Holibobs Week 2 - Mission Impossible

After the excesses of last week (if you missed it and fancy a giggle. click here), I am on a mission (probably "Mission Impossible") to refrain from purchasing any new stuff this week and concentrate my crafting activities on items that I've already purchased.

There are no prizes for guessing how long I adhere to that optimistic plan!

Saturday:
Woohoo, my Lili of the Valley order has arrived, just one day after the new release.  What fantastic service.  I admit that I'd placed the order just one hour after the midnight release this time, but their speedy arrival was certainly enough to put a huge smile on my face.

On the downside, as soon as I heard the letterbox rattle and my packet thud to the doormat, I ran to the door (yes, literally ran) only to be faced with Mr Postie still stood outside the door, peering through the glass holding another parcel (for hubby).  Goodness knows why he didn't ring the doorbell; perhaps he'd heard me thundering through the house towards the door like a heffalump and decided to wait and see what would turn up.  It would have been OK if I hadn't been wearing just a strappy-top and knickers (and not big knickers either).  I nearly skidded when I saw his nose pressed against the glass front door. Doing a quick u-turn I passed hubby again in the hallway and squealed over my shoulder that he needed to answer the front door!

I had inked up my new images even before my blushes had subsided and spent the afternoon christening my Inktense pencils with my new images .  I must say that the pencils were harder to use than I was expecting.  I definitely need more practice (and maybe spend some more time watching You-Tube tutorials).

Arnie decided to keep me company while I was colouring, which made it even harder, but I can't really blame him for my colouring issues.  Here's my boy on my lap keeping an eye on what I'm doing.  I stopped stroking him to take the photo, so he's looking a bit grumpy.

Both fur babies seemed pleased that we're back from last week's short city break.  Arnie in particular has not let me out of his sight since we've returned, and I think he's going to wear out his purring motor because he's not switched off his engine all day.

Hubby was on his 'pooter in the evening, so I went in the other room to watch TV for something to do by myself. 

I sat through the end of Starman, half of The Phantom Menace, the news and the whole of Terminator 2 (which is a flippin' long movie), ironically with Arnold Schwarzenegger's furry namesake not leaving my lap.

I was desperately needing a pee by midnight, but unfortunately anyone with a cat will know that there's an unwritten rule that you can't remove a kitty when they're gracing your lap, so I corked it as long as I could!  

At one point, Pickle came in to find out where Arnie was, so I had both of them pinning me down.  Unfortunately Pickle was leaning against my bladder which didn't help (and let's just say that she does have a bit of weight behind her!).  

Here she is sprawled across me widthways, having squeezed Arnie towards my knees.

So, you're probably wondering if I managed to follow my 'no more purchases' resolution for even just one day?

Erm, well no, not quite.

When I inked up my new Lili images this morning I found my Stazon pad was getting a bit dry, so I ordered a new one.  My current ink pad has lasted about 6 years, so I think it's earned its retirement.

Does a replacement ink pad really count?  Surely that's classed as a necessity, right?

Sunday:
Today I decided to do some painting, but unfortunately not the creative watercolour variety.

About 4 months ago I bought some garage door paint.  I have no doubt that garage door paint is just normal paint, in a re-branded tin, with a higher price tag for a smaller quantity, but as today was sunny I decided that I should use it before it solidifies in the tin.  So after washing and sanding the door, I gave it a first coat.  Unfortunately I also got a decent quantity of the sticky white paint in my hair (don't ask!) which no doubt will be a bugger to remove later.  :0(

So did I survive today without any crafting purchases?

Unfortunately Sugar Nellie had an adorable new release today, so I'm ashamed to say I may possibly have purchased the odd one (or four) images.  ;0)

Ok, the resolution starts tomorrow.

Definitely.

Without fail.

Monday:
It was meant to rain today, but as the sun was gracing us with its presence we caught the train to the next town along the bay and walked back along the cliff-top coast path (about 5 miles).

