My Month in Numbers 2015: April

Hello, ahoy, how's things?

What with its combination of freezing cold showers and eyeball splitting bright light [or 'sunshine' as I believe it's called ...] April made its grand exit while acting like an interrogator wanting to know All the Secrets. I don't know about you but, personally, I stayed strong and didn't tell it anything ...

... but I guess I'd better switch to sharing mode now otherwise this post will be very short. So here we go .. here's how my April unfolded ... in numbers ...

[As always ... you're more than welcome to join me and the ever-shifting community of Month in Numbers bloggers - check here for all the details].

53 = the number of vintage baby-themed greeting cards that came into my life.

What can I say, I saw them for sale online. I liked them. I bought them.

What will I do with them? I hear you ask. [I know the seller did] and, let's face it, it's a reasonable question, one which you may expect me to have an answer to [can you tell I'm stalling here?] ...

... well ... I don't know yet. Journal pages? Collage? Include them in kits for the shop? Re-sell? All of the above? Probably. But with unique vintage things you really can't hang around and formulate a plan before you buy can you? Once they're gone they're gone ...

And anyway, if you're new here, then I should probably mention that I have previous on this kind of thing.

• Not just on the general area of snapping up vintage treasures.
• But on the really raher specific act of buying-up vintage greetings cards en masse.

Last November I bought a 20kg job lot of vintage Christmas items which turned out to contain 863 cards and 5 Advent Calendars. Which, by anyone's standards is a lot of vintage Christmas cards [you can find some of them here if you want to share in the vintage festivities].

And, while we're on the subject of deceptively huge amounts of cards ...

I decided that I needed to start selling-on some of the handmade greetings cards I've been amassing [ones I've created for magazine projects, which then get returned to me] because I really don't know that many people who I can send them to! Plus, many of the people I do know already make their own cards ... so they don't want to buy any more from me!

So I mentioned on Facebook that I had 'dozens if not hundreds' to sort out. And while, from time to time, and for the sake of a more interesting story, I may dabble in exaggeration ... this time around I was, if anything, under playing it!!

After bringing together all my handmade cards in one place that rough ballpark figure of 'dozens if not hundreds' turned out to be ...

247 = cards that needed matching with the right size envelope and cellophane bag!

Some of these have now made their way to James's office where he's diligently been attempting to sell them to reps who drop by trying to sell him things. There's a nice logic to that!

Some have gone with James's sister who - unlike me - has friends who aren't card makers and who might actually welcome the opportunity to buy a handmade card or two.

And the others ... are still in my office ... they're there for the taking ... I need to work on putting together some sort of Buy X for £10 type offer ... possibly on Facebook. Or indeed here - so if you want a random selection of one-of-a-kind greetings cards - get in touch. I know of one or two [hundred] you can choose from ...

Fuji X-M1 = my new camera.
Here's a photo to demonstrate that [a] I generally only take selfies when I'm having a good hair/skin day [What? I'm not an idiot. You don't think I'd share #BadPortraits of myself do you?] ...

... and - more importantly for this particular number - this photo demonstrates that [b] my X-M1 can take a pretty decent shot with very little effort:

This is straight-from-the-camera on the auto setting. No tinkering with levels or anything fancy and no tripod either ... just my wobbly little hand held at arms length. And it'll do for me. And, as I learn about all its many settings ... I'm sure it'll keep on impressing me.

Which is a huge relief as I've wanted a new camera for a long while [for reasons beyond 'taking better selfies'. I swear!]

But I've actually needed a new camera since some fluff got in the lens of my old one about 18 months ago!  And after months of reading reviews and comparing specifications I finally decided to stop thinking about the minimum requirements I needed and instead to invest in my business and my hobbies by buying something 'proper'. [By which you'd be right in interpreting as 'something way above what she planned to spend!].

And so, all the funds from selling my cards are going towards a retrospective camera fund!

Fortunately I was in a position to buy it upfront but I just thought it would be interesting to see if I could now recoup the cost of it by selling things that would otherwise just be laying around. And those 247 cards ... and counting [because the card making just never stops round here!] certainly fall under the category of 'things that are just laying around'! The same goes for some crafty stash I no longer used which I put up for sale in a Facebook group ...

