Hippo Birdie To Me ....

Hippo birdie to me

Hippo birdie to me

Someone hacked my paypal

and stole my money

*sigh*

Yes, 'tis true.  And I hab a stinkin' colb.  It is also 4am and my throat is so dry that I have had to get up.  Are you feeling sorry for me?  I've sorted it out but it put me overdrawn in my bank account which has incurred charges, so I have the faff of getting it repaid.  Boooo. Don't like faff. 

I would just like to say a big hello to my brother's hairdresser who reads this blog *waves* who, as my brother says, seems to know more about me that he does.  Well, dear bro, if you perhaps read my blog *ahem*!  (My brother also makes inappropriate jokes about bunnies so he is in disgrace to begin with).

Since I announced I would be taking a little time out some people have exclaimed "No more bunnies? You're stopping making them????!! wahhhhhh!".  Not true, bunny lovers, I am still here, and I have opened my shops back up again.  I have sorted out a hooooooge pile of rubbish off my desk and have actually got the kids to school in the right order.  Now I feel I can cope a little better and the house isn't such a tip.  Please, there are bunnies needing homes, and they - need - YOU  (points in a poster type gesture).

I have given up two part-time jobs which were taking me out of the house too - phew! I needed the money but The Warren Bunny Boarding is taking off in a wonderful way and I even have a fully booked week in July.  We also need a new boiler (bye bye 2k) and the house stinks of oil - booooo.  This means we can no longer re-vamp our kitchen.  *sniff*.

All is not lost - I have successfully crocheted a squid!  I wanted to learn and I have.  He is a fabulous squid and I will post pictures today (ish).  How can a foot high crocheted squid not fail to make life seem better?

What did I get for my birthday?  Pukuuuuurk!  Chickens!  Well, a chicken house for chickens.  The house arrives this weekend and the chickens after the summer.  Three Pekins and two Frizzles.  Our garden is a disgrace anyway so they can't make it much worse!  We have no lawn at all - just bare, baked earth - chicken scratching heaven.  So, Mr Bunny Maker now has to deal with .... two bunnies, innumerable guest bunnies, Scooter the hamster, two bored fish and five chickens.  Serves him right for not letting us get a dog.
Now, what else can I sneak in?

In which The Bunny Maker succeeds at something - finally.

At the start of this year I announced to anyone who was listening (so that's just me and the bunnies) that I was going to teach myself to crochet.  I can knit.  I hate knitting.  I hate it because I can't do it properly.  I hated to crochet too, the one time I had tried and got all tangled and confuzzled.  So, 2011 was going to be the year I got on and did it because, quite honestly, I can just about most other things with my hands.  The first things I did were a little doggie and some Ninjas, just to warm up.  Then, finally, what I wanted to do all along ..... bunnies!!!!

 

He is purple with green inner ears, with lots of soft fuzz, plus a removable hat (because it might get hot).

Of course he now belongs to BunSon No.1 who has named him, with great originality, 'Bwunny'.

Anyone who knows anything about crochet would take one look and gasp at the terrible stitching and the fact that neither arms nor legs are the same size as each other.  But, for my third crochet attempt - i'm pretty happy.

We've just come back from a stonking week on the Isle of Wight.  The boys swam, caught crabs and built yet more stone piles.

It felt like summer and noone wanted to leave but we had to because the gorgeous Henry was arriving. 

He is a lovely, Mini Rex boy with THE softest coat in the entire world.  Nosy and Spike might be soft and fluffy but Henry feels like satin.

 

I bought them a new house, just in case they overheard me cooing over Henry's coat and felt sad.  Oh the excuses I can come up with!

In which The Warren gets bigger ..

We have an addition to The Warren.  The Bunny Maker went to the pet shop and tried very hard not to give a home to any unwanted bunnies there.  It was hard.  Very hard, especially as there was a beautiful 14 month old girl.  Her owner had to pay out £200 in dental bills because she fed her the wrong food and all the teeth had grown too long and painful.  She stormed back to the pet store and dumped the bunny back on them!  It makes me veerrrry angry - but, I won't go into that.  Today is for celebration!

