An interactive mini book design

It's been a lovely day here today.

Not weather wise, you understand. That's been a bit grey and dreary. But a lovely day none the less.

We headed off to Kingston Lacy first thing to see the snowdrops. We had been going to go the weekend before but the norovirus struck so we never left the house. I am not sure if it was just because we were late or not but it was not the usual amazing spectacle. There were far far fewer snowdrops everywhere on the estate and it looked like they just hadn't flowered rather than they had gone past their best. It was also bizzare to see the damage the recent extreme frosts had done. The Camellia walk, beautiful at this time of year, was quite eerie. There were lots of buds, but the flowers within them looked dead and shrivelled, and so many of the beautiful flowers were so frost burnt they were, in their own way, quite beautiful. They were perfectly formed and not shrivelled at all, just dead and discoloured. I used one of them for the photo of the day today. I am sure this is just the result of temperatures at -8 and beyond, but if anyone is a keen gardener and knows different then please let me know. The photo below was a once beautiful deep red camellia.

 

The good thing about going to Kingston Lacy is that the car''s default way home is past the farm shop at Pamphill where you just HAVE to stop and buy some of their gorgeous fresh bread and cheese ... oh and those coconut macaroons. That was lunch sorted then.

This afternoon I scrapped, making a mini book with a bit of a twist. It was based on an idea I saw on You Tube a while ago which was really clever, making interactive pages that opened and flipped and had loads of pockets and spaces for photos. Each page is made from a single sheet ... well half sheet actually ... of double sided paper. It was great fun to make and quick too - the longest bit, as ever, was finding and deciding on the photos.

 

 It is a little book about our trip to Manchester during the summer holidays, when we visited Lyme Park, Shugborough and also stayed with Sam, Chris  and the girls.

 

The first picture is the first page closed up

 Then the flap and pocket opens down

 and the big picture flips up

 and page 2 opens differently

 and flips up to reveal another pocket page and flap which then folds down

another pocket page (forgot to take this open as well)

and then a flap on the back this time

which lifts up

Well, you get the general idea.

Today I am thankful for

• farm shop produce
• the beauty of nature even when it is unexpected

And today's one minute devotion is very true to life today

I’m afraid I’m getting more stubborn with age. I used to be so flexible—or so it seems—but now I’m always so sure of myself. Not long ago, at a dinner party with neighbors, I heard myself declare with absolute certainty to the woman next to me that a TV show we both watched was about the Korean War. “I don’t think so,” she said. “It’s set during World War II.” I disagreed—strenuously, dogmatically, with no room for argument. Then later we were talking about New York City geography.

“Rikers Island is in Sheepshead Bay,” I declared.

“I don’t think so,” she said. “It’s in the East River. You can see it from the Triborough Bridge.”

“No, that’s another island,” I said. I should have admitted to some uncertainty, but I stuck to my guns. “Rikers is across town.”

Only when I was home did I consult a map. You can imagine how foolish I felt to discover that my dinner companion was right. Not much I can do about it now, I thought. It would have been nice to apologize, but I couldn’t even figure out how to bring it up.

Two days later I was on my morning jog through the park when I saw my neighbor, who was taking a brisk walk with a friend. Now is the time, I thought. Just say it. As we got close, I called out, “You were right about Rikers.”

She smiled and waved. “You were right about Korea,” she said.

I laughed and quickened my step. Perhaps admitting my mistakes is something else that can come with age. Half the time I might even be half right.

Comments

[Mary B]

The mini book is lovely Karen, can we have some instruction please?

[Lynne]

What a beautiful book- I'd love some instructions for it, if/when you have the time?