Dolly's Dreamings

Thank goodness it is cooler and a sketch book catch up

I am not a fan of the very hot weather. I find it miserable and uncomfortable so I am glad it has become cooler.

We have, however, had a nice few days. Our patio is in the shade until about 12.30 and so we set up a home office/art studio outside and have send the mornings out there and in the afternoon have been going for drives in an air conditioned car. The first day I asked Nigel where we were going to go and he said it didn't matter as we were NOT getting out of the car anyway! Drives it was.

 

It did mean I caught up on some of my sketch book so here is a bumper edition of my Coast to Coast pages

 

 

 

 

I also have a DT page for Scrap a Sketch to share

 

 

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• cooler weather
• painting fun
• air conditioned cars and bedrooms

And you will be pleased to know I found my folder of 'weird and fun stuff to share on my blog' so expect more of this!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Belated Happy September

Gosh I have missed days and days and I have no idea where they went. Well actually I know where a couple of them went.

The 31st of August was Nigel's huge big event - he had pretty much single handedly organised an incredible even for Neil Middleditch's testamonial at Poole Speedway. He had been living and breathing it for weeks and weeks and weeks (and I for one would be glad when it was done to be honest!)

Anyway, knowing he would be very busy I arranged to go to my best friends for the morning to paint together. Nigel took my car out of the garage, drove it off the drive, turned it round and put it back ont he drive ready for me. Twenty minutes later I went out and nothing. Well that's not true. There were clicks. But nothing else. I tried it again and again and I tried taking the brake off (daft idea) and nothing. I had to disturb the very stressed Nigel and he tired and nothing so - stupidly - he rolled it down off the drive into the turning head at the end of the road and the end of our drive and he called the RAC and told me to go out in his car. The RAC said they would be there within 4 hours! He and a neighbour (and a random dog walker) tried to push my car back onto the drive but it was too heavy and steep so it was left half on the drive and half on the pavement.

 

I painted and had a lovely time - Nigel did last minute prep.

 

I came home and I was panicking that the RAC had not come and the car was unsafe where it was. So my bestie and her husband came to help push it onto the drive. Nope. Then yet another random dog walker stopped and helped us and between 5 of us we got it on the drive,. Poor Nigel - this was the last thing he needed going on on such a big day. And we were both incredibly stressed and not thinking clearly (as will be clear later)

In the end the RAC man came and it was, as we suspected, a flat battery as the car doesn't get used enough so he checked everything started the car and went away. Nigel then made the first of the bad decisions. He didn't want to leave it out incase it wouldn't restart and so he drove it into the garage and then told me to sit with it running for half an hour. He said get a book and just sit and read in it so it charges up. I ws a bit worried but didn't say anything as he was stressed. I sat in the car, in the garage, with the garage door open of course, for half an hour and stupidly, because we were both so stressed, had the air circulating drawing in the toxic air from outside inot the car. After half an hour I switched it off and went in and felt so so poorly. We both realised what a stupid thing we had done. I didn't need to be sat in it. I could have sat outside in the fresh air and we were sure I had mild carbon monoxide poisoning. I felt really ill.

 

Anyway - it was a big night and the show must go on. Nigel had a team of helpers led by two very good friends Ben and Lee who are brilliant and who he knew would do everything he needed. He had planned it all so well, given everyone jobs, me included, and the evening was an amazing amazing amazing success. Not only great racing but video messages Nigel had sourced from all over the world were played on the big screen, a parade of Harleys took the teams round, he had borrowed vintage race jackets and had lots of old Poole riders take to the track int he interval, the raffle sold out, there were surprises all through the evening, it was just a tremendous event from start to finish and I was so so so proud of him. He had organised it all and it was a huge success and whilst he didn't get public thanks for what he did, we knew and so did people like Ben and Lee. It was one of the best things he had organised - and believe me he has organised many great things. It's his forte.

Anyway, we came home and I was so so ill. We had almost no sleep and I was very sick. The results of the car in the garage I think.

But - it's September now and the testimonial is over, I have my husband back and all is well that ends well.