Welcome to Scooter!

He's a 5 month old male Chinese Dwarf Hamster.  He was up for re-homing as no-one had bought him or seemed to want him.  I have no idea why because he is adorable, gentle and sweet. He has no inclination to nip or bite and, as seen in the picture, likes to sleep under his wheel (which I removed to take the pic).  He's not what I went in for but he's what I came out with!!

Wake up Scooter!

Mr Bunny Maker is NOT amused.  He muttered about 'animals ALL over the place' but was told to stop being so horrible by all three Bun Sons, and it was pointed out to him that Scooter's house is about the size of our bread machine and he, himself, is no larger than a plum.  In the face of the truth of such minimal impact, Mr Bunny Maker, not having a leg to stand on, humphed off with resignation, muttering about light snacks and toilet flushing. This elicited Bun Son squarkings of high volume and The Bunny Maker left them to it.

In which The Bunny Maker gets new boxes and a handful of birds.

Things are getting done this week.  Not like last, but we won't go into that.

New boxes arrived yesterday.  The Bunny Maker found that the place she got her usual ones from weren't stocking that kind again, but they did have these acetate ones. 

Widget thought that these boxes were much nicer as he could see out. The Bunny Maker agreed, and said they seemed sturdier too and would do very nicely indeed.

The Bunny Maker has also given Widget a very special task, one he is not all that happy about.  He does such a good job of looking after the baby bunnies that she thought that he could do the same with these VERY early Easter chicks.

This little one took a real shine to Widget.  Widget is feeling a bit too fuzzled by all the feathers at the moment to decide whether he likes this new duty or now.  He is just muttering about Easter coming earlier and earlier and how he hopes they don't make a mess all over The Warren.

The Bunny Maker is famous ... (she thinks)

Oh yes.  Oh yes indeed.  I have column inches.  I have almost a whole page.  I am featured in the latest issue of the RWAF magazine 'Rabbiting On'.

I would just like to say that that is NOT me sky-diving.  I am the one looking, with rather sickly expression, at the basket of bunnies.  Trying to get a photo of me not looking grim was very distressing and I had to employ heavy usage of the 'Photoshop Botox' tool.  I still think I look 25 and always get a nasty shock when I see the 'real me'.  I suppose you want to know what it says?  Okay .. *engage speed typing function*

Handmade help for real-life rabbits
Designer and bunny owner Anna Hull, who runs a small craft business selling sock bunnies from her West Sussex home, has come up with a novel idea to raise money for the RWAF.  And in just six months has raised an amazing £500.
The Handmade Bunny was founded on 1st August last year and is quickly becoming the 'in place' to look for beautiful handmade products inspired by our bunny friends.   The artists featured on the site all pay an annual subscription in the form of a donation to the RWAF.
The Handmade Bunny was born of her involvement with the handmade online community, combined with her passionate support of the RAWF's 'A Hutch is Not Enough' campaign.
Anna told Rabbiting On: "I was driving one day and this perfectly formed idea popped into my head, along with the phrase "handmade help for real-life rabbits".  That night I messaged as many people as I could to invite them to join the project, bought the domain and drew up the outline for the website.  Our cute bunny logo was donated by an online contact and within three weeks the site was up and running with twenty sellers on board.
"On the site we have a great range of items including silver jewellery, custom pet portraits, water colours, fabrics, toys, stationery and cushions.  Each piece is lovingly designed or made by hand by fabulous artists and designers and all feature our favourite furry friends.  These is also a 'Zoo' section with other animals from woodlice to dogs to unicorns," she said.
"I wanted people to discover what amazing things the people I know are making," Anna explained.  "I have my own shop online, selling my sock bunnies, and every day I come across beautiful things made by artist, just like me, who are struggling to show the world what they can do.  Selling online is extremely difficult and this is my way of doing a bit to help at the same time as raising money for a fantastic charity.  At The Handmade Bunny you can shop for your bunny-loving friends and help the bunnies you love at the same time!".

