Dolly's Dreamings

Not all days are good

The last time I posted I was pleased that we were setting into an easy rhythm and all was good. Mmmm ... beware of speaking too hastily.

I had a bad day yesterday as my anxiety issues which can be quite debilitating but which I can usually manage were not manageable yesterday. It all just became a bit much. Another neighbour asked us to shop for them and we are very scared of shopping but do it because we have to. It is an ordeal and we don't like it, but we do it.  We are doing it for three other households in our road too and the thought of another just pushed me over the edge. We are trying to only go once a week, they won't let two go together so it is down to Nigel and we couldn't see how he could take on more without going for a second visit. We have now managed to find another neighbour to do this one so we can just do ours and help three others ... and one of them needs very very little ...  - it is enough! Nigel did the shopping for everyone today - he is so good. But it was an ordeal we were not looking forward to. Everything that came in has been cleaned and dry good remains in 'isolation' in the garage for a few days.

 

I was also worried about Kira- The vet saw her yesterday and it was a good job we took her. It was very badly infected and was also damaged from scratching, and the other ear was starting an infection so they cleaned her ears, gave antibiotics and antibiotic cream and were lovely with her. The antibiotic should last for seven days and we may not need to go back - but if we do we now know the drill. However, we had an awful day with the collar. She was very distressed and couldn't eat (she is elderly and eats little and often) couldn't drink (she drinks a lot as well), couldn't get in the litter tray (which has a lid on because otherwise Fiki goes over the side) couldn't wrap herself up in her blanket which she does to sleep so it was a nightmare. I was a mess, she was a mess and in the end we have given up. If she scratches it she scratches it. We try and stop her when we see her but she is happier today. So it all got a little bit too much. I am back on track today - have made us both masks, have scrapped and painted.

I do worry about the mental health of the whole nation when this is over. I love being home with Nigel, we get on well. For all couples that is not always the case. There will be people unused to being together so much, there are people in abusive relationships that will be trapped with their abusers, there are vulnerable children for whom school is their sanctuary, now trapped in homes and everyone's tempers are likely to fray at times as worry over finance, job security, health etc runs amok. They are trying times indeed. We are very very lucky. I know how isolated and alone we felt trying to deal with Kira on our own and how grateful we were that the vet saw her. People are facing far far worse than that and so we count our blessings continually.

 

I am also struggling worrying about my poor cousin. She lost her mother and her son last year and three weeks ago, not to do with the virus, she lost her beloved husband. She is nearby her other son but throughout this awfulness has been dealing with bereavement and loss and isolation. She has found it hard to arrange the funeral and couldn't have the funeral she wanted as no following car just the hearse and a total of 10 people allowed. I missed being there with her as he was buried today. An awful situation made, if it were possible, even more awful.

 

I, therefore, get very very cross when people bring politics into such an awful situation. I was shocked to hear Jeremy Corbin state that his successor should not have any truck with a national unity government and that opposition was key. That anyone in a position of responsibility and potential influence would take such a divisive stand staggered me. Don't get me wrong, I get they are different parties, I get they have different views but for goodness sake man, let’s just get out of this crisis ... and no I don’t actually care at the moment whose fault it is, who spent what and underfunded what, who didn’t do x y and z. At the moment I am afraid that really doesn't matter.  Let’s have the post mortem and bickering and backstabbing after this is over please, although I am sure that people have had enough of that over the last twelve months, enough of devisive bickering.  Let’s just get through this because, do you know what, the virus doesn’t care who you are or what your politics are ... it is out to get you and TOGETHER we just might be able to get through this. And yes, I have possibly been cooped up for too long and so for a bit of fresh air and change of scenery, I decided to poke my head over the parapet and make a political comment And no ... I won’t be replying to political comments or engaging in arguments however nice they might be.

I have managed scrapping today - yey! (Oh and I made masks too) I cannot share my new scrapping as it is for the very exciting cybercrop for A Trip Down Memory Lane in the middle of the month - but I don't think I have shared these yet

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• the vet seeing Kira and treating her
• Nigel shopping, caring, calming and just being totally wonderful

 

And finally I want to share a poem my cousin Tony shared

I'll tell you a tale, that's been recently written.
Of a powerful army, so Great it saved Britain.

They didn't have bombs and they didn't have planes.
They fought with their hearts and they fought with their brains.

They didn't have bullets, armed just with a mask.
We sent them to war, with one simple task.

