It IS all VERY VERY VERY taxing!

Moira Stewart is now my least favourite person in the entire world.

I received a letter from the Government Gateway this week, "ah, must be my activation code" but no, it isn't - it contained a neat little card with a number on it which is my user ID. This number I already knew because that was given to me on-line. What a waste of paper! Don't they know that the rainforests are being cut down in order to send out useless letters and cards?

Sigh, apparently the activation number is sent separately - in another envelope. WHY? WHY? WHY? Another waste of paper - just do it at the same time, save postage, save paper, save useless pieces of cards, save my bloody sanity! Who are these numpties running the tax department?!

Anyway, the activation arrives a couple of days AFTER the user ID (which I already knew) and so finally I can file on-line. It wasn't too difficult, actually because of how straightforward my affairs are and I had all the information to hand that I knew I would need. By answering a few simple questions early on, they cut out a lot of the stuff that isn't applicable to me. I now know exactly how much money I need to pay. So a nice pat on the back there to the tax man.

The hard part is paying on-line. I can pay using a one-off direct debit, great! Finding out where that is from the "How to pay" page was tricky ... very tricky (haven't they heard of on-line links?!) but I got there in the end and started to set it up ... now I need my self assessment reference number ... um, what's that? I have a Tax Reference number (won't that do?) no, the on-line DD form says it has a K after 10 digits. I don't have any numbers that look like that, my User ID has 12 numbers in it (too many and no K), my Tax Reference number has 10 numbers (right number but no K). According to the "How to pay Self Assessment" page on the HMRC website: "This is shown on the payslip HMRC sends you and is located in the reference box." What?! They have to send me another piece of paper so I can pay on-line?!

That can't be right - I phone the telephone number, they work Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm and some of Saturday but not on Sunday. I finally come across a reference checker page so I enter my Tax Reference number (without a K just in case ...) but the page automatically adds a K for me and apparently my Self Assessment Reference Number IS the same as my Tax Reference Number (it just has a K on the end - why didn't they tell me that in the first place?!) Why not just call them the same thing and leave the K on the end (or do we need a K at all? this is complication for complication's sake).

So, I CAN now FINALLY pay using the one off On-line Direct Debit form ... where was that page again? I've bloody well lost it! (in more ways than one).

I need a new name

The new name is not for me, I know who I am (well, most of the time I do!) It's for these:
This morning I have been taking photographs and updating the Lampwork jewellery page of my website with new jewellery. There are a couple of new crocodile bead earrings and a super double length crocodile bead necklace on that page but the stars of this week's updating is this new jewellery range using beads made from recycled Cava bottles and turquoise. Indeed, I have only just realised that I need a new page in my Recycled section for recycled Cava beads; I don't seem to have ever photographed them before and I usually have a few pairs for sale most weeks. Until I get round to making the new page, I'm just putting them on my Lampwork jewellery page.

All I am calling them at the moment is Cava Turquoise which seems very boring so ... I am having a second competition in two days. To enter, please just post a name for this new jewellery range as a message in the comments section or E-mail me using the contact page on my website. I will choose the new name from my favourites but everyone's name who enters will go into a hat and I will draw out a winner whose prize will be a pair of earrings of their choice from the new range.

If you want to see them in person, do stop by my stall at the Art & Craft Market in Cambridge tomorrow, I'm looking forward to showing them off!

This afternoon I have been to see Jonathan Hobbs, the osteopath who has done such sterling work to unfreeze my neck and cure that persistent headache which plagued me for much of January. It's steadily been getting better day by day and I've only had one dose of painkillers in the last three days; I still get the odd twinge but I feel so much better now and I'm able to think. He's suggested that I don't go back for 4-6 weeks when he'll check me out again to make sure I'm not tightening up. In the meantime, I've got some upper back exercises to do which should help.

