My Month in Numbers 2013: October

Hello you.

I feel OK about mentioning this because [1] the layers of yellowing leaves on the floor and [2] the fact that it's now dark by the time you eat your tea has already given the game away: it's now the end of October! Scary isn't it? [And not just because it's Halloween!]

But, as another month disappears from the calendar like a vampire's reflection it brings with it another statistical summary of the days it left behind ...

Let's begin with my results for The Communal Count I set us all. [As usual I'll answer both, you're welcome to pick one or none!]:

9 = the number of items of mail I received which were directly addressed to me. While this doesn't seem like very many it was definitely a case of quality over quantity! Many of those were parcels containing lovely things such as: a free and entirely unexpected gift from a fashion brand; my mail art swap card; a postal themed gift in a fabulous envelope and the largest order of scrapbooking supplies I've treated myself to in a long time! I'll take a handful of deliveries like that over mounds of junk mail and letters addressed to 'The Occupier' any day!

The second Communal Count prompt suggested we share any weather-related statistic and I chose this:

20 degrees C = the temperature on the way home from a crafty weekend away:

Just like the summer, our Autumn here [N.E England] has been pleasantly mild ... so far. There've been a few awful grey and chilly days, but interspersed with real mini-heatwaves like this one. And I'm not sure if that's helping me ease into winter gently ... or just prolonging the inevitable frosty agony!

Oh and while we're on the topic of my crafting weekend let's take a closer look at its vital statistics.

On the way there we stopped off in Harrogate where I had my first sit-down meal at the famous Betty's tearooms ...

30mins [approx] = the queuing time to get in:

But at least we weren't the party of 10 who  had to wait for enough diners to leave to create a big enough space for them all to sit together.

4 = the number of us at the table and 4 = the number of us who couldn't resist taking photos of our meals [if you look carefully you can see two other photos being taken at the same time I took this one!]

3.5 days = how long we spent at our now traditional twice-yearly 'Crafting in the Country' retreat. Other numbers include:

• the 6 friends I met up with there;
• the converted 17th Century farmhouse we stayed in;
• the 5 bedrooms inside with 3 of us having a room to ourselves with the 4 others shared 2 twin rooms;
• the 2 craft shops we visited over the weekend.

I was a little bit under the weather sat the time so spent a good deal of time over the weekend doing nothing ... apart from picking out the eyes of the Muppets.

No, wait ... that needs explaining ...

1000 = the number of pieces in the Muppets jigsaw we began ... but didn't finish:

And I trawled all 1000 pieces seeking out any pieces of jigsaw which had a Muppety eye on it, so I could begin to put all the characters in place.

At the end of the weekend, when it came to packing up to go home I was more than happy for the half-complete jigsaw to be thrown back in the box ... but my friend Jean had other ideas.

Off she went to the kitchen and returned with a fish slice ...

Which she then used to lift up big completed areas sliding them carefully into the box so we'll have a head start when we unpack it all at the next weekend away in the spring! 

28 = the number of antibiotics taken. Least said soonest mended.

40 = the number of tags made + 20 = the number of gifts wrapped as my contribution to a gift-per-day-for-40-days-until-'someone's'-turns-40 surprise birthday 'thing' I organised for someone this month!

As I explained to the birthday girl herself : "think of it like an Advent calendar only it’s 16 days longer ... and it's not in December".
6 hours = the time spent getting painty with 10 others at the Kate Crane workshop organised by 3DJean:

Photo borrowed from this post on Kate's blog.

I made 2 sheets gelli plate print and 2 art journal backrounds. One which I like and one which makes me wonder what on earth I was thinking when I chose the colours. It's almost like I've never met me!

And speaking of colour ... after the workshop James, who'd collected me, had to go into his office so  while he got on with something important at his desk ... I was left to  my own devices in the store room ... which led to ...

 

200 = the number of reels of flooring weld I arranged into colour order. Here's the 'before':

Either you 'get' the need to put things in colour order ... or you don't.

If you do then I'm sure the above photo alone, with its jumbled shades all thrown together on the poles, is enough of an explanation as to why I did it! And, although I stupidly didn't take an 'after' photo of all 200 in their happy rainbow, I did take this 'during' shot:

That's better isn't it?

If you don't 'get' it then you probably just think I have [a] 'issues' and [b] far too much time on my hands. To which I reply ... the next time you're in a life or death situation which can only be resolved by something being arranged in perfectly shaded gradations ... you'll be sorry you mocked! ;-)

[Now, let me confess that the '200' is only an approximate number because, surprisingly I didn't count each one. I think pandering to one of my obsessions at a time should be quite enough for one afternoon.

Arranging things in colour order in a warehouse is one level of weird ... but going on to then count them all up so I could mention it in a number themed blog post ... well .. that would just be ridiculous ...

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So, that's how my month's statistics added up. To share your own then ...

• please visit the full 'How to join in My Month in Numbers' guide here.  
• There aren't many 'rules' as such - they're mainly a few ways in which you can help me to keep the Month in Numbers community running happily.
• I'll gladly visit you, comment and save your post to the Month in Numbers Pinterest board [currently followed by over 700 people] but this takes time, so there are a few simple things I ask in return. All of which you can find here in the guide.

I'll look forward to reading your memory-keeping-by-numbers and in the meantime ... I'll be working on the next Communal Count prompts.

 

See you soon.

 

Julie :-)