Dolly's Dreamings

A sense of relief

We were due to have a short break away next week - three days in Cornwall - and to be fair our hearts were not in it. Cornwall would have been lovely but quite frankly it's not America and we should have been flying in to Seattle next week to spend almost a month touring some of the most beautiful national parks including North cascades, Glacier, Mount Rainier, Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, Arches, Zion, Bryce, Joshua Tree and Death Valley. Some of the greatest scenic views in the world. Pretty though it is, Cornwall was never going to cut it really.

However, with COVID ont he up and with the cats still not 100% we cancelled it today - and feel relieved. We live in a beautiful part fo the world and days out we can manage safely for us and the felines will be much better. And I feel a weight has been lifted. I really did not want to leave them at the moment.

We had a lovely day today. My best friend loaned us her beach hut and we went today. I grew up with a beach hut. My parents had one at Alum Chine and I literally spend every day of every summer holiday down there (too much sun really which I bitterly regret now after having a malignant melanoma removed but we didn't know any better then) . Nigel and I are not proper beach people. we love to go to the beach and walk and spend an hour but the thought of spending a  whole day on the sands is not something that appeals to us at all. The thought of spending one day out of the entire summer in a  luxury beach hut off the sand but with a great view, lots of shade and awesome facilities was very appealing and today was the day.

We were there early so we could park for free and had a super time reading, people watching, dipping in the sea, eating lunch and ice creams and that is now well out of our system for the year. I a so grateful to my friend for making it possible for us to enjoy our day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have new scrapping to share

 

Very different for me - playing with lots of mixed media with burshos and inks and gelatos.

 

 

 

 

 and I can now share my latest blanket made for my wonderful cousin Joyce and thankfully she loved it

 

(Doesn't go with my bedroom but will go with hers)

 

 

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• decisions made and staying home
• the generosity of friends

 

 

and my amazing stuff to share today is these incredible knitted - yes knitted - life size figures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Three days and counting

No pain killers for three days - to say I am thrilled is an understatement.

It woke me int he night but I powered through it!

Fiki had blood tests today and despite having PKD since 2012 he is still stage 2 kidney disease which is better than we expected and his thyroid is fine.

Kira started her thyroid medication today and she took tablet no 1 very very well. Long may that continue.

 

In other news three new pages of scrapping to share

As fans of Lake Wobegon we were thrilled to drive through the Minnesota countryside and assign names tot he places in our minds. It was great fun and very pretty

 

 

The Teepee Curios in Tucumcari is another iconic Route 66 venue and we visited early one morning in the freezing cold.

 

 

And I couldn't resist the title for this one. The very friendly Minnesotan sheriff who helped us find the Lake Wobegon trail head and stayed and chatted for ages. He was really lovely.

 

 

Yesterday we went to Blandford for work and had a short walk along the Stour afterwards.

 

 

The circle marks one of the very rare otters - yes it is a dreadful photo

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• haircuts
• healthier cats
• no pain killers
• pleasant walks

and I came across these ont he internet - the emptiness caused by COVID. Amazing pictures

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An interesting few days

It's been an interesting few days!

I had the second part of my root canal work on Monday - another hour int he chair and although she didn't hurt at all when she was doing it - she really is very very very good - it hurt like mad yesterday. I think the deep anaesthetic wore off late Monday night so Tuesday was horrid as it built and built all day.

Am popping the pain killers but she did warn it could be painful for a week. Oh my!

I do have new scrapping to share though

This is a new collection from Chunlin Designs and it is called Be Happy and it made me happy to play with it

 

 

 

 

and I knew what I wanted to do wuth this one by Kathryn Estry

 

 

I love the story of Waterbugs and Dragonflies and sow e have lots of dragonflies around the house to remember Mommy and Daddy so I scrapped a picture of them and the end of the story.

 

 

I made this for my team challenge which was shiny. The art deco buildings in Chicago were beautiful and covered in gold so I used lots of gilding wax on this one

 

 

 

and another of the gorgeous Ngosi

 

 

We have had a busy morning with the cats at the vets for routine vaccinations and health check, Nigel's hearing test and some petrol station work. Hopefully tomorrow I will get to scrap!

Today I am thankful for

• £10 off at Pets at Home
• cats safely checked, vaccinated and fussed over
• Nigel's improved hearing
• painkillers

 

 

and in keeping with a catty theme - cats hidden everywhwre.

 

This dog must be horrified to realise his shadow is a cat

 

 

a cat shaped bruise on a banana

 

cat in the stain on concrete

cat shadow

 

 

cat grass

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Disney Day

I have had fun this afternoon making something Disney related which is novel for me as I haven't done anything Disney for a long time.

We haven't visited since 2018 and we have no plans to go back for the foreseeable future. we feel very much that we had the best years of Disney - the years when parks were quieter, when it was for kids, when it was not just a money grab where after the price of your ticket you had to pay for extras if you wanted a good experience like reserved seating, dessert parties, after hours etc etc. We liked Disney when it was about the magic and the rides and the characters not about the food and - seemingly more important - the drink. We liked it when Disney MGM (it will never be Disney Studios) was about movies and how they were made and when EPCOT was about education. We liked it when Disney service was world class, when others aspired to have the sort of service Disney saw as the norm.

