Blogtoberfest day 9 - Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful for a man who has his own hobbies. Hobbies which are consuming enough for me to have lots of time to myself for sewing and knitting and the like - introverts should definitely marry other introverts. *g* (and I do mean the proper definition of an introvert - not someone who is shy. They are not the same thing!)

When we were newly engaged, Spouse (then "Fiance", I suppose......yuk) decided he would have a bash at restoring the old '84 Mini he had inherited. She was nicknamed Bogus which was soon shortened to "The Boag." Here she is round the back of our flat.

(Spouse and Boag, 1998)

We didn't have a garage ourselves but Spouse's folks did and they only live a few miles away. So off she went and work started. I think he told his mum "about 10 weeks" would sort her. *cough-yeahright-cough* This is the wee darling about 7 months later getting her first wee bit of new paint!

And, of course, there was a bit of a rush on since we wanted her in our wedding photos! Which she was. Coz, really, what's not to love about a powder blue Mini? Nothing, I think you'll find!

(Wee Boag, 1999)

Except. As a daily runner? When you're starting to think babies? Not ideal. So 6 months after she was finished we sold her on, bought a proper adult (boring Volvo!) car and Spouse started on his first classic restoration. On his 30th birthday we travelled to Telford (about a 6 hour drive) to pick up Harry Snotter, his 1961 Ford Anglia. He needed quite a bit of work done!

(Harry Snotter, 2000)

And here is my birthday boy. After a pee stop, I think. *g*

And the timescale for Harry? I think was ten months. Things hotted up a bit when I fell pregnant and "oaft! I better get on with the car then, eh?" was uttered. I think Chook was almost FOUR when he was finally finished. But, again, what a magnificent car.

(Harry being shown by his new owner, 2009)

To be fair, there had been another resto halfway through Harry! I got a VW Golf GTI Mk1 for my 30th and it needed a bit of work. So 6 months were lost there and Harry temporarily went to live with my brother-in-law and Gazmatron was prettified. Relatives with empty garages? Priceless.

(my beloved Gaz, 2005)

But only 6 months after finishing Harry? He was sold on and Stinky Eric came home!! So named by almost-five -year-old Chook who proclaimed "he's stinky, Daddy, take him back!" You can see what she means though, eh? He's from 1973 so is older than me!

(why is he called Stinky Eric? *sniggers* 2007)

And once again, he did a phoenix and resurrected a brilliant car.

(Spouse and Stinky's RetroFord magazine shoot, 2012)

And how long did he last finished? A year? Not sure it was that long! He was sold and then Ming, later called Lucky, came to stay.

(Mingin' the Mini, 2013)

That's not our garage! That's my brother's. Weirdly, all our relatives have their outhouses stuffed full of anythingtheycangettheirhandsonquick! these days. *g* Wee Lucky actually got some racing done, too!

(Ming - now Lucky - 2013)

So with Lucky gone the garage is empty. I suspect not for long since there is money burning a hole in his pocket, a plan and a car viewing tomorrow night! Honestly. What a man...

*notes on the photos. These are a really weird mix! From an old instamatic film camera (I think it was blue with sheep on it!) to professional ones for magazine shoots we have it all covered! Much like our cars.*

Blogtoberfest day 8 - really Lucky.

As some of you may remember, my spouse is a mad keen car-restorer and hillclimb racer. His ride of the last 18 months has been Lucky the Mini. Who wasn't very lucky, really. We should have kept his original moniker, Mingin'. Anyway, as of tonight Lucky doesn't live here anymore!

Yup, a lovely lad and his Dad have bought him to have some fun with. The boy just passed his theory test today! Now that is keen. So the garage looks like this.

But not for long, I reckon. In fact, a new motorised pet is being viewed on Friday! One not needing any restoration since apparently it is of this century! Good grief...

Blogtoberfest day 2 - a pretty pile.

I think I'm meant to be doing a "Wordless Wednesday" today but that was never going to happen. So I'm sharing a pile of FQ's I got yesterday for a new project. In our living room the sofa is mine (and the cats) and the big armchair and footstool is Spouse's. I made a quilt for the couch last year but when the weather started to turn cooler a few weeks ago I remarked 

"aw, son, you've no quilt to coory under! Will i make you one?" 

To which he replied,  much to my surprise, "yeah. Make me one with minis on." 

