Do I need one?

Do I need one?

confused fun

Hello. I am getting  a bit worried, I think I am missing out. I'm going to miss the boat and get left behind if I don't get my finger out and get organized. Everyone else seems to be getting them, you need one for this and one for that, just how many do you need? I haven't got any! Oh dear.

They say life is so much better if you have got a few of them, even one would be better than none. But where do you get them from? The world seems to be awash with them, everywhere you go there are adverts, recommendations, on the radio, internet, magazines, posters, they are everywhere. You must get one of these, you need this one and that one.

Ok, I'll look for one. But my life has been fine up to now without them, if I get one of these must have's will it make everything so much better. I'm a little bit wary of all this hype, a little bit sceptical, I can't understand how they work. What do they do exactly?

Perhaps I'll stumble across one somewhere when I am least expecting it. Maybe I'll turn a corner and there it will be, saying 'I'm yours, come and get me'. But how will I recognize it? It could be a fake. Someone could have planted it there, knowing that I will be coming along and fall for their trick. I don't know if I would dare pick it up, I might walk round it and leave it there.

If I don't get one soon perhaps I'm destined to be a dinosaur forever. I'm not sure if you have to pay for them, I've heard they are free. I don't want any extra complications in my life, I am happy as I am. Maybe I won't bother, if I see one, I will ignore it. No thanks, go away, I don't want you. That would be the easy thing to do. Yes, that's it, I have decided that I will not look for one. If I find one I will give it away.

Image source

YIKES....There are millions of them. Have you got an APP?  What do they do exactly? How do you get one? Can you give them back? Maybe someone can enlighten me.

Thanks for popping in, have a nice weekend, we'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip

How do you wash your feet in the shower?

How do you wash your feet in the shower?

confused health

Hello. Let's talk about skin, we have all got some. It's that stretchy stuff which covers our bodies. According to my Human Biology folder, (1962) page 81, the function of the skin forms a boundary between us and the environment, acting as a protective layer against friction, bacteria, water, heat, and cold. It also helps to keep our temperature constant in spite of changes in the temperature of our surroundings. Pretty clever eh!.

Here on page 79 is my diagram of the components which make up the different layers. 

Today, I scrubbed the skin all over my body while I soaked in the bath. These are the torture cleaning implements which I use. I like to remove all the dead skin. I start with my feet. Lying on my back I pull one knee up to my chin and work my way up the leg with this rough stone thing. The knee gets done, then the upper leg as far the bum cheek. Repeat the same procedure with the second leg. 

Then I swap to the sponge with the honeycomb rough side. I cut the sponge in half so it lasts twice as long. Still laid in the water I give the arms a good scrub, paying particular attention to the armpits. I then sit up and proceed to attack the upper body, front, neck, and around the sides as far as my arms will reach. When that's all done I stand up and do all the body parts which were previously below the water line, with the sponge.

How to reach the back, with a brush, so while still standing up I use this.

For a final rinse off I lie back down in the bath and have a bit of a swish about. All nice and clean, and the dead skin all removed. You may have noticed that I didn't mention my face. I wash my hair over the full bath of clean water, (no soap added), and wash my face, before I get in.

Now what I want to know is how can you give yourself a full body scrub in a shower? I had showers at the hotel, but all they entailed was a soapy sponge and reaching as far as my little arms could stretch to around the middle of my body. My back didn't get done, forgot to take the brush, but there was no way that I could balance on one leg on a slippery surface to scrub my feet and below my knees.

It baffles me when people say they they have a shower every day, which usually entails dispensing half a bottle of shower gel into the palm of your hands and smearing it around all the crevices of your body then rinsing it off. Unless you have got sandpaper on the palm of your hands, I don't call that getting properly clean. And how do you wash your feet in the shower, that's what I would like to know, especially when you have soap running down your face and have to keep your eyes clamped tight shut. Do you wobble about on one leg and hope you don't slip?

Shower cubicles are so darn small. Drop the soap and you have to bend down and go scrabbling about  for it. You have to remember where you put the towel when you reach for it with your eyes closed. You open the shower door and it's cold in the rest of the room so you try and dry yourself within the confines of the cubicle, or step out onto the bath mat and rub yourself like crazy before you freeze to death.

Give me a bath anytime so I can have a good soak and a good scrub to get rid of the dead skin, then I feel clean. Albert has the right idea.



Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip

Breath in

Breath in

confused decluttering friends

Hello. I've got the sloppy habit of draping my trousers over the banister, because I can't be bothered to put them in the wardrobe and keep taking them out. I wear trousers all the time, alternating between four or five different pairs, so to have them handy makes dressing and undressing a lot quicker and easier. 

Some of them I haven't worn for ages, so I thought I had better try them on and see if they still fit. I think I have gained an inch or two around the middle, so best to check. 

Oh heck. These are my last pair of black denim jeans, it must be over five years since I last wore them. At one time I was always in denim and I preferred black rather than blue. They are a size 12 and the label inside says waist 26 inches, hips 37 inches. Looks like my bottom is not a size 12 any more. Nope, it isn't, the tape measure says I am 29 waist and 39 hip, so that's more like a 14. 

Maybe if I just breathed in I could perhaps manage to fasten them up. Yep, can do that. However, I can imagine that spending any length of time with my insides squashed up like a vacuum packed trussed up chicken would result in horrendous abdominal pain as my wind struggled to find the way out. I also doubt very much that I could sit down. Nothing for it, these will have to go to the charity shop. 

I don't think I need to be too worried about an extra inch or two, these are a perfect fit and so comfortable. They are lightweight and lined, with elastic around the back and a drawstring at the front, and supposedly a size 10. Very strange. It pays to try on clothes before you buy, not all labels tell the truth.

