another one of those days...

Hi folks...well yesterday certainly didn't go according to plan...that seems to be the story of my life at the moment...I don't know who I've upset but I'm convinced the gremlins are out to get me but let's start with the good news.  The cubbyhole crew are well used to happy mail deliveries between the DT stuff and my online "splash the cash" expeditions but it's not often that absolutely ecstatic mail arrives all the way from the USA...

a box full to brimming with fabulous fabulous raffle prizes for the lucky crafters coming to The Everest Challenge Charity Workshop from 2 very special people...2 of the nicest guys you could ever hope to meet who are truly wonderful ambassadors for the hobby that we all love. I'm very humbled by their generosity and support of my venture to help my lovely Fiskars teamie Hina raise money for the Aspinall Foundation and words cannot really express how grateful I am to Tim and Mario for their kindness...thank you thank you thank you from the bottom of my heart...love you guys and hope to see you back in the UK soon.

Little did I know that this fabulous parcel of goodies would end up as my "kiss it better" sanity saviour before the day was out.

I decided to make Hobbycraft my first stop on the shopping expedition...it's furthest from home and right in the city centre so the idea was to get the nightmare traffic out of the way while this old doddery crafter was in wide awake...early morning alert mode...there are always idiot drivers to keep you on your toes...the ones that can't see beyond the bonnet of their car and change lanes on a whim...

After a quick whizz round...I'd got some of the bits and pieces on the shopping list...time to pay for parking and head off across town to John Lewis for a coffee and to check out the Eclectic Elements department...

but I didn't bargain on 3 picky parking machines that obviously didn't like my ticket and promptly spat it back out...the debit card reader on the 4th was out of order so off I trekked to try my luck with Machine No 5...bingo but it's an absolute disgrace that they charge £2.50 to park for an hour and you have to spend 20 minutes hunting down a ticket machine that works...shame on you Union Square.

But the gremlins were intent on having a field day...I arrived back at the car to discover I had a puncture...an almost flat as a pancake front tyre and I'm embarrassed to admit that never ever in the last six decades have I changed a tyre. I found the spare and jacked up the car but couldn't get the wheel nuts loosened...time to put on that little old lady "damsel in distress-works every time" face and sure as fate before I knew...3 hunky knights on white chargers came to my rescue and I was ready to roll.  But with hands that looked like I'd just finished a 12 hour shift mining coal and the wet wipes container in the glove box empty...who forgot to replace that I wonder...this mucky pup decided to abandon the trip to John Lewis...not that I'm superstitious or anything but I can take a hint...after 2 calamities in one morning I didn't fancy leaving black fingerprints on Tim's rolls of Eclectic Elements and being chased down the street by angry John Lewis staff so I plumped for the safer option of heading back to the cubbyhole and here comes Calamity No 3...I tripped over one snoozing Furry Boy...

who's back to sleeping in that postage stamp corner...landed rather unceremoniously in a heap narrowly missing head butting the window but you'll be pleased to know I did manage to avoid flattening my furry cubbyhole partner. It was definitely one of those "you couldn't make it up if you tried" kind of days but hey I've lived to tell the tale and I'm intending keeping my head down and staying indoors for the rest of the week...Tim Holtz...Eclectic Elements and John Lewis will have to wait until the coast is clear and I'm sure the gremlins have departed. And the moral of the tale...who in their right mind would let me loose out in the great big bad world on my own.

But I'm off to have a good old rummage in that box of fabulous goodies...the equivalent of a great big crafty hug and hopefully I'll see you all tomorrow

Hugs Kath xxx