Next Stage...

My answer to gardening...an arrangement of pots and plants scattered around the garden.(From left to right - Miniature Austrian Cherry Tree/Star Jasmine/Bougainvillea Smarty Pants Dwarf Red.) Looks like I know what I'm talking about eh? As my collection grows I'll keep you 'potted' (oops I mean posted!)

Another set of pots...my idea is to have lots of different potted plants for my future garden, and I figured as I have a bit of time on my hands I may as well get them 'started' now... Hopefully by the time I move into my own place I'll know which plants will do well... Plus it means when Aunty J is gardening (her favourite pastime) I can pretend to join her. (From left to right: Bougainvillea Tropical Rainbow/Lavender/Bougainvillea Dwarf Temple Fire/Yucca)

The foundations have now been dug for 'the granny flat', mum and I think it's a little closer than we anticipated, she'll still be able to hear all the noise coming from our place!!! And we'll be able to hear her screams!!!

Here they've laid the poison for the soil??? (to stop all the creepy crawlies from squatting in our house) and now we have to wait 24hours before they 'lay the slab!' Then apparently the foundations will be complete...

Looks interesting eh?

More new words...

osculation \os-kyuh-LAY-shuhn\, noun:
The act of kissing; also: a kiss.
(may be some of that happenin' soon!!!!)
Osculation comes from osculatio, "a kissing," from osculari, "to kiss," from osculum, "a little mouth, a kiss," diminutive of os, "mouth."


ludic \LOO-dik\, adjective:
Of or relating to play; characterized by play; playful.
Ludic derives from Latin ludus, "play."
Ludicrous, "amusing or laughable," shares the same root.

Another weekend over and 3 sleeps to go...

Anyone spot the deliberate spelling mistake on the weekend's post???

So why is it when you don't take the camera all sorts happen!!! Kelsey and Aunty J both decided to throw themselves off their horses on Saturday... and where was I? in the car reading... (with air con on, much cooler!) The two of them came hobbling back to the car looking like they'd both had sand baths... Luckily Kelsey only winded himself and banged his knee a bit, but Colleen (the teacher) made sure he got straight back on... Aunty J grazed the skin off her elbow but she decided not to get back on this time... she's a seasoned 'faller'!!!

Strange thing was Kelsey had said before he went he didn't like the idea of falling off a horse, of course being the good mother what I is... I told him not to be silly he'd not fallen off before he wasn't likely to do it now... (now he thinks he's psychic, more like a side kick!!!)

The rest of the weekend was uneventful, other than having a house full... Mum and her friend Iris went away 'gambling' last week to the Wild Coast!!! I had a quiet week and mum got her 'fix'! but they were both back on Friday. Aunty J had some of her family here visiting too so there were bodies lying about everywhere, but that's one of the things I like about here, everybody just fits in with each other and we often play musical beds!!!!

Iris does physio and massage so all the ladies had a 'session' on her bed it was luuuurverly!!!! OOOh so relaxing... A nice end to a nice week... :-)

Now only 3 more sleeps before Paul arrives, Kelsey is so excited (ok I guess I am too) I like the idea of the full suitcase more though (heartless cow)!!! Lol

I've been reading your e-mails and blogs about the Harrogate weekend ... jealousy just makes me so UGLY!!! I sooo miss it all, the buzz and the customers and the fun, the hard work ... Glen's snoring ! :-> Our special room at The Kestrel... The friendships and camaraderie!!! Oh sigh ;-<

Your thought for today:

Being happy doesn't mean everything's perfect.

It means you've decided to see beyond the imperfections.

Your words for Friday and Sturday...

(Friday)
feckless \FEK-lis\, adjective:
1. Ineffective; having no real worth or purpose.
2. Worthless; irresponsible; generally incompetent and ineffectual.
Feckless is from Scots feck, alteration of effect + -less.

(Saturday)
velleity \veh-LEE-uh-tee; vuh-\, noun:
1. The lowest degree of desire; imperfect or incomplete volition.
2. A slight wish or inclination.
Velleity is derived from Latin velle, "to will, to be willing, to wish."

