SUNDAY.... LAST ONE THIS MONTH...

Well I am heartily sick of this cough and cold I have! It's made me just mope about when not working and instead of getting things done I've sat about nodding off in the evenings! anyone would think I'm getting old!!

So I've decided that today Sunday I'm over it ! I'm not giving it any more of my time and effort, It can wander off because it will get no more attention from me!

I need to set the ball rolling for this years Chat n Snap by the end of the month plus sort out what and who I'm taking to the Haggle and Gaggle and generally get things moving !

I'm due to have a DRY February... no I am not giving up the drink.... I could because I'm tea total anyway, so in that sense every months dry but no my Dry February is going to be no doll buying and since I totally forgot about the Haggle and Gaggle which is on the 2nd of Feb , I will have to allow myself no more than five purchases none of which can be a doll ! So I'll run my dry Feb from the 3rd Feb until the 3rd of March !

Due to this cold my crafting projects are still in the idea stages but plans are afoot!

I'm still admiring wallpapers for the hallway.

But I'm not in a rush yet, so still looking, I love the deep rich colour of this Sanderson paper but it could be too dark for the hallway.

I don't know about you but I always find I want to get moving on things when I'm ill and so therefore all that enthusiasm come to nothing because I'm too ill to follow through!

So It looks like January will have gone by with only the tiniest of things done! But hopefully February will sweep in at the end of the week bringing health and energy, so I can start getting things done.

Today, Sunday , is nice and bright but of course cold which is the best of winter days , those cold but bright crisp days where it's lovely to be outside for a while even in the cold.

 Since I've not had any doll play for a couple of weeks I'm putting on a photo of Liberty , my Pintuck girl and the first Sasha I ever bought. It's nice to see some sun and plants and know that we are heading slowly towards Spring even if it's very slowly!

So have a lovely healthy week ahead, I hope to share a report from the MK Haggle and Gaggle next weekend.

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THAT WAS THE WEEK

That just vanished...because I have yet another heavy cold! I cannot remember ever having so many colds almost one after the other ! and I'm not the only one, others at work have also had more than one cold/ virus.
Is it our age? we are all a little older or is this year a particularly bad year for colds and viruses? I'm think it's a bad year. And there is still another month and a half at least, until we even get a sniff of spring!

So my week consisted of working, then sitting about under a blanket sneezing and coughing! The boxes are still stacked in the hallway untouched and pretty much nothing else happened. I'd like to say I am now completely recovered but no, still coughing with a stuffed up nose! But hope to at least look into a couple of the boxes and get them sorted and moved.

Sunday was very cold and frosty, a typical winters morning. Paul went off with Rufus to the gun dog training class and Casper  waited patiently for their return.

And not a lot got done, instead we had a very lazy Sunday. I did start this post then but didn't manage to find enough energy to complete it.

I did wander the internet looking at wallpaper and found this one amongst others

I've always loved the William Morris designs, so have been looking around at whats available that we could use when we do the hallway.

I bought myself a new book which arrived last week, which is full of lovely information and photos.

I love seeing photos of rooms and houses, I have to stop myself buying books on the subject or we'd need a library just to keep them.

lots of inspiration

And strangely enough there is also a programme on the TV of six artists , who are living for several weeks in an arts and crafts house and each week are given a room to decorate in the spirit of the movement. They can only use the tools that were available at the time. Two experts then judge which piece of design invokes the true spirit.
If you like Arts and Crafts and seeing people live in the past while completing tasks, it's well worth a watch.

In a couple of weeks I'm off for a visit with lots of other Sasha collectors to the Milton Keynes Haggle and Gaggle, weather permitting. It will be nice to catch up with friends and have a little doll time as well.

So I hope to be putting on a story by the end of the week and so wish you all well.

Dee



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ANOTHER SUNDAY

Already! Where does the time go...

Another busy week work wise and also at home. The new boiler's been fitted ,which entailed making sure the place was respectable all through the house, so the radiators could be checked once it was up and running. We now have a new thermostat which can be accessed via our phones!

It appears if I'm at work and I see that Paul's decided to burn the heat by upping the temp I can drop it down again ! Who knew you could freeze your other half without them being aware!