New scrapping to share

This was for Day 1 of Scraptember and for this week's Scrap Squad and for Hey Little Magpi (I do love a multi task!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

And this was for Day 3 of scraptember (I haven't done day 2 yet) and for the latest Scrap a Sketch sketch

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• my car being fixed (and used)
• my wonderfully clever husband who is truly amazing
• no being TOO poisoned
• September - the start of 'ber' season ... my favourite time of year

and some cute pics to finish with

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A 'SPLENDID' day

The title refers to scrapping, which I will come to. Today was an odd job day. We started off buying Nigel's Apple watch. It has taken me three months to convince him to get one. Finally!

Then we went to Hobbycraft as I had a voucher to spend and went to Haskins to enquire about our dead bamboo. They offer a guarantee on plants and as this was over £80 and it has died already we wanted a refund. They assured us - didn't really want to see the photos we took - it wasn't dead but poorly and would come back to life. They asked us to give it a chance for another few weeks. We are not convinced but will wait and see.

Other than that we have been sat in the garden and I have been scrapping.

My free design team kit from A Trip Down Memory Lane was a selection of papers from Paige Evans new range, Splendid. (Now the title makes sense!)

One of the papers was a gorgeous floral wreath which I wanted to use, but I scrap largely A4 and so had to do some creative cutting. And it means I have flowers left over. Result.

 

 

 

 

 

and I also made this page from out trip to Burley a week ago

 

 

 

 

 

Today I am thankful that

• Nigel has an apple watch at last
• that I have nice DT stuff to play with

and these made me smile ... cat owners will understand

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

All tidied up for festivities

We had our haircut today so are all tidy for Christmas. The house isn't but heck - that will come.

Today was a lot about writing Christmas cards which seems to take an awfully long time and I am so much later than I used to be. When I was teaching I used to write my cards at half term - but then again I used to send a LOT more cards then.

 

I have found time to scrap as well though

 

This was made for a DAF and  a Scrap your Sketch challenge

 

The fountain in Poole Park after its paint job

 

 

This is very not me but was a UKS Colour challenge and a Scrap Squad sketch. The pink seemed like a good idea at the time!

 

 

And this was another DAF and Scrap a Sketch challenge

I was quite chuffed with this as I stenciled texture paste holly leaves

 

 

 

This is my December journal day 5

Norty boys!

And todays which also uses a scrap squad sketch

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• staying in the dry - it POURED today
• another job ticked off

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A scrappy weekend

Well, it's been an interesting weekend - jolly cold and Storm Arwen broke a massive branch off one of our trees. Of course it didn't break it off completely - just half broke it off. The winds were up to 60mph and so it was not a lot of fun out in the garden, under the trees, trying to chain saw as much off as we could. We couldn't get to the join of the branch to the tree as it was too high and too windy to have a ladder but we removed as much as we could and chopped it up. Loads didn't fit in the green bin - I suspect we will be getting rid of it for a fair few weeks to come. However, it could have been much worse and we are not surprisedthe branch came down as it was very exposed after the pine tree next to it was removed.

 

Other than that and keeping warm there has been shopping and scrapping. I did some Christmas shopping today in real life (most of what I do is on line) and I can tell you for one thing, I am jolly glad mask-wearing is going to be enforced again. I have never given up my mask but few people in crowded stores wear them and I don't like it. The trouble is all the COVID stuff has just made me more of a germ-a-phobe than I already was and I might wear my mask for ever!

 

I have also scrapped a fair bit for DAF challenges, Scrap Squad challenges, Scrap a Sketch and PearTree Cut Files

I know this isn't a great picture of a page but its good enough for you to see what I have to deal with!!

This was the Scrap Squad weekly

 

 

 

This was a PearTree cut file challenge

 

 

lots of gilding wax on this one

 

 

Another Pear tree challenge

 

 

 

 

 

another Peartree and Scrap Squad combined

 

 

and a DAF nd Scrap a Sketch

 

 

The Jolees tree must be almost 20 years old. I have been saving it! Why??? It looks so much better on a page.

 

Today I am thankful for

• a lovely day
• central heating
• chain saws
• Christmas music - yes I have started

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A bit of this a bit of that

Some weeks are quiet - this has been a quiet one - and I really don't mind that.

