At this time of year

that I wonder?:-

Why am I so short?
Why are none of the tall people that live in this house ever home when you need them?
Why are drawing pins so painfull to remove?
Why have I chosen carpets that match the colour of metal drawing pins and why don't cats wear slippers anyway?
Where does all the dust come from?
Why does 'non-staining' bluetac leave a stain?
Why is it that stuff that came out of a box only 3 weeks ago and fitted perfectly will not, in any way, squeeze back in to the same box?
Why is it that it takes twice as long to put things away as it does to get them out?

Yes it's twelth night and time to take the decorations down. Martin is working all weekend and Wayne and Laura stay at his on Friday, and Saturday so its just me and the cat to remove all the last traces of christmas from the house. Well I got it all apart from the lantern lights around the porch because try as I might I just cant reach the last final hook even standing on the plastic garden chair, and it is way too wet and windy out there now to take the step ladders out. So they can stay and hang the superstition!

As all the cards come down I get time to look at them more closely and admire them, make a list of who sent what. This one is the one my padder mate Lyzzydee made me for the card swap and I adore it to bits.

And this is the first of my Birthday book pages, scraplifted from Clare Brown's calendar pages in the January edition (and sadly final edition) of Creative Scrapbooking Magazine.

I dont need a calendar as my Aunt sends me one every year for Christmas, but I loved her work so much that I decided I would make it into a birthday book, hopefully each month utilising photos of the people who have their birth dates in that month. So for January a photo of my mum.

On the reverse is a pocket to house my birthday cards all ready and organised for when the birthdays arrive.

(Sorry for the really crap scan but the scanner didnt like the very 3D card I have made for my mum). I have no idea what the blossom paper is on the front page as it is from a pack my mum and dad bought me back from their trip to America 3 years ago, but the back is Junkitz, with BG alpha stickers