There you are - that's what it says!

What's on your desk, Bunny Maker?

Eh? What? Did you ask me something?  Oh, what's on my desk?  Why did you have to stop in today, everything is in a bit of a pickle ...

That is not fresh coffee either - age unknown. I can, however show you something less grim and more arty, seeing as you're here and all that.

I'm making up a new batch of wooden leaping bunnies.  Half of them are off to Fat Fluffs Rabbit Rescue to help them raise money at their Valentine's Day event.  The others will be for sale in ye olde bunny shoppe later on this week.  I have also been a-spending as usual ...

Possibly the most awesome and monstery fleece I have ever seen.  I have two precious squares of it, sent all the way from the U.S of A and it is so lovely that I will most likely never be able to put scissors to it.  All the BunSons want duvets, pillows and blankets made and BunSon3 would like his room carpeted with the turquoise one.  I'd like to cover our sofa in it. 
Tap..tap..tap..calculator bashing ensues..... Nope, too spenny, especially as I'm holding out for some renovations in our kitchen.  Mr Bunny Maker is not listening.

In which The Bunny Maker questions herself

On reflection I have to wonder if this is really a very 'normal' thing to do.

It's just that Nosy and Spike's fluff is so soft that, when you feel it, you simply can't feel it.  It was BunSon 3 who first saved a little bit and, then I kinda carried on.  It seemed logical to put it into this little pot .. which I had already.  I'm stating that so you don't think I went off looking especially for a heart-shaped one.  That might be construed along the lines of people who set a place at the table for their cat, or carry a small dog in a handbag.  Maybe.

Anyone else do this?  What shall I do with it?

In which the Bunny Maker has her life changed...

I took this picture ages ago and meant to blog about it but forgot. It seems a bit strange now harking back to Christmas but I was given something that has changed my life.

Here it is ....

My life-changing selotape dispenser!  You have no idea (or perhaps you do) of the seconds, nay minutes, I have wasted trying to find the end of the roll.  Finally, after having a very childish showdown with a very stubborn roll, I announced that all I wanted for Christmas was .....

"A selotape dispenser, but one of those like really, really heavy ones like you get on your desk in big companies from proper stationery shops and in a really dull colour, nothing fancy and shiny - a PROPER dispenser. Don't forget, it has GOT to be heavy."

I got one - and 5 new rolls of tape.  Packaging up orders is now fairly pleasurable.  Ho hum, its the little things.

New Widget cards in the post - yay!

My new cards have just arrived today.  I'm quite excited. I have to say that I whipped them up in Photoshop far to fast and ordered them double-quick from Overnightprints.com.  I've used them before and was very happy, plus I had an email code discount thing to use.

I have 'For You', with an 'To and From' on the reverse, for anyone wanting to attach a gift message.  The other two to be packaged up with any bunnies going off to new homes.  I got 300 cards for aprox. £36.00 - all in, including tax and postage.  They arrived within a few days and are lovely quality.  Pleased Bunny Maker here.

In which The Bunny Maker gets all tangled up again. Ho hum

If it's not the CE Testing getting me all confizzled and confuzzled it's blooming Trade Marking.  I'm ignoring the CE problem at the moment and have buried my head in the proverbial sand.  Trade Marking has been bothering me for ages.  But what does it all mean?  Sit down and I will tell you.  By the way, how long have you got?

This might be something that a Widget and Friends trade mark could look like ..

Oh headache.  It's all a headache.  Every single thing I try to do with all this handmade, selling thingy malarky, involves first teaching myself all about it.  Which means googling, reading, head-scratching and asking. Luckily I have a weakness for books and the staff in my local Waterstones greet me by name.  Sigh. 
Now - I could apply for my own Trade Mark myself.  I've done all the research I can, read all the books - and i'm still not 100% certain of what I am doing.  I 'get' doing the UK registration and doing it myself would cost me around £300, and that is just for protection in the UK.  Getting someone to do it for me will cost me around £600. When I have UK protection I can then apply for European and international protection

I THINK (and don't quote me on this) this can be done via something called the Madrid Protocol, which is an agreement that lots of countries signed to show that they agree on something. 
As far as I can make out it is done country by country - and if I tick them all I clock up £1000s.  So which ones do I choose?  I have no idea.  Anyway, I have had a quote for registration within the EU for about £1,400.  So, we are up to £2000 already.  SOB.