To show us the way, to lead and inspire us.
To protect us from harm and fight off the virus.

It couldn't be stopped by our bullet proof vests.
An invisible enemy, invaded our chests.

So we called on our weapon, our soldiers in Blue.
"All Doctors, All Nurses, Your Country needs you".

We clapped on our streets, hearts bursting with pride.
As they went off to war, while we stayed inside.

They struggled at first, as they searched for supplies.
But they stared down the virus, in the whites of its eyes.

They leaped from the trenches and didn't think twice.
Some never came back, the ultimate price.

So tired, so weary, yet still they fought on.
As the virus was beaten and the battle was won.

The many of us, owe so much, to so few.
The brave and the bold, our heroes in Blue.

So let's line the streets and remember our debt.
We love you, our heroes,
Lest we forget.

Matt Kelly 2020

 

 

An easy rhythm

Our life has settled into an easy rhythm at the moment. we are waking a bit later since the change int he clocks but I don't feel any real need for the days to be longer so waking later is fine.

We walk for almost an hour everyday and now know our neighbourhood in quite a bit of detail! But the weather has been lovely so it nice to get our daily exercise outside - who knows, even that may be stopped.

We both have hobbies to keep us occupied.

I finished one of my most difficult paintings today - the Guildhall in Poole. There is leeway when painting fur. But a detailed building shows every mistake and this painting sure shows a lot of them, but what is life if not a challenge eh!

It is a watercolour from a photo I took last year.

 

 

I also have two new releases from Pickleberrypop to share.

 

 

I love anything with cameras and film strips so this was gorgeous to work with

 

 

 

And this one was just fun to make

I fear the lockdown is turning me into a domestic goddess though. Today I baked bread from scratch and didn't use the breadmaker and I batch cooked a load of lasagna for the freezer. And both were delicious.

 

I hope that wherever you are you are staying safe and well.

 

Today I am thankful for

• domesticity
• fresh baked bread
• a project finished
• Kira being no worse and possibly a little better

 

And int he words of Eleanor Farjeon's poem - cats really do sleep anywhere

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

End of week one of lockdown

So we are almost at the end of week one of what they still are not calling lockdown but which is lockdown in all but name.

Most of the time we are managing it very well. Nigel perhaps better than I.

I find seeing anyone else such as at a store very stressful and I am sure that is because the media have created a measure of fear in me and so many others.  We have shopped when we have needed to but minimally. I disinfectant everything as it comes into the house, we remove and dispose of as much outer packaging as we can, we wipe everything down, we have gloved and non-gloved areas. And it is kind of almost OK.

Yesterday I queued for almost an hour at Boots to pick up our repeat prescriptions that I had been worried about. It was well organised and by and large, the people were respectful. The staff in the store were wonderful.

Nigel and I are very happy just with each other -we always have been and so that is not an issue for us at all. The weather in this first week was lovely and we have been for a good long walk round the neighbourhood every day and seen few people and we all avoid each other - pardon the pun - like the plague. We have completed a couple of of jigsaws, we have done gardening and cleaning and we read and relax. We stood on our balcony on Thursday night along with our neighbours at their front doors and so many hundreds of thousands of people and we applauded the NHS. It was very humbling and we could hear the applause and cheers echoing round all the streets and we cried. This virus and the response to it has really made us appreciate that the most highly paid and 'important' int he country and actually NOT the most important. It is our NHS, our care workers, our delivery drivers, farmers, teacher, TAs, supermarket staff, post men and women etc who are the people we need and we rely on and who, I hope, will be properly recognised in the future when, we pray, this is one day all over. I am not sure the world will ever be quite the same again - and I hope this is for the better. 

 

However, as soon as anything goes wrong you realise just how alone you are. We have had gale force winds in the opposite direction to normal and one of our fence panels quite literally broke into pieces. We had to ask a neighbour to help which was uncomfortable for all of us but he is a good friend and at least the panels were 6 foot and so we were 6 foot apart! We were so grateful. Also we have a poorly Kira. She has something wrongw ith her ear and we need help. We phoned our vet yesterday and got a telephone consultation which lasted all of 5 minutes and cost almost £30 (she is so worth it) but they said she was not an emergency and so they wouldn't see her. She appears to be worse and so we will try again Monday and ask for medication at least even if they won't see her. We feel she needs ear drops and antibiotics at the very least. So when things go wrong you realise how alone you are and how isolated you are. There are people far far worse off than we are though. People who were halfway through home renovations and are left with no kitchen, no bathroom, people who are worried they will lose their homes completely, lose their only source of income and we are not dealing with a sick cat but sick relatives and worse. So we focus on trying to feel grateful and positive.

