Gone potty!

For my special birthday last year husband bought me a day on a potter's wheel. t was a really thoughtful present and I had a really amazing day but it was at a time when I struggled to regulate my brain and the excitement of the day meant that I couldn't sleep afterwards. Anyway many months have passed since then and my head is in a much better place. So for my birthday just gone I asked for another day on the potter's wheel. It was today and it was every bit as brilliant as the last one. I have no doubt that I will sleep tonight as I'm exhausted!

This pot is going to be plain cream so that I can pot up some cacti and don't want them overshadowed by colour.

This is my Cath Kidston type bowl, although I notice that it is missing a spot or two in the photo!

This pot used centrifugal force to spread the colours that I'd chosen so I can't repeat it even if it's the best pot ever!

I ended up making four pots which although not perfect I already love them and hope that they will survive the firing process. So another hobby, one can't have too many, right?

After the excitement of the beautiful Mt Teide we are now heading towards Santa Cruz, the capital of Tenerife. We have pulled in to a service station for a rest stop and to be fair it's much nicer than I could have imagined. We were persuaded to try the special, which was a good move as we could understand very little of the menu. It's a Mexican special which turns out to be sweet and sour chicken and the portion size is a proper trucker size! I've obviously left room for a cake! I noticed that cake translates into any language. Buen provecho!

Mount Teide

So today we have hired a car. We are venturing around the island in comfort in our 1.2 VW beetle! Cabriolet no less. The views are breathtaking over Mt Teide. The darker surface is a mere two hundred years old and is the result of a volcano eruption in 1798.

Indulgence

The weather is so beautiful I feel my spirits lift with every ray of sunshine. Today I'm wearing a reclaimed dress which I bought from Newark antique fair. I think it's French in origin. I've dyed it purple because I don't really do the shabby white of yesteryear even though I recognize its beauty. It just doesn't suit me actually neither does bright white to be honest. Anyway since I've dyed it, I've sewn on a pocket using some vintage 60's fabric that I have and a couple of patches. They are totally unnecessary but I like them! I love my new old dress but I think Mr Cymraeg thinks it looks like a sack. Men! Although having just seen the photo of myself maybe he has a point. Oh well, I'm on holiday!

A much needed break!

I know that people often think that teachers only work from 9 to 3 and that their work is littered with holidays. If only that were true! Anyway we are away in Tenerife because we feel we deserve it! It's day two and this morning we took the 467 bus to Los Christianos and have spent the day wandering back to our hotel in Costa Adeje. We may have stopped once or twice for refreshments, it is after all thirsty work. I've done a little Christmas stitching through the day although I need to get a wiggle on if it's to be completed. Mañana!

Stepping back on

I've missed blogging, it's a bit like an old friend who I've shared many things with. It's high time we got back to where we left off. What can I say about the last few months. They have been one of the most difficult in my life, whilst I craved company I also hated it. I didn't want to do anything or go anywhere. Lately though little by little I'm reclaiming my life. I've very much enjoyed the warm weather although I'm also looking forward to wearing Woolies and boots. That's probably because there is more of me than there was, oh well, I shall console myself with more cake!
I'm going to try and blog every week now that I'm here although I'm not going to put pressure on myself. We shall see. So old friend, I haven't given up on you and I will be back x

Trying to get sorted!

So, I'm signed off work for three weeks at the moment. I'm struggling to sort my headspace, too much going on. I'm sure in time it will get easier. I'm finding it hard to focus and I rush about not achieving anything.  Today I've made myself focus on finishing a project.

As you can see from the date it's a project that has been hanging around for a while. I started for my granddaughter's first Christmas and put her birth year on it. It was too ambitious a project to start two weeks before Christmas. As with so many of my projects my intentions are good. Oh well. I'm pleased to say it is finally finished. As is so often the case, a short burst and it's done. Thirty minutes is all it took.

 

Now I need to focus on other projects that are half done. Finish them or get rid of them  Try and clear the clutter, both in my house and in my head.

A visit to Grantham

Yesterday I met up with my lovely friend to exchange our Christmas gifts. We have made Christmas in January our tradition. We combine it with a day trip somewhere. Yesterday our trip was to Grantham. I do love Grantham, as with most high streets it has more than a just a couple of charity shops, it also has some independent shops too, but more than that, it has character and history! We walked through the street market.

Where else would you see braces of pheasants and a smiling stallholder? It was a step back in time. 

 

We visited the museum and saw the spitting image puppet of Margaret Thatcher.

It's always been on my list of things to do. Long gone now, but I remember the programme as I was growing up.

We also saw a death mask of Isaac Newton. An interesting piece of social history. We ended our day as so often is the case with food! A delicious afternoon tea. 

A problem shared and all that

I know that I've got too many projects, more than I'll ever complete I suppose, if truth be told. I have this evening added to them, in fact I've spent a small fortune with Mandy at Dandelion designs. I didn't mean to, it just kind of happened. It often does when I'm feeling, well, a little blue. To be fair it's quite a dark shade of blue possibly even black and whilst on the whole at times such as these previously I've kept these feelings to myself, it doesn't help. So this time I'm going to talk about my feelings, probably not all of them here but to my close friends. I think mental health should be talked about and I've often been a good listener but this time I think I need to talk. So there we have it, a funny little post that is a big step, not off a cliff as I'd like sometimes, just a little step onto firm ground. I hope I can take some more.

A finished project!

This poor sock project has been hanging about for a good while. Of course it's not my only unfinished project but I have to start somewhere! My Januarys are always full of promise! I'm pleased to say that there are now a pair of freshly knit socks that can do a happy dance if they so wish.

Let's hope a few more finished bits join them throughout the year. I've also planned some new projects too. Oh well you can't help some people!