Nessie's Blog - the trials and tribulations of a forty something scrapbooking veg box seller

Fifteen Minutes of Fame (well 30 or 40 seconds actually!)

2008-04-22T13:14:00.000-07:00

Well, when I woke up this morning - I didn't think for a moment I'd be on the TV tonight! I was out delivering our yummy veg boxes as usual, when I got a call from the farm - would I mind if a reported and camera man came to see me delivering some veg boxes? But of course - why not? So, an hour later I found myself delivering a veg box to a customer - being filmed by a camera man and interviewed by a reporter. She was great - and it was a super experience (but a bit surreal for a veg box girl....)

The upshot is - I had my 30 seconds of fame tonight on Anglia TV news - and I really hope it helps show more and more people the benefits of eating organic - and getting it through a veg box like ours http://www.rivernene.co.uk. The best bit - seeing my van in all its glory on the TV screen - the worst - the great shot of my huge backside as I picked up the veg box to take it to the customer!!!!!

Life can be very surprising can't it - and I suppose that's what I like about it the most. Even delivering veg boxes can have it's surprises. I think I need to go and sit down now - it's fair taken it out of me this TV malarkey!

I can't wait!

2008-04-10T11:09:00.000-07:00

I am sooo excited - I'm off on Saturday - with some of my fabulous friends to the big stamp and craft show at Alexander Palace. I have been saving my pennies so I have something to blow on lots of lovely stash. I have a few ideas about some things I'd like - but I am just looking forward to a day with friends and the inspiration that will come from seeing all that scrummy stash in one place.

I have even tried to be a bit organised - think about what I am going to be scrappin' in the near future and plan ahead a little (bit bizarre for me - but you never know - it might just work.....)

So what else? Well Lumpy Daisy is still stealing - last Sunday she stole a bag of organic jumbo oats, a bag of organic cous cous and a 500g bag of banana chips. We found the cous cous and oats in her basket - unopened - but the banana chips? Well, all we found was the wrapper. She was pretty fizzed up on them I can tell you!

Also, last Sunday was the regular Sunday crop at Olney. It was another great day - and I actually managed to finish a layout. It was a bit of a different one for me - but I enjoyed the challenge of something different. When I woke up there was a bit of snow - but nothing sticking and certainly not on the roads. But for a little while it did look pretty.

I am looking forward to seeing my niece tomorrow - she's paying a flying visit on her way to London to watch the London Marathon on Sunday - her boyfriends sister is a wonderful wheelchair athlete - check out her web site http://www.shellywoods.com/.

Need to go and sort some things out so I am all ready for an early start on Saturday!

Oh, what a beautuful Day!

2008-03-30T07:46:00.000-07:00

What a fabulous day today has been - woke up to the bluest sky, a light breeze, and bingo, off we go! We have been waiting to paint our deck. We have lifted taken out all screws (over 350 of them - many of which had to be drilled out), cleaned the decking boards, lifted the boards - cleaned them again (yuk, yuk, yuk - all cobwebby) and gave been waiting for a nice day to be able to give them their first coat of black paint. Keeping the doggies of them was a bit of a challenge - they sulked a bit because we were out in the sun (yes, sun) and they were indoors looking through the window. It was glorious - a few hours of sunshine to do a job that needed doing - and it looks fab - all silky and black. It needs another coat - but hey - that will make it look even better.

There's still a few more cobbles to lay - and a planter to plant up and position - but its going to look amazing - and what's more, when the sun gets on the patio - if you close your eyes - you could be in the med somewhere, it's such a suntrap

We have been thinking of getting a hammock - we have two trees to fix it to - but we aren't sure how big they need to be to support the weight of a body. They aren't small -but they aren't old oaks either (as a matter of fact they are beautiful silver birches)

The lawn poses a bit more of a problem - two dogs hurtling around it all winter have churned it up a bit - we need to get our thinking caps on to sort it out. Also - got to look for a couple of very large bamboos - a couple have died - and as we use them to screen the house from the garden - we need them badly!

Anyway - now the jobs are done - I have chance to get into the craft cupboard for a bit of scrapbooking whilst my husband it our on his mountain bike.

