Friday 5 February 2016

Five On Friday

A Little Chat 

ONE
 I haven't decorated my living room for many years friends have redecorated, changed colour schemes and furniture several times since I last decorated dare I say it must be at least ten years ago!  I've never seen a reason to change it because I have always loved the colours, the furniture, carpets and curtains have all blended in nicely and I felt very content with the way it looked even though some would say it looked dated.  Then a couple of months ago to my horror a tear appeared in one of the seats of my settee covers yes they are now so old the material has worn so thin in places tears are appearing.  I turned the cushion over and tried to ignore it but I know it's there and I know that really the whole settee has had it. I had to look at my living room with new eyes and admit it does need updating and a lick of paint.

I'm not one of those people who love decorating I don't enjoy it one little bit but it looks as though now I have no choice because I have ordered new settees! They are the simplest design I could find and in a neutral taupe/mink colour that can be tarted up with bright cushions. I have  six weeks to get rid of the old settees, and paint the living room before the new ones arrive and I need to decide on colours, at the moment it's painted in shades of terracotta which would probably go but I'm actually sick of it now. What do you think? bearing in mind I would like to sell this house and move on in the none too distant future.

TWO
The first week of february is almost over already and I haven't set my crafting targets which I feel I must do or nothing will get done so..

February boy jumper. (I have set myself a target of one boy jumper a month).
Two February Teds to keep up with my two a month target for operation christmas child
Finish the Cheerful Child Blanket crochet along blanket
Finish the second front of my cardigan
Make a preemie item.
Start some socks.
Start some mittens.
I need to remember it's a short month but fingers crossed I will managed to get it all done.

THREE
I'm trying to resist temptation! as regular readers of my blog will know I am a stashaholic and have at present the equivalent of almost 300 balls of yarn in my stash.  No wonder she is crocheting and knitting her fingers to the bone I hear you say haha anyways I went to my local Garden Centre for coffee with my daughter and a  friend yesterday to learn that the present owner has sold up and has massively reduced his stock and HE SELLS YARN! it's Hayfield bonus which is a lovely quality acrylic in lots of lovely shades at present there is 25% off my daughter had to drag me out of there! I can hear it calling to me HELP!

FOUR
I'm pleased to say the health is improving, I went to see the GP last Monday he has given me a course of antibiotics and I had a blood test and xrays of my sinuses and will go back on a couple of weeks for the results.  I'm breathing through my nose again and the dripping has stopped, I have even been on the treadmill for a couple of sessions so fingers crossed it's onwards and upwards from now on.

FIVE
I want to buy one of those wristbands that track the number of steps calories burnt etc but I haven't a clue which one to buy, I have seen some of you mention different types but any advice would be great. It needs to meet the following criteria..
It can't be too expensive.
I has to be comfortable.
It has to be accurate.
I would like it to give the number of steps, calories burnt, tell the time.
It needs to be easy to set up and understand.
I would like it to have a decent sized display.
I know not much then but if any of you have one and love it I would love to hear about it.  

Now what should I do? go look at paint charts or go for a coffee in the Garden Centre not that I want to buy any yarn you understand.....it's still calling me!!!

Have a great weekend. :) xx

I'm joining in with Amy's Five on Friday











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34 comments:

  1. Good Morning Linda, I'm so glad you are feeling better and that you have managed to fit in a little exercise. Now as far as trackers are concerned, George and I have a Polar Loop each and I love mine. It tracks my steps, my calories, how much activity I need to do to reach my goal of 10,000 steps and it's waterproof, which is important for George because he swims everyday. I wear it at night so it also shows my sleep pattern which is interesting. I just checked on Amazon for you and the original price was £79 but it is now on sale at £47.40p. There is only one colour which is black but at that price point I don't think that matters.
    Aahh, recommendations on decorating.... I tend not to give advice as we all have different tastes, but I would say, as someone who has moved around quite a lot, a neutral colour on the walls is always best.
    Take good care of yourself and have a lovely weekend. George is very happy as the Rugby 6 Nations starts this weekend.
    Best Wishes
    Daphne

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    1. Thank you for that information Daphne I will go and check it out. I hope George enjoys his rugby it's not one of my favourite sports I think I would be making myself scarce while it was on. :) xx

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  2. Hi Linda, me too I'm so happy you are feeling better. Take care and enjoy the weekend.

