Dolly's Dreamings

A little squeeze and some butterflies

I have had a scrappy day today.

I started the morning by making a card for my neighbour whose birthday it is today. I used the ideas from yesterday's explore class and used concentric circles and they eneded up as a mount for the card.

 

 

 
and a little bit of bling in the flowers

 

Oh and tribute to Shimelle .... butterflies of course LOL

I then made a few pages for my California album. I haven't scanned them yet but will share them when I do. They are all quite simple as they are really just a travel record and not meant to be a great work of art. I'm actually not sure I ever make anything which is a great work of art.

But I do have a new digital page to share which I made with one of the new kits Dawn Inskip erleased yesterday. The kit is called Squeeze and is lush colours. She has another called Welcome to the World which is a verycute kit for babies as well. I will share that at a later date.

 

 

so here is one of my squeeze pages (Oh yes ... it had to be a butterfly page LOL)

 

 

I have also spent a long tme updating my kindle as I bought a collection of 70 books last night from e bay but they needed to be converted to mobi files and I had to down load calibre and then play around. But that was actually fun to do.

Today I am thankful for

• scrappy days
• Kraft card
• My kindle

 

 

The prompt for Explore today was about moments of perfection.  

I have been sat here quietly musing about the whole concept of perfection. Am I a perfectionist? No! Have I ever been? No! Do I live with one? Oh my, yes.

I have always believed that, so long as you do your best, that is OK. It won’t be perfect – well I guess it could be but it would be fairly accidental and quite miraculous – but it should represent your best shot at whatever it is you are doing. I always joke, though there is a bit of heartfelt angst there too, that I grew up with the word ‘but’. My father was always striving to get me to be better, to do better, to extend myself and so most things I ever did were greeted with a ‘How fabulous, I love the xxxx, that’s a great xxxx, BUT….’ There was always a but. Now I don’t want you to think that he was a terrible man. He certainly wasn’t and those of you who read here often will know I always was a Daddy’s girl. But he did teach me that actually, chances are, I am not going to reach perfection and that there is always more to strive for, but what I generally do is pretty good. I guess the ‘but’ could have screwed me up completely, but actually it didn’t. It kept me grounded.

Nigel is a complete perfectionist. And, perhaps more importantly, he is a thinker and a planner. He thinks through everything before he starts it (drives me mad as I am a bull in a china shop sort of girl) and he plans and he takes time and care and spends hours and pretty nearly always does a perfect job with everything. I can give you a fairly classic example. Newly wedded bliss, we had a new garden to create, were into being self sufficient on a very small scale. We went out and bought about 20 different herbs. Had in mind a beautiful herb garden which would looks stunning, flavour the wonderful dishes I was going to cook (who am I kidding, I still can’t cook) and be the envy of all around. Little pots of herbs were lovingly carried home and down to the end of the garden. Nigel disappears (no idea where or why) The soil is already prepared so off I go, slipping them out of their pots and putting them in their new home. No sooner was one planted than I was on to the next one. I didn’t hang around. By the time Nigel was back they were more than half planted. Instead of the praise I expected, along the lines of, ‘Oh my darling you have worked your little fingers to the bone, what an amazing job you have done and what a hard worker you are.’ I got, ‘What the heck are you doing?’ (Yes, I toned that down a little)

He had gone in to get paper and pencil to draw out where everything would go based on how high the plants would grow, what colours they might be, what would looks both aesthetically pleasing and be practical. He was going to PLAN it. He was going to THINK about it. Oh I could give a gazzilion examples of that.

Actually I guess it needs both of us to make things really work. It needs him to be the planner and thinker and strive for perfection and it needs me to galvanise things into action and help us accept that, if it isn’t quite perfect it is probably still OK.

I also started thinking about what was perfect in my life. Nigel isn’t perfect – he has faults, as does everyone. But he is perfect FOR ME. Utterly perfect. We are totally in tune, opposites in many ways and identical in others. My parents were perfect FOR ME. Neither of them were perfect people but they gave me as near perfect a childhood as I recon it is possible to have and I miss them every single day. My cats are perfect FOR ME too. None of them is perfect – they each have little flaws in both character and physical stuff. Fiki is actually a pretty perfect monster mind you.