However it won't be me, it will be Paul who controls it from his phone , I'm still trying to workout what I do if I'm here and need it to be warmer or cooler!
We now have a lovely new boiler that is guaranteed for twelve years , which is nice but it's one of those expensive things you don't see ! You know what I mean, if you buy a lovely new carpet or new kitchen or piece of furniture , it's there to glaze upon as you walk past or across or sit on and so for a while you have a lovely little glow when you see/use it. With a boiler or windows, it's just there doing it's job but it doesn't bring a smile to your face.. well not mine anyway.

Now I thought it was time I told you about the illness that is now blighting my life, it's affecting me everywhere, when I climb the stairs, walk into a room even when I leave the house. It's been coming on for quite a while now, but this year I'm going to fight back.
I realised what it was this morning, the name came to me and then I knew! So with a heavy heart I can inform you I am suffering from ..things !



Yes you heard me right ..things! Some of you may suffer from it in a small way or even like me in a  larger way or a very few of you maybe totally overwhelmed by things!. I've known of the problem for the last few years and have dabbled with fighting against the tide but finally this year I have decided it's time to win this battle!
I sit here typing this on Paul's computer surrounded by ..things.. It never seems to change , at least not for long , you know you tidy up , throw a few things out, put a few things away but... and it's the BUT that's the disease, you put other things in boxes or bags or stuff them in any nook and cranky that you can find that's not already crammed with THINGS!
It gets into your mind.. you cannot throw it out /give it away because you MAY need it! if not today then in TEN years time ! If you could actually find where you put it ten years down the line I'd be very impressed! because it will probably be buried under loads of other things!

The worse thing about this illness is you can catch it from others, or be born with it! and then you find you are dragged under ! At heart I am a tidy person, I like things to have a place , a home  somewhere when you want them, you can find them straight away but I  live with others whose idea is to ask you where something is and then not to return it to that place, well the rot sooner or later sets in and you start leaving things about too !

You organise an area and it looks wonderful, clean, tidy and everyone says .. " We must keep it this way " then two weeks later 'things' are being left around until no surface can be seen without removing a dozen bits and pieces. You find yourself putting things into bags when you try to tidy only for those bags to grow and then you cannot find the THINGS you want when you want them!

And so it is that, this weekend, we are repairing the stairs where the treads and risers have moved due to having no carpet on them and them being old , that we have had to move half a dozen boxes and numerous other things that no one's been near nor by for a couple of years.. under the stairs was full of THINGS!
So now the boxes of THINGS from under the stairs must go!

Those who also suffer from this illness are probably shaking their heads knowingly.. knowing that the typing and doing are two totally different things.....but I will win! I have to if only for me ELF! ;)

Even the studio's been infected by bags of  THINGS! But I did managed to clear away four bags so a very small start on that at least.

But I still couldn't find the bag I'd stashed something in that I wanted to change a couple of the Sasha's into.

So I'll be needing to search through other bags or boxes of Things!

Before Christmas I bought a couple of new cardigans for the girls. This one, that Ashley's wearing I wanted to go with her yellow Vintage Sasha dungarees but it would look equally as nice on the deep pink pair that Sansa's whose standing beside her is wearing.

Finally Margo's decided to get dressed, she says.. because she doesn't follow fashion ! So if others are roaming the streets in their PJ's then she' s not going to be one of the herd!
I didn't say a word just nodded and helped her dress.

The stairs now look like this, having had the tongue and groove boarding removed , so Paul could get to the underneath to check all was well and add some extra wood for support. Unfortunately he could not get the old boarding off without it breaking so we'll be replacing it.

But it's nice that a job that needed doing as been done and will be continued during this month. i'll report back once it's all finished on what we've done.

So I wish everyone a lovely doll filled healthy week ahead.

Dee

WHO KNEW ?

That Margo had her finger on the pulse....

This was in Sunday's newspaper magazine..

Now they are all clamoring for silk PJ's and  going out to brunch........



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THE FIRST SUNDAY OF THE YEAR

Well all the Christmas decorations have been taken down and put back up in the loft until December, so Christmas is well and truly over and 2019 is up and running.

This year I senseably left a box down ,when the others were returned to the loft, because we always seem to miss a couple of decorations and so it was this year,  that two days after supposedly removing them all I looked across to the windowsill and saw four large decorations still standing in place!

However due to the size I then had to swap the saved box for a larger one to fit everything, so now they are all away.

Casper had his first birthday yesterday, still very much a puppy but with a now full grown adult look.