32 = the number of crafty items I've sold to add to the photo-fund!
I'm really enjoying having such a clear purpose to motivate me to keep finding ways to raise additional income.

And now I feel like I ought to be keeping track of  it all via one of those charts you used to see outside churches recording the progress of the 'new roof fund'. Or one of those grids they handed out to us at my school where, when you brought in 2 pence for the 'poor children', you got to keep track of your benevolence by colouring in one of the squares! 

£20.00 = how much [how little] I had to splash out for these:

In my Month in Numbers posts [this is my 64th post!] I used to always mention the price of the latest pair of shoes/boots ... but it started happening so often I decided to stop! [It was getting the point where it was coming in a close second to how many tea bags I get through.]

However ... for these I'm making an exception and am sharing them as I still can't quite believe I found a pair of full-length, leather!!! boots by Liebeskind for £20!

If you're ever passing a TK Maxx it's your duty to go in, crouch down, and scour that Clearance rack! Trust me ... it'll pay off one day!

0 = the shape of my new silver circle necklace
OK, I know that's not exactly a number but it sort of looks like one. And it's OK, because I have it on good authority from the blogger who started My Month In Numbers that 'anything goes' ...

Because I like the idea that you get what you give / what goes around comes around I'd been in the market for a karma/circle necklace for a while and settled on this lovely one by Effie from DUST Jewellery. It was described as an 'imperfect circle' necklace and that sealed the deal for me; because imperfections are where the interesting things happen!

8 sausages, 240g of barley = part of the recipe for this sausage, kale and barley stew I cooked:

Which is noteworthy for being the only recipe I've closely referred to this month. Or indeed this year. Or possibly in the last few years.

I do cook, but I don't cook by following recipes; I'm simply not obedient enough.

But I really liked the sound of this [which you can find here from The Guardian] so I gave it a try. It was lovely. But there was waaaaaaaaay too much for the two of us. So I ate it again the next day ... and there were still leftovers!

Next time ... I'm ignoring the recipe ... ;-)

Right then, before I leave you to tackle May ... here are a few quick numbers that nearly got away:

• 4 hours 32minutes = the length of the film The Mysteries of Lisbon which I recorded on SkyArts1. It's a Portuguese, subtitled, costume film based on a 19th Century novel. A film which we had to watch it in several sittings over the Easter weekend. [Really, my attention span does not run to 4 hours 32 minutes of anything!] 
• 208 pages = the amount of pages - combined - within the 2 novellas I read. Which, considering I've read books with single chapters longer than that made a refreshing change to rattle through an entire story in the same amount of pages! It also took me less time to read both of those than it did to watch The Mysteries of Lisbon!
• 4 books read in total.
• 3 x lunches out. A trip out with my parents. A[nother] trip to Robineau [Darlington] the 2nd time this year with James for their 3 course brasserie menu [remember the one I told you about before - where we like to go because it's during the day?] And  lunch with Jo and Mam at the Olde Young Teahouse [Middlesbrough] where I've never met a cake I didn't like - here's my Caramac cake: 

And the reason there's a fork full left on the plate is not because I was planning to leave that feeble amount ... but rather because I thought I'd better take a photo while there was at least something left to photograph!

Well, that was April all cards, cameras, leather boots and food [which, honestly could be any month round here ...]!

• If you're happy to just catch up on my statistics then - hello, I hope you enjoyed them, it's good to have you here.
• And if you're joining in with your own ... don't forget to leave me a comment when you stop by to leave your link. Think of it as opening up the conversation which I'll continue when I come to visit your post.
• And to all ... have a wonderful May!

I already know what I'm going to be doing for the next 4 days which is in itself noteworthy [we don't run on any kind of advanced schedule here!] ... so I'm sure I'll have plenty to share this time next month!  Hopefully I'll see/hear/read from you before then though.

Soon.

Julie :-)

My Month in Numbers 2015: March

Hello hello.

Well March has flounced out of the year with an impressively chilly, windswept, grey and rainy exit so I guess it's time for me to summarise the last 31 days ... in numbers.

[If you're new here and you'd like to join in the number-crunching community then you can read all about it here].

