Monday evening..........

A very productive day!

Got most of the preparation done for the Kensington Dollshouse Festival workshops not to mention completing the next edition of the online dollclub newsletter, as well as tinkering with the workings of new website, hopefully without breaking it.

So all in all a satisfactory day.

The icing on the cake however, is the knowledge that the several hours I spent in the garden on Saturday were hours well spent.
I waged a one woman war against the inexorable march of dandelions across our lawn, having bought a rather expensive selective lawn weedkiller, which promised death and destruction to everything not grass.
Despite the effusive promises on the bottle, I remained sceptical...........

Until today.

And the sight of several hundred dandelions, lying prostrate on an otherwise unblemished lawn.

Hoo and indeed, rah!!!!

Three cheers for systemic weedkillers.

Although, given that the lawn is 75% dandelion (and other assorted weeds), this WMD may necessitate remedial action to fill in all the little bald spots.

Still, it felt like a victory of sorts.

Monday morning..........

Doing what I do, and enjoying it so much, I rarely get the Monday morning blues. On a morning like we have here now (clear blue skies, light breeze, brilliant sunshine) it is even less likely.

As ever, I have a 'to do' list of gargantuan proportions, with top priority going to preparations for my two workshop sessions at the Kensingston Dollshouse Festival on 15/16 May. We put several hours in yesterday, and will do so again today.

I'm also long overdue casting my three wonderful new Cynthia Howe doll moulds for three girls. I have some special projects in mind for those *secret smile*

Our online dollclub newsletter is also overdue so I have to tidy up the loose ends and get it finished.

Not to mention our next project, which has been shrouded in mystery primarily because I've been trying to source some materials which have proved elusive.........

So, there is no lack of 'stuff to do'. But it is all enjoyable and while the sun is shining into the workroom it's hard to feel anything other than invigorated and enthused.

Garden tales..........

A gloriously sunny day today......warmest so far apparently. A day to relax in the warm sunlight with a good book and a glass of something highly chilled.

Or not.

Much better to dig out half a ton of pebbles from the gully around the patio, then wash them all clean of clay. Back-breaking, hard work.....even sitting down, which is how I performed my duties as pebble-washer (first class). By the end of the session I resembled nothing so much as a small, muddy garden gnome. Even small dog, who had been helpfully nosing around in the empty, but still clay-caked gully had bits of garden detritus glued onto her nose with wet clay.

So far we have cleared a 4 foot stretch.

Only another 24 to go.

We'll probably be completely immobilised with back-pain tomorrow. However, it is a job which has to be done to stop the patio from flooding as with all the mud and clay cleared out, the water will be able to percolate down through the pebbles and run down the gully into the drain.

Or it will when we've done the other 24 feet.

Eventually.




















Anyway, here's small dog savouring the sunshine...........



















and a view of a sunny spot completely devoid of buckets of clay and piles of pebbles.............

Farewell Humph........

I was saddened to read of the passing of Humphrey Lyttleton, who died last night at the age of 86. Although I admired his prowess as a jazz trumpeter, I was a particular fan of the Radio 4 'antidote to quiz games', "I'm Sorry I haven't A Clue", of which he was chairman and inspired leader.

The programme has been running since 1972, and I have often been reduced almost to tears by the anarchic wit displayed, by Humph in particular.

Fellow aficionados may wish to visit the official fan site, which is a treasure trove of quotes and excerpts, including an encyclopaedic set of rules for the labyrinthine 'Mornington Crescent'. The instructions for playing "One Song To The Tune Of Another" are also worth a look for a 'stream of consciousness' set of analogies.

In the 'Gallery' there is also an extremely rare photo of Sven and Samantha.

You either 'get' the humour or you don't but in my book the programme is one of the funniest on radio.

http://www.isihac.co.uk

PS Have just been googling "I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue", the better to illustrate the inspired humour which permeates the show.

Found an excellent Wikiepedia entry.........scroll down to Format, and Humour.

And enjoy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I'm_Sorry_I_Haven't_A_Clue#Humour

Ta dah!...........

Finally, after almost 5 months work, our new miniature toy and doll website is up and running.

Admittedly I've been dragging my heels as we had so much Miniatura preparation from January to March, but I have been gradually adding bits and pieces to it over the past month and yesterday I buckled down to get to grips with finishing the shopping cart entries.