Then and Now

2008-03-24T15:01:00.000-07:00

The picture "now " was taken by a fab lady - thanks Lyns - it was taken at our scrapbooking retreat last year - and it goes well with my christening picture. The common denominator - my mouth is open on both of them - I think I have always had something to say....

When We Were Small

2008-03-24T14:58:00.000-07:00

This is is a lyaout I have wanted to do for ages - I found the picture at my mum's - and was taken in the local park.

Latest Layouts

2008-03-24T14:55:00.000-07:00

These are recent layouts - I hope you like them - I had a lot of fun creating them! This is a wedding photo from many moons ago - but I wanted to so soemthing with it after all these years!

A Great Weekend

2008-03-24T14:19:00.000-07:00

The weather has been just what it should have been for March - flippin cold! But it's been a lovely weekend; long walks with Daisy and Mollie, some scrapbooking, some good food and time spent with good friends.

Daisy and Moll love their walks in the woods - we could throw sticks until the cows came home - but they'd both want more. I can't believe the size of stick Daisy is prepared to fetch back (more like a medium sized branch - she has to drag some of them as she can't pick them up!) I also think that she thinks she's a springer spaniel rather than a lab - you should see her leap through those ferns and woods - I can't believe a dog of her size can get so far off the floor - and so beautifully elegantly.

Two of our very best friends came to supper on Saturday - with some amazing news - they'd gone off quietly to have a civil partnership ceremony. Though I would have loved to have been there with them - I am so very, very happy that they have done it. They are wonderful human beings and they deserve to be as happy as can be. It makes my heart very glad that they are able to show how much they love each other by doing this. Needless to say supper turned into a celebration with pink champagne all round!

My significant other has been busy sorting out our garden - specifically , our deck - which needs cleaning and re painting black. We also put a tonne of cobbles down - and thy look a whole heap better than the shingle that was there. By the time the summer comes the garden will look fab.

I have been doing a bit of scrapbooking - and have managed to complete three layouts this weekend - might not sound much to you -but to me - it's really going some - and I am pleased with the results. One day - I will post some here!

Anyway - better load the dishwasher and get everything ready for tomorrow's deliveries.

A good Sort Out

2008-03-21T03:57:00.001-07:00

This might sound odd - but I do think that there is something a bit cathartic about a good sort out - wardrobe, cupboard, garden, desk - whatever's floating your clear out boat at any one time. But, best of all is a stash sort out; the chosen stash for sorting this week were my ribbon boxes (yes boxes - 3 of them - I love ribbon, so what.....).

Since I saw Jay's fab way to keep all her ribbons I have been itching to have a go at mine - so having got the storage box (Jay, thanks - will sort it out with you soon) I have spent the last few evenings cutting little bits of card into 4cm x 4cm squares. Then I have sorted my ribbons in to colours and stored them on the card in the perfect little slots left for them in the box. They look so lovely and neat all ready to use - so I will have to get cracking on a layout that is going to need lots of ribbon - yippee. I think my husband thinks I am totally mad....

On the very positive side though - a clear out mean that I could RAK a number if ribbon items on UK Scrappers - which also makes me feels quite warm inside!

On a different note though - I have been looking for a picture of my husband to scrap - and having found just the one have started to plan the layout (yes, I do plan a lot of them - they just don't always pan out the way I want them to..) I have decided to use a fabulous poem which, for me, says it all about my husband - its called "I rely on You" and its by the wonderful Bolton poet, Hovis Presley, Check out the website www.hovispresley.co.uk to see some of his work. Its dry and northern and very bittersweet (like the best chocolate) and very sad too - because Hovis shuffled of his mortal coil way too early indeed in 2005.

Need to do some real work now - got some veg box things to sort out now - then there's a house to be cleaned, dinners to be prepped and dogs to walk (again) before its out to meet some friends for a woodland walk later this afternoon.

So, what's new?

2008-03-17T13:28:00.000-07:00

Thought it was high time I put fingers to keyboard.

The Daisy Diaries continue; Lumpy Daisy (now 20 months old) suffered no long term ill effects following her chomping and digesting the Nativity set. However, she has, in very recent weeks turned into a thief!!! I came home from delivering River Nene veg boxes to find that the fruit cake defrosting on the counter top in the kitchen -had been snaffled by the aforementioned Lumpy Daisy - and eaten - not a scrap or crumb left apart from the tell tale cling film left on the living room floor. It's hardly surprising she's still lumpy!

