Dolly's Dreamings

Cursing the glorious weather

Do you know ... getting old brings some interesting things with it.

 

It is still better than the alternative of NOT getting old by a long way ... but I could do without some of the many 'benefits' it brings. The way your body changes. The menopause, for instance, is the gift that keeps on giving in so many ways from the hot flushes to the memory issues to the crabbiness (apparently according to Nigel that can be an issue but I don't see it myself!) to the thinning hair the poor nails.

Now I can add hayfever to the list of age benefits. I never used to suffer from hayfever. Nada. Nowt. Nothing. Over the past three years it has gotten steadily more apparent that now I do. It is most definitely tree pollen and when you work in a pine woodland and when you live with pine trees int he garden and the heath all around you it is pretty intense. My car, parked at work, is yellow. I kid you not. We have so much tree pollen that when it is very dry you see it blowing like smoke. Not surprising it is bad to inhale and to go in your eyes. It makes my throat itchy (bearable and hardly noticeable as I have such a bad cold anyway) but it is the eyes. My how they burn and itch and run. Thankfully I don't react to grass pollen and the tree pollen season is almost done. I just hope the grass pollen allergy isn't a new one to add to the list. However, despite the sore eyes I am still grateful that I live and work in beautiful places. I am not in a heavily built up area - I have green all around me and that is a joy to be cherished.

 

However, I refuse to be beaten. Life is good. I am actually in a very happy place, I am loving so much about my life right now and count myself very blessed. A bit of runny eye and the occasional (OK the almost permanent either hot flush or cold chill) thermostat issue is nothing.

 

I have another page I made at the weekend, this time using pictures from one of our favourite walks in the early summer - the Pamphill bluebell woods.

 

 

I really wanted the bottom picture to be 12 x 12 but I got rid of my 12 x 12 printer so cutting it into strips worked well as an alternative.

 

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• a blessed life
• trees surrounding me, not concrete
• my little fur family - so lovely to come home to.

 

Ear ear ... I hear you say!

I had to give in today and stay home as whilst I could work through the cough that kept me awake all night and the throat that is one of the worst I can remember, the earache did for me.

I think whenever you get anything it goes to your weak spot and my weak spot - or spots - are my ears and my tummy. It hit both but the earache was grim.

It is manageable now so I will return tomorrow.

Needless to say I haven't scrapped in a  couple of days but I do have a page I made at the weekend to share

It was made with a new collection by Dawn called Art Room Bundle

 

 

and it was full of all manner of lush stuff.

This is what I made with it and I also used the Happily Ever After Collection

 

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• feeling better
• rest and recovery
• a husband who came home at lunchtime for an hour to check on me

 

Run Forrest Run

This is a quick post today as I feel shocking.

My sore throat has developed into a cough and a streaming cold - the sort that shuts your eyes. But it is the earache that is unbearable.

These things always go to my ears.

I wanted to share a page made a while ago for a challenge on UKS - this time it is my own team's challenge - be inspired by a movie poster.

This is the poster I used.

 

 

and this is the page I made

 

 

It was kind of fun to do and I did like the picture of Nigel overlooking one of our favourite views.

 

Today I am thankful

• I can go to bed now
• for paracetamol and throat sweets

 

 

 

A new visitor to the garden - birds a plenty!

It has taken a lot of research and an eagle eye to identify the new visitor to our garden.

We were first alerted by the somewhat tedious call. rather than melodic birdsong like most of our other visitors, it is a repetitive single note over and over and over. I am surprised the bird has a throat left as he/she has been calling the same note pretty much for two straight days.

We kept seeing an occasional glimpse of the bird and there was a definite reddish orange breast and a grey head and we think - based on the call - we have identified it as a brambling. Anyone who can shed a different light on this please let me know.

 

 

 

 

 

A very pretty little bird it looks like the right one and the sound seems right.

Our bird feeder is like clapham junction at the moment. We have two nests in the clematis, clearly the woodpeckers have nested close by again and we have tits aplenty.

These are some of our regular visitors ... not my photos - off t'internet!

All of them are birds we see at least weekly - most of them daily ... and several times a day too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and although it was only once we did have a goshawk in the garden last year and he took down a pigeon and spent an hour and a half eating it under our pergola.

 

even a heron quite often

 

and of course we feed these too

 

we feel very blessed - for the price of suet, seeds and mealworm we have all of these wonderful creatures right here in our garden. This time of year they eat so much - but it is lovely to have them visit,

An appropriate page - not new - to share today

 

 

and finally - wish we had these in the garden

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• a restful weekend
• birds in our garden

 

Back home and almost recovered

It has been a very hard few days but incredibly rewarding and worthwhile.

