Shimelles Drink Me class

for the UKS Cybercrop.

Mad Hatters Tea Party - -

UKS Cybercrop is coming up this weekend - I have registered and taken part in my first Pre Crop swaps & uploaded them tonight! I got some great ATCs in the "Royal Flush" swap, and it was such fun to see what everyone has done with the theme. I am now an official ATC collector - being the proud possessor of 6 off them from 2 swaps!! LOL :)
I also joined in with the Maze book swap - WOW - there are some beautiful little books being exchanged! Again lots of great interpretations. Mine came from Leanne (UKS Twinmom)- and it is delightful, and the first one she has ever made - she is a very talented lady! - I'll post piccies later

A Bit of a Jolly!!

I will be flying off island this afternoon to attend a Seminar in York! It's all work related of course but never the less it makes a nice change, specially as I am attending the event with my sister and on route we get to see mum & dad! Had a lovely email this morning from Jamie, but going off as I did I didn't have much time to reply properly. I could have done - as I have got to the airport to find our flight is delayed - we are fogbound again!! Never mind eh? I can do a bit of websurfing whilst I wait - I am using this time to get a bit more familiar with the MAC I have been allocated. I am getting there I think - even remembering some of the keys for the shortcuts!

Young Enterprise Final Day - -

- - is tomorrow and so I have a change from my routine and get to spend the whole day at the Judging for the final.We have 3 very good companies this year and I do so hope they do well because they do so deserve to! The teamwork and commitment they have all shown really needs to be recognised - and I am routing for all of them! I need to make sure my camera is fully charged and that I have a clear memory card for taking photos, pack my bag with the laptop, camera, batteries, the list of 6th formers getting the coach (my job to check them off as they board) and a freshen up kit and clean top = the skirt will take me through as I can dress it up or down!! - (when I say all day I mean til 10pm!!) The day finishes with a dinner to which I have been invited - so I do need to be able to freshen up as there is no time to get back down south to change before the reception starts. Looking forward to it to be truthful as I enjoy seeing what the other schools have come up with. Will try to post some photos on Friday.
Off out now for a walk as it is such a lovely evening.

UKS CyberCrop

My maze book has arrived safely and BeeJ likes it! Such a relief as it is the first time I have ever done a swap on UKS for a Cybercrop. I have signed up for 2 previous ones - but not soon enough to - 1 join in a swap on the first one I did, 2 not enough confidence in my own creativity to take part.(Too shy)I have to thank the Design Collective Team for the courage this time. The classes are so inspiring and they are so encouraging with what you do with them that I thought this time - Why not??? So I have, and it has been well received! Oh the relief!!!
Much cooler here today and very overcast - heavy grey skies all day - though very little rain. The skies have cleared now and there are patches of blue overhead. The Jenny Wren has been in the garden just now - she is SO TINY! She has been sitting on my patio table and hopping down to collect food in my pots - I think! She doesn't stay long but does keep returning - young ones maybe? I do so love the little birds and I am fortunate that so many visit our gardens - it is so like living in a woodland clearing - with blackbirds, robins, blue tits, coal tits, sparrows, chaffinch, and even a pheasant in the last couple of days!

CyberCrop Friday

UKS have a new Cybercrop coming up- and the excitement is building and building! Lots of classes that sound really great - I have taken part in 2 previous cybercrops now - wasn't able to do much - just pop in and out really - so this one might be the same. II have signed up in time to take part in a couple of the pre crop fun activities - I have joined 2 swaps!! As I am a real newbie to swapping I am just hoping that my creations are acceptable - I am doing an ATC swap and a Mini Maze book swap. I do hope my swapees like what I have done - I am feeling very apprehensive now!Here are a couple of pics - I don't think anyone will see them on here anyway.

Mini maze book made and finished ready to post. It has been a glorious day, as warm and balmy as midsummer - really it is unseasonably warm but oh it is so lovely to be able to sit in the garden, basking in the warmth of the sun, a bit like a cat!!.When Doug got in from work we went for a beautiful evening walk right round the bay to the harbour.We don't often go right round but it was so warm it was delightful to be out. Lots and lots of people still on the beach!and even more standing by and sitting on the wall outside the Bay Hotel enjoying a pint!!

