I really wasn't going to....

to post today if I'm honest.  Thursdays always find me a little jaded from the Wednesday commute (hats off to all of you that do it 5 days a week) and today my brain feels a little scrambled. However during my daily blog world catch up, I happened across this post on one of my fave blogs "From High in the Sky".  Now Sian, the author of the blog, tells a good yarn and this one is no exception.  However it was not so much the story that struck a chord, more the photo at the bottom of the post.  It immediately made me think of a similar photo of me and my Brother.  Well what I remembered as a photo of me and my Brother - turns out it was of my Brother, Mum and Granny!  Funny how the mind plays tricks!

It was the pushchair that prompted the connection as it is similar to the one in Sian's photo.  I'm not sure of the exact date (and Mum is away in Spain so cannot ask) but judging by my brothers age I'm guessing around 1974/5.  It is taken on one of our holidays to Butlins but don't ask me which one.  Many a childhood holiday was spent at Butlins and I have very happy memories from them. Sometimes it was just Mum, Dad, me and my Brother and other times Granny and Grandad came to.

So thank you Sian for prompting me to dig this photo out of the "old photo" box.  It is now in the ready to scrap and record my 'Butlin holiday memories' pile!

On the way to work

On a Wednesday, I leave the comfort of my office in the loft and travel by train to the office to interact with real people.  Whilst I enjoy particpating in office life, the journey can at times be tedious and frustrating.  This morning was one of those times, with platform changes and crowded carriages.  To make it more bearable I put in my earphones and listen to happy tunes whilst catching up with all your lovely blogs on my iphone.  This brings a smile to my face, and whilst looking at my fellow commuters I am tempted to share the secret of my happiness with them!! 




Perhaps we would all smile more often if this happened whilst we were waiting for our train!  Enjoy.

Squeezing things in!

Do you remember the time when you could get up, start a project and not stop until it was finished!  Perhaps you can still do this but for me (and many others I suspect) such a luxury is a dim and distant memory of the time I like to call BC (before children)!  Now it is all about what can I manage to squeeze in and when.  Sometimes I find this so frustrating that I just don't start, as at the back of my mind is the thought that soon I will have to stop and when (if ever) will I get back to it. Or I do all the routine and mundane stuff, and run out of time for the fun stuff.

Now today could have been one of those days, but I was determined to do something creative. So in between the school run, a spot of hoovering, a load of washing, emptying and reloading the dishwasher and some homework helping, I started a small quilting project.  You can see the details here at Saints and Pinners - one of my fave fabric stores.  I have had the fabric to do this for some time (no I'm not confessing how long)  all pre washed and ready to go.  It is a very simple project which apparently can be "whipped up in a day" - their words not mine.  Anyway I managed to piece together the top.

I am hoping to get some more done later in the week and will keep you updated.

PS thank you for all those who popped by and wished me well.  After a good rest yesterday and keeping myself topped up with lemsip I am feeling much better.

Today I will mainly be....

Drinking lemsip and feeling sorry for myself.  My darling hubby has decided to share is cold with me - how kind. 

However I did want to pop on and say a big THANK YOU to everyone who has dropped by and the lovely comments you have been leaving, it is much appreciated.  I must confess until taking Shimelles class, I had not given much thought about leaving comments.  Yes I am that person that visited your blog, but did not say hello.  How rude, I hear you say.  So here is my very public apology - I am very sorry and I hope you can forgive me.   Since starting "Blogging for Scrapbookers", I have subscribed to many of my fellow class mates blogs and am endeavouring to leave comments as I pass on by - maybe not every time but certainly more than before!

And because I don't like to post without a photo, I thought I'd show you this;

I meant to post it on Saturday.  Whilst in town on the weekend we stumbled on a display of creations by the btec students at East Berks college that celebrate 250 years of Royal Ascot.  This dress is made entirely from Jay Cloths and was our favourite.

A busy Saturday

Firstly some retail therapy with my eldest daughter, who helped me to pick out a dress in the Monsoon sale to wear to an awards dinner I am attending in April.  Note the close up of the size - since New Year I have been doing WW and have managed to drop a dress size.  This makes me smile.

