Dolly's Dreamings

Not a flake

So we were forecast snow on Tuesday - they pushed it to Wednesday and Thursday, and Friday and not a flak thus far. And even the forecast is showing there may be little.

I would have loved some snow. I am owed an Olaf snowman!

 

Consequently I have been scrapping, in between doctors for blood tests (she was lovely and found a vein first time)

This is a paper page I made for the Gone witht he Wind album. We loved being in the US for Christmas celebrations. One of the most spectacular trees we saw was the one that was in the Great Hall at Union Station in St Louis.

I spent ages  cutting out flowers and holly leaves for embellishments

 

 

I have also made this page of my Mom. I was going to make a paper page ... and I will ... but this kit popped along and it seemed right. The collection is by Mooscraps Designs and is called Cherish your Life

 

Dawn also has savings today on a collection called True Colours which is so worth checking out.

 

I have also been to visit my old teacher today as I have been popping in to help out after her hip replacement. She is doing really well for someone int heir late 80s and it has been a joy to sit and chat with her.

 

Today I am thankful for

• central heating - it was -6 last night.
• I am thankful we are safe but if we were to have snow I'd be very careful ... promise ... please may we have a little!!!

 

 

Goodness me it's bracing

Well, they predicted cold - and we sure got it today and apparently it is going colder.

We are expecting temperatures of -7 which probably isn't cold for many places but it's pretty nippy for here.

 

But oh my - we are a shocking country for making a drama out of a crisis. The scare-mongering in the media is ridiculous. I saw a BBC news update of commuters battling their way to work this morning through the snow. There was NO snow on the ground and they were cycling through light flurries of flakes. For goodness sake. I know we don't have snow often and so we are not geared up for it, but come on people, get a sense of perspective.

We were in Massachusettes in 1997 when we experienced a proper storm - The April Fool's Storm of 1997

We were staying with Nigel's brother in Concord MA and the day before, easter Sunday, we had been ont he green in Concord Centre in t shirts looking at spring flowers.  Jim woke us early Easter Monday as he was off to work and said if the man came to shovel the snow we were to tell him to come after 5 pm. We laughed at the joke. I had arranged to spend the morning in the Alcott School in the town (Yes I know I was on holiday but it was a chance to spend time observing in an American school) and when I arrived I was told they wouldn't be open past lunchtime because of the snow. I swer to you it was mild and blue sky and not a flake anywhere. I left at 12.00 and when we got back to the house it began to snow. The temperature plummeted and they had 24 inches of very wet and heavy snow fall in under 24 hours. Oh my I have never seen snow like it. It was very wet and heavy and I will never forget the explosion sounds as branches around were breaking under the weight. It was beautiful and like nothing we had ever seen. We were due to fly out the next day - the eastern Seabord was closed! But the snow stopped at midday on the Tuesday and bearing in mind it is quite a rural community and Jim lives ona  small road, we drove on cleared roads into the centre at 3.30 pm. The snow was cleared with endless people just fising a snow plough to their 4 x 4 and driving. It stopped nothing.

 

It still ranks as one of the top 10 worst storms to hit the east coast

The forecast for a major snowstorm on April Fool's Day in 1997 was no joke.

Heavy snow buried locations from southern and central New England to the Catskills of New York and the Poconos of northeast Pennsylvania March 31-April 1, 1997.

Boston saw 25.4 inches of snow in 24 hours, ranking as the fourth heaviest snowstorm on record in the city. The day before the storm, temperatures were in the 60s.

Farther west, Worcester, Massachusetts, saw its heaviest snowstorm on record dating back to 1892 with 33 inches. To the south, Providence, Rhode Island picked up 18 inches.

A few spots, including East Jewitt, New York, and Milford, Massachusetts, had to dig out from storm totals of three feet.

The combination of the heavy, wet snow and strong winds caused major damage to trees and powerlines. More than 750,000 customers lost power.

