My lovely dad xxxx

To all my followers......... Sorry but i won't be blogging for a while as my lovely dad, who will be 90 in August has had a stroke. I am visiting him every day in hospital and praying for him to get better.
.
Until dads stroke  he was very active, spending a lot of time in his garden, growing all his vegetables on his allotment. Dad shared his produce with the family and neighbours who are now repaying his kindness by looking after his garden and allotment while he is ill. He was heart broken when my mum died 2 years ago, but never complained he just got on with  life the best he could.
.
Thoughout his life he has also shared my love of the simple life by making things from nothing. I still have my dolls cot and rocking horse he made nearly 60 years ago. My grandchildren now enjoy playing with these when they visit. I consider myself lucky that i still have my dad. He is my best friend. ...........

Love you dad xxxxxxxxxxx                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

This is the cot my dad made.  My old doll and teddy bear sitting in it.....

This is me with my lovely dad. The photo was taken on the London Eye. Dad enjoyed his first ever ride on the Eye.

A happy Easter...

My favoutite time over Easter was when my daughter, son, his wife  and my two little grandaughters visited  on Saturday.  We exchanged easter eggs and cards, took my 3year old grandaughter on an Easter Egg hunt, and helped her to make Easter bunnies. As my other grandaughter is only 9 months old she was happy to sit in her chair and watch. It was a lovely family day.........

Well done Mia xxxxxxxxx

Happy Easter to you all.xxxxxxx

Farleigh Fashion show

The fashion show was held last night at the Hawthorns near Braintree in aid of The Farleigh Hospice in Broomfield. Cherry and i were given the task of selling raffle tickets and admissions. We managed to take £350, but we are still waiting to hear the final amount that the evening made. Shelia has now let me know that we raised One Thousand Pounds.....Did'nt we do well !!!

The raffle prizes ranged from chocolates to soft toys.

The venue. Kindly loaned  by the manager of the Hawthorns retirement home.

Dave Monk from BBC Essex radio kindly compared the evening. He did a great job describing what each model was wearing.Dave was the one on the left.

 Shelia, modeling some night wear, love the saucy pose and the teddy........

What a great model Linda was,!! all dressed up in her sexy nightie. Shame about the curlers!!!!

Here Linda is again all dressed up for a country walk. Just love her boots..

As the only male model i thought he was very brave to walk the catwalk. He reminded me of my lovely son Ben.....

These brave ladies were waiting for their call to model their outfits. All the outfits and accessories were for sale afterwards. 

All dressed up for the wedding. How elegant they all look..........A big thankyou to all involved. The evening was a great success............

Today i had some very sad news that a family friend  died with Pancreatic cancer. He was only 65. My heart goes out to his family and friends xxxxxxxxxxx

 . This is why charities like the Farleigh fundraising team do such a great job. 

On a happier note it is my little grandaughters birthday today she is 3 years old.

Happy Birthday Mia xxxx

I am a winner !!!!!!!

I had a lovely suprise today when a parcel was delivered  to me by our village postman. The parcel was sent by http://www.andreafarmerart.blogspot.com/  as  i was a winner on Andrea's blog.  The winning gifts were A collection of Inky drawings from her sketch book, an oil and ink painting of A Different Light ( with a certificate of authenticity) and a prism of light. What wonderful gifts,!!!! made with such passion.......  I am a great fan of  Andrea's work and love following her blog.....  Thank you very much Andrea xxx

Tippy, my daughters cat just had to get into the picture. I think she likes Andrea's work as well ......

New arrivals in the hen house.

There was great excitement this morning when i checked on the broody hen in the nest box.  After sitting on the eggs patiently for 21 days she was rewarded with 5 lovely fluffy chicks. Although very protected towards them she let me take some photos........... The only problem now is how many cockerels there are!!!!!!!!!!!!

 How wonderful nature is !!!!!!!!!

Fun, Friendship and Fundraising

Cherry and i went to The New Times pub in Tiptree today along with 60 other members of the Farleigh Hospice craft group. It was to celebrate 10 years of  Fund raising. The group was formed 10 years ago with just 12 volunteers, it now has over 60 active members dedicated to the charity. Over the years the members have used their skills of knitting, sewing, crocheting, tapestry and embroidery then selling their craft work at organised events like fete's,quiz's, garden parties, table top stalls and even sponsored silences.

This is me outside the New Times.

The buffet was lovely. Lots to choose from....

Here are some of the members  including Cherry my friend.

These gifts were from Shelia to say thank you for all our hard work. The golden hearts were to symbolise each one of us has a heart of gold.

Shelia (head of the craft group) and Womble proudly holding the large cheque of £101,648.11p raised from 5th April 2001 to 4th April 2011.

All these lovely raffle prizes were made by the members of the group.  Every one loved the rag doll she was just awesome....... 

I just love this quilt, but sadly i did'nt win it.....

This beautiful  Tapestry cushion of pansies must have taken ages to make. 

How skillfully this cushion was made.

This baby bag was out of this world, along with the blanket which was crocheted.

How very cleaver the person was to knit these colourful clowns.

I was full of admiration for all the members who made these beautiful raffle prizes, so now i am not working i also hope to be able to contribute by giving my time and skills to such a rewarding and worth while charity.