Dolly's Dreamings

Bank Holiday - again

This time of year there seems to be a lot of holidays. I am not knocking it. When I was at work those holidays were so precious - but they do seem to bunch together somewhat.

Nigel is off to speedway - that goes with Bank Holidays - and I am up for a quiet night of TV and possible scrappiness.

 

Last night we went out with the family as both of Nigel's brothers were here - it was a lovely evening with much wine, good food and laughter a plenty.

 

Every time I take a picture of my mother in law with her three sons I do worry it will be the last one.

 

 

I have new scrapping to share today made for one of the mojo challenges on Pickleberrypop.

 

Every month there are LOADS of challenges on Pickleberrypop - all diverse from scraplift challenges and templates to recipe challenges and kit challenges. Often they offer freebies as does this one.

 

I was again hosting the template challenge and this month worked with the free template from Tiramisu Designs

You can snag the template here ... it's free and you can play along

 

I made this page using Tiramisu's Sea Breeze Bundle

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• holiday (OK so mine is pretty permanent)
• treats - Nigel's oldest brother treated everyone to dinner yesterday which was exceptionally kind of him

 

 

and finally I have done a bit of drawinga gain.

This time I tried to sketch a landscape from one of my photos of Venice. I bit off a little more than I could chew really but for a first attempt it was OK.

 

 

 

Tired legs - but happy legs

Today was one of thos eunexpected days that you never know what is going to happen and it just happens and it is lovely.

We decided to go to IKEA for something we could make as a cat litter tray cupboard so thought we'd also download the Hythe Marina treasure trail.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It wasn't awesome weather but the sun did come out from time to time and the rain never came. We walked miles - but we solved all of the clues, had a nice walk all round Hythe and the Marina, saw 4 cruise ships in Southampton Docks (the Oriana, The Arcadia, The Ruby Princess and the Independence of the Seas.

 

And then we went to Ikea and walked miles more. I LOVE IKEA. Youa lways see things you NEED. Not WANT but NEED. I NEEDED the coconut candles. I NEEDED the drawer organiser. I NEEDED the small frame and WE NEEDED the two new office chairs. We really did need those. We have been looking for ages and finally found what we needed. Nigel is building as we speak. We didn't find a suitable cat litter tray cupboard but heck - we had fun.

Finished off with dinner at TGI Fridays (our own TGI Friday of course) and then when we got home the cows were back. I LOVE our cows.

What a brilliant day.

 

 

 

 

Today the August Pickle Barrel has gone live so you need to go check out the deals. They are wonderful colours this month - again.

 

 

Do go check out those amazing value six packs.

 

This is Tiramisu's gorgeous gorgeous six pack. I love the gentle colours and the floatiness. It is really gorgeous. It is called Time to Pack Our Bags

 

And this is what I made with it.  It just yelled Venice.

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• a lovely unexpected day
• bargains
• TGI Fridays - and the best staff in the world
• My cows
• IKEA

 

 

A Challenge to take part in

I have waited untilt he middle of the month to share the newest challenge over at Scrapology.

You really really must go check it out. The girls have done amazing things again.

Check it out HERE

 

The inspiration this month was from the team's very own amazing Sandra. Her work is beautiful.

 

 

and this was what I came up with - so you have to kind of use your imagination.

 

It has the detailed frame - just not quite all the way round.

It has the detail at the bottom.

 

 

It is another of our Venice photos.

 

I have set this in advance today as I am away at conference so Nigel and Fiki are in charge - oh boy!

 

Today I ams ure I will be thankful for

• being at a luxury hotel
• stimulating speakers and seminars

 

and later I know I will be thankful for

• a gala dinner and wine!

 

and I just have to share this as I think it was brilliant!

 

Enjoy

 

 

 

A 2013 review

As I sit typing this the sun has just set on the final day of 2013 and I feel prompted to recollect on the past year and what it has brought for us.

Firstly it has been a good year. We have both been relatively healthy (a much much better year than 2012) with only 1 significant scare when Nigel had to undergo more tests, which came out clear. I tore a ligament in my ankle and was on crutches for too long and also had a series of falls that damaged my knee, but in the scheme of things they were minor and we have been grateful to enjoy good health.

Work has been hard … very hard .., but we are mindful of the fact that it is good to HAVE work. Too many people who would like to have a job don’t have one or are forced into jobs they hate. Whilst mine is stressful and long hours, I do love my job. Working with children, and such wonderful children, is truly the best job in the world and as I need to work, I would rather be doing this than anything else. Nigel has steadily built up his clients and his business and whilst his salary is vastly different to when he was employed full time, the quality of his life, and indeed our lives, is so very much better that a financial sacrifice seems no sacrifice in reality.

We have seen 2013 through with all three cats still with us. It was touch and go whether or not Boo would see Christmas. We feared we would lose her in the summer but she rallied. Now she is fading fast. She is of indeterminate age, but we think she is about 16, and whilst she seems very content and in no pain she is painfully thin, has an inoperable tumour, severe cataracts and is totally deaf. However, she still purrs with contentment and her eye-sight is not so bad that she can’t still be the thief she has always been. We know that 2014 will see us say a last farewell to our little tabby who came for Christmas in 2001 and stayed. We promised the poor little stray we would be her forever family, and we will be.

