""Nothing to laugh at, at all.....!"

The title of this blog is regularly paraphrased in my family and goes back to my childhood when we had a 78rpm record of Stanley Holloway singing about 'Albert and the Lion' and it is how I have felt lately.  Nothing that would be interesting to blog about; you don't want to hear all about the Christmas or 'bring and share' lunches that I have been to or how like a beached whale I have felt after all this eating, or the mundane things I have done. 

However after nearly three weeks I must write something or you might think that I don't care!!

Since the last blog, I have had the reveal on our November Mini Mania, which was an appliqued item with a creature and a plant.

I love this picture which I have used before and added the Christmas Rose and holly.  I have always called the technique backside applique because though the fabric is layered up on the right side the picture is on the back.  I have used it many times and very intricate pictures can be sewn.  We have two months for the next Mini Mania to be completed; 'House and Home' - a minimum of 5  buildings in a street.

Last weekend was spent with my eldest son in Kent.  His brother and family joined us as we are not meeting for Christmas this year (both at their in-laws), presents were exchanged and I had a splendid but busy time.  After attending the local school Christmas Fayre, where my son won the 'Barrow of Booze' we all went to a Roller Disco on Saturday night.  I did not skate but my grandchildren loved it -

Grandson's first time and looking good

Next morning we all went for a walk in the woods

and this was the destination -

The rubber tyre swing over the stream

We had to drag the children away as they were loving it.  I can't watch as I can only think that the rope will snap!

Back home there was a 'bring and share' picnic at our Higham Piecemakers sewing group and we received our Christmas Challenge which is always so exciting.

We were given a fat quarter of fabric and received this

 

that has to be turned into the Fractured Star block and then made into any item of our choice and all to be completed by early April.  I am thinking up my ideas as a write this as I like to be different; so a WIP (Work in Progress).

I am also working on a new piece of embroidery and I am knitting as well, but more about that in a later post.

Today I have been Nordic walking and we were joined by another local group

Very foggy when we set out

Fog was lifting before the end

and towards the end we crossed the river again and saw this

Narrow boating in December!!

This is my last blog for 2016, so can I wish everyone a very merry and peaceful Christmas wherever you are and I look forward to a busy 2017.  I know it will be as I have just won fabric in the Pyjama Fairies '12 days of Christmas' and it will be delivered in January!!!

Marathon

It all started last March when I mentioned to my younger son that I wanted to visit my cousin in Florence, Italy.  I last saw her at her father's funeral some 20+ years ago and as I get older I feel that I don't want to meet cousins at each other's funerals!!!  Son immediately said "Why don't I run the Florence Marathon at the end of November" and that is what happened, except along the way, son's brother in law also wanted to do the marathon as well.

So off I flew last Thursday, as the first part of the group, arrived at the 'Air bnb' apartment we had booked and was delighted that we were very, very, close to the Ponte Vecchio.

Our apartment is on 2nd floor of block on right

Outside our window was this 'windmill' art installation which appeared very popular.

Back of the Ponte Vecchio

 

All jewellers shops and tourists

That evening I was meeting my cousin at her apartment for a meal and we never stopped talking and catching up.  What a lovely evening.

 

Next morning was spent looking around and getting my bearings. (Lots of photos to follow)



Ponte Santa Trinita from Ponte Vecchio




Palazzo Vecchio




Galleria degli Uffizi



Statue (copy) of David by Michelangelo outside Palazzo Vecchio



Piazza della Signoria and Palazzo Vecchio



An unusual bike I saw in the street!



A typical central Florentine street




Only way to get around - a scooter



'Il Porcellino' - Piglet





The Duomo



Campanile and the dome of the Duomo



Inside the Duomo



The 24 hour clock in the Duomo



Inside the Duomo

Though not a Catholic I have been in many Catholic churches abroad and have been amazed at the decorations, but this cathedral was very austere inside.   

 

The apartment was very close to

 

 

 

 

and I realised that if I needed to know "how much" I couldn't afford to shop there!!

 

The 'boys' registered for the Marathon at the 'Expo'

 

and once again I did the touristy bit with them and in the evening we met up with my cousin for a meal and I snapped night photos.

Ponte Vecchio at night

 



Christmas lights in the main shopping area



I popped up on various places on the marathon course, but only saw my son once to cheer him on, but both of them did well with 'brother in law' getting a personal best and son overcoming an injury and finishing well at just under 4 hours - his 60th marathon!  He had completed 50 marathons by his 40th birthday and wants to complete 100 by the time he is 50, so he is well on course.

