Update

Hiya.

Yup, Im blogging on my Birthday - but I thought it was time for an update.

New job is going well, tho as its the run up to Xmas theyve had me just focussing on maintaining the Amazon and Ebay stores, and packing the small stuff to send out, and sending lists through to the warehouses for larger stuff.

For a taster of the kind of stuff we do check this out.......ICI Direct

We import the wooden goods and sell to stores ranging from Waitrose,John Lewis, M & S etc,  lots of Garden Centres and at the bottom end of the scale, Wilkinsons.

They also help people who have come up with ideas to navigate their way through patents and copyright law, to getting the goods produced and marketing them.

Anyway, its lovely walking to work and Im saving a packet on petrol and lunches and my blood pressure has already dropped 6 points!

As my head has been full of getting to grips with my new job, Ive not been up to a lot else. I have decided I really need to get cracking with my Xmas pressies tho.
Im making up a batch of this for my Sisters in Law....lemon-sugar-hand-scrub- and am quite hoping to have a bit left over for me. Im busy trawling the interweb for other bits and peices to make.

I have made another farbic basket for a friends daughter. She grew out of a dress she loved, so her Mum gave me the dress as she thought the fabric was nice. So I decided Lana should have a basket to remind her of her dress......

I think its come out quite well.

And now that I have me lovely new shiney Birthday Pressie from the bestest Hubsand in the world, I can do some real serious stuff. ........

Im very excited as Ive never had a NEW sewing machine before. I reckon a few lessons could be on the Xmas list. Ive done a fair bit of sewing but its mainly been simple stuff and hasnt mattered if it looked homemade, so a chance to gain a bit more confidence and lean some new techniques could be a good thing.

Well, thats it for now I guess, and the Casserole (yup its Slow Cooker Sunday!) needs looking at.

Thanks for dropping by and having a read. I will try not to leave it too long before I post again.

Jojo
:o)

What A Week!

Its been a bit of a strange week.
It all kicked off with a phone call @ 8.30 on Monday morning offering me the job Id been going for! I said, Yes please, and handed in my resignation as soon as I got to work. Its amazing how much easier it is to wade through the day to day cr*p when you can see an end in sight. So, this will no longer be the view I see when I look out the office door.........

The week was full of trying to get loose ends tied up and saying my goodbyes, as one of our Suppliers pointed out, Ive spoken to them twice a day for the last two years, so it will be a bit strange. I have met some nice people through my job @ Mawdsleys and have gained a lot of Admin experience (including my level 2 NVQ in Business Admin), and there were even a couple of years when I enjoyed the job, but when that stopped and it started stressing me out and winding me up, I knew it was time to move on.
So, I finished on Friday (after 5 yrs service) and got some lovely cards, flowers etc from the people Ive worked alongside.

I start my new job tomorrow, and am really looking forward to it. Its a 10 min walk from our house (no more struggling to get to work as soon as it starts snowing) and with a small increase in pay and with the petrol I will save, we will be approx £100 a month better off (that is equal to our Gas and Elec for 2 and a half weeks), so thats not to be sneezed at. Onwards and upwards I reckon. :O)

On a sad note, the friend we went to see last weekend, passed away on Wednsday. It was expected, but wasnt nice to hear. She had breast cancer a few years ago, which she had fought off, but then this year the cancer came back with a vengence, she started treatment in Feb, but lost the fight on 31st (Halloween). With reference to my Halloween post, Im choosing to think it happened on that day so her Husband could come back to take her with him (he died from cancer in 2004). Her funeral is next Thursday, and my lovely new employers have no problem allowing me time off to attend (even though it is in my first week with them).
Rest in Peace Michele.

As you can imagine, this week Ive been trying to get lots of stuff tied up after work, so havent had much time for crafting. Although we have managed to purchase a couple of mannequin heads for displaying hats, etc . Thank you ebay!
Meet 'Edna and Dick(head)

Gardenwise, theres not a lot happening either as its starting to get quite cold and weve had a couple of frosts this week. My calendula are still flowering and I my crysanthamum plant (well its more like a bush) on the front garden has burst into flower, I really didnt think it would flower again (it didnt last year). Its a lovely chocolatey (almost red) colour.

Thats really about it for my week. Still not got any Xmas crafting started (have lost my motivation and cant seem to remember which box Ive put it in).  Ive got a roast planned for tonight, was toying with doing it in  the slow cooker, but Ive got to put the oven on to do the roasties anyway, so am gonna oven cook it instead.

Hope all is well with you and yours, Thanks for reading, and I might get round to the blog I was intending to get done some other time.

Jojo