Now there's ...

... a novelty!  I've managed to cook something in one hit this afternoon *grin*  Yep, new oven is installed and working well. All singing, all dancing, needs a pilots licence to operate ... a NEFF like they use on The Great British Bakeoff - with the slidey in door.  We decided to go mad and pay the most we've ever paid for an oven but it's worth every penny for the safety issue of not have to lean over an open door (it's a fitted oven) and the hubs will find it so much easier when he decides he's going to put on his chef's apron again .... which can't come soon enough as far as I'm concerned!  Hubby's wheelchair came in handy to transport the oven from the shed back up to the house - I have no trolley *LOL*  On top of having the oven installed we've got our 2 new power points sorted and the new tumble drier, which also needs a pilots licence to operate, is in situ and working *YAY!*

Thank you Clair and hubby Alan, for getting us sorted out *wink*

Jobs tomorrow - get youngest to take old oven over to the tip (if we've not been lucky enough to have somebody help themselves to it overnight as it's outside the front door) and defrost the table top freezer before I get him to stack it back on top of the tumble drier.  He knows about the first job but not the second - *oops!*

Thanks for dropping by .....

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Need to find ...

... an electrician!  Tomorrow the new tumble drier arrives.  I'd like to plug it in where it should be plugged in.  It ain't gonna happen.  Double powerpoint but one side, for the drier, has burnt out.  The other side keeps the table top freezer going.  The drier stacks on top of the washing machine and the freezer on top of that (yep, a BIG tower) and I really don't want to stack them all back until the powerpoint has been replaced.  I've been using the tumble drier and washing machine on an extension lead for months. Not the best way, to be honest.  I've mooted the idea of replacing the powerpoints myself to the hubby.  He's not keen but he's fitted kitchen electrics himself before now, many years ago before wheelchair, admittedly, and I'm sure he could 'supervise' although I'd prefer he didn't.  There's probably major electrical work needed around here, if it were checked out, but just have to take baby steps at the moment.

New oven is sitting in the shed waiting to be fitted.  I'm sitting here waiting for our current oven to behave and allow me to turn it back on again.  Dinner is half cooked but it needs another 20 minutes - when the oven decides to play nice!  A new oven I can't do myself ..... Think my weekend will be taken up trying to sort something out without having to wait too much longer.

Today I feel officially old.  Our youngest is 41 today.  He insists he's not old or middle-aged.  I say he's gone past that and heading towards old age *ROFL*  Happy birthday 41 year old!

On the way to Thorpe Park with his daughters (our youngest granddaughters) earlier this month.

Thanks for dropping by .....

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Excited much ...

.... John Bloodworth (Gentleman Crafter) is having another crafty weekend at the Manor House Hotel in Godalming in November as part of his All Counties Craft Challenge.  This time he's personally doing Brother Scan & Cut workshops but he's roped in some of his friends to do other workshops.  Those friends?  Leonie Pujol, Paula Pascual, Jenny Mayes and Sarah Milsop.  Leonie will be doing 'things' with her own range of stamps, dies & stencils.  Paula Pascual will be doing 'stuff' with Tonic dies.  Jenny will be having us using her Hobby Art stamps and Sarah is beading.  I've booked for Leonie, Paula and Jenny.  This time my playmate will be Kim and we'll be camping out at Greta's.  Try as we might we've not managed to convince Greta to come and play with us as well *sad*  Cally will be off to Florida a few days earlier so won't be around.  I've experienced workshops with all 3 - Leonie (at the GBCF) Paula and Jenny (both at the Glitterpot) - in the past so know that we'll have a great time over the weekend.  Can't wait for it to arrive now.

This Saturday just gone we had a visit from eldest grandson and our little great-granddaughter.  She's with her Daddy now for the 6 week summer break so hopefully we'll see a little more of her while she's here.  She starts school in September ... that's scary!  Think they'll know they've got her.  She's quite a character and definitely has a mind of her own *LOL!*

Today I was on chauffeuring duties taking hubby to his acupuncture session.  Bonus to that is we had lunch out and on the way home I did the weekly grocery shop.  Trying to use the bits that are left in the freezer before I buy any more for that so main shop was pretty much fruit, veg, bread and milk.  It's done now for another week though and menus worked out to use what we have.

Got to sort out my old tumble drier before Saturday.  The new one is arriving but they won't leave it without taking the old one away. It's one of those that has found to have a fault but we've had it years. Can't actually remember when we bought it but the serial number came up as affected so, thank you very much, a £230 tumble drier for £59 will do nicely *grin*   Unfortunately we have  it stacked on top of the washing machine and a table top freezer is on top of that so I have a tower to dismantle.  Youngest son may be home on Friday .... I wonder if I can rope him into helping *LOL*

Thanks for dropping by .....

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Thursday's workshop ...

... with Clair.  Wasn't sure when I saw the photo of what we were going to be making but loved the finished result in real life *grin*  A new Stampin' Up stamp set for this year.  Not sure what it's called and not one I'd normally have looked at but it's made a great card and will be ideal for a man .... in my case, 2 men who are both fish freaks *bigger grin*

I coloured the fish with Prismacolors pencils and Zest-It then used glossy accents on the eyes and some of the open bubbles but it's not obvious in the photos.  I also used a Spectrum Noir clear sparkle pen on the fish to give them a bit of a shimmer.  Strangely I prefer the Spectrum Noir sparkle pen to Wink of Stella.  It has a little more sparkle but I like both.