Our home isn’t perfect. There is much I’d like to change but equally there is much I love and I have to say the rooms we have recently renovated fill me with so much joy. OK so there may be small imperfections, but they have been so lovingly decorated and changed they look fabulous to us. I like to think I am the sort of person who doesn’t spend their life searching for perfection and being permanently dissatisfied with what they have. That is no way to live your life. Embrace what you have, take joy in it, and if it isn’t perfect enjoy those imperfections as well.

One of my favourite quotes is

 
Happiness is not having what you want. It is wanting what you have. Rabbi Hyman Schachtel

 

But I also did a search on some other salient quotes and found these that I liked.

No one is perfect... that's why pencils have erasers.  ~Author Unknown

Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best.  ~Henry van Dyke

When you aim for perfection, you discover it's a moving target.  ~George Fisher

 

And finally my photo and quote combined. It is printed out and in my play book.

The reason for the photo and words is very special to me. I really am very happy with what I have. Over the last year I have changed enormously and am far more at ease with myself and life and all I have. It's not perfect but it is pretty darned good. The photo is of Nij and I three months ago on our 25th wedding anniversary when we had just renewed our vows in Sacre Coeur and do you know what - by a strange twist of fate that moment when we renewed our vows was completely and utterly perfect. The place, the mass, the chanting and singing, the atmosphere, the awe and wonder. God blessed us with a perfect moment ... and we will never forget it.

 

Aim for the moon, that way, even if you miss you'll still be amongst the stars! - W. Clement Stone

 

Scrapping, Mapping and a little light lunch

I really feel like it has been a holiday day today - and that is a very welcome feeling, I can tell you.

I started this morning by scraplifting a page for the play along with scrapfactor challenge.

i was inspired to scraplift Nic-B's page with the huge folded rosette. I have made the small rosettes as flowers for embellishments on pages and the idea of making a huge one was intriguing.

I used a sheet of 12 x 12 and cut it into three strips, punched the edges and then concertina folded it to make the rosette.

Sticking it down was a bit of a challenge and it needed a Nigel to help as 2 hands were not enough.

Then I set to decorating it and making it into what I feel is quite a pretty page.

 

This close up shows the folding a little more clearly

 

 
 

This i s just a close up of the pretty things LOL

 

This one allows you to read the simple journalling

 

This shows some of the stitching

 
I am actually quite pleased with it.

I went out for lunch with three other head teachers. Gosh I bet that sounds boring but it really wasn't. It was so nice to meet up. We rarely get to actually meet in term time as we are all so busy, though we do keep in touch via e mail. It was lovely to get together, relax and chat and enjoy some great food.

When I cam home I started on my explore prompt for today. It was all about maps and I had great fun going on line and printing off maps of places we know well. I printed them off for home, of course, for Newport Beach California, for WDW and for Vegas.

 I printed the maps off, annotated them and put them in my play along book and then I made this little summary page for my play along book - which kind of sums it all up really.

 
It is interesting that the prompt was about maps as I used maps on my page yesterday for my letters.

 

I still need to do my circles bit but I will get to that later.

Today I am thankful for

• inspirational pages to scraplift
• Lovely lunch with colleagues

 
and finally I share this received from a cousin in Oregon.

 

“The Dilemma

To laugh is to risk appearing a fool
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental
To reach out for another is to risk involvement
To expose feelings is to risk rejection
To place your dreams before the crowd is to risk ridicule
To love is to risk not being loved in return
To go forward in the face of overwhelming odds is to risk failure

But risks must be taken, because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing
The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing
She may avoid suffering and sorrow, but she cannot learn, feel, change, grow or love
Chained by her certitudes, she is a slave
She is forfeiting her freedom
Only a person who takes risks is free”

California Album, a bit of beach and an adventure

My holiday project this summer is to use our gazzillion photos from numerous trips to California to make a California album.

I have already made a few pages but decided to do the title page today. I knew what I wanted to achieve and it didn't work out in the way I expected, of course, but I think it works anyway.

I wanted a beach sort of feel as there are some wonderful beaches but I also wanted to express the great outdoors as we have loved some of the national parks we have visited and that was the bit that didn't work out as when I tired sequoias witht he beach it just didn't work. In the end I opted for just the beach and a map.

 

 

The letters echo the map theeme with letters filled with maps and then printed, mounted on to chipboard and cut out.

They are buried in the sand.

 

And yes I also used some real sand from years ago and some teeny shells.

The palm treees were printed (a Dawn Inskip special) and then mounted onto thick card and cut out.