It seems only fitting that we start off with something particularly noteworthy, something that hasn't happened for 16 years ...

9.34am = the time when the 90[ish]%  partial eclipse reached peak coverage:

This was so exciting to me! As I didn't have any of those special glasses I hadn't expected to be able to capture a clear shot like this but, on the morning of the eclipse, the thought came to me that we had a roll of UV filter film somewhere - the kind you put on windows to stop fabric fading - and it was perfect for the job!

So I just sat in my workroom, camera on the tripod, clutching the UV film [folded over several times into a burned-retina-avoiding 10 layers lens] and watched the whole thing; alternating the lens between my eyes and the camera to both enjoy the experience there and then - in the moment - and to capture lots of photos for prosperity!

Now on to a more mundane experience - one which, unlike an eclipse - occurs more often than every 15 or so years.

But only slightly more often ...

41 = the number of items I ironed in my first ironing session since possibly around November 2014!

I had ironed the occasional individual items quickly, on the floor, when I really fancied wearing it ... but I hadn't done a full stand-up-til-it's-all-gone session for ... erm ... a while.

And, as I certainly didn't go naked through the winter, what this goes to show is:

1. just how many leggings, stretchy jerseys, jeans and chunky jumpers I've been wearing - none of which I ever iron anyway and ...
2. just how many clothes the pair of us have that we could keep returning to the wardrobe to find other crease free items to wear until either of us could face the ironing pile!  

With all that in mind ... it's a good job there are no fines issued for overdue ironing ... unlike ...

56p = the fine I had to pay on my overdue library books:

It's a rare event but ... I always feel really guilty when it happens! I'm just glad I could use the self-service machines and didn't have to face a librarian ...

After paying for my crimes and taking out 4 more books we went for tea ...

A 9" square take-out cake box ...

We went to a restaurant - '12 Harland Place' - which is appropriately named for a statistical summary like this! And after selecting our deserts we opted for the take-out option [mainly so we could go home and eat them it in our pyjamas in front of The Good Wife]. Here's what we found inside the huuuuuge box ...

... to carry 2 tiny cakes!

They were quite delicious though, and hey, size isn't everything I guess ... which reminds me ...

 

570 SPAM emails received over just 3.5 days while I was offline. I get lots of SPAM, most of which has absolutely filthy subject lines ... and contains even filthier requests and promises!  And fortunately it's all well caught in my SPAM folder which I tend to check, and delete, regularly.

And because I'm constantly deleting them I hadn't really ever kept track of just how many drop in each day. But when I logged back in after those 3.5 days I was pretty impressed!!

BTW: I check my SPAM folder not because I'm worried about 'real' mail making its way in there [it happens rarely] but rather because in amongst the vile click bait and the Viagra offers there's plenty in there that makes me laugh. Occasionally I'll entertain James by reading out a list of the best/worst/most bizarre to have landed that week [I know what you're thinking .. that it must be a laugh-a-minute round our house ...] when he often has to look at the screen to check I'm not just making them up. But I think that's the start of a post all of its own ...

So, yes, I had those 570 treats awaiting me upon my return ... but where had I been?? Well ... here:

12 = the number of times I've attended a 'Crafting in the Country' weekend with my friends.

• However, this was only the 3rd time we've stayed here, at the picturesque Grisedale Barn, Threshfield, N.Yorkshire.
• 7 of us went this time ... there was meant to be 8 but at the very last minute, 1 had to stay home. Which was doubly a shame as there'd been planned a surprise Hen party for the person in question which involved 20 pink balloons, party poppers and several cocktails.
• Not that we let the lack of the guest of honour stop us enjoying it all any way!

Inexplicably - in amongst all our crafting and eating - we also had a 'click and catch' game to play ...

For reference: yes, that's generally the facial expression I tend towards when faced with sporting activity.

• That aside - all that clicking and catching of ping pong balls provided some much needed cardio-vascular exercise. Up until that point the most activity we'd seen all weekend was when we spent 15 minutes rummaging for bargains in a sale box of crafting 'bits' at the Harrogate Papercraft Extravaganza!

