Not A Woolly Mammoth

It's not a woolly mammoth..

..it's just a sweater with a dinosaur on the front. I've been doing a bit more knitting and have finished up another gift for that rascal Little E. But I know I'm going to have to face up to the fact that there are only so many sweaters one small boy can wear and so I've been looking about for something else. I thought a new pet might be good

but Best In Show won't be here for a couple of weeks; so I might make a start on a set of knitted Russian Dolls from Knitted Toy Tales instead.

I think I might be starting to think about Christmas gifts. Mmm..I'm definitely thinking about Christmas gift tags or cards, or maybe an album, with the Banana Frog stamp set I won last week in a giveaway on Julie's lovely blog. Thank you!

Thanks today are also due to the delightful Denise for awarding me the Friendly Blog Award. What a nice thing to be known for! Not many rules with this one, so I'd like to include the two blogs I've already mentioned today Banana Frog and the very friendly Julie. How about that?

More soon. I've got some casting on to do now..

Blogging With A Cherry On The Top

Wow, what can I say? Thank you to every single brilliant blogger who took the time to comment on my last post. So many of you chipped in (hurrah!) and I've loved reading every last word. Seems like you all enjoy writing those words just as much as I do. Some of you plan, some write on the hoof and I think both approaches have something to offer.

I scribble and edit so that you get the best of what I have to offer, as a way of thanking you for coming. But spontaneous can be stunning - when you think as you type, we're getting the real you, fresh and unfettered and that makes for great blogging. Maybe we should take a day and swap? Change methods just for a post and see how it works? Could be interesting. Anyway, both ways work, both are good. Both have you musing as you get on with life. And isn't that an amazing thought? Not just are you all modern, multitasking women: you are modern, multitasking women who blog.

Thanks, too, to everyone who asked after my birthday which was earlier in the summer. The picture at the top today shows the gorgeous book I got from The Tall One (nice choice!) and you can also see the fantastic cards I got from Jacky and Amanda

And finally, thanks are due to Sheleen, Becky, Deb and Sandi who have been kind enough to award me this:

I hope you all know how much I enjoy reading you too. I'll be coming back to this one.

Have you Heard The One About..

With all the knitting and dollmaking and scrapbooking this week it's been a bit short on Tall Tales round here, don't you think? The knitting is going well, though. I finished a skull-and-crossbones hat for our piratical little cousin; but it turned out, um, quite big, so The Small One snaffled it for days when she feels like working a Swallows And Amazons look.

Now Arthur Ransome was a man who enjoyed a tale or two, so I've been thinking of him as I crafted a few answers to this:

which comes to me courtesy of Carmen and Glen. It's very good of you both - thank you - if a little worrying. I'm not making this stuff up you know! Nearly everything I blog has actually happened. Almost. Most of the time. Anyway, I've shortened the rules of the award slightly so that I'm offering you five facts which might be true. Maybe they are outrageous whoppers. Completely untrue. Some are one, some are the other and I'll leave you to decide.

• When I was little my biggest ambition was to sail singlehanded round the world. I still think this might be a plan
• When I visited Downing Street the policeman on the door greeted me with "What's the weather like down there?"
• I spent two years of my childhood eating nothing much apart from salad cream sandwiches
• I once tried to push a boy out of a third floor window, but he held on with one hand and we hauled him back in again. Now he is a fireman and credits me with his lack of fear of heights
• I used to be really into abseiling but gave it up when the children were born

And of course I'd love to test out the straight faces of some other bloggers who might be up for giving this a go, so I'm passing it on to: Alana, Amanda, Jennifer (who actually does run creative writing courses), Curlywiggles and Jo. While you get inventive, I'll get back to knitting.

Running Out Of Random

We're all shivering under a grey and cloudy sky here today. Could it be the effects of the volcanic ash? Maybe. We've been learning about irony, too. The Tall One is only recently returned from the Easter school trip to Pompeii and its bracing walk up Vesuvius. He brought his sister back a present. What do you think? It's obvious really..a big lump of volcanic sulphur to add to her collection of chemical curiosities, of course. She loves it. He, though, (as my old Grandma used to say) is feeling a little bit "diddled". He paid good, honestly earned Euro for that sulphur; and now he's thinking that if he had waited long enough, a bit might just have dropped out of the sky and into the garden. Mmm..

Lucky I headed over to Alana's Little Blue shed, then, and found myself a cheery Kreativ Bloggers Award. Thanks, Alana! I'm running out of random facts, I think; but this one requires creative facts so I think I can manage:

1. Today I'm working on painting this chair cream. I love painting things cream. I've got a big tin of paint and I'm not afraid to use it.

