CATCHING UP

There are all kinds of things I need to catch up - but will I?

Yesterday I went with a friend, Brenda, to a Homemade in Haddenham craft fair where we had two stalls; I had my blankets, quilts and Tiny Teds for sale and Brenda was selling for Art Group Members and for Age Concern, too. You can just see the legs of her table on the right hand side.
The hall has horrid bright yellow walls, ugh! But Brenda had asked for us to be against a wall so that we could use the little tacks in the rail running across this end of the hall to hang pictures from - or from which to hang pictures...I hadn't remembered that the sheet to cover the plastic table didn't reach the floor - just look at all the tat! And my coat hanging on the back of the chair. Dear me! However, I wore my coat all day after this first rush to get everything ready because the Exit door was open and it was quite chilly despite the numbers of people who came through during the day. Brenda sold very well - her items are always competitively priced - and

I sold all my knitted 6" Tiny Teds, a couple of Mug Mats and the Long-Hexie quilt hanging on a dowel against the wall. These Teds are some I made in 2010 so not ones which I took for sale yesterday.  It's very tiring! Still, we both had a successful day.

Here's one satisfied customer- his Dad gave permission for me to take this photo.

My angiogram went OK, though I do need another stent at some time but at present I'm on yet more medication. I'll be rattling soon with all the bits and pieces I take! Parking isn't so bad now I have my Blue Badge except that non blue Badge people do park in the spaces, too, I've discovered.

An early morning visitor on a misty, moisty morning last week. A couple of jays have been coming to take nuts from the peanut feeder about breakfast time. The bird will swallow 8 or more nuts then fly away. I don't know if it's regurgitating them somewhere. I wonder of anyone knows? It always flies in the same direction, for what that's worth.

I met this young man at an Exhibition which the Local History Group put on in the Village Hall last Saturday. I first met Eddie some months ago after he'd put a letter in the local paper grumbling about various aspects of Stone's Past Life which he felt were lacking mention so I got in touch with him through the Editor. Since then we've been swapping photos and memories though mine don't go as far back as Eddie's since he's Stone born and bred. His Dad looked after the sandpits which were once at the bottom of the gardens in my lane, now filled in, naturally. The frst time I met him he said he hadn't got anything to talk about regarding his childhood during the war then a few weeks later emailed 14 pages of just that. I think he's begun Part 2 after coming for a cuppa last week. He's not able to drive at the moment so his 'chauffeur' - his son - brought him along.

I've begun to get rid of the pond. Stuart came last week after work when the light was beginning to go to catch the goldfish, decant them into fish removal bags and take them to his pond at the stables where I HOPE they'll be safe, though once things are out of your control - that's it! After a couple of tries there's one left... I can't catch it, it's too canny to be caught by me.

The pond has about 1 1/2" of water in it and goodness knows how many inches of silt...the plants have all gone so I hope the heron doesn't get him as all the fencing has gone as well.

This is all that remains of the pond. It has about 1' or more less water in it,(below) the 'shallow end' where the blackbirds used to bathe is empty except for a puddle of water and an upturned water plant basket.

The tangle of roots belongs to a lump of yellow pond irises pulled out in one go - now to shift them off the grass. Gillian won't be coming for many more weeks now the weather is changing... I'll probably have to use my little axe to chop it into pieces. Just waiting for Harry, my 'heavy-duty gardener' to pop in so that I can ask his advice on what to do about the pond - as in where do I get soil to fill it in with, what to do about a piece of garden where plants aren't too happy (grass it? If so, when, seed or turves and what about the badger scratching it to pieces and making a piece of path wider for safety when I'm walking down it...not a lot then!