Why am I bothering?  No idea.  I will just hate myself forever if I walk in to Clinton's Cards and see their new Easter range of sock bunnies, all looking exactly like one of mine.
I already have design registration and that, combined with a trade mark, legally prevents anyone making and selling anything looking, resembling or eluding to one of my bunnies or my company. You know when they ask on Dragons' Den?  About protection?  This is what they mean.  Not that I would have any money whatsoever to fight a large company anyway BUT at least I couldn't kick myself for not having done as much as I could.

I may be going nowhere but it's MY design, MY idea and MY hard-work.  Grump.

Everything you need to confuse yourself is HERE >>>> www.ipo.gov.co.uk

NEWSFLASH UPDATE:  I've done another U-turn - scared at the last - decided to abandon the above idea and spend some money at Fabric Rehab instead (and buy a new pair of jeans).

CE Testing and the 'The Sock Problem': PART TWO

So, continuing the saga - if you haven't read part one click here.

What do I do now?  Its a very good question and it is not good news really either.

SOLUTION 1
I find a sock I like and try and buy as many pairs as I can.  I then have this sock design tested for compliance with the EN71.  I think this is around £80 (please correct me if I am wrong) each for flammability and heavy metals.
PROBLEM:
If I bought 40 pairs of socks the test would put £2.00 onto the cost of each sock.
When have you ever seen 40 pairs of the same sock in a retail shop anyway?  This means I will have issues with the retailer over why I want these socks and what I am doing with them.
Part of the charm of the bunnies is all the different designs.  The test would have to be done for EACH design of sock costing said amount each time.
SOLUTION:
I could contact the retailer (I use Top Shop and Next socks alot) and ask them about their socks and get them to provide me with documentation.
PROBLEM:
Socks do not need to conform to CE testing standards for toys therefore they will not have been tested and there is no documentation.  I know this because I found a sock factory in China to produce the socks and have them made into bunnies for me but they said they could not guarantee that their socks would pass the EN71 test. This is the same with most sock factories because they have nothing to comply too apart from their own self-imposed standards.
SOLUTION:
Find a factory that does know about their socks and know that they pass the test.

SOLUTION 2:
I have the bunnies mass-produced.  This would change the way I sell them and I would be attending trade fairs to take wholesale orders from retailers.  I have looked into this last year and found a factory who would make them and the CE testing would be done by them.  I would be selling them at a wholesale price and the RRP would have to be a much lower price point than they are already because they lose their handmade appeal.  I needed to get the cost down another £1.00 but the factory could not make their price any lower and it is now on the back-burner.  I also needed to buy 3,000 bunnies as a minimum.  Luckily I have a contact who has a good relationship with the factory and they agreed to produce 3 different designs, 1,000 of each.  It is still a whole loada bunnies.
WHY NOT:
They won't be handmade and there are only three designs.  I don't have the money to pay for 3,000 bunnies.  To make it achievable I would have to have sold a chunk of the bunnies, from working samples, whilst the 3,000 are in production so I know I have money to pay for them.  3,000 bunnies in my garage, unsold, is very, very scary indeed.  I would need to pay around £2500 to attend a trade fair such as Top Drawer.
This ties in with me expanding Widget and Friends too.  I have reached a time when I need to expand 'off the kitchen table' but no retailer will buy my bunnies wholesale because they do not conform with the CE mark and they, themselves, could face a fine for selling them.  Dead end.
The above changes Widget and Friends totally and I am unsure of the appeal of a mass-produced sock bunny - hence the back-burner status.

