Goodbye to an Old Friend

Please don't laugh, I am having to say goodbye to my favourite bracelet. I never would have believed that I would feel like this at having to pack it up and send it off to its new home. Normally I am overjoyed when I sell something, but this time I feel a little sad. Don't get me wrong I am pleased that someone has looked at it and decided to buy it and I hope they love it as much as I do. But this one is my avatar on Etsy, Myspace, Facebook, this one is how I am known, how I am recognised. When I go into the chat rooms on Etsy, this one is usually picked out and shown. I have sold a few bracelets this last week, but this one is specIal.

GOODBYE!

Where does the time go?

This year seems to be flying by. I can't believe it is already November, in fact almost December. I have started my Christmas shopping, daughter's Christmas List has been written and I am slowly ticking off the items as I get them. I am having a problem getting one doll in particular but I have managed to track it down in York. I have reserved it at Argos and we are going to pick it up tomorrow. How stressful this is when your child has put something on the Christmas List and then you find it is out of stock. What a nightmare.

I have started to crochet again and I have been busy crocheting little amigurumi animals and making keyrings or keychains out of them, they are really cute. This is the first one I did and I put it in my Etsy shop and it has sold. I was very excited and it is now on its way to Canada.

This cute little turtle is my second one and he is now on his way to America.

They are really lovely little things. I have also done a rabbit's head, much better than a rabbit's foot. I have also done another hippo, a pink one and my most recent is a lovely pink pig. He has yet to be put in my shop but he will be there soon and hopefully I will make another sale soon.

I have also been crocheting lip balm holders, I really like them. They have a split ring sewn onto them so that they can be used as a keyring/

keychain or they can be attached to your bag or purse. A really handy accessory.

Today I have put one of my mobile phone charms into the shop. I have made 4 and they too will be on sale soon.

Our Weekend by the Sea

A couple of weeks ago we went to Sutton on Sea which is a lovely little seaside resort on the East Coast of England. There is not much there but it suits us fine for a quiet get away.

We have a caravan and we have found a lovely site that is not too far from the coast. It is quiet and great for kids, they can play safely and you can keep an eye on them.

We arrived at the site Friday evening and it takes us a couple of hours to get set up. Whilst hubby was finishing off I went into Sutton to get fish and chips. They are lovely. Finished off the evening with a bottle of wine and watching a dvd. Looking forward to a relaxing weekend.

The next day weather didn't look too good but so what we are here and we have to make the most of it. We head off to the beach whatever.

This was our view of the beach that day very overcast but what a dramatic view. I love the sea and the beaches along this part of the coast are wonderful. They stretch for miles. This one is dog friendly so are dog can enjoy himself as well.

We headed off walking along the beach our daughter trying to dodge the sea and me shouting at her not to get her feet wet. The dog loves the sea as well and it wasn't long before he had got himself wet. He has only just had his coat cut and it was done quite short this time but it was great for this kind of day.

I love walking along looking for lovely pebbles, don't know why because I don't do anything with them. I do get excited when I find the odd piece of sea glass. I hope that one day I will have enough to make something with.

There were quite a few other dogs on the beach. Our dog, Jasper, is very wary. He has got worse as he has got older. He doesn't like it if he sees 2 dogs together coming towards us and has been known to run away from us to get away from the dogs. We know now to keep him on his lead if we see more than one dog approaching.

We walked for several miles but we started to feel a spot of rain and decided it would be better to turn around. But of course the rain came down and we got soaked. Oh well part of the fun of a day at the English seaside.

The next day, Sunday, was glorious. What a difference the weather can make to a place. We didn't rush getting up, had breakfast, and then went back to the beach.

It was glorious. The sun was shining, the sea was blue, it looked amazing. We had a lovely walk. After about an hour we headed back to the caravan to get everything packed up and ready for our drive home.

We had had a lovely time, I love my weekends away. They are so much more relaxing than spending them at home.