The time's gone quick since this little bundle arrived.

but he still loves his bear



If you remember our conversation ( I call it a conversation, because when I type it I feel like I am talking to you , I just cannot hear your reply unless you comment later ) of earlier this week when I decided that I was going to have a crafty year..so I went off to look at my craft books that were gathering dust on the lower part of the bookcase.

This is a small selection of my embroidery and needlepoint books but of course I cannot find one in particular I was looking for, which then reminded me of another couple I know I had but also cannot find! So where are they? Are they still sitting in some box when we had a big move round in the living room and the new book case arrived? or have they been given to a charity shop when we were having a massive clear out and my brain said .. I don't need to keep those books.... which is extremely rare!

So shortly I will be off down to the storage shed at the bottom of the garden, hoping that a box is tucked away with the books I want in it , although Paul is insisting that there are no books in the shed !!!

If this is the case then one I know I can replace one quite cheaply on the secondhand book market but the others. one of which is the book I want to use.. will be very hard to find!.

On the Sasha front , an old friend and mistress of the sewing machine ,Sarah Williams is back! If you don't know Sarah's work you soon will. Sarah's been sewing for Sasha for many years under the name of Vintage Sasha. But she took a couple of years off to do other things but returned this year back sewing for Sasha. 

This is one of Sarah's dresses. She makes clothes in quality fabric's which tend to get snapped up within minutes of them appearing on her website. You can find the link to her site in my sidebar.

Where you can find her latest clothes that were gone in a nano second.

It's lovely to know she'll be selling her clothes again even if it will be hard to get hold of them.

Along with Rosie Bloomfield, who returned back to making shoes for Sasha last year, these are two of my all time favourite designers for Sasha.

On my personal Sasha front the newest Sasha Margo is turning out to be a very determined young girl.

Margo still needs to get dressed ! I found her outside feeding the birds this morning  in her pj's !

 At least she put a jacket and hat on! but still no socks!

                                                                                                                                   
 She was putting down meal worms for the robins  , her favourite bird on account of their red breasts .

I can see I'll need to find her something nice to wear to tempt her out of those cosy pj's. I do love the red haired Sasha's but they do tend to be the one's with feisty characters and stubborn to boot!


Well while I was typing Paul checked some boxes we'd stored under the stairs and found a few more of my craft books, including the one by Beth Russell which I just knew I'd not given away however not the other couple I hoped to find. I popped down to the shed and it would take at least an hour to move all the things between the door and the space where any boxes would be  so I'll save that search until the spring when we clear the shed out completely.

However I've popped online and bought a couple of second hand books which I hope will have a nice pattern I can use for my first craft project of the year.

I think I'll also see if I can find a space in the Studio to keep all my craft books in one place, that way I'll know exactly what I have and where to find it!


So on that note I'm off to have a read through a couple of the books and take note of what I'll be needing to get started.

Have a great week ahead

Dee
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

IT'S THE FIFTH SO DOLL PHOTOS 2019

A New Year and a Happy continuation of the Doll photos monthly post.

Over in Gregoropolis they are embracing their Celtic roots by wearing of the Tartan. I don't know about you all but I love a doll in tartan.

They are ready to Hootenanny and celebrate Robbie Burns later in the month and look how smart they look.. maybe this should be the month of the tartan? This has given me the idea to place a piece of tartan somewhere in all of my blog posts this month.......

From Liz we have two No Navel girls.. yes another member for the we love no navel's club and what a gorgeous pair they are and animal lovers too!

These girls of Liz's are ready for the cold spell of winter weather they are saying we are about to get, they'll be lovely and warm in those smart hats and sweaters.

These girls of Liz' s are caring for a tiny giraffe and stag , truly a nature loving household.

Ursula's boy Phil spent some time at the Gnome house helping with the Christmas decorations, look at his lovely little Christmas tree.

And Karin was a very good girl last year because Santa left this gorgeous NP girl in her Christmas stocking !

Her name is Deborah and she's loving getting to know her new family.

Here in the Village Magda is trying to get Margo to get dressed but Margo says she likes a lazy start to Saturday just taking her time and sitting about in her pj's.

  It seems there are quite a few just hanging around this Saturday , well in truth they've been hanging on the dresser for quite a while, it seems to be a meeting place for all the villagers.

