A-Z of me

Happy Hump Day everyone. It's going to be a glorious one today.

So today I am going to do something a bit different.
I got this idea from Elizabeth over at Making Good Use and thought I would give it a go.
It would be great to hear yours too so that I can get to know my readers.

A - Age 41 and glad to be. I have so much more confidence now than I ever used to.
B - Bed Size - King Size. Couldn't go back to anything smaller.
C- Chore You Hate - Toss up between cleaning the bathroom and changing the bedclothes
D - Dogs - I love lots of different ones and have a retired Greyhound at home but would love a little shaggy dog that will sit on my lap.
E - Essential Start to Your Day - Toast and decaf coffee
F - Favourite Colour -Aubergines, plums and purples although I love green and blue too
G - Gold or Silver - Silver
H - Height - 5 Feet 1 and 1/2 inches and the 1/2 inch is very important!
I - Instruments You Play - Piano and the recorder and would love to learn the Celtic Harp
J - Job Title - Home maker, Volunteer Job Club Co-ordinator
K - Kids - Two beautiful teenage daughters
L - Live - Dorset- The most beautiful county in the UK
M - Mother's Name - Linda which means pretty although I would say my mum is beautiful.
N - Nickname - Chicky, Mrs Chicken
O - Overnight Hospital Stays - A few nights when I was very small following an operation, 4 nights following the births of my daughters, 1 when my eldest daughter was admitted for a virus infection.
P - Pet Peeves - Spitting- It makes me gag to see people spitting. Electrical wires.
Q - Quote From a Film - "Nobody puts baby in a corner"
R - Right or Left-Handed - Right
S - Siblings -One- my sister Debbie who is 2 years younger than me and fast approaching 40!!
T - Time You Wake Up - It varies but usually between 6.30 and 7.30 am
U-Underwear-That would be telling
V - Vegetables You Hate - Mushy Peas- they should be banned!
W-What Makes You Run Late - The internet, crocheting, reading a good book, my youngest daughter having hairstyle crisis
X - X-Rays You've Had - On my teeth and my spine
Y - Yummy Food That You Make - Dorset Apple Cake, Oat and Raisin cookies, Spag Bol
Z - Zoo Animal - Orang Utans and Penguins but only in zoos that do good conservation work

So that's enough about me

looking forward to hearing from you all

x

Contentment

So today I am having one of my favourite kind of days. I have been alternating between catching up with my blog reading, crocheting some pretty flowers from a pattern on Attic 24's gorgeous blog and creating an account on Pinterest.

 My aim is to turn these into a flower garland to hang up at home, like this (pictures and patterns courtesy of Attic 24)

If it turns out OK I may even make some for gifts. I will post piccies of the finished article when its done.


So as I said, I have also been creating an account on Pinterest. For those of you that don't know what it is, Pinterest is a site where you can create online mood boards which can be shared with others. It is a fantastic place to look for inspiration be it for home decor, fashion or crafting.

You can create as many boards as you wish for different topics. Currently I have 10 on the go- some of these are quite sparse as I have only just started. You can also set up a link on your web browser so that if you come across a picture you would like to add to your boards, you can do it instantly.
Feel free to stop by and have a look here. 



All this has been done with Radio 4 extra in the background for company. There is something very comforting about listening to plays and stories on the radio. I'm not sure why- perhaps it's because it brings back memories of listening to talk radio on long car journeys when I was a little girl.
 

 
Anyway I have to finish my post here. My lovely friend Caroline is dropping some apples into me later and I think I may just have to rustle up an apple crumble for this evening. I know it will make Steve a very happy bunny if I do.

Hope you enjoy the rest of your day

Tracey
x

Downton Abbey, time machines and frilly knickers!

Is anyone else excited about the return of Downton Abbey this Sunday evening?

I for one, can't wait. Judging by the preview that ITV has been showing, it looks as though the new series is going to be even better than the first.


For those of you that haven't seen it, here is one of the trailers currently being shown.
My Sunday nights are looking good for the next few weeks!





The music on this trailer gives me goosebumps. It is a version of U2's With Or Without You sung by a Belgian girls choir, Scala. I have put a link here to the full version if you want to have a listen.


I am a real sucker for a period drama, having grown up watching such classics as Upstairs Downstairs, The Onedin Line and Poldark. Programmes like these are the nearest I will ever get to experiencing what life was like in the past unless science advances enough to create a time machine. Should that day ever arrive, I will be at the front of the queue to try it out although I sincerely hope it would be more like the De Lorean in Back to the Future or Dr Who's Tardis than this. 

It doesn't look very sturdy does it? 


Should I have the opportunity to go back in time to any period, I would have to choose either the Victorian or the Edwardian era. I am pretty sure I wouldn't have wanted to live in either of these times as life would have been far harder than it is today. 


But I just love the fashion and style of those times. Women's clothing was so much more elegant-beautiful gowns, hats and gloves were all part of a well dressed ladies wardrobe. 


How could you possibly resist these beauties?

There were different outfits for every occasion that you could possibly imagine and probably ones for those that you can't and these were advertised in the fashion magazines of the day (which incidentally I think are beautiful in their own right.)

Such stunning illustrations- much more appealing than the photography of today.


 But as with everything in life, I appreciate that there were down sides. Corsets were horrendously tight causing ladies to faint on a regular basis and I am sure that knee length frilly knickers and all-in-ones were a real faff to negotiate when visiting the ladies!

But despite their impracticality, they still look very sexy in their own way don't you think?
Not sure I would wear them myself though.