Australia

I can't believe it is almost a year since we went to Australia. I have family over there and last year, about March, we decided we would go visit. Unfortunately not long after we had made this decision my dear dad was diagnosed with a type of cancer caused by exposure to asbestos (it has got a long name that I can't spell). Anyway after much soul searching we decided to go ahead and book our tickets for November.

My dad's health deteriorated and about July 2006 I asked him to come and live with us. I did not want him to go into a home. He was only with us a few weeks when he suddenly took a turn for the worse and had to go into hospital. From here he was transferred to a hospice where less than a week later he passed away. We were with him when he went - I miss my dad so much.

We carried on with our plans to visit Australia as I felt I now needed to see my aunty (my late mum's sister) more than ever.

When the our travel date finally arrived I could not believe that I was going to one of my dream destinations. I was actually going to see Sydney I was so excited. I spoke to my aunty that morning and it felt so unreal saying to her 'I will see you in a couple of days' oh my god pinch me. The taxi arrived and we were on our way to Manchester airport.

Our first flight was to Dubai - somewhere I had heard of but never imagined I would go. We were not having a stopover just spending a couple of hours in the airport, but what an experience. So many people of all nationalities, the clothes, the sounds it was amazing. All to soon our next flight was being called and we were on the second leg of our journey to Sydney.

I will not kid you and say I enjoyed this it was almost unbearable to be on a plane for so long but I kept telling myself 'just remember where you are going'. I think it was the longest night of my life. I am not sure how many hours it took but I think it was 15. But finally we were there, we were landing.

We got through immigration, another tedious queue, but finally we were there, got our suitcases, turned a corner and there was my uncle with a toy emu holding it out for our daughter. It felt like coming home.

The trouble is it was a holiday and now I am back in the UK and once again my thoughts have turned back to Australia and I want to go back. I hope I do - soon.

My Favourite Recipes

I have been trying to think what I can add to this blog as I feel I should be talking about more than my jewellery. We all like to eat, well most of us do, so I thought I might add a few of my favourite recipes on here. They are not what I have made up they are what I have got from cookery books, tv or off the web. The first one is one I have tried twice, the first time in our caravan whilst we were away for the weekend.

Risotto with Prawn, lemon, spring onion and basil from the Cook Yourself Thin Programme on Channel 4
Serves 2
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
471 calories per serving

Ingredients

Olive oil
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
150g risotto rice
75ml white wine
750ml warm light vegetable stock
A bunch of spring onions, thinly sliced
150g cooked peeled prawns
3 tablespoons low-fat crème fraîche
A squeeze of lemon
1/2 bunch of basil, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper



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How to make risotto with prawn, lemon, spring onion and basil
Heat up a splash of oil and gently fry the onion and garlic until translucent. Add the rice and continue frying for two minutes. Add the wine and continue stirring until the wine is absorbed.

Now start to add the stock, ladle by ladle, stirring until the stock is absorbed between each spoonful.

Give the risotto lots of tender loving care, by stirring regularly, and the creamy starch will come out of each grain. Continue like this for 10 to 15 minutes.

Add the spring onion to the risotto, continue cooking for five minutes and then add the prawns and crème fraîche.

Now this is the important point. You need the rice to be al dente, which means firm-to-bite (not soft and overcooked), so keep tasting it until it is time to take it off the heat (it will probably need another five minutes).

Add a squeeze of lemon and stir through the basil. Check the seasoning and then, for the final touch, grate some lemon zest over the top.

Sophie's Tips

There are so many possible variations.

Try crab or chicken instead of the prawns, or replace the basil with chives or tarragon.

Both times I tried this one I have used prawns and it is delicious and I can thoroughly recommend it.

My Latest Jewellery Creations

I loved doing these 2 bracelets. I have now started using sterling silver (more expense) on some of my designs. I hate to think how much I have spent on the beads etc I have bought over the last few months. This first one has a fabulous mix of purple, amethyst and pink beads with a scattering of crystals to add sparkle. This is the first one I did with a simple sterling silver toggle fastening, which unfortunately the photo does not show, so I am going to have to re-do it.

