Dolly's Dreamings

Wild over the wildlife

Well, I haven't been home very long and it has already been quite an adventure.

As I have been cooped up all day we decided to go for a brisk walk across the heath before I settled down to work. I just needed to stretch my legs and get some of that sunshine. As it happened I stretched my voice and most of my body. More of that later.

First thing we did was stare at the adder for ages. We have a culvert at the end of our drive which acts as drainage for the heath and we knew, as the heath wardens had been round just before I got home, that there was an adder in the culvert. They had rung and asked Nigel to borrow a bucket to try and get him out but he was having none of it - the snake ... not Nigel.

They put some branches down to give hime something to use to get out.

He was beautiful. About 2 foot long it was nice to watch him from a relatively safe distance. (The wardens have since been back, captured him and re-homed him safely)

 
For those of you across the pond the adder is the only venomous snake we have here in the UK. And yes, we do get them in our garden as we are right on the heath.

Anyway we went for a walk and then I came home ready to work. I felt something prickling my neck/chest and nudged my top a bit then it happened again a couple of minutes later and I looked down and nestled right about to go excavating down my bra was a beetle.

Now those of you who know me well know I love nature - all things in nature - but insects needs to be strictly in their own part of nature which is actually quite a long way away from me.

Nestling on the inside of my top, about to go delving, does NOT constitute an appropriate distance.

I think even if Simon Cowell had come in (Oh yes ... I am afraid so) you wouldn't have seen me get my top off any quicker. By the time Nigel, sat behind me at his desk, turned round, the top was off and everything else was coming off. And the screaming certainly gave my vocal chords a work out as well as arms and legs from all the flailing around and running on the spot! It was an exciting few moments.

Nigel took said top, with beetle ensconced, and re homes him on the heath with the adder. OK so he was a beautiful beetle - a bright peacock blue and green, but NO WAY do I ever want to see one - or any insect - that close again thank you.

We think he was one of these. A Rose Chaffer

Latin name: Cetonia aurata

Size: Approximately 20mm long

Distribution: Found throughout the UK, although thought to be declining in numbers.

Months seen: May to October

Food: Flowers. The larvae live and feed inside rotting timber.

Habitat:Meadows, parks and gardens

Special features:The rose chafer is one of our larger and more attractive beetles. The upper surfaces are an iridescent emerald green and bronze colour. The underside is a bronze colour. There are ragged white marks running widthways across the wing casings which look like fine cracks.

Rose chafers are usually seen in sunny weather feeding on the petals of flowers - especially roses.

 

Anyway enough of our local wildlife for today.

I didn't add my photo of the day for yesterday as I couldn't take it until last night. Nigel runs quizzes - amazing innovative quizzes - and we had one last night so this is my hubby in full flow.

I have a new page to share, which I made as part of my DT work for Pickleberrypop, today.

 This is another for my Paris album. The kit is part of the Pickle Barrel - this is a great mid month offer where all the designers make kits and element packs int he same colour palette and they are all on sale for $1 each - YUP - $1 each. You MUST check it out here

 The May collection is all lilac and pink and totally lush.

The Paris page was made using a new kit called

Hey Girlfriend  by LouCee Creations at Pickleberrypop

And just so you can see some of the other pastels in the colour collection this month here is my next monthly page - week 17 - made with a lovely set Life everyday (May) by deb fisher designs at Pickleberrypop

 Check out these and the other Pickle Barrels designs - you know you want to!

 

Today I am thankful for

• getting the insect OFF ME!!!!!!
• Seeing the adder ... at a distance
• a bit of a walk
• an amazing wonder I didn't capture. We had the most amazing visitor to our bird feeding station yet - a spotted woodpecker. I have only ever seen one once in the garden. We get the green woodpeckers daily - always have had. But the spotted are almost never seen by us and so to see one hanging off one of the feeders was fab. I wasn't quick enough to snap him but I hope he will be back.

And finally my page a day calendar today

Station Two is the busiest station in our fire district. I recently worked a 24-hour shift at Station Two, running the rescue squad with Jeff.