We went and took the art exhibition down, we have been for a few walks, we have chilled, and read and done a jigsaw and, of course, I have scrapped.

There was a fab challenge birthday celebration on at Peartree CutFiles and there were 20 challenges - and I have managed all of them - one each day - so I am chuffed with myself. And it got me using the cut files instead of just looking at them.

These are my latest pages

 

 

 

these were as part of my DT work for A Trip Down Memory Lane using paige Evans Wonders

 

 

 

 

and these were for Scrap Squad and UKS challenges

 

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• gentle days. I remember what I would feel like at this time in August when I was working. I would be realising my summer holiday had almost gone, panicing about all I still had to do and not looking forward to the new school year. It is so nice to NOT feel like that.

and just some LOL cats to make you smile

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lovely to have zoom

I think there ARE some good things that have come out of the awfulness of the pandemic. They don't outweigh the bad with so many awful losses, but there are some good things and we need to embrace them because if we only dwell not the awful we will spiral down and down.

One of the good things for me is zoom. I'd never heard of zoom before and it has become a bit of a lifeline to be honest.

We zoom every week with the family who are spread across the country and in fairness I see more of them - virtually - than I did in real life as the distances made it tricky. I value our zoom evenings so good - a chance for a quiz or just a natter is lovely.

I haven't been to real crops in a long long time and so going to zoom crops is great fun. I get to chat sometimes to my scrappy team mates from UKS and I get to crop with the scrapmates lead by the lovely Ann and where some of the people I have been online friends with for years go. And it is lovely.

It was family zoom night last night and it was crop day today, although I only tend to join in after lunch.

 

I have made a lot of pages today but three of them I cannot share as they are class pages for ATDML but oh my - I do love the collection I was working with - really really lush

This is a page devised by Ann that I made at the crop

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was a lush box of goodies this month - as always

 

and here are a few other pages

This was for a Lottie Loves Paper challenge

 

This for Scrap Squad

 

and another for Lottie Loves Paper

Today I am thankful for

• zoom - bringing people together
• scrappy time
• new stash to play with

and I share these because, in the most part, they are dreadful ways to serve food to people. I don't get the quirky arty - use a plate for goodness sake

 

 

Stupid but I'd go along with it

nope

 

 

nope - can you imagine that ever being washed properly!

 

nope

 

Stupid but I guess the plastic would at least be washable

 

 

why????

 

hell no

why???

 

never ever ever

 

oh for goodness sake

 

I have refused food before served on wood

 

what goes through their minds?

 

nope

madness, utter madness

 

 

runs away screaming

 

seriously!

 

 

not fit for animals to be fair

National Scrapbook Day(s)

It has been National Scrapbook day this weekend and the celebrations are lasting all week - and more.

I have had such fun playing on various sites and facebook groups, making pages, completing challenges and hosting challenges too. It has been fun and I have a fair few pages to share.  I won't share them all today - I don't want to go into overload.

 

This was a fun one to make as it recalls how the goose decided to accompany Nigel on his walk last week in the park

 

and this one remembers walking along the Cobb at Lyme Regis

 

I was really pleased with his one. I don't do grid pages but I had fun with his and made my own project life style cards too (and Koda is beautiful)

 

 

 

enjoying an ice-cream in Christchurch last week

 

and yesterday we went for a walk through the park and along the quay. Some very naughty people had added some sort of detergent to the fountain - very very naughty but it looked absolutely beautiful.

 

This was made by printing out some new elements I bought for National Scrapbook Day - well I am sure I read somewhere it was meant to be shopping as well as scrapping.

 

I really liked the colours on this one

 

 

 

 

And this one was a very different sketch for me

 

I have to say I have loved the challenges on Scrap Squad which have really stretched me - and the challenged at Hey Little Magpie too.

 

I will leave the pages there for now but I have scrapped 15 pages in 3 days which I am really quite pleased with.

