Calmer

Things have calmed down chez moi, because I gave up one of the clubs I was attending, they had come to the end of their programme anyway, so it seemed appropriate. I can now concentrate on the U3A and my Devon History. I have also started at the market again, helping Sue on a Saturday to give John a break. She is moving towards doing milinary and fascinators and she is very good.

I have also started cutting out all the deadwood in the garden - shrubs I lost to the frost. It has taken 3 wheelie bins to move just one lot of cuttings from the buddlias that grow rampant in Devon. Everywhere else they are sold in the gardening nurseries, but here you can find them growing wild almost everywhere.

Still no-one has moved in next door to me, and I have grown used to being on my own, it will be quite a culture shock when a family does move in. I just hope they are reasonably quiet, because I'm too old for family squabbles.

I have also been in my loft looking out patterns and fabric stored there for summer clothes. I'm slowly working my way through my stash that I brought with me from Cheshire. That seems such a long time ago, and I hardly remember my life there any more. My patterns come mostly from the US and a lovely lady called Lois Ericson used to make the most innovative patterns up to size UK30 and even suggested how they could be altered and made more interesting. I was sad to learn she had given up selling them and will have to guard my copies like gold to make sure they last me.