Anyway that's enough about underwear- this is a family blog!!


I will finish todays post with some pictures of Downton Abbey to keep us all going until Sunday at 9pm. 


Enjoy

Tracey
x

A fantastic day in Sturminster Newton

Yesterday, I had a fantastic day at the annual Sturminster Newton Cheese Festival.

This annual two day event which has been going for over 10 years, attracts visitors from far and wide. It is a really big date in the diary of our little town in Dorset and apart from the obvious cheese sampling, there is lots to see and do.

My first stop was the Birds of Prey display. These are from Wessex Bird of Prey Rescue who do fantastic work rescuing injured Raptors-the scientific name for these beautiful birds.

They are all stunning but my particular favourite is the Barn Owl.

This gorgeous fella was a little camera shy and refused to look in my direction so I had to make do with a side on view. I do think it shows off his superb plumage. What a handsome chap!

This magnificent bird is a European Eagle Owl called Elton. He is huge in comparison to the Barn Owl and has the most amazing orange eyes.

For me, one of the great things about being at a festival is the live music. I love sitting around on a hay bale with a glass of real ale (a recently acquired taste) listening to quality tunes.

Local folk duo Ian and Martine  mingled with the crowds as they played and got everyone's foot tapping.

They were swiftly followed by local  favourites In the Pipeline who are a great bunch of guys and who never fail to get the crowd going.

All this foot tapping and merriment was making me hungry and so I went in search of some much needed local fare.

The choice of food available was quite mind boggling. A variety of mouthwatering cheeses, cakes, pies and speciality breads were all on display and it took me quite some time to decide what to have.

In the end, I plumped for a gorgeous tomato cheese and basil loaf from the excellent Oxfords Bakery 

and accompanied this with an excellent creamy cheese called Stoney Cross from Lyburn Cheese. Delicious!

Having eaten and feeling fully full, it was time for a little more ale and some more music- this time from the Bell Street Jazz Band.

By this time, I was beginning to feel a little sleepy -much like this little one and I decided it was time to head home for a rest in preparation for my evening out.

It has become a tradition that on the Saturday evening of the cheese festival, a big event is held at The Exchange in Sturminster Newton and this year was no exception.

Show of Hands are an acoustic roots and folk duo from the West Country. They have a huge following and have played at the Royal Albert Hall and Glastonbury Festival.
This was my first time of seeing them live and I was hugely looking forward to it.

However, before their performance, it was the turn of the support act.

  Philip Henry and Hannah Martin are a folk duo who until last year were busking in Sidmouth, Devon. They were spotted by Show of Hands and are now on their way to a very successful career.
They played 30 minute of fantastic music and received a huge round of applause from the audience.
If you like folk with a twist, have a look at them on You Tube. While you are there, check out Phillip's beatbox harmonica-it's amazing.

Then came the main event- Show of Hands. I am not sure what to write about them as I don't feel my words can do justice to what was an absolutely brilliant show. From start to finish their musicianship was truly exceptional. I will leave you with one of their songs( sadly not one they performed last night) but one of my favourites and very appropriate to those of us living in rural areas.

Enjoy




Tracey
xxx

PS Just to say a big thank-you to my hubby Steve Chick for his brilliant photos.I am without a camera at the moment and so I roped him in to being my photographer for the day. Thank-you xx

Hooked On Crochet

So my newest hobby is crochet and to say that I am addicted to it would be an understatement.

There has been a huge resurgence over the last few years in all types of crafting, but particularly in knitting and crochet.

I was taught to do both of these by my Grandmother when I was a child. At the time, I found knitting easier and over the years have dipped in and out, producing a couple of jumpers here and the odd tea cosy there.

For some reason though, I shied away from crochet, imagining that it was too complicated. However after a conversation with a fellow knitting friend of mine who also struggles with crochet, I thought I would give it another go.

After watching a few how to videos on Youtube, I managed to create my first Granny Blanket. It is an extremely simple pattern and took me less than two weeks to complete, using odd bits of wool I had in my wool stash. It isn't going to win any awards but  I am really proud of it and it is going to live across the back of one of my sofas for use on chilly nights.

Apologies for the poor picture quality- the only camera I had access to this morning was on my mobile phone.

For my next project, I am going to attempt another blanket- this time one made up of squares. There are lots of fantastic designs out there to choose from but the one that I have chosen to do is the Springtime Throw in cute & easy crochet by Nicki Trench. 

This is what the finished article should look like although I will be using a different colour scheme similar to this one

I have ordered some lovely merino wool to use and am just waiting for it to drop through my letterbox so that I can make a start. Very exciting.
 I have no idea how long it is going to take but I will keep you updated on my progress.

Have a great day

Tracey
xx

Welcome

Welcome to my new blog- It's Just My Butterfly Mind.  Some of you may already know that I have another blog-Chick's Lit  which is all about my passion for books and reading.
However, I have other hobbies and interests that I would like to write about and so I thought I would begin another outlet for my random musings.


I am not going to plan my posts in advance- I will just write whatever I feel in the mood to. There will almost certainly be an eclectic mix of subjects as I have a low boredom threshold and like to flit from one activity to another. (Hence the term butterfly mind!)
For me, though this is where the excitement lies- not knowing where I will be going next on my blogging journey.


Anyway,  that is all I have to say for the moment. If by some strange chance you enjoy reading  my blog, please feel free to follow it and become a regular visitor. You will be most welcome.


Until next time


Adieu


Tracey
xx