Doodling across the generations!

When I was a student nurse in the 70's I had this doodle art poster stuck on the wall of my room in the Nurse's Home, and I used to invite people to colour bits in and then sign it round the edge or somewhere.

It got quite competitive as you can see if you read the comments of my friend Jan! (Click on the picture to enlarge it)
Well, I found it again whilst de-cluttering the other day and have stuck it up on the kitchen door and guess what....the next generation have started to doodle too!

I'm going to leave it there with a box of felt tips on the kitchen table and maybe I'll frame it when it's complete and enjoy the memories!

Living a bit more simply

I have been giving alot of thought recently to living more simply, as a Christian I feel I have a duty to tread lightly on God's creation but I don't do it well I think. As I was reading my Bible the other day I happened to read a verse that jumped out at me..."Teach us to make the most of our time, so that we may grow in wisdom." Psalm Ch 90 v 12. In the Message version of the Bible it reads ...."Teach us to live well! Teach us to live wisely and well"
I saw this as a call to live more slowly and more deliberately. I do quite alot of home/hand-made stuff already but feel challenged to do more.
I can cook, sew, knit, clean, but although I have been taught or have learnt to do these things I don't use them enough and I'm not an expert in any of these skills. I only work 2 days a week now although whether they are day or night shift they are 12 and a half hour shifts, which is pretty tiring sometimes.
So....I made a list of things to do myself and therefore hopefully be less materialistic and less consumer driven.

-cook from scratch
-make bread
-make cakes/biscuits
-make jams/chutneys,etc..
-make dog food
-Use up left overs
-Sew stuff to sell for India
-Volunteer
-Make cards
-Do garden for 15 mins a day
-Declutter
-Compost
-keep Chicken
-Shop less
-Use library
-Source firewood free/cheaply
-Make tablecloths/tea cosies/bedding/curtains/dish cloths/clothes.
-Stop landline phone and use a mobile
-Watch less TV
-Store water for the garden
-Put up solar panels for hot water
-Use slow cooker more
-Ditch dishwasher (I hardly use it anyway)
-Never buy a tumble dryer
-Don't buy newspapers and cut down magazines
-Think small, don't need a BIG house, BIG TV, BIG holiday
-Make menu plans and only but what you need
-Don't buy snacks or bottled drinks
-Repair stuff
-Have a 'No-spend' week
-Have an 'Eat out of the freezer' week.
-Walk more
-Make Christmas and Birthday cards
-Grow vegetables
-Grow flowers for cutting
-Grow/sew and make gifts for presents.

Well I know I won't achieve all that and indeed my better half may not agree to some of them, and to be fair I already do quite a few of these things.....but I will try to live more simply.
Last week I spotted this painting of a dog on a gate to warn people I presume....so perhaps I'll try to paint Wrecks on our gate! !!!!