Now I'm feeling back to normal, I'm finding that suddenly I've got lots of ideas for updating the display area of my stall which was one of my top priority jobs for this month but I just couldn't seem to get "switched on". Now that I'm feeling myself again, I am looking forward to putting it all into practice. I had hoped to have that done by now but watch this space for more news soon!

Pay it forward

I have won a prize on Beads and Botanicals' blog! :-) I've no idea why it was called "Pay it forward" cos "Play it forward" makes more sense to me but never mind, I am looking forward to receiving my prize and in accordance with the rules (published below), here I am, passing it along:

RULES

1. Be one of the first THREE bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me. (It will be a surprise but I promise to make it something fun)

2. Winners, you must post this challenge on your blog, meaning that you will Pay It Forward, creating a handmade gift for the first THREE bloggers who leave a comment on YOUR post about this giveaway!

3. The gift that you send to your Three Friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. And, remember: It’s the Spirit and the Thought That Count!

4. When you receive your gift, please feel free to blog about it! If you are not one of the Top Three Commenter's on this post, you can still play along. Start your own Pay It Forward chain, and encourage your blogging friends to do the same!

Back to the jewellery

I have photographed the jewellery that I made with the crocodile and marine walzer beads which I featured in the blog a few days ago. Nice to see some sunshine which enables me to get better photographs but brrrr - it's so cold again!This is just one of six new product pictures added to the Lampwork page of my website.

I didn't set up my stall yesterday at the craft market. We travelled to Cambridge but it was so icy, the roads in the town centre were treacherous, no salting at all and you could actually see the shine where the small sprinkling of snow had been compressed by tyres and feet.

It was a cocktail of things that made me decided not to stay and set up, we got diverted around some roadworks which made us late, a van nearly slid right into us at the end of Jesus Lane which although it was slow motion, that was kind of scarey, my neck was hurting and I'd forgotten to bring any more painkillers with me. It was really difficult to get out of the car, I had my big hiking boots on, they have tread on them that comes up to my armpits but it still took ages to get any traction so I could haul myself out of the passenger seat!

We saw numerous people falling over, bicycles seemed particularly vulnerable to going over (fortunately, they all got up and seemed none the worse for wear), Sharon, my sister who has the Arcturus Jewellery stall stayed and said she also saw two cars having minor accidents. It just didn't feel right and I wasn't in the frame of mind to be my usual charming and pleasant self. Half of me knows that it was the wrong decision because Sharon sold lots of jewellery and had a really great afternoon! Having said that, I'm certain she was jealous when I texted her from my other sister's home where I was warm, dry, eating bacon bagels and petting her two lovely cats, Georgie and Darcy! :-)

She doesn't tell you everything!

After several cups of tea, episodes with the calculator, rechecking and punching lots of holes in supplier invoices, I have finally finished neatly filing my paperwork and have done my profit and loss account for the tax year ended 5 April 2009! Hurray! So I now know how much tax I owe and have to pay - boo, hiss!

I've just been on the HMRC website in order to file on-line and dutifully pay using my debit card but this is the first time I've filed on-line, my accountant always did a paper one for me. Moira Stewart didn't tell me that you have to register and the tax man then sends you an activation code which can take up to 7 days to arrive which means I probably won't get mine before the 31 January deadline. So I imagine, they will try to make me pay the £100 penalty ... that isn't going to happen. It's not my fault .... Moira just told me to go on-line before 31 January - she didn't tell me the bit about the activation code!

I'm really happy I have finished the preparatory paperwork, it's a weight off my mind (for the time being) and I have just quietly and calmly resigned myself to a fight over the penalty, I think I have a good case to not pay it. At the end of the day, it's not the end of the world if I have to, but I will do my utmost to make a nuisance of myself so they say "OK" just to stop me complaining about it :-)

I used to quite like Moira Stewart

I've gone right off her now she keeps appearing in adverts on Classic FM reminding me that I haven't done it yet (as if I didn't know) and she even pops up on TV from time to time as well. She started to appear in October last year after the paper deadline but I just smugly ignored her for three months telling myself that I was far too busy in the run up to Christmas but that I had all of January to do it and now it's getting a bit late!

