Author Archive

Aug

Oh dear I’ve just realized that I’ve not updated my blog for a week. Naughty me (slap on the wrist). Things have been a tad hectic lately. The beginning of the week was all tied up with helping LJ sort out her requirements for Middlesex University. As you’ll know from my last post, she had to go through clearing and ended up changing both courses and Uni. We all feel that she has made the right choice and she’s looking forward to starting off her course at the beginning of October. I must admit that all the stress has given me a few more grey hairs and caused poor hubby George to lose some more hair )

Poor George, he’s been soooo busy this last week too. Everybody wants him to sort out their PC and/or Internet problems. Trouble is, it seems like every one of his clients had the same thought at the same time and what with his involvement with our local non-league football team, he doesn’t know if he’s coming or going silly

I’ve been busy too. I decided to close down my little hobby/part time biz making candles and my gosh in the last 5 days the orders have been coming in thick. With 3 days left before I close down my site Cosy Candles & Aromas completely, it seems that everybody is bulk buying my lovely candles and melts. I make everything to order, sometimes the only exception are the small fluted wax melts, shown below. I make them up in small batches of 6 at a time and as most people go for a pick and mix option, I tend to have 1 or 2 of each scent left over from each batch. Everything else though is made as when ordered.

Here are some heart shaped mini melts

A small selection …….

I’ve got some container candles setting up nicely at the moment. They’ll be ready later on this evening but I’ll probably label and package them tomorrow morning. I also need to make up some more tea lights but I think I’ll do those tomorrow. To be honest, I didn’t think I’d get many last orders, so I thought I had enough supplies. doh Nope, had to put in an order for more wax and I’m currently waiting for some more fragrance oil from the States to fulfill an order for a very good customer.

I have managed to find a little hooky time, not much, but I’ve finished crocheting my fun and funky bag inspired by the lovely Lucy of Attic 24 blog. I’ve finished making up the handles and I’ve made up some pretty little flowers to accessorize it. Here they are

Just need to weave in the ends and then sew up the bag. I wasn’t sure whether to line the bag, but George said it would probably be better if I did. So once I’ve gotten around to attaching the handles and flowers I’ll have to go searching for some fun and funky lining material.

Maybe something by Amy Butler

or Valori Wells

or even Kaffe Fassett

Category: Candles, Crochet Tags: amy butler, crochet bag, kaffe fassett, lucy bag, soy candles, soy melts, valori wells 2 Comments

Aug

Best Laid Plans And All That ………

Ruby

Well, to say that the last 24 hours have been challenging is a bit of an understatement. Yesterday was A Level results day and like thousands of anxious parents and students we woke up with some apprehension. DD came down at 9am in tears to say that she checked on the UCAS site and found out she was in Clearing. After a quick tearful outburst she hurried to her college to find out exactly what the damage was. For those of you not in the loop, clearing is when you’re matched to available courses for your exam results. Usually, it’s because you didn’t get the right grade or UCAS points for a particular course at a particular Uni. Occasionally, it’s because you did better than anticipated.

In LJ’s case she didn’t get the expected grade in English. She had a tough time on some of the questions during the exam and I think, possibly, deep down she was panicking about the final result. So with her hopes of studying English with Journalism at Lincoln Uni dashed, it was time for a rethink. What were her options? Well, she could redo her A Level in English, but that would mean another 2 years, only this time as an adult student. Do a foundation course for a year then transfer to a BA course for years 2 and 3. Or, change courses completely.

She opted for the third choice. So rather than English with Journalism it’s just Journalism. To be honest, when we were looking at courses last year, I thought she would’ve gone for a BA in Journalism. It was her idea to switch to a combined course with English as she thought it would give her more opportunities once she graduated. Who could foretell this would happen. So after searching for open courses in Journalism, a short list was made and after checking out the course details, entrance criteria, two Unis were selected as suitable potentials. University College Falmouth in Cornwall and Middlesex University, to the North of London. Both offered her a place, all she had to do was to decide which one to accept.