 

I made this - yes I am making a paper album and a digital one about these events as they deserve to be recorded.

 

 

 

And this was last week enjoying our last frap before Starbucks closed (and for allt he bad press about Starbucks you might like to know they are really looking after their staff very well)

 

 

 

And finally photos from today

Ready to go out - haven't worn makeup in a week - and it shows (wrinkly and blotchy and don't care)

 

 

Cabbage, salad and fresh fruits - not panic buying!

 

Lucky to live here - such a beautiful place to walk

 

She might be poorly but still able to 'help' with the jigsaw

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• a neighbour to help
• one week over
• basic provisions purchased
• being isolated with my best friend and soul mate
• Kira a Fiki - we know we are on borrowed time
• our government making the best decisions they can in these awful times.

 

The deed is done

Having had a fairly horrible time yesterday shopping for an elderly neighbour, we agreed that it would be better if Nigel did our normal shop on his own. It is what they are advising to reduce the numbers in store anyway, and it would be much better for Nigel's sanity if I were not with him panicing, watching everyone and everything so carefully, checking what was touched and not touched etc.  I could then work on what I wanted to do to make things safe when he brought it home. So he went to do our normal shop this morning at Tesco, arriving as they opened. There was a queue, but a short one. He found everything we needed (there wasn't a great deal - largely fresh veg and stuff - and what another elderly neighbour needed (we are keeping our eyes on several people in our street who do not have family to look out for them) He said the store was well set out to ensure social distancing and the relief we both felt when it was done and away was immense. We can now plan to not have to go for another 10 days or so. We are still going out every day for an hours walk but meet very few people (4 this morning) and everyone is being very respectful of the distance between people.

 

I am recording what our life is like at the moment as I really do feel that my memory albums are for recording all of our life - the good and the bad. I am not trying to be flippant about things, I am fully aware of the work that not just the NHS staff are doing but the wonderful carers in our care homes,  delivery drivers, the banking community, the people running public transport, the postmen and women, the teachers still in school and countless others.  I am horrified that my god-daughter, whose husband has a serious heart condition, and yet she is classed as a key worker in a bank headquarters, has to strip in the hall, wash her clothes and shower before she can see her  family. The world is in meltdown and they are unprecedented times. But it IS happening in my life and I do want to record it and sometimes, alongside my faith, humour is what gets me through things. It has always helped me through things, from very unpleasant situations with very difficult people to illness and loss. And I always say that, first and foremost, this blog is my own personal brain dump and is set up primarily for me. I am always impressed that some 100 -150 people a day read it, but I know what I write is not for everyone. I think it is a bit of a case of read at your own risk. I know someone expressed concern about the Pickleberrypop releasing kits about the virus and making money from tragedy and I have passed those comments on but I am grateful for the things they have produced to help me document my life at the moment. There are kits from all stores about cancer, bereavement etc. I think perhaps non scrappers don't get our need to record what is happening in our lives. We are, maybe, a strange breed, but a lovely one.

 

The news today is very mixed. Our friend in Florida has just gone into lockdown and has two elderly parents to care for. (We are so very very grateful that Nigel's mom is in a care home and, whilst we cannot see her, we know they are angels there and are caring for them so well) Some reports seem to imply the lockdown in this country is bringing positive results (I read a report from Imperial College that was quite heartening) but there are countries far poorer than ours that are facing terrible times. People living already in extreme poverty and now unable to go out for even basics. The worldwide financial destruction of economies is something that the citizens of the world are going to be paying for for a very long time and I am convinced there will be a severe mental health crisis when all this is over. However, I think it has made us realise some truths. The poorest paid in our country - the nurses, police, care workers, delivery men etc are the people we rely on most. Maybe after this they will be deemed more valuable and paid appropriately. The arts - music, drawing, painting, scrapbooking etc - and physical exercise are crucial to our mental health so maybe they will be given greater prominence afterwards - both in the world at large and certainly in schools where it is often the art and sport are cut when budgets are tight and the emphasis is placed on pure academia. Many people don't know the people int heir own immediate community - maybe after this more people will appreciate how important it is to look out for our neighbours and to consider others. Maybe out of this will come more gratitude and less selfishness. I have to believe there will be a silver lining somewhere int his dark cloud that is over the world at the moment.