Try using this in a sentence...

Sporty Boy

U12 Hillcrest Primary vs Pinetown Primary U12

What a lovely day... weather wise and watching the boys enjoying themselves and Kelsey was even happier still cos his team won...

Now he's started Rugby practise too... They start playing matches after Easter...

You want to see the colour of him when he comes home, he's exhausted but extremely happy. Falls asleep quite easily Tuesday and Thursdays...

I just hope there's not too many broken bones next term...

and so it continues...

Following on from Tuesdays story... So I buy me some extra Internet time... eventually and all's well for a while. (the rest of Tuesday anyway)

Wednesday morning after dropping K at school, I'm straight home and the computer goes on... got lots to do, lots to see etc... NO INTERNET (again...) Now there's a surprise! We can go for months with no problems and then everything goes wrong at the same time...

I check all my connections again, they are all alright, pick up the phone to contact my Internet provider - lines dead!!! Eventually contact Telkom, (our phone people) lines in our area are all down - gonna take about 3 -4 hours to rectify the problem, struck by lightning last night, we didn't hear anything... (Mrs Bell this is Africa! )

I went to bed last night at 10pm and we still did not have lines!!!

But up this morning and hey ho here I am... Deep breaths, slow breathing, relax, smile... The sun's shining and all's well.

At least because I couldn't get on the Net yesterday I was forced to get on with my stock take!!! But TG had to cut it short, Kelsey played in a Cricket Match again yesterday afternoon, U12's their side won (don't ask me the score!!! Don't always understand that bit.)

Been to 'Mother's Meeting' at school this morning, made me some new friends (they don't know me yet!) we did coffee after the meeting, a really nice bunch of ladies... I'm doing breakfast with them next week... (I'll keep you posted)

Words for Wednesday and Thursday

(Wednesday) tumult \TOO-mult; TYOO-mult\, noun:
1. The commotion or agitation of a crowd, usually accompanied with great noise, uproar, and confusion of voices; hurly-burly; noisy confusion.
2. Violent commotion or agitation, with confusion of sounds; as, "the tumult of the elements."
3. Irregular or confused motion; agitation; high excitement; as, "the tumult of the spirits or passions."--tumultuous, adjective
Tumult is from Latin tumultus, from tumeo, tumere, to swell; to swell with anger or excitement.

When I get together with the Musketeers it's very 'tumultuous' (not the violent part, just the noisy bit)

(Thursday) propinquity \pruh-PING-kwih-tee\, noun:
1. Nearness in place; proximity.
2. Nearness in time.3. Nearness of relation; kinship.
Propinquity derives from Latin propinquitas, from propinquus, near, neighboring, from prope, near.

Word of the Day for Tuesday

thaumaturgy \THAW-muh-tuhr-jee\, noun:

The performance of miracles or magic.

Thaumaturgy comes from the Greek words for "wonder" (thauma) and "work" (ergon). A practitioner of thaumaturgy is a thaumaturgist or thaumaturge.

I think you have to be a magician to understan all this ! lol ! : - )

Only in Africa

Talk about 'African Time' or 'Only in Africa' , there are just times when it really gets to you...

Yesterday, Bruce the Builder phones me at 7am to say the guys won't be working on the land today; reason - 'they were at their station and the train didn't come!' meanwhile the Foreman is sitting at the other end of the line waiting to collect them to bring them to site...

Now pardon my stupidity or ignorance - but if you miss the first train surely you wait for the next???
( Bruce : "Mrs Bell, this is Africa!!!)
Oh I say, but it's such a perfect day for working, sun's shining and it's dry?
( Bruce: " Well the weathers going to be good all week!")

That's it then, miss the train, don't get paid for the day but don't worry cos the weather's gonna be good all week !!!

Todays challenge: Internet in SA, here our internet usage is capped! For those who don't know what that means you pay for a certain amount and that's all you get - no open internet, no free trawling the net etc...

Now the question you have to ask yourself is: when you've used what you've paid for how do you top up - by buying a top up on the internet !!!!!!!!!!!!! eh but it's capped and you can't get back on the internet to buy your top up...

