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Monthly Archives: June 2014

Cathy’s Book Bag: Much Delayed

24 Tuesday Jun 2014

Posted by misscathyadele in Book Bag

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Tags

Book reviews, Christmas at Tiffany's Review, Gethsemane Hall, Gethsemane Hall review, Karen Swan Cassie, LOTR, nursery rhyme, nursery rhymes, Oranges and Lemons, Oranges and Lemons Review, Reading lists, Richard Gray

Hello chums,

It’s been a while since I did a Book Bag Blog (I love the way those words sound!). Recently I have been listening to the audio book of ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’ and this has taken over most of my normal reading time. LOTR is one of those foundation books for me, a story that I know I will return to again and again, I can open it up at any page and feel at home.

I’ve had a couple of bad headaches in the last few weeks which I think are caused by too much ‘screen time’. My eyes sometimes can’t cope with being on a computer all day. When my eyes have had enough it has been really soothing just to lie in the dark and have a reassuring voice tell me my favourite story!

But aside from LOTR I have managed to read a few books recently…

Christmas at Tiffany’s by Karen Swan

Cassie settled down too young, marrying her first serious boyfriend. Now, ten years later, she is betrayed and broken. With her marriage in tatters and no career or home of her own, she needs to work out where she belongs in the world and who she really is.

So begins a year-long trial as Cassie leaves her sheltered life in rural Scotland to stay with each of her best friends in the most glamorous cities in the world: New York, Paris and London. Exchanging grouse moor and mousy hair for low-carb diets and high-end highlights, Cassie tries on each city for size as she attempts to track down the life she was supposed to have been leading, and with it, the man who was supposed to love her all along.

It was the cover that kept drawing me to this book, I had picked it up and put it down again in several book shops before I saw it in the library and finally got a chance to read it. There were a couple of things that put me off from buying it earlier, mainly the line in the blurb: ‘Cassie settled down too young, marrying her first serious boyfriend.’

As someone who believes quite strongly in settling down and that it is good to choose well early on and to avoid if possible a string of serious and non-serious relationships, I found this matter of fact judgement on Cassie’s life off putting.

Nevertheless, I had read Karen Swan’s The Perfect Present last year and I really loved it. So questionable blurb aside I dove in.

It certainly is a readable book, I think I finished it within a week and I did enjoy the journey. There is a lot that goes on and it has excellent pace with each new city beginning a new distinct section. I really wanted to know what was going to happen next but I also enjoyed it when the story slowed down and we got a lingering look at some of the beautiful things in the three cities.

In fact I think the only problem with the book is that the cities Cassie visits are more interesting and attractive than the proposed love interest. In fact I’m afraid the cities outshine most of the characters. With the exception of Anouk who actually had a bit of inner conflict going on, Cassie and her friends may live glamorous lives, but are somehow a little bit dull as characters.

But as a love letter to three very different cities, I loved it! I am the ultimate home bird and do not have the travel bug at all but the vivid and detailed pictures of Cassie’s life in New York and Paris made even a home bird like me start day dreaming about having a city break escape!

Oranges and Lemons: Rhymes from Past Times by Karen Dolby

A collection of the most well-known and best-loved nursery rhymes, along with some that may be less familiar. Oranges and Lemons: Rhymes from Past Times plugs into the memories and knowledge of our earliest years, recalling those rhymes and stories we always seem to have known, yet struggle to remember clearly.

The book examines the history of the rhymes, how they have evolved through the centuries, and the controversies surrounding their origins. Looking at classic favourites such as ‘Humpty Dumpty’, ‘Ring O’ Roses’ and ‘Georgie Porgie’, Oranges and Lemons will put you back in touch with a time lost in hazy nostalgia, just on the edge of memory.

I can still vividly remember my nursery rhyme books from when I was little. I can remember the words, the illustrations and the feel of the sturdy –toddler-resistant pages under my fingertips.

There is something very comforting and nostalgic about nursery rhymes and I really enjoyed reading the familiar verses and finding out interesting titbits behind them.  For me the book had a good balance between the poems and songs and just the right amount of background information.