 

 

Kira and Fiki are an amazing 11 years old – seems impossible to believe, and whilst Fiki is still naughty even he has slowed down. In 2012 we feared we would lose him quickly to PKD but he is still healthy, though we know it is like living with a ticking time bomb. All three of the cats bring us daily joy.

 

2013 was also a great year for the birds in our garden – safe from cats who live indoors. We have enjoyed seeing so many visitors every single day ranging from the numerous robins, blue tits, great tits, chaffinches, dunnocks, blackbirds, green and spotted woodpeckers and so on to the more rarely seen greenfinches, gold finches and even a kestrel, the heron and a goshawk who took down a pigeon. They cost us a fortune but it is worth every penny to see these visitors enjoying our wildlife preserve!

2013 saw visits from family from oversees. Jim came in June and July and it was great to share family time, and Sandra and Derek came from Australia in September.

 

 

 

We enjoyed several trips away from home and enjoyed a stay-cation. In February we went to Cornwall for a few days and really enjoyed it and in April we went to Berkshire for our anniversary, enjoying seeing Nigel’s childhood favourite of Bekenscot.

 

 

 

 

We took a day trip to Venice - but should have known that as it was on 1st April it was likely to be an event. The two days - yes, long story, were really superb.

 

 

 

 

Our summer holiday involved a tour of some of the north of England and Scotland taking in Harrogate, York, Scarborough, Whitby, the angel of the north, Alnwick, Bamborough, Lindisfarne, the Falkirk Wheel and the Trossachs.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The fabulous summer meant some great days out at home too. Though the year began in January with snow, and has certainly ended with some shocking gale force winds, the summer was beautiful. We enjoyed two trips out on David’s boat, we visited Brownsea and saw a play in London, we went on day trips all round and enjoyed a half term break in October in the Cotswolds and the Black Country.

 

 

 

 

 

Nigel’s speedway continues to bring him great joy and he is so good at all he does and is much valued by people. I continue to scrap, both paper and digital, and our hobbies enrich our lives.

It has, indeed, been a good year and we have so much to be thankful for.Not everything noteworthy - mostly just normal day to day stuff.

 

I end my review with gratitude for a wonderful year, for the friends and family who visit here daily, and I wish everyone a truly blessed 2014, one that I hope is filled with health and happiness, love and laughter for all of us.

 

Re-visiting Venice

No

I am not going back.

It wasn't that I didn't like Venice. I really did. I had always wanted to see it and am so pleased we went. We were also so pleased we did it as a day trip. (well two days but that was a whole other story)

There wasn't anything we felt we missed out on and we saw what we wanted to see.

But the title is more about re-visiting the Venice album rather than re-visiting the place. 

I was really pleased that within the space of a couple of months I had filled the Venice album and pleased that - just with a one day trip - i had enough photos for a whole 12 x 12 album (or 3 or 4 actually) 

 

I made an additional page for the Venice album as part of the DT work for Karen at Charmed Cards and Crafts. It uses the fabulous Graphic 45 Typography papers. 

 

 

 

I apologise for it looking a bit crooked - poor scanning and photography is to blame as it happens.

 

 

Today I am thankful for

 

• accomplishing what I set out to - hat doesn't always happen!
• A delicious lunch - beats my usual apple hands down!

 

 

 And finally - we sourced proper white lights (no blue cast) for our new table centre globe with it's frosty white pinecones.

It looks so much better now (still hard to photograph though)

 

 

 

Dodging the heat

Another scorcher today and we have become experts at trying to dodge the intense heat.

We are getting quite good at it ... most of the time, though we failed miserably by going to Poole today.

Last night we hit on a winner going to Salterns for dinner.

It was idyllic. Sat by the marina, watching the boats, enjoying the shade and the gentle breeze as we ate a lovely meal.

 

Our table

 

and our views

 

 

 

 

and from under my canopy

 

I am such a  sun lover but it is too hot for me to sit in so, unheard of for me, I have been sat under the huge parasol at home today.

I have another Venice page to share today

 

 

It was just a really pretty looking restaurant - very picturesque

 

 

Today I am thankful for

• Big black shady umbrellas
• the heath fire being put out successfully - always inevitable there would be one
• a breeze

 

 

 

 

sizzle sizzle

It is absolutely glorious

It is what I rmemeber summer being like

I have had a lie in

Sat and sunbathed

Had a fabulous lunchin the garden

Scrapped the weekly challenge and am now going to get ready for our street party - perfect weather for it.Neighbours, food, wine and sunshine. What's not to like.

 

I did the weekly challenge this week.

 

 

It was a sketch to use which Nigel doesn't like as he disliked white space pages.

All well.

Today I am thankful for

• a glorious day
• sunshine
• being relaxed

 

 

and today's LOL cat is what I ams ure goes through Boushka's mind ... every day!

