This week's smiles.........week 147

Happy Friday to you all.  Thanks to all who joined in last week by adding your own smiles.....it really is right that if you smile the world smiles with you.  Smiles are contagious so please keep up the good work folks.

I would like to share Lisca's post from last week.  I'm such an old softie and the poem at the end just melted my heart.  Thanks for sharing it Lisca.

My smiles this week have mostly revolved round our nearly finished kitchen and we have had lots of giggles here with coping with the in between kitchens situation.....you can guarantee that whatever you are doing you will need something that is in the other kitchen to the one you are busy in.....I'm sure all the extra exercise will be doing me good :-)

I am also smiling because I have had my annual full MOT at the Dr's having had my bloods taken 2 weeks ago.  My Dr was very pleased with me and says that I have my diabetes so well under control with diet alone that I only need blood tests doing yearly.  My asthma is well treated with the puffers I use so that was brilliant and while there she also gave me my Flu jab.  In just 10 minutes she made me feel really chuffed and I came home grinning.  :-)

I have a couple of pics to share with you that our daughter Amy sent me of their dog, Poppy.  This is her first Christmas with them and I have a feeling she is going to enjoy it all....she's such a good dog.

She is happy to pose for photos any time....even when wearing her festive headband :-)

And she is joining in the Christmas festivities too by enjoying her own mince pie but before anyone worries at her eating raisins hers are bought specially made for dogs and are made of rawhide!

Yes she is totally spoilt and Amy has already put up their Christmas decorations!....she has always loved Christmas and likes it to last as long as she can.  :-)

That's all from me for this week.  Please leave me a little comment to let me know you've called by and if you have smiles of your own please link them up below so we can all pop over to check them out.  Thanks for calling in.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW......

Wahoo wahoo wahoo  I've actually managed some time in my sewing room this week and have something on my desk to share with you...

I have been busy doing some machine embroidery on the last bunch of Christmas tree card toppers.

I have now found cards and mounted up 64.......every one is slightly different :-)

It's been a fab way to use up some of my fabric stash making the little patchwork trees and I've really enjoyed spending time playing on my sewing machine. :-)

And that's not all.....

Amy asked if I could make her a Christmas tree that would hang up and could be played with by the children so I delved in my fabric stash, found some card [no shortage of that when you've just had 150 boxes with your new kitchen in them], sorted out some ribbon, felt and buttons and hey presto.....

....I have a feeling they will have fun deciding where everything hangs don't you?  And I had fun making it. :-)

And just in case you thought I'd had a quiet week this is the latest pic of the kitchen looking from the French windows/doors.

• Double oven ....working and in use
• Dishwasher ....working and in use
• Sink ....plumbed in and in use
• Gas hob ....still to be fitted
• Curtain pole is up and I have shortened the curtains and they are up [and you know how much I love shortening curtains :-) ].

As you can see we are getting there but still lots to do yet.  I'm getting my exercise going from the old kitchen to the new....mugs in the new kitchen, kettle in the new kitchen, so I make a drink but have to fetch the milk from the fridge freezer that's still in the old  :-)  I'm sure the exercise will do me good.  Now all I need is a cat.....cos I now have a kitchen that's big enough to swing a cat in.  :-)  ......and I love it.

Please leave me a little message and I will pop over to yours to check out what you've been up to this week.  Thanks for calling in.

Hugs,

Annie x

This week's smiles....week 146

Hello folks.  Here we are at another catch up with the week's smiles.  Many of you joined in the fun by linking up your own smiles and for that I thank you all.  I know, for sure, that spending a little time each day concentrating on the things that makes me smile does me good so I hope you all feel the benefit by doing the same.

I am featuring Angela's blog from last week over at Felix the Crafty Cat.  I really loved the little toadstools she found around a tree where she walks her dog.  I could just imagine the little elves and pixies skipping around them while no one was watching....aren't they just fab?  Thanks for sharing them Angela.

My smiles for this week have mainly focused on the 'jigsaw' we have been building in our kitchen.  Last Friday our new Ikea kitchen arrived in 150 boxes and all week we have been sorting and putting together the cupboards.....we do have a long way to go yet but our kitchen is slowly developing each day.  Last night I helped hubby cut the hole in the worktop to fit the new sink in and hopefully we should get the sink and dishwasher plumbed in tonight.  Our son, Mark, hopes to come later today to complete the electrics and our son-in-law hopes to come tomorrow to certify the electrics for us so we can call the building inspector back to sign off the building completion :-) :-)

I have also snapped a couple of my other smiles to share with you...

We had to order blinds to fit the windows and door in my sewing room and Wednesday evening I helped hubby to fit them....don't they look lovely?