I like running 911 calls during the day. The hours fly during emergencies. The trouble is, emergencies have no respect for my need to sleep. Since each 911 call generates a lengthy report, as few as three calls after 10:00 P.M. can mean a sleepless night.

Jeff and I had just returned to the station at 4:00 A.M. following our second call when the alarm went off for “an elderly female who needs help getting from her bed to her wheelchair.” This wasn’t an emergency. We left the station with no adrenaline rush, no lights, no sirens, and no sleep. I wondered if Jeff was as irritated as I was. I got out the map book to direct him, but Jeff said, “I know where this is. I’ve been there a lot.”

Jeff knocked on the apartment door before entering. “Zoe, it’s me, Jeff,” he cheerfully announced. He went back to the bedroom where Zoe was balanced between her bed and her wheelchair. We gently lifted her into her chair. I yawned and began moving toward the door. I hoped to get an hour’s sleep before our shift was over.

Jeff fussed over Zoe for a minute or two and then said, “If you need us, you just call. We’ll be right over.”

I don’t know if Jeff has ever heard the parable of the Good Samaritan. I learned it in Sunday school and then taught it to others. It’s easier to learn and teach a parable than it is to live it. Jeff was Zoe’s Good Samaritan. He had lived the parable for her not once, but many times.

“You relax,” I said to Jeff when we got back to the station. “I’ll write the report.”

Dear God, help me to learn from the examples of the good people You’ve put in my life.

—TIM WILLIAMS

I am getting slow!

I tend to attack life at 100 miles an hour. I just get going quickly - and at times would be far better being a little slower and thinking things through first ... well according to Nij anyway.

But I dow ork quite quickly and I usually scrap quite quickly. So either I am losing my mojo or age is catching up on me as I am STILL working on a mini book for Bath. OK so the construction took a while but I seem to have spent ages just faffing around. The book is almost complete - and it is nothing special - but I have had enough for now and so have put it to one side. I haven't done the cover and if I do it in the mood I am in I will ruin the whole thing - so best left for another day.

I was begrudging doing it as I wanted to play at Shimelle's fun weekend of scrapping.

I have made another page - this time for the challenge which was to use grey and yellow and another colour. The other colour I chose was purple as the colours of yellow and purple just went with the spring flowers that ended up not even appearing on the page. OK so you get the sort of day I am having.

I decided to scrap the Jardin du Luxembourg as another page for the Paris album. The gardens were full of spring flowers and yellow and purple dominated. I started the page, I changed the photos for photos of the building itself, I lost the flowers and the yellow and purple suddenly became redundant! Oh well. the intention was there.

Anyway here is the page. I used Moonrise Meadow by Jumpstart Designs at Pickleberrypop and also a photo blend by Anne Aspnes.

 
The fact I used yellow is amazing as it is a colour I am not keen on - I like daffodils but that's about it. We have no yellow in the house, I have very few scrapbook supplies that are yellow and until two or three weeks ago  I had no item of clothing that was yellow or had yellow in it (and I bought - on Nigel's recommendation) a bright yellow t shirt. mmmm - we'll see.

I plan on doing more of the ideas later on.

No photo of the day yet as I have not taken it thus far. It may yet end up being the Bath book.

 

Have now taken photo of the day but not uploaded or rather downloaded yet LOL

But have had a fast scrapfest night and made several pages and I can share this one - another for Shimelle's challenges using a style not my own

I admire the overly contrasty and bright black and white images I see in so many places and thought I would have a go. OK so it didn't work, but I did at least try and my subject, the ever gorgeous Alice, was beautiful.  The papers and elements are Jumpstart Studios Dude-a-tude from Pickleberrypop

Today I am thankful for

• Fiki seeming to be back to his old self. He has had a few very quiet days where he has not been himself. It is their birthday next week - they will be 9. How did that happen!

 

My page a day calendar is a good one today again. Nigel and I often comment on how we feel things happen for a reason even though we may not see that reason at the time.

