Another Great Weekend!

Well it's all over for another year and time to think about the next one.  Thanks to all the ladies (?) who attended for the friendship and laughter.

Again an impressive number of LO's were finished along with other bits and pieces.

Now, I hope those who attended were paying attention as here is a little quiz I have compiled.

1.  Who really got into the role of Darth Vader ?

2. Who had a 12" frog and a small elephant ?

3. Who started to answer back?

4. Who confessed to having a 'steamy' bedroom ?

5.Who is tired of Las Vagas ?

6. Who is not to be trusted with your  spoons ?

7. Who sits in dictionary corner ?

8. Who was stalked by the Irish ?

9.  Which crying lady coudln't belive she was having such a good time ?

10. Did this person appear without her trousers ?

11. who got the joke fried egg ?

So, did someones Husband faint  when he saw her bar bill ?

 Thank goodness nobody touched the pens or there may have been an incident !

Has anyone fallen down a marble'ole ?

Finally, I really need some sellotape but for some reason I just can't bring myself to use it !!!

How do you like to be judged?

Each week I buy a magazine that has a regular spot which shows 4 photo's of ordinary women, and asks them about what they  are wearing. Lastly they are asked what they consider to be their best  attribute e.g. hair, legs, waist and so on. Last week on the letters page a woman wrote refering to the article. She  had asked her husband what he considered her best asset.  He replied "Your personality".  This lady was pretty miffed  with that answer, obviously wanting him to complement some part of her body..

Now, maybe I am in the minory here but if my husband had given the same reply I would have been thrilled..  In todays world where people are so often judged on what they look like, how big they are ,what  job they have or how much money they earn, this would seem to me to be the best compliment. After all it is surely more important to be beautiful on the inside and means that he loves her just because she is herself. What more can one ask ?

New resident

 Mrs Blackbird.  is nesting in a bush on the back wall of our house.  I was so pleased to get this photo' today.

Down and dirty...

Yep, that's me,  I've been busy in the garden . Done lots of tidying, cutting and planting and  I  have also started a little 'allotment' at the side of the house.  Potatoes are already coming up as is the first sowing of radish. As you can see it doesn't look much at the moment but I have high hopes of a good crop of vegetables. There are also tomatoes in the back garden and a little corner has been found to grow some runner beans.

The really dirty part was cleaning the patio with a Kercher machine. Very efficient but one really needs old clothes and shoes on!

This weekend was the cyber crop on UKS  and I joined in by doing a  few classes and challenges.

It's been lovely having the good weather for the last week or so although today was not so great.  Hopefully it will turn again for the bank holiday as we are off on this years first caravan trip.. Our old faithful  'van is now 22 years old but still in good condition on the whole so we need to make the most of it. We have had some great holidays in it over the years.Travelling down to the south of France and into Spain with 3 young children never seemed a problem and they just love the freedom of caravan holidays, in fact, they still do.

Off to have a bath now and then see if I can make a Panda Mum and baby out of fondant icing ready for craft club on Wednesday.

So instead I...

made all of these.

I started this wallhanging at a Poppy Patch workshop last November but have only just finished. It now hangs in our bedroom.

This screen and the shadow box were done at LB craft worshops last month.

Birdies for easter. Little fabric folders to hold manicure or sewing sets.

Cards with a folded daliah and some easel cards.

Three scarves, these two and a black/white/grey one that has already been adopted.

Turn off that TV and do something useful instead.

once upon a time..

there was a little wooden box with a screen in the corner of the lounge. One would press a button to turn it on and then press another to view one of three channels. Now... one has to find the control and press a tiny button, making sure it is pointing at just the right angle, wait, press another button, ditto the angle. Change to another control, press a button , ditto the angle. Scroll through a zillion choices of channels and still there is hardly a damned thing worth watching!!

Back to normal..

So, the decorations are all down and the house is less cluttered but now I can see what needs doing. A quick lick of paint in the kitchen is first on the list and then the lounge, hall stairs and landing. We need new interior doors all round and all this to be done by May. I refuse to be indoors decorating once the weather is warmer. Debate : clean or cover the suite or decide on a new one?

Well, Chrismas passed in a haze of visits, visitors, food, gifts and I didn't take a single 'photo!
I have plenty to keep my' scrapping' going though and a couple of priojects which will take me through the year.

Lindsay and the dogs have moved into their own little house so it seems very quiet here , helping to move her in was our job over the New Year. There is lots of cupboard space going spare now so I can have a good clear out and tidy up.

