Tuesday, 31 August 2010

Almost on holiday

Hello everyone

Well not long till I go away, thank goodness, as it was not a good day at work, do people not realise there is only me and not a battalion, at the moment I'm beginning to feel like I'm defending a small hill with an even smaller water pistol, or possibly even a pop gun, or even a pea shooter, either way I have a nasty feeling I'm not going to win this battle but I shall continue to the bitter end, or 3pm on Friday at least

Scuttled home like a mad scuttling thing after work to mow Bids lawn then to sort out my camera equipment, I discovered I'd not cleared my memory card down since I went to Southwold in May for my birthday, so that took some time, then the battery needed recharging so that kept me busy for some of the evening

Still no sign of a house, am hopefully something will come up when we're away next week but I still think we'll be here at Christmas, although hopefully not next years as well

Well that's about it, off to bed now as am very tired but its my own fault for sitting up watching Marple last night and then faffing about  before I went to bed

Take care

Kathy

www,coastallife.org.uk

Sunday, 29 August 2010

Another typical British bank holoiday

Hello everyone

Well as the  title says it really has been, went  outside this morning to empty the canopy of the swing, again, and it was blowing hard enough to remove the ears of donkeys and blow little old ladies inside out, spent the morning inside sorting out the ironing, digging out my suitcase for the holiday and checking Rightmove again, still nothing there either

In the afternoon I went up to Bids for cup of tea and a cake with Bid and my sister, spent most of the afternoon working on my cushion, which is coming along very nicely, i n the evening I cooked dinner, which Bid seemed to like

Was hoping to get over to the allotment tomorrow but I think that will have to wait till next week when the weather is supposed to get better, no doubt just in time for us to go back to work

Well that's about it, off to watched the TV

Take care

Kathy

www.coastallife.org.uk

Saturday, 28 August 2010

Coastal Life gets Paypal

Hello everyone

Coastal Life.org.uk now has Paypal so its easier than ever to buy something, why not log on and try. I'm assured that the credit card version is going to be added this weekend so will let you know when that happens

Its been a typical Bank Holiday weekend, sunshine and showers, mind you I managed to get the car washed which was good as I haven't been able to do so for a while, however two hours later it poured with rain, thankfully it looks OK still, was going to mow Bids (that's my mum by the way) lawn but it was too wet and now its even wetter

Anyway some good news yesterday, I've been accepted for my business bank account, its always worrying when they do credit searches on you but it was OK in the end, so I now have somewhere to pay in any money I make

I've now got 6 followers on Twitter, one of which is Visit Guernsey which is great, if you get the chance to visit Guernsey then you must, I've never known anyone go there and not love it at once, if I could move there then I would but I don't have enough money to do so sadly

A while back I told you that I'd read that wine could lower cholesterol, well after some research I've found that this is right, red wine is a lot more effective than white so am giving it a go, I'll let you know what happens as I have a check up in a couple of weeks time

Only one more week to my holiday now, cant wait, still nothing on Rightmove house wise but am confident something will come up, am also sure that not all estate agents use the website so will be doing the rounds next week to see what I can come up with

Have been on the track of more advertising today, have emailed another Norfolk website to see how much they charge, will be doing some more research over the next day or two

Well that's about it for now

Take care

Kathy
www.coastallife.org.uk

Wednesday, 25 August 2010

More dark evenings

Hello everyone

Well its still pouring with rain and its cold as well, I had to put the heating on tonight, that's the trouble with Victorian houses they do seem to be chilly, mind you that's no bad thing when its 90 in the shade and on the whole its lovely and warm in here. The garden swing is full of water so that means the canopy support will start bowing, oh well never mind maybe when we move I can get a new one

Anyway on a more cheerful note I've got a meeting with my business advisor at the bank tomorrow to open my business account, I did tell them that I don't have much to pay in but they didn't seem to mind they just said it was great I'd started my own business. From there I squelched my merry way over to 02 to get a top up for Bids phone and change the Sim card in mine to a 3G one, also managed to sort out my mobile broadband for when I'm on holiday so I can keep an eye on the Rightmove website, don't want to miss anything that might come up. All that sorted I squelched back to the car and drove home, wondering it  I  should have the underwater car they used in the James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me

I've now got three followers on Twitter, at this rate I wont have time to go to work I'll be too busy updating all my social stuff

I read a very interesting article in my French Women for All Seasons book last night, apparently wine can bring down cholesterol, so hopefully along with my little drink if I have a small glass a day it might help me, I'm not a great one for drinking but I don't expect a small amount will do my any harm, I shall have to check to see if its red or white wine that's best, I expect it will be red

Well that's about it for today

Take care

Kathy

Tuesday, 24 August 2010

Ideas for dark evening

As the weather seems to be intent on acting like its autumn its making me think of things to do in the winter, have discovered this  good blog called Patchfabrics, lots of lovely things on there that have made me think I really must get on with the quilt, when I'm holiday I shall have to go over to Heart of  the Shires and get some  more stuff from the shop over there, will also be checking out the collections on the  website which you can get to via the blog, the address is http://patchfabrics.blogspot.com