Coz he has a mini that he hillclimbs (wee not-so-Lucky). But that meant buying novelty fabric with cars on! Yuk. Still, I think I might make this work. 

There's multicoloured cars on the mini print and Lucky is red but my living room is blue and brown. So there's a careful balancing act going on. And I think I'm going to do a big plus quilt like Leanne to show off the bigger prints. But I think it might be not bad, you know.

100% Lucky.

The Spouse was hill climbing Lucky the Mini last weekend. If you remember, Lucky got his name here and had his first shot up the hill here. Which didn't go very well. So things couldn't get any worse, could they? Hmph.

Saturday went well enough. 5 runs and the mended gearbox was breaking in nicely. Chookie and I headed up late on Sunday morning and as we were pulling into the car park (field) my phone started ringing. It was Spouse. Had we left yet? We had - we were here. Why? *sighs*

There had been a lot of problems over the morning. Lots of delays and stops and starts and Spouse's batch hadn't had their practise runs. So the first time he was in the car was right before his first timed run. And it wouldn't start. *blinks* So, could we bring some stuff? But it was okay we were here now - he was in the paddock. We weren't there long - his head was under the bonnet and "crabbit as a scrappy's dug" is the phrase used (translations available on request). So we headed up the hill where we weren't be going to see him run (again) and we bumped into his friend who was wondering where he was. Who promptly headed back down the hill to try and help. Long story boring? A fuel pump wire was jury-rigged and he was going to make the last run. Yay!

No photos but I did get this video.



It takes a minute(ish) to drive right up and we're fairly near the end. Three hours hanging about for 15 seconds. I am one dedicated wife!

Lucky by name...

Lucky the Mini and the spouse had their first hillclimb last weekend. It's taken me so long to blog because due to circumstances unforseen but detailed below I didn't actually see any of his runs. And therefore had no photos to share. Luckily for me there's a few photographers attend these events and plop their photos on Flickr. I've bought a digital copy of this awesome one from Derek Monaghan - he added this one with the cheeky wee bit of photoshopping as a freebie. Cool, right? His photostream is really amazing - if you look back there's the most brilliant insect and landscape photography.

So, why hadn't I gotten any photos myself? Because we had planned to go on Sunday due to Chook riding all day on Saturday. And on his second run up on Saturday? Lucky's gearbox packed in. *blinks* So there was no runs for wee Lucky on Sunday at all. At this very moment his engine has been lifted out and is being hit with hammers - in a professional mechanical manner, obviously. Bits to fix the gearbox have been purchased and a new differential sourced. I do know more about cars than I ever wanted to! But hopefully next time (at the end of June) Lucky will live up to his name. Even just a little...

changing names without deed poll.

No, no. Not us changing names or anything - I'm not getting divorced! Although perhaps given the nature of these photos I should be. Ahem.

 

Spouse has been spending every spare minute of his free time working on Ming the Mini. He freely admits

 

"I f**ked up on this one, wife,"

 

since this was supposed to be a minimal restoration project ready for racing at the end of April. Every last thing that could go wrong? Has.

 

Every. Last. Thing.

 

He's done a ton of welding (new wings - inside and out - and entire floor!) and lots of electrical issues and things breaking and a new boot lid. But every so often we get a wee giggle from the wee car.

 

Can you see that funny little collar on the indicator stalk? Right down where it meets the steering column is a little ring of metal. Further investigation...

...showed us this. It says "lucky."

Lucky?

LUCKY?!?!

We don't know what it is. Well, we do. It's a metal ring with "lucky" stamped on it - oh, the irony! So wee Ming has been re-christened. There's some debate about whether he's had a sex change, too. I think he's a girl. But he/she is about to rise like a phoenix from the ashes. Hear her roar!



Spouse also had to turn her round last night. I expected a 42 point turn in the drive. But he got excited and ran round the cul-de-sac over the road. Eejit. This is a very dark video. But, y'know, it's at night and his car has no light. Or bonnet. Or doors. Or a seat - he's sitting on an upturned basin.



And once again? Eejit. He's happy though!

busy happenings.

We've had lots of bits and pieces going on lately in our house. Apart from the redecorations and things. Chookie did her presentation of the Cosmo Shopolater 4012 at the school assembly. It went well - apparently there was an audible "oooh" when he rolled out across the table. Heh.



