Thursday, June 28, 2012

Bringing my blog up to date

Good Evening Blog friends, I have been missing for so long I have lost momentum but hope I can regain a bit. Not managed to take a photo a day but may well start again soon. In the meantime though I'll give a brief account of my holiday etc.
on the 8th June I flew to Florida with my son and family for two weeks of hectic theme park activities. After a while they all seemed to blend into each other and I kept forgetting to take photos. Saying that I do have a few so here goes



I also found a great scrapping shop thanks to one of my friends on UKScrappers and indulged my passion for paper and embellishments by spending a happy hour and quite a bit of money.



I came home last Saturday rather jetlagged but did really want to get some scrapping done and managed two challenges from UKScrappers.

Helen

Who'd have thought

On Wednesday I travelled by train up to Skipton to be with my daughter and family to help celebrate my eldest grandson's 5th birthday on Monday.
Meeting my two grandsons from school was such a joy as the moment they saw me they ran to me for a kiss and cuddle and held my hands all the way home.

My poor cats will think I have abandoned them for good but I know that they will be well looked after as I have lovely neighbours who come in and feed them.

Hopefully I will get some photos tomorrow and start AS SEEN again.

Today I am so grateful for the love from family

Wednesday, June 06, 2012

Wednesday last minute preparations

Today has been a day of last minute preparations, I think I have everything I need packed. I have tidied my scrapping table, I have tided the Kitchen and the Bedroom. I think I am ready.
What I haven't done is take any pictures today, so grabbed one of Mittens, the cats are always a good source.



and I did finish a layout this morning, one I had started yesterday.

So much fun

Today I am grateful for friends who calm my nerves when I panic

Tuesday, June 05, 2012

No Cooking

Today has been another day off work for a lot of people. Another day of celebrations
I needed to get food for the cats for while I am away and I knew that the buses were running Sunday service which for my area is pretty nigh none. So I cycled down to ASDA. Knowing that Ann wouldn't be able to walk down there I phoned her up to see if she wanted anything, and got invited to lunch. A nice Lamb Stew. before I made it to Ann's Neil had phoned to say they were going over the preparations for our holiday and did I want to come over. It did mean a taxi but no matter I went over. They have a High Definition TV and I was able to get some good photos off the box of the parade down the Mall.



Just have to share another couple of photos too.





Neil cooked tea so I didn't have to cook for myself at all today.

Today I am grateful for friends and family who care for me.

Monday, June 04, 2012

It's Bank Holiday Monday

It's Monday, it's a bank holiday, it's been dull weather all day. I've tried to do a bit of housework, but not got very far, beginning to panic now that I will not be ready for the off, going to stay at my Son's Thursday night so we can get away early, but that means that I have a day less to get everything done.
I know I know there is no need really to panic but I think it comes with the package of going away, as I always seem to do that.

I have done a page today of the Church all decked out for the Jubilee
Jubilee

and as I hadn't taken any photos today, I thought I would take one of the patriotic embellishments I bought the other day from my favourite haberdashery shop, Sewcraft



I received an email this morning with some super pictures of cats/kittens sleeping in some amazing positions. This one was my favourite, the wet t-shirt position



closely followed by this one a very bony hammock



today I am grateful for a Son and Daughter in Law who want to include me in their holiday



Sunday, June 03, 2012

As seen - catch up

I haven't blogged for a few days, really not feeling up to much, and leaving it too late into the evening most nights so doing a little catch up on events

FRIDAY

I heard a rag and bone man coming round the streets so grabbed my camera hoping for a good photo of the lorry loaded with scrap metal and odds and end. Unfortunately when I found him it was a little dirty white van nothing worth a photo at all. :(
Having my camera to hand I decided to photograph some of the hedgerow and found this lovely white lilac

I helped my blind friend choose a vacuum cleaner in the afternoon. We tried an independent electrical shop to start with as Lisa really wanted to support the small businesses, but they didn't have what she wanted. So decided to leave it. We walked back towards town and went into the Range for a cup of tea and as we were leaving I spied little cylinder cleaners exactly what she wanted and at a reasonable price. So we felt the Lord had lead us to the right place at the right time.

I baby sat for Neil and Gemma in the evening. Rufus was not a happy bunny when Gemma left but eventually calmed down and went to bed.

SATURDAY

Having spoken to Neil yesterday I realised that I didn't have the theme park tickets, Neil was given theirs when he paid for them but for some reason I wasn't given mine. I really think that the Lord prompted me to ask Neil about the tickets so this morning I dashed into town to Thomas Cook and got that sorted. Do hope that there is nothing else missing.

In the afternoon I scrapped this page

Rub-a-dub-dub

I forgot to take any photos so grabbed my camera and managed to snap this one of Rudi telling me he was hungry and was I going to feed him

SUNDAY

Today is the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, parties and big lunches going on all over our land. We have a Big Lunch at the church. We are decked out in bunting and immediately after the service the tables are laid out in a long line just like a street party.


I take snaps around the church and I want to make this one my picture for the day. This beautiful Patriotic Floral Arrangement done by Angie who organises the flower rota hasn't she made a brilliant display.


I even decided to dress in Red white & Blue for the occasion including making a Patriotic bow for my neck


today I am grateful for being able to watch the Thames river pageant on the TV
for being indoors rather than out in the awful weather







Story telling Sunday - Foreign Lands

Today being the first Sunday in the month it is story telling time. Why not post a story and pop it on Sian's blog and join in the fun. But if you don't have a story you can still go blog hopping around all those who do.

My story starts back in 1961 I was invited to go on holiday with my friend and her family to Spain, Loret de Mar on the coast. I had never been abroad before so I was excited. Trouble was I spoke no foreign languages and at the time apart from the hotel staff not many people over there spoke English. I was arrested, panic I didn't know why and the policeman who took me to the station didn't speak English. I found out eventually that it was because I was only wearing a bikini and I had come off the beach area where you could wear one to the shops in the next street back. You were supposed to cover up but I hadn't realised. After that I just didn't want to go out of the hotel complex.

My next excursion out of Britain was a day trip well 24 hours across to a port on the coast of France, in 1963. John had arranged for us to do something special as this was the day I should have married someone else, (that is another story) and I couldn't change my holidays but bless him he wanted me to have good memories of the day. We took the ferry over spent the day wandering around the town, no one spoke much English and although John had schoolboy French it was not a very good day. On the way back on the ferry we found a place on deck to snooze (couldn't really sleep and we didn't have a cabin) but it poured with rain. I thought that John had been a bit subdued and he told me on our way home that he had been given the sack on the Friday.

The next time I went abroad was in 1991, John and I were invited to go with friend to stay in the cottage they had bought in Couvains a small farming area in Normandy. The wife of our friends didn't sail well so we took the shortest route by ferry and drove across France. a long long drive and although they both drove I don't so John was the only driver in our car (they had their two daughters with them). Arriving at their cottage it was like going back to the dark ages, so primitive and a building site really.
They were friends with a local apple farmer and we spent quite a bit of time with them. but again I don't speak French, John spoke very little and no one was interpreting for us. I felt left out and very uncomfortable.

I swore I would never go abroad again. But........

I am on my way to Florida to Disney World with my Son and family in just 5 days time. At least it is English speaking and I should be understood and I am with family. I need to break the spell of foreign lands being frightening and uncomfortable places.

A place for me to put the pictures of layouts I have done that I am pleased with, to put in the poems I write and to add snippets of things that have caught my eye