The blind we ordered for our new hall window also arrived on Wednesday so we also cut that to size and fitted that Wednesday evening.....I love it and can see me using the design for inspiration for a dumfed picture....sorry the pic is rather dark but it was 9.30 at night when we finished fitting it......Zzzzzzzzzz

The other pics I just have to share is this one I snapped of my two tired little munchkins after their day at play school enjoying a bit of chill out together watching a bit of telly....aren't they just adorable?

That's all I have to share with your for this week so please leave me a little comment to let me know you've called in and link up your smiles below.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW....

What a busy time we have had since last Friday morning.  Our Ikea kitchen arrived as planned first thing Friday morning....in 150 boxes!!!!! We have spent many hours doing the jigsaw but of course had to check all the codes on each box to make sure it was the right piece of the jigsaw we were using!!!

So since then there's been no time [even if I was able to get past the boxes] to get into my sewing room.  I did manage to finish 27 of my Christmas tree card toppers before it arrived....

Sorry the photo isn't very clear ....I just snapped it quick on my phone as I finished my first batch.  They are all little patchwork Christmas trees but I have free machine embroidered some and used machine embroidery stitches on others....every one is different.  Lots more to do yet but I have been playing support act to my hubby fitting the kitchen cupboards since.

I know some of you will want to see the progress so here's a few quick pics....

On the left we have a tall larder cupboard, our fitted cupboard with the double oven in, a little infill cupboard then a corner cupboard that comes out into the room like a breakfast bar.

On the right is the dishwasher [have managed without one for 15 months so can't wait for it to be plumbed in], then will come the sink, a store cupboard and on the left in this pic will be the gas hob.

Looking down the kitchen towards the new doors you can see how the corner cupboard sticks out into the room and behind that will go our new dining table....we have managed eating off our laps since we moved house so really can't wait to eat at a table again.  :-)

As you can see we have been very busy [helped by several of our wonderful family members] but there are still wall cupboards to make/fit, the work tops to go on and appliances to fit/plumb in etc.  The boxes have definitely got less but there are still many hidden in every corner yet :-)...and if you're wondering the door fronts are off white and work tops and a dusky dark oak :-) :-) :-)

So there you go.  That's it from me for today.  Please leave me a little comment to let me know you've called in and I will do my best to pay you a return visit ASAP.  Thanks for calling by.

Hugs,

Annie x

This week's smiles....week 145

Happy Friday to you all.  You will be here to share in this weeks smiles and hopefully to share your own smiles below so welcome to one and all.  Lots of you joined in again last week and I thank you all for taking the time out from your busy lives to join in the fun....please keep up the good work.

I am featuring Michelle's little care bear from last week over at Studio Scrapworx.....what a cutie.  Thanks for sharing Michelle.....please call back again soon.

My smiles for this week have been many, as always.  Several of you seem to be watching our building developments with interest and I'm sharing some of our latest pics that have really caused many smiles this week......

Our new french windows/doors into our kitchen....aren't they beautiful?

And from inside the kitchen looking out onto the garden.....just look at all that sun shining in.  It's south facing and we plan slabbing a patio outside the doors so I can imagine many happy hours spent with the doors open in the summer.

The bath, washbasin and toilet have now been plumbed in our new bathroom by my multitalented hubby and I have even enjoyed a relaxing bath in there already.....I know, I know it's not finished yet but I couldn't wait. :-)

This is the wonderful new roman blind that my much older sister made for our new bathroom from a piece of fabric we found in my fabric stash....what a lovely job she made and what a great use of the fabric....Thanks Jo.

The other pic I'm sharing with you today is of some of the Spring bulbs that are shooting up in our garden already....I know it's been very mild here but I do hope they survive the colder weather that is bound to come later in the year.

We should have the delivery of our new Ikea kitchen cupboards today.  Yes I know it's Friday 13th but I like to live dangerously so lets hope it all arrives without a hitch :-)

So there you go....those are my smiles for this week [well, some of them].  Please leave me a little comment before you link up your smiles and I will be over to yours as soon as I can.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW....

On Friday our builders fitted our new kitchen french windows/doors and I have to be honest and say I don't think I stopped grinning all day....there are just two internal doors the builders have to hang and their work is done.  Not only have they finished the work to a very high standard but they have worked with us throughout and all our dreams have come true with the finished result.....what more could we ask for? For those that haven't seen my post from last Friday you might like to scroll down to see the layout of all the changes.

Our son, Mark has been working hard to do the second fix on the electrics and my darling hubby has nearly completed fitting the new bathroom....he's not a plumber and I have learnt new words at times when pipes have sprung leaks but it's all looking pretty good now.  We have painted all the bare plastered walls with the base coat now so even the dust is slowly reducing......wahooooooo

Enough about our building work because I know you have really come here to see what's on my work desk today.....

Whilst sorting my fabric stash I found a small bag full of ready cut 1" x 1 1/2" Christmas fabrics so I decided to use it for my Christmas cards this year....and now I not only have a completed sewing room but it is now a warm cosy completed sewing room.....I had no excuse to not enjoy some crafty fun. I  decided to patchwork them all together.

