Decluttering...

Every now and then i feel the urge to declutter and i'm sure i am not the only one. My plan for this summer holiday is to be ruthless with my clutter. I have spent most of today clearing the sitting and dining room and shredding a lot of paper work. Everything is in it's right place now. I hope i can keep these rooms clean and clutter free. The next room to declutter is my bedroom, i always find it a real battle because of lack of storage space. I have tried so many ways to tackle this problem with no success. My only option is to be a minimalist and i am working on it. My room also needs decorating and for this to happen i need good weather. You might be wondering what good weather has to do with decorating my room. The thing is my painting brushes are in the shed and guess what the shed is a mess so it needs sorting out as i cannot reach the brushes. The kitchen and Master T's bedroom do not need a lot of work done so i don't have worry about them. I seem to have my work cut out for me.

How do you keep your homes clutter free. Please share.

Enoy whatever you are doing.

xx

Leisure...

What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

No time to see, in broad daylight,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night.

No time to turn at Beauty's glance,
And watch her feet, how they can dance.

No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.

A poor life this is if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.

                                     William Henry Davies

My mum had this poem hanging on our living room wall when i was a child. Every now and again i think of it and recite it to myself. There are times when i feel as if life is passing me by, times when i feel that i am not making the most of my life or enjoying it.

At the moment i feel like a proper Wednesday's child, full of woe and all.

Here's to hoping for better weather so i can stand and stare.

xx

Touching Base

 Last month we went to the BBC GoodFood Show Summer in Birmingham. If i am honest i was very dissappointed, i am not sure whether my expectations were too high or what. The GoodFood Show came with free entrance to The BBC Gardeners' World Live.

I had no expectations whatsoever to what i should expect at Gardeners World but it was the highlight of my day. There were so many beautiful well displayed flower stalls and some beautiful gardens. I really enjoyed having a look at the stalls tempting as they were.

I didn't take many photos but here are just a few

What do you think of this Mini Cooper...

 ...and the driver

 Cello

 Whoever said diamonds are forever...

 ...I for one will be more than happy with this flower covered ring.

I am not a fan of high heels but this would definitely have a place in my shoe collection.

Some people are very talented and creative.

xxx

Being AWOL

Apologies for my absence. So many things have happened since i last blogged both good and bad but as usual the bad things always overshadow everything else. You know when you just don't feel yourself and you can't pin point what it is and you try to shake it off but whatever it is doesn't want to budge. Thats how i have been feeling. I am a lot better now and am back to being me so i will be catching up on everyones blog and seeing what you've been up to in my absence.

xx

My Treasures...

I finally took the leap and bought something off Ebay.

 A Kenwood mixer. The man who was selling it thinks its over 45 years old and it belonged to his mother. I guess it qualifies as vintage but that is not the reason i bought it. I have always, always wanted my own Kenwood mixer but if you know anything about mixers you will know that they cost an arm and a leg.

 It came with 3 attachments- a whisk, dough hook and a K beater.

 Its a beautiful turquoise blue colour.

I am so in love.

It also came with the original dust cover.

Because this item was a want more than a need i am a bit embarrassed to say how much i paid for it. So ladies if you wanted this mixer, how much money would you be willing to part with to own. Let's see if you think it's worth more or less than i paid.

Linking up with Liz at me and my shadow

Day Out...

While my computer was having a break we went on a journey not so faraway...

 ...to Barnard Castle.

 These are the castle ruins

What do you think...

 The best views of the River Tees i have ever seen

 It flows just behind the Castle.

 We found a little hidden gate you could go through. It takes you to the riverside.

Here we could smell wild garlic. We were tempted to throw caution to the wind and walk on the rocks to the other side. Common sense preveiled and we decided not to. 

Hope you are enjoying your weekend.

xx

Grrr

Last week the on/off button on my laptop came off/broke off so i couldn't use it. I have had this laptop for over 7years and lately it's just been giving me problems. It takes forever to do anything i want it too which means i waste a lot of time sitting around waiting for things to happen. I have known for a long time now that i need to invest in a new laptop but just never got round to saving for it. Yesterday i took it to the computer repair shop to see if they could fix it for me.

They told me that the problem can't be fixed but they were so kind to show me how i could still switch the laptop on without using the button. It's a nightmare trying to press whatever it is i am supposed to press because it's hidden under the cover and i just randomly press things until it comes on. If i am honest i don't even know what it is i am pressing, i just wait for it to come on. I am not sure how long this trick is going to work for so i have started looking at buying a new computer.

I have looked on the internet and i just can't believe the prices. The cheapest laptop i found was costing just under 300pounds and the price is way way outside what i can afford or should i say what i want to spend. To be honest i was shocked. I am sure those are the prices but because i have never needed to buy one i just never paid attention to the prices.

One of my friends suggested that i should buy a refurbished laptop/netbook. The cheapest was just over 150pounds which is something i can afford. The problem is i am not sure how reliable it will be and i have never used a netbook before. I do not use my laptop for anything fancy, just general stuff. Surfing the net, research for assignments and using word to write assignments. I do not know what to do at the moment, the only thing i am sure of is that i need to start putting money aside because come September i should have a brand new computer or a refurbished one.

If you know of any codes/ vouchers going round for shops that sell laptops feel free to let me know. 

Your opinion will be greatly appreciated. New or Preloved