Don't get me wrong, we loved our Disney vacations and the memories we have will never tarnish nor fade, we just don't feel the need to go these days.

Anyhow I digress. Cal Summers from paper Scissors Story and The Scrap Lab  designs the most amazing mini books - and not so mini books. She is hosting the challenges this month at For the Love of Pretty Paper and this week it was making a 12" x 12" folder.

I wasn't sure what to create but then it came to me. We have been to Disney World and Disney Land some 18 times and every trip we collect the maps and bring them home and we love looking at them to see how the parks have changed over the years (not always for the better but heck) so I decided to make a thicker box file so I could keep all the Disney maps in one place.

 

This is what I came up with.  It is full 12" x 12" size and it 2 1/2" thick so will hold loads.

 

 

 

That picture is it closed and this is the flap open

 

 

I used loads of stitching and foam pads so it has lots of relief and texture

 

 

 

 

and this is the best I could get to show it standing up so you can see how thick it is

 

 

 

It was a fun way to spend an afternoon and in fairness really simple to make. It was the decorating that took the time.

 

Do go check out Cal's store in the first link - posted again here 

 

Today I am thankful for

• the generosity of others who teach great classes
• Disney - I might not go any more but I still love my memories of it

 

 

And these are my find today - a lady called Tania Lisova who make tiny perfect bouquets  - such skill

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There's a bit of a breeze

It's a tad breezy out there - well 50 mph winds to be exact but there is no accompanying sound of banging as our fence just doesn't bang any more.

We are thrilled

I have had a scrappy day today playing with the new Simple Stories Simple Vintage Great Escape which - full disclosure - I was given as a DT member for A Trip Down Memory Lane.

Do check out the store HERE for these products

 

I have made three pages so far - expect more with this collection

 

This was a visit to the Painted Desert in Arizona which was really lovely and totally deserted

 

 

 

Poole Park - a little closer to home

 

 

 

And a trip to Moreton walled Garden last month

 

 

I had great fun doodling the border

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• lovely new stash to play with (though I have had to give in to my stash ban and buy more)
• safe fences

 

and how amazing are these

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Quiet days but lovely

Almost a week pain free - I am a happy happy lady

Life is good

 

Days have been quiet but lovely. Walks and even a trip into our local town (which we didn't like but we needed things)

 

I finished a huge project - a crochet blanket for our bedroom and I am really pleased with it

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is the same as the red one (which obviously doesn't do with the bedroom) and I am aiming to sell it for just a little more than the cost of the wool. I am also now making one for my cousin!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have also been scrapping a lot - much of which I cannot share until tomorrow but I can share these

 

me and a giant sunflower at Morten

 

 

My scrappy team mates and I on our weekly zoom call where we chat and set and share challenges

 

a whole field of sunflowers - I was so happy

 

 and another for the birthday album - pims o'clock

 

Today I am thankful for

• continuing pain free
• binge watching The West Wing
• black russians - we hadn't had one for ages - they are so delicious

 

and today's share - these are all the work of an amazing makeup artist. I can't believe they are makeup and not just phtoshopped. What talent to do this

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The hot is back

The hot sunny weather is back and it is lovely.

We have enjoyed walks and the beach and I went out with two girlfriends today for a very nice very safe socially distanced coffee and catch up which was lovely.  Oh and we have still been doing jigsaws. These are a few of our recent ones ... all 1000 pieces

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was the pretty area we sat in today for coffee

 

and this was the beach the other day with new smart not out of control haircuts

 

 

I also have new scrapping to share

 

This uses a collection called Beach Therapy by et Designs and is my favourite place - sandbanks shore road lookinga cross the harbour

 

 

 

and this was for a challenge on UKS called 'broken'

 

Today I am thankful for

• sunshine
• chatty catch ups
• beautiful days
• jigsaws
• being 59 - enjoying it just for a few more days

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The River AND the Sea

Friday is always a day we cram more into - largely because we get up at a sensible hour. Nigel likes to get up at 6.30, get ready and then be at Tesco around 7 in the queue ready for opening at 8 as it is quiet then. I normally manage to force myself out of bed by 8 (a lot earlier than normal) but today was up at 7.30. Just as well as Nigel was home by 8. They have now started opening at 6 so he went straight in. Cut an hour off his day! Goodness - so much extra time we had. Once the shopping was washed and put away, we had had a cup of tea and the washing was on the line it was still only just 9.30 and we were out!