Thursday - and its beautiful

Driving in to work this morning it was so beautiful - we are in for another glorious sunny day I am sure. It was high tide as we passed Gansey Bay this morning and the sun had turned a whole section of the bay to silver - and swimming gracefully in this pool of truly amazing light were three swans - it was like something out of a Chinese or Japanese picture - so tranquil and gracious - its the only way I can describe it.It was like I had been given a gift I felt so uplifted. I walked through the doors to work floating on air. Wonderful! My only regret is that I don't have time to take a photo as I pass by.
I finished at lunchtime and went for a delicious lunch at the Sound with Stella, where we were seal watching as we ate our food. The views of the seal colony at Kitterland are excellent from the Sound Cafe - and though the new building was very unpopular with the locals when it was built - the design is fabulous - a huge circular window looking out across to the Calf of Man and even the food is good these days!
Still gloriously sunny when I got back home so I sat in the garden with coffee and a magazine - so civilised LOL - I could do this every day:)
I will just end this post wishing my cyberfriend Dolly and her DH Nij - Happy Anniversary fro your 21st Wedding Anniversary - 1986 was a great year fro weddings - Its our 21st Wedding Anniversary too this year!

Back to normal

Work again today for me :( Still it wasn't too bad, the engineers were in dealing with the installation of the new server, so since I only had to BE there - I printed out all my Design Collective PDFs, Shimelle's prompts so far for my class with her, When I grow up, some texts for mt Celebration Journal and some Big Picture Scrapbooking stuff so have come home with loads of inspiration! And tomorrow there is a new mailing from the Design Collective!!
Have had a lovely Easter break - the weather has been truly beautiful all the week I have been off and I am so grateful! The sun has brought my garden into bloom and the rest of my island too! I was stunned to find my bluebells opening - I still have my daffy-down dillies in full bloom - and never before have they both been in flower at the same time to this degree, whilst my flowering cherry - is just beautiful. In the Glen, not only are the bluebells opening - but so is the ramsoms (wild garlic) - alongside the narcissus, daffodils, and celandine, ragged robbin, white campion and violets!so many of these flowers are at least a month earlier than usual - just shows what a week of sunshine can do!!
Have just been for a walk along the glen and though it has been a cooler day today and rather overcast, I love the quality of stillness that these greyer days bring, the light is completely different and the bluebells colour is turned to purple against the lime green foliage of the leaves. They are scattered in clumps amongst the ramsons, which carpet a huge swathe of the glen floor with their spear shaped leaves, and white bells, only equalled by the celandine with its golden stars. Only further along the glen do the bluebells take over as a carpet of blue and green, and here the heady perfume can take my breath away. Not tonight though - still not enough blubells open for that -yet I know it won't be long before it does.

MM Idol

Just got my mail today to remind me to vote in this - have been doing since I found out our own Suzanne from the Design Collective is one of the entrants. For her to have made it to the final 5 is totally awesome and I so hope she gets through to the next round, as her work is stunning. - And surprise for me too - when I went on the blog again - there was my name in the list to receive a "Blessing" from Wilna on the MM Blog!! So for that I must thank Suzanne for keeping a Britgirl there - I probably wouldn't have made the comment I did were it not for her as I KNOW I wouldn't have remembered to vote so regularly.She certainly inspires me anyway!