Last year, I had my accountant do it, but my affairs are relatively simple and my business is quite straightforward too, I decided to do it all myself this year. I did some work on it at my year end last March but not as much as I thought. I had got all my sales entered onto my spreadsheet for the year but I hadn't filed or input any costs so suddenly it has become a much bigger job that I thought!

I spent all day yesterday on it but I admit there was quite a bit of displacement activity going on, some urgent housework that wouldn't wait, various blogs that just had to be read (and commented on), checking that the bird feeders were all full, watching the news at lunchtime cos I wanted to see what the former Attorney Journey would say at the Iraq enquiry, pulling faces at the dog ... a million important and priority taking matters.

The right turquoise aqua

I just managed to get a picture of these beads before the batteries on my camera gave out on me. I coaxed the camera into downloading into the computer by switching the batteries around and this fooled it for just long enough!

After getting cross about the batch of these that were too dark, in the end I went two shades lighters rather than one, these are made with Light Aqua transparent Effetre glass and I think they're even better than the Light Turquoise prototype so I've gone into production with them and there are a batch cooking in the kiln right now. I'm calling them marine waltzers.

I was also planning to take a photograph of some jewellery made with the crocodile shoes beads but I'll save that for another day now.

I went to see Jonathan Hobbs again yesterday, he is the Osteopath who is fixing my neck/head problem. He telephoned me in the morning - I thought he was going to cancel my session with him - but he wanted me to bring in some of my jewellery that he'd seen on my website as he was thinking about buying a present for a friend. We came to a very good arrangement whereby most of my treatment for the day was paid for in jewellery! It's the first time I've ever used the barter system and I thoroughly recommend it. All I need to do now is get Sainsbury's to accept jewellery at the check out!

Additionally, I'm happy to report that today is the first day for a month that I haven't had to take any painkillers at all in order to get any work done. I was a bit sore yesterday evening and had to take some in the early hours of the morning in order to sleep, but Jonathan does warn you that the after effects of a session can be a bit rough. Since I first went to see him, it seems to have been steadily getting better and better and towards the back end of last week, I was taking far fewer tablets than before which means I've had loads more energy and am getting back to my zesty best!

Another plan for today's blog entry was to show you the round stud earrings which I enamelled at the end of last week. They've gone a bit wrong. I slightly domed them to give more interest but - as I'm an enamelling newbie, I should've stuck to flat ones because enamelling on a curve is a bit of an advanced technique and I definitely haven't done it right! I'm always trying to run before I can walk! I think they can be rescued with a third thin coat of enamel but as I can't take any more photos for the moment, you'll have to see them another time (perhaps after they're fixed!)

New (to us) dishwasher

Today I got my new dishwasher plumbed in and it's had it's first run this afternoon. My neighbours had their kitchen refitted before Christmas and they had all their appliances built in. This dishwasher, less than a year old, was homeless and available for only £50! We always thought that we didn't have room for a dishwasher but the prospect of one at such a reasonable price really concentrated our minds to be creative about how to incorporate one into the kitchen. We had a dishwasher at our last house for two years and we have missed it.

We decided the best place for it due to proximity to cold water supply and ease of wiring into existing socket but it meant losing a double cupboard with two drawers. I emptied the cupboards and drawers in question and went to work fitting everything I took out into the rest of the kitchen.

When that worked, we got the joiner arranged to remove the double unit and he put in the small shelves in order to use the spare space, I can keep my clean t-towels and pinnies in there and so that took care of one drawer! We got the electrician in and had the plumber booked for the Tuesday before Christmas and we've been waiting for him to come ever since! Due to the extreme weather, he has been exceptionally busy fixing people's heating systems and broken down boilers. We felt as the weather was so cold, it wasn't right for us to get priority over peoples' heating so we were happy to wait (but slightly impatient if truth be told!)