We were going to go for a beach walk but it turned out it looked warmer than it was and we were a little chilly when we stopped on the cliff top for a look at the cruise ships. We then thought about Hengistbury Head but knew it would be a bit chilly up top in a reasonable breeze so we settled on a lovely walk along Tucton River and a scenic drive home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My hair is way way longer than it has been in 40 years and for some reason - Nigel thinks it is that I have been out in the sun so much and whilst I wear sunscreen my hair doesn't - it has gone very auburn

Consequently I had such fun messing around taking long hair pictures - with filters as it was less scary . As soon as it is humid it goes wild. When I wash it it is just very tight curls and when I comb it it is just long frizz! Roll on Monday when it is cut

 

The curl

 

 

The fluff!!!

 

 

Well it was fun but it needs to go - I can't control it this length. And if it is windy it blows out and STAYS out! Hideous. But that is lockdown hair for you (and I cut it once myself about 8 weeks ago!)

 

I have new scrapping - due to a challenge on UKS I dragged out my old Home Town album which was A4 format and loved making this one

 

 

and this one was a LOT of stamping - hundreds of small images. Took a while!

 

 

and people felt my multi picture page was only possible because it was digitial so I wanted to show it is just as possible on paper.

 

 

 

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• a lovely walk
• a lot accomplished
• hairdressers - very very thankful

Not mine - off the internet - but oh so much fun

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

a mixed few days

We have gone through a full gambit of weather, pleasure and stress the last few days. It was awfully hot and so we took a picnic tea down to the sea. Not where all the people are. We locals know where to go that is quiet and it was lovely but still not cool. It was 28 degrees all night in our bedroom.

Yesterday was a little cooler and we finally had our fence fitted. We have gone from 6 foot wooden panels (that break, blow out, shatter, fly like kites over the heath) to 3 foot gravel board and 3 foot fence. It looks very different - not quite used to it yet - but will last much better int he wind. But I don't cope at all well with workmen around and so I found it all very stressful. I breathed a sigh of relief when they had gone and the day finished on a high with our Friday family fun night which we hosted this week. The round of Mr and Mrs was hilarious.

I had a busy day scrapping yesterday but as they are for classes I cannot share them yet. But - pin the date

 

The weekend of 17th July is a bumper cyber crop at ATDML

 

 

These are three pages made a while ago but not shared

 

Kira helping with our jigsaw puzzles. We have done dozens of puzzles since lockdown and really enjoy them

 

 

This was my page about me for the last ATDML cyber crop

 

 

 

and a garden one from earlier in May

 

Today I am thankful for

• the fence work complete and hopefully stable now.
• Nigel's patience when I have meltdowns

And today some totally ridiculous trying to be a pretentious way to serve food which I think are totally bonkers

 

I'd send most of them back on the basis they were unhygenic as the things could not be cleaned properly. But then I don't go to that sort of restaurant

 

A potato on a  little chair!

 

 

roof tiles - really!!!

 

 

a cocktail - what is wrong with a glass?

 

 

ramen noodles as beer!!!

served on real pebbles - no thank you

 

 

nope

 

This is quite cute - they asked for nothingf or dessert

 

beef potato and peas in a glass - for goodness sake

 

 

 

 

cheese on a mousetrap!

 

 

 

nope nope nope

 

 

the kitchen sink

 

 

 

 

absolutely no

 

 

Burgers as a cocktail accent!

 

 

 

noooo - the mess

 

oh for goodness sake

 

 

 

 

 

Scrappy happiness

It's been a lovely few days.

It was family quiz night on Friday night and, as always, great fun and lovely to chat to everyone and get to see them even though miles and miles separate us all.

Another zoom chat on Saturday with my team mates from UKS and again great to see people from all over the country - indeed all over the world.

 

I was so happy yesterday when my new wool came. Not much - just a top up. I decided I loved my red and cream and grey blanket so much I wanted to make the same pattern for a throw for our bed. I had already bought the wool but now I was changing the pattern and making another proper blanket instead of granny squares I needed more of two colours. I thought I would have to wait ages but it came really quickly and I have started my new throw for our bed. I am happy as it is a blanket I know I will use. I have no idea what I am going to do with the other one - I may try and sell it as it is brand new. I am thinking that in a perfect world I would sit and make blankets to sell just for the cost of the wool as my pleasure is the evenings and evening of happiness making it in front of the TV. I said to Nigel I was just so darned happy last night! Simple things eh.

 

I have also been scrapping madly this weekend in readiness for the Berry Big Deal promotion next week at Pickleberrypop. I cannot share those yet but oh my there are some amazing collections.

I can share these though

 

This one celebrates a special part of our garden. It has two rose bushes given by two different families at school representing 4 girls I taught from the age of 3 - 11 spanning a total of 12 years for each family.  It also has sunflowers growing which were planted from the seeds we were given at Fiona and Dave's wedding and also, of course, Florence the Flamingo Nigel game me for mothering sunday

 

 

and I don't think I shared these.

 

Thank goodness shelves are NOT like this now and things have settled down some

 

and this was for a black and white challenge

 

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• a lovely weekend
• lots of laughs
• joy from crafting

And I love my crafting but goodness me - these are amazing examples of sugar work for cakes