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  3. You are planning to work your fingers to the bone this month! I hope you get it all accomplished :) I Hope you can stop by:

    http://collettaskitchensink.blogspot.com/2016/02/tea-time-birthdays-and-tea-parties-2516.html

    Colletta

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  4. Hi, Hope your on the road to feeling well, and such a great post thanks for sharingxx

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  5. Wow Linda what a lot of crafting you have planned, I'm going to be lucky to finish my scarf this month.

    Pleased to hear you are on the mend.

    Angela - Garden Tea Cakes and Me

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  6. Linda, I am pleased you are feeling better. I wear a Fitbit Charge and love it. It really challenges you to do more steps and I find it very comfortable to wear. It is easy to use and sync with either your phone, iPad or computer. There are various models of Fitbit at varying prices so it would be a good idea to read up and select the right model for you if you go down that route. Let us know what you decide to go with. xx

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    1. Thank you Jan I will have to research them all before I decide. :)

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  7. Glad you are feeling a bit better. Coffee in a garden centre is always good fun and relaxing and you may get some colour inspirations from there. They do say that neutral walls are good if you are trying to sell as viewers can see a blank canvas to work with, not sure how true this is:)

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  8. GO for a neutral color, that always shows nicely and you won't have to repaint when you want to sell. Yes you have a lot of yarn, but super sale yarn is always a bonus.
    GO ahead and treat yourself.
    Meredith

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  9. I have serious yarn envy, but I am working on my stash. I have lots of little balls that are slowly becoming a garden full of flowers as I slide in a ball or three each week. As for decorating, soft pastels are so much prettier than magnolia and can be painted over easily.

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  10. A fun post. The sky's the limit with neutral coloured new settees. It all depends wether you are an earth colour type of person or more vibrant. I love all those shaker greens and blues that are restful and quite muted. Glad you are feeling better and try and revisit that wool! Barbara X

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  11. Good to hear you are feeling better. That yarn temptation was so great, bet you bought some :) Can't help you out with a step counter, I use one on my phone which also syncs to another program I use to track what I eat.

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  12. That is a lot of projects planned so I can understand the need to add more yarn to the stash. I would consider painting in a neutral colour if you are thinking of selling. Enjoy your weekend.

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  13. Glad your feeling better linda. I think you should go to the Garden Centre. We can never have to much yarn. Especially when its on sale.

    Linda

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  14. I've been wanting a FitBit type of thing too, but budget says "not yet", so I downloaded a free app onto my smartphone. Its probably very similar to wearing the item, except that its on the phone, so it only picks up my steps when I've actually got it with me. Turns out that most of the time its fine, but on days when I leave it charging on the counter, I have much less steps showing even if I walked all over the whole time.
    You could always try the app on your phone while you're doing your research and see what you think.

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  15. Glad you're feeling a lot better. It sounds as if you have a lot of crafting on the go, but I'm sure you're much more experienced and quicker than I am as a complete novice. I think everyone has mentioned that decorating in a neutral colour might be a good idea especially as you're thinking of selling your house. Have a lovely weekend.

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  16. Glad to hear your health is improving. You have to be strong and resist the call of the Hayfield Bonus. If you give in, then there'll be no hope for the rest of us - it's a slippery slope. I'm delaying weighing my stash as long as possible, on the basis I may be able to use some of it up and it won't be quite as bad as I'm anticipating.
    Have a good weekend (and of course you can treat yourself if you really want to, you are so generous in your crafting for charity, you deserve it).

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  17. I think either White of magnolia for the walls and then anyone buying will have a neutral scheme to fit in their furnitre

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  18. That's good you're feeling better! :-)

    Resist the yarn! lol I know how hard it can be. Especially when there's a sale or a store is going out of business. My stash grew bigger than I liked. So, I've been actually giving yarn away that I don't think I'll use. It feels good. However, I'm about to start a new project that might require a skein or two of new yarn. Sigh! lol

    I skipped those fancy, expensive wrist things that keep track of my steps. Instead, I have a small, simple, electronic device that I can carry in my pocket or even in my purse and it seems to be very accurate and it's easy. A lot less expensive too. I just use my cell phone for time since I always have it with me anyway. Good luck on your search. I hope you find something that works great for you.

