do a header like mine (that's what i did because i always chose the complicated path!). it was so easy after i began to "think"! :-)

Sara lechner said...

...and i've put you on my links list!

Anonymous said...

Love coming by your blog because I always leave inspired. Congratulations on the etsy sales and I hope you have hundreds more!

arlee said...

OOOOOOO can't wait to see that issue---and orange is my all time FLAVOURite colour!

Maggie Grey said...

Hey Jackie - thanks for the comment on my blog. So glad you left it as I love yours to bits. I enjoyed your Byzantine inspired piece at the Riches of Stitches Exhib. Will keep in touch.

hens teeth said...

Chickens...yes I said chickens, in the garden, they will sort the slugs out for you! (Silly suggestion)?
The brooches are delicious.
Go sell sister! (No, I hav'nt been drinking).

Lynne said...

The frame looks lovely - another reason to look forward to the magazine coming out.
I know what you mean about the slugs and snails: I have an old stone wall about 7 foot high down one side of my garden which looks lovely but is home to thousands(only a small exageration!) of snails and I too have given up buying much in the way of plants because they just eat them all.

Unknown said...

i adore your work.... beautiful colour combinations as well as texture and design....what a pleasure looking through your things...

Victoria said...

Your brooches, and the mirrors are really gorgeous! Love the rich colors!

And what a delightful read! I also once had high hopes with my gardens, but the bunny rabbits set me straight. I plant, they eat!

Anonymous said...

I'm not quite sure how I got here, but I'm quite delighted. Your work is lovely. I'm usually such a lurker - but felt the need to comment and ask if Fibre & Stitch is available in the US...Hmmm, I think I'll be looking for it soon. Congrats :)

Unknown said...

Hi, thanks for tagging me ! I've just done my tagging.
I think your garden is just lovely !
Your work is just lovely, very clever. I love the colour combo's
:)

Cda00uk said...

Since your polite question about whether I was willing to be tagged led me to your lovely blog - how could I refuse? I don't promise to pass it on, though!

Looking forward to F&S 4, now I've seen a sample!

[And slugs and snails like chalk gardens too - and pansies.]
Celia

Mary Welsh Hubbard said...

I love the colors of velvet that you use. In the store near me, the only colors I can get are red, black and dark green. Hohum indeed.

Anonymous said...

I've just finished my tagging Jackie, thanks for the invite. I'll be visiting your blog again soon for more inspiration :)

hens teeth said...

Can I pass on the tagging? I'm not at that level yet!!!!

Anonymous said...

hi! This is ssimpson13 from Flickr

1) What was I doing 10 years ago? 1998....? I was getting ready for the school year to end, going to classes as the birth coach for a friend's imminent spawning, and packing things up to move into this very house.

2) What are 5 things on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order)
a. Walkies with Arwyn and Mr. Man
b. Make Shrimp with pesto for supper
c.get my crochet kit bag together for tomorrow's Yarn Tasting at the Yarn Outlet shop
d. laundry maintenance
e. Do Jackie's meme

3) Snacks I enjoy: nuts, spinach dip with tortilla chips, caramel

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
a. Be charitable in large and small ways
b. get a house that is just right for us
c. create travel fund for various adventures
d. get a degree in something dreamy like archeology or anthropology


5) Places I have lived:
Miami, Tallahassee, Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Pinellas Park- all in Florida. Note- I find this unfortunate.



Mo
st of my pictures can be enlarged by clicking on them.

Dear Anonymous.....

....don't waste your time...I have a spam filter.