I am so pleased so many of you are enjoying these inspirational stories.

A new page drops into my in box every day and I am loving having this page a day calendar to see me through the year.

Some of the stories are amazing. Anyway - here is today's.

MYSTERIOUS WAYS
Iawoke to my children calling for me. “Mo-om, it’s freezing!” Cassidy cried. “Yeah, Mom, I’m cold!” said Christen. “My head hurts, and my tummy,” Caitlin, my youngest, chimed in.

I rolled out of bed, setting my feet on the cold floor. It was chilly, even for a 170-year-old house. And Caitlin wasn’t the only one with a headache and queasy stomach. What a way to start the morning. Especially with my husband away on business. I had to deal with this all alone.

I went to turn up the heat and saw the front door wide open, a frigid wind gusting through the house. Strange, I thought, closing the door. I swear I locked up tight last night.

While my girls got ready for school, I checked the thermostat again. The heat wasn’t kicking in. Ugh. Must be the pilot light, I thought. I didn’t even know where the pilot light was on the furnace.

I called Mr. Thompson, my neighbor. “I hate to bother you, but can you help me relight the furnace? Vince is on a business trip.”

“Sorry, Sheri,” he replied. “Any day but today. I have something I absolutely have to take care of.”

I got the girls to school and went to work, feeling more alone than ever. On my break, I called a furnace installer and repairman. He promised to stop by the house and take a look. He called back right away. “Ma’am, you have a crack in your furnace,” he said, his voice serious.

“Okay,” I replied. “Can you fix it?”

“No, you don’t understand,” he said. “You have deadly carbon monoxide levels in your home. This is one of those things you see on the news. Most people would just relight the pilot and never see the crack. I don’t know how you made it through the night. I’ll take care of this right away.”

I hung up the phone. All at once it hit me. The open door airing out the house. My too-busy neighbor who would’ve missed the crack. Turned out I wasn’t so alone after all.

Lord, the world is full of hidden dangers, but I thank You that nothing is hidden from You.

—SHERI BULL

More YUMMY templates and GOOD NEWS at last

Today has been a fabulous day - not the day we expected by any means, but a fab day for many many reasons.

Let's start with last night first.

Nij came home from speedway with a huge - and I mean huge - basket of fruit as a thank you from someone he had helped.

It was packed with oranges, satsumas, apples, (several varieties) pears, bananas, grapes (red and black) kiwi fruit, damsons, passion fruit, figs, strawberries, melon, papaya, mango, kumquats  and star fruit. Awesome. I had to pack some up for our ever lovely neighbours as there was no way we could begin to eat it all.

So I am replacing it as the photo of the day.

 

Anyway, Nij said they were queing for petrol when he came home at 10.30 p.m. so he went back out to fill up my car (the only car we have at the moment) as we were planning to go to London today to the Ideal Home Exhibition. We had planned to go Monday but then the tooth from hell struck so Thursday was the new plan. He came home half an hour later to say the queues were silly and one garage was already out of unleaded. We decided it was irresponsible to go to London as we may not get fuel to get allt he way home or it would leave us low. I was gutted as I had really been looking forward to it for over a month but heck - such is life. (He actually got up at 5.00 a.m. to try and get fuel but they were all closed and out of unleaded)

We decided instead to go to Gunwharf Quays. Well the best news ever was that I took morphine int he night but .... no morphine at all today and the pain is kept down just with ibuprofen so we have turned a corner. It appears the infection is now under control and I may live through it after all!!!! A day for real celebrations.
We celebrated with a bit of a shopping splurge as we both got some new summer goodies and we also had the first frapp in a week (yey!) and even ate out (slowly and very carefully)

We did have a bit of a glitch when the garage phoned and said when they were replacing the small component it sort of sheared off and the end disappeared and they thing it went into the main cylunder in the engine.  This is the main Chrysler dealer and so it is all covered and even if it needs a new engine they will replace it but heck - why us eh! So his car is likely to be away for another week but they have now leant him a courtesy car which is a brand new jeep and actually quite cool.

