Good and bad

Yesterday was a really bad day. Sometimes I really love supply work, new places, people, children, no paperwork and home by 4. Others I just think why?? Why am I putting up with this behaviour/attitude. Ah well.

I did get a text about Jo. Although she has been fighting a bad chest infection she did open her eyes for a few minutes. Please God let this be a sign that she is waking up and will be well soon.

I have been scrapping and card making, and as soon as my scanner stops turning everything bright green and my ISP lets me upload more than a few bytes at a time, I will get them uploaded.

Sparkles

With still no good news (or any news come to that) on Jo its hard to think of other things going on, but go on they do. Martin has been on holiday all week so we have been getting the garden ready for the coming year. The cherry tree needed a good pruning - it should have been done in August but it was too big a job when in full leaf. We also noticed a lovely ornamental cherry tree near the house had split vertically through the trunk so most of that has had to come down for the sake of the conservatory too.

I planted heaps of seeds in the greenhouse, some gooseberry bushes and lots of raspberry canes, so looking forward to a fruitful summer (groan!)

I also made a start on the attic but it looks like its going to be quite an ongoing task.

We had dinner with Kelly and Ollie on Sunday, she tried out a new Jamie Oliver recipe on us. I don't particularly rate the guy but the steak in Guinness pie was delicious. We also went all the way to Bluewater just so Martin could go in the TFI Friday - our nearest being 60 miles away it was a bit of a trek for a beefburger.

I organised a little surprise get together for Laura and Wayne to celebrate the engagement. They were kinda out of it when they finally arrived back from Goa at half eight last night, but all the two families were there to crack open a bottle of bubbly, and look at the sparkly rock

- apart form Kelly and Ol, since it was a bit far to come out that late on a Sunday night for them, and we couldn't guarantee the plane would land on time.



I have also been crafting - I sent this one in as my entry to the BG challenge being run on A trip Down Memory Lane

A celebration!!

Last week Wayne sneaked over to see us on the pretext of filling his car with petrol in order to ask Martin for Laura's 'hand in marriage' and our blessings. He planned to ask Laura to marry him while they were away on holiday in Goa. He had also been out and bought her a stunning engagement ring.

Not able to share this news for fear of Laura finding out, we have been waiting for him to 'do the deed'. Last night our patience was rewarded, and I got a text message with two simple words - 'I'm engaged!'

Futher texts flying between India and UK revealed that she loved the ring and he had done the full romantic, meal, walk on the beach, down on one knee proposal.

So another wedding to look forward to, and a new album to bore all my blog readers with!!

Of course this is all tempered by the fact that we have had no further news (good/or bad) about Jo.

No good news

Another text from my friend yesterday to let us know that Jo has still not woken up, and was to have a brain scan, results in two days. Fingers and toes and everything else hoping that the scan is to check that brain activity is normal before forcing a regain of concience.

So I havent been doing a great deal of scrapping as its just too sad.

I have really only come on to blog so that I can record some of the good things going on (because there always are, no matter how sad you may be feeling).

Laura and Wayne have left this evening to jet off to Goa for the half term week. A well deserved break as they havent had a holiday since embarking on the property development game and worked so hard getting the house built, finished and sold (subject to buyer selling their gaff).

Kelly has invited us over for dinner tomorrow, and sent a text to say her boiler is now fixed and deep joy there will be hot water to do the washing up with!

Martin is on holiday next week. We went to Homebase for storage boxes so I can finally get up in the attic and store all my teaching stuff properly, and discovered they were having a 10% off day. So we ended up getting a new lawn mower, strimmer and wheelbarrow. Looks like its either the attic or the loft next week then.

Scary news

Floral Frenzy Kit by Linda Walton, and some Katie Hadfield bits

I had a text from my best friend this morning to tell me her daughter had fallen off her horse on Sunday, and is in a London hospital still unconcious. I havent heard any more but hope that Jo will soon be awake and on the way to recovery. In the meantime a very quick throw it all at the page LO for today's Load 2 Can't say I felt much like scrapping or blogging today.