 

Today I am thankful for

• being back indoors as the wind and rain is not nice. We are forecast 60mph winds all day
• national scrapbook Day
• the talented people who share their creativity around the scrapping world
• my boys being better ... we have no idea why but they had 24 hours of terribly upset tummies - both of them - for no known reason - and now they are all better. Very odd but we are just glad they are OK now.

And I just loved these fake things to buy - so clever.

well they amused me

Beautiful morning and a scrappy day

The weather was lovely this morning so we headed off for an early beach walk. I couldn't bear to live anywhere else to be honest.

 

Beach nice and empty and just 'ours' again now holidaymakers have gone home

 

 

Four cruise ships today

 

My home town!

 

 

Nigel fetching breakfast ... OK we had had breakfast and this was just ice-cream

 

The rest of the day was spent scrapping and painting

 

This is me trying a very different technique. I haven't ever tried pen and wash and loose before  - lots more practice needed

 

 

 

 

 

This was one of the many sculptures at the sculpture park

 

 

 

very old K and Co papers

 

 

and a age with a newly released kit called Love Boat from Kathryn Estry.

 

 

so all in all a lovely day. We are focussing on the lovely at the moment

 

Today I am thankful for

• a beach walk
• sunshine
• creative days

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today has been a good day

After a rough week I think we are all getting back on track.

Kira is eating for England again (I think we need to get her started on the thyroid pills asap to be honest as it will slow her never ending lust for food down) but it is so good to see her eating and running and being herself again. Fiki hasn't had any diarrhoea for four days and is eating his probiotics really well and for the first time in weeks I have not take n a single pain killer (thought I do know it tends to come and go so tomorrow could see them revisited but heck - today has been good)

We had a lovely walk at Avon Beach and Friar's Cliff yesterday (Barb the beach huts are for you!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And scrapping has happened too

It is rare that I make a page and think I absolutely love it but I absolutely LOVE this page. Taking the pictures of my out of control hair with filters was so much fun and I really enjoyed scrapping them too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today I am thankful for

so much - healthy cats, respite from pain, days out, the beach, walks and, most of all, Nigel who is my rock throughout it all. Stronger together xxx

 

some naughty animals ...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and some of the world's worst inventions and designs  that just make you scream WHY!!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunny Sunday

It is glorious here again today after two days of a bit of rain - sadly I think we need more rain but heck - I don't complain.

 

It's been an odd two days as no exercise which is unusual. I have no idea why but my ankle just gave up. It is my very damaged ankle - I smashed it quite literally to bits when I was 12 and it's been an ongoing issue. I have also fractured it again since then three years ago. However, it holds up pretty well all things considered except yesterday I couldn't move it, couldn't stand on it, couldn't do anything. I hadn't fallen, twisted, slipped etc it just 'went' It wasn't swollen but hurt as bad as when I last fractured it. It is a little easier today but very odd.

 

Still sitting down and scrapping was OK!

Before I get to scrapping someone asked how long we quarantine stuff for. We have a standard three day rule and it is very exciting when things we had forgotten come out of quarantine. Food that isn't perishable goes into quarantine, anything else from the supermarket plus post and anything anyone leaves for us.

 

It has been the A Trip Down Memory Lane cybercrop this weekend and I can finally share some of the pages. This was my class for them and the three pages I made as a design team member for the class using gorgeous Bo Bunny Papers. Do go over the blog HERE where you can find full instructions for my class, a further 6 classes and loads of challenges. It is free and fun and you ought not to miss it really.

 

 

 

This was meeting a friend Kay who is also ont he design team for Pickleberrypop and we met up with her in Albuquerque

 

and my wonderful godson and his beautiful wife, currently enjoying life in Japan.

 

I have also made the first of the birthday pages for the CFH

 

Pink for a girl

 

 

 

Blue for a boy

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• another lovely day - Nigel is treating it like a holiday and whilst it does get to me at times, most of the time I can pretend too. He makes me laugh as he says they keep spoiling his holiday talking about the virus. We are happy in our little bubble as long as we don't overthink the world.
• my ankle being easier
• lots of scrapping time

 

 

These things always make me laugh

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

and finally - cats and jigsaws. I feel the pain of these people - we experience similar when we do jigsaws