• Following the click and catch game we lost several of the ping pong balls and so that night, in pyjamas, and with torch in hand I went on hunt under all the furniture. I found 2 balls and - strangely - another ping pong ball that wasn't even from our game!!!
• Really ... what are the chances of you going to hunt for a lost ping pong ball, in a rental cottage in the middle of nowhere, and finding one that isn't one of the ones you brought with you?

For the record: while I was ball-hunting I also found: 1 house from a Monopoly game, 1 hazelnut [shell on], 1 pea nut [shell off], 3 beads, lots of fluff and a 2p piece [which I kept, for my trouble].

I also came home with:

1. 2 belated birthday presents;
2. and 7 rainbow-themed gifts:

And to complete our rainbow theme Jean [how many's that so far this year Jean?] made cakes that included 4 of the 7 colours with a deep indigo lavender and honey cake [which I forgot to photograph ... I just ate it instead!] plus these 3-colour citrus lovelies:

And finally for my cottage-themed stats:

• Due to transport logistics 4 of us had to make the journey home together in he same car that only 3 of us travelled there in. So things were a little ... shall we say 'cosy' in there:

Once we, our crafting supplies, our clothes, and our shopping were all squeezed in there was around 2m square* of space left [* I'm purely guessing here ... like I know how to estimate empty space. I'm not a physicist y'know?] ... and that was all at head height ... and we needed that space for the circulation of oxygen ...

On the way home from the cottage, in the cosy car, we held on to the holiday feeling for a little longer by stopping for breakfast at Billy Bob's Parlour ... a brilliant, but utterly unexpected, American diner in the heart of the English countryside! [Seriously, if you're ever nearby the Skipton area you must drop in!]

There I had the 2 best pancakes I've eaten since I holidayed in Florida in 1989! With a side of streaky bacon and lots of maple syrup:

 And how's this for a photo-op for someone who documents their days in numbers? A sign post in their car park making it perfectly clear just how far from the good old US of A we really were:

Yet, while we may have been thousands of miles away from the authentic American diner experience ... we were only 165 miles to somewhere called North Piddle. Which sounds equally as entertaining ...

And lastly for March, while we're on the subject of the US ...

... in March the majority of orders in my Etsy shop were placed by customers in the US which spurred me to start keeping a list of which of the 50 states I've had the pleasure to post to. And so far in 2015 it's ... 

11 out of 50:

Which, for 3 months in, and for a small person running a micro-business, from a tiny work-room, in a small English town ... is not a bad statistic is it?

It would be fun to think I could post out papery inspiration to all 50 states ... I guess I'll have to start researching how I can best market my shop to the remaining 39 now ...

----------------------------------------------------

Well, those were my numberly musings ... how about yours?

As ever you're welcome to join me and the statistical summarisers who keep me company while I'm memory-keeping-by-numbers.

And if you just dropped in to catch up - hello!!! It's nice to have got to share the last 31 days with you.

Wishing you a fresh and shimmering April ahead!

Julie :-)

My Month in Numbers 2015: February

Hello hello.

February always manages to trick me.

It's only slightly shorter than average [I know the feeling] and yet somehow those few missing days really make an impact. I really hadn't given my February numbers much thought at all ... until the point where I realised I had only 7 days to get thinking [and counting!]

In short [again, I know the feeling ...] what I'm trying to say is that I can't believe we've already bid farewell to another month; or that one sixth of 2015 is now just a vapour trail in our wake ...

So, before it vanishes all together, let's have a closer look at the moments that were worth counting in February:

£5 = the donation a happy blogger made to Save the Children after enjoying my free Push-Up Bra Approach  blogging workshop.
In a fortnight it will be 2 years since I launched the series and yet still, from time to time, my inbox is brightened with a message telling me someone new made their way to my Just Giving page to leave a token of their appreciation for the FREE series!

£585.57 = the total contributed by 75 people since March 2013!

And so, to donor No.75 and all 73 of the rest of you Thank you thank you thank you!

[Note: In case you're wondering about my calculations ... I was donor No.1 myself ... and it seemed a bit odd to thank myself - hence only thanking 74 of you!]

4,830 = another number that dropped into my inbox during February:

From looking at my blog statistics I knew that Pinterest was the biggest referral site to my blog ... but I'm not sure I'd have guessed it was quite so high as 4,830! All that traffic is thanks to the 3 'Art journal page from start to finish' tutorials I created. To view those, plus lots more tutorials I've created, then drop by here.