ONLY IN AFRICA!!!!

Word of the Day for Sunday & Monday

(Sunday)
pithy \PITH-ee\, adjective:
concise and to the point; full of meaning and force
c. 1400, from Old English pith, of unknown origin but cognate German words referring to "inner part, essence"

(Monday)
spoonerism \SPOO-nuh-riz-uhm\, noun:
The transposition of usually initial sounds in a pair of words.

Some examples:
We all know what it is to have a half-warmed fish ["half-formed wish"] inside us.
A well-boiled icicle ["well-oiled bicycle"].
It is kisstomary to cuss ["customary to kiss"] the bride.
Is the bean dizzy ["dean busy"]?
When the boys come back from France, we'll have the hags flung out ["flags hung out"]!
Let me sew you to your sheet ["show you to your seat"].

Spoonerism comes from the name of the Rev. William Archibald Spooner (1844-1930), a kindly but nervous Anglican clergyman and educationalist. All the above examples were committed by (or attributed to) him.

OR Aunty June's most embarrassing moment:
Set the scene; young teenage girl, handsome young man working in Wimpy (SA's answer to McD), June walks up to the guy, all blushing, "can I help you mam?" she replies : "yes please can I have a Chimpy Beese Wurger" (Wimpy Cheese Burger) Needless to say she didn't get a date out of that one...

AND then there's the ever famous 'Chuck You Farley!!!'

Life with the Twisted Sisters

The view from the top of our street

Originally we had some difficulties about how we were going to get rid of the body???

Yeah the Wicked Witch is Dead.

What a crazy house we're living in. The Twisted Sisters are always plotting things!!! June has a fondness for The Crime Channel and talk often moves towards how to do: 'The Perfect Crime'.

Prior to the neighbours building, the biggest concern was how to get rid of the body!!!

Dig deep foundations!!! Thats the answer...

Word of the Day for Friday & Saturday

(FRIDAY) diatribe \DAHY-uh-trahyb\, noun:
a bitter verbal attack or speech (been there done that!)
by 1581, from Latin diatriba "learned discussion," from Greek diatribe "discourse, study," literally "a wearing away (of time)," from dia- "away" + tribein "to wear, rub."

(SATURDAY) veracity \vuh-RAS-i-tee\, noun:
1. truthfulness
2. truth
Veracity is the heart of morality.
by 1623, from French véracité,from Middle Latin veracitatem/veracitas "truthfulness," from Latin verax/ veracis "truthful," from verus "true"

P.S. Sun shining today- temp 27c, done all my washing!!! and it's hanging on the line... HOW EXCITING... :-}

Mothers Day - for others around the world:

(Occurrence Dates) - Country

Second Sunday of February (February 8 2009) (February 14 2010) - Norway

(February 2) - Greece

(Shevat 30) - Israel
(Falls anywhere between January 30 and March 1)

(March 3) - Georgia

(March 8) - Afghanistan, Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Laos, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Russia Serbia, Ukraine

Fourth Sunday in Lent (March 22 2009) (March 14 2010) Ireland, Nigeria, United Kingdom

(March 21) (vernal Equinox) - Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Lebanon Oman, Palestinian Territories, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, United Arab Emirates, Yemen
(All Arab countries in general)

(March 25) - Slovenia

(April 7) - Armenia

Baisakh Amavasya (Mata Tirtha Aunsi) - Nepal

First Sunday of May (May 3, 2009)(May 2, 2010) - Hungary, Lithuania, Portugal, Spain

(May 8) - Albania (Parents' Day), South Korea (Parents' Day)

(May 10) - El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico

Second Sunday of May (May 10 2009) (May 9 2010) - Anguilla, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Bermuda, Bonaire, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Cuba, Curaçao, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Honduras, Iceland, India, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Latvia, Malta, Malaysia, Myanmar, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Peru, People's Republic of China, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Republic of China (Taiwan), Slovakia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, St. Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sint Maarten, Singapore, Suriname, Switzerland, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Ukraine, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, Zimbabwe

(May 15) - Paraguay

(May 26) - Poland "Dzień Matki"

(May 27) - Bolivia

Last Sunday of May (May 31 2009)(May 30 2010) - Algeria, Dominican Republic, France (First Sunday of June if Pentecost occurs on this day) French Antilles (First Sunday of June if Pentecost occurs on this day) Haiti, Mauritius, Morocco, Sweden, Tunisia

(May 30) - Nicaragua

(June 1) - Mongolia (The Mothers and Children's Day.)