I had visitors this morning. Brenda and her family called in on their way to a caravan and camping rally at  Sandringham. The car was loaded up with three bicycles, they are hoping to get some rides in while they are there. I hope the rain stops for them and it brightens up a bit. Brenda very kindly gave me a bag of fabric which she doesn't need. I'm having fun sorting through it and adding it to my piles in the stock room. I'll take some to crafty club next week to see if the ladies can find a use for it.

I forgot to take a photo while they were here, but Brenda has one so I'm sure it will appear on her blog when she gets a minute to write up her trip report. Her link is on the sidebar, but here it is if you want to look out for the picture.

Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip

Playing around with words

Playing around with words

confused

Hello. I'm having a day off so that the slow readers can catch up. Sometimes I write too fast, I witter on and it ends up like a blur of words all jumbled up. The people who come on once or twice a week get left behind, they start skim reading and missing the point, and missing posts. Then they are asking me questions because they haven't been concentrating and have not seen the relevant post which gives them their answer. I think I should be writing this at the pace of the slowest readers, instead of romping ahead and leaving people behind.

If you are a fast reader you might get a bit frustrated by always having to wait for the slowest, so I am trying to strike a balance. I can use all my fingers and whizz over the keyboard at breakneck speed and bash out words which make very little sense, or I can use only two fingers, one on each hand, take my time and carefully compose my sentences into something meaningful and intelligent. That's two choices.

I can give you more choices. This is where my brain comes into play. When it is fully functional, which is usually first thing in the morning, it works quite well. It's like a light bulb has come on, aha, we have light, and a topic for a blog post. Mornings are the time when ideas come to me, and also when I am itching to act on them. So, do you want me to write early, or shall I leave it till later on? That's GB time by the way, I know that people on the other side of the world  are reading when I am in bed. Do you want something super intelligent, or don't you mind the waffle now and again?

It's a funny thing writing, especially if you haven't a clue what you are talking about. I try not to appear too dim, although I sometimes come across that way. Take tonight for instance. I should have closed down by now, because my head is pretty empty, but I am soldiering on, determined to bash out something. I am willing my fingers to move across the keyboard. I could easily say stuff it, I won't bother, but I like a challenge, even with an empty head, something will appear.

Hey, look at me, I've written a blog post, ha ha, and I didn't mean to. Sorry there aren't many words of wisdom in it, no money saving tips, no recipes, no what I did today diary, and no what I am going to do tomorrow. But at least I've filled a space. You can't say I didn't give it a go.

Thank you very much for sticking with me, there is a bit of everything here. Some of it will make sense, but some of it won't. I think I'll go to bed now before I dig myself into a deeper hole. Such is life. We'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip

There's a bit more wear left in them yet.

There's a bit more wear left in them yet.

confused dogs make do and mend sewing

Hello. It's a shame to throw things away when they can be repaired. These slipper boots were given to me, my friend was going to throw them out. I have no scruples about accepting freebies from friends. I've been wearing them around the house, they come up to my calves and keep my ankles toasty warm. Now they both have a hole in the bottom, but the rest of them are good for a while longer. I feel a mending job coming on.  

In my crafting store room I have some soft leather pieces, picked up from the Scrapstore. First I made a cardboard template, then cut two pieces of leather to make new soles. One side is in dark blue and has a shiny surface, the other side has a fabric backing and has a rough finish.

Stitch them on with some very strong string like thread.

Perfect, lots more wear in these.

Does anyone remember these granny slippers I bought from a charity shop a couple of years ago, or was it three? They are still going strong. Not very fashionable but who cares what they look like. They do the job of keeping my feet warm. 

I've had a little dog out for a walk today for the first time. Meet Poppy. My friend had to go for some tests at the hospital and she didn't know how long she would be away. I see them out most days, so Poppy knows me. Isn't she a sweetie. She is a happy little soul, wanting to stop and meet and greet everyone she sees.

I was nearly on the radio again today. I had a call from Radio 5 Live, they were doing a feature this morning on supermarket offers which confuse customers, so they couldn't work out which was the best buy. The practice is bent in favour of the supermarkets by making customers spend more than they intended to. The man asked me if I bought the buy two get one free type of offer, and would I be tempted to buy things just because they were on offer. I said I would buy them but only if they were something I normally buy, I don't buy things just because they are on offer. He arranged to ring me back at 10.30am.

About 20 mins later he rang back and said they wouldn't be needing me. I was a bit baffled because I was very clear about my thoughts on special offers. I tuned into the programme on my computer to listen to what they were saying. Then I got it, the reason they turned me down. The agenda was to have a go at supermarkets, accusing them of dodgy practices, deliberately confusing people so they spent more money. My answers to his questions didn't fit in with that. I said I ignore all the offers unless it was something I usually buy. I would not buy items just because they were on offer, and I would pass them by. What they really wanted was someone to slate the supermarkets, and I didn't do that, instead I put the onus on the customer to work it out for themselves and make the right decision.

I tend not to get too hung up on trying to unravel the mathematics of different pricing. Yes, I always try and get the best for my money, but if I make an error of judgement I think, oh well, swings and roundabouts. It's impossible to be 100% right all the time.

Talking of Supermarkets, I'm popping out to Aldi now. I need some dog food and a few bits and bobs. I'm not walking tonight because I am out with my walking buddies tomorrow, we are doing ten miles I think.

I'd better get a move on, thanks for popping in. Nice to see some new names appearing in the comments, welcome everyone. Catch up soon.
Toodle pip.