I then cut my strips of patchwork into 72 little Christmas trees....and every one is different :-)

I plan to mount them onto fabric and to embellish each one so watch this space.....

That's it from me for today....I've really enjoyed getting into my new sewing room and have even had several customers bring me work this week.  :-)

Please leave me a little comment so I know you've called by and I will pop over to yours as soon as I'm able.

Hugs,

Annie x

This week's smiles.....week 144

Hello to all who drop in to share smiles....either to share mine or to link up their own at the bottom of the page.  You are all very welcome and a big thank you goes to all those who join in each week by sharing their own happy moments.

I am featuring something that really made me chuckle last week...Jo's chicken feet over at JoZart.  Only Jo could make such a fab pair....I'm sure it's a talent we could all make use of ;-)  Thanks for sharing them Jo. 

My smiles this week were triggered off by a request to show the layout of our bungalow by several of you and now we are nearing the finished line with the building work I have snapped the before and after LOs.

The bungalow as we moved into it...

The parts you will have seen pics of are...

• the snug...that was the little room that I used as my make-do sewing room.
• The dining space...that was that awful black and white Tudor room.

The bungalow layout now [nearly!]....

• The old garage is now a bedroom and new bathroom [when the bathroom is fitted and the bedroom ceases to be a store room for all the building materials and gets a lick of paint, curtains and carpets]
• Proposed bedroom 2 is my new sewing room.....wahoooooo all finished.
• Proposed kitchen/dining room....just needs its new doors/side window panels fitting.  The kitchen has been ordered and should arrive on Friday 13th....just hope this isn't a bad omen!
• The old bathroom is still in use until the new bathroom is complete and that will then be stripped out and new shower/toilet/washbasin fitted.
• The old kitchen [tiny and intimate that it is] is still in use as a kitchen until the new kitchen is fitted but that will become our utility...one day :-)
• Old porch/front door is still there but we now have the new front door and that is what has had me giggling this week......

Yesterday we had the delivery of our local free Admag.  Last week they had put one through both front doors so I put a laminated notice over the letter box on the old door to say please use new door. This week the gentleman who delivers the Admag rang the door bell [on the old door].  I open the new door and he asked if the new build was a granny flat and did we need two Admags.  My reply was....we are a married couple living here and that it was all one bungalow but we had thought of living in separate parts but that we only needed one thank you.  I did smile when I said it but I don't think he quite knew whether I was joking or not.  :-)

If you look at the LO you will see that there is a door between the hall [by the wet room] and the new kitchen and Hubby and I were having a giggle saying that we could block up that door and have a kitchen, bedroom and living room each but Hubby said there would have to be a hatch for me to pass his meals through and a dog door so Rocky could make his own mind up as to where he wanted to sleep....so we decided not to bother :-) :-) :-)

I hope my post has made you smile today....it's been a long road but we can actually see the light at the end of the tunnel now.....quite literally as we have had a sun tunnel fitted in the ceiling in the end of the new kitchen... 

The back of the bungalow is south facing so we decided to make the best of what nature provides.....there are no lights on in this pic at all and as yet we haven't had many sunny days but to have the daylight beaming in like this is really wonderful....we love it.

                             :-) :-) :-) :-)

So there you go....that's all from me for this week.  Please leave me a little comment to let me know you've called in and if you have a smile you can share with us please link them below.

Hugs,

Annie x

WOYWW....

What's on my work desk today?....can't even get to it to show you today sorry cos we have the plumbers in putting in the new radiators.  They have drained the heating system and turned the boiler off so for the past two days I've had no heating.....brrrrrrrr.  Hopefully by the time you are reading this they will have finished and have fired up the heating again.

So my pics today are...

One of me I took yesterday....the twins were concerned that Nanny Annie had no heating so Sam brought me a tin of soup for me to have for my lunch to warm me up on the inside and Lexi loaned me her snuggle blanket to keep me warm on the outside.  They are such funny bunnies ....I love them to bits and made them chuckle with my pic.

And this was the pic to show you what I've been doing to keep out of the plumbers way......I'm just like Dori from the film 'Finding Nemo' only in my case it's 'just keep knitting, just keep knitting'  :-)

The other thing I've been keeping busy with is my new mini Ipad I was treated to for my birthday....we have been becoming quite good friends and, with the help of my IT assistant [my son Mark] have managed to set it up just the way I like it.  Pinterest has taken quite a hammering already :-)

So folks that's about it from me for today.  Short and sweet just the way Julia likes it.  Please leave me a little hello message to let me know you've called by and I will do my best to return the visit ASAP.  Please note I do read the blogs of my google+ visitors but am unable to leave them a comment.  Sorry.

Hugs,

Annie x