Second Sunday of June (June 14 2009)(June 13 2010) - Luxembourg

Last Sunday of June (June 28 2009)(June 27 2010) - Kenya

(August 12) - Thailand (the birthday of Queen Sirikit)

(August 15) (Assumption Day) - Antwerp (Belgium), Costa Rica

Second Monday of October (October 12 2009)(October 11 2010) - Malawi

(October 14) - Belarus

Third Sunday of October (October 18 2009)(October 17 2010) - Argentina (Día de la Madre)

Last Sunday of November (November 29 2009)(November 28 2010) - Russia

(December 8) - Panama

(December 22) - Indonesia

A source of useful information :-) In case you ever need to 'phone a friend'!!!

Happy Mothers Day...

To all my 'MUM' friends in the UK !!!


Hope you are all spoilt rotten on Sunday, lots of flowers, chocolates, smellies and dinner cooked for you with the dishes washed afterwards! {: - )

Some verses specially for mums:

The sweetest sounds to mortals given
Are heard in Mother, Home, and Heaven.

I love my mother as the trees love water and sunshine - she helps me grow, prosper, and reach great heights.

A mother's arms are made of tenderness and children sleep soundly in them

Who ran to help me when I fell,
And would some pretty story tell,
Or kiss the place to make it well?
My mother.

God could not be everywhere, so he created mothers.

The best conversations with mothers always take place in silence, when only the heart speaks.

A man loves his sweetheart the most;
his wife the best, but his mother the longest.

Extremes!

• What is the one subject that will get even complete strangers talking to each other?
• The Subject that has no age barriers, no gender barriers, no religious barriers and no colour barriers?
• The subject that every one can discuss, not matter how rich you are, poor you are, intelligent you are?
• The subject we can all pass a comment about even if we are not 'experts' in this field?
  
  

Have you guessed it yet? THE WEATHER !!!

Now the reason I mention this is that since we've been here in 'Sunny South Africa' we have had some seriously EXTREME weather!!! And this week has been no exception...

Monday temperatures were mid 30c, with hot sticky humidity, no matter where you were you were hot and uncomfortable, even in the air conditioned car; it was struggling to keep you cool.

From Tuesday onwards it has gotten cooler and cooler. It has rained on and off since Tuesday and it feels damp and cold all over!! and last night I used a damn hot water bottle !!!

Now what do you think about that then?

If I have nothing else in my new house there are 2 things that were never on my original wish list, but have now become a priority : Internal Heating and a Tumble Drier!!! :-)

The concept of a beautifully 'Italian Tiled' house kinda of pales a little when you're cold... so maybe a few of those tiles will be changed to thick pile carpet !!! (well that's cheaper than tiles anyway)!!!

Does it sound like I'm moaning AGAIN???

Word of the Day for Thursday

florid \FLOR-id\, adjective:

1. Flushed with red; of a lively reddish color. (haw my favourite colour - Not)
2. Excessively ornate; flowery; as, "a florid style; florid eloquence."

Florid comes from Latin floridus, "flowery," from flos, flor-, "flower."

Many were florid and overweight, too bulkily dressed and perspiring freely.-- Robert Stone, Damascus Gate

"Hey girl! those cards are so lovely, gorgeous and florid!!! by me!!!! :)

BBFN.

Word of the Day for Wednesday

elucidate \ih-LOO-si-dayt\, transitive verb:

To make clear or manifest; to render more intelligible; to illustrate; as, an example will elucidate the subject.

Elucidate comes from Late Latin elucidare, to clear up, from ex-, e-, out of + lucidus, bright, from lux, luc- light. Hence to elucidate is to bring the inner light out of an obscure subject. One who elucidates is an elucidator; that which tends to elucidate is elucidative; the act of elucidating, or that which elucidates, is an elucidation.