Spouse has been working hard with Ming the Mini, too. His deadline is April 20th for the first local hillclimb. If you remember the list from Christmas reads "fit new handbrake cable, MOT mini." Ha!



He's got all the welding finished and I may be helping to fit the rear subframe later in the week. Lucky me!

Ooh. I was thrilled and shocked to have a photo and blog link on Epbot!! It's one of my favourite blogs (it's the geeky leanings of Jen from Cake Wrecks) and to make her Saturday Steam segment was amazing! She featured this photo of Chook's Halloween jetpack.



I've been doing other wee bits of sewing lately, not just the mighty scrappy tripalong (with pillowcases - photos soon) but a couple of bee blocks, too. Both for the Hipbees.
 

Di's fabulous geese on the left, Rachel's puss-in-the-corner on the right.

God, my month is starting to loom What to do, what to do...

And have you heard about The Stitch Gathering?



A wee "boutique retreat" in Scotland. Yaaaas!

I also caught up with an old friend this afternoon - I haven't seen her in over a year (and we used to get together every week) and it was truly exceptional to see her. We've made plans for in a few weeks so it doesn't go so long again! And I came home, made up the NY Beauty block into a cushion and just have to hand stitch down the binding. I had my shadow and his pal with me, too. 

So, busy busy! But happy, too.



a house of makers

Oh, we've been a creative house this past few weeks!

 

I got my top for the Scrappy Trip Along finished. I debated long and hard about the merits of a 5x6 block arrangement versus a 6x6 one. The 5x6 won out in the end, partly because of its final use (a bed throw for my Mum) and partly coz it's that bit easier to quilt. I got fed up trying to get a decent indoor photo. Damn cats!

 So headed out into the (almost)snowy back garden where Chook did the photography honours. I think the indoor photo is a better representation of the colours. Even with the furry additions!

 

I've moved on to my scrappy strings (they WILL be finished this spring!) and thinking about my baby clothes quilt. Can anyone recommend a good with-texture almost-solid? You know what I mean - like a Moda cross weave or something. It has to white or just off white, though. I keep finding cream ones and they won't do.

 

What else has been getting made? Well spouse has been making a mess and some sweary words with his aptly monikered Mingin' the Mini. Needless to say the wee car is 10 times as rotten as he thought. Even the mechanical work has been a pig. He's getting a bit skunnered, I think. Poor man.

 

And Chookie has been sewing! She wanted to make "a wee quilt" but we think a pieced border and this will turn into a new cover for her favourite big floor cushion.

Jones has been making snorey noises. I love this faceplant photo! He's on Chookie's bed - his favourite sleeping spot. And he sleeps a lot.

 And the wee fella? Well he's been working on some growing (he's catching up Jones size wise) and this morning spent a good 15 minutes being mesmerised by the computer cursor.



Thanks to everyone who commented on the derby girl bag. I don't know where the last 10 days have gone and haven't replied to ANY of them - sorry. *hangs head in shame* But I read them all and was seriously puffed up with smugness. It's not often I'm super-pleased with something I've made but that was one of them.

the prodigal returns (or, the tale of the shitty kitty[s])

Six weeks without a blog post? That's a record and a half. And really no reason why. Well, okay, that's a lie. There's been a lot going on round our way. Including Grandparents in hospital (who are now home) and frantic work schedules. But it all started with the shitty kitty.

When I was last here we'd just picked up Temple and Jones and they were already settling in.



Well by the next day Temple had terrible runs - I mean, he was pooping puddles - and Jones was full of snot and sneezing like a nutter. Ten days and 2 sets of antibiotics later and while Jones' nose was clearing nicely, wee Temple's bum was red raw. A very expensive poop test later and he was diagnosed with one virus and two (yes, TWO) parasites. One of which is difficult and potentially dangerous to treat since there's no registered drug for it in the UK. *sighs* And then, natch, Jones started pooping puddles, too. So one more very expensive poop test later showed he had exactly the same 3 complaints.

