The Birdcage

Sunday 5 February 2017

Time...

...I just don't seem to have enough of it....time that is!!
I started up with this blog after so many years of it laying dormant.
Only to never remember to write it!!!
I have all good intentions, 3 kids, 2 at school one applying for uni's a large dog a very old annoying cat & a house to clean etc.....that's all before I start work with my bracelet business!!?

Anyway, we'll see how it goes, maybe twice a month would be best....maybe none of you read this anyway?

Well this week I managed to get one of the household jobs done on the very long list.
Painting the main bathroom
I am very pleased with it....painted in moisture paint in Natural Hessian.

New wicker baskets on my wall shelf which houses the bottles, cans etc....

I found this glass soap dispenser in Homesence....I couldn't leave it there to be snapped up by someone else! 
Just hope the kids don't break it.

So this week is the last week before the kids break up for half term....so I am going to be at my desk as much as I can :)
I hope you've had a good weekend & are getting some of your jobs done ready for Spring

Catch you sometime soon
Gill x


Sunday 22 January 2017

Has it......

......really been a whole week since I last blogged?? 
I am very sorry to those of you that like to read about my ramblings.....I really don't have a good excuse other than, life gets in the way & there aren't enough hours in the day!!

I knew it was adventurous of me to say I will blog around 3 times a week...as too be honest my life is pretty mundane & not much exciting ever happens.
I don't want to sound on a downer, I think my mood has a lot to do with the weather...dull damp days, where you need the lamp on all day & the blinds pulling down by 4pm.
I am so ready for Spring it is my favourite season, the new bulbs, tiny buds on the trees & shrubs....weather a little brighter & being able to hang your washing on the line!

I am a very old fashioned girl when it comes to things like that....there is nothing better than getting your towels & bedding blowing in the breeze on the line. Don't you agree?
We don't own a tumble drier & wouldn't thank you for one....had one years ago & it shrank everything you put in it.
I get great satisfaction from pegging items out on the line....I know I do need to get out more.
I  just seem to have relocated my mojo at the moment...work related. Tomorrow's the start of a fresh new week...so who knows.
So this weekend I have been doing some much needed housework & reading my book...which I can't put down.
I promise I will blog again before next Sunday....
Enjoy the rest of your Sunday 
Gill xx

Sunday 15 January 2017

A Little Insight....

.......into ME. 
I thought with me starting up my ramblings again....it would be nice to give you a little insight into the lady that writes it
My name is Gill...actually that's a lie, it's Gillian but I hate it. It's a girl & boys name together!!
So I go by Gill all the time.
I have just turned 47 a week before Christmas....my hubby is my toyboy, 3 years younger.
We got married in Montego Bay, Jamaica in 2004
We have 3 children, Elliott 18, Alfie 12 & Storm 9...plus a Rhodesian Ridgeback dog Diesel & an old ginger cat called Rocky
So life can get quite busy & stressful at times, especially with working from home too.
I don't like having my photo taken,
I am addicted to fresh bean to cup coffee....I have around 5 cups a day
I like my own company, which is great working for myself
I have 2 tattoos...a fish on my foot & "Keep Smiling" written on my left arm.

I have 2 wombs....but that's another story!
I love a good drama on the TV....I hate reality shows.
Though I do watch Zoella & Tanya Burr on YouTube 
I don't have OCD, I have OTD...obsessive tidy disorder! 
I used to get called Monica from Friends
Music tastes are varied from Adele, Bruno Mars, Emily Sande, Buble to name a few....I love 80's music as that is when I was a teenager.
I also love the 40's sound of the Puppini Sisters

I hope that's given you a laugh if nothing else 
Till next time
Gill xx






Wednesday 11 January 2017

It's all about....

.......Balance, I struggle to find it or put it into practice a lot. 
I think working for myself and wanting to do my up most best that I can do...I sometimes stop working at around 10pm in the evenings.
With your own business and working from home, it is always tempting to just put the washing on, make a coffee, see to the dog....distractions which takes you away from your work.

I work in a small space under the stairs (though it's my space) with 5 of us at home, the 4 bedrooms are all used up.....one day *sigh*


So one of my New Year plans is to stop working too late every evening and take some time out for me....
I have a book on my bedside table, which has been there for over 2 months, I've read the first page!! 
My aim is to find a balance between working, stopping and downing tools until the next day and looking after myself more.
I know I speak for lots of you, I haven't even mentioned kids.....I'm not going there today!