The map was just downloaded off the internet and printed on cardstock and I used some old California stickers.

 

Continuing the beach theme there is a great Studio Mix collab released today and as Dawn Inskip was one of the contibutors I got to play with the kit and it is all beachy and summery (we just need the sun now)

So this was one of the pages I made with the kit.

 

Emily, of course.

I went out for coffee with Jakki this morning, which was lovely as I hadn't seen her in almost a week. Then Nij and I went and bought the new suite ready for the Downstairs cloakroom which is being fitted in september. We had finally - after a long time - found what we wanted so didn't want to wait until September and find it was no longer available. So all done. A little light shopping in Matalan and the Range and that pretty much sums up my day!

And so to day 2 of the Explore class. Adventure.

I guess if you were looking for a word to sum me up you may well go with cautious. I am very cautious in everything I do. I will always look for pitfalls and try to eradicate them with anything i do. I have had my moments of adventure. I rode a Harley down the Strip in las Vegas to celebrate my 50th birthday last year. I have swum with dolphins, I have cuddled a fully grown tiger, I have held a tarantula (and I am a died in the wool arachnaphobe) and I do own a Fiki monster, but I am not the world's most adventurous person. My adventures are carefully planned.

But I knew just what I wanted to record for this prompt.

I made my own postcard.

This is the back - I will address it and send it later.  I have also copied the text here as you will never be able to read it from the image LOL.

 
It reads ....

Note to self,

I was at my most adventurous when I went to America for the first time in 1983, totally unprepared. I had never travelled out of Europe and yet crossed the Atlantic at the drop of a hat. I had no visa, no passport, no money and three days notice. Nij asked me on the Wednesday if I fancied a holiday; we’d been dating just over a month. I said sure, where and he replied America. I’d always longed to go and figured it would be exciting to plan. When I asked when he said ‘Saturday!’ A new job meant now or never for him. 4 am on the Thursday I drove to Newport to get a passport . 5 am on the Friday I drove to London to the American Embassy to get a visa. I borrowed the money off my parents and on the Saturday we flew, standby, to America.

These days I am a planner. I plan everything meticulously. Every detail. Every possible eventuality. Where did that young carefree girl go? Where did that free spirit that was prepared to travel across the world at the drop of hat disappear to? When did I become the planner and worrier that I am now? Age and experience is the answer I guess. I had no conception of any possible pitfalls, so I wasn’t worried about them. But do you know what ... things did go wrong on that trip, but we survived. It wasn’t all plain sailing, but we figured it out and we had a great time. Maybe I need to re-kindle some of that impetuosity, some of that carefree joi de vivre and worry and plan less. Maybe I need to focus on putting the adventure back in my life a little.

From your older, more cautious self, with careful consideration x

 

 

 

This is the front - a photo from that very trip. Me at 23 being very very adventurous.

 

 
I need to re-kindle that less cautious approach to life .... at times and with careful consideration of course!!!

Today I am thankful for

• time to scrap
• Coffee with a friend
• Remembering to be adventurous and what that felt like.

 

 

New class - resistance was futile

 
Shimelle has a new class starting today. It is called Exploire. I saw it advertised and I resisted.People were chatting about it and I resisted. It came to the night before class started and - OK - I caved.

I don't know why I didn't just sign up as soon as I knew about it. I should know by now resistance is futile.

I love her classes and to have one running in the summer holidays is just perfect.

Why do I love her classes? It's not a style thing as she has a completely different style of scrapping to me. One I love and can't emulate. So it's not style. It's about inspiration. They are classes you can interpret. They are classes that inspire. They are classes that don't rely ont he fact that you have kids to scrap. They are classes that make you think ... think about how you feel and what things mean to you. They motivate me and inspiure me. Some of my very favourite albums and mini books are based around her classes. Oh yes ... I have done the odd few (every class except one to be precise!)

So I signed up and was back to my usual eager waiting for my first prompt to drop through my in box.

I have sat and made my play along book and enjoyed such a gentle start to class. I used my newly sorted scrap boxes and this is what I came up with.

 

 

A little bit of lace and, sorry about this but it is quite an addiction, some butterflies and some bling.

 

 

 

So I really enjoyed that bit. The next bit .... not so much.

Take a self portrait.

Mmmm - I suppose the only good thing is that it is not in focus! That's a blessing.

