YIPEE!!!!!(long post/picture heavy) Updated

I have so much to yell YIPPEE!! for: so much.
Ah, where to start.

Well firstly, I had a lovely parcel from Jane (loopylou) who was my Summer exchange partner.  Boy what an exchange...it was hilarious.

Set the scene: first, a parcel arrives and I have no idea who it is from because I'd completely forgotten the exchange, I've been so busy thinking about making up my Autumn one!

So, I eagerly open it, remembering not to use my teeth this time in case the parcel is sneaky and contains fluff (for readers who didn't know about my last parcel opening experiences: not all paper parcels have bubble wrap in: some have fluff which flies everywhere if you open the parcel with you teeth in excitment).

First out comes this totally amazing bag!

I b

I put the ruler by it so you can see how huge it is!

It is a proper, proper beach back with an 'All our yesterdays' cross stitch panel.  I love it. The fabric is so soft and I can even carry it on my surgery side without it hurting because it is so soft.

It has pockets.

Lots and lots of pockets.  I was getting ready to iron it ready for it's piccie when I heard rustling: and then the party started!

First off we found some very posh gluten free dog biscuits which were human grade and had things like yogurt in.  Mmmm...so I had to try them.  Yuck...no sugar.  Dogs love them though!

Then there was fabric.

Some white and some lime which matches my kitchen so I think I see placemats on the horizon!
And bless her, she bought me some aloe vera anti-bite spray because I am always getting bitten by the Irish bog midges.

About three hours later, we found some raw organic chocolate even though I thought we had found all the pockets..we hadn't!   I wasn't keen on at first, it is dark but actually by the second piece as I got used to the taste I was in love. Sadly so was hubby which is why there isn't a piccie!

Also in the bag was this...

It is a quilt as you go table runner...and I got this about five minutes after I'd asked Jane about quilt-as-you go!  Boy she is speedy teehee.  This is causing a dilemma cus it matches my kitchen and my living room and I would quite like it in my sewing room.....choices, choices.  How beautiful though. it's totally amazing and  I love it!
The bag is amazing too! I'm using it already to hold my crafty stuff.  Can't wait to take it to the beach though!

So much thought gone into these gifts.  I am loving this season exchange..def. going to do it next year as well!

What else do I have to say Yippee about?

Well, the Fabric Shack email arrived with their latest sale and normally I don't bother looking because their fabrics are so popular it is hard to get three or four from the same matching sets/colours and looking online doesn't really give you a decent idea of what is what colourwise.

But this time I had a look...and at 4 dollars a yard (about 3.20 euros) and half price postage how could I resist?

I bought this for a quilt-as-you-go christmas tree quilt/wall hanging I want to make.

I love it.

And this is for a quilt as you go quilt I want to make...do you see a common theme here?  Yes, I want to be able to do it all myself rather than pay a lot of money to get someone else to do it. And this is the only way I can think to do it. So wish me luck!

And wow the timing, because I got an email from them this week saying they had to put the price of postage up so I got in there just in time.  I do feel for businesses in the USA..their postage costs seem mighty high to me and can't be helping them.

My third YIPPEE goes to my sweet father in law.  My poor little Lidl sewing machine is poorly and my Ikea one is great but no good for quilting so my FIL has bought me a proper work-horse of a sewing machine complete with a walking foot.

Boy, are sewing machines technical.  So many different feet. Millions of them: they made my head spin! So I would like to thank Sewing Machines Direct for talking to me and helping find the right machine and walking foot.  It comes with a five year guarantee which is excellent.  I told them, I don't want a computer in my car, on my phone or on my sewing machine.  If I want fancy stitches I'll stitch them by hand.  I want a machine which will sew and sew and sew for up to five hours a day (for when I have hospital appointments coming up) and not blow up or die.  Simples.

And they found me the right one.  So thank you Sewing Machines Direct.

Another Yippee is for family days out. We can't afford a holiday this year so we are having days out and they are working out great fun!  This week we went to Athlone and went to the Castle and the gallery.

The Castle was excellent; lots of interactive things to do with my son, even invade the castle using an interactive computer screen. I've no problem with computers in castles!   I still can't see why my disguising the soldiers as nuns wouldn't have worked!

Nothing pleases boys more than big guns or canons!

This is the building opposite the museum which you can see from the top of the castle. The statue is saying 'Yay, rain, Gaynor won't have to water the apple trees!"

This is apparently a fertility figure OR a figure to warn against too much fertility: of the non-married type probably!

You could practice drawing the long bow to see how strong you have to be to do it with two fingers...my crafting has given me very strong fingers...I did it but hubby struggled!

This is the view from the battlements and the river the English had to cross to fight the Irish....a long long time ago when even in England one week you had to be protestant and the next catholic.

As we walked up to the top, we heard a lot of squeeking coming from this window.

 

If you look closely you can see a mummy pigeon feeding her babies!  That's her bum sticking out!

 

These figures were amazing.  Life size and styled after real life people in the battle, the costumes are actually made out of metal wood...no fabric at all apart from the wigs!  They could be called art in my opinion as they are so clever.

There were so many things to do at the castle, I really do recommend it as a place to go.  Interactive maps, a room where you 'lived' the battle, sounds and visually, lots of screens and things to play with on your way.  It was brill!

And talking about art, we then crossed the road to go to the gallery.

What a load of tosh.  I really do feel a lot of art is...well not sure I can put it politely, but seriously.  Some of it looked like it had been done by toddlers with their fingers.  Actually, toddlers could probably do it better in my humble opinion.

Take a look at this one

 

Now look at the price.

 

Yup.  2300 euros.  That's about 2500 dollars, maybe a bit more.

So I am going to paint my version some time this week and put it up for silent auction for the cancer charity.  I might even buy it myself because it matches my kitchen!

Now have I covered everything. Yup. I guess so.  I am busy stitching on my second 'Language of Flowers' chart and I am really pleased with how that is coming.  I've been really busy preserving (see my fifty shades of frugal blog for details) so time has been short, but never mind.  It's all good fun!

There won't be a Friday Freebie this week because I'm taking part in a blog tour on Aug 5th and there will be lots of giveaways then!

So, well done for getting this far.  Hope you see you all again soon.  Have a great week!

Ooops, nearly forgot!  Final Yippee!!!!  I am officially a size ten again!!! And hubby is going to start training with me which is lovely because it is always good to have company as you sweat and pant around the beautiful Roscommon countryside trying to avoid being bitten by midges!

It was a wonderful feeling taking all my size 14 jeans down to the charity shop!!  Yay!!!!