Same day as the workshop and postie brought me a little gift .... Superman Sergei limited edition toy.  Back in March I bought new car insurance via Compare the Market.  I didn't realise I could claim my toy (either Batman or Superman) as well as the cinema tickets.  Anyway, long story short, they reminded me to claim, I claimed, they declined, I protested, I've got!  He is sooo cute *ROFL

Busy week ahead by the look of things .....

Thanks for dropping by .....

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

The remaining ...

... 5 from Clair's birthday extravaganza.

Thanks for dropping by .....

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

We made ...

...10 cards at Clair's birthday extravaganza workshop day.  Here's 5 of the 10 I made.  I tend to keep the designs close to the original samples.  Others put more of their own take on theirs.  I lack imagination *LOL*  All colouring on mine was done with Prismacolor pencils.

Thanks for dropping by .....

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Where has ...

... the time gone?  Hubby comes home and it seems to have disappeared.  Can't say as I've not had time but what time I've had has been 'down time' - or at least, that's what the body has told me.  We seem to have had a lot of appointments, some of which, if he was driving, he could have taken himself to but, because he's not I'm chauffeur!  Will be so glad when he's driving again, even if it means me losing the 'big' car!  That's not a problem in itself, unless I've people, luggage and 'stuff' to ferry.

He's doing well.  Weight is dropping off nicely and he's not taking supplementary pain meds as he was while in the hospice.  He's managing without the sedatives/anti-depressants which just proves he doesn't need them - and because of the meds he's stopped, his tremors have reduced dramatically.  The fluid retention is nearly gone.  All in all a good result for such a short time home and he's surprised a good few when they've seen him, especially the nurse we bumped into while shopping in the local Asda *rofl!*  Don't think she expected to see him out and about doing normal stuff.  Just got to get him driving again now, which I think will involve him getting the confidence to actually give it a go after so long of not driving rather than anything else!  The new oral chemo treatment he's having has reduced his PSA levels a lot so it seems that's working.  Nothing but good news really except I've lost spare time *LOL*

My annual health MOT has gone well.  No decline in lung function from last year, which is good even if the lung function still isn't.  At least it's not progressing and the longer I can hold that downward progression off for, the better.  Our oven has decided to play silly b's when we try using it *sad*  Hubby has been saying for some while that it switches off for no reason.  I'd never had that experience.  Then, a few weeks ago, youngest had the same thing happen.  Just after, it started happening to me and now it does it regularly.  I think it's the thermostat and the higher the temperature it's set to the sooner it switches off.  Decision made to buy a new oven which is now installed in our shed, awaiting the tumble dryer to be sorted out and then we need an electrician to install oven, swap some 'burnt out' power points for new ones and generally give our electrics an overhaul.  Time is in short supply to sort these things out at the mo.

On the crafty front Clair had her birthday workshop day on Saturday.  The Christmas one later in the year is being hosted by John Bloodworth (Gentleman Crafter) as part of his All Counties Challenge so Clair decided we'd have a Christmas in July day this year.  A great day, good company, lovely food and 10 cards ......

Ready ....

Project table ...

On your marks ...

Hard at it ....

I prepped all the cards, made a couple and finished them at home on Sunday.  All now photographed ready to show - when I get time to do another post *ROFL!*

Thanks for dropping by .....

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

The hubby ...

... came home yesterday *grin*  Hopefully he'll be here longer this time.  Hopefully he'll not be going back at all!  He's much brighter, although very tired but that's to be expected.  Now it's move on with life and, if things continue to go well we may just get away for a short break sometime towards the end of the summer.

Last Saturday youngest came home and told me there was a very large moth at the front door.  He dislikes moths big time but I remembered that a couple of years or so ago I found a very large caterpillar at the front door.  Hoping that very large moth may be a result of a very large caterpillar I grabbed my camera and - lo and behold - very large moth was indeed a result of a very large caterpillar.  Never seen one before and unlikely to see one again but I've now seen the before and after ...... a privet hawk moth.

My finger in pic, on ground next to it.

£2 coin - yep, it was a big moth *lol*

Paviers are 9.5 x 19cm to put another perspective on the size of this moth

We think that it was a new 'hatching'.  It kept shaking it's wings and, initially, we thought it may be dying but after moving it to the shingle it wasn't there long before it disappeared.  We now think that the wing shaking was them being dried out ready for flight.  Also, it never opened it's wings fully whilst I was with it.  There are white stripes at the bottom of the wings near the body and they're not really obvious in any of the photos although you can see where the stripes are in places.  Beautiful piece of nature.  Privileged to have witnessed it, as was youngest despite his dislike of moths -*lol!*  Can't say as I'm keen but outside, it being so big and pretty docile I could cope *wink*

Thanks for dropping by .....

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Workshop day ...

with Clair today.  A lovely card made with a napkin image.  Love it ....

The workshop was followed with a visit to the Cancer Centre with the hubby this afternoon.  Turned out to be a waste of time.  The consultant needed a blood test to have been done.  Pity nobody had bothered to tell us as it could have been done a couple of days ago so the results would have been with him for the consult.  We have the bloods envelope for next months appointment ...

More projects from the House Party ....

Cally's projects ... calendars.  Loved these.  Just need the calendar tabs to add to them *wink*

 Kim's project ... lacy flowers.  Sewing *grin*

Christmas decoupage kits.  Kits bought at the Great British Craft Festival but never made.  Won't be buying any more.  Rubbish quality *sad*

 An Art Impressions stamp, Bloomer lady, shake your booty stamp set ...

 ... the butt wobbles *wink*

That's the last of the projects from the House Party.  Not so many as previous years but fun to do *grin*

Busy day again tomorrow *sigh*

Thanks for dropping by .....

Follow my blog with Bloglovin