 

Anyway, enough philosophy for now. We have had a good day. Shopping done. The pharmacy has confirmed my prescription will be ready Saturday ( I was worried as I am almost out) we have had a lovely walk in the sunshine and we have started another jigsaw. And yes - there has been scrapping too.

 

 

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• the shopping done
• our elderly neighbours now with their needs met
• time to spend together - as always

 

And - because I have to laugh because it keeps my fear and anxiety in check a little

 

 

 

This one I so identify with ... I have become obsessed with door handles

 

 

and this too - my hands are always dry anyway and I use hand cream twice a day - they are in a bit of a state at the moment. Thankfully not quite as bad as Arnie's but ...

 

Scrapbooking life

I am a great believer that scrapbooking needs to record all aspects of life - the celebratory, the travel, the daily and the things that are not so good. And much of what is life for many of us at the moment is not so great.

 

I keep forgetting - as Nigel and I always spend a lot of time in and at home together I forget how awful things are outside, then I suddenly remember and it washes over me. We are actually very fortunate. We haven't lost our main income, we are not in threat of losing our house, we have food and heating, Nigel's mom isn't at home she is cared for in a wonderful place and most importantly we are not sick. So many people are really struggling. Parts of our day are wonderful. We are enjoying a daily walk in the warm, spring sunshine. We get to sit on the balcony and eat lunch and I have been scrapping and painting. But then reality hits. We needed to go to the local store for one of our elderly neighbours and it was just awful. We queued out int he sunshine for over half an hour waiting to be let in. Everyone was very respectful and kept a good distance away from each other. But then it was so stressful int he store and afterwards. There was food - not a great choice but better than we have seen. we managed to get all she needed and then came the drama of paying. We wore gloves but we had to use the touch screen and then we had to juggle what we had touched and what we hadn't and I am damned sure it was safe but the media have whipped us into such a frenzy of fear that I was in a mess when we got home and I sanitised all the doors and bags and surfaces again. I am jolly sure I didn't need to and that was what I hated most - the fear they have created. It's awful. And I have just read that 1/4 of the population of the world is now in lockdown. I cannot quite get my head round that

Anyway - two new digital kits at Pickleberrypop helped me record the effects of the virus

The Viral Spiral Collection by Cheryl Day Designs

 

 

 

 

 

Credits

Keep Your Distance Free with $7 purchase from Fayette Designs and Jen Yurko Designs till March 31
Keep Your Distance Add On Packs by Fayette Designs and Jen Yurko

 

 

The photos shows us and our neighbours at one of our street parties. All gathered together. Now we are all keeping our distance and we are helping a couple of the elderly neighbours with shopping.

 

 

And because not everything is about the virus

Spring in Bloom by et designs

 

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• Nigel calming me down
• The laughs we have had today amidst the worry
• glorious spring weather

 

Stay safe everyone xx

Lockdown

We are at the stage where things change every day relating to the way we live our lives at the moment.

We had been told by the government - quite rightly - to adopt social distancing everywhere. And people simply were not doing it. The weather has been awful for so long and the escalation in the disease coincided with mother's day and fabulous weather and so throwing caution to the wind it seemed as if everyone was playing Russian roulette and being out together - not social distancing. We live right on the heath and I have never seen so many people around. Closing restaurants and pubs, gyms and so on hadn't worked.

Yesterday we went out for a drive, taking our lunch as usual, to say goodbye to Pooole Park and the ocean for a while. It was actually very quiet after the silliness of Sunday (we had stayed in all day of course) and so we did go for a walk. We only encountered a couple of people and we were all respectful of each other's distance.

 

My mother's Day present from Nigel and the cats - Florence the Flamingo

 

 

Spring in the park

 

 

Nigel social distancing

 

We ate our lunch in the car at the ocean and we came home to hunker down. And last night the lockdown was ordered. we are still luckier than most European countries in that we are allowed to take a form of exercise outside each day if we are careful, we can still go, as little as possible, to the supermarket and to get medicine and key workers can still go to work. But other than that all but essential stores are closed and we all need to stay at home, allow the disease curve to flatten and help our wonderful NHS stay safe. Boris Johnston did NOT like what he had to say last night. It is a hard time to be the leader of the country and it is against all the freedoms he believes in but he has to be the face of the government and express the needs of the country as a whole. Churchillian - yes I think so.

