snowy weekend

We have had a great time this weekend taking Millie for walks in the snow. Millie has thoroughly enjoyed rolling around in the white stuff. The snow is still here as the temperature has not gone above 0 degrees. We haven't gone anywhere though because the roads are still very icy. I am not looking forward to going to work tomorrow morning when it will be very cold and icy.

Without having realised it at the time, I have managed to knock off another of my 101 things to do in 1001 days - number 85 go to a quiz night. Andy and I went to one at the church hall with Andy's parents and his brother Simon a few weeks ago. I thought we were doomed when I saw a chap who I was in the same team with some years ago. He is so clever and knows almost everything. I went up to him and said hello and asked if he remembered me from all those years ago and said I might as well go home now that he is here! He laughed and said he did remember me and my ex-husband who knew an answer that he did not. He even remembered the question and answer in great detail!! He was glad my ex was not there that night! In the end we came third out of seven teams. Unfortunately two teams had a bust up and one of them walked out! We thought it quite hilarious that people would get so wound up over a church quiz night.

Not doing too good with the numbers 18 and 19 of my 101, i.e. quilts. I have started to make another one. How hopeless am I? I am quite looking forward to this one though as it is quite different. I am making a jeans quilt out of old jeans. I have been cutting up old jeans into 5 1/2 squares and have about 86; I need about 140 altogether. I think to get away with the three that I have not completed is to give them to my mum and ask her to back them for me.

SNOW DAY

The first photo is the view from the green to my house. The second one is of the green with snow in the trees. It looks really pretty.

It snowed heavily last night. We don't get snow very often here so it is quite an event when it does snow "proper" snow which actually stays on the ground for more than 10 minutes. It is actually about 6 inches deep which is pretty cool. I got up early to listen to the radio to see how bad the roads were. Everyone kept saying stay at home unless your journey is essential. I live close to the main road though, so I thought if I cant get out to the main road it will be alright. There was nothing on the radio about any problems on the roads I was intending to use to get to work this morning. So I went out at about 7.30am this morning. It took forever to wipe the 6" snow off the car and then when I went to try and turn the car round it keep sliding and got stuck.

So as I can't even more the car at the moment I am not going in to work. I took Millie over the green for a quick run in the snow. At least you can see her in the dark! LOL.

Decorations

Well the Christmas decorations are finally up, after Andy has pestered me for the past three weeks! I have always put them up 10-15 days before Christmas and not before! They do look lovely, Andy did most of the work this year; he was very excited to be putting them up. I will load a few pictures up a bit later on this evening. We are going to an outdoor carol concert in Old Leigh at 6pm and will take some more photos then. So I will load them all up later tonight. We bought a new outdoor set of lights in the shape of two reindeers and a sleigh. When our neighbours saw them they said they were thinking of buying the same thing! We are going to look a bit odd both having the same thing, but never mind. I love driving around looking at all the decorations. We will probably have a little drive around this evening as I want to take some photos for a photo swap that I am doing on www.swap-bot.com

laptop

I've not had a good week with my laptop. The screen cracked and this made it unusable. So I have been struggling all week and cursing. So Andy got fed up listening to me and went out and bought a new one today! OMG. We really shouldn't have, but I do use the laptop a lot. Now of course i don't have Photoshop on the new one and somehow I need to transfer my photos and digital scrapbbooking kits to this one which could be tricky cos the old laptop is very difficult to use with a broken screen. But I am very happy with the new one.

I've also started dieting AGAIN. Not sure how many days I will last. I am pretty crap at sticking to diets. I am just doing a basic diet - slimming world. I find it the easiest one to follow because you dont have to weigh everything. So let's see how we go. I am just getting fed up lugging this body around and want to be able to go for walks without it being so difficult. That will have to be my incentive.