SOLUTION 3:
I have my own socks manufactured that conform to the EN71 tests.
As it stands I am in talks with a UK sock manufacturer (yay uk!) who is looking into the situation for me. Their minimum is 600 pairs in my design.  That's pretty exciting but still a whole lot of socks/money.
PROBLEM:
They think flammability is a problem as fabrics are usually pretreated and socks aren't.  I still don't have the money for 600 pairs. That's 1200 socks and I use one sock per bunny.  Which design do I choose? I would need THE most appealing design - but which is it?
Even if the socks conform I will still have to have a made up (1200 sewn by me GULP) bunny CE tested and the stitching etc many not stand up to their rhino-pulling techniques.  By nature socks are stretchy and the sewing threads don't stretch as far as the sock fibres - therefore 'riiiiiiip'.

SOLUTION 4:
I start a company supplying EN71 conforming socks to everyone who makes toys from them.
PROBLEM:
Its a great idea but ..... money/knowledge/blahblah and the rest of it.  There are not really enough people out there to buy them to really make much money.

AS IT STANDS:
I should not be selling the sock bunnies at all nor anyone else be selling toys made from socks either for that matter - but because I'm selling small numbers (relative to the volume toy market) it is not a 'remove those from the market now' situation.  The Trading Standards officer said that I must state 'Not for anyone under the age of 14' as a temporary statement whilst I sort out what to do for the long term.  I am now a 'reference number' with Trading Standards which means it is documented that I am selling 'non-conformist bunnies'.  I have had to be removed from one website that was selling the bunnies (amicably of course!) - the rest will follow eventually.  Boooo.

Some interesting reading The Laboratory at The Birmingham Assay Office.

For now ........

CE Testing and 'The Sock Problem' - PART ONE

Its a problem indeed and one that A LOT of you are asking about.  Could this be curtains for the bunnies?  The best way to answer all these things is to do a blog post - otherwise i'm typing the same thing 84 times whenever anyone asks!
I'm going to do a two-parter - otherwise it's too long.

So.  I will mush it all down here - in layman's terms- so don't expect any technical terms - but, who needs those anyway - that's why everyone is confused in the first place!
The following is how I understand it - Please, if I have got it wrong, or you have any other insights, please let me know, I'm still finding out about it all and need all the information I can get.

PART ONE:  SORTING OUT THE INFORMATION

The Sock Bunnies are toys.  I cannot call them 'Collectables'. Well, I can, but it won't hold much truck.  You cannot omit the title 'toy' or get away with refuting the title 'toy' if the item is displayed with, tagged or associated with toys. If you make an item that is appealing to children the it is a 'toy' and needs to be tested. Period.  Listing it under 'Accessories' on Folksy won't do either!

Stating they are 'Not suitable for children under 36 months' doesn't cover it either.  That statement is for toys that have passed the test but may have small parts which come with it.  EG. You make a teddy bear who wears a waistcoat with buttons.  The teddy passes the CE test but to cover themselves the company might choose to state - 'Please remove the waistcoat before giving to children under 36 months.'  Or they can just say 'Not suitable for under 36 months due to small parts).  The crux is that the toy still passed the test.

To sell toys, handmade or otherwise, in the UK they, legally, need to comply to DTI Production Standards UK Toys (safety) Regulations 1995 and  and pass the CE test.  This is changing in 2011 but remains pretty much the same really,

The test is pretty much as follows: Pulling all seams and bits to see if they come off. (Mechanical/physical properties).  Burning it to see if it ..er .. burns (flammawotsit test) and lastly (the problem for socks) testing it for heavy metals in the dyes.

 Hold still Widget!

 Before I carry on I need to interject; You can self-certify your toys.  To do this you need to keep a record of where all the parts of that toy have come from.  Take a photo of the label that came with the toy filling, for example.
Toy filling already complies, so you are off to a good start.
Toy fabric manufacturers tend to test their fabrics so you will be able to get documentation. Keep a record of where you sourced your fabrics from, contact the company to ask them for any documentation showing that it is safe.
A fire test certificate from a fabric manufacturer will not do as flammawotsit can also depend on the shape of the toy.  You will need to have it tested (yup you have to sacrifice a toy up for burning). Ouch!