As LJ mainly wants to go into print journalism, she has opted for the course at Middlesex University as she feels this is going to be better for her. She’s happy with the choice and really, that’s all that matters. Obviously, we’re disappointed for her, but sometimes these things happen for a good reason. If she struggled with parts of the English exam paper at A Level, how would she deal with the degree paper. This may prove to be a blessing in disguise. Middlesex is also closer to home and as going through clearing means there is no on campus accommodation available, LJ would need to find private accommodation nearby, which, in North London, would’ve worked out expensive. So she has opted to stay at home and commute from Essex to Trent Park Campus, in between Oakwood and Enfield. She hopes that after her first year she’ll have made some nice friends and then move into shared accommodation for her second and third years as she would’ve planned had she gone to Lincoln.

So, we have LJ home for another year which, of course, isn’t a problem. It means George and I will have to wait another year to get our own bedroom back (that’s a different story altogether, folks). She seems happier today with the new choice she’s made and is looking forward again to this new chapter in her life. As I said to her, life has a habit of dealing you a bad hand every now and then. But it’s these challenges that help to mould us into the people we become, so we should embrace them. I know that both George and I are better people because of the bad times we’ve been through.

So, panic over.

Who said parenting was easy.

Category: Family, General Tags: family Leave a Comment

Aug

Not A Well Bunny

Ruby

I’m feeling a little bit under the weather today as I’m coming down with a cold sick so don’t get too close to your screens peeps. So rather than updating my blog from my desk, I’ve dug out the old laptop, and folks, it is old. I’m currently lounging on the settee in my jim jams, medication on the table next to me, feeling very bleugh.

Mind you, it’s not all bad as my lovely postie brought me some goodies to cheer me up. Firstly, I received my copy of Jan Eaton’s 200 crochet blocks

Image of 200 Crochet Blocks for Blankets, Throws and Afghans: Crochet Squares to Mix-and-Match

I’ve had a quick flick through and it is a wonderful collection of different crochet squares to mix and match for throws and blankets. I’m going to have sooooo much fun going through them, perfect for using up all those small balls of wall in my stash. I’ve noticed that there are quite a few charity organisations that ask for knitted or crochet blocks so that they can make up blankets to send off to those in need. What a brilliant idea and I shall definitely be participating, especially as I will be buying lots of yarn for future projects for my home and family.

I got another 4 issues of The Art of Crochet. That takes me up to issue 21. I have to say that I’m falling behind in making up the squares for the Vintage Style Throw. I seem to be a tad busy working on other projects at the moment. I’ve almost finished working on my Lucy Bag as seen on Attic24‘s blog.

As you can see I have completed the main body of the bag. I’m currently working on the handles. Here’s one almost done.

I’ve got another 2 rows to do to achieve the right width. Then, of course I need to do a second one.

My final package was of my yarn I bought off eBay. If you remember in a previous post, I mentioned that I was short some 20 odd pom poms to finish DD rug. I had a quick shuftie on eBay and found a seller in the US selling 3 balls for a mere $11.99 (£7.70). This was much cheaper than I originally paid. She also was selling some Red Heart Super Saver in Windsor Blue. 3 big 7oz balls for $9.99 (£6.41) which will be more than enough to make one of the 2 cushions that LJ wants to accompany her rug.

So for a total of $26.93 (£17.28) including postage I got myself what I feel is a bargain. Plus I’ll have lots of yarn left over for more projects.

Now all that’s left to wait on are LJ’s A Level results. Like thousands of anxious parents up and down the country, this time tomorrow we’ll find out the final outcome. Needless to say as the day has drawn nearer, she is starting to get panicky. Although she’s fairly confident she’ll get the grades she needs for Lincoln, there’s always that niggling fear of doubt playing in the back of her mind.

So tune in tomorrow when hopefully, I’ll be feeling a little bit better but more importantly, we can all celebrate Laura-Jayne’s success.