Photos from the last couple of days

 

Our last Starbucks for potentially months

 

 

These flowers were all fallen over in the garden so they came indoors with us

This morning we went for a walk and we encountered 4 people and we all stayed so well away from each other and shouter cheery hellos across the gaps. We came home, we did work in the garden and we stayed in and safe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have also been painting and scrapping to keep busy. I am OK if I don't just stop and think about things.

 

I have decided I am going to make an album documenting what is going on in the world and with us personally.

 

 

 

 

A page for a Scrap Squad scraplift

 

 

 

and recording Florence in her new home Simple Stories Vintage Garden District

 

 

I hope that whatever you do and wherever you are you stay safe, your loved ones stay safe and that we get through these awful times together

xx

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• Nigel - I couldn't do this alone
• Lockdown - I think it is what the country needed
• our NHS staff and the delivery drivers, the supermarket staff, the farmers, the police, the people keeping the banks going, the bins, everything.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At least my blog is at a distance

What a strange world we live in.

The UK now has pubs, restaurants, coffee shops, gyms all closed. We had our last Starbucks for the foreseeable future today.

The government have promised unprecedented help and financial support for people laid off work, for businesses etc. I think as a country we will be in debt for many many years but I am so glad Boris is our PM leading us through this - for all his bluster and bumble.

I have never seen so many people out walking on the heath as today - I guess that is also the new norm. I hope the lack of food in stores is not the new norm though. We did our usual shop and managed to get most of the things we would normally buy. I am glad food is being rationed out so people cannot bulk buy but I was surprised that my usual drink - soda water - was controlled and I was allowed only three of the four bottles I would usually buy.

We have been helping out several elderly neighbours and getting things for them too - some of the things have been hard to find but it must be so scary when you cannot go out and are reliant on other people.

Today we went to our local garden centre run by vulnerable adults and bought new plants for the garden - staying a very safe distance from the few people there.

We also cleared a lot of junk out of the garage so Nigel could take it to the tip before that closed. Other than that we have been staying in and keeping to ourselves and really, for us, it is no effort. We like being home, we like each other's company, we will be fine.

 

My worry is that there will be a lot of kids with nothing to do and nowhere to go and I do get scared of potential social issues around this and public disorder and antisocial behaviour. I hope that doesn't happen and I hope that we do not have to go into lockdown as other countries have. If people are sensible it ought not to be necessary. We will see.

I have also made three pages but they are for my next class at ATDML so I can't share them ... but this was made for a UKS challenge

 

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• sunshine
• jobs tackled and completed
• being isolated - or social distancing - with my best friend and hubby

 

 

Strange times so bring on the crafting

These are strange times to be living in - for everyone, world wide.

I spend my time torn between thinking it is all an over-reaction and being a little worried. I cannot see this going on for months and months - surely? Deaths in China have slowed already and are slowing in the north of Italy and yet the US and the UK amongst others are saying  this could go on for months and months. I get the social distancing to slow it down but to cancel all public exams seems and over reactiona nd way too early to make that decision. Wouldn't it have been better to have said to the kids keep revising over your extended Easter and we will review mid April when we know more.  The kids and staff will all have been off - I know some teachers are still going to be working - for weeks, possibly two months, so could the schools not resume in June and run through to August or beyond to make up the time and then the exam group kids could sit their exams. They could be delayed not just cancelled. There are thousands and thousands of Year 11 and 13 kids - and Year 6 kids - who are suddenly potentially leaving their school forever with two days notice. It seems a very very hasty decision to me. Unless - and this is where my worries lie - unless they do know much more than they are saying.

 

However, at the end of the day, I can do nothing about it. It is out of my hands and all of our hands so I will do what I know how to do - I will scrap in the face of uncertainty. At least Nigel and I know we enjoy being together, we are used to being home together and love it and we both have loads we enjoy doing at home froms crapping, designing, doing jigsaws, playing games, playing rock band with the wii etc etc. I pray everyone else will find peace with it too.

 

This is my scrapping today  based on a sketch by Shimelle

 

I wanted to record some of my art as art had been transformative in my life in the last two and a bit years.

 

I made and printed the block using material from my good friend Dawn Inskip who inspired me to paint. I think she would have been pleased and I still miss her such a lot.