Probably one of those words you'll never use!!!

Busy Bees at the Tuesday Craft Club

Pauline Matthews


Joan Penney


Glenis Redfearn

Gill Oldfield

Fay Wilson

Carole Meades

Carol Rimmer

Wow you all look so busy, I am so jealous...
Wish I could have been there with you, hope I'm going to get to see what it is that you are all so busy making?

Thanks to Glenis for 'hosting' and organising the Tuesday Craft Club.

Thanks to Ann Eley for being my unofficial photographer at the last two Craft Clubs, unforunately everyone was too busy on Tuesday to take her photo, but I know she was busy 'crafting' too...

I'm led to believe you all made some new style cards??? So what about some photos of those to put on the blog?

Glenis is going to let me know the next set of dates for the Tuesday Craft Club so I will forward those to you as soon as I have them. If anybody wants any further information don't hesitate to conatct me for details: craftclubinfo@giglin-gecko.com

For those who want to learn something new:

Word of the Day for Tuesday, March 17, 2009

libation \ly-BAY-shun\, noun:
1. The act of pouring a liquid (usually wine) either on the ground or on a victim in sacrifice to some deity; also, the wine or liquid thus poured out.
(Such a waste!!!)
2. A beverage, especially an alcoholic beverage.
3. An act or instance of drinking.

Happy St.Patrick's Day

Saint Patrick's Day
(Irish: Lá ’le Pádraig or Lá Fhéile Pádraig), colloquially St. Paddy's Day or Paddy's Day, is an annual feast day which celebrates Saint Patrick (circa AD 385–461), one of the patron saints of Ireland, and is generally celebrated on March 17.
The day is the national holiday of Ireland. It is a bank holiday in Northern Ireland and a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland and Montserrat. In Canada, Great Britain, Australia, the United States and New Zealand, it is widely celebrated but is not an official holiday.[1]
It became a feast day in the Roman Catholic Church due to the influence of the Waterford-born Franciscan scholar Luke Wadding[2] in the early part of the 17th century, and is a holy day of obligation for Roman Catholics in Ireland. The feast day usually falls during Lent; if it falls on a Friday of Lent (unless it is Good Friday), the obligation to abstain from eating meat can be lifted by the local bishop. The church calendar avoids the observance of saints' feasts during certain solemnities, moving the saint's day to a time outside those periods. St. Patricks Day is very occasionally affected by this requirement. Thus when March 17 falls during Holy Week, as in 1940 when St. Patrick's Day was observed on April 3 in order to avoid it coinciding with Palm Sunday, and again in 2008, having been observed on 15 March.[3][4]

Hey it's another reason to make a card!!!

Even if you're not Irish any excuse to make cards or create something is a good enough excuse for me... Hope you're all wearing your green today.

I found some really nice verses and sentiments that you can use if you are making and giving St. Patrick's Day cards...

For each petal on the shamrock
This brings a wish your way -
Good health, good luck, and happiness
For today and every day.

May your blessings outnumber
The shamrocks that grow,
And may trouble avoid you
Wherever you go.

Never iron a four-leaf clover, because you don't want to press your luck.

A best friend is like a four leaf clover:
hard to find and lucky to have.

May your pockets be heavy and your heart be light,
May good luck pursue you each morning and night.

Well wishing all of my friends 'the best of Irish Luck' to you ...

Look who's been busy

Well decided to have a go at some scrapbooking with my limited resources that I have available to me at the moment.

I started an 8x8 album for Kelsey just before I left UK, haven't found the album yet but thought I'd use some of my favourite photos I have of him and have a 'play'. It is so frustrating when you know you have the right colours, the right tools and just the right embellishments but you just can't put your hands on them!!! Well I can always add to them later if need be...

Busy Bees - Saturday Craft Club

Sharon McDonald

Karen McInnes

Julie Lloyd

Jayne Humphries

Jane Foster

Ann Eley

All the Busy Bees at the Saturday Craft Club, oh how I wish I was there with you...