This is not am in depth academic book, but it is an interesting read that sums up the most intriguing, controversial and questionable history of each nursery rhyme.  It’s a bit like when they play videos on music channels and those little trivia boxes pop up telling you behind the scenes info. It’s not taxing, just enjoyable and interesting.

Gethsemane Hall by David Annandale

The skeptics think they know what’s going on at Gethsemane Hall. So do the religious. So do the spiritualists. They’re all wrong. Richard Gray, grieving over the loss of his wife and daughter, learns that his ancestral home holds the secret of what lies beyond the grave. And all of a sudden, everybody wants a piece of Gethsemane Hall. Louise Meacham wants in because a fellow CIA agent committed suicide there, and she has to put the ghost rumours to rest to get her career back. Anna Pertwee wants in because she’s determined to save the ghosts from the unbelievers and the debunkers. Patrick Hudson wants in because he has to save Gray’s soul. So Gray will let them all in, these people who think they’re coming for the truth. What they don’t know is that the truth is coming for them.

I am a complete sucker for the promise of a good haunted house story. They lure me in every time but unfortunately nine times out of ten they turn out to be pretty lousy books. It’s the risk you take, and while there are some things that are enjoyable about Gethsemane Hall there was plenty that was just ridiculous. At the start the ridiculousness is sort of fun; the idea of a Missionary, a paranormal investigator, a paranormal debunker and a CIA agent thrown into a haunted house together is fun.

But that really is as far is it goes. The book isn’t long but it sure does feel long, there is a lot of Scooby Doo running through corridors, backwards and forwards. And somehow the grand reveal at the end just didn’t have any impact on me. The final battle and bloodshed should have been terrifying but instead it just felt silly.

Maybe it’s one redeeming feature is Louise Meacham the CIA agent, who is the most fleshed out character and the most resourceful and likeable member of the motley crew. She was just interesting enough to keep me reading to the end, but only just.

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Fabric Costs How Much?

23 Monday Jun 2014

Posted by misscathyadele in Crafty, Lancashire Love

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Burnley, Buying fabric, dressmaking, fabric warehouse, Lancashire, Love at First Stitch, pyjama bottoms, sewing

It feels like every week I am getting closer and closer to finally giving dressmaking a go. I’ve wanted to make my own clothes for a long time but I’ve been trying to learn some basic sewing skills first.

I’ve modified a couple of outfits, I’ve made quite a few small sewing projects and my stockpile of equipment has grown and grown. My lovely husband bought me my own sewing machine at Christmas, and last month I bought a dressmaking book for beginners: Love at First Stitch by Tilly Walnes.

I tackled the first project in the book to make a cute head scarf. The second project is to make pyjama bottoms. It will be my first attempt at making clothes from scratch, and my first go at using a pattern. Scary stuff!

But the one thing I still need to start my dressmaking journey in earnest is fabric…and that is where I came undone. My friend and sewing teacher Mary has passed onto me a very generous pile of fabric fragments that have been perfect for the projects I have done so far, but I haven’t needed to buy metres of fabric until now.

I spent a couple of hours scouring fabric retailers online and my heart slowly sank. Fabric was way more expensive than I anticipated. It looked like it would cost me over £20 to buy enough fabric to make my pyjama bottoms. Over £20 for pyjama bottoms! I don’t tend to spend over £20 for a full set, let alone for an-assemble-yourself-deal.

So it was back to the wise council of Mary to ask her where she gets her fabric. She pointed me in the direction of Immanuel Fabrics in Burnley promising it was an Aladdin’s cave and something about a £1 per metre room. This sounded more like it!

Well Mary as always was spot on!

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Immanuel Fabrics is a disused church converted into a fabric warehouse. There are two wide halls and from floor to ceiling are pretty much packed with rolls of fabric. There was a lot to take in!

There is upholstery fabric along with carts of poly/cotton blends, shelves full of lace and sheer coverings, and lots of other fabric that I don’t even know how to describe!