Whilst in Monsoon, I also picked up these cute note books and may have to make a return visit for the matching iPhone cover!

Then it was home for some of this - well needs must when visitors are expected!

Meanwhile, the youngest experimented with trampoline tennis!

The oldest worked on her project about France and finished it.  Hurray!!

And preparations were made for our Earth Hour party taking place later.

What did you do today?

Super Soup Lunch

As I work part time, I have two days off a week - Tuesday and Friday.  Normally these days are spent doing housework, catching up on paperwork etc - the mundane of life.  I always have grand plans to put aside time for some craftiness but never seem mange it.  So today I decided that was going to change and I gave myself permission to spend the day how I wanted to spend it.  Usually when I do this, I have a tendency to faff about deciding what to do and in the end do nothing.  But not today. Today I scrapped.  I did a layout - the first in about six months!  As you can seen below I scrapped the start of my blogging journey.  The tab to the right hand side pulls out to reveal my thoughts on the whole process.  It is also the first time I scrapped in 8.5 x 11.  The jury is still out on this format - however I do have an whole album this size so I do want to learn to like it! The picture is not brilliant - I need to practise more with layout photos.  Hopefully now my mojo is on the rise, I will be able to.

During the day I took time out to go to the "Super Soup" lunch being held at church to raise money for Christian Aid.  The soup was delicious and it was lovely to have lunch with company and join the fight against poverty.  I don't know how much they raised but I think they had over 30 customers.

Finally a reminder that tomorrow is Earth Hour.  If you don't know what I am talking about click on the link to find out.  We are planning a mini event here with some friends.  Are you doing anything?



Five things....

Prompt three of Blogging for Scrapbookers encourages the use of lists. They are scattered everywhere in blogland and about all sorts of things.  Me - I love a  blog list and find them all quite fascinating.  I love that they can take you on journey and you never know where you will end up.  They can inspire, make you reflect, make you laugh - the possibilities are endless.  So what about my list?  Well after much deliberation of options, I've kept it very simple and stuck to five things I'm loving at the moment;

 

1.  Blogging - yes I know I'm only on post 2 but I'm already wondering why I didn't do it earlier!  I have even been brave enough to post a link on the "Blogging for Scrapbookers" forum and was thrilled to find I've had some visitors, who kindly left me a comments.  Thank you for making me feel welcome in blogland.

 

2.  It naturally follows that I am also loving "Blogging for Scrapbookers" the online class being run by Shimelle.  It's proving a great source of inspiration and also helping me make sense of where I want to go to on my blogging journey.

 

3.  Google Reader - it is making my life so much simpler.  I can't believe I have not investigated this before.  During the course of a day, I can switch between my pc, laptop and netbook but don't have all my favourites saved on each one.  Now all my favourite blogs are available to me where ever I am.

 

4.  Singing - in January this year I, along with my friend Debbie, joined a choir.  I love singing, and sang in a choir at school but nothing since..  I enjoying it even more than I thought - for a whole hour on a Friday I can forget everything and immerse myself in the music.

 

5.  Spring - yes it finally has sprung.  We've had lovely weather all week and a little sunshine on your back feels so good.  I suffer a little in the short winter days so am glad that the days are getting longer.  I feel a surge of energy and hope I can just channel it towards some lovely craftiness in the next few weeks.

 

What are you loving at the moment?

 

How to start?

Starting a blog has been on my to do list for a very long time. In fact this blog was set up maybe 18 months ago but never started. Life simply got in the way. The more I thought about it, the more overwhelming it seemed. What would I possible find to say? What would be the purpose and who would be interested? So like all great plans, it was pushed to the back of my mind. However whilst doing some blog hopping I discovered that Shimelle was runing her "Blogging for Scrapbookers" class again and I knew it was now or never! So here I am making my first post. Its not been easy - since starting to write I have been interrrupted by the school run, making dinner and a phone call! But I have started - one of the hardest things in my book. I'm still feeling very unsure but hoping I will find my feet.

To record this historic moment I am showing you my "office in the loft" - I've not been up here long. I was previously downstairs at the front of the house and was subject to many interruptions, which was not ideal for a home worker!

So I've started! Hurray - lets see how my blogging adventures unfold.