Money free weekend

I LOVE the Internet and I LOVE googling to find out new and interesting topics. I am a member of swap bot (http://www.swap-bot.com/) and there is the opportunity to swap almost anything - ATCs, knitted items, mostly hand made items, sometimes swap things like ribbons, make matchbox and sometimes there are some email swaps as well as sending post cards. There is a huge variety. Today I joined a swap which is an email one - so it is free. The challenge is to make a list of 100 things to do that are free on a weekend. Ideas available from another website - http://www.thesimpledollar.com/
I had a little look on this and there are some great ideas. I quickly came up with a list nearly four pages long. Some ideas are fun, some are a bit boring but they are all free.
Here is my list:
.Phone a family member or friend for a long chat (phone deals usually include free weekend and evening calls)
.Deep clean a room in the house - wash curtains, carpets, clean out cupboards, hoover under the furniture etc
. Have a long chat with a partner about life ambitions and goals
. Make a romantic dinner with a loved one and light some candles, make it special with tablecloth, knapkin, wine etc
. Go to the library. You can read a magazine or a newspaper there; have a wander around and see what facilities they offer, borrow a book, DVD or magazine
. Read a good book.
. Meditate
. Watch a local community game - cricket netball, football
. Put your finances in order, check out what unncessary extras you are paying, see if you can get a better car/house insurance
. Put your paperwork/bills in order - file and throw out old stuff
. Shred all your papers for recycling
. Alphabetise your CD/DVD collection - I know this sounds very sad, but it is very fulfilling.
. Play a board game
. Do a jigsaw puzzle
. Watch your children put on a little show
. Make a den and play a make believe game with the children
. Make an indoor assault course for young children
. Walk along the seafront, on your own, with your loved one, with the children or the dog(s)
. Make a sandcastle. The beaches in Devon have amazing sand for this.

. Wash the dog (usually after a muddy walk is a good time)



. Take a nice walk in the woods or local nature reserve/country park

. Visit a castle ruin, gardens that are open to the public
. Cook up some meals in advance
. Bake some bread
. Bake some biscuits with the children
. I used to fill the sink with water and lots of bubbles and let the children play with the cups etc
. Paint some still life indoors, or go out and paint some scenery. If not paints available then colouring pencils would be just fine too
. Have a good clear out of the kitchen cupboard,s throwing out all those out of date goods
. Make a list of 101 things to do in 1001 days - still working on mine!
. Start a blog (perhaps detailing your success of above)
. Digital scrapbooking. There are some freebie kits and embellishments available that can get you started. One site that I use, which is very friendly and supportive is http://www.digitalscrapbookplace.com/
. Make ATCs. These are Artist Trading Cards - check out this site. www.atcsforall.com/
. Make some Christmas/Birthday cards by hand
. Make decisions and write out your will
. Walk through the house and make a maintenance to do list
. Actually do some of that maintenance around the house - fix that leaking tap, broken curtain rail etc
. Do some basic car maintenance, or teach yourself how to (good old Google will show you) Check the oil, water and air in the tyres
. Clean the car, inside and out
. Clean out the garage
. Have a boot sale. Although you do technically have to spend out to do this initially, you would actually get more than your money back as long as you don't pick a day when it rains and no-one wants to buy anything like I did earlier this year.
. Sort through your books, CDs and DVDs. Either sell your unwanted items on ebay or Amazon or swap them on websites such as PaperBackSwap, SwapTree adn SwapADVD.
. Teach yourself how to knit
. Take some digital photos
. Share your photos online
. Visit a free museum
. Play on the x-box
. Play on the Wii - Wii fit is a good one
. Play games online
. Chat on facebook
. Get together with some friends and have a nice chat

. Go geocaching - check out their site for a cache near you - http://www.geocaching.com/

. Stay in bed and watch TV
. Practice origami
. Make a video for You tube. this can be a "how to" video or whatever takes your fancy. I spend ages just looking at the videos
. Go for a swim in the sea
. Play a game of football/boules/tennis/badminton etc
. Scan your old photos
. Make a scrapbook using your photos
. Write a snail mail letter to an elderly relative. You could pick their brains for some family history and/or tell them all about your family's activities.
. Investigate your family tree - there is a lot you can find out online
. Watch films - a series of films like all the Star Wars movies (we watched all six one day!)
. Make a zine
. Cut the grass
. Tidy up the garden/greenhouse
. Trim the hedge or tree
. Do a crossword puzzle or soduku
. Do some volunteer work
. Watch the sunset/sunrise from a hill or on the seafront
. Do an exercise DVD
. Start a journal
. Learn or play a musical instruments. This can be on your own or with friends
. Sharpen your knives, scissors and lawnmower blades
. Plan your next year's holiday
. Give your partner a massage and if you are lucky receive one in return. Last year I learnt how to do Indian head massage and reguarly give my family members a head massage when they are tired or have a headache
. play a card game
. take a child to the playground and spend a great time pushing them on the swing and on the seesaw
. Google anything - I spend hours surfing the net. I usually start reading someone's blog which often leads to a link to another web site and then go on from there.
. Take a long hot bubble bath
. Manicure yours or your loved one's toes and finger nails
. Take some unwanted items to a charity shop
. Go fishing - on the beach or if it is free to get on a local pier, off the pier
. Go cycling
. Go running
. Do some amateur stargazing. Or you can go along to a local astronomy's open evening. We have a local one that often have a number of telescopes set up and let the general public have a look through and have a chat about astronomy.
. Write a book or some poetry
. Put up the Christmas decorations
. Wrap your Christmas presents, bought last weekend
. Write your Christmas cards

