Decisions....Decisions.....

This week so far it has been all about decisions.

Nope, I didn't find my flask. Even after turning the whole house upside down. I just have to resign myself to the fact that I never got it....and the memories I was kind of sure I had to do with it, were in fact, ficticious. It's just not here. So, I make the decision to draw a line under it now and move on. But if I ever see one again, I'm getting it, and making darn sure I remember getting it! By the way, my mum's Tapestry turned up. she said she searched her whole house and it was staring her in the face all along. At least one missing (or maybe not) item was found! 

I'm deciding to make a weekly list to time manage myself, in a bid to pack more in. I am an avid list writer, but they always get written and left. I think it's actually more to do with getting stuff out of my head than having something in front of me to act upon. My time management is seriously pants though. I'm scatty and airy fairy and I really need to be more organised. I was giving a lecture to Middle Bear yesterday about being more organised with his mornings, his school bag, and his equipment for school lessons, and I thought to myself 'I'm such a hypocrite'.

I started another ripple blanket. In my usual slap dash, gun ho, no planning or forethought way, I have realised it's a fairly massive blanket I've started. I've spent about 8 hours on it. Two rows uses up about 60g of yarn. It's going to be a yarn eater. Do I want another BIG blanket? I have to make the decision to rip it all back and make it smaller, or carry on and have another bloomin' big'un. 

On that note, I'm deciding whether to get rid of a few blankets. I will see if any of my family want them first, if not, then I'll donate to a charity shop. I am finding I'm having blanket space issues, and if the latest blanket is anything to go by, I'll need more room. My first blankets, although looking decent, I'm not sure how well my end weavings were (being a newbie to crochet), so how well they'd stand up to rigorous daily wear. No chucking them on ebay then to get rid of them. They just lay for a while on a bed end and now spend their time in a cabinet. Can I bear to part with them though? Will I regret it?

Decisions....decisions......

I have to decide to be strict about my eating. I just have no will power at the moment. I'm usually good in the summer. However, this summer my sweet tooth is out of control and my waistline is increasing at an alarming speed. Why is it though, that as you get older, you seem to gain a few pounds just staring at tempting food? Then when you try to get rid of just one measly pound, it takes weeks of hard work. Well it does for me. Even being active during the day isn't helping. Well, I'm sure it is, but it doesn't feel like it or motivate me any more.

Because of this fact, I've decided not to bake for a while. The Rocky Roads were such a huge hit (hardly baking but you know what I mean), the Bears are begging/pleading with me to make more. I made such a huge batch last time, but oh my, I just love them so too. I have the biggest weakness for marshmallows. Although I was good and only ate a teeny end bit. I also seem to have a tub of candy floss in my cupboard. I am being so good and saving it for when I lose half a stone! Snort, no time soon then.

I am also having to decide whether to watermark my photos. I've thought about this many times over the years I have been blogging, and always decided 'no'. However, something happening this week has brought it to my attention once again. I have never really liked the 'distraction' of a watermark. I've also never felt that my images were really any good either, so what was the point? I found though, when I was on Instagram, that lots of my pictures were ripped and replaced on peoples feeds posing them as their own. It was weird and really opened my eyes to what goes on. Some I watermarked and they were ripped and cropped and photoshopped. I guess it's a massive thing that goes on, and for the most part we are unaware, unless we stumble upon it or are alerted to it. The only way to better safeguard an image is to watermark through the whole picture to make it harder to rip, but that then destroys the whole picture in my opinion. A 'Con' for watermarking. I had to make the decision a while back to pin the odd pic (especially crafty ones), posted here, on my own Pinterest boards. Whilst it makes me laugh, feel a little uncomfortable and perhaps make it seem a little narcissistic, the reality of it is that my images get pinned, and by putting the pics on there myself, the proper link links back to my blog where the image originates. I've seen some of my images on there with no links and innocently with someone else's name as its credit. I guess it's my small way of trying to keep my images to link back to where they came from. And, if they had have had a watermark on them, then even if they didn't link back, it still says the images are mine. A 'pro' for watermarking. 

Okay, not the best pics to work with here, but time is scarce today. My sink view and a blanket image. The first three images above are watermarked. They look less 'in your face' and less detracting from the image, but they can all be easily cropped or edited out. The last two images are watermarked where it is harder to edit, but they look awful. I love searching on Pinterest and finding images that inspire. Images that send me off into a world of imagination, or wonder. Now, I'm not for one moment suggesting my pics are like that, but that a flippin' great big watermark stuffed across it, just spoils my enjoyment of an image, whatever it is. Yet, I understand it's the only way to, as best you can, safeguard your property.

I just don't feel comfortable with it all. It just shouts 'Look at Me', and I'm a person who has spent my life whispering 'Look Away'. But I guess I have to face reality. To be on here, in this cyber domain, you open yourself up to the world.

However much I would like to have a naive view that it's all fluffy and rosy, that people read, move on and leave it at that, it's not like that. I don't post my kids and am quite sketchy about my private space too for that reason. What I do photograph and post is all about colour, and texture really....and stuff I make for my home and others. Just stuff that appeals to me and lifts my spirits in a world of general mundane. But I do realise, after having my eyes opened on Instagram, a need to protect what is yours, to the small degree that you can. Wasn't there a student who walked into a clothing shop and saw one of her blog photos on a t-shirt? Crazy. I'm fighting the need to be realistic with the need to shut my eyes, cover my ears and shout lah lah lah lah. I'll decided on it further.

I've decided to hack down my beloved rambling wild rose bush at the end of the season. A couple of years ago with the wettest summer and winter ever, it got black spot, and I just can't stop or control it. It has put on a good bloom this year but the leaves have all dropped off and it's looking rather sad and sorry for itself. All the soil has been infected with fallen leaves taking spores into the ground. Bleurgh. Hacking it right back to almost nothing and completely re-soiling to try and eradicate the problem is my last chance of saving it. It's infecting other rose bushes. My beloved L'aimant rose bush  (in first image) is very disease hardy, but at the rate the black spot is going, I'll be gutted if it cannot withstand the disease onslaught. My heart is heavy. It gives such a beautiful burst of mediterranean colour in the summer. My garden is small and colour is sparse, so to not have this big burst of colour would make a big difference. If any green fingered soul has any hints and tips to save it, I'd welcome them wholeheartedly.

I am deciding what to make for tea tonight, pea and pancetta risotto, or chicken fajitas.

Decisions.......Decisions.....

xxx