 

Now THAT was snow

Pictures which show after the snow plough and once the centre was clear ... beautiful to experience but I wouldn't want to live with it all the time. Barb I bet you have seen far far worse

 

My briother-in-laws road with us exploring

 His house somehwere buried

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have had a few scrappy days but as this is picture heavy already will just share a couple ... a paper page first which is not the most beautiful page but tells a funny story of how Nigel was mugged in Memphis ... by a parking machine

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and a digital page of Alice made for a Pickleberrypop Challenge

 

 

 

Today I am grateful that the cats, Fiki in particular, seems a little bit better. He was a very poorly boy this morning. I know it sound silly but he looked ill, he couldn't open his eyes properly. wasn't purring (unhreard of) his tail was down and he wouldn't eat or sit or relax. He was hunched and obviously in a lot of discomfort. We were a little relieved that Kira also appeared less than her usual self, ate little and was very quiet (unusual for her) as this indicated a bug of some sort not soemthing more serious. I am convinced it was traces of onion (poisonous to cats) in chicken I gave them on Saturday. The chicken had been cooked in a sause with onions and although I scrapped the sauce off their there may have been onion traces. I should know better. They will not be having treats like that again. They seem to have perked up a little, but we are wathing them both carefully.

 

and Barb, the cat on the thatched roof was straw too. But very cute

The cold never bothered me anyway!

As the song goes .. the cold never bothered me anyway, not when we have glorious wall to wall sunshine, deep blue skies and not a cloud anywhere visible.

It has been an absolutely glorious few days - really beautiful.

Yesterday we had a picnic by the water at Baiter and we also saw I Tonya. Not quite sure how I felt about that one. It was a bit depressing on all sorts of levels, but I can see why it has earned nominations.

 

Today we set off for the Puddles - real Dorset villages and enjoyed a drive and a wlak. I was shocked to see so many daffodils out everywhere. It is February. It is bitterly cold and, allegedly, snow is on the way. But I bet we don't actually get any!

Some snaps from today

 

 

 

One of 50 special trees int he UK apparently. I know because the sign said so!!!

 

Spring flowers

 

 

 

 

 

 

love me some pussy willow

 

I have some new releases to share too. Dawn Inskip makes the most incredible templates and she has a new bundle out this weekend Art Foundation Templates Bundle no 2.

 

 

I made these two pages and all of the goodies are from Dawn's store. The tiger picture was also Dawn related as it was atken when we all went to Paradise park last weekend

 

 

 

Jumpstart Designs also have this amazing Cottage weekend Bundle which is amazing

 

I couldn't resist using it to show this photo of Nigel and I chilling (literally as well as figuratively) in Celebration on a lazy Sunday morning

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• gorgeous weather
• a wonderful day out
• beautiful Dorset countryside
• the smell of coq au vin cooking downstairs

 

 

 

 

 

 

The little girl gets her moment

 

All too often I scrap Fiki because he is a poser and when he sees a camera it is like he knows exactly what it is. He poses. He preens and looks adorable. And he is a handsome boy (yes I know I am biased but he is handsome)

Consequently, of the gazzilion pictures I have of the cats, most are of Fiki.

Kira, well Kira is shy (feisty but shy). She has never really liked cameras and the sight of one is guaranteed to make her hide. We always say that she is embarrassed now by her 'special ey'. She has over pigmentation in her left eye and now has no visible iris (her eyes were a gorgeous amber and now are completely black) Thankfully her vision is perfect - specialists have tested her and she is fine - it just looks odd. 

However, to cut a long story short, we have far fewer pictures of our little girl but it doesn't mean we love her any differently at all.

So I have two new pages of Kira.

It is Pickle Barrel time and so they are both made with new Pickle Barrel collections.

 

This first one is made with Jumpstart Designs Woodland Dreams collection which is gorgeous.

It is Kira doing her 'wild cat' thing. Thank goodness they do not go outside often - only with us - as she would be an extraordinary hunter and we would have all sorts brought in.