    Have a great weekend! :-)

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  19. So happy to hear you are feeling better. Looks like you will have fun redecorating but I too don't enjoy decorating that much. I'm sure your new settee set will be so lovely in your newly designed room. Maybe you should go to the paint store and stay away from the garden center with all that beautiful yarn which is calling out to you! Enjoy your weekend, Pat xx

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  20. Glad to hear that your health is improving! Long may it continue. Well done too on all of the things you have made. Step away from the yarn is my advice! As for the decorating, go neutral if you are thinking of moving at some point. You can easily add colour in accessories, and by neutral I don't mean beige or magnolia. As for the walking, I have a fitbit zip, you wear it on your pocket and it works really well. I cannot say that it is 100% accurate because I don't know, but it certainly gives a very good indication. It does all you want, the display is small, but you can still wear your watch to tell the time and when you sync it with your computer it gives you the number of steps etc on there. I love mine and cannot recommend it enough, I even accidentally washed it in the machine twice and it is OK! Hope you don't think my answers are too bossy! Thank you for joining Five On Friday, happy weekend! xx

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  21. Hope you are on the mend soon, have a lovely weekend, shh don't tell anyone 'but you an never have too much yarn'
    Clare xx

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  22. I think you should go to the garden centre to celebrate feeling better, a little treat never hurt anybody. I have just ordered new sofas too and am in a dilemma, I can't help at all - sorry lovely. Have a lovely weekend with lots of coffee ;) xx

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  23. I think of you are planning on selling in the not too distant future then a pale neutral colour is the best. That's what they say anyway. Gosh, you have set yourself a making challenge this month!! Good luck. Sure if you put your mind to if you will. Glad the health is improving too. Xxxx

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  24. We have two leather chairs that are starting to split so part of our week was spent looking at chairs online. I like to decorate, just too lazy to do much.

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  25. Linda. Linda!! Are you listening to me? Good. Resist the temptation. Yarn does not speak to anyone. You have 300 balls of stash yarn. What is it saying to you? It's saying "use us up before you buy anything more!". Didn't you mention a little something to me about decluttering? I thought so. If you want to spend a little something as a treat, put it towards your living room decorating. I'm trying to help you here you understand ;) Good luck with keeping a safe distance away from that yarn. Last night my husband and I went into one of my favourite stores and we saw THE cutest little teapot in the shape of an elephant. Poured out his spout. Probably two-cup capacity. CUTE! But I walked out of the store without it. I was even telling my husband I would get rid of a teapot I already have JUST to buy the elephant teapot! Clearly I cannot be trusted on my own in the stores just yet! More decluttering awaits me :(
    BTW can your daughter help you with any redecorating decisions? My daughter is great for helping me with painting. She's encouraged me to paint different rooms three times now, and every time it's been a great success.

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  26. Nice to know you are feeling better. Go to garden centre and have a nice coffee and then to the yarns to understand the color shade range you want to paint your room. Choose a yarn with a strict quantity which will go with the room you are going to paint . You can compare both paint shades(neutral or light colors of yarn) with yarn shades for projects there but buy yarn let's say for one cushion only. Difficult to resist but you won't feel you didn't take the discount advantage and going with a strict purpose and quantity is a satisfactory excuse. Sorry about the preaching :)

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  27. This is a fun post but not being at all crafty or designery or anything like that I can't help you with your requests. I too would like one of those thingy's for when I go out walking which fits the same criteria as yours though.

    Diana

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  28. I would choose a neutral color too, appeals for more people.... Have a lovely weekend!

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  29. I am just about to repaint our kitchen and we have decided to change the terracotta into a pale peach colour. It really brightens the room and will make it look bigger when it's finished. We bought a Dulux matchpot and were surprised that it simply looked cream when wet. But it has dried to a fresh peach colour....lovely.

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  30. I'd much rather play with paint and design rooms than knit - too bad we live so far apart! As others have said, neutral is best. I used a Fitbit for awhile, but after reading about all my information being used for data mining, I quit. I'd like to find a non-computer dependent pedometer like I used to wear as I find I walk more when I count my steps. Must be my competitive (not) spirit!

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  31. *ONLY* 300 balls? - It's a "start". Talk to me when you get to "3000"! -- I bought 43 100g balls of 100% wool and 2 kilos worth of cotton yarn last month alone!! [courtesy of a few *really* GOOD sales!] - I should probably call MY stash "The HERD".
    I think my DustBunnies are probably at least 80% cotton! ;-}
    And don't get me started on the Stash-"RESCUE" I do at the local thrift shop whenever Someone "donates" a deceased Relative's once prized "hoard"! I "love" it just as much as They did! :-D

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Thank you for your visit, I will always answer any questions but due to time constraints I'm not always able to reply to your comments, please keep them coming I read and appreciate each and every one. xx