Daisy has been on a bit of a diet since just before Christmas and I think the stealing is just to let me know, that she knows, she's on reduced rations (but only very slightly). She now has a waist and weights just about 29kg; not exactly a porker then, but we all know that Labs need to have their food intake controlled 'cos they're rubbish at it themselves (bit like me really...)

On the plus side - we think she's stopped eating rugs so we bought a new one (perhaps she's just lulling us into a false sense of security). The old one was nearer circular than rectangular - she'd nibbled away at so much of it.

You might wonder what poor old Mollie Dog makes of Lumpy Daisy (I know I do). I think they get on well enough; Moll lets Daisy annoy her (in the puppy dog way) then, when she's had enough she tells her off with a little nip. Daisy likes to think she's top dog - but Moll just quietly puts her back in her place. That's how it should be.

We have been busy with veg boxes over the last few weeks- we've introduced a brand new box which is going down really well with our lovely customers. There are some great plans in the pipeline for new products too - its rather exciting. Check out our website to see fabulous organic veggies www.rivernene.co.uk. I am so glad that more and more people are choosing organic over "conventional" vegetables (amongst other things); it just makes sense to me to have my food grown in tune with nature. I don't see why we have to try to beat nature all the time - let's work with her, she will win in the end. I find it really weird that we call stuff grown with the help of pesticides, herbicides and chemical fertilisers conventional....why?

Had some ups and downs on the scrap booking front - I finished a couple of really nice layouts - then had no inspiration at all at one of my crops a couple of weeks ago. But, last week at Cassie's crop in Walnut Tree (http://cropandcreate.blogspot.com/) - I found some inspiration to finish a layout of one of our wedding pictures (ancient - 15 years old); thanks Cassie for inspiring me with the chipboard Celtic knot - it's beautiful, and it really makes the layout ,covered in embroidery silk and gems. Thanks too, to Jay - the help with my San Francisco layout was invaluable - and the chipboard alphas just the job. I have to say that Cassie, Jay, Chel and Sue are some of the most creative and talented (as well as lovely) people I know. There are others too - many people who's scrapbooking skills I admire enormously - just too many of them to mention.

Looking forward to going to Alexandra Palace for the scrapbooking event in April - already compiling a list of things I want to look for - and saving my pennies to spend there - I can't wait!!!

Since my last post I had my birthday and wedding anniversary - I am glad to say that being one year older than I was feels no different, though I do get a shock when I look in the mirror and see me looking back - I still feel the same as I did when I met Russell 26 years ago - I just look a bit older and baggier.

Time to do the ironing - it just gets better and better!

Poor Ickle Daisy Dog

2008-01-03T12:32:00.000-08:00

I have to commit this to paper (or PC).

Our puppy - Daisy (a black Labrador), is now 18 months old. Last year we didn't put up a tree at Christmas - we were a bit concerned that she'd ens up replacing the fairy on the top. But this year thought it was time to give it a try. The tree was duly assembled and decorated - so far so good. A few baubles got broken by a swishy tail - but I can live with that.

However, Friday December 14th will go down in our house as Nativity Friday. Why, well, Daisy Dog ate one of my Nativity sets. I have a few - I like them - what can I say?

My particular favourite is one made of fimo type modelling clay type stuff. I had set it out - out of harms way I thought. However, when we came back from our evening out it was nowhere to be seen. There was not a scrap anywhere - and we hunted high and low. We eventually concluded that she had eaten it - all of it, every single last scrap of it.

Panic ensued as I wondered if she was going to die after eating a flock of sheep which could be lodged in her tummy causing no end off harm. To cut a long story short - a trip tot he emergency vet ensued - at one in the morning - dog in one hand and box the nativity came out of in the other.

What followed was a bit surreal - Daisy was given a injection to make her sick - and boy did it make her sick - ever seen a black dog go green - I have. The vet said that if we were lucky she would have give it a good chewing before swallowing it - fingers crossed then!

Well, Daisy threw it all up - time and time (and time and time) again. Each time - little bits of nativity were visible - a bit of Gabriel here, followed by a bit of wise man there. Shepherd and sheep followed but the Piece de Resistance was Baby Jesus, Joseph and Mary - closely followed by the remains of the manger.