Doing it digi

Layout removed for publication

I am still keeping up with Load 2 which now means I have made and uploaded 42 layouts in 2008 (counting todays.) The more I play about with digi scrapping the more I am enjoying it which is why my three sheets of BG for the Trip Down Memory Lane competition is sitting untouched on my table. This is the photo I have chosen to use but I thought I would digi scrap it too. All the elements and paper are from the Nani Romance kit.


Tomorrow and Thursday I am covering classes, so today I tackled all the ironing and started work on readying the garden for spring. It really is a non-stop roller coaster of a life at the moment LOL

Headache

Yes, I have had one all day today which is why I have only just thrown this LO together in order to keep up the target of one a day. And why the only other thing I have done today apart from try to sleep it off is to plant a few kiwi, cucumber and cabbage seeds in the greenhouse.

All the elements come from Nicole Kaltenecker's christmas special kit, apart from the black background, the red mat and the chains on the baubles which I made myself.

making templates

Some days I dont know where the day has gone. I certainly havent filled it with much.

I started doing a little housework but Laura phoned to say mum and dad were on the way over to collect me and take me to her place. When we arrived they were on their way round to look at the property they have just had an offer accepted on. Eager to continue their property development career, they intend to knock down the 1930's bungalow and replace it with two detached 3 bed houses. The present bungalow still has many original features, including carpets and wallpaper, and judging by the pink and white bathroom, original tiles. It really didnt deserve any more than to be flattened after salvage. Its more of a shame that the mature garden with its 6 or 7 apple trees, and thousands of plants, bulbs and fruits has to go. But if they can put two 3 bed dwellings on the plot of a 2 bed bungalow and create more decent family homes then all power to them.

I came home and since it was more like May then Feb, I planted out the raspberry canes I bought last week, some asparagus, strawberries and sewed a few seeds. I washed the greenhouse and weeded some of the garden.

Finally I taught myself to make a template in photoshop. Now all I need to do is design some. This LO is from a template, inspired by the challenge on Vera Lim's blog. I cant take part in it as I dont have any of her kits but I liked the idea of scrapping on black so thought I would have a go.

Template by Trish Heffner at Templates and More
Background paper Tamara Diepeveen aka MoonCatcher
Lots of brushes and some shadows and bevels added.

Sooo tired

Kristin Cronin-Barrow Quick page

After dog sitting for Laura's dog last night and then working with a really difficult class today (some very challenging behaviour *sigh*) I am way too tired to do more than a quick page with the only photos I could find on my pc. My Father in Law's birthday some 20 odd years ago.

No time to play

Today (and tomorrow) I have been called in to do some supply work so no chance of playing in my scrap room. Although tiring it was a nice day to go into school as the children were all doing plenty of activities to celebrate chinese new year, ending the day with a visiting troupe who demo'e some chinese lion dancing. So today its just a quick digi LO and to wish everyone Fung Hei Fat Choy.
Again lots of freebie brushes to make my own background.

I've just discovered that Prima hybrid have a forum...and a blog...and a gallery. I think it was just me but I kept loading the site and then getting lost. I didnt find it very easy to navigate for some reason. And even though I managed to register with the forum when it first went live, I could only ever end up in the shoppe. I desperately wanted to go join in the opening party but guess what ...I finally found it tonight. And its all over done and dusted. So now I'm off to see what else I've missed out there.

Inspired

Inspired by reading/looking at the beautiful work on Vera Lim's blog this morning I fired up Photoshop and had a go at making my own backgrounds using a huge selection of brushes. (I finally found where I had stored them all on my pc). Its no where near as good as Vera's work but I am quite happy with it as a first attempt.

My own homemade background, and a variety of 'bits' found on the net free.