28 = the number of days after my birthday that I received another wave of gifts.
They were from my friends at our monthly crafting get-together and amongst them there included:
several zebra related items, geeky paperclips, washi-tape design stamps, a bird ornament and brooch .... and a nice big bag to carry them all home in:

 

It's almost like they know me isn't it?

Also Jean had baked piña colada cupcakes. Of which I had 2. Well, it was my fake-birthday!

[Fake-birthday is not to be confused with fake-Christmas although ... I'll admit I'm not entirely averse to making a tradition out of something that spreads out gift-receiving opportunities throughout the year!]

£5.00 ish = how much was eventually paid for a copy of the 1985 Tim Curry film Clue on DVD.
My sister and I almost wore out our VHS recording of Clue when we were teenagers and last month I got it into my head to find a DVD copy so we could see just how much of the script we could still remember. But, when I started looking on Ebay I soon realised that copies were selling for over £15! Clearly - in its 30th year - there's not just me looking forward to seeing it again!

We haven't got around to watching it yet though ... I'm wondering if I need a costume first. Who should I be? Mrs White? Miss Scarlet? The Singing Telegram? ...

24 = the number of tracks on the Guys & Dolls soundtrack James secretly bought me 'just because'.
Entirely coincidentally a day after he'd ordered it online I was in the hallway giving a rendition of Sit Down You're Rockin the Boat while putting on my coat and boots [you're never too far away from one show tune or another when you're with me] ... and apparently he'd paused to wonder 'Does she know I've bought her the CD?' .. and to reflect on just how much I could read his mind ...

Some mini-book related numbers:
9 = how many teeny tiny notebooks I made with old postcards for covers:

Oh ... while we're on the subject of postcards I received 6 as part of the Valentine's Postcard Swap hosted by my friend Sian at From High in the Sky. Thank you all!!

25 = the number of new Junk Journals I put together [which are now on sale in my Etsy shop].
25 = the number of new hand-sewn mini-junk-books I started - these are my current love! They're sooooo tactile, full of everything, with reclaimed covers and fabric spines and general lovely ephemeral splendour!!!
4 = how many I'm keeping for myself / to give to friends with the remaining 21 heading towards the shop in March/April.

And, clearly February was Official Non-Stop Book-Making Month because ...

2 = the number of bookmaking workshops I invested in:
Even though I've made lots of mini-books and journals in the past - it never hurts to pick up additional skills and new perspectives. And actually, I'd never made anything quite like the projects taught in the 2 classes:

• The 1st was a video-based workshop created by Christy Tomlinson all about making your own 'midori' style folders and books to slot inside. [If you're interested the workshop was the February edition of her 'Art Society' - and you can find the details here.] BTW: the workshop gives you a great excuse to browse for colourful elastics ... and if that floats your boat [it did mine] then you'll love the class!!
• And the 2nd was a rare thing indeed ... a workshop 'in-the-flesh' so to speak. By which I don't mean we were all naked .. I just mean it wasn't online. It was in a real room with a real tutor - Chris Morton.

And here's the real room in question - a perfect workshop space: lots of room, plenty of light, with a kitchen for essential tea-making and a comfy spot to eat lunch:

It's part of the Navigator North studios, situated 3 floors up above the Dundas Arcade in Middlesbrough town centre.

I'd pondered whether or not to go and left signing up to the last minute ... but you can't really complain that there's never anything like this near to where you live ... and then not go along when there is can you?!

I'll share more about this particular class in a post of its own soon, along with the items I made ... but, until then ...

I'm handing over to you ....

• if you'd like to join me by sharing your own numbers on your blog,  you're welcome!! Have a quick speed-read of the protocols [Oh my! How official sounding! Don't worry, it's not so scary!]
• OR if you'd simply like to leave me a comment to say Hi - maybe one of my numbers sparked a memory of your own? - then I'll look forward to hearing from you.

Wishing you a magical March. From my window I see that this afternoon's flurries have left my hilltops with a powdery dusting -  so maybe Spring's not here quite yet ...

Julie :-)