Went for a nice walk with my friend Katy at lunch time, we hadn't been out for ages so it was nice to catch up, the trouble is once you get out you don't want to go back, but we made the effort and did, it was nice in the sun but not so in the wind

Am hoping to sort out the rest of the advertising on the Norfolk websites this weekend, its very time consuming but good fun doing all this and you never know something might come of it, I expect that as its a Bank Holiday it'll be pouring with rain with howling gales, I really hope its going to be better for the holiday

Well that's about it

Take care
Kathy

Monday, 23 August 2010

A typical British Summer

Hello everyone

Well a typical British Summer day wet and windy, why we couldn't have had all that lovely warm and sunny weather we had at the beginning of the summer I don't know, it would have been a lot more use and my lawn would have looked a lot better as well, not to mention all the veg on  the allotment would probably have been a lot better. Oh well never mind lets hope its nice and warm for when I go on holiday or I shall be more than a little miffed

Not too bad a day at work on the whole was not busy in the morning so spent  some time looking at web sites I could link mine to, found quite a few on the whole that I can advertise on, and they're all to do with Norfolk as well, the pries were good as well, some of them were free which is even better, I do like something for nothing, well we all do don't we, so will be checking them out when I get a moment

I must make a start on the patchwork quilt soon, although I want to get some different material to the ones I got originally, I shall use them for the applique bits

Have sorted out  the area I'm going to be using for the Bromham Mill Apple Day now, its inside and next to where the mill machinery is so there should be quite a few people in the area, below is one of the pictures I'm going have for sale, it was taken on Weybourne Beach in North Norfolk, everyone says this is their favourite picture

Well that's about it for now, off to watch Midsommer Murders

Take care
Kathy

Sunday, 22 August 2010

Twittering away

Hello everyone

Well after spending most of my life saying I would never get involved with Twitter and tbe like I no w have a Twitter account. Now there is a reason for this and quite a good one as well, when Emma Jones said she#d mentioned my web site on Twitter I wanted to know what she had said so I logged on to look, that's when I discovered that I needed an account to see anything, so I opened one and there it was, her tweet with my web site address in it. Anyway last night I wondered what would happen if I sent a message as well so I did, I just said that if anyone liked the North Norfolk coast then they should look at my web site, and by this morning I'd got two followers, one of which has a great web site called Lilias beach hut, you should look at it, anyway I hope it generates More people to the web site I shall let you know

Went to collect the money for the last sale of my picture and to look at the space for my exhibition at the Apple Day, it seems fine so I was quite pleased. Am off to open a business account this week as have decided that I really should be keeping the money separate from my other money not that I'm likely to make a fortune I fear

Was up at 7.10am this morning watching 15 balloons floating over the village from the Northampton balloon festival, they looked lovely but I could never go up in one, I cant go up a ladder let alone hundreds of feet up in the air in the equivalent of a shopping basket

Back to work tomorrow sadly, cant wait till I find somewhere to live in Norfolk and get the gallery going

Well that's about it, off to empty the dish washing, watch a bit of TV and then off to bed

Take care

Kathy

Saturday, 21 August 2010

Busy, busy, busy

Hello everyone

Very busy today, spent most of the morning on the allotment, it wasn't as bad as I thought, although there wasn't much to be picked, its not been a very good year for veg this year. Finished painting the front door, although the door step and side of the house might need another coat and I cant paint the inside until the paster has dried

Still no houses but am hopefully something will come up soon

Well that's about it, not much to say really so off for something to eat, and surprise, surprise its raining again

Take care

Kathy

http://www.coastallife.org.uk/

Friday, 20 August 2010

Things might be looking up

Hello everyone

Well I did hear from Emma from Enterprise Nation, and she wants to profile my story on her web site, she also said my pictures were stunning and asked me to keep in touch. She's got a new book coming out in November about selling overseas and she thought it would be useful to me as she felt that Americans and British expats would be interesting in buying my work. After all the hassles of the past few days it really cheered me up and made me all the more determined to carry on with this, especially as she also tweeted a link to my web site in the hope of getting me more visitors, yippee. Will let you know if I am profiled on the web site

Other than that it was the same old usual day at work, although lovely and quiet as there were only a few of us in, and two weeks today I shall be packing for my holiday

Well that's about it, off to check to see if there are any more houses

Take care

Kathy
http://www.coastallife.org.uk/

Thursday, 19 August 2010

Irritations all round

Hello everyone

As the title says its been a couple of days full of them, yesterday was really annoying at work and I didn't get home till late so didn't get anything done, although the plasterer had been and finished off the area round the door, which looks very nice, now I just have to let it dry and then paint it, today I find that the SIM card in my iPhone is the wrong one and is causing it to do all sorts of odd things, this necessitated a trip to the 02 shop in the local town, which was packed full of screaming kids and people wandering aimlessly, thankfully the kind people in the shop sorted it all out for me and now I just have to back the phone up and register the new SIM, they also gave me some useful information about mobile broadband which will be really useful when I go away so I can keep an eye on the houses that come up for sale, as I shall be in the area I don't want to miss anything

