My Anniversary day ...

Well this day each year always bites abit, I would have been married for
37 years today. 
Of course because himself jiggered off with a younger model, wanted a divorce and then went and died still aged only 40 - its always a hard day for me.
My kids of course never even think about it lol thankfully I suppose.
I never ventured back into the mating/hurting game and now I guess its just as well, looking around me at the half made this, that or the others : )

Okay enough nostalgia!
Hands up who remembers Bagpuss and the Clangers?
The original puppets have been on display at our Art Gallery, the Ferens.
I took a grandchild along to see them this week and he was not surprisingly, somewhat underwhelmed by their simplicity lol

Lovely to see original illustration artwork, the way it was before CGI and computers lol

     Ive forgotten what she was called, I didn't recognise her, a really spooky crow mind you! Do any of you recognise her?

The Poggles

                             

   
                                                                   The Clangers 

                                         
              Interesting to see the dragon with its simply felt scales stuck on                      
         

                     Asparagus and Carrot rag dolls - late 1800s/early 1900s
                Ma-Coney rabbit 1930s
                Rag doll 1920s 

          

Blue eggs!

I couldn't resist buying them, they were such a pretty shade of blue!

To be fair they tasted like any other egg but are much prettier : )

Just completed another book for work about a child's train journey, my own idea, for sighted children rather than visually impaired this time.

The book shows things seen from the carriage window and the window pages turn and enable the tactile character to be felt.

My granddaughters been creative too ----

The conversation went something like this -

Her Mum - Evie why on earth did you do that to your shoes?
Evie        - Because it makes them look pretty!
Her Mum - You do know your not supposed to draw on your shoes dont you?
Evie - Yes but I wanted to anyway.
Her Mum - Well that was naughty and there are consequences when your naughty aren't there?
You will use your birthday money to buy yourself a new pair of shoes and go to bed early tonight too for starters.
Tomorrow we will talk about this behaviour again.
Apparently Evie threw a tantrum and was not a happy lass LOL

To be fair, her Mum at about a year younger, scribbled on the back of our newly delivered air force blue leather suite chair - far less artistically - and it took me ages to remove most of it without her dad knowing it was there.
Brillo pads worked a treat but I did have to reposition the chair into a corner so he didn't find out that his precious suite was damaged by his precious daughter - until much, much later on : )

May and glorious sunshine for a change from the rain : )

Amazing how wonderful you feel when after deluges of rain we finally have bright blue skies and the fauna is bursting with colour.
Trees and road side shrubs are burgeoning with leaf and blossom as well my back garden looking full of promise.
Mind you the tomatoes are abit slow so have given them some verbal encouragement, not that that always works with the grandchildren but maybe I will get more response from the plants!

It warms the soul to see all that expanse of blue above you and then to see how beautiful Mother Nature can be - frilly tulips - although spot the sneaky snail - pesky mite RIP

Thought you might like to see an alternative to Braille used in some of the adapted books I make.

Children with sight or cognative impairments in the special schools whose educational abilities are more seriously limited can sometimes learn to read MOON.

(Makaton is another probably better known alternative you may have heard of.)

MOON is a much simplified font that we print out onto Zychem paper, which is then fed through horizontally, what is basically a 'toaster' machine and that raises the surface of the font.

The font rises with the heat and the letters can then be felt with the fingers in the same manner that Braille is.

However MOON is a much simplified construct.

I had to make up a simply nursery rhyme 'book' last week and thought you might like to see it as an example of MOON in use.

 Not all the words are printed just titles so this child can say the words themselves with the teachers assistant.
But in keeping with the 'book' format the tactile item is alongside on the facing pages.
As in Hickory Dickory there is a small mouse for example and on/off sandpaper 'bricks' for Humpty's wall.
Further info about MOON in this link, scroll down a bit.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/inclusive-communication/accessible-communication-formats

Took the dogs bed apart and before I could do much else Hilly had made herself comfy in the innards lol

Right must away and do some stitching outside beneath that  beautiful blue sky whilst its still here and listen to the birdsong.

You can never guarantee how long it the sun will stick around afterall!

Hope its warm and pleasantly wonderful wherever you are too : )

Oh and as an alternative to either hexagons or crazy patchwork nip across and take a look at this great idea!

http://shirleestuff.blogspot.co.uk/