But for what it is worth, here is me and my camera

(I may replace it when I have calmed my hair down a little.)

 
You can see it is early morning - I haven't even got my watch on - just the white mark to show where it has been LOL.

So - to prompt 1 and the note to myself.

Today is Monday 18^th July 2011. I have been on holiday for a week and am now relaxed enough to start looking for things to do! Enrolling in a new class was the perfect option.

I wasn’t keen on the first task, mind you. It was taking a self portrait. I am not great at having pictures taken, though I am better than I used to be. I used to refuse to be snapped and, when forced, would adopt the hand under the chin pose, the gazing wistfully into the distance pose and only ever ever be shot from the waist – or preferably the neck – upwards. I hated my body. I’m still not keen on it, but it is better than it used to be. So the first task was a challenge. However, I do scrap myself. I have done a book of me and last year I did a whole album devoted to me in my 50^th year.

The prompt asked if I had felt creative. I have to say I pretty much always feel creative. Creativity is such a huge part of my life. My job is very stressful and I unwind by being creative. That is usually in the form of scrapping, and there is rarely a day when I don’t scrap in some way or another. I have to be exhausted or unwell not to scrap. I do like to have a focus for my creativity, though, and the challenge of a new class or a new project really energises me.

My weeks always have a focus, with Dawn releasing a new digi kit each week (sometimes more than one) so I usually get a new digi kit to play with every weekend. In school holidays I like to have a special project. This holiday I had already decided I was going to make a California book. We have visited California so many times and have covered most of the length and breadth of it so I am looking forward to making an album dedicated to the diversity of California (and yes, the latest TV commercial inspired me LOL) But seeing this class I knew I had to do this too, as I love the buzz of a prompt every day and new challenges. I have spent my first week off school purging stash, reorganising and I am now ready to scrap.

So, taking a moment out to consider the window question. My window in my scrap room looks out over open heathland which inspires and enriches me every single day. I watch the birds, the walkers, the wildlife and enjoy the changing seasons. Even at work, my office has huge French doors which look out over woodland so I am very definitely a window gazer. And I try to be a glass half full person. I was always a very definite glass half empty, but the past two years have brought many changes in my life and my outlook and I am so much more positive than I have ever been. My faith has gown and I no longer dwell on things and let them get to me. I am much better at letting go and moving on. Where I have shed weight I think I have gained a great deal of inner strength.

I am intrigued by the prospect of the class and whilst I have no real idea what to expect, I know it will be a journey I will enjoy and that will both challenge and inspire me.

Today I am thankful for

• a new class and a new challenge

 

I have some pictures I would like to share today - they came in an e mail from Nij (we do talk .... honestly LOL)

They are incredible and apparently show a man who paints himself - there are no tricks or special effects just photos of skilful painting (I actually think it must be someone else paints him but heck - still amazing.

Ther last one is really hard to spot him in.

Enjoy the pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finished and even scrapped

Well we can now officially say the new library is finished. The final doors are hung, the final books put away and the final handles added.

And we are thrilled with it.

I am so thrilled I scrapped it LOL

I am very late in doing my 10 on the 10th page this month because I knew I wanted to do it about this room, so here it is.

 
We are going to stain the doll house unit to matcht he dark walnut of the rest of the room. The cupboard was incredibly expensive and specially made for the house, so I am reluctant to change it for a new one, plus they don't make one in the same range that is anything like deep enough. You can't really tell fromt he picture but the doll house is BIG.

I stitched the page to death for this one.

 

and you can see some of the close up pictures after this close up of the page. 

 

I bought so many pretty boxes which I absolutely love and so some of the shelves are open so I can just enjoy them. The book ont he first shelf is my completed doll house album which I must share one day and the oval wooden box on the second shelf is one I painted years ago when i used to do folk art painting.

 

 

 

We looked really hard for a chair for the room. we wanted soemthing small but contemporary and we just fell in love with this one.  The cushion matches the curtains

 

I got to make a new flower arrangement which I enjoyed as we have a nice low unit and a cat free zone. I'd never get away with this if Fiki was allowed near it. The only flowers we can have in the house are huge pots of dried grasses and silk flowers stood ont he floor so there is nowheere for them to fall when he plays witht hem. (He still knocks them over thought they are almost too heavy to lift)

 

And the shelves are so deep they hold 12 x 12 a treat. These are all behind doors but I now have 4 double shelves like this with all of my albums 12 x 12. 8 x 8 and 11 x 8.5 - and that is after giving away quite a few of my albums to Sam for the girls to have.