Widget, that is NOT what I had in mind.  Put that match away!

Now, this is important:  You cannot self-certify a toy made from a sock that you have bought from a retailer - and, come on, Top Shop do have some great designs!
BECAUSE: Socks do not have to conform to any safety standards, even children's socks, because they are just that, socks. Socks are for feet and not for making into things to play with.
The sock bunnies: I can safely say that the stuffing is safe because it says so on the bag.  I cannot, however, safely say that the socks are safe.  Most high-street bought socks are manufactured abroad and the factory/company do not need to comply with toy safety regulations. The socks are probably safe but that is not enough, you need a piece of paper saying so.  Damnations.

Now is a good time to call your local Trading Standards office.  They are astoundingly helpful.  Just google your local council and there will be a link there.  Find the phone number and give them a call.
The one problem I now have is that I have 'A reference number'.  I am documented as selling un-safe rabbit.
THE PROBLEM:  The nice TS officer was relieved to hear that I wasn't shifting thousands of unsafe bunny toys.  He said that it was something I will have to sort out for the long term but for now I need to say 'Not suitable for anyone under the age of 14 years'.  This is a short-term safeguard that will not hold a lot of water in court but is better than nothing whilst I 'sort out what to do'.  The long and short of it is, if I want to sell these bunnies they are going to have to pass the CE test.
 

WHAT CAN I DO NOW?  Read Part two of my CE nightmare

GO AWAY!

Seriously, I'm sick of you.  Go Away......

Our back garden yesterday.

You've filled our little village right up to the brim, which was kinda nice to start with.  School was shut, we all made igloos and thawed out with hot chocolate at neighbours houses, socks and gloves dripping on the radiators.
It was okay when you were all compacted because the car could cope.  Now you're turning to slush, and there is 8" of you slushing around outside our house and the car HATES you and won't go through you and just whirrs and groans, it's tyers spinning and spinning.  I can't go ANYWHERE.
I bet you're going to freeze tonight.  GNNNNNNNnnnnnn.
And the school will be shut.
And I have work to do.
Which means that the kids will be allowed to play 'with screens'.
Meaning they will meld to the playstation and bicker.

Enough already!

A trip to the post office.

Just when the boys were finally back at school - the school was snowed shut.  So, they are all back home again - damnations.  Everyone was getting cabin fever and therefore it was decided that 'A Walk' was what was needed.  The Warren has had a few sales in the last week and, as the car is firmly frozen to the drive, the only way to get to the post office was on foot.

Widget found the snow a bit deep so hitched a lift in the backpack along with the parcels containing five very excited bunnies, all snug in their boxes.

 

Luckily we can walk out of our house, down the road, across the fields, along the canal, over another field and end up right at the village shop/post office.

(Please don't mention that wongly, hideous hat, he wears it to annoy me.)

 Everyone arrived safely but I don't think the post office is sending off it's post today so the bunnies will be in their boxes until the postman can get there to pick them up.  They all have scarves but only one has a carrot with him.  I hope they'll be okay in their boxes.

See? Such a dedicated service you are receiving from The Warren ..... getting bunnies to their new homes no matter the weather.  Heee heee.

A LIGHT DUSTING OF SNOW? Nah .... LOADS!

WOoo HOOoo it's snowing!  I've not seen snow like this since I was the same age as my kids.

We've got a good 8 inches and that car there wasn't going nowhere, sadly.  The kids went back to school on monday and I was all set to 'get things done' - and now, GAH, they are back home again.  Looks like they will be here all week too.  Poo.

