Frump to Fab 2022 - The Big One

helensbiggestfan

Hello Lovely Ladies

so much going on here. 

🤞for both Chanie and Wednesday.  House moves and building works. How exciting. Yes stressful and probably very messy but so worth it.  There's nothing quite like creating a beautiful and comfortable home.  

I too am loving the nice weather. I have been working like a demon, mainly outside.  Have painted all my exterior doors and the fencing to the front and today I freshened up the rear fencing I painted last year. I have been gardening too. It's all looking very pretty, even if I do say so myself.  And as a bonus because of all the outside work I am suntanned and positively glowing, even my legs.  

helensbiggestfan

Have split my posts because my I pad is playing up. Have tried to post a couple of times but kept losing what i had typed.  Very frustrating.  Need to get my son to sort me out.  

Fab wise I'm doing ok. Still getting on well with dermoligica skin care.  A bit pricy though. I might try The Ordinary . See if I can save some pennies. I have been buying a few clothes.  Mainly a few inexpensive "1 mile clothes",   My at home wear was looking
A bit tired, so a cheap  and cheerful refresh.  Still feel a bit frumpy though at times. Need to up my game. Still got some painting and heavy garden work to finish yet though so haven't actually worn any of my new clothes. 

My handyman has been several times recently and is making  good progress. Top bedroom decorated, now a proper bedroom rather than a junk room. I bought a new bed for my room with storage drawers - so useful. And he installed my new kitchen island too so I've a lot more additional storage now,  I'm still decluttering though. 😂🤣.  Still got a long way to go. 

SUgarbaby. How nice to receive that compliment. A real ego boost 😉

sugarbaby125

Hello Ladies, 

Helen lovely to have you posting again. I hope the issue with your iPad is soon resolved.

I went to the discussion group at Blackfriars Settlement. 2 of the participants did a role play about being assertive with an obstructive council call centre worker. I need to stop procrastinating and report the repairs that need to be completed in my housing association maisonette. I also need to claim back the £900 plus of rent credit that is sitting in my rent account. 

I spent another £7.50 worth of Nectar points in a local Sainsburys.    

sugarbaby125

Hello Ladies,

Yesterday evening I went to The Young Vic with other members of the Neighbourhood Voices group to see Oklahoma. We were all given free tickets.  

It was such a wonderful production of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical. The group was spread around the theatre but I was fortunate enough to be seated next to one of the other women in the group, Meryl and her daughter. Meryl and I enjoyed ourselves no end, as we laughed, sang and danced in our seats as the story unfolded.      Meryl's 15 year old daughter was not impressed by her mother's overt enthusiasm and she kept trying to shush her mother, but this did not dampen Meryl's enjoyment or her enthusiasm.  

I already had a ticket to see this production in May as I had received a special code from The Young Vic which enabled me to book a ticket for any show on any date for only £10, which saved me £48 on my chosen seat. So I am looking forward to watching this wonderful performance of Oklahoma in May. 

I have another 4 hour zoom meeting with Neighbourhood Voices tomorrow, which I am really looking forward to. 

chanie

Hi fabbers,

happy Friday bank holiday weekend.  

Our building works are going well.   As the works are being done on the roof, it’s not been disruptive. You can start to see the size of the space now, although they still have a long way to go.

We don’t have any plans for this bank holiday weekend and the weather doesn’t look like it is going to be nice very anyway.   I’m going to spend more time packing things away and decluttering this weekend.  I want to get some more storage boxes, so a trip to IKEA is in order.  I know the layout of my local IKEA well, so I can easily get to where I need to and so I can be in and out quickly.  

EDIT - cross posted with @sugarbaby125.  Your theatre trip sounded like fun and I’m pleased you all enjoyed yourself.   Hopefully the play gave you some inspiration for your own work. 

Wednesday2000

Hello Ladies,

We moved in to the new house during the week. I just unpacked a few things after the removal men left and then we went out to lunch at my favourite restaurant here. Lol. We were going to go to the beach at Leigh-on-sea afterwards but we were too exhausted so just came home and unpacked a bit more.

I am very busy today again. The storage in the kitchen isn't great so I might have to buy some freestanding storage along with a sofa, a new fridge, a chest freezer, a desk and maybe a TV unit in the sales. I just tried to rearrange things in the kitchen cupboards with some plastic boxes I had from the move but I think I need to buy something else. 

I do feel very at home here as it is quite similar to my old house (even though they are very different ages) as it is very minimally decorated and roughly the same size. We both feel as if we have been here ages, weirdly. Some of the people in the local group I met last year said they thought our house looked very much like the one we were buying when they saw the pics on Rightmove and now I see what they meant! 

I might try to get down to Chalkwell beach later today, but I expect it to be very crowded with tourists. 

I hope everyone has a lovely weekend.

sugarbaby125

Hello Ladies, 

Wednesday it is good that you are so settled into your new home.  

I am tired after my 4 hour zoom meeting even though we have a 1 hour lunch break after the 1st 2 hour session. My right hand aches from all of the hand written notes I wrote down. It was such a lovely discussion and small group work all about passion and premise. It is amazing how many tools that we need to learn about the craft of play writing. I am enjoying every minute of this programme so far. 

chanie

@Wednesday2000 It’s a great to see your update that you have moved. It’s been a long journey, hasn’t it?  Are you planning on doing any works eg decorating, or is it to your taste as it is?

@sugarbaby125 have you got any ideas for your play yet?
 

sugarbaby125

Chanie, it is a process. We have not yet acquired all of the tools of playwriting, so our tutors on the programme would prefer us not to play around with ideas for our plays until we are better equipped with the right tools. 

I do have an idea, but I may change my mind further into the process. It is a journey and I am really enjoying myself. Some of the group already have a wealth of writing experience in other fields and wanted to try their hands at being a playwright. I am holding my own though amongst the professional writers when we are working in smaller groups. 

I am very patient when I am being patronised by any of the professional writers, as being paid to write has never been my dream, even though I have always been a writer. I love writing as an amateur because it is so much fun for me. I never have to try to think of ideas, they just come. I have never experienced writer's block or had to look at a blank page desparately trying to come up with an idea. If my work is ever published one day I would be overjoyed, but I am not trying to make it happen. If it is meant to be, it may come true for me one day and I will see my written work in print. 

We were discussing passion and premise today and it was so interesting. I made 17 pages of notes, so I will take a day this week to type them up. 

helensbiggestfan

It all sounds really interesting SUgarbaby. I am so glad you are getting so much out of it. And just ignore the naysayers, follow your passions and instincts. Enjoy what you do and ignore those who would patronise you, it's what you think about you that counts. 

Despite being quite smart, due to family circumstances, I left school at 15 without a qualification to my name and went out into the world to earn a living. I had no choice. It didn't bother me because I knew I had a brain and skills.  I was also in love with learning for its own sake. I continued my education in my own way....evening classes, libraries, museums etc. I never felt I was lacking but there were a lot of people who were very patronising about my lack of formal tertiary education. 

I decided to go to university when I was 40. Not for any specific career goals but purely out of interest. You wouldn't  believe some of the nasty sneering patronising comments I received.  My own father was by far the worst offender.

i am firm believer in lifelong learning.  The day I lose interest in learning will be when I'm ready to give up on living.