wagwaan?:

Well, after yesterday's post I looked at Claire's pictures and there might be one I'd consider posting here... but I have to upload it first.

What's the weather like where you are? It's pretty much perfect Autumn weather here: sunny and cool, with brightly coloured leaves all over the ground, and a smell of bonfire smoke in the air. Lovely! We're gearing up for Halloween on Saturday, but it's just not the same now Claire is grown up. We used to love decorating the house but I don't think we'll bother this year, although I'd still love to carve a pumpkin. Claire has pointed out to me that the "large" pumpkins in our Tesco Express are really not that big at all this year, so I'm not sure where we'll go to get one.

We've planned a little trip on Saturday to the King's Road, because I want to take a peek at a Cath Kidston shop, and there is also Heal's and Muji along there, as well as a nice market. We'll no doubt stop off at Starbucks and take some pictures of the cute mews houses, and people-watch. Ooh and I might treat myself to some scent at Penhaligon's. We haven't done this for ages, due to lack of money. It's not quite the same going window shopping when you can't actually buy anything. I know it's called "window shopping" but still, having a few pennies in your purse means that if you spy the one trinket you absolutely MUST have, then you can buy it, right? I'll give myself a strict budget, and we'll see what happens. At least I'll be able to get some ideas to put on my Christmas List if nothing else.

I'm really hoping to book tickets to France for Christmas this weekend; I got some passwords from The Times that are supposed to give you two tickets from £90. I'll let you know what transpires! I really, really miss my family, especially my mum, and I can't wait to see them all again.

Talking of Christmas, as I said previously, I've got some ideas for handmade gifts that involve me buying one of those cute sewing machines from John Lewis. I think I'll plump for a red one - I've been lusting after it for over a year and it's really not expensive at all so I've made up my mind. Hoping to get presents done for nearly everyone on a very tight budget. The only non-handmade ones will probably be for the OH and Claire, although I might get some little things done for them too. For starters, I can't wait to make the bag out of the material that comes with the Cath Kidston "Sew" book. Considering I haven't sewn anything for years, I need to start with simple projects; ones that only require straight lines and simple stitching!

Yesterday my friend lent me Julie Walters' autobiography. Oh how I'm enjoying it! I'll leave you with this extract, read by the actress herself. Love her!