This continued for almost 24 hours - not much sleep for me then. Fortunately for Daisy there's no lasting damage - and all we can conclude is that the Nativity set must have tasted mighty fine to a little lumpy black Labrador

Happy New Year

2008-01-03T12:07:00.000-08:00

Blinkin' Flip - it's ages since I put fingers to keyboard!

Christmas is one of the busiest times for us in our organic veggie box business - and this year (happily) was no exception. You might think that after seeing so many sprouts and parsnips, potatoes and carrots in the run up to Christmas, we'd be sick of the sight of them - but you'd be wrong; we may be very simple souls - but great tasting veggies are hard to beat (especially River Nene ones) - and fortunately - we both love sprouts! This has meant though, not much time to blog - and not much time to scrap.

We finished work on Sat 22 Dec - and went on Holiday on the same day - so, much rushing around like idiots getting everything ready. We went off to Italy, skiing, and this time, were able to take along our wonderful three nephews, and my Mother in Law and Sister in Law. The lads took to skiing like ducks to water (we knew they would) and even my sister in law had a go - and really enjoyed it.

We tried telemark skiing - we booked some lessons - and hired the skis and boots. There were some positives to it; mainly that the boots were relatively comfy to walk in and the skis light to carry (not much in the way of bindings) other than that - it looks beautiful if done well.

However (and its a big however) I was not good at it - I can't believe how different it is to Alpine skiing . Its much more like snow boarding (which I can't do). I just couldn't get the hang of turning my shoulders into the mountain - completely unnatural for a skier. Russell got the hang of it better than I did - and managed to come down a couple of runs looking almost competent! Our instructor - Didier - made it look very easy - and when he brought along his "Alpenstuck" we thought he'd brought it to give us a whack with when we did things wrong - turns out it was supposed to help us turn (you can, apparently lean on it!). You live and learn!

Telemarking was definitely a good experience - but I am not sure I will be chucking out my alpine boots and skis just yet.......

So, back to tagging!

2007-11-18T12:22:00.000-08:00

I have now found out there are some rules to tagging, so here goes.

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself: some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them).
4. Let them know they've been tagged by leaving a comment at their blogs.

so, here we go,

1. not sure how to do this - I think I have done it! http://www.craftywotname.blogspot.com

2. seven things about me:

I love dancing; I had my first ballet lesson at 3 and haven't really stopped dancing since. I especially love tap and Middle Eastern Dance. You can really be anyone you want to be when you dance - it's so exhilerating.

I adore skiing - but I hated it at first. I'm not an athletic person generally and it took me a while to get the hang of it - but once I did, boy oh boy! I've skied in lots of places and lots of countries but my hands down all time favourite place to ski (and party) is Val D'Isere. I love the feeling of isolation you can have on a moutain.

I gave up my job as a wage slave in the public sector to start a business with my husband. I love working with him - he's the smartest, savviest person I know - so driven and such an ethical businessman! Our business is the best move I ever made.

I met my husband at my 18th birthday party - and married him the day after my 29th birthday - that's staying power. But I knew three weeks after I met him I'd marry him!

My dad taught me to read before I started school - and I read all the time - mostly vintage crime fiction from the 20's and 30's, and I love HV Morton and collect his books. I also adore fairy tales and collect them too.

I went on my honeymoon - not only with my husband - but with 30 other friends - we went skiing (naturally) and I travelled out on the plane in my wedding dress and all my freinds in best bib and tucker and then while away, skied in my wedding dress.

My dream is to own my own chalet in France - I think to wake in the morning and to look out over snowy mountains would be the most wonderful thing in the world.

3 and 4. I really don't know who to tag as most people I know with a blog have already been tagged so....not sure what to so?

Just Another Monday!

2007-11-12T09:01:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's dark at 5.00pm - its so cold an miserable out there I think I might have to make a mug of hot chocolate to warm up after taking the dogs to the woods.

But, on the positive side, I have finished my scraplift (with the aid of lots of helpful suggestions yesterday at the MK scrappers crop - thanks ladies!) I am pleased with it - just got to send it off now and keep my fingers crossed.