A group of runners outside the Apartment, going off to the start close by

On Monday morning my son and I had a quick walk in the Oltrarno district on the other side of the river Arno before leaving for home.

Palazzo Pitti

 

Wedding cakes in a shop window

 

Porta Romano

For myself -  I met my cousin again after 25+ years, completed my Christmas shopping and visited a lovely Italian city that I had last been to 50 years ago when newly married.  What a wonderful weekend.

A reunion

Last week I started a new course of training with Chester Farm - 'Finds Marking'.  Every single 'find' that is dug up on the site has to be marked and recorded on a database and as this was our first day of training we had to practice writing very small and very neatly.  This does not come easily to me as my writing is not particularly neat or small but I had a go.  After practising for a while I went to collect my first bag for marking  and immediately recognised 'him'.

Remember this horse's head?

I blogged about this here, so imagine my surprise when it reappeared for marking and I swiftly said I would do it as it felt like an old friend.

Teeny tiny writing underneath

Ready to go back into storage

Ever single item in a 'finds' bag has to be marked, down to the smallest piece, as each piece is part of a bigger picture of the site.

A bag of animal bones all marked

We also marked bags of pottery which can be very monotonous.  On this occasion we didn't enter anything on the database - that will come next time.

What a dreadful day on Monday; it rained from dawn to dusk with some very heavy downpours thrown in.  My morning Nordic Walk was cancelled the evening before after seeing the  weather forecast - all blue over the East Midlands!

However days like this do have silver linings as I headed for my studio to finish something crafty started on Sunday.

Appliqué is the subject of the November Mini Mania and we have to use a 'creature and a plant'.  Well here is a sneaky peek of the finished item

A 'Christmas Rose' perhaps?

Once this was finished I started on a new Christmas bauble that I bought at the Knitting and Stitching show -Narcissa and I love it.

A long way to go

Nearly there

and finally, thanks to a wet and cold afternoon -

The finished bauble

I fancy making some more!!

A bit of this and a bit of that ....

I have had a very busy last week but nothing of great interest to write about, but I have continued to take a few photos of my activities. 

I am writing this just before I watch the Festival of Remembrance from the Cenotaph, when the Queen will lay a wreath on behalf of the nation and Commonwealth.  I always get choked up by this as my father was in the Great War and World War 11 and I remember those who never came back.  He didn't arrive in France until March 1918 and was demobbed in March 1919 but he went through the second World War manning the East Coast defences in Frinton.  Not glamourous but he met my mother during this time, and though everyone thought he was a confirmed bachelor, they married and hence I am here.  I wrote about him in this blog.

I have been working on 'land conservation' at Chester Farm over the last few weeks and the weather has been amazingly good to us.

This was taken just before the rain poured down!  Luckily we were on our way to our lunch break in one of the barns.  We were clearing the Holm meadow and building up 'walls' of wood to stop dogs (and people) getting into the undergrowth.  The contractors have started work around the farm buildings and have pulled down the corrugated barns and silos and opened up the site to build the new visitor centre.  Work cannot start on the house yet as they have discovered there are bats roosting /hibernating, so they have to be left until they fly off sometime soon - hopefully!!  Bats are a protected species in the UK.

On my Monday Nordic walk we walked by the river in Irthlingborough Lakes and rounded a corner to see this sight.

We thought it was rubbish blown up by the wind, but on closer inspection we realised what they were

A grey heron and white egrets

It was a thrilling sight as we hadn't seen so many egrets together in one place before.  While we were watching the heron lazily flew off.

Yesterday the 50+ Adventure Club had an outing to watch Northampton Saints play rugby and initially I wasn't going, until I heard that they were playing Gloucester in the Anglo Welsh Cup.  My younger son was born in Gloucester and we lived in Gloucestershire and South Wales for 25 years so my family have always supported Gloucester.

Come on you Cherry Whites!!

It was looking good -

but by the end the result was against us - Saints 19-13 Gloucester.  C'est la vie!!  However this was a family occasion for me as my son, grandson, brother, sister and brother in law were all there and when I was parking my car I saw my niece with her children.  Her youngest was playing in an Under 9's mini-rugby competition and at half time the teams paraded round the pitch - great excitement from these youngsters. 

In the meantime I have been very 'crafty', though most of it cannot be shown as it is Christmas related.  However I have completed my latest piece of embroidery.

Goldwork

I bought this as a kit in 2007 when I went to a Royal School of Needlework one day course and it sat around until I thought I should finish it.  My embroidery teacher suggested that the pattern would look better on this emerald green dupion and though the emerald green doesn't show well in the photo, she was right as usual!!  I am going to make it into a box lid when I can find an appropriate box.