The virus is a virus. What I mean is it's untreatable, they will always have it and we just have to cross everything that it doesn't lead to the fatal condition that it can do. The scarey one to treat has been shelved until they're older and/or the symptoms (ie. the poopy puddles) become unbearable. For them or me. So we treated the third condition. Which has meant sterilising anywhere they've been in the house and keeping their "enviroment" bleached and boiled while they were having treatment to try and keep reinfection to a minimum. Which, to cut a long and tiresome story short, has meant quarantining them in the kitchen for 10 looong days. And shoving a disgusting medicine down them every day - honestly, is it too much to ask in the 21st century that drugs don't taste vile? Apparently it is. However, the last dose was yesterday and they are both much better. Time (and more tests) will tell if they are bug free. But we're just glad they are out of the kitchen! The first week they were fine but, god, the howling the last 2 days was murder. It did make them very cuddly, though. And they crowded onto any lap they could find!

I givz yoo belleh hugz, Mummeh.



And if the insurance pays up the hundreds of pounds we've spent? Well, that would just be great. They have been a pair of little stars through all this, though. Which is what has kept me going and not throwing in the towel and giving up on them (remember I've never kept cats before - I have had more than one "what the hell am I doing?!?" moment) but Temple sliding down the bannister on his bum, stupid Jones and the gormless "look a mouse!" distraction tactics (never fails, the dumbass) and the purrs, cuddles and general entertainment value have been priceless. Although I lost a few years off my life when I found Daredevil Temple minutes from total strangulation wrapped up in a cat teaser and my cacti collection was stupid Jones' favourite nibbles and his eye was swollen shut one afternoon. A stray spine? Methinkso! They are totally different in character, it's been a real pleasure getting to know them. Temple is the silver, by the way, and a full third smaller than his dovey big bro. Jones is beautiful but thick, Temple a bit more runty but sharp as a tack.



So, what else. Well, spouse decided he was going to sell Stinky Eric the Escort. That's the car he's spent 6 years restoring and only finished in the spring. *rollseyes* He basically wasn't enjoying racing him and wanted something simpler and more fun. And then this happened

Whoops! His wing was a bit squished and the front corner needed some careful panel beating (hitting it with a hammer) and a coat of paint but he got nicely fixed. It just took all of spouse's free time one week. And what is he replacing Stinky with?



A wee mini!! You may remember that his first restoration (just before we were married) was a mini called Bogus.. My dad bought a wee project car earlier in the summer and all it took was one wee shot driving it for my man to need one of his own. So he went out and bought Minging.*  Ming for short. He's been sleeping in my brother's garage while Stinky finds a new home. More on that later. He's planned as a hillclimb car and spouse intends him to be on the road racing by the spring. A minimum modification start, the total opposite of Stinky. We shall see!!

Um. Oh, Chookie was nominated by her teachers to run for house Vice-Captain. Which made us super proud. And her campaign posters were total class.



She didn't win - her best pal did! - but she was in the running and wrote her own speech and everything. I couldn't have been more delighted if she had won.

And coming right up to date we've all been on holiday this week. Our plan was to refit our bathroom. But before that the fence got replaced last Sunday right up one side of the garden. Spouse sold Stinky to a guy in Surrey and fitted a tow bar to the car. Stinky got his bonnet resprayed and we lost Thursday to him being tidied up coz the bloke wanted him on Friday. Yikes. So at 5am yesterday the spouse and my dad were towing him to the Knutsford services to meet the bloke from Surrey. Who was very happy, bought him and off they both went. But that was 2 days bathroom fitting lost. *blinks* As of this morning this is where we are at.



Yeah. Nothing is plumbed in let alone tiled or vaguely bathroom like. I didn't take a before photo (how remiss!) but the bath was along that right hand wall, the loo was dead ahead and the sink on the left. And the tiles were disgusting brown. It's been on our to-do list for 13 years! We hope to have water in and out by the time we're back at work on Monday. And in the meantime there's the wee loo downstairs, hair washing in the kitchen sink and showering at my folks. And keeping the kittens out. Which is hard when there's no door on the bathroom and we have an open plan living room with the staircase in it!

Ooh. I decorated for Halloween. Spot the imposter. Heh heh.



And finally (aren't you all glad!) I have to say a special thanks to everyone who checked up on me. But especially to my English twin Jan and to the lovely Wendy (who has the same name as my favourite Aunty - properly first and surname and everything.*g*) It was lovely to be missed and that you cared enough to email!

Hopefully see you soon. But if not, Merry Christmas!

 

* Minging. A Scottish word for not very nice. We don't have very flattering car names, eh? Bogus, Harry Snotter, Stinky Eric and Minging. Heh. It's a Brit thing...