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Prices in first hall varied but the vast majority were £2 per metre. The entire stock in the sizeable back hall was £1 per metre. I imagine the stock is end of line stuff so once it has gone it’s gone but with so much choice it would be difficult not to find what you were looking for.

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I mooched around for a bit, keeping a beady eye on what the other customers did; I wasn’t sure what the protocol was for fabric shopping. It appeared that there were three men who would pull out your choice of rolls and bring them to the counter for you and there you would choose how much you wanted.

I waited until there was a lull at the counter before asking for help, and then the very obliging staff helped me pick out my selection and said it was OK to take some photos of the shop. I will show you my fabric choices at a later date, but I will say for now I got 9 metres worth of fabric for a sweet £12.

Fabricshopping3

Now I know where to buy my fabric from that is one more obstacle overcome in my dressmaking journey. Now all I have left to do is to actually sit down and make the pyjama bottoms!

….oops! Turns out I also need to get some dress makers chalk or pencils to mark the fabric. OK one more obstacle to go, then I really will get started!

Her Ladyship’s Notebook: The Foundation of Etiquette

20 Friday Jun 2014

Posted by misscathyadele in Her Ladyship's Notebook

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Tags

elegance, etiquette, etiquette books, Florence Hartley, grace, history, manners, Mighty Boosh, politeness

A couple of years ago I was browsing the hidden depths on the internet when discovered excerpts from a fascinating book, it appeared to be a guide to etiquette published in 1875 and written by a woman named, Florence Hartley.

The book has perhaps the longest title I have ever come across:

‘THE LADIES’ BOOK OF ETIQUETTE, AND MANUAL OF POLITENESS;

A COMPLETE HANDBOOK FOR THE USE OF THE LADY IN POLITE SOCIETY

CONTAINING

FULL DIRECTIONS FOR CORRECT MANNERS, DRESS, DEPORTMENT, AND CONVERSATION;
RULES FOR THE DUTIES OF BOTH HOSTESS AND GUEST
IN MORNING RECEPTIONS, DINNER COMPANIES, VISITING, EVENING
PARTIES AND BALLS; A COMPLETE GUIDE FOR LETTER
WRITING AND CARDS OF COMPLIMENT; HINTS
ON MANAGING SERVANTS, ON THE PRESERVATION
OF HEALTH, AND ON ACCOMPLISHMENTS.

AND ALSO

USEFUL RECEIPTS FOR THE COMPLEXION, HAIR, AND WITH HINTS
AND DIRECTIONS FOR THE CARE OF THE WARDROBE’.

Intrigued I tracked the book down (in other words I did a quick successful Amazon search) and had it in my basket before you could say ‘How do you do’.

Its pages are now well thumbed, paragraphs highlighted and sentences underlined. It never sits on a book case for long because I am always getting it out to read experts to friends and family, and window cleaners that are too polite to take the money and run.

This book is an excellent source of entertainment, reflection and wisdom. Some of the advice and offered is completely useless outside of the 1800s polite American society, but many of the principals and values contained are still relevant.

I am quite fond of my growing collection of etiquette books and I thought I might do a little series on some of my favourite quotes and thoughts from my collection starting with the wonderful opening words of Mrs Florence Hartley:

In preparing a book of etiquette for ladies, I would lay down as the first rule, “Do unto others as you would others should do to you.

Isn’t that a perfect place to start? The foundation of all good manners treating others as you would like to be treated. She goes on to explain that if women commit to this rule they will inevitably become polite even if they do not understand or follow all the intricate rules of etiquette.

Politeness is goodness of heart put into daily practice: there can be no true politeness without kindness, purity, singleness of heart, and sensibility.

Politeness is a matter of heart and character more than it is about rules and terms of address. It is about aspiring to virtues rather than the perfect cutlery arrangement. Some people can appear to have impeccable manners and leave you feeling cold, and others might use language that would make a sailor blush but you would never want to miss out on their company.

