poppyshake

I'm quite ancient .. nobody knows quite how old I am. When I die they will cut me in half and count the rings and I'll be sure to leave a note to post it here. I'm married to Alan and we live in the Cotswolds with one little angel cat called Molly and one fiendish ginger nightmare called Oscar.

I run my own cross stitch company, it's quite hard work because I'm in charge of all the staff (ie .. me.) I design and sell my own kits. It's great being my own boss because I allow myself all sorts of tea/book/forum breaks but, in order to be more efficient, I could do with someone barking orders at me from time to time.

Like any self respecting member of this fantastic forum, I LOVE READING! and would do it all day if I could. I have realised too late that I chose the wrong career and should have picked something bookish instead. I do love to cross stitch but reading is my first love ... if you don't count my husband .. and my family .. and my cats (cross stitch is getting further down the list all the time!) I do listen to audiobooks a lot when I stitch, combining two of my favourite things .. and if they're accompanied by a cuppa then everything is right with the world.

Things I like best in life: family, friends, my cats, reading, cross stitch, this forum, all you lovely people, tea, cake (how did you get put before cake!), autumn, libraries, bookshelves, the run up to Christmas, literary places, the Isle of Wight, Mum's roast dinner, chocolate, Volkswagen Beetles, vintage, pretty book covers, the Pizza Express's lasagne, latte from Costa (or Marcia's ), cinema, the beach, picnics, juke boxes, old scratchy vinyl records, Motown, letters from loved ones, Tottenham Hotspur FC, White Stuff, breakfast in bed, candles, iced buns, the 1970s, Kate Bush, the BBC adaptation of Pride & Prejudice, the BBC adaptation of practically anything, Stephen Fry reading Harry Potter, Wodehouse, PG Tips Monkey, fish and chips, laughing, cuddles and dancing when nobody can see you.

Things I like least: Madame Bovary

PS: I can't quite bring myself to cross Oscar's name out but we have lost him now I feel bad about calling him a nightmare, not to say fiendish .. but he would have been proud of the title .. he thought good behaviour was for wusses.

PPS: I've lost both my puss cats now .. I am pusscatless! My clothes are a lot less hairy but my life is a lot more empty.