We could really have done with it on Christmas day - eight people generate a lot of washing up and it was a bit of a laugh having the dratted thing sitting there but unable to use it whilst surrounded by a kitchen piled high with dirty dishes. Fortunately, my brother came to the rescue and led the charge to the washing up backed up by one of my sister's partner's to get it all done. Thanks, Dave and Chris! but I think we'll be alright next year. There is a bit of minor decoration retouching up though if you're interested ... :-)

Wrong turquoise

I am cross with myself. On Monday I had a play at the torch trying out all kinds of things I didn't get time to do at the back end of last year and had a fine old time. As I went, I made a note of what glasses and frits I used in case I wanted to go into production with any of the beads that resulted. I quite liked this turquoise lentil on the left and spent four hours yesterday making a batch of them along with some smaller round matching spacers. I was so disappointed when they came out of the kiln. Instead of actually reading my notes to check, I just went ahead and used dark turquoise glass instead of light turquoise. As you can see - the frit hardly shows up at all! I guess I can use them in combination with some other beads so it's not an entirely wasted morning but disappointing nonetheless.

Just to update you on the fine silver stud earrings, I'm not sure that diamond stud earrings really work as a shape. I'm not happy with them, the diamond design works really well as a dangly earring, I love them despite the wonky holes, but for studs they're just not right. So I've made some round stud earrings, similar design just a different shape. These are firing in my kiln as I type so I'll be cleaning them up, enamelling and then finishing them off hopefully today.

I think because I wear dangly earrings a lot myself and I prefer them to studs, I just have more of an affinity with making danglies. If I don't like the new round ones, I think I'll have to call it a day on studs. I can only make jewellery that I like myself; I can't sell jewellery that I have little enthusiasm for. It's like I've been asked to make men's jewellery in the past but I had to pass on that. I just don't "get" men's jewellery, DH doesn't wear any at all (not even a watch!) so he can't guide me in what men are looking for. I am beginning to wonder if I "get" studs ... we'll see!

It's been on my mind since Christmas that I really need to do my on-line tax return and get all my papers sorted out and filed (they're currently in a big pile awaiting my attention). I had steeled myself to do it today but when there's jewellery to be made, I'm afraid that has taken priority, I've got 10 more days before the £100 fine deadline kicks in, I'll do it next week!

Sock dilemma

Usually a 100g skein of wool from Violet Green is enough to make a pair of socks with a little left over (I am saving the oddments all up and will be making stripey socks from the ones that go together in the future!) However, these socks are well short of being finished and there's only a tiny bit of yarn left. I'm thinking of partially unravelling them and then reknitting them with a shorter leg. Thing is, these little beauties arrived in the morning post ...This is the first time I've purchased from Wild Fire Fibres on Laura's recommendation. The yarn is lovely and soft, I'm dying to get started using it. I really should finish the green pair first though ...

I went to the Osteopath about my neck/head yesterday, he has prodded and pulled me about. He said all kinds of things and mentioned names of muscles that I can't remember the names of but he seemed fairly confident he could fix me in 2/3 sessions and when things are getting better, he will give me some alternative upper back exercises which should maintain the improvement. In the meantime, he has stopped me doing the neck exercises that my GP gave me. He is not a fan of neck exercises as he finds they often just make things worse (which I agree with given my inability to get up on the day after I started them!)

We were chatting away during the therapy and I discovered he was a West Ham fan, I told him how in the days before I started my stall, DH and I used to have season tickets for Bolton Wanderers and we'd go visit DH's mum after the game every other Saturday (I had a proper job and could afford to go to football games then!) He suggested one reason why the muscles could be so stiff is years of watching Bolton's long ball game ... (harumph!) ;-)

Anyway, he says to just go about my normal business, take painkillers as necessary and come back in a week. So, I'm off into the studio to make beads!