TGIF!!!

Boy the end of another week...

TGIF! I can have a lie in tomorrow, after all I'm just not used to seeing 2 lots of 5.30's in a day, no amount of 'pep power' can get me used to these early mornings!!! It's also very strange to switch the computer on after dropping Kelsey off at school and finding that most of you are still fast asleep... I mean it's only 2 hours difference from here to there but the number of times I've woken Paul with a text message at 5am, (7am my time) thinking he should already be up and about, but then he gets his own back by texting me at 11pm!!! (9pm your time)...

Also have you noticed how as you 'mature' in life you start to see certain things more? I remember a few of you asking me about the changing of the seasons here and to be honest in the past I didn't seem to notice that there were any, well there seems to be now... (deep I know!) Last night after dinner (around 7pm) we were all sat outside (OK so it's still lovely and warm and the crickets are chirping and it's my favourite time of the day, homework's done, dinners over and I can finally relax a bit) and last week we were sat outside and there was still a glow from the sunset in the sky, but last night it was dark already, and mornings are the same. The last couple of mornings I've woken up thinking I've made a mistake with the alarm times, it's still dark!!! And I'm told a sure sign of the 'Autumn' is the dew on the grass on a morning!!! With a temp of 27c at 7am!!! Let me tell you very difficult to get your head round that one.

We don't seem to have the 'autumnal' shades on our trees though, everywhere is so lush and green (sub-tropical) all the time, I wish I had taken more photos of the autumn now... Wish I'd followed Jayne H's idea of photographing a tree in the garden every month for a year so I could document the changes... The strangest things you miss...

Then mum and I popped into Mr Price Home (SA's answer to IKEA) today while we were waiting for 'school's out' and there we were buying 'fluffy' hot water bottles (been told we'll need them in the winter, well if September was anything to go by!!!) now beat that one... :-)

Oh! damn Kelsey's just come in and told me he's playing cricket tomorrow, so he's gotta be at school for 8am!!! So much for a lie in... Roll on Sunday eh? Wonder what the weather's gonna be like, need ice blocks, cold drinks and picnic... Oh the harsh reality of cricket in Africa!!!

Talking of tomorrow, Sharon and Bolsover Saturday Craft Ladies hope you all have a good day, sooooo wish I could be joining you, much better that cricket (in my opinion)! But I'm sure I'll get some good photo opportunities again tomorrow... Don't think I'll ever get around to using any of these photos, but they'll be here for future reference... Think I should take up a hobby or something, like Scrapbooking eh what?

Well gonna dash-got Tea/Dinner (here) to cook (AGAIN!!!!!!! ask me about that another time) We're having MY favourite, Grilled Lamb Chops with Onions, Corn on the Cob(mielies here) Baby Potatoes (not new ones, but next best thing) and Green Salad... what you havin tonight? Share some of your ideas with me cos I keep running out of things to cook... Maybe we need to start a meal swap....

Your thought for the weekend:
That’s the thing about needs,
sometimes when you get them you don’t need them anymore.

Have a good one! {:-)

Where does the time go?

Well here we are again at the beginning of another week, and where did last week go to? It feels like it was just yesterday that I was writing the blog for Monday last week...

The photos: Kelsey and Indi doing Rugby practise, can't decide who is tackling who???

Kelsey on Rocky (the horse) riding on Saturday's lesson, as you can see by the face he is really enjoying the riding. In fact Kelsey, Aunty June and a friend of hers Shaun went on an 'outride' on Sunday as well, no wonder they're walking like cowboys today!!!

And the land-well other than piles of dirt, deep holes and big rocks not much else happening, however there was a ton of sand and stone delivered this morning, maybe that means something is going to happen or not???

Had a lovely long chat to Ann last week, glad to hear some of you ladies are still meeting up and crafting together. She asked me what I do all week, and although it sounds like 'nothing' it takes an awful long time to do it!!! Don't forget the dates of the next Bolsover Craft Days : Saturday 14th March 10am - 3.30pm with Sharon and the Saturday girls, and again on Tuesday 17th March with Glenis and the Tuesday girls... If you want any more info drop me an e-mail. I hope those of you who do go all have a great time, I wish I could join you.