I have new scrapping to share today - a brand new set of templates (actually several new sets of templates) by Dawn Inskip from her Scrapbookgraphics store.

Her templates are awesome - totally awesome - and I have had such fun with them. This page is another for our Paris album and is a picture from Sacre Coeur. It uses Creations Templates Volume 2 and  items from the following kits and collections Promise, Hallelujah, Peace, Pony Club, Enchanted Garden,  Kaleidoscope, Safari

Today I am thankful for

• pain free days
• summer sunshine
• a courtesy car
• fruit
• realtively normal eating

My one minute devotional calendar today is

It was a beautiful spring morning as I walked out to get the paper from the driveway. Mary, my next-door neighbor, was already working in her garden; flats of bright yellow marigolds lay nearby, ready to be planted.

A twinge of longing ran through me. Oh, how I wish I was planting flowers! I thought. But I had decided against it. My husband and I, newly married, were planning to buy a home. In the meantime, we were renting a small duplex that was landscaped with a few evergreen shrubs.

“Your flowers are beautiful!” I called out as I walked over to get a closer look.

“Thanks,” she said, as she picked up another flat of marigolds. “I bought these over at the high school. The horticulture students are selling them. You might want to pick some up. You can’t beat the price.”

“Thanks,” I said, “but we’ll be moving at some point, so it would really be a waste of time. But I’ve been planning the gardens I’ll have when we buy our own home—camellias, wisteria, lots of zinnias—so I can have fresh-cut flowers inside.”

“Sounds wonderful,” Mary said, as she dug a hole for the next flower. “It’s great to have plans for the future, but don’t forget about today. What a waste it would be to miss it.”

Mary was right. I was so busy planning tomorrow that I wasn’t fully living today. Later, while running errands, I stopped by the high school and bought a flat of marigolds. It was time for me—and a few spring flowers—to bloom where we were planted.

 

Keep me present, Lord, to appreciate and participate in Your daily gifts.

—MELODY BONNETTE

And this is what Val posted int he comments box yesterday

Last week I was in West London attending a conference. While I was in the airport, returning home, I heard several people behind me beginning to clap and cheer. I immediately turned around and witnessed one of the greatest acts of patriotism I have ever seen. Moving through the terminal was a group of soldiers in their uniforms, As they began heading to their gate everyone (well almost everyone) Was abruptly to their feet with their hands waving and cheering. When I saw the soldiers, probably 30-40 of them, being applauded and cheered for, It hit me. I'm not alone. I'm not the only red blooded Briton who still loves this country And supports our troops and their families. Of course I immediately stopped and began clapping for these young unsung heroes Who are putting their lives on the line everyday for us so we can go to school, work, and enjoy our home without fear of reprisal. Just when I thought I could not be more proud of my country or of our service men and women a young girl, Not more than 6 or 7 years old, ran up to one of the male soldiers. He knelt down and said 'hi,' the little girl then asked him if he would give something to her daddy for her. The young soldier didn't look any older than maybe 22 himself, said he would try and what did she want to give to her daddy. Suddenly the little girl grabbed the neck of this soldier, gave him the biggest hug she could muster and then kissed him on the cheek. The mother of the little girl, who said her daughter’s name was Courtney, told the young soldier that her husband was a Corporal and had been in Afghanistan for 5 months now. As the mum was explaining how much her daughter, Courtney, missed her father, the young soldier began to tear up. When this temporarily single mum was done explaining her situation, all of the soldiers huddled together for a brief second. Then one of the other servicemen pulled out a military looking walkie-talkie. They started playing with the device and talking back and forth on it. After about 10-15 seconds of this, the young soldier walked back over to Courtney, bent down and said this to her, 'I spoke to your daddy and he told me to give this to you.' He then hugged this little girl that he had just met and gave her a Kiss on the cheek. He finished by saying 'Your daddy told me to tell you that he loves you more than anything and he is coming home very soon.' The mum at this point was crying almost uncontrollably and as the young soldier stood to his feet he saluted Courtney and her mum. I was standing no more than 6 feet away as this entire event unfolded. As the soldiers began to leave, heading towards their gate, people resumed their applause. As I stood there applauding and looked around, there were very few dry eyes, including my own. That young soldier in one last act of moment turned around and blew a kiss to Courtney with a tear rolling down his cheek. We need to remember everyday all of our soldiers and their families and thank God for them and their sacrifices. At the end of the day, it's good to be an Englishman. RED FRIDAYS Very soon, you will see a great many people wearing Red every Friday. The reason? Englishmen and women who support our troops used to be called the 'silent majority'. We are no longer silent, and are voicing our love for Country and home in record breaking numbers. We are not organized, boisterous or over-bearing. We get no liberal media coverage on TV, to reflect our message or our opinions. Many English people, like you, me and all our friends, simply want to recognize that the vast majority of Britain supports our troops. Our idea of showing solidarity and support for our troops with dignity and respect starts this Friday and continues each and every Friday until the troops all come home, sending a deafening message that every Briton who supports our men and women afar will wear something red. By word of mouth, press, TV, let's make Great Britain on every Friday a sea of red much like a homecoming football team If every one of us who loves this country will share this with acquaintances, co-workers, friends, and family, It will not be long before Britain is covered in RED and it will let our troops know the once 'silent' majority is on their side more than ever, certainly more than the media lets on. The first thing a soldier says when asked 'What can we do to make things better for you?' is...'We need your support and your prayers'..