I'm off to the eye clinic tomorrow for a check up and the results of blood tests and x-rays. The iritis came back again so they are trying to find out what is causing it.

Lots to look forward to in the next year and my resolutions ?

1. No drinking of alcohol.
2. No smoking.
3. Be more organised in many areas of life.

Think I'll do pretty well with two out of the three!!!


Happy New Year to you all x

So much for bird poo being lucky...

Since my last post I have had sciatica, my blood pressure has hit the roof, I've had another bout of iritis and my knee is hurting more than ever. I spent 3 hours in the eye clinic waiting room last week and this week toured the hospital car parks searching for a space for about an hour , after which I gave up and went home.

On Tuesday Sasha managed to get into the spare room and root out some chololate that was for Christmas. She suffered no ill effects and we checked with the vet. Of course she is a very refined dog and only eats the best 'Hotel Chocolat' no less ! Jet also had to see the vet as he had developed conjunctivitis. Never a dull moment in this house!

Still, on a happier note I have enjoyed two workshops at 'The Poppy Patch' which are now work in progress and have completed this snowman hanging.

Chrismas preparations are coming along, about half the presents have been purchased and I am gradually filling the freezer with scrummy homemade fare. Here is Ethan giving the puds. a stir and making a wish a couple of weeks ago.

Of course Christmas cannot really arrive until after the 11th in this family as we have Beverlys' birthday to celebrate first.

We took the plunge this week and have booked a holiday for next September. We are off to the Masai Mara & Mombassa. Half safari and half sightseeing and beach. Next decision is wether to take the early morning balloon flight over the reserve.

50 years old

No, not me but the M1 motorway. I don't remember the actual opening day but I do recall travelling on it during it's early days. No traffic jams, in fact, not a lot of traffic at all. But, what impressed me most were the loos in the services. They seemed truly space age simply because a floor pedal operated the water taps. Oh, what sophistication. By the way , did you know that the first road works started just one week after the opening? Seems like not much has changed!



We have been on a couple of visits in the last few weeks. Rachael and I met up with our friends Claire and Sheena and the children at Chiltern open air Museum. Luckily the weather was fine and we managed a picnic. The children enjoyed trying out the old fashioned games and toys and they all hand made a candle in the workshop. The adults were very taken with the post war prefab. house. It reminded me that the last item came off ration the month before Iwas born. Now that really does make me seem old!





Last Sunday we travelled up to London to Broadcasting House. We were taken on a tour of the radio 3 & 4 studios. All very interesting and I particularly enjoyed playing the part of BBC announcer and the butler in a short mock up recording of a radio play.





I've been busy making some more christmas cards and over the last couple of weeks I have completed this Santas Raindeer wall hanging.














On Thursday I parked at Tesco just under a small tree with only a few branches. When i returned the car was covered in bird poop! I really mean covered, roof, bonnet, windscreen and side windows. Oh well, it is supposed to be lucky, I wait in hope.....

Oh my

I hadn't realised that it was so long since I updated. So what's been going on?

Well, we enjoyed our trip to New England in September. There was a lot of travelling but of course we expected that given the size of the states in the USA. I think our favourite day was the cable car ride up to the top of Cannon mountain. The weather was beautiful but at the top there was a bitter wind. The views were worth the chill and just look at me standing on a ledge!

We visited many familiar sounding towns and villages, Bath,Plymouth, Sandwich, Boston to name a few. Some were very modern and others didn't seem to have changed much over the last 200 or 300 years. Martha's Vineyard was very pretty especially the 'gingerbread ' houses.

The leaves were just begining to turn to their Autumn colours each day we could see a difference. Anyway there is so much to tell, you'll have to speak to me if you want to know more.

The first weekend of this month saw me with 20 other 'girls' at our Scrapbook retreat. We all had a good time and the workroom looked fabulous decorated with all the finished Layouts , cards and Mini books. What a great bunch of girls, funny, talented, caring and accepting of other peoples beliefs and opinions. Roll on next year!

This last weekend we went to see 'War Horse' at the New London Theatre. Wow! what a production. Very different to the big musicals but every bit as good in it's own way.It's hard to describe really but I for one kept forgetting that the horses were not real. It's certainly one to see if you get the chance.

I've been busy making cards and a few novelties . Tomorrow I'm off to a workshop, hopefully to use up some of my fabric scraps and have started a wall hanging of santa's raindeer. Photo's to follow.

I'm sure there must be lots more to tell so I'll try to get back to more frequent postings.