Although I didn't get home until late I still managed to email Emma from Enterprise Nation with the story of Coastal Life, well she did say in the book email me with your stories so I did, will let you know if I get a reply or any feedback at all

Still no sign of a house but I'll keep looking, am still dead chuffed, and surprised by the value of mine, Bid keeps saying there'll be more houses on sale in September, lets hope she's right

Well off to have something to eat now

Take care

Kathy

http://www.coastallife.org.uk/

Tuesday, 17 August 2010

Yippee

Hello everyone

Well a much better result from the estate agent tonight, he valued the house at 50k over what the last one did which is great so that means I shall have plenty left over, hopefully to start the gallery

Have discovered loads of ways to advertise the Coastal life site thanks to two great books, Working 5 to 9 and Spare Room Start Up, if you're thinking of starting a business I can recommend them, along with the Enterprise Nation web site, all very helpful

Sorry such a short posting tonight but am off for an early night, getting up every morning at 5.30am is starting to get to me

Take care

Kathy

Monday, 16 August 2010

More iritation

Oh dear, on further investigation in tiny little weeny letters at the bottom of the estate agents details it says the house is going for auction, nothing about it in the main write up thought, so am back to square one again which is a shame as it looked like a lovely little village and right on the coast as well

On a more cheery note Bids bedroom furniture has arrived and looks very nice and the next estate agent is coming over tomorrow, lets hope this one has more idea of how much houses are worth although judging from how things have been going I'll be lucky if he says its worth more than £2.50, hey ho, at least its only 3 weeks till I go to Norfolk on holiday, then I can start hassling the estate agents up there more

Take care

Kathy

www.coastallife.org.uk

Sunday, 15 August 2010

Bromham Mill Apple Day

Hello all

I know I  mentioned  the Bromham Mill Apple Day yesterday but I was talking to my friend Lorraine, who runs the Bromham Mill Art Gallery today, and thought I should tell you something about it. Well first its on the 17th October in the grounds of  Bromham Mill in Bromham Bedfordshire, and celebrates all things to do with the apple.We'll be there somewhere selling the Coastal Life pictures and showing the web site, hopefully, along with a lot of other people selling all sorts of lovely things, some of the cupcakes were wonderful last year, and there was some really lovely cider, you can also get advice about your apples and it really is well worth a visit. You can get directions from the website below and see pictures from past Apple Days

www.friendsofbromhammill.org.uk

I told you yesterday that I'd found another house on Rightmove, well after some investigation I've discovered that its in an area of danger of flooding and falling into the sea, or whatever they call it. This is a bit of  a blow as I don't want to be buying somewhere that might fall into the sea at a moments notice, there's really nothing worst than opening your kitchen door and finding its not there anymore, I remember listening to a programme on Radio 4 once about something like that, neither do I want to look out of  the window and find that Bid is in her annexe up to her knees in sea water and her walker has rusted solid, I can see all sorts of problems arising from that, so I might have to rethink this, I wouldn't say I was paranoid but I am beginning to think someone doesn't want me to do this

Anyway that's about it off to watch Victorian Pharmacy which I taped, its all about photography and dentistry this week, sounds like fun

Take care

Kathy

Saturday, 14 August 2010

A wet day but not all bad

Hi everyone

Well was hoping to get loads done today but in true English cricket season, rain stopped pay. However I did manage to get the new front door painted, well the first coat but on anyway, it looks so much better than the other grotty plastic one

Just logged onto Rightmove to check for houses and there was one straight away, lets hope this one is better, at least its in a coastal village so there will be tourists for the gallery

The small sister has gone off camping in Wales for the weekend, hope she remembered to take her inflatable floating mattress as I need her to come back and help me at the Bromham Mill Apple Day, will let you know the details about that closer to the day, but I can tell  you that its on 17th October and is really well worth a visit, we'll be there selling the Coastal Life  pictures, and if you still haven't looked at the web site its:

www.coastallife.org.uk

Have a look at see what you think, I'm always interested in what  people say, good or bad, although thankfully there have only been good so far

Well that's about it for now

Take care
Kathy

Friday, 13 August 2010

Coastal Life goes live

Hi everyone
Well the web site has gone live now, check it out at http://www.coastallife.org.uk/, and the advertising goes into Coast magazine next month, ooh scary, sadly the hunt for the house and gallery in Norfolk still goes on, was very disappointed that the house we went to see recently wasnt the right one but never mind, onwards and upwards as my line manager would say, bless her, I'll let you know how I get on

Kathy