Spider Alert!!

Last night I was well and truly traumatised!! There were spiders everywhere I turned. Okay, I'm exaggerating just a little, but there were several..all in one day!! I'm not a coward...honest, I'm not...except when spiders are around. I don't know what it is about them but they make my skin crawl. 

I found two in the hall during the morning and I thought that was bad, but at bedtime...it got worse..much worse!! My DH went to bed earlier than I did, I was finishing some work on my PC and needed to get it completed last night.

Eventually with my work completed, I climbed into bed and snuggled down feeling nicely relaxed. I was looking forward to reading the next section of my book before I went to sleep. An hour quickly passed as I lost myself in the story and I felt like it was time for lights out. So, down went the book and the pillows got a good shuffle to get me comfy.

As I lay back to check they were right...I saw it!! Up there poised above my head, staring straight at me and smiling (I swear it was)... .was a spider. Quite a big spider!!!

God, it could drop on me at any second. Should I move or should I jump out of bed? Would it drop on me if I jumped? Believe me it was like 20 questions zooming through my head.I thought of nudging my DH but then thought that may not be such a great idea. There was nothing else for it...I would have to deal with it myself!!

This needed careful manoeuvring, I didn't want that nasty hairy spider on me!!! Aaah, just the thought made me come out in goose bumps!! I crept out of bed..keeping low...well I sort of slithered out hugging the mattress and onto the floor. Whew, at least I wasn't in it's drop path any more...now down to action!!

I grabbed one of the cushions from the bed (there are loads..way too many) and climbed back on to the bottom of the bed. Now all I had to do was knock it off the ceiling with the cushion and over towards the window. Steady girl, don't panic!!! I wobbled on the mattress, it's a memory foam one, wonderful to sleep on but not so great for standing on. I pulled the cushion back like I was about to do a golf swing on the ceiling and whoosh...impact!! Spider gone from the ceiling...magic! I checked that wasn't near the bed and then climbed back in, making sure I left the cushion I had used far, far away form the bed.

Needless to say I needed to read some more as I was not feeling quite so relaxed now. But, if I just read a few more pages, then sleep.

All was well...at least it was until an other spider crawled over the pillow next to me and yes...it was doing that staring again!!!! In fact this one was waving Hi.

Oh, ah...no...scream...HELP!! HELP!!HELP..it's going to get me!!!

So okay, that's what husbands are for isn't it? I had tried with the other one but this one was a sneaky guy and he took me unawares..and he was so close. I mean screaming was a natural reaction...right? Now, I have to tell you, my DH is wonderful...long suffering, but wonderful. That is...except when he's woken up in the middle of the night by a screaming lunatic who is totally incoherent, but with very powerful lungs.

Moving slowly....admittedly with an angry glare, at me not the spider.... he removed the offending monster. Muttering a few choice words, which I won't repeat... he put a pillow over his head and went back sleep. Me? I was awake for sometime waiting to see if any more "visitors" with eight legs were going to drop in or creep out on me. But finally.....sleep came and peace returned.

Now I've shared my horror story, I'll behave and get down to scrap talk!!

Have  a look at the elements that I made to go with the Lilly's Quilt Paper Pack. These too were inspired by the quilt. I hope that someone out there can put them to good use.

You can download the Lilly's Quilt Elements here

I'm busy trying out some recipes in a terrific new book that I've got. It's all cake, muffins, biscuits, cakes and puddings recipes..and they are gorgeous. In my next post I'll let you know how I got on and share the results with you...well, not really share as I'm the one that gets to eat them...you only get to see them, lol!!

Take care and have a great evening!!

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When Life Keeps Bowling You Out...Get a Bat and Hit Back!!

The last two weeks have flown by, filled with family commitments and crisis, hopefully life has started to level out and peace will return to the Schutrup's household. Even if it is just for a while!! So bear with me whilst I bring you up to date on Lilly...if you prefer not...then scroll down for today's gift from me to you.

 

The good news is Lilly's scalded foot appears to be slowly getting better, but I was really shocked when I first saw it. I could not believe that water from a tap could inflict such an awful injury, my heart went out to the poor little mite and the pain she must have had to endure. How I wished that it could have been me instead of her, but it turns out that she is much braver than I could ever have been in that situation. It's a warning to us all on how accidents are only a second away and a child moves fast in even a second!!

Having said that she has been so brave and we haven't seen many tears, even when the dressings were being changed. The hardest part for her appears to be seeing the burn. When the dressings are changed her face screws up and she says "Oh no!". When she has her time each day with the dressing off then she sits happily...as long as the area is blocked from her view...so entertainment is required!! It's then that her favourite quilt comes in handy...it works perfectly to block her view. (It was this same quilt that inspired the papers and elements that I have made into a two part download for you all.)

Lilly's also lucky that she has such a down-to-earth mum. Charlotte has been brilliant and even although it cost here dearly, she has smiled as she dealt with Lilly's dressings and taken great pains to distract her as much as possible. That doesn't mean that the panic didn't set in when it first happened!!

Looking back over the last year life has been quite eventful for me...not all good. But I have this stubborn (or stupid?) streak and I refuse to be bowled out. When life throws me or mine hard balls....I get a bat and hit back....even harder!! It may not always be a good thing, but I just hang in there and wait for the chaos to stop. Mind you .....it can take a while, so patience and stamina are need on this one!!!

After all nothing lasts for ever, it doesn't matter if it's good or bad...there is one thing that you can be sure of, everything has a start and an end. My husband says I have the tenacity of a bulldog...I grit my teeth and hold on tight..no matter which way the bronco bucks. That's only because I know eventually it will stop doing it...hopefully before it knocks my teeth out!!!

I use this principle in so many areas of my life..take the dentist....yep you can take mine for one, I am terrified on every visit!!! But before I go in, I tell myself "Hey, it's only 30mins....then it it's over". Saying "It's for my own good" doesn't work for me but a time limit does....I told you I was strange, lol!!

When I had my children I used the same principle. There I was in labour, feeling not so brave...ouch it hurt!! Where was that nurse with the meds? To keep myself calm and hanging in there I firmly told myself "This will only last a few hours...then it stops and think of moment when you can say hello to your own little stranger!!". It worked, but I have to admit that I kept wondering if it would stop soon..I'm really not very brave at all!! Eventually...it did!

Knowing that something has a beginning and an end really helps me hang on when the going gets tough, or if I am just feeling out and out plain scared of a situation!! I might not be sure when the end of it will come, but the comfort is that I know that somewhere down the line what ever it is will stop...hopefully the sooner the better!!

And if all else fails..... grab the bat and keep hitting the balls back with all you've got!! Lol!!

Before I give you the download link for today's gift, I want to say a big thank you to all of you, my friends, who leave comments on my posts, they are very much appreciated.

And finally.......the Lilly's Quilt Papers!! There are 12 in the set, 3 plain papers and 9 patterned with dots, checks and some cute stripes. The elements to match them will be my download on Tuesday..so drop back and collect them too.

If you want to download them you'll find them here.

Have a great day and see you Tuesday!!

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