. Find letters of the alphabet on Google maps in YOUR area. I know of two people who have done this, one in UK and one in the Netherlands. I think I might see what I can find in London and Essex. Check this out. http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=1250975&page=all

. Take part in Earth Hour and turn off all the lights and if possible what electricity you can.

Well that is 90+, not quite a hundred, but I am sure you can think of a few more. When my children were young we didn't have a great deal of money, so we often had money free weekends. In fact, I think I have probably done almost everything on this list at one point or another. When I asked the kids, now aged 16 and 18, what they would do on a money free weekend they could only come up with chatting with friends and playing ont the x-box. All my efforts were in vain!

This weekend's adventures

I have had a busy weekend, mostly geocaching. Andy must be thinking I am getting obsessed! But I just want to make the most of the opportunities available. Yesterday there was a World Wide Flash Mob event in London which I wanted to do as well as a few London caches and today the weather was georgous so I wanted to make the most of it.

Unfortunately yesterday's weather was not so good. It rained and was very windy all day. The rain did not stop until 4pm so i was not too happy about that. I walked miles and only got to do four caches in the end. But it was nice to meet up with other caches for the event at 6pm. It was dark by then so everyone came ready "to flash" their lights and torches. The organiser had put lights all over her wheelchair and assistance dog and someone else had put little flashing lights all over their bike. They looked pretty cool. I signed my name and swapped a trackable so a successful day in the end. Unfortunately the promised fireworks for the Lord Mayor's Show which was also going on that day, had to be cancelled due to high winds which was a shame. Came home absolutely exhausted but happy.

Whilst I was walking around London I went past Westminster Cathedral and the remembrance crosses and poppies were still in place. It brought a lump to my throat to see so many little crosses, each representing one person who has given their life in war. This is a small sample of the display.

Then today when I got up the sky was blue! HOORAY. So wonderful to see blue skies again. So I thought I really must go and take some more photos of cemeteries for the upcoming swap that I am in and surprise surprise there are some caches nearby. LOL. So I thought I would go and spend a few hours wandering around the countryside. Went to two local cemeteries and got a some photos. Need to get those prepared and posted later this week. Then on to the caches. Had a very successful day finding all the planned caches easily. I was down a path with bushes either side where the cache was hidden. I was hiding in the bushes when two girls riding on their horses came by. How embarrasing. What to say to explain why I am in the bushes and not on the path. So I just blurted out "Oh I am just getting right out of the way because I don't like horses at all" Oh dear. I DO like horses really, but just couldn't think of anything else to explain my prescence there. The things we do/say to avoid detection.

Last night I swapped the sheep trackable,that I had picked up on Junction 15 on the MI last weekend on my journey back from Sheffield, for Jake from the Tweenies. Jake's "mission" is to visit football grounds, so I took him for a photo shoot at our local football ground this morning.

Anyway, I have had a very good weekend. I have had a nice dinner and a lovely hot bath and am chilling with a glass of red wine and soon will be on the DSP chat tonight. Life is good.

Today's Dishing the Week
OUTSIDE MY WINDOW - it is dark and the curtains are drawn
I AM HEARING - Andy dishing up dinner
I AM WEARING - my black jogging trousers and pink T-shirt
I AM THINKING - how tired I am
I AM THANKFUL FOR - sunny Autumn days
I AM CREATING - a matchbox book to be sent off tomorrow
I AM GOING - to have a nice hot bath after dinner
I AM READING - nothing at the moment
I AM HOPING - for another sunny day next weekend. LOL
FROM THE KITCHEN - we have a nice roast chicken dinner coming up
ONE OF MY FAVORITE THINGS - walking in the countryside enjoying a beautiful day
A FEW PLANS FOR THE REST OF THE WEEK - Apart from work finishing and posting the book matchbox for a swap and printing and preparing cemetry photos to be sent off later this week. Andy has a dietician appointment at the hospital in London.

Elf yourself

Check out this fun link of me and my family dressed as elves dancing to a christmas tune. http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/mYLqbjvP7WIrqK0m