JUNK AND MEMORIES

LIST OF THINGS that came out of my old loft during a massive clear out last weekend by both sons who were obviously looking for something but wouldn't say what. At least they came armed with two Landrovers and a huge trailer, also accompanied by two girlfriends, two large dogs and two bottles of wine, one for them and one for me.

Items thrown down loft hole to me and waiting girlfriends (because of course, being girls, we can't get up the loft hole as there are no proper loft ladders and we don't have the strength to haul our bodyweight through the hole, which in my case, is in fact true) to calls of COMING DOWN and WATCH OUT MUVVER, SORRY I DIDN'T MEAN TO HIT YOU WITH IT, and DON'T THROW THAT IN THE TRAILER, I WANT IT......

*Old knitting machine that is just as old as the day it was put in the loft that no one will let me open in case I burst into spontaneous knitting again and start replicating liquorice allsorts jumpers that sons were made to wear aged 5 & 10.

* Step daughters box of school work and mounds of Take That posters from the first time round.

* Dressmakers dummy size 12 (that was a few years ago) that I wasn't allowed to touch in case I felt the need to start dressmaking again, it went straight in the trailer.

* First son's christening gown that I told my ex-mother in law I'd given back to her already when asked for - obviously I was wrong.

* Pair of black ice skates that I bought from Silver Blades ice rink, Birmingham on trips there with the school, and later on the train with boyfriend then husband now ex husband, yes I could skate backwards and do twirls, I could also fall over and get my hand skated over by better skaters than me.

*Copious amounts of model railway track, complete with boards, model stations, dust and half made models, entwined with parts that used to belong to computers, sega mega drives and other stuff boys like to take to pieces to see how they are made (I suspect this is what they were looking for as the railway track didn't go in the trailer)

*Bundles of Landrover brochures from 1994 and related stuff to do with Landrovers, which caused a lot of excitement when sons realised that both their Landrovers were in fact made in 1994, and there they were, back in 1994, hiding in the loft so I couldn't see what they were doing, fiddling with model railways and looking at brochures of brand new Landrovers, of which they now have the exact one, unfortunately, not as in mint condition as pictured in the brochure.

*Sons old baby cot, thrown in pieces at me down loft hole and straight into trailer, together with Amstrad computers, old scanners and lots of empty boxes saved up there 'just in case we need to take it back'.

* Bertie the blind yorkshire terrier's dog coat (who is sadly no longer with us, but was a tough old geezer who went on and on, blind as he was, even after being knocked out by the line prop, squashed by a falling bookshelf and sat on hundreds of times by guests, I think he lived to about 17, as I didn't rescue him till he was 12) but his coat looks good on charlie the cat (the one who thinks he's a dog anyway) charlie wasn't too impressed so I did take it off after he'd wandered round the room skulking.

*Great bundles of old cigarette cards that son retrieved, at the time he was given them they were chucked up the loft, scattering everywhere, but now realising they are proably collectable, were carefully picked up one by one and put in box with railway track.

*Bundles of lovely soft cot sheets in perfect condition, that are so soft my husband thinks they will be ideal for polishing his trike and bike!!!! (and, even though he doesn't realise it, ideal for him to polish MY trike at the same time)

Three trailer loads to the tip later, the hall stairs and landing was covered in dust, cobwebs and bits of I dread to think what. If anyone wants a knitting machine or ice skates they are on ebay, with collectors editions of Rupert Bear annuals, a users guide to Amstrad computers and a Haynes manual for a Granada car, happy bidding. Collection only, but mind the cat in the dog coat, the dog eating the cat food, and the son running off with my gas bottles.

SECOND ATTEMPT - STILL WITHOUT PHOTO'S

Still here with my leg up, but only because I'm being lazy, and not because my knee is hurting so much. Today was going to be a day of painting, it didn't work out like that, so the oil paints I thought I was going back to days ago have now dried up and I've ruined yet another cheap plastic palette.
Instead I've been ordering parts for the small minibus (you would be suprised how strong 10 year old boys are yanking at door handles that then come off in their hand) trying to buy a script liner oil painting brush and getting waylaid by an artist whose classes I went to several years ago and did a fabulous pastel drawing of a dog while there, shopping, taking the dogs and the cat (one of my cats thinks he's a dog and unless I lock him in the house comes to the woods at the end of the road with us) feeding the guinea pigs and generally messing about.
I had intended to put some photo's on here, which I took today, only to find my youngest son has run off with my camera to take photo's of stuff to put on ebay. I know he will be back with it tomorrow as he's just bought a small caravan, and found I have two gas bottles in my camper, and he hasn't got one in his caravan to test his appliances - yet!!

Getting fed up with the cold weather now, I'm itching to get down to my allotement to put more muck and compost on my wonderful raised beds that my husband made in rows for me last year. He even put me a brand new shed on there for my birthday, complete with big bow. At the moment they are all covered with one huge tarpaulin (I don't know how to spell that, but you know what I mean) that was left on an unused allotement, its come in handy. I'm hoping that the 7 mini fruit trees I put on the half of the allotement I don't use, and the 3 not so mini apple trees are still all alive. I had apples on them last year, the first apples, I watched them and watched them, and then they were gone - nicked!!!!!!! Why couldn't those pesky kids have taken some from the next allotement who had hundreds of big apples, mine were diddy little things, but perfect.

Well now I need to wait and get my camera back, so I can make this all pretty and creative (thats what I'd like to do anyway) with the photo's I've taken.

FIRST ATTEMPT

I have been wanting to start a blog for ages, and as I'm sat here with my leg up because of a painful knee, what better time to do it. I thought it would be easier than this, having realised how comfortable it is to use my husband's laptop on my knee while sat in a warm room, instead of on the main computer in a small room with no heating and a cat flap held open with string so that the cats will use it.
I didn't realise that the moment I sat down with the intention of not moving, I would be innundated with visitors, a son who had been to the dentist and needed tlc and rescue remedy, a father who doesn't usually stay long, decided he would stay for a cuppa, a stepdaughter stressed from work come to collect her dog, dissapointed because I hadn't done any tea, and three dogs and a cat that thinks he's a dog trying to sit on my head.

Now the third dog has gone home, my husband has turned up to find he's paying for a take away because, still, I'm not doing any tea, the cats are in front of the fire, Molly the dog has gone off sulking somewhere because I havn't moved, Gismo the dog is asleep dutifully by my side (making sure he's leaning on me so he can tell if I move) and my husband is stretched out on the other recliner setee supposedly watching the football, but talking and talking to me, unusually chatty for this time of night and trying to divert my attention from the computer, because I havnn't moved.

I've had a lot of fun looking at other blogs, I've looked at ones by people who are into creative things so far, how interesting. I've only realised recently that all the creative things I do are because they involve colour - painting, dyeing, glass painting, its all to do with colour for me. As a homeopath I often prescribe colour remedies, as Sir Issac Newton said "The Universe is filled with colour".

I've suddenly realised that all my photo's are on my main computer so I can't put any on this posting, so its going to look a bit of a poor show for the first post, but, I'm still not getting up. I'm sure there is a way to do it, but I don't know what it is.

Here's hoping my knee will feel better tomorrow and I will want to get to my photo's.