Must do some baking tonight - as we have no cake at all for next week's sandwich boxes. The green tomoato chutney made at weekend turned out rather well and I am just about to give butter makeing a try (in the food processor), we'll see what happens!

Hope fully I can find time for at least a little play in the craft cupboard tonight. But have got lots of scrapping coming up on Friday and Saturday anyway - and am really looking forward to Crop and Create on Saturday with Cassie in Walnut Tree.

Just had a call form my best freind Pat - she's popping down to see me at the weekend - great news - I miss her since she went back North!

Must dash - the kitchen calls - need to think of somehting for supper!......

What's going on then..

2007-11-06T14:08:00.000-08:00

The scraplift is going well! Photos selected and printed and papers and some embelishments chosen - its starting to look quite acceptable. The pictures are, of course of our dogs Mollie and Daisy. They are great pictures of them both havinga great time - Mol, on the beach at Woolacombe covered in sand and Daisy up to her elbows in a brackish puddle in the woods near where we live. If I can work out how - I may well upload the finished product!

So, what else has been happening? Well, this weekend was pickling weekend - several kilos of onions are now well amd truly pickled for winter (some with Chilli - yum), as is a quantity of beetroot. I was hpoing to do red cabbage too - but that will have to wait until this weekend coming up. I have also been busy on the chilli jam and lemon curd front - both delicious. This weekend will also see a large quanitity of green tomato chutney being made to keep us going for a few months.

Bonfire night has been and gone - Mollie has been petrified for five nights on the run - poor thing (good job we can give her something to help her forget the fireworks). Daisy just barks at the fireworks.

The weather is turning much colder - but its wonderfult to be working outdoors - there are so many beautiful things to see at the moment - the colours on the trees in Aspley woods just have to be sen to be believed - we are so lucky to be able to visit the woods to walk the dogs 4 or 5 times a week. Even the trees in MIlton Keynes look fantastic - driving around the grid is a positive pleasure (and not many people say that too often).

Time, I suppose, to get ready to turn in. Hope I can find some time tomorrow night to do some more work on my latest scrapbookng project!

Still wondering.....

2007-10-29T14:59:00.000-07:00

Still wondering what tagging is - and what I am supposed to do about it - if anyone knows I'd be glad of a prod in the right direction!!

Have decided to try my first "scraplift"; so tonight I started to try to find the right photos. Is it just me who never has quite the right pictures at the right time? But I will persevere and see what I come up with.

Just finished altering a clock for my mum for Christmas; and, even if I do say so myself, I am really quite proud of the finished article. Will be starting soon on an mini albumfor my niece with lots of pictures of her childhood - she hasn't got many of her own - so I thought it'd be nice to do a little album for her to keep, and hopfully look back on for years to come.

I do keep thinking that I should scrapbook some of our lives in organic veggies - the next time we are up at the farm I should take loads of pictures. That's just another thing on the long list of things yet to be done - ah well, I suppose I will get round to it at some point.

Better get on with finding those photos for the scraplift......

I've been tagged (but it doesn't seem to hurt much)

2007-10-18T11:48:00.000-07:00

Crikey, I don't really know what tagging is - but I will try to find out! Since my first tentative post (and, by the way, this one is tentative too) I have had a stack of fun with some fantastic new friends, who have all been helping me to scrapbook my pictures and memories. I am in total awe of the people I have got to know at my crops - the amazing levels of creativity and artistic ability just has to be seen to be believed - there are masterpieces being created all the time. I can't tell you the fun and pleasure I have had trawling through old pics, taking new ones, buying stash (but we won't dwell in that place for long) then trying to bring it all together on a layout (try being the operative word - sometimes it's like pulling teeth!). I am setting myself little challenges all the time - last week I challenged myself to do a layout in under 2 hours (believe me, that's the speed of lightening for me) and I did - and I doodled on it and I cut letters freehand (a first for both) and, guess what, I am really pleased with the resulting layout of my nephew. Anyway - suppose I'd better go and get some supper on the go - then I can go and have a crafty hour in my craft cupboard!

Let's see if this works then......

2007-04-04T11:06:00.000-07:00

This is the first time I have attempted to create a blog - don't know if it's going to work - and not sure where it's going to appear - but here goes. If it works this time - I might move onto bigger and better things .....