This is a patchwork panorama (taken with hubby's phone) mid-route:

We stopped in a lovely cafe for some sustenance along the way and sat outside munching our lunch in the shade.  

I popped in Wilkos for a replacement paint roller so I could apply the second coat of paint on the garage door (yesterday's roller disintegrated as it was a bit old, and therefore left bits of itself in the sticky paint).  Whilst I was in the decorating section I also picked up a pot of tester paint in a really pretty pink (aptly called 'Pretty Pink'!) which I thought I would use to paint some MDF shapes that I've found while tidying my craft cupboard yesterday (in anticipation of my expected parcels).  

Hmm, I guess the tester pot really counts as a crafting item, doesn't it?

D'oh!

Tuesday:
It was forecast to tip it down with rain today, so naturally we drove over to Kingswear for a walk!  We left the car at the top of the hill and walked all the way down to the river.  
This was the gorgeous view as we came down the hill:

We walked along the train track to the higher ferry and along the river beside the old steam train track towards to lower ferry, and just as we approached the lower ferry the steam train passed us:

We crossed over the river on the ferry and had a lovely wander around Dartmouth.  We bought some lunch, had a picnic in the park, caught the higher ferry back and climbed back up the hill.  Exhausting!

Still, it was meant to be rainy today, and for the rest of the week, so at least we made the most of it.  We're hoping to go to the Sidmouth Donkey Sanctuary tomorrow (I love it there as I have a bit of a fondness for Donkeys, probably stemming from my love of Eeyore from Winnie the Pooh!).  I've got my fingers crossed it stays dry.

Wednesday:
The less mentioned about today, the better!

Let's just say that it involved

1. an early morning (the car was booked in for its annual service in the next town at 8.30), 
2. someone's carelessly discarded chewing gum stuck on hubby's favourite polo shirt (when he leaned against a lamppost) leading to an unscheduled return home shortly afterwards, 
3. a large bruise on my elbow so painful that I lost all strength in my right arm for nearly 24 hours, 
4. and, above all, a distinct absence of donkeys.

On the plus side, I didn't buy any crafting items today.

PS: in case you're interested, we learned today that hot vinegar applied in circular brush-strokes using an old toothbrush is the best way to remove a large smudge of ground in chewing-gum from clothing.

Thank goodness for Google!

Thursday:
Hubby's brother arrived this afternoon for a few days' stay with us.  He wasn't due until after lunch, so hubby & I popped up to Babbacombe for a walk along the cliff (and shared a bag of chips under the shade under a tree).  After his brother arrived, we had an early tea, and then the three of us walked into the cinema in town to see Guardians of the Galaxy.  I love going to the flicks, and we do it so rarely that it is a real treat when we do go.  The film was funny with its tongue-in-cheek humour mixed with a bit of mindless sci-fi fantasy.  :0)

Friday:
We drove over to Brixham and walked around the headland, had some lunch in the cafe and wandered around the old Napoleonic forts and lighthouse.  We've been really lucky with the weather again.

The boys are due to go jet-skiing tomorrow, so no doubt it'll tip it down then!

Saturday:
Despite the threat of Storm Bertha, it's actually sunny, so the boys set off for their 2 hour jet-ski taster session about 1pm.  I set to on some gardening, promptly tire myself out, and decided to sit down to some quite crafting instead!

About 6pm I realise that they're still not back, and I'm wondering whether to treasure the peace and quiet or phone the hospital to see if two wetsuit clad men have been admitted with concussion and broken limbs.

It's about then they turn up!  They had a good time, but the sea was quite choppy so they're tired and have sore arses from crashing over the waves!  I think they'll be sleeping well tonight! :0)

Sunday:
My final day of holiday, and while it feels like ages since I was at work, I'm sure by this time tomorrow it'll feel like I've never been away.  I remotely dialled into my work emails long enough to discover that I have just over 500 in my inbox to delete deal with tomorrow.

Welcome back, huh!

When's the next hols?  :0)

What ever you're up to this summer, I hope you have a good one.

Happy crafting
Annette
xx