Finally

Don't forget that there will be a blog hop on Saturday and Sunday and I will have a freebie to offer you. So make sure to visit so that you don't miss out.

 

 

Power Crazy

Oh my

We live in an electronic age don't we!

I have already posted this week about how I love the instancy of the Kindle. You KNOW I love my i phone. Well we have so many gadgets that the drawer where we keep the power cables has gone a teeny bit crazy. There are so many. We have several digital cameras and each has its own charger plus there is the charger for the rechargable batteries.

There is the charger for the DS Lite, the charger for the i pod, the charger for the i phone (no they are not interchanegable as the one for the i touch won't charge the i phone) the charger for the Kindle and then don't even get me started ont he chargers for the gazzilion other phones we have or appear to ever have had. Plus they have car chargers too!

Oh my

It's a technological conundrum.

We have just spent a very fraught time trying to match leads to devices and then bring out the trusty dymo labeller to make sure we never get in this pickle again!

 

I have a new page to share today which is another made with the new templates that Dawn has on sale at her Scrapbookgraphics store.

The page is of me at Versailles but the story is how I waited for so many years to actually visit. I had read a great deal about Versailles and Marie Antoinette when I was a teenager. I was fascinated by it. I ALMOST visited in 1986 when we went to Paris on our Honeymoon and whilst we did go there were were too broke to buy a ticket and go in!

So it was just last year when we finally got to visit. And it was amazing. Sometimes, when you look forward to something so much and anticipate it, when it actually happens it is a disappointment.

This wasn't at all - it was everything I hoped and more.

 
Today I am thankful for

• a super organised hubby!
• electricity .... seriously

 

My one minte devotional page today is lovely and something that over the past few weeks we have really tried to live by.

Years ago, a good friend lost his wife in an automobile accident. Stunned, my wife, Beth, and I went to be with him in his time of grief. As we stood in his doorway and embraced one another, his first words to me were, “Jill and I had so many plans together. And now she’s gone. Scott, whatever you do, don’t put off your plans till tomorrow.”

Like most folks, I had heard those urgent words many times before. And, like most, I soon forgot them. Until last week, when I found myself in a doctor’s office, sitting anxiously by my wife. In a matter of only days, Beth had developed symptoms of cancer, and now we were waiting to hear the test results. But this time the words stuck. Beth means everything to me. Jack was right, I thought, stunned. I cannot take tomorrow for granted. And I must live each day of my life with joy, intensity, and appreciation.

