Hello, is there anyone there?

I disappeared there for a while, It wasn't intentional just busy with other things.  As well as not writing a blog post I've not been reading all of your news either, I'll try and catch-up over the weekend, although not promising as I'm off on a little adventure with Joanne and the kids next week and things need to be sorted and packed for that.  But more about that when I get back.

July was a slow month for any crafty makes, I finished a pair of socks, sewed another small bag and fully finished a previously stitched ornament, not bad considering everything else going on, (another bedroom decorated and the loft re-insulated), but I always expect more of myself.

First off are the socks......These are the Rose City Rollers socks by Mara Catherine Bryner.

I lost the ball band, (again), but I'm pretty sure the yarn is another Mr & Mrs Rabbit yarn.

I like the rolled cuff and they are very comfortable, I'll definitely be making more of these in the future.

There was plenty of fabric left over when I made Bonnie's little bag and she asked if I would make one for her friend's birthday so they could have the same.  I'm pretty sure there is still enough fabric to make another one, certainly got my money's worth from that particular purchase :-)

I also finally got round to fully finishing the little PS peice I stitched back in April

There are only a couple of weeks left of the school holidays, those six weeks or so have gone really quickly! I've only had the children a few times while they have been off as mums and dads have taken holidays from work to either go away or just have days out.  Jenny James and the boys made it back home safely after their wild fire escapade in Rhodes.  Their luggage was sent on a couple of weeks later, although they are still missing their hand luggage which contained the boys Amazon tablets, headphones and Olivers Nintendo switch and games, as a ten year old boy you can imagine how he is feeling now not being able to play minecraft with his friends!  Fingers crossed these bags will turn up eventually but as there were thousands of people evacuated or moved around that they may well have to accept that they will not get them back

  

I had the boys for the day on the Monday after they came back from holiday, as Bonnie was out for the day with her friend, (the one I made the bag for), I offered to have Jacob too and we went to Stourport for the day.  There are loads of things to keep the kids occupied there in the Summer, the small fair is open and they had great fun on the rides, Oliver and Arty on the water dingy was hilarious to watch, Oliver was playing it safe then Arty pulled the wheel to one side and they kept spinning around, he is such a little devil, so funny though.  Managing 3 boys on my own was a challenge but I came through unscathed, albeit shattered.

Oliver and Arty won a fish on the fair, Arty wasn't too bothered but Oliver bless him, he was so excited, they haven't got any pets so this made his day.

Notoriously fairground fish don't last too long but as I write this they are still going strong :-)

There have been another few outings since which I might mention another time because I don't want this post to be too long.

This morning I've had to take Molly to the vets, I won't go into detail of the mess I got up to this morning but you can have a guess when I tell you she has a rectal prolapse. 

The vet did a procedure, (again you can guess what!) and fingers crossed it will stay put, if not she will have to have it stitched.

Poor thing, she must be so sore but is on pain killers and lactulose now for a few days so will hopefully be feeling better soon.

Right I'll leave it there for now, It will be time to show our finish for Stick6in23 when I post again :-)

Take care

-X-

P.S.  Just in case you are wondering, Molly does have her own lovely bed where she would be much more comfortable, but no, she is choosing to lie, rather awkwardly It has to be said, on the mat!

A beautiful day in October

Today started dull and wet but by mid morning it started to look as though that was clearing so I decided to take a drive to Stourport.  I think I've blogged a few times about Stourport, mainly when I've had children in tow, but today was just for me.

There is a high street at Stourport and a selection of shops, not many, but just enough for locals and after a quick look in a couple of charity shops I made my way to a lovely little cafe which sits right on the edge of the canal.

Considering we are at the end of October we have still been having the odd nice sunny day, and it was warm enough to sit outside and have my coffee, toast and cake.

I've never walked this part of the canal before but after today it's certainly somewhere I'll come back to walk again.

Just a little way past this lock are some canal side apartments and houses and as the canal runs along the back of the high street some of shops and pubs also back onto the canal further along.

I had walked for about half an hour when it started to get a bit muddy so I decided to go back and see what was over that bridge in the photo above.

When my daughter, Stevie, saw these photos she said it looked pretty but spooky, there wasn't anyone around but it didn't feel strange or spooky to me, just quiet and peaceful.

The newer building you can see on the right is the church, St Michael & All Angels, but over the wall I could see a ruin, so of course I had to go and investigate.

I love how the new church stands inside the ruins but couldn't find any information about the ruins on the site, It isn't the Mitton Chapel because the information sign for that said it was demolished after the 1st world war and only footings remain.

Once I got home this is what I found out about the ruins:

By the end of the 19th century a larger church was needed and In the 1880's work was started by John Oldrid Scott to build the church his grandfather, Sir G. G. Scott designed.  Although the church was consecrated in 1910 the building was never completed.  It was badly damaged in a storm in 1976 and a few years later was mostly demolished to make way for the current church to be built inside the ruins.  The new church, St Michael & All Angels is the fourth one known to have existed on the site.

It's quite an historic site but a sad story for the ruins don't you think?

I really enjoyed getting out in the fresh air, I always seem to find an excuse not to go anywhere but I must make the time and effort, I feel so much better for it.

-X-