I bought the spinning wheel a few days ago. It cost £15. Happy Birthday to Me!

I visited the Wingham Wool Work shop for advice and supplies, and they were great.
The bad news is, that the spinning wheel isn't very good, and I'd probably never be able to spin well on it.
The good news is that if I take it to an antique shop they should pay around £150 for it. Which is almost enough to buy a lovely new spinning wheel.
Until I get that organised (i.e. after we move) point I am armed with a drop spindle and some roving
I also had a quick lesson at the shop, but I currently seem to only be good at producing lumpy strands that break and untwist a lot. I Will Persist!

House things appear to be going well. The survey has come back, this time round it's fine. Next week I have to organise the searches. I'm still trying to not get excited. Thankfully remembering that I have to start clearing out the glory-holes soon is calming me down.

For the past couple of months I seem to have had something planned everyday, work, house hunting, visiting places, etc. Over the next fortnight I actually had a few days with nothing to do. So silly me has volunteered to help on the Summer Playscheme for local kids aged 8-18 who have Learning Disabilities.
It's always great fun, and I absolutely love it. I haven't done it over the past couple of years though because of a falling out with some other people who volunteer. I've really missed it, and the people involved.
Without the playscheme I would never be in the job I am now so in a way I feel I owe it. I'll probably not be able to do it again because of moving, so I've decided to bite the bullet, and sign myself up. I'm fed up of missing out on something I enjoy just to avoid an argument. I'll do my best to steer clear of trouble and just get on with having fun with the kids. I'm hoping the other people will do the same.

I've been a bit busy recently.

Been to Sheffield too. Got a few odd looks for making bracelets on the train.

As well as a spinning wheel for my birthday, this would be nice too.
Steve Currey's Expedition Company - Voyage to Our Hollow Earth

"Cost: $18,950 US"

I really really want to learn to spin.
I have done for a long time, since I was a kid and got to do a bit of spinning at school.
I have half promised myself that when we get the new house I will get myself one

On the way home from work today I walked past the antique shop (Browzaround, just up from the library.) It was closed, but I spotted through the window a spinning wheel.
Tomorrow I'm going to nip in and see if it works, and how much it is.
Just for curiosities sake. I'm not going to buy it of course.

Totally unrelated note, but it's my birthday in 20 days time.

"Eeeeeeeee". Yup I'm happy again.

The weekend so far has been ace, and it feels like far longer than 3 days. Thankyou to everyone who's made it great

Friday Porl, and I were going to Stalybridge house hunting again. Jimmy and Robin decided (and were cajoled) into coming too. We were late getting there, and missed the first viewing (as usual.) Saw 3 houses, nothing special, had a nice meal at Wetherspoons and a browse around Stalybridge, then we went to Manchester for Amy.

Amy. Was. Ace.
Sweets, decorations, bands, lipgloss, dancing, shoe theft, champagne, more dancing, and friends. Everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves, but I think we were all sad, and wondering what we'd do the 2nd Friday of the month.
I have pictures galore. I'll post a few later (the nice ones only, I promise,) but I've also got a zip file of the lot if any attendees would like to see them all.

After Amy exhaustion hit and we all got to bed pretty quickly. Saturday started with copious amounts of coffee and a Trof breakfast. Then Porl, Robin and I headed home. Whilst everyone else went to The Pixies, Porl and I went to OrmFest. Bought a CD, arranged a gig, saw some people, got rained on, came home.

In house news, things are looking up again. Monday, my last post here said we'd found a house we really really wanted, but then lost it as another offer had been put on it. Tuesday the Estate Agents phoned back to say that offer looked like falling through and we still had a chance, if we sold ours in time. Today it looks like we might have a buyer.
I'm trying to not get excited. But can everyone please cross their fingers, toes, eyes and everything else for us. Thankyou

Lastly, I've been on another crafty spree. Beadie necklaces, bracelets and insects, duct tape flowers, and in the past hour, a Beadie Man.

Yes, I know his hands are huge, but it's my first attempt okay!

Ahhh... loads going on, and I rarely have the time, or inclination to write about it, but here goes.

Found an ace house, lost same ace house, bugger. But at least we've finally found a town were we want to live. Stalybridge, it's like Ormskirk but with hills, canals and no Scousers (hurrah!)

What else? EP launch. It was lots of fun. The Lynskey band are looking and sounding better every time I see them. Maybe one day Jimmy will learn to play, and smile at the same time, or at least not frown. It was great to finally see Cartwheel play. I was hoping for good things, and they far exceeded my expectations.

We've had a couple of viewings on the house, even with the complete incompetence of Estate Agents (they took a photo of the wrong house!) fingers crossed it will sell soon, so we'll have more hope of getting offers we place accepted.

My Mum and Dad come back from Spain soon. Hurrah! I normally speak to my Mum for about an hour or so everyday, sometimes several times a day. While they're in Spain I'm limited to 15 minute conversations every couple of days while they use their free minutes. Maybe the money I've saved on phone calls over the past month will be enough to cover the cost of a flight over there in August. Hmmm plan.....

While my Mum is sunning herself and nursing insect bites, Porl's mum is having a rough time of it as she was rushed into hospital on Saturday. She's okay, but she gave us all a bit of a fright. Fingers crossed she'll be discharged tomorrow.

In other news... I've been making lots of jewellery, and I bought new pliers, (not the kind I wanted, but they're still nice pliers,) and painted plant pots pink, (or maybe they're purple or mauve, I haven't decided yet, but they're definitely not red, the shop didn't have red paint) and I've bought a new bag, (I meant to buy a new outfit for Friday, but failed miserably,) and I'm really really really looking forward to Friday.