Little Canada on the Isle of Wight was amazing. The staff there are superb - they couldn''t possibly do anything better and the girls were so brave, had a go at everything and achieved so much. The accommodation was fine, the weather was varied (the deluge of Thursday had to be seen to be believed - I think we all ran pretty much out of dry clothes) but it was brilliant.

 

Obviously I am limited with photos I can share - but the cabin and the view from my cabin porch are pretty cool!

 

 

 

But Oh so tiring. I think I am too old to do residential trips any more. I am shattered. Still

I do have a new page made last week that couldn't be shared till this weekend.

 

 

 

It was made with a collection called Seaside Serenade by Kim Cameron

 

Today I am thankful for

• a good trip away
• everyone safe and well
• being back home with Nigel
• Proper vacation planning
• recovery

 

 

 

 

 

 

Away but 'here'

I am still away - hence no blogging yesterday - and I am sure I am having a lovely time ... well I hope so.

However, I do have some new work to share.

This was made Monday for the UKS challenge this week and is another for our Treasure Trails album.

 

This was a trail we did at Cranborne and was Knowlton Church  and earthworks

We had driven past this masterpiece of History and never noticed it. It's history is fascinating and it leant itself to be scrapped in black and white

 

 

Today I am sure I am thankful for many things ... I am just not sure, yet, what they may be.

 

 

Whether the weather be good?

Why is it that in the UK - where weather is so unpredictable - you never quite get the weather you want.

As it changes so much you'd think it would be right some of the time.

I have been watching the weather for days now ready for THE TRIP and it is glorious at the moment. It is due to be glorious tomorrow. It is due to be absolutely hideous on Thursday and then OK on Friday. 

So that means 

Pack cool stuff for the sun 

Pack sun cream 

Pack a hat 

Pack sunglasses

Pack hayfever tablets

Pack warn stuff for the cold

Pack a waterproof

Pack a brolly

Pack changes of clothes for when you get soaked

Pack gloves

Oh my

I don't take this much stuff for a two week vacation in Florida.

Then I know I need t shirts, shorts and it will always be hot.

 

And what is it with toiletries.

You have to take the same toiletries whether it is a one night stay or a two week vacation. You need it all one night or a dozen.

 

And not even a hubby to carry the bags!

 

This popped into my in box today and how true

 

 

 

So am off to stuff as much as I can into one relatively small bag. Wish me luck!

 

And because I obviously haven't done any scrapping I figured I'd share a suitcase related box - my box of our three favourite hotels in the world - The Caribbean Beach, The Hyatt Newport Beach and the Venetian in Vegas. Hotel we go to again and again and again. Happy thoughts! There are three separate mini books

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thinking of holidays

I was motivated to share this page  as I was very excited knowing we will be going back to the Caribbean Beach Resort. Oh yes - trip number 11 to Walt Disney World, Trip number 9 to the Caribbean Beach Resort.

 

I love it there - it really is my idea of Paradise. I'd be no good on a real Caribbean Island - not enough to do for me. But Disney's Caribbean Beach resort has all the beauty but also all the fun of Walt Disney world and all the shopping I can manage too.

Just perfect

 

Anyway this was made for Nigel's photobook and was the perfect sunset. In all of our trips we had never been there for a perfect sunset. usually we were int he parks or out at dinner but last year we were at the resort twice for sunset and it was just glorious.

 

 

I kept it very simple as the pictures needed to shine - literally and metaphorically.

 

Today I am thankful for

• beautiful sights to gladden the heart

Getting ready

Sometimes packing is such fun as you eagerly anticipate a holiday - a time away, a time to relax and unwind.

Sometimes packing is for work and rather than a rest and a relax you look forward to responsibility, to pressure, to supervising and in that too there is reward.

So I am packed and ready for my journey overseas ... Ok a little sea, but still!

I have a new page to share today - about a different sort of holiday. The paradise sort.

It uses a kit called Fresh Morning Beauty by Jumpstart Designs

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• a lovely Sunday
• time well spent
• my little Bengal babies - so adorable and still babies although they are elebenty one

 

 

Pop up popped up again

Another day another dollar

Another craft fair

Dolly's Designs pop up shop popped up again - this time in Wimborne so closer to home.

 

 

I WONDER WHO THAT IS THAT YOU CAN SEE THROUGH THE DOORWAY!  I do believe it is my marketing manager and PR man!

The fair was opened by the town crier - so that was pretty cool.

 

Not the best fair we have done but it was fun. We also put the last of the new plants in when we came home.

 

There is a new colour scheme today over at The Great Scheme of Things - so look out for more lush designs all week. Do come over and play along

 

 

And I have a new page today made for a challenge on UKS and as part of my CT work at Pickleberrypop - don't you just love it when things work like that.

 

It uses - A delightful moment by Fanette

 

and this is what I made with it - definitely a summer page

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• Nigel and I doing things together - and doing them well.
• Saturday - of course