Everyone went outside for a big snowball fight, of course!  We live in dead end with some other houses around and several of the kids are at my lots' school - so it was snow wars followed by innning and outing of varying houses, big piles of boots on doorsteps and assorted clothing dripping on radiators.  We had a power cut too and I was a bit annoyed when it finally came back on as I'd planned a barbeque.  Mulled wine heated on the camping stove, sausage and general gung ho all round.  I guess we could have still gone ahead with it.   Perhaps tomorrow I'll insist!

THE BUNNY MAKER FAILS BEFORE SHE'S BEGUN

GAH! Everyone else is writing them so I'd better get on and do some... I've got two:

1. To not get inwardly very annoyed when people behind me in the bagel shop cafe queue bagsy a table BEFORE they've placed an order.  Tutting loudly needs to be curtailed too.

2. To not leave the boys' leftover food in their lunch boxes overnight/weekend or holidays. (EWWwwww)

..and i've failed already.  Failed.  Piteously.  It's the first one, you see.  I have soooo much trouble with it.
This morning I bimbled up the stairs in the Horsham Waterstones to my favourite cafe.  The best place for toasted, filled bagels and great coffee in big mugs.  I was behind a lady, both of us heading for the counter to order.  As she passed an empty chair beside the only free table she dropped her gloves (very nice, soft, leather) onto the chair.  She'd only gone and done it!  She'd gone and bagsied that seat at that table before she'd ordered which means that the person who had just paid, and got their coffee, at the front of the queue had NOWHERE TO SIT!  I could feel my indignation rise.  No, no, I must conquer it.  I must not alert her to the fact that she had er .. dropped her gloves, or say 'Don't leave them there, someone might steal them'.  Let is pass, let is pass.  Deep breaths.
HAH! That was a breeze ... see? these resolutions are easy peasy!

When it was my turn, as I was paying for my coffee, I felt a speedy-person sensation behind me.  A short, dumpy lady whipped past and 'thwump' sat in the only vacant seat (after many comings and goings in the cafe) left - MY SEAT - My 'I'm at the head of the queue and get first dibs' seat.  MINE.
I glared.
The girl serving said the usual "Where are you sitting?"
and .... it was too much for me .. the words spilled out ....
"I was sitting there, but someone has barged in and taken it before placing their order".
ARGGHHH I'D BROKEN MY RESOLUTION!!!
The people behind me tut tutted.
The counter girl said "Ooo tell me which table, they aren't meant to do that!".
I glared at the short, dumpy, lady.
I turned to the tut tutting people behind me and we all confirmed to each other that it was, in fact, THE most annoying thing EVER when people bags a table without placing their order.  Hurumph.  We were united  in our indignation.
The counter girl said, "I'll tell her to move".
We all glared at the short, dumpy lady.
I said, "No, don't worry", catching sight of another couple leaving a bigger table, "I'll go over there.

PHEW!  I'd ended it there!  Not like the time I out-stared a bloke who'd lumped himself at a table whilst the people with his queued.  I stared - and he offered me the table, which I took, and then felt like a right cow.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?
This doesn't happen anywhere else but this one cafe?  It turns me into a tut-tutting misery of human nature.

On the bright side I have emptied the boys lunch boxes and put them through the washing machine - they are SHINY CLEAN.  Ask me their state in about 5 weeks time.

KITTY'S WISHING TREE.

One of many wonderful things that Facebook does is to put you in contact (a virtual kind of contact) with all sorts of interesting people around the world.  This is what happened to me when I stumbled upon Kitty Pinkstars.  She is very pink.  I'm not very pink at all.  This is a constant source of intrigue for me - because of her pinkness and my lack of it.  I'm more lime green and turquoise.

Kitty started out knitting messages to leave around the place for people to find -here's a link to her flickr gallery >>>> "Street Knitting".  The idea is akin to that of The Toy Society, who leave handmade toys in public places for people to find and give a home to.  I love these ideas.  Out of Kitty's knitting came the Wishing Tree, a more tangible concept for people visit and interact with.  You hang a coloured tag (lots of pink ones available, I'm sure!) onto the tree with a written wish.

If you can't visit the tree yourself you can message Kitty on the Wishing Tree Facebook page and she will hang it on the tree for you.