The red one is gorgeous, I love it. I bought the 3 large beads when I was in Cornwall on holiday earlier this year. I have added a lovely mix of glass beads and crystals. I think the result is fab. This one also has a sterling silver fastener but this one is a twisted design and is very pretty.

I have also started making earrings. The first 2 pairs I made have silver plated findings. I have now got some sterling silver ones so I will be doing some more shortly. This is the first pair I did and I am thinking of changing the findings to sterling silver as the beads are so pretty and I think they deserve it. I also have a lovely bracelet on Etsy that would match this pair.

Summer is nearly over

I cannot believe how quickly this year is passing. Is this something to do with getting older, I wonder. I can remember my dear late dad telling me how quickly time passes and how as you get older it goes even quicker, obviously there was some truth in that.

I have made some more jewellery of course and I have even found the time to do some knitting. I have at last got round to knitting a twirly scarf, well 2 in fact. I have never had a go at knitting with circular knitting needles before so this was a first for me. I have posted the pictures of both of my 'creations'. I am quite proud of them. Hope I can sell one or both of them but since that first sale I had a couple of months ago I have had no luck since. It is a bit disheartening and I have thought about quitting. But I love doing this.

MY FIRST SALE

I am so excited, I have sold my first bracelet on Etsy. I couldn't believe it, it is a wonderful feeling to think that someone likes what you are creating enough to purchase from you. This is the one I sold. I love the colours.

More Jewellery

Its been quite some time since I have been on here and put pen to paper so to speak so thought it was time to have another go.

Been busy at work these past few works and trying to make more bracelets. Unfortunately haven't had much luck selling so I am trying to promote wherever I can hence this new post.

If you see anything you like on these pages they are all for sale at my shop at http://www.lizzyt.etsy.com/. If you see something you like but would prefer it in a different colour, no problem, just contact me at my shop or email me at lizzyt2000@yahoo.com.

Thanks for taking time to read this and if you have a little more spare time please use it to take a look at my shop. Many Thanks.

Another First

I have just put my first bracelet for sale on Etsy. Etsy is a place to buy and sell all handcrafted goods. There are some lovely things for sale. It is American so everything is in dollars but that is not too bad because all you have to do is half the number roughly, well that is how I have worked it out. Anyway you put something on there for sale, it costs 20 cents to list one item and it stays on for 4 months. So hopefully I might get some interest. If those bracelets I have for sale on Ebay don't sell they are going on Etsy. There is still only one selling at the moment, I am keeping my fingers crossed that another sells. This beading hobby is not cheap, beads are quite expensive and to fund it I will have to sell some of them. Even buying beads on Ebay does not make it much cheaper.

I have just been out for a walk with my dog and kept thinking about all the things I could talk about on here. Our dog is a white Westie, he is a beautiful dog and we call him Jasper. We got him just before Christmas, well actually we got him just before we went to Australia. We spent 3 weeks over there with my family and loved every minute of it. If it was up to me we would be living over there right now, it is a fantastic country. Our daughter, Amy, has also been converted to the Aussie way of life and she would love to be there as well. It is a shame it is so far away as my husband still has family in the UK who would stay here. I think my family would be hot on our heels over to Oz. Oh well I can keep on dreaming.

This bracelet is my favourite (hope I get the photo on ok) I have had it for sale on Ebay and hardly anyone has even looked at it. I thought I would sell it easily.

MY FIRST BLOG

Hi to anyone who might wander by and take a look at me. I have just started a new hobby, making wonderful (well I think so) bracelets. I have just sold my first one on Ebay and another one has been bid on so I am very excited. Also this is my first go at blogging this is something else I have wanted to do for a long time but never seem to find the time. It seems strange to be rambling on like this and then someone just might come along and read what I am rambling on about.