The difference comes down to that elusive ‘goodness of heart’, I guess that other old saying covers this too; ‘it’s what’s inside, that counts.’ I think this was most excellently summed up by The Mighty Boosh in song format:

Turning a Tired Dress into a Swishy New Skirt

14 Saturday Jun 2014

Posted by misscathyadele in Crafty, Style & Fashion

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Buttercups, Chiffon, Dress rework, Meadow, pinterest, Refashioned, romantic, sewing, Warehouse

Hello Blogging friends,

Well my sewing journey continues this week with a rescue mission on a dress that had served me well and faithfully, but was long past it’s best days.

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This Warehouse dress has been a cherished favourite of mine for years! I adore the romantic style of it with it’s blush colours, ruffles and pleats in the soft chiffon fabric. I love it and I’ve worn it again and again.

Unfortunately, wearing it again and again has meant that the dress was a little frayed around the edges and holes were starting to appear.

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My poor dress was getting tired and whilst I still loved it, I couldn’t keep wearing it as it was. So I rang super seamstress and mentor, Mary and got to work refashioning it. (I’ve only once reworked a dress before and you can see the results of that first venture here.)

The first step was to unceremoniously cut off the top half of the dress. The top half was where the wear and tear was beginning to show so it had to go.

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Then it was a simple matter pinning and some (slightly wobbly) stitching so that the waist band sits in just the right place.

And hey presto! My tired old dress was a brand new skirt!

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I matched the skirt with this pale blue cardigan from Hobbs (courtesy of Boundery Mill sale), following a trend I have seen on Pinterest of matching tulle skirts with simple cardigans.  It is a really cool mix of dressy and understated and I had been itching to try out this style for myself.

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I think it is also a very sweet feminine look, so much so that whilst wearing it I felt compelled to gather up a few wildflowers!

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I had always loved how the layers fall on this skirt, and I am so glad that by reworking the dress I get to keep hold of this treasure and wear it for a few more years!

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Why I love our Geek Marriage

10 Tuesday Jun 2014

Posted by misscathyadele in Blog

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Tags

BBC Sherlock, Fun, Geek Marriage, Geeks, Simon Pegg

Last Friday evening Rob and I were sat on the sofa. We had just eaten tea whilst watching an episode of Elementary (we are on season one and have found that as long as you don’t compare it to BBC Sherlock, it is quite enjoyable). We were pondering what to do with our evening when I turned to Rob and said ‘Let’s go and get that Lego Marvel game.’

Within half an hour we were at ASDA’s check out buying the game along with some coke and a bottle of coconut rum. We spent the rest of the night battling super-villains, a bowl of popcorn depleting between us. It was a good night.

These are the times when I am so grateful I married a fellow geek. I am grateful that my husband and I share the same concept of fun; that the same things make us laugh, that we indulge in the same silliness. As Simon Pegg so eloquently explained, the defining characteristic of geeks is enthusiasm, and enthusiasm tends to lead to lots of spontaneous fun.

Here are some of my favourite geeky memories I have shared with Rob:

That first weekend we spent having a ‘Spaced’ marathon. We had only just started seeing each other and the fact that he kept wanting to watch ‘just one more’ episode rapidly increased his fanciability ranking in my eyes.

When we discovered that the reason why I couldn’t get in to comic books was that I was just reading the words and not really looking at the pictures. Turns out comics and graphic novels are much more engaging when you slow down to appreciate the artwork!

Lego heroes

When I laid out all of our Lego Mini-figures and realised our collection may be getting out of hand.

Losing an entire Saturday playing Dynasty Warriors and not even realising how long we had been playing until we got very hungry.

Declaring everything ‘Mathmatical’ or ‘Algebraic’ after being introduced to Adventure Time, and diagnosing one another with ‘poo brain’ whenever we disagree about something.

Nerf gun fights!

When Rob sets up the computer screen downstairs, next to the telly, so that we can play on different consoles side by side.

When I was flagging during a jog and just as I was falling behind Rob grabbed my hand and yelled ‘Run!’ We sptinted the last stretch, hand in hand, Doctor Who style!

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Simply put; geeks have more fun!

 

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