 

 

This second shows her growing up and is made with Yesterday by Fayette Designs which is a super collection

 

We first saw her when she was 4 weeks old and went back to visit again at 6 weeks. The first picture is when she was 6 weeks old and she was already ours. She was such a strong and feisty little kitten. There were three in the litter (originally there were 6 but their mother broke her pelvis ..climbing ... and so the breeder had to hand rear three and he lost them. Kira and her brother were identical and very very strong and active. Fiki was the little sad runt and even spent an additional two weeks alone with his mother for that little bit extra. When we brought them home at 12 weeks she was twice the size of Fiki and twice the weight. Now, however, he is way way bigger than her. He is taller, more solid and way heavier but she is still stronger, though she is a lady and when they play fight she never uses her full strength. Kira had had numerous issues. She has her eye troubles - which are actually fine. They started when she was about 7 and we had her tested with every test known to man. Who knew they had specialist ophthalmic vets! Her vision is fine but there was a possibility it could be a tumour causing it. They can't biopsy it because it is the eye. The only option would have been to remove the eye and then they might find it was not a tumour. We were not prepared to take that risk!

At 4 she developed severe allergies, though no-one knew it was allergies at first and so we had test after test and biopsies and spent a fortune to find she was allergic to pretty much everything from maize (in almost all foods) beef, pork, lamb, dairy, grass seeds and dust mites! We worked hard for about a year to get it under control and she no longer has any flare-ups. Plus she has a heart murmur. Yet she is almost 15 and as active as ever.

 

So this is Kira at 6 weeks and 6 years

 

and just for clarity this was taken a couple of weeks ago and you can see her left eye

 

 

Dawn has reductions in store today too

SAVE 67% - One Day Only : Young at Heart Collection, Dawn Inskip at The Lilypad

 

and for balance, the boy who is at the same time incredibly clever and incredibly stupid!

 

 

My day has only recently started and so I am sure there are many more things I will be thankful for - but this is a start

 

Today I am thankful for

• My fur babies. They bring endless joy to our lives (and a fair bit of angst too)
• sunshine - it is gorgeous out there so I plan to be out!

 

 

 

A fun few days

It's been filled with fun here the last few days. No scrapping but lots of happiness.

Friday saw a busy day for us (remember we are retired so it is a relative term!)

I met a friend for breakfast at the park. Lovely sunny day and views whilst we ate and chatted

 

 

Nigel took me out for a picnic lunch onto the ranges in the Purbecks

 

 

and in the evening we went down to Poole Quay to see some of the festival of lights and have dinner down there on the quay. Dinner was lovely. The lights were, to say the least, a little disappointing. The only one we really liked was the squirrel, though the Guildhall looked good all lit up

 

 

 

 

Saturday saw a local craft fair

 

 

and yesterday saw a lovely day. Nigel had to meet someone from another speedway club that he has been giving advice to (he is the becoming a go-to guy  in British Speedway and has helped many clubs) so they agreed to meet at Paradise Wildlife Park (where there was a festival of speedway on and reduced admission) and it happens to be close enough to some good friends of ours, Dawn and Paul, for them to meet up with us. 

It was a lovely day - despite the terrible traffic on the way home where the journey took us twice as long as the journey up). Nigel was able to conclude his business and we spent time with our friends, enjoying chatting, catching up and seeing the animals and a lovely meal after the park. It is just a shame we live so far apart and don't get to meet up often enough. Personal promise ... I will do better!

 

 

 

 

 

We are suckers for the tigers. Paradise is where we had the privilege of meeting the gorgeous cuddly Bruno an incredible 22 years ago!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were all taken with the amazing sculpture of the Clockwork Lion. Time is running out for lions - and for so many other animals - and this was all made from clock pieces and was pretty darned incredible.

 

 

 

The white lions were stunning and they have really good viewing areas. The male looked like he had had his mane washed and blow dried.

 

 

 

 

 

 

All in all a lovely few days.

 

I guess you are ready for some scrapping now though. Two pages today.

