Done Chillin'

Yup, that's me - back from my holiday and back to the usual routine, so all done chillin' out. :0)

Quick warning: NO stitching pics, so skip this post if general holiday chat isn't your thing.

DH and I set off for Rural Roosts on Friday afternoon, once the organic veg box had been delivered, and had a good run all the way there - just a bit of traffic on the A15 to contend with initially, everywhere else was pretty quiet. My DSis had already arrived, unpacked and settled in when we got there and had even had time for a snooze! LOL We had a quiet night just chillin' in the lodge, reading, chatting and watching a little TV - and watching some of the birdlife that is always around. The peace and quiet was brilliant! :0)

On Saturday we had a trip into Market Rasen where we grabbed a bite to eat at Joplins (very helpful with making something up to suit my diet) and have a look around the shops. Of course we made a beeline to our favourite place The Rainbow Room to see what we could be tempted with. Unfortunately there wasn't as much amber jewellery in there as usual but you can see what I succumbed to instead:


The book was half price, so a bargain, and is about a form of Chinese divination I've never come across before - decided I was interested enough to buy the book, anyway. Of course I couldn't come away from there without some crystal, could I? LOL Not sure you can see it clearly enough in my pic but the piece on the left is a reasonable sized amethyst point and it has some pretty rainbows inside, as well as the loveliest feel to it. It wasn't the piece that I first asked to look at - that one didn't call to me at all when I held it but this piece felt right. I didn't go into the shop with the intention of buying a bracelet but that was another piece that called to me. My DSis came out disappointed though, as nothing appealed to her at all and she'd wanted to buy a small crystal sphere to go in what was originally a tealight holder I bought her: a pretty blue piece with a sleepy dragon curled around its base - it will look great with the right sphere in it. Think we'll have to take her to a M,B&S event soon to give her a better chance of finding the right piece for her. :0)

When we'd done there we called in at the local Tesco to do some food shopping, as we'd only taken the basics with us, then drove back to Wragby for a look round the newsagents and Hospice shop there. This was my haul there:

There's a bit of a tradition developed over the years, in that I always buy a cross stitch magazine to browse through whilst away - when I saw Tinkerbell on the front of this I knew I had to have that to stitch for my niece Erin. I don't usually "do" Disney but for her I make an exception. :0) Those books were the first proper haul of the holiday. LOL Back to the Lodge for our evening meal and a couple of games of Trivial Pursuits afterwards.

Sunday we had booked a carvery dinner at the Turnor Arms in Wragby. They were very helpful with catering for my dietary needs and the food was excellent - well worth a visit, if you are ever in the area. Back to the Lodge after and we had a bit of a walk round and a snooze after..... that's what a good meal and fresh air does for you! ;0) It set us up nicely for the TP tournament that night though.

Monday we chilled out in the morning then had a trip into Wragby for some shopping in the afternoon, with a drive round afterwards so we could see a little more of the area. There's quite a bit of woodland round there and a Fen area with hides for birdwatchers, as well as lots of farmland. We'd hoped to visit the Fen for a wander round but didn't get the chance, due to either being busy doing other things or the weather not behaving itself.

Tuesday we all had a trip to Mablethorpe for the day. Now I have fond memories of the place from many a childhood seaside holiday there but seeing it now was a bit of a shock: it has changed a lot and the Thorpe Sands Holiday Park we used to stay on is no more, replaced by lots of bungalows and a Lidl supermarket. Tacky souvenir shops are in abundance, as are amusement arcades, but the eating was not only very cheap but very tasty in the cafe we had our dinner in. We also found a couple of shops of interest that tempted me into spending a few pounds and this was my haul that day:

Some craft goodies, including a storage box that was cheaper there than what I paid in The Range. There was also a crystal shop - they didn't have any crystals that called to me but I did get a great book on crystal healing (it also had that dinky little dowsing pendulum with it) and a shell that will be ideal for using with smudge sticks. There were also some nice clothing shops too and I came away with two short-sleeved knitted jacket tops - quite dressy and the medium fit me (great boost - used to be L or XXL!). Despite being on the coast I never actually got to see the sea that day, as being with Uncle, Aunty and cousins we felt obliged to go with what they preferred to do.