Fortunately, Beth’s test results were negative. Over the last few days, though, I have resolved to be not as concerned with preparing for retirement as with making the present day all that it can be. Beth and I have dreamed for years of a restful cruise to Bermuda. My widowed mother is getting on in years, and I need to tell her again what a wonderful mom she has been—and I need to bring the kids around to visit her more regularly. I’m an avid genealogist, and if I do not write our family history, nobody else will. And the only time that I am promised is now.

Perfect weather

I love the sort of weather we are having at the moment. It is really cold ... winter is meant to be cold ... but it is crisp and the sky is blue and the sun shines and it is just gorgeous.

I love the cold far more than the heat (and so why do I want to live in places where the weather is generally hot most all of the time .... mmmm - I need to think that one through)

My photo of the day today is of one of our little visitors who comes often to our new feeding station.  We bought a suet and mealworm cake that said 'Robin food' and he can clearly read and knows it is his!

I love all sorts of birds but I have to admit a particualr soft spot for little robins. They are such a cheery little bird. I know they are also very territorial but I think we have a little married couple as we have seen two of them on the feeder together. It is unlikely it would be two males so I think we have our very own love affair in our garden.

I have a new page to share today which was made for the UKS weekly this week. It was a sketch challenge and a really nice sketch too.

I have made it as another page for the Paris album, which is shaping up quite nicely now.

 

Today I am thankful for

• such gorgeous weather
• lots of support

 

My one minute devotion calendar was another good one today (and having damaged my cruciate ligament that went off like a gunshot once I sympathise)

My right knee used to be one of my best knees. Not anymore. A year ago, I was playing street hockey when a very large young man fell on it, and my anterior cruciate ligament snapped like an old rubber band. I had surgery to replace the missing piece with a donation from a cadaver. (It’s pretty bad when a dead guy’s knee is in better shape than yours.)

Rehab was difficult. Tara, the physical therapist, was extraordinarily patient and encouraging, but she used the famous “we” voice: “Why don’t we try to do some more reps and work it out more?” I found I could do many more leg extensions by visualizing that I was kicking her in the shin.

I learned a lot about myself during recovery—none of it good. I have the emotional maturity of a four-year-old, and that’s probably unfair to most four-year-olds. I can’t wait, even when waiting is best; I can’t allow others to help, even if it means delaying my own recovery—which helps no one. Worse, I can be prickly and tense, especially to those I love.

There are times when I wonder whose knee ligament I received. The only thing I know about the donor is that he was male and under 50, which makes his death all the more tragic. Yet, here I sit a year later, virtually pain-free, thanks to his family’s generosity.

It’s lucky I met the medical criteria for his donation: the right blood type, the right gender. I’m glad they didn’t ask for the right attitude. Apparently, I still have much, much more rehab to do.

Playing catch up

I'm not sure if everyone is like me. When you have a long span of time ahead of you and a lot of tasks that you know you need to get done, are you like me and don't do any of them?

I accomplish so much more in term time. I am energised and ready to go all of the time. On holiday I seem to just vegitate, it takes me ages to do things that I do really quickly when I have no time.
This holiday - and I had almost 3 weeks stretching ahead of me - I was planning on finishing my counselling course. Of course, I didn't even start it until today. Typical.

So consequently I have worked really hard today to try and finish things off.

I didn't manage any scrapping but do have another new page that I made last week for the 2011 album. One of the things that had not made it to the album was Paris. It was such a significant time for us, re-visiting the city of our honeymoon and renewing our vows on our 25th wedding anniversary. I had made an album just of Paris, but of course it needed to feature in the album of the year. So here is the one page that made it to the main album of 2011.

 
I couldn't find backing paper I liked so I made my own from a digital kit and printed it.

The leaves and letters are also digitally made and printed. They were printed on card and then mounted on thick chipboard which was a pain then to hand-cut but does look effective.

The two tags pull out and detail the events and show some more photos.