 

This was made with Dawns new goodies My Heart is Full elements,   alcohol ink papers and solids and henna and stamps

 

and this is what I made

 

 

and another page made re-making the pages of my Mom and Dad ... a picture of my Mom and Dad when I was on the way.

 

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• good friends
• great days out
• our home town
• animals - all kinds, all shapes, all sizes

 

 

 

 

 

A little bit of love

Happy Valentine's Day one and all.

No matter who or what it is you love I hope you have someone or something that you love. Nigel and I don't really 'do' valentine's day. We often don't send cards and this year was a year we said we didn't need to send cards. And I don't let him buy overpriced mass-produced flowers today either. However, he is free to buy them any other day ... hope is he is reading this!

Seriously - we know we are loved and show it every day so today is a day much like any other for us. Except he did stop on the way home from his work and brought m unexpected treats for tea - my favourite stir-fry ingredients. Just for me - He won't eat a stir-fry as it is purely vegetables and he doesn't really 'DO' vegetables.

There are loads of new Valentine's goodies around int he shops and also int he digital stores and I have worked with a couple of lush new collections. 

 

I absolutely love the new collaboration kit by Fayette, Jen Yurko and Jumpstart Designs called 2 hearts

I chose a rather less traditional subject for the page

 

 

Apart from each other, these two little love cats are the love of our lives and they are absoluley devoted to each other. Where one is, there will the other be also. They might be almost 15 (how did THAT happen!) but they are inseparable.

 

I also worked with Forever Love byKathry Estry   and made a more traditional love page... us ont he dock at Riverside

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• a jolly good waterproof coat - vile out today
• scapping time
• the chance to show love to others by helping out
• my valentine and my love cats

Valentine memes from someone with too much time on her hands!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Everything still standing

Boy did we have strong winds this morning. Really strong gusts. It was a relief when we got up to see that the trees and fences were still standing. A couple of the local wheelie bins hadn't managed to withstand the wind.

We went out to see the waves crashing on the beach but it was too blowy to walk so we had a walk later when the sun came out and the winds died down.

 

You know when you are a scrapper when you dream about new pages. I did that last night and into my dreaming mind popped a title for a page I knew I wanted to make as soon as I woke up.

When I started scrapping in 2003 - and I use that phrase losely- seriously - some of the first pages I made were of my  Mom and Dad. And I used originalirreplaceable photos, and I cut them and sometimes even cut them into shapes like circles and fancy corners. And now it breaks my heart to see what I did to those precious photos and what an awful mess the pages were. They seriously were awful. 

So I decided, after the dream, to take many of these precious photos off their crummy pages and scrap them in a more careful way. And before you say that you are sure my early pages were fine, they really were not. There was no journalling, they didn't tell a story and they were just photo pages on acid free paper with a title.  In case you were in any doubt this was the page I used today. No journalling, no information, nothing. Truly not what I call a scrapbook page which tells a story.  The bits behind the photos are vellum, the green bits were shiny wrapping paper - like I thought if I used acid freeglue I could preserve the photos on anything. Oh and state of the art, I printed the text on vellum too!! 

 

 

Anyway it was the title of the page that sprang to mind in my dream. My parents met at a store - BHS to be precise - where they both worked and they were not allowed to go out with colleagues. This tells the story and the title is a play on story and store! Well it made sense at 3 am

 

 

 

 

 

I also have another page to share made for Simple Recipes on UKS this month

 

 

 

Such fun to record Cafe Beignet, the nicest of the three must do cafe's we visited. The other Cafe Beignet on Royal was OK but very small and we didn't like Cafe Du Monde much.

 

Today I am thankful for

• everything still standing
• a nice brisk walk 
• the fact that the photos of Mom and Dad had not deteriorated too much

And finally some amazing 'balanced' sculptures

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Little to report

I am glad people keep visiting and I hope it is to see the scrapping and the photography because, to be perfectly honest, the rest, the resording of daily life, is boring to say the least.