Wednesday the three of us had a morning's chillin' then went off on our own after dinner. We headed off to Brigg Garden Centre for a look round, as they have a big gifts area and an Edinburgh Woollen Mill clothes section - unfortunately their trousers didn't fit me (14's were too tight and the 16's too big) so I came away empty-handed from there. Gutted, as I desperately need replacements as all the trousers I have are now way too big for me - guess I'll just have to lose a couple more lbs so those 14's will fit! LOL Next we headed back to our house to make ourselves a meal, then get changed as we were booked in to the Theatre that night, to go see the LTC production:

I thought DS was playing a vampyr in it but his role was the Reverend "Mightily" Oats and our friend Alex played the Countess and her DS had a couple of small roles too. It was a really good performance and we enjoyed our night out. We went up to the Theatre Bar afterwards and spoke to DS, Alex and her DS and a couple of other folks, then headed back to RR..... finally rolling into bed around 12.30am.

No rest for the wicked though, as we had to be up and out to join everyone for a trip into Horncastle. Uncle etc like to look round the charity shops and antiques places and we like the market and charity shops. Why do I like the charity shops? For the books, of course! LOL Here's the nice little haul I got this year:

Quite meagre, compared to last year, but I'm extremely happy with it - especially having found a copy of The Golden Bough (one I've wanted to get my hands on for some time) and an Egyptian book to add to my esoteric collection. I really should stop buying books, as there's a huge heap in the little bedroom waiting to be read now, but it's something I just don't seem to be able to control...... I love books and reading and if one catches my interest it has to come home with me. The market was a good one as it had several local food producers there: we came away with some smoked trout (something we hadn't tried before and it tastes heavenly!) from Belleau Smokery and DH indulged his passion for cheese from the Lymn Bank Farm stall, getting Tomato and Basil, Brewers Choice and Traditional Apple Smoked cheeses (so wished I could try some but had to resist!) and some bacon and other meat from the Redhill Farm stall, one DS knows well from Brigg Farmers Market. One other purchase was a lovely skirt in browns, all flowing lightweight cotton and long - I used to avoid this type of skirt as they made me look like a sack of spuds tied around the middle but the weight loss has given me the courage to try them again..... and it was so pretty I couldn't resist it. :0) We spent the rest of the day back at the Lodge packing up, so we'd be ready for the 10 am departure time on Friday.

I have to fess up that not one single stitch was made at any time during the holiday, despite taking Night Watchman and Sea Stars with me.... though we all seemed to do quite a bit of reading. I finished my latest book - see side bar and The Reading Corner for more on that - and started the Barbara Erskine book The Warrior's Princess that Julie very kindly sent to me. My DSis did really well as she managed to read two books!

Despite having a good time having to go Friday to Friday is a weird way of taking a holiday, throwing all of us out so we had to keep reminding ourselves what day of the week it was. As they won't do Saturday to Saturday anymore we've decided this was our first and last Friday to Friday holiday at Rural Roosts and we'll be going somewhere else next year - a real shame because it's such a lovely place, so peaceful and relaxing and with so much bird and wildlife around it's like a mini Garden of Eden. This is one of the scenes I captured with the digicam:

These Canada and Greylag Geese pairs seemed to be really good buddies and we often spotted them close together like this, usually also accompanied by the Mute Swan pair too. The evenings were fun, as the Canadian Geese would suddenly start a kerfuffle, honking away and flapping their wings, then suddenly taking off to fly over the Lodge and off into the distance...... very soon followed by a similar performance from the Greylag's - guess they all probably roosted together somewhere else for the night. They always came back early the next morning, honking their arrival, then spending the day swimming around the pond or cosied on the banks. I shall really miss this but the new place we'll be going to next year seems to be equally as nice surroundings.... fingers crossed it's just as peaceful too. :0)

Hope you've all had a good time whilst I was away - will be stopping by to catch up with all your news soon. :0)

Mini Rollercoaster Days

There's been quite a bit happening these last few days so it feels a bit like I'm on a mini rollercoaster ride - and I hate all fairground rides except the dodgems! LOL