From Kendal we have her new girl that was her Christmas present from santa.

I love the dress this girl of Kendal's is wearing, it looks so nice and warm !

Kendal's little one is having a last minute discussion with the Nativity players before they are put away until next Christmas.

And a Shelly photo sent by Kendal of a Ballet girl in her Tartan cloak.

Thanks to everyone who sent in photos, there is, as always, still time for more to be added.






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JANUARY

Well the New Year is here, 2019 ! It doesn't seem that long ago that it was the Millennium and now eighteen years have gone past and we are starting the 19th!

I'm not making any New Year resolutions because most don't make it past the end of the first week never mind the year!

But I do love a list! lol So I will be making one with all the things that we need to get done over the coming year and all the things I'd like to get done over the coming year!

My daughter,  Lindsey , gave me this beautiful note book as part of my Christmas gift this year.

The pages inside have wonderful drawings on them.

It's almost too nice to write in! So I will need to only put important things in here , not lists to be ticked or crossed through! Maybe my story ideas and my poems ? The drawings are stories in themselves.

I'm tempted to call this year our finishing year! A year to try and finish all those partly done jobs that are all around the house and garden !

And for probably the fifth year running I am going to say that I will start making things with the boxes of lovely fabric I have filling up my Studio ! Yes I know I keep saying this every year and I did manage to use a very small amount of fabric last year , which I promptly replaced.. I know...not much hope really !
My sewing machine is in the kitchen with a box of fabric, just waiting for me to find the time to cut and sew !

Also this year I'll be having a no buying February ! Yes like they have dry January and Movember , for those growing facial hair for November in aid of a charity, I'll be having a No Purchase February !

Which will almost certainly mean every doll on my hard to find , rarely available , hen's teeth doll list of wants will appear for a bargain  price in February along with fabulous props that would suit my doll studio etc. But I am determined to be good ..... what do you mean I've picked the shortest month to behave?  Let's get serious here !! even I know it's going to be next to a miracle if I make it!

I do however have a few things on layaway and some will arrive January/ early February , which is another reason I need to be good for a whole month!

I also need to get my act together and put on a proper story each month on the blog. Plus the Doll Shelf photo's will continue on the fifth of each month. I already have had some sent in. So don't forget to send in yours if you'd like to take part.

One of the things I realised last year , when I came to set up Granny Fortuna's shop on the upper shelf in the Studio, is that I need some small steps to use and not rely on climbing on and off my mum's old small child's chair!
The chair wasn't high enough for me to reach to the back of the wall and even though it's not very high it is still awkward for me to get on and off due to the arthritis in my left leg.

So I'll be finding a nice pair of small sturdy steps and then hopefully Granny's shop will work on the higher level, because If not I will need to rethink just where it can be set up!

Another thing I find with a new year is the need to have a massive clear out! In truth I've been of that mind for several months anyway and have made some inroads into getting rid of things we no longer need or use but it has been stop start. So that's another thing I want to get done this year a good old clear out.

I received a lovely gift on new years eve of a Sasha Calendar , which I can use to inspire me that I need to be taking photos and writing stories this year for the Sasha's.

I've also received some lovely cards both with photos of Sasha dolls and also others, A lovely handmade card amongst them, see below.

Which got me to thinking about crafts. I love so many different crafts and have lots of books on making different things. Before Sasha came into my life and took over I would buy books on crafts I liked the idea of doing and when Paul said  when will you be doing that, I'd reply " They are for my retirement! when I have time !"

But I've decided to start trying these crafts this year , there are some things I want to make and I'm sure I have a book on it around on the shelves somewhere! So each month I'm going to have a go and will share my trials and tribulations on a blog post ! You never know , one of you may be an expert in what I'm trying and will enlighten me on just where I've gone wrong or maybe right!
It could  help me save money in February by keeping me away from the computer!

So I have fessed up to things I'm hoping will happen this year, maybe you'd like to add a comment with just one thing you'd like to achieve, try or do this year and then in December we can all see if we managed!.

Well I'm off to find some of those books and see just what I'll try this month and I'd best check out February because if I need any supplies I need to get them now due to my no buying month.

Dee

HAPPY NEW YEAR

                WISHING EVERYONE A HAPPY HEALTHY AND DOLL FILLED NEW YEAR

                                            FROM ALL AT THE SASHA VILLAGE