 

 

 

 

 

Now this is a very odd page. Nigel rarely asks me to make a page specifically for him but he did. He has loved his biscuits over Christmas and was tickled by the fact they were Fox's and that it said they were lovingly baked by Foxes. We call Fiki fox and so that was why he liked it. When the box was empty he asked if I could scrap it! Not my usual sort of page but he asked so I did.

Everything on the page, even the border, apart from the background paper and the two foxes was just cut off the box. He liked it - that is the main thing.

 

 

Finally, this is a page made for a challenge on UKS

 

 

It is a paper page but I printed the film strips out - they are from Jen Yurko.

 

So stay safe everyone. Find what makes you happy at home.Care for your neighbours and for each other and stay positive.

 

Today I am thankful for

• gorgeous gorgeous new scrapping goodies to play with - at just the right time.
• being home bound with Nigel
• faith to help me stay positive

 

 

 

New releases - cheeriness in the midst of such panic

Well these are scary times we are living in these days. Nigel's speedway has all been cancelled or postponed. We have determined we will social distance where we can but we both worked today and are working this week and will review next week when it comes.

We went to the supermarket today - just for routine stuff. We were shocked at how empty the shelves were. Not just toilet paper and pasta anymore. Almost now fresh veg, no fresh chicken, almost no pet food of any kind, no tins of anything, almost no cleaning products, very little cereal, almost no bread. It was quite shocking and more than a little worrying. But do you know what - I am proud of our country - I am proud of our government which, after last year and hating what our government were doing and becoming is a pretty amazing thing.

We are checking on neighbours and Nigel has now gone back to the supermarket for one of them for essentials for her.

 

But the good news is we are healthy - at the moment- we have food in the cupboard so we won't starve, we have a roof over our heads, we are safe and warm and I finished work today. So many people are in dire straights and we must all pull together to look after the old, the frail, the vulnerable, the scared, the financially stressed, the frightened and ourselves.

 

So in the midst of all this worry - let's have a little cheerfulness. It is new release day at Pickleberrypop and the designers have released their Berry Big Deals. The colours this month are stellar! The collections are wonderful. The collection image links to the store and they are all incredible value. The 8 packs are just $8 and the 6 are $6 which is a massive massive saving

 

 

The ver gorgeous and beautiful Alice.

 

 

 

One of our favourite big cats we have met - Pepo the cheetah

 

 

 

 

Ah my little babies - they still sleep like this

 

 

 

 

 

My little second cousin - such a beauty

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and finally a me being positive page

 

Today I am thankful for

• being safe and healthy and with Nigel
• finishing work - so glad I am away from the super spreaders for the time being
• our government making some tough decisions
• community spirit

 

Stay safe and well everyone xx

 

 

A very nice weekend

I had a lovely treat today. Ann Freeman, who is on the DT of A Trip Down Memory Lane with me, messaged to say she was coming down to Dorset and so we met up this morning. I don't get to meet many scrapping peeps down here on the coast so it was lovely to meet someone whose work I admire so much in the flesh and it was great to sit and chat.

 

In other news, not much other than scrapping to share. I am keeping my head down and trying NOT to get drawn in to all the coronavirus stuff, although I do think the media is responsible for such a lot of hype and panic. As we await the next stages in the UK I fear for our businesses and our travel industry. I fear firms like Virgin Atlantic and BA won't be able to survive, I fear our supply chains will be so disrupted, I fear elderly people forced to self-isolate will suffer more from loneliness and isolation and depression than from a virus. I fear that this will be the way of the future and that this will happen more and more often. I fear that it is NOT bringing out the best in so many people. I don't fear the virus so much - but maybe I should.

Anyway - onto happier stuff and scrapping.

The good news is that if I had to self isolate I could happily have sufficient scrapping supplies to last me - oooh probably a twelve month or more.

I have been finishing up by DT work for ATDML using the Heidi Swapp Storyline Chapters and have two more pages to share

This one celebrates how we did not expect to be in Wisconsin for dinner and happened upon a Cheesecake Factory which was just perfect for us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And I have been waiting to use this cut file for a while now

 

 

 

 

 

And then just because .... I made this one today for a challenge on Scrap Squad. I loved the sketch so much I think there are likely to be a couple using it for different albums ... I loved the photo of Kira safe in her Daddy's arms.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• Meeting a fellow scrapper
• scrap time
• Nigel - if I have to isolate with him for a few weeks we will have great fun

 

and these made me laugh