 

 
Anyway, we are thrilled with the new room and with the space we now have.

 Today I am thankful for

• The swelling on my knee going down a lot

 

Perfect weather for ....

What do you do on a really wet and miserable Saturday in July?

You scrap of course.

No point in having this wonderful new tidy organised scrap room if you don't us it is there.

I have actually made three pages so far today - though I can't share them all yet.

One I can share is this one.

 

I actuallys truggled quite a lot witht his as the colours gave me cause for concern. I had originally wanted our school lion to be red white and blue, but I handed the project over to the very talented art department and love what they came up with witht he children, but the colours were a challenge as they kept the bit I was insistent on which was the school crest and the 125 years of excellence. Consequently it is pastel and primary and a bit of a challenge.

I went for retro pastels in the end, which kind of works. However, the page is for my 2011 album of things we have done this year. I am very proud to have been a small part of the Pride in Bournemouth celebration.

Sitting this morning and making three pages took its toll on my knee, which was screaming out to be elevated and rested so I went to put it up for a while. I was just going to read with my leg elevated.

Mmmmm - that one didn't work out so well. Fiki came up and joined me on the bed, the Kindle quickly fell from my hands and we have both had a very happy two hour nap! I think I must be getting really old.... but I have no idea what HIS excuse is.

Today I am thankful for

• a finally completed library which looks wonderful.
• afternoon naps

  
 

I gave in in the end

I gave in this morning and rang the doctor about my poor old knee. They were really good and I got an appointment straight away. I have to say that this is usually the case with our GP surgery - they are very good.

Anyway, the bottom line is it is still like a football but the pain is to touch not on weight bearing, which is a good thing. The pain in my toes is actually worse when I try and walk.

It appears I have done lots of soft tissue damage and am going to have the bruise from hell when it comes out. It is startingt od evelop and I have several patches of black already but it would appear it is going to be the whole knee goes black. Yikes.

The swelling is no less and I am to keep it elevated and have ibuprofen every 6 hours for the next three days. So I am spending lots of time lounging in bed and reading - it's a tough life LOL

I did get to finish my play along with scrap factor challenge though.

It was made yesterday as a quick and simple gift to sheer a friend up,

 

 

 
Today I am thankful for

• not having cracked anything
• my Kindle

 

A day of two halves

So today has been a day of two halves. First there was the lovely morning when I COULD walk and then there was the disastrous afternoon when I couldn’t.

It all started well. Nij and I decided that as the sun was shining we would head off on a lion hunt. Bournemouth has a pride of lions for the Pride of Bournemouth celebrations. It is Bournemouth’s 200^th anniversary this year and there are lots of lions all around everywhere. OK so they are not quite as impressive as the London elephants and, even though they have been in situ for only a few weeks some have already been vandalised, but they had to be seen. Plus I have a vested interest. We did one from school. Schools were offered the chance to have a smaller lion to take part in the event. No mention was made, at registration, of the cost of £500 mind you. Anyway we signed up for a lion and, when the celebration is over, we get to keep him. He bears our school crest very proudly. We left the design of the lion to our very talented art staff but I did say I wanted the crest on his forehead and, ever with my marketing hat on, I wanted 125 years of excellence down his mane as it is our 125^th birthday year. He looks lovely and every child stamped their traditional African Adrinka  image on to him on the background inspired by Matisse who the children had been studying. He looks very proud, and rightly so, and I look forward to having him back in school.

 

Anyway I digress. We parked near school and wandered through the gardens, spotting lions as we went. Some were really lovely and very skilful.

 

 

 

I loved this chap - called Dandelion - just appealed to me

 

 

This boy was outside the town hall and had suych lovely detail - I took lots of close ups of him

 

This one - leatherbound - was stunning with lots of detail of all of the literary characters associated with the town and was, not surprisingly, outside the main library.

 

 

We took lots of photos and headed home via Starbucks. Here are some more of the lions.

 

 This one was a gorgeous mosaic.

 

 

And the Elvis lion - are you lion-some tonight!!!

 

 

After lunch the second half of the day began – the part where walking isn’t a very realistic option. We have dog gates (we in fact we have cat gates LOL) on the study and library doors. Think child stair gates but higher. They fit between the door jam and stop the cats getting in where we don’t want them.