Also if any of you are interested in a Full Day Workshop , my friend Sheila from Crafty Ways is holding a Full Day Workshop on Saturday 30th May at Spondon Village Hall. (Very similar in content to my workshop days) If you want more details contact her via e-mail on sheila@crafty-ways.co.uk I'm sure she'll make you very welcome.

I haven't just been lazing around by the pool you know, I have been doing some work, I've been taking stock for the business - slowly (we don't have much space here at the moment) so mum and I are working through it all box by box... I didn't realise just how much stock I actually had... Once I've taken stock of everything then I have to decide on the next course of action... (Shop or Not) I'm even taking stock of the 'workshop' equipment too... Gotta know just what I have got!!! so I know what else I want!!!!

Only 3 weeks before Paul is back out here again. He leaves UK 1st April, arrives here 2nd. (OOO! Just in time for my Birthday, how good is my planning?) Kelsey is really excited about that, I hope the weather is good for him... At the moment the ladies tell me this weather is not typical to this time of the year so it's very much pot luck! But I'm sure it's warmer than there?

Well that's you all up to date for the moment. Hope you're all crafting like crazy? If not what's your excuse???

Your thought for today:

Great minds discuss ideas;

Average minds discuss events;

Small minds discuss people.

Project - Remember our Tag Book Kits ©?

I thought you might like to see what I did with one of our Tag Book Kits ©.

A friend of mine had a baby girl and I wanted something she could keep to add to the child's Scrapbook at a later stage.

The Front and Back pages were chalked and inked around the edges using my favourite Colourbox Chalk Inks. I used a selection of verse stamps to add my greeting to the inside. The mini pocket is made by adding a piece of your favourite patterned paper- cut to size of a pocket and adhered on 3 sides. Make sure you decorate all the holes with fancy ribbons or fibres and add buttons and charms to complete the look. Don't forget the back page too, people often forget the back page, this completes the project.

The nice thing about the Tag Book Kits © is that they never go out of style and can be used for any occasion, as a card or to add at a later date to a memory page.

Your thought for today:
The difference between a dream

and a dream come true

is having the courage to follow your heart!

A Tribute to a wonderful dog and best friend always!

Sadly Aunty J had to say a final farewell to her wonderful 'son' Winston on Friday.

He had not been well for a couple of weeks and eventually we plucked up the courage to make a trip to the vets. After tests the vet came back with the news we did not want to hear, he had become diabetic and was showing symptoms of Pancreatic Cancer. The vet advised Aunty J that if it was his dog he would not want to see him suffer, so sadly Winny was euthanized on Friday 27th February...

We all miss him terribly, especially Aunty J who has had him since he was a puppy. He was 12 1/2 years old and has been a devoted and loyal friend to June. He was such a lovable character, always entertaining us with his antics. Indi and him became firm friends from the minute they met, in fact I think Winny was so proud to have found himself a 'younger woman' !!!

I remember we took Indi to the beach one day and while we were out Indi met up with 'Jack & Eddie' my brothers 2 dogs, when we got back home Winny did'nt want anything to do with Indi for a couple of hours cos she'd been out 'with other boys!' (well that's what it looked liked anyway, it was so funny to watch the 2 of them)

Indi loved to give Winston 'kisses' but he always looked at her as if to say "bugger off I can't be bothered with all that nonsense" , but give Winston a tennis ball and he was the happiest dog around... In fact Indi and him had a few 'words' over the tennis balls...

We will all miss him very much and our love and best wishes go to Aunty J.

Remember : 'People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life - like loving everybody all the time and being nice. Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long.'

If a dog was the teacher you would learn things like:

When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.

Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride, allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure Ecstasy.

Take naps.

Stretch before rising.

Run, romp, and play daily.

Thrive on attention and let people touch you.

Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.

On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass.

On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.

When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.

Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.

Be loyal.

Never pretend to be something you're not.

If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.

When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by, and nuzzle them gently.