Easter Day

D came back last night from his holiday with his brother & friends so today he was all mine! He has taken me for a ride and we have had a lovely day out. We have been blessed with glorious weather so stopped off at Niarbyl (the Tail of the Rocks) Manx National Heritage have the site and are developing it , and sadly they have demolished one of the buildings - well I think its sad anyway - I think they have chosen to just keep the crofter/fishermens cottages, however this was a tourist spot in the heyday of Manx tourism and there used to be a 1940s/50s prefab type building which looked to me as if it had been a shop and cafe.I just feel that this was just as much a part of the heritage of this beautiful place as the old cottages are - so I feel sad it has gone.
Getting back in the car we carried on our way and we have enjoyed a stroll round the castle in Peel and a lovely walk in Mooragh Park around the lake there. We did intend to have our lunch in the Park Pavilion cafe - but it was really full and it seems we should have booked - LOL at that thought - since we didn't know we would want lunch there!!! Instead we went to our usual venue! It was good though so it didn't matter.
After lunch we made our leisurely way home, stopping off at Port Cornaa and Lonan Old Church - St Adamanan's - It is a tiny chapel on a hillside -and was once the parish church for the village - it is more of a keeil really, and is much loved as whenever I visit I am stunned by the beauty of the flower arrangements inside this tiny building. I have no photos sadly as my memory card in my camera was playing up - and I stupidly forgot to put in a spare one! The Manx Wheel cross in the churchyard is awesome and there are a few other examples housed in a small shelter at the bottom of the churchyard - though these few are not so well preserved.
All in all a lovely dat out.

Easter Saturday

Another glorious morning - and there is real warmth in the sun - my garden is SO warm - warmer than in the cottage if I am truthful. The only problem I have is the sun shows how grubby my windows are!! I'll have to do something about it.
Finished 2 of the classes on the Design Collective now, here is a picture of the mini book class. Its a 6x6 book that holds 10 mini LOs. I used CratePaper Hudson Collection throughout, and used most of the kit, so these classes are doing what they are supposed to getting my stash used - so hope to get to the third sometime this evening - it really is too nice to be indoors, so cleaning the windows seems like quite a good option at the moment LOL :)
Might be back later.

Good Friday

Another beautiful sunny day here, and I just couldn't resist the pull of the sunshine so have strolled down to the village and walked along the beach. Its truly glorouis warm and lovely to be outside. The icecream parlour is doing a roaring trade and the Cosy Nook cafe is choc-a-block at all his tables. As I walked back up home I could hear the whistle of the steam train which means they gave started again for the season - I'm so glad as I love going for a train ride into Doolish, then on the horse drawn tram before catching the electric railway to go to Laxey. I might take myself off tomorrow for the day - if it's as beautiful as today was anyway.
I am going to do a bit of scrapping now. May be back later.

Sunny Thursday

Been on the "When I Grow Up" boards today and Tree had posted about wanting a middle name - which triggered a memory I didn't know I still had - when I was about 5 my parents moved us to a new house and living on the avenue already was a lady with a daughter with the same name as me - Jennifer - for some reason best known to herself she seemed to think my name was Jennifer-Mary - and that is what she called me. I do remember asking mummy why Mrs G called me Jennifer Mary? So I got an unwanted middle name. I can't remember when she stopped adding the Mary - when her daughter became Jenny and I stayed Jennifer I suppose - its still a mystery to me though!
There were children on the beach today as it was such a lovely spring day, playing with buckets and spades and paddling in the sea, mum sitting on a towel and they seemed to have a picnic with them, swimsuits drying on the deck chair - at least that is what it looked like from my vantage point - which triggered another memory - those swimming costumes that were rouched cotton - very popular in the fifties I think - do you remember them - I remember it making me feel itchy when I was wearing it and wanting to take it off and put my clothes back on! LOL at the thought - wonder what I am thinking here? Wish I could ask my younger self - I know I used to love being at the seaside and still do - which is why I am where I am now I expect.
The sea was shimmery silver in the bay this afternoon and I suspect the ice cream parlour has opened for the season. The daffodils are all open on the cliff and were bobbing golden heads in the breeze. All the sheltered corners of the headland and the beach were taken by the sun worshippers, and the Brews were full of the youngsters from school with their radio controlled cars, so there was a real holiday feel to the village today, specially as there are several vehicles from "across" parked on the promenade.