I was coming out of the study, was distracted looking at the cats lying in the sun in the lounge, tripped over the bottom fixed bar, caught my foot in the gate (thought I had broken my toe) and then lurched forward bringing the gate out completely and landing full weight on what is already my bad knee that will need an op anyway.

I thought I was going to throw up – the pain was incredible. Just that sick making deep pain. By the time Nij managed to get me to sit up my knee had ballooned. I have been lying on the bed with it elevated and a cold pack on, but it is very very swollen and incredibly painful. I can walk on it – so not broken anything – but boy does it hurt. I also think I may have broken my middle toe (which I know they would do nothing about anyway as when you break toes the treatment is usually to strap it to another toe.

 

So a day of two halves.

 

I have new scrapping to share today. Dawn Inskip has a stunning new collection – you will know why I love it as soon as you see it. It is called Wonderful World from her store at Scrapbook Graphics and it is just stunning and so right for the gazzilion Disney pictures I have.

This is one page I made with it.

 

I once heard him described as 'that corporate rat' ... how dare they LOL  

Today I am thankful for

• Not actually breaking my leg

 

A little light relief

We have worked so hard that today we had a day off - well I had a day off and Nigel suffered it with great fortitude LOL

We went to Salisbury for the day - it is a lovely drive there, all across Cranbourne Chase - real Thomas Hardy country. There were beautiful fields of poppies and it was really lovely.

I popped into New Look, whose shoes I love, to see if they had any nice ones int he sale and came out with - Oh dear - 4 pairs. But three of them are leather and the four pairs came to £34 so that's not bad is it. I bought two pair of black leather high heeled courts for work, the cutest ever pair of very pointy kitten heel sling backs in black and cream (they have a real Audry Hepburn feel) and a pair of black and gold killer heels which will be for very dressy occassions when I don't need to walk more than a few steps!

I also bought two jumpers (£12 each) a suit, a t shirt, another skirt, two bloses and a coat I had oggled for ages and was finally reduced. Everything apart from a t shirt at Indigo was reduced and the whole lot was well under £100 so I am pleased and won't shop for a while now.

We stopped for a late lunch, early tea for a delicious salad and pizza and then I finished, yes finished, the study and library reorganisation. Such a releif and I have so much space.

I have a page to share that I made from really old photos.

 
I cut the top off when scanning I'm afraid.

 

The little journalling block like a torn page and the flowers were made witht he new Papertrey ink dies MIL brought back for me.

The photos are of baby Fiki with his beloved box. He had the box the day he came home as a kitten and it had all sorts of holes and flaps cut into it. He loved it and played in it endlessly. He eventually bashed it to pieces. It was a toy box for a while, but eventually it had to go. He has had other boxes, but he really did love that first one.

 Today I am thankful for

• a little retail therapy
• Tidy rooms

And finally an e mail to share which I thought was beautiful

THE OLD PHONE ON THE WALL

 When I was a young boy, my father had one of the first telephones in our neighborhood.  I remember the polished, old case fastened to the wall. The shiny receiver hung on the side of the box. I was too little to reach the telephone, but used to listen with fascination when my mother talked to it.
 Then I discovered that somewhere inside the wonderful device lived an amazing person. Her name was "Information Please" and there was nothing she did not know. Information Please could supply anyone's number and the correct time.
My personal experience with the genie-in-a-bottle came one day while my mother was visiting a neighbor. Amusing myself at the tool bench in the basement, I whacked my finger with a hammer, the pain was terrible, but there seemed no point in crying because there was no one home to give sympathy

I walked around the house sucking my throbbing finger, finally arriving at the stairway. The telephone! Quickly, I ran for the footstool in the parlor and dragged it to the landing. Climbing up, I unhooked the receiver in the parlor and held it to my ear.
 "Information, please" I said into the Mouthpiece just above my head.
 A click or two and a small clear voice spoke into my ear.
"Information."
 "I hurt my finger.. ." I wailed into the phone, the tears came readily enough now that I had an audience.