The tree is location in Upton Country Park, Poole, Dorset.  This is the third tree - the first two were destroyed (don't ya just loathe some people sometimes).  I'm glad to didn't give up after that, Kitty, well done to you for believing in your idea.  Widget and I will definitely be making a visit to it this year - in fact i'm wondering about planning a 'Friends of The Bunny Maker' trip.  Lunch will need to be involved.  *starts putting plan into action*

Here she is making the papers....

Kitty also makes whacky sock creatures (another good reason for liking her) and this link will take you directly to her Etsy shop ...www.kittypinkstars.etsy.com .. where there are some pretty damn cute socky creatures looking like they need home for the coming year.  Toys get loney, you know.
So .... please join the Facebook group and if you live near Dorset why don't you plan a day out, walking in the lovely woods, having lunch and leaving your New Years wish on Kitty's tree.  You never know, it might come true!

You'll have to zoom this map out to get a better view


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The Spike

Something arrived in the post today that will change my life.
Dun dun duuuuuuuuun! It is ......... The Spike.

It even has a little rubber cap on it to de-spike the spike when it is not spiking.
No more slipping-around piles of receipts toppling off the desk and wafting to the floor. No more 'Mind my paperwork' shouts when the kids 'borrow' my laptop. All will be spiked. Pinned. I'm trying this one out but I envisage a blissful row of spikes all controlling my papers, all in date order ready for my seamless accounting *chokes on mincepie*.
It's the simple things in life - and don't you forget it. Now, back to what you were doing ....

A cry for help.

Hello? Hello? Can anyone hear me?
I'm down here ...... on the floor, under all the mess.
Please can someone come and get me out?

*several hours pass*

Help!
Please ...... is anyone out there? I'm surrounded by threads and paper and wooden bits and spilt paint and socks and
sandpaper and brushes and dust and apple cores .........

Is anyone out there?
Does anyone have a hoover? or a pitchfork?

The Party Problem.

I have three small boys. Each boy is in a different class of around 30 children. On average each boy is invited to ten parties over the course of the year. Do the maths. The problem is presents. I have to spend way under £10 for each present otherwise I might have to cancel Christmas and other notable events. Under a tenner means a small box of lego for boys or a piece of crap which gets played with once and then disintegrates into several broken parts. Lego is fabulous but we have half a hundred weight of it. We could seriously open a Lego shop with all of it.
The alternative is yet another football or pair of football gloves but, how many of them can you be given?
So my thought pattern/grumbled words under breath, goes like this:

1. Not another party, boys.
2. I never knew that child was in your class.
3. Do we have to get a present?
4. I'll just haemorage cash then, shall I?
5. What can we get that is under a tenner, not made of plastic and might actually be enjoyed?
6. The nearest good shopping town is a 20 minute drive for heavens sake and I have all my millions of 'work' things to get done. mutter mutter

Now I have the answer! A Hotdog Doggie from my pal HotdogandMe!! They come all wrapped up with tissue, ribbon and nice bit button fastening, with a name tag and a big of yummy doggy treats. You don't even have to rewrap! What more could you ask for?
To date we have bought all the below and given all except two away....
And the very first one we bought, which we still have ....

Jeremy Beagle!

Even better is that you can get custom orders! YAY! This below is Ron - made to the specific requirements of my 6yr old for his birthday yesterday. He looked very smart in his birthday party gear.

(Do you like the cake? You have no idea how much trouble that caused me and that is not the first doggie cake I made that day. My advice? No matter how tempting a recipe is, stick to 'Deliah's all-in-one Sponge' ALWAYS and do not be tempted by the idea of replacing flour with grated butternut squash to make a chocolate roulade. No, no, no. Recite after me; Deliah, Deliah, Deliah, always Deliah.)

I already have several requests from small boys for more dogs - most notably the 'Skelly Dogs' so that will be some Christmas pressies all taken care of as well. So, Hotdog and Me - you're going to need to get a-making!