Tuesday evening was the JA/S&S UFO Night again and, as I'm making real progress, decided to continue with Night Watchman. His face is so cute I wanted to see the rest of it. :0) Here's where I got to:


Even got some more of the trachea stitched too. LMAO

Wednesday dawned bright and early....... too flippin' early for me, as we had to be at the Doctor's for 8.30am. The nurse was able to tell me that my test showed I had slightly raised cholesterol (5.3) and blood sugar (7. something) levels, plus the blood pressure was showing as still raised. It was then I realised this appointment should have been with the Doctor, as there was nothing else she could tell me.... only the receptionist wouldn't release an appointment for me and said I had to phone in the morning. Annoyed, we left!

I got DH to drop me off part way down the local High Street on his way back to work. Yes, I had another trip out on my own. Yay! A bit too early for most places but the RSPCA shop was open and I found a couple of goodies in there:

The frame is still wrapped and was just 80p - it will be ideal, turned the other way up, for framing a band sampler. Yes, that's another book...... and no, it's not another murder mystery. LOL

After that I popped into the Alternative Therapies Clinic for a chat with the receptionist and booked myself in to have a Reiki treatment on Saturday afternoon, followed by a Tarot reading afterwards by the same person - I didn't manage to get them read at the M,B&S event, so thought I'd give this one a try. It's interesting to see the different styles each reader has.

From there I popped into Il Sorriso for a coffee and a toasted tea cake. It was a little busy but this time I deliberately sat facing everyone, though I did bury my head in the book I'd just bought from the RSPCA shop. By the time I'd done in there the Hospice Book Shop had opened, so I had a look in there for some of the books recommended by the girls on The Reading Corner blog and those that follow on from some of my recent reads. No success with the follow-ons but I did get these:

Yes, Julie, I managed to get the Kate Morton book. :0) I read an Alan Titchmarsh book ages ago and enjoyed his style, so grabbed that. Queen of Camelot seemed an interesting one and the Picture Maker says it's similar in style to the Jean M Auel books (Clan of the Cave Bear etc) which I thoroughly enjoyed, so thought I'd give that a go as well. From there I popped into the library, to see if they had any of the books I wanted, but there was no joy there at all. After that I went home, to find that my package from Sew & So had arrived.

Later on I sorted the goodies into bags, along with the charts, so everything for each project is together in one place. No stitching that night though - too tired. LOL

Up early again Thursday morning for making the Doc's appointment. Couldn't get in with the female GP I wanted but we got one with a male Doc at 11.20am. The male Doc was good though, with a no pressure but straight talking style I liked, and he laid my options on the line: it's not urgent but I have to do something about the BP soon. If I'm not happy about taking pills I have to make some lifestyle changes and the first is to try and lose 2 stone, in the hopes the blood pressure etc will then drop back to normal. If I don't he guaranteed that in under 5 years I'll be a pill-popping diabetic with high blood pressure and high cholesterol too - that will be a minimum of five lots of pills to take every day. The knock on effects of those health issues will be increased risks of strokes, angina and heart attacks, so this is a warning I have to listen to if I want to avoid all that. Right....... can you all please send me some willpower so I can lose that 2 stone........ it looks like the local Slimming World will be gaining another customer soon. LOL Meantime, there's that Reiki treatment to have and an appointment with the Herbalist to arrange and I'm already cutting down on the McVities Chocolate biscuits (sob).

That afternoon Maxine came for another visit. Lots of stitchy chat and another look at her stunning Paradigm Lost, which has gained another motif and another critter - I so love this piece and the colours used. I also saw one of the wedding pics she's stitching and a cute finish: Housework never killed anyone, stitched in silks, over 1 on 36ct. Wow! I'm now working up towards having a visit to Maxine's house at some point. :0)

I stitched on Sea Stars Thursday night but was so distracted I didn't manage to finish the octopus and wheel so have decided to try and finish that tonight, then post a pic. Next job is to stitch the card for my Exchange partner, as I now have all the threads needed for that but there won't be a pic of that for a while. After that I shall make a start on the NAY basket projects. :0)

Many thanks for all the well wishes and kind comments, they're much appreciated. Hope you all have a good weekend. :0)