 

Furry Feline Therapy

I came home today exhausted and with a swollen ankle and aching feet, but I have to say I feel totally restored having spent half an hour doing NOTHING.

I rarely have the chance to do nothing. I seem to just work at the moment. But I came home and went to get changed and Fiki followed me up, as is often the case.

I sat down on the bed to take my shoes off and he was straight on me. He is such a loving little boy and clearly needed a huge fuss and lots of attention, so we just snuggled down together and I spent half an hour doing the most relaxing thing in the world. Stroking a velvety smooth Bengal cat who was in seventh heaven to have his Mommy who, for once, wasn’t saying, get off I’m busy.

It’s amazing what a small thing like that can do.

I feel I may have to remember to do it more often because a) he deserves it and b) it’s so therapeutic.

I have a new page to share today which was made for yet another challenge. I am finding inspiration a little hard to come by and so challenges are helping greatly to inspire me.

I want to get the Venice album finished and the end is in sight.

 

 

There were so many pavement cafes and restuarants and they looked so lovely - but sadly not inviting enough for us. We were on a mission to see and do as much as possible and so didn't stop much.  We had also already identified where we wanted to eat given the chance.

 

I used old bubble wrap for stamping again. It is an effect that is growing on me.

 

Today I am thankful for

• ecological awareness in the form of song
• Nigel getting my comfier shoes re-heeled
• the joy of fur friendship and feline therapy

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally I share these links. Partly as I am shocked and annoyed and partly because I want to add my views about my Bengal babies.

 

Bengal Cats escape

 

Bengal Cat owners outraged

 

There are many misunderstandings about bengal cats. Having had lots of cats and been a cat lover for years I have never known two cats as affectionate as my two Bengals. They need to be with us all the time, they are lap cats to the extreme and we can do 'anything' with them. They are intelligent and loving and whilst they may look wild they are NOT wild. Our babies are F5 which means 5 generations from an Asian leopard cat. It makes me mad to see reports alleging they are dangerous. Any animal can be dangerous if raised badly without love or if in pain or suffering.It sounds like these poor cats were suffering and so lashed out.Could a Bengal hurt you? Yes. Could any domestic cat hurt you? Yes. Are they more dangerous than any other cat? No. Even their 'wild ancestor' the Asian leopard cat is a very shy and timid cat. I mean for goodness sake - they are not bred with leopards. The Asian Leopard cat is small and shy.

If you want a cat that looks spectacular, has pelt not regular fur so sheds less, is intelligent, shares many of the characteristics of a dog, is playful tot he extreme and totally affectionate and doting on their humans then consider a bengal. Be prepared for hard work - they are energetic and need time spending with them, but they are so so rewarding to share your life with.

 

Bengals are NOT dangerous. They truly are not.

Would I have Bengals again? In a heartbeat.

 

The benefits of age

It’s been a lovely day today – largely spent outside, which was fabulous. However, the grass pollen has permeated my eyes to such an extent I recon I could audition for  part in a vampire movie and not need makeup to crate the red eyes.

One of the many benefits of getting older .. but getting older is way better than the alternative! … is that you seem to develop new ailments ad allergies. I am amassing a goodly collection including a banana allergy, a mild nut allergy, hay fever and some pretty spectacular eczema patches. Apart from eczema, all new!

Anyway I digress, a good day and one more closer to the end of the school year. I know teachers everywhere will identify with the fact that as the summer holidays approach life becomes crazier and crazier with more and more to fit in to an ever shrinking term.

I have a new page to share today that I made at the weekend. It was for a challenge on UK Scrappers and I struggled with it enormously. It just wouldn’t come together and the only reason it got finished at all was that I was fed up with it on my desk.

I really wanted to scrap the picture as it was one I likes from Venice.

Still, it is another for the album.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Craft Robo went into meltdown cutting the music score!

 

 

Today I am thankful or

• being outdoors ... always nice despite the hayfever
• a box of craft goodies arriving

 

Bigging it up

I used to scrap with huge photos a lot when I started scrapping.

I think I enjoyed the novelty of being able to print big photos that were high wuality.

It is something I don't do so often now so I was really happy to try the challenge on UKS to use a big big photo.

I decided to scrap a page for my 10 album.

I love my 10 album as it is such a mix of all sorts of things - but each giving 10 reasons or ideas.

This is ten things we will always remember about our day trip to Venice.

 

I deliberately left the 'dead' areas in the photo as I knew I wanted to overlay embellishments on top of it.

 

 

There is a card at the top that pulls out with the 10 things written on (the tab says photos at the top)

 

Today I am thankful for 

 

• seeing our first pair of goldfinches in the garden. They were so very very pretty. I wish they would find the nyger seed as no-one is eating it and I bought it for the finches specially.
• Boo seeming a bit better and wanting to be in the house with the others rather than just the study. She is, however, stillt he worst thief we have ever ever had.

 

I did my father's day tribute the other day, but I did think this was kind of cute