 "Isn't your mother home?" came the question.
 "Nobody's home but me," I blubbered.
 "Are you bleeding?" the voice asked
 "No," I replied. "I hit my finger with the hammer and it hurts."
 "Can you open the icebox?" she asked.
 I said I could.
 "Then chip off a little bit of ice and hold it to your finger," said the voice.
After that, I called "Information Please" for everything. I asked her for Help with my geography, and she told me where Philadelphia was. She helped me with my math. She told me my pet chipmunk that I had caught in the park just the day before, would eat fruit and nuts. Then, there was the time Petey, our pet canary, died. I called, "Information Please," and told her the sad story. She listened, and then said things grown-ups say to soothe a child. But I was not consoled. I asked her, "Why is it that birds should sing so beautifully and bring joy to all families, only to end up as a heap of feathers on the bottom of a cage?"
 She must have sensed my deep concern, for she said quietly, " Wayne , always remember that there are other worlds to sing in."

 Somehow I felt better.
 Another day I was on the telephone, "Information Please."
 "Information," said the now familiar voice. "How do I spell fix?", I asked.
 All this took place in a small town in the Pacific Northwest. When I was nine years old, we moved across the country to Boston . I missed my friend very much. "Information Please" belonged in that old wooden box back home and I Somehow never thought of trying the shiny new phone that sat on the table in the hall. As I grew into my teens, the memories of those childhood conversations never really left me.

 Often, in moments of doubt and perplexity I would recall the serene sense of security I had then. I appreciated now how patient, understanding, and kind she was to have spent her time on a little boy.
 A few years later, on my way west to college, my plane put down in Seattle . I had about a half-hour or so between planes. I spent 15 minutes or so on the phone with my sister, who lived there now. Then without thinking what I was doing, I dialed my hometown operator and said, "Information Please."

Miraculously, I heard the small, clear voice I knew so well.
"Information."
 I hadn't planned this, but I heard myself saying, "Could you please tell me how to spell fix.

 There was a long pause. Then came the soft spoken answer, "I guess your finger must have healed by now."

  I laughed, "So it's really you," I said. "I wonder if you have any idea how much you meant to me during that time?"
 I wonder," she said, "if you know how much your calls meant to me. I never had any children and I used to look forward to your calls."
 I told her how often I had thought of her over the years and I asked if I could call her again when I came back to visit my sister.
 "Please do", she said. "Just ask for Sally."
 Three months later I was back in Seattle ... A different voice answered,
 "Information."
 I asked for Sally.
 "Are you a friend?" she said.
 "Yes, a very old friend," I answered.
 "I'm sorry to have to tell you this, "She said, Sally had been working part time the last few years because she was sick. She died five weeks ago."
 Before
 I could hang up, she said, "Wait a minute, did you say your name was Wayne ?"
"Yes." I answered.
 "Well, Sally left a message for you. She wrote it down in case you called. Let me read it to you."
The note said, "Tell him there are other worlds to sing in. He'll know what I mean."
 I thanked her and hung up. I knew what Sally meant.

 Never underestimate the impression you may make on others whose life have you touched today?

 

I was soooooo thirsty

You know how it is....

You are hot. You are working hard.

Your throat is dry. You need a drink.

Downstairs is a wonderful American fridge dispensing iced water and crisp ice cubes.

You can picture the condensation running down the glass and almost feel the icy cold liquid coursing down your throat.

Except

 

You have emptied the contents of several scrap cupboards over the floor, desk, chairs, shelves and your own lap and there is no way you can get out. You are completely boxed in. If there was a fire you couldn't have escaped.

That was me today.

I am still only half way through the major restructure of the scraproom, aimed at actually being able to find and use some fo the endless stash I have, It will be good when it is done, but Oh dear .... they call this a holiday. I don't think so.

I am also appalled at our throwaway society. Truly disgusted. We sorted out the garage and Nigel has done three tip runs so far. It is disgusting what we have thrown out - but you can't get rid of it for love nor money. It is disgusting what everyone throws out. The tip is busy all the time and everyone is just throwing throwing throwing. None of it is biodegradable. It is all going into landfill or being shipped out elsewhere and it is truly shocking.

I keep seeing the film at Epcot on living with the land - symbiosis. And we are SO NOT. We are terribly wasteful and destructive and I have had some sort of epiphany and promise to try and do something about what we ditch in this house in the future.

I did manage - after a long search - to find the film Symbiosis (which is no longer shown) here

and this is the film that has replaced it. Same message - same importance.

The film is well worth watching.

 I have a card to share today that I made last week. All the scrapping stuff I have and I have had not a moment to use any of it today.

But tomorrow - now tomorrow I am going to scrap!!!

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• A tidier life and a great appreciation of waste