So here, for your delight and delectation

*reveals with a flourish*

http://diminutivedolls.co.uk

Have a good look round and I'd be pleased to know what you think.

Rant of the week ............

Have just returned from popping to the post office with a bagful of orders, all carefully packaged, labelled and documented, ready to post.

Actually 'popping' suggests a short visit, 10-15 minutes max. Back in February it would have been just that, but following the closure of our nearest local post office we now have a 5 mile round trip, by car then a nightmare parking scenario, all for the privilege of queueing for up to 30 minutes to post a few packages.

We have lost 4 post offices in Hastings over the past few years, with the obvious result that the remaining ones have become very much busier. Often, the queues stretch out the door and down the street.

Now, I don't mind queueing. The ability to queue is what marks the British from many other nations on earth. Not for us the anarchy of a mass onslaught on the nearest available counter.

No, we quietly submit to standing in line, shuffling forward towards the holy grail of the post office queue, the yellow and black chevron tape stuck onto the floor which marks the front of the line.
This lengthy wait gives us ample time to size up the other people in line, and make an educated guess as to how long their respective transactions will take. I know my heart sinks when I see anyone with large carrier bags full of small jiffy bags, each of which will have to be weighed, then a stamp printed out and stuck on, followed by a proof of posting receipt which requires the assistant to decipher the handwritten postcode.
Even worse is when the bagful of packages are destined for 'forn parts', and each destination requires a lengthy discourse about customs labels and declarations and airmail stickers and relevant documentation.

I blame eBay.

Years ago, pre-eBay, the most anyone wanted to post would be a birthday card to auntie Ethel, or perhaps a cheque for the gas bill.

Nowadays, the world and his brother sell stuff on eBay and have to post it all over the planet.

Now wait a minute. I sense the accusation of hypocrisy hanging, unspoken, in the air.
Yes I do sell things on eBay and from our website and yes we do post packets to destinations far and wide.

BUT

And it is a significant BUT.

I carefully package every item in appropriate packaging,.... jiffy bags, double wall cardboard boxes, card-backed envelopes.......all sourced specifically for the purpose.
I carefully print out a clear, spell-checked address label for each package, and include a return address label on the back.
I check whether the country of destination requires a customs label, and weigh it to check that it is within the guidelines for the particular postal service chosen, completing any additional documentation which the country specifies. I keep stocks of Airmail labels, and the various different international mail slips.
I write on the front of each package the precise postal service I wish to use.
I complete a certificate of posting for each package, with the full name, address and postcode of the recipient. This is not strictly necessary, but it does save valuable minutes at the PO as the assistant doesn't have to type the postcode into their computer for a printed receipt.

I have stood behind people in the post office who send obviously delicate items packed in little more than a black bin liner, with a few sheets of newspaper as protective packing and then have a major go when the package is rejected as being unsuitable for mailing..
Ditto people who regard a Tesco carrier bag, turned inside out, as a fitting external mailer. I'm all for recycling but this is just rank stupidity.
Ditto illegible, scrawled addresses, written in felt pen on the outside of the plastic bag, which not even the writer can decipher, much less the poor post office assistant.
Ditto completely oblivious to the need for customs labels, airmail stickers, return address labels.
Ditto asking for details of every conceivable method of postage, in duplicate, for each of 20 packets.

It's not rocket science.
It's just sheer laziness and general incompetence.

I don't mind people posting lots of packets.
I DO mind if they take a half-assed approach to everything to do with the procedure, wasting their time and mine in the process.

There is definitely a gap in the market for a "Preparing Stuff for Posting for Dummies' book. Which should be available free at all post offices.
They'd be doing everyone a favour.

Rant over.

Whirlwind of activity.........

So back to work with a vengeance today, after lazing around all day yesterday, snuggled up with small dog, reading, watching TV and generally taking some much needed 'time out'.

I am still installing software on the new laptop and gradually getting to grips with Vista. Despite having apparently successfully networked to the printer, the laptop and printer are only on intermittent speaking terms.

Personally I blame the printer, which is recalcitrant at the best of times. If you even look at it squint it goes into a sulk so I'm not surprised that the new laptop is having problems getting it to cooperate.

Frenzy of order packaging today, catching up with the backlog which has build up over the past few days, which means a trip to the post office shortly which will take up most of the afternoon. I think I can feel a rant coming on re post offices in general..........