2. Yesterday I was working on a new scrapbook page and it's nearly finished:

3. One of the first things I ever made in school was this picture about my trip to London. I entered it in a competition run by the local library and I won a beautiful book about Shakespeare.

4. I also made this rag doll when I was about 10. My mum showed me how to cut leather boots from an old shopping bag; and I've been recycling ever since.

5. I  made all the curtains in our house myself.
6. I love making fancy dress costumes and once made a santa suit and matching elf outfits. The photos for that one are safely locked away.
7. Before we got married I knitted The Accountant a jumper for his birthday. I started running out of time, so I got my mum to knit one sleeve. Which seemed like a good idea until it was washed: the sleeve I knitted sagged and stretched but the other one didn't. My Mother-In-Law is a knitter. She worked it out. But it wasn't a deal breaker. She still let me marry her son.

If you fancy an award, please have this one with my very best wishes. But, remember, I do want to hear those creative facts. Especially the ones which didn't quite work out. We've all got them. Haven't we?

Today I'm Loving..Sharyn's made-at-home Clip It Up Very clever. Very cool.

Please Welcome..

The Small One's Guest Post

Hello! Today I have taken over the blog to write about the happenings of me. But first I would like to thank everyone who took the time and effort to share their shoe stories with us. I think Mum appreciates it an awful lot; though as she types with two fingers it takes her quite a long time to say thanks or write something interesting. I can type with all ten.

As you already know, my name is The Small One and I am 11 years old. in recent posts you heard that i am very small (hence the name) and so my feet are too.

This is a picture of me and mum last summer when I have just caught her up in shoe sizes. That was a good day. But I am always wondering if I will ever make it to a size 4 (I'm not sure what that is in America). I bought black ballet pumps yesterday for the summer term at school (if I don't get caught because we're not really supposed to wear pumps) and they were a size 2, but my (killer) heels were a size 3. I'm a bit confused about the whole shoe size thing. Why can't every shop just measure in the same way? I'm not really sure about the answer to that, but maybe I'll figure it out one day.

Today Mum would also like me to thank Sandi for kindly giving her this award

I think you know quite a lot about my mum by now, so I will give you a list of 10 things that make mum happy!

1. My Dad
2. Nice weather
3. Lying on loungers in the sun
4. blogging
5. Me (!) (and my brother)
6. Christmas
7. New shoes (!)
8. Holidays
9. Family outings
10. My baby cousin

Thank you for reading my post today.

It's World Book Day

Today is World Book Day! I don't think it's the same date across the world, though?  But, you know, read something you love anyway! Old favourites are always good. Or perhaps something new might be even better. Here's what I'm reading for inspiration this week:

Table Inspirations and Tricia Guild's Inspiration both came from Tk Maxx. Their bookshelf is always worth a rummage, especially if you like cookery books. A great place to look for a gift book.

And here's what I'm smiling about this week:

From the lovely Cheri (whose weekly gratitude posts are a joy to read)

And from the lovely Melissa (who posts with style and grace every time)

So, in return I should be posting 7 interesting things about me and 10 things that make me happy. Would it be alright if I said simply I'm in a happy mood today and- leaving it there for now- move on to the interesting things. Though I'm wondering: are there 7 interesting things about me you don't know already? Mmm..

1. I was a Queen's Guide. In my longest ever recorded burst of physical activity I got all the badges..camping, hillwalking, knots, gadgets, the lot. I'm guessing my semaphore is a bit rusty by now, though.
2. I've never been able to click my fingers. One of life's little mysteries to me.
3. I learned to rollerskate inside because it was too wet to go outside. For an entire Easter holiday. My Mum let us use the hall instead. Nice one, Mum.
4. I fainted during one of my A level History papers. Funny for everyone else, but not for me because the headmaster phoned me at home to ask if I had any idea why it had happened and was it hormone related. Do I have to go on? Never fainted before, haven't fainted since; and really, really don't want to have that conversation with a teacher ever again.
5. I drink way too much coffee. But I've never considered cutting down.
6. My name is pronounced "Shan" and it's Welsh for Jane.
7. When I go out for a meal I always choose a starter, but I never have a dessert. I prefer savoury to sweet. all the time.

So, there you have it. Thanks, Cheri and Melissa! Now, please, if anyone fancies a go at either of these- 10 happy things or 7 interesting ones- be my guest. Have an award! Treat yourself! You know you're worth it.