And of course, lots of stitching LOL

 I have taken my photo of the day - Nij picked his Mom up from Coventry today (been with oldest brother over New Year) so we popped into Pizza Hut when they got back. (might as well make the most of it - no naughty pizzas after Wednesday LOL )

I received an e mail from my friend Heather in the US today with a fabulous link to a great Bengal cat called Kaiser who can do some pretty neat tricks (and a beautful Bengal he is too)

 

MY Bengals can open doors as well as shut them LOL but I don't think they could manage too many of the other tricks. Well not on command anyway. Leaving the treat until told was very impressive (mine would NEVER master that one) and the weaving between the legs was brilliant. Walking on the owners feet cracked me up. I hope you enjoyed it too.

 Today I am thankful for

• finally cracking on with the course and hopefully completing it
• Great friends who send me such cool links
• You Tube - such a great resource for everything

Looking back, looking forward

New Year’s Eve is an odd time isn’t it; that moment when the clock ticks round past midnight and whole year ends and another whole year starts. It is nothing more than any other second in our lives and yet so often we set great store by it. We so often see a new year as a whole new beginning, a time for making new resolutions, for starting new things and giving up old ones, for trying to become better, fitter, healthier, slimmer, braver, stronger, more optimistic, more faithful, more thankful.

I guess the fact we do all of this at all is a good thing, and 1^st January is as good a time as any.

However, this evening is also a time for reflection on the past. January is named after the Roman God Janus, the god with the two faces, the god of doorways, the god shown looking back and looking forward.

I actually like the Jewish concept of New Year; that celebrated at Rosh Hashanah. I like the idea of thinking of God balancing he books, weighing the scales, seeing whether there is more good than bad, more positive than negative.

And so I sit here, when I should really be starting to prepare dinner, reflecting back and looking forward.

2011 has been a great year – one with so many blessings and so much to be truly grateful for.

First and foremost we are both fit and healthy, we are safe and warm and we still have the three fur babies we started the year off with. There are many years when we haven’t been able to be thankful for all of those things.

 

This year will always be remembered as our 25^th anniversary year when we renewed our vows in such a special way, taking part in a high mass at Sacre Coeur and then reciting our vows to each other, before God, with the nuns singing. We are both blessed to have married our best friend and soul mate and we thank God daily for that blessing. Our marriage is by no means perfect; we argue on occasions, one of us gets snappy at times, we don’t always see eye to eye, but our marriage is blessed with a great deal of love and a lot of laughter. I can honestly say there isn’t a day go by but that we laugh … a lot… and that laughter is so important. So as I look back, that 25^th anniversary is a great milestone and I pray we enjoy another 25 together … at least.

I look back and am thankful for the ever growing faith I have and the way in which that sustains me through everything. It has given me a changed perspective on life and any trials that come my way and I feel a sense of peace that I have rarely known so much before.

I am thankful for the friends and family that bring so much to our lives in so many ways

I am thankful for the opportunities Nigel has had this year, the determination he has shown with all of his new ventures and, if I could hope for anything, it would be that he gets the success he so richly deserves.

I am thankful for the joy I continue to get from my creative pursuits and from my work. Both bring me joy, though the work hours are long and some things are challenging. I have to say, however, that I love my job and whilst I do look forward to the day when I join Nigel in retirement, there is nothing else I would rather be doing.

I am thankful for all of the great trips we have made this year and the joy that being outside brings us. It doesn’t matter if we potter next door on the heath, walk the local neighbourhood or travel further afield, we love being out and doing things almost as much as we love being home.

I am thankful for the things we have achieved at home too. Our home is now finished with every room refurbished (some more than once) and we can now just sit back and enjoy it.

Finally I am thankful for the lovely people I have met through my scrapping and through my own blog and those of other people. I have had so many wonderful comments on my blog this year from people who come by and read on regular basis. I have met people who read the blog and have stopped to tell me so. I always say I blog primarily for me; it is my way of recording my life, collating my scrapping, stories, quotes and photos, but it is so nice that I get so much positive feedback from you. Thank you. I plan on continuing my blog and again, for the third year running, having my daily thankfulness on there as it does make me stop and think each day about the many things that happen, often very minor, for which I need to be thankful.

