Yearly Archives

2011

Rio movie review

Sadly I haven’t been on a lovely hot exotic holiday. I have, however seen the children’s film entitled Rio with the voices of Leslie Mann, Jesse Eisenberg, Wanda Sykes, Jane Lynch , Jamie Fox and Will i Am.

poppy for a poem about war

She married for love…

Last week at writers’ group, Ruth gave the rest of us a little and very interesting lesson in prose poetry. Our homework challenge was to write a prose poem with the theme of ‘war’. I didn’t completely stick to Ruth’s rules, but here’s my go…

Distracted by Indian Silk

I LOVE e-bay! I know I should be concentrating on promoting the Pirate Collection for Oshun, but I couldn’t resist this bargain bundle of Indian clothing. They are all damaged in some way or another, but perfect for transforming into new beautiful clothes.

The fence is on its way up!

Activity is happening over at Glastonbury festival site. Here are the pictures! The second one is to show it in context to the stone circle, at the top right. Sorry about the haze – on a rare clear day, I’ll take more.

The Pirate Collection

Tia Dalma Pirates of the Caribbean: On stranger Tides is coming out soon, so I’ve been busy making loads of clothes inspired by the film and pirates in general – perfect to wear to the cinema! Here are a few of my favourites. They are all on Oshun right now, and I’ll finish listing them on my Etsy page this week.

orlando seaworld review

Seaworld, San Diego, California

The home of many killer whales called Shamu. This is my guide and advice if you’re thinking of going…

The Curious incident of the dog in the night-time.

Written by Mark Haddon, published by Doubleday in 2003 and winner of various prizes. Here’s my review…

Good things come to those who wait

Three years ago I planted a tiny twig in the ground – a special half price offer from J Parkers. At last, my tree peony has flowered, one massive glorious delicate pink flower. It is truly the highlight of the flowerbed and the envy of all the other plants.

Not all posh paints are good paints. I have really struggled to find a healthy paint in hot pink. Paint companies should realise that the place we want healthy paint the most is in our children’s bedrooms and many a teenage girl (including mine) wants their bedroom painted in a bright shade of pink. Well my best bet turned out to be the Acrylic Matt emulsion from the Little Greene Paint Company. Here’s my verdict…

The Tia Dalma Dress

Four years ago in June, my eldest daughter was invited to a fancy dress party to celebrate the end of their time at Primary School. She chose to go as Tia Dalma from Pirates of the Caribbean (cool kid) and I found a piece of old cotton that I think I bought from a jumble sale long ago that for some reason I’d cut from what was originally a dress. We tied it up with string and it formed the petticoat of her costume. Now it has become one of the main pieces of my adult Tia Dalma dress which is now for sale on Etsy.

Ballet workout dvd by Joey Bull

My exercise regime envolves dancing like a loon in my living room with the remote in one hand, flicking through the music channels until I find songs (rather than adverts) that are good to dance to. I am far too vain to join a class or go to the gym – my face literally goes purple when I exercise. However, helpful husband of mine bought me this dvd for my birthday the other day. I have only done it twice so far, but here is my early verdict…

Whenever I’ve done a gift stall at a school fair, commissions for name plaques for a child’s bedroom door is always the most popular. Every kid wants their name on their door!