Nostalgia Genes

Shimelle's new class has just started and it included an audio message which talked of a "nostalgia gene" - I guess I must have one - in fact I know I do, I am the most dreadful squirrel for bits and bobs of memorabilia - doesn't everyone collect theatre tickets, programmmes, cards (special ones) - ribbon from chocolate boxes long since emptied, keep letters, and dried and pressed flowers from special bouquets? LOL since I know they don't!! I have the menu card still from my sister's Wedding Breakfast - but would be completely surprised to find she still has a copy of it!! I don't have anything like that from my own Wedding Day - since our wedding was a very informal affair - and I have nothing "formal" at all in that line. Just a head full of memories that ALWAYS bring a smile to my face. However I digress - I am supposed to be thinking of childhood memories LOL :):)! as the class is called When I grow Up. It was thinking of a nostalgia gene that distracted me totally.
It's got me thinking anyway - I am blessed with nothing but happy memories of my childhood - my parents gave me and my sister the most precious gift of all - their time. There wasn't much money around - but we had all we ever needed and when I look back my childhood is lit with gold. However to Shimelle's prompt
Just a selection of random memories have surfaced - - What did I want to be when I grew up?
1) at 3 I was going to grow up to be Cinderella and marry Prince Charming
2) at 9 I was definitely going the find the Far-Away Tree, own the Wishing Chair and be a Prima Ballerina
3) at 11 I was going to go to boarding school - The Chalet School, or Mallory Towers either would have done!!
4) at 15 I wanted to be a novelist and a teacher - I was going to stay on at school, get my O-Levels and go on to teacher training college - I did stay on til I was 16, I got the O-Levels - but not enough of them - and I was too lazy to go back to resit those I needed. Instead I drifted into the world of office work in the Civil Service and I never have written that novel - I will do - when I grow up!!!!

Inspiration in bucketloads!

Thanks to the Design Collective team I seem to have found my mojo again - not quite sure where she has been hiding - such brilliant classes and I really got inspired and am on a roll now! Want to have ago at the main class today so off now to make a start.

My MoJo got inspired!

Such an excitement in the air today - the first classes got emailed from the Design Collective - and if this is what we are in for boy am I glad I signed up. 3 classes in the first mailing - how cool is that? Truly inspirational stuff, and I have been beavering away all afternoon with them. I am a notoriously slow scrapper so though I have finished my one of my interpretations of the classes the light has gone now so I'll have to photograph & upload pictures tomorrow. I am pleased with what I have done so far though, so I foresee an extended subscription coming on! LOL :) :)
I have also joined Shimelle's new class and got my first inspiration from that as well, so I am going to be a very busy bee!!! Karen is also doing Shimelle's class - so very nice to be doing a class with her again, - like meeting a friend for coffee! I love how the internet creates such fun "communities" especially in the crafting world.Such talented people in the classes as well -- from all over the world.




Here is another Exploding Box as well as my first Design Collective Class.
Edited to add the photos.
TFL

Shopping Trip

Not one of my favourite ways to spend my day if I am honest - but it was essential! My youngest daughter Rhiannon has her "Prom" coming up in May and we really had to get some shoes for the event! She mostly wears flat ballet shoes in black for school - like most of her friends, trainers (her Vans!) on all other occasions, so has no high heels or "dressed up" shoes - she wanted something pretty I know - but as she was very uncomunicative about what exactly - I was dreading this shopping trip - she hates shopping even more than I do! We need the shoes so she can book her final fitting for "the Dress" - so off we went!
It turned out to be much more successful a trip than either of us imagined - Hooray for Next is all I can say! They had just what she wanted and also some very pretty jewelry - delicate and youthful - that is just perfect for her and the occasion - and as we found a beautiful evening bag in Curpheys in the right shade to match her dress she came home one very happy girl! Mum's pocket is a lot emptier of course!!! but heyho - a prom is a special event in your life and you're only 16 once.
It was a lovely ride into Douglas as we have really beautiful spring weather now; a whole weekend of it so far, so I do hope it lasts. The fields are a patchwork quilt of green, honey brown, creamy coloured clay divided by strips of golden gorse. Birdsong fills the air and in the distance the sea shimmers and sparkles as the sunlight bounces off the water scattering diamonds everywhere.
We lunched in M & S and I managed to find a nice skirt and a couple of tops for me as well, so all in all a successful shopping trip! I won't need to go again for weeks!!! LOL.
So excited to get on line as I have the Design Collective to look forward to - classes are to be sent out tomorrow !! Yippee - and I have also signed up for Shimelle's new class. I also have a batch of prompts from my friend Jamie for our Celebration Journal, so I have a very busy fortnight ahead!