And so I look forward to a new year in 2012. Yes there are things I will be promising to do, to change, to develop and to start this year and no I won’t be sharing them as I would hate to publically fail!

I wish you all a very happy New Year’s Eve. I hope that 2011 has been filled with more positives than negatives for you and your loved ones and I hope that 2012 will be a year filled with health and happiness, love and laughter for all of us.

Paris - everlasting love

I started off making a digital album of our trip to Paris and did really well in the first few weeks and then I forgot all about it.

Having bought some lush new kits at the weekend I feel my Paris album will be on the go again and this is the first page I made.

It is a scraplift of a page that was used to advertise the kit, which is by Indigo Designs. I love the drama of the red and black and had fun with the masks and the transparency brush.

I can see there beinga  few pages in this colour scheme as I really like it.

I am not sure what I am thankful for as I am scheduling this post ahead of time as I know I won't have time to blog today for real. I am guessing I will be thankful the day is done, actually.

How does your garden grow?

Well ours doesn't grow with silver bells and cockle shells, that's for sure.

It grows with quite a lot of weeds and very little grass.

Considering the summer hasn't been great, the back lawn in dried to a crisp and is more sort of dusty brown than green. The little blue flowers (Nigel insists on telling me they are weeds and he hates them) look awfully pretty though!

However, the garden looks an awful lot better now than it did this morning as it has had some TLC lavished on it and looks quite cared for now.

It's been awfully sticky here today and now is quite overcast and feels like a storm is a brewing. However, that will probably clear the air a little.

The challenge for card a paloza today was a monochromatic card and this is what I came up with

 

It forced me to drag out the Fresh snow ink that I had forgotten I loved so much.

The other page I have to share today was for the UKS weekly challenge this week and it included scrapping in a different size and shape than normal.

 
It is another for the digital Paris album, recalling the different way we approached Sacre Coeur this time.

Today I am thankful

• to sit here and look out on a spruced up garden. It will be worth the aches tomorrow!

 

A little tired

I really feel like I am on holiday now - just wish my body did

I went to work for a meeting and once that was done my holidays really started ... so if someone could just tell Nigel and then he'd let me relax a bit!

I went straight from school to the dentist to have a small filling that turned into a major filling as the back of the tooth fell of as there was a crack.

Still, all repaired.

We then went to Ikea to get extra shelves and then came home and I have been humping furniture and books ever since.

It is not done yet but here are some progress pictures.

What it was like before (I seem not to have a photo of it so have just got one I took of the doll house and some I used in a  mini book.

 

 

 
It was very green, very old fashioned and we had a yew desk and leather chair that was huge.

 

Picture of the walls stripped and the doll house shrouded in polymask

Nij doing curtain fixings

 

Sort of finished - well one side anyway.

 

 The furniture is all walnut (well wlanut effect) and the walls are cream, the carpet a light brown and the accents peacock blue. The unit the doll house is on was custom made and we are going to stain it walnut as it stics out like a sore thumb.

The room looks much bigger, much tidier and so much better.

I haven't had time to scrap - well not stuff I can share - but this is one I made yesterday for a sketch challenge.

 
Today I am thankful for

• Novacaine - so the dental work didn't hurt

 

And finally this was soemthing Hilary posted today so I have poinched it as I thought it was very good.

 

Noah's Ark : Everything I need to know, I learned from Noah's Ark .

ONE: Don't miss the boat.
TWO: Remember that we are all in the same boat!
THREE: Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the Ark .
FOUR: Stay fit. When you're 70 years old, someone may ask you to do something really big.
FIVE: Don't listen to critics; just get on with the job that needs to be done.
SIX: Build your future on high ground.
SEVEN: For safety's sake, travel in pairs.
EIGHT: Speed isn't always an advantage. The snails were on board with the cheetahs.
NINE: When you're stressed, float awhile.
TEN: Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals.
ELEVEN: No matter the storm, there's always a rainbow waiting.