Giveaway results

Thanks so much to everyone who left a comment for the giveaway. It closed last night and tonight Dora drew the names out of a bowl for me.
     So here are the results:

I'll just use your comment-tag-names:
Notebook: Kitsch and Curious
Ladybird book: Menopausal Musing
Hanky: Linda
Purse: Colleen
Hat pins: Joanna
Cactus candy: Ellen
Needlecase: James
Papier poudre: Jee
Little letter: Printed Material
Belemnite: James

Congrats everyone. If I need your postal address I'll get in touch via email in the next couple of days.

Jane x

PS Lesley -- I made those muffins just now -- very nice, quite peppery. Easy to do. I'll try to remember to include a copy of the recipe when I send your bits and pieces.

Walking with Jedward

I admit to the guilty pleasure of loving Jedward -- not so much their music as the charming goofiness of the boys themselves. I've loved them ever since they were on X Factor. They were the only reason to watch their series of Celebrity Big Brother, and they were adorable on Celebrity Wedding Planner (What? You don't think I watch reality TV all the time, do you? -- whatever gave you that idea?). Put it like this, I know where my vote's going on May 26th.

see you in Baku

But this morning I was walking with Jedward as their track 'Lipstick' came up on my 'exercise tape' playlist on my iPod. I'm trying to do half an hour's brisk walking every morning before anyone else is up. It's important that I get it in before the rest of the family stir because my 'treadmill' is the 22 steps that it takes me to stomp
in a ring round our open-plan doughnut-shaped downstairs. I do it for half an hour -- I wish I knew how many times I go round in that time. I'm worried that I'm going to develop a slant as the circle is so tight that I'm leaning in towards the centre most of the time. I tried turning round and going the other way to offset the effect but I'm only happy going clockwise, like water going down the plughole (oh no, I thought I'd just check this and found an insane exchange of mindboggling views all contradicting one another...).
It pleases me that I can do this bit of exercise, for free, in the privacy of my own home. No one has to see me lumbering past looking like a velour elephant. And, believe me, it's quite challenging -- it isn't 'just walking', you know.
I started off, a couple of weeks ago, at a smart pace -- walking to tracks like 'Fame' by Lady Gaga (has she had a 'velour elephant' look yet?) or 'Let the Sun Shine' by Labrinth. But now I find that feels a bit stately, and I have moved up a notch to tracks such as 'Flux' by Bloc Party, which means I'm virtually breaking into a run. I must look crazy. I can't keep that pace up for half an hour, so it's back to 'Firework' by Katy Perry, or even a bit of rhythmic folk (the odd Lau track) or classical (the Karelia Suite by Sibelius goes at a fair lick).
Then, while I'm marching round, I'm also trying to do a Pilates-style 'imprinting' thing where you pull all your stomach and pelvic muscles up towards your ribcage AND a sort of Alexander technique thingy where you lengthen out the back of your neck (I never have my head in the right position when I check -- my nose always creeps up towards the ceiling) AND some good in-through-the-nose-out-through-the-mouth breathing AND I also hope to think some useful or insightful thoughts -- but you can't force these to come; trying almost guarantees they won't. When an idea comes through all the breathing and marching and tilting and tightening, it feels really sweet. I'd say I've had one thought 'worth keeping' maybe every other day whilst doing my exercise.
The big breakthrough will be if I can persuade myself to leave the safety of the house and head into the open air -- I'm sure I need some Vitamin D from the sun!

Oh, don't forget to leave a comment before April 2nd on the Giveaway post to be in the running (geddit?) for a little prezzie.

Giveaway

Thanks so much for topping me up to 50 followers!

So, as promised, here's my giveaway to celebrate the pleasure of blogging -- I really do enjoy the sense of being connected to a web of people all over the place.

Everyone who is either already a follower or becomes a follower and leaves me a comment (no anonymouses, thanks -- anonymice??) will be sent eight cards and envelopes from my designs I've either had printed or have made myself (unless I run out in which case it'll be first come first served, but I have lots. One set per person). Just a little word of warning -- a few of them are a tiny bit risque, so let me know in your comment if you have a delicate sensitivity to such things. These are about as naughty as they get:

Then I have ten little gifts for people whose names I'll pick out of a hat.

This is a notebook that I made with my binding machine. The covers are collaged back and front and the pages are a mixture of different papers, including some pages from old colouring books, a stripy paper bag and coloured sugar paper. A bit smaller than A5 size, hardback.

A vintage copy of the Ladybird book that inspired my blog.

As a Diamond Jubilee token, a handkerchief with the Queen and Princess Margaret as children.

A little old purse with sprung coin-holders inside.

A packet of hatpins.

A box of Cactus Candy from Arizona, made from prickly pear cactus (no idea what it tastes like but the box is cool).

A very old metal needlecase.

An ancient packet of papier poudre with the sheets still inside (no longer very powdery, though).

A little tiny letter with a card inside.

A real belemnite fossil found by me as a child on Whitby beach -- will protect against being struck by lightning (if you believe the folklore). My dad drilled a hole through it so it can be worn as a talisman.

I'm going to leave the giveaway 'open' for a week, so will close it at 10.30pm next Monday evening (April 2nd 2012). If you want something to say in your comment, tell me something you've seen or done recently that you think I'd like.

Lycka till as they say in Sweden!