I hope you are finding some sort of balance this evening, we deserve it
Until next time
Gill xx



Sunday 8 January 2017

Sunday's.......

........are your's relaxed with a lie in? Going about at your own leisurely pace? Or up with the alarm and rushing around for work?
We take things at a more relaxed pace but still don't lie in, like we did as teenagers.
A mixture of kids awake, eldest to be taken to work, dog & cat to sort....then the best bit, a bacon and mushroom butty made by hubby with a hot cup of coffee.

If you're lucky he will add an egg too, toasted baps with lots of caramelized onion chutney is the way I like to go....

Then the rest of the day is used up by getting ready for the week ahead, homework, ironing etc...
If only there was two Sunday's in the week to take things a bit slower...maybe we could all do without a Wednesday?
Whatever you do with your Sunday in January...make it a good one
Enjoy
Gill xx

Saturday 7 January 2017

Hello?....

....What a very long time, since I've wrote a blog post...almost 4 years!!!!
Well what can I say? Sorry....if you have been ever wondering if I will type again.

Life just got very busy, business took off big time 4 years ago. Storm started school, Alfie was in key stage 2 and Elliott was 15 getting ready for exams.
 Plus the arrival of Diesel (which you can read below) I decided to leave a couple of old blog posts on from 2013...I had this blog from January 2011, where I rambled away & shared the odd photo or two.
I have deleted most and given it a bit of a re-vamp.
Down the side now there is tabs to click on which will take you to my Instagram and Facebook page if you fancy a browse through the work I have been doing over the 4 years absence from here.


This is Diesel now, just turned 4 on the 3rd of January...such a big gentle boy, who loves sausages with a passion, veggies &  a roast dinner 
He is my constant companion...my studio assistant every day while I work, letting me know as soon as the postman comes into the street! 

As a fresh outlook to the New Year, I was thinking about work and whether to go back to having a personal website like I did a few years back?
I  have so much interaction with customers on my Facebook page, which over the years have become friends...having daily banter, which you don't get on a website.
So for now I am going to leave well alone and start to blog more....which I did love.
I'm not saying it will be daily for now....every other day to start with.

I will be sharing family life, everyday ramblings, recipes, blogs I like to visit, purchases & of course the odd bracelet or two! 
New Kumihimo bracelets for 2017.......

Happy New Year to you all....I hope this year brings you everything you wish for.
Bye for now
Gill xx


Sunday 17 February 2013

He Is Home

Well Diesel the Rhodesian Ridgeback finally came home yesterday, and he is settling in great. He loves to play and has a real passion for slippers! I have knitted flowers on my slippers and Diesel tries to nibble them even when I am walking!
He has lots of new toys & blankets, he loves his big suede cushion in the lounge.

He is a great addition to the family, the kids love him to bits...Storm wouldn't get dressed today, as she said she would miss him too much in the time it would take to get dressed! She also slept on his cushion with him this afternoon.

He does take up a lot of my time as you can imagine being so small, but I don't mind. I would only be cleaning otherwise (for the people that know me....I am coping well with the mess)! He is a great diversion from doing the housework!! 

Back soon with more gorgeous photos
Thanks for stopping by
Love Gill x

Friday 8 February 2013

We are having a baby!!

......Have I got your attention now? We are having a baby joining our little family, and I seriously can't wait much longer.
We are getting overdue jobs done around the house, shelves up in the utility room & tided all the clutter into baskets. 
We have done out Storm's room to, she has a big girls room now with Emily Button accessories from M&S. She has slept all week in her own bed...HEAVEN! 

Well I bet you can't wait to see a picture of him can you?
I have a few but they are a little out of focus, so I will show you him at 10days old & one that I have got off the internet. There was a litter of eleven....choosing took a while!

This is roughly how he will look when we go to fetch him in a couple of weeks! 


His name is Diesel and is a Rhodesian Ridgeback....we are so looking forward to him joining the Child family. <3
So I am very sorry, but I can already see that my blogs will be doggy related for some time! 

Thanks for stopping by
Love Gill x (one very excited lady)!