However I like boring. I like familiar, I like predictable and I like doing little.

 

I have, however, been scrapping in amongst the mundane shopping, housework, a couple of walks and a lot of Grey's!

 

This page was made for the monthly challenge on UKS. It took a stupidly long time! I had seen the heart idea on a page on the GoGo Getaway site (and apologies I am not sure who did it) and decided to try a cut out heart for the love challenge.

Turns out it was harder than I thought and turns out fiddlier than I was comfortable with. Add in stencils, ink etc and this is the finished page

 

 

 

 

The photo was taken when we were sitting in the santachairs at Epcot (I recoloured them pink - as you do) 

 

I also have this page to share which is a digital page using a kit from Dita B Designs and showing the castle all lit for Christmas.

 

 

Jackey I am pleased seeingt he pictures encouraged you to go to see the snowdrops - hope that you liked them and didn't get caught int he hail storm we got caught in in Wimborne today - though we did see the most perfect rainbow by Julian's Bridge - a perfect arc, both ends visible.

Today I am thankful for

• a peaceful life
• scrapping time
• shopping all done

 

 

 

Freezing cold, a national day and Really unusual new goodies

 It's been beautiful and sunny today and so we headed out to Kingston Lacy for our annual visit to the snowdrops.

Oh my were we unprepared for the cold. The temperature said 6 degrees. It lied! A lot. It was freezing with and icy strong wind. We didn't linger long. We even used our hoods for the first time.

 

 

 

 

Today was also a national day that we wanted to celebrate - National Pizza Day - well it would have been rude not to.

 

 

I am a huge fan of Dawn Inskip's templates - they are real quality and very different to other things you might see and her new batch of Templates with Dimension are no exception. She has also released a unique kit called stick together which is fab

 

Using them - and other products by Dawn - I was able to record the lush colours we were able to experience in Nashville as fall is so much later down that far south.

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• a lovely bitterly cold walk (I was most thankful when I got back into the car!)
• National pizza day and Prezzo

 

 

 

up beat - becasue I am trying

It's been a tough few days one way and another. I rarely ever write about things not being good, but that is because I choose to sift out the good from the ordinary and the not so great. But like everyone, I have my not 100% days too. However, compared to so many people who battle the most awful things every day, I am truly blessed.  It is a sobering thing when you feel down or poorly or tired or sad for whatever reason that there are so many people in this world who have truly awful things to bear. It certainly makes me stop and appreciate how lucky I am. It's just that some days that is harder than others to remember.

I have not been feeling brilliant and to compound it, or maybe because of it (not to sure which is the cause and which the effect in this little scenario) I have had another IBS flare up. So nothing serious but it's amazing how simple things can get to you sometimes. I know one thing, since I had campylobacter several years ago (four I think) my insides have been totally messed up. They never really recovered properly and whilst they are OK most of the time, when they act up they act up bad.

However, I am a  firm believer in NOT letting it get to me and, even though I have had better days, I am determined that the good outweighs the bad. Nigel had the results of his histology and the things removed were all benign (he has a follow up ont he possible squamous cell carcinoma on his leg on Friday but as the cream did little we both think it is not that||) I have picked up some extra invigilation work which is good because as I don't really work anymore it is bonus holiday money - yey! My phone contract which was acting up and not working is all fixed having Now TV in the bedrooms means that if you are feeling rotten at least you have 'company'. (Binge watching Greys again!) I have had good scrapping time too.

 

It is new release day at Pickleberrypop and I worked with a gorgeous collection by Kathryn Estry called Red Velvet and I couldn't resist this

 

and this was the collection called a travellelling through my dreams by Mooscraps

 

Dawn Inskip also has her Art Smart kit on 50% off today ... this page was made with that

Today I am thankful for

• so very much in my life - I am a lucky girl
• pain killers, all sorts of stomach meds and an attentive husband (he is always so caring unless it is nausea - that scares the hell out of him!)
• new scrapbook things to play with
• NOW TV - sad but true.