Today both Martin and I are off work. But we cant think of anything to do. I've told him at this rate we will have to join the Heritage group and start taking coach trips out like proper old people do. In the mean time I am on here and he has settled for 'Homes under the hammer'. I'm going to drag him out in a moment to go book some theatre tickets, Treasure Island is playing at the Marlow next month and Dad excited over his new found toy on the hearing loop, wants to go.

That wedding album

I didnt get called to do any supply today and since I had managed to catch up with most of the housework and shopping I had a bit of a lazy day.

Dad is feeling better and recovering from his 'man flu' (mum just had a cold) so they came over for a coffee, and then I took myself out to post two job applications and take a look round the local hairdressers.

I hate hairdressers. I dont mind the hair cut. I have the kind of hair that will look a mess whatever disasters or brilliance any qualified person with a pair of scissors can come up with). No its the 'small talk' with strangers, the intimidating atmosphere in the actual saloon. So I avoid them like the plague, and usually use one of those mobile hairdressers at my parents house. Except she has been under the surgeons knife twice in the last 6 months and still recouperating. My hair was last cut in September (if you dont count the hacking of the fringe in December) so is long overdue a trim.

Well I looked.... and thats as far as I got. How do they justify the price of a 15 minute trim??? So next time I am off, I may get really brave and go offer my head as a model.

I spent the rest of the day tidying up my scrap table and washing all my cutting mat, messy mat, and table. Now minus glue I can safely get on with the LO's for the wedding albumn. Today's Lo is a bit of a cheat as it is the second half of a double LO. I did work on the first side though as I decided I really didnt like the photo that I had accidently managed to get repro herma on, so I took the photo off and redid it, with a different photo. There are quite a few singles that need making into doubles so I could be doing those for a while.

Chatterbox papers (theres a surprise) E-Z rub rubbons and papermania ribbon

A doddle!

Today it was Martin's day off. Today he spent the entire day sitting in Kelly's cold house with a stinking cold waiting for her boiler repair man to come. Who didnt turn up!

I got to go do supply in Ashford, a good 26 miles away.

So happy faces all round today.

But I am keeping up with LOAD 2 and still having fun. This is another for the wedding album (who's idea was it to take so many photos??)

Chatterbox paper, Heidi Swapp flowers, Provocraft Madeline Plain alpha's coloured with
pink sukara suffle pen, and some little gems.

Template

My lovely and talented padder mate Andrea wanted some guinea pigs to try out her new template. Its fab and this was the fastest Lo I have ever put together!
The kit was a freebie called Pastels from this site http://lemondedejuly.canalblog.com/

Load II day 2

I cant believe how many extra visitors I got just by signing up to Load II. Thank you for the nice comments. At the moment I am busy trying to finish a paper LO using the challenge rules but as I dont think it will be finished in time for today, I have done a quick digi LO. It doesnt quite meet the weekly challenge as I have used 2 pattern papers, but its still one I like.

The film strip embellishment is by Deanna Patterson from her Wintersnight kit but I have
changed the colour in Photoshop

Load II

My own cardstock background, pattern paper by Nanine (Romance kit)
hearts drawn with pen (heart brushes)

On scrapbook-101 they are hosting LOAD II, a chance to continue were LOAD I left off. Now the first challenge said to use one photo, one sheet cs, one sheet pp and one pen (no computer) I am hoping this last bit is not right or a lot of people who digi scrap will be left at the starting blocks. Anyway here is my first LO for Load II

Oh no he isn't!

Its been a busy few days, with supply work making me very much in demand. I finally managed to get a few days off and used them to catch up on the housework and washing.

Last night we got time off for good behaviour though to go to the local little theatre production's annual Panto. When the girls were little, it was the high light of the year, and part of Martin's christmas was to queue up for the matinee performance tickets from half 5 in the morning. Yes it was THAT popular. First saturday in December would see most of the town lined up waiting for their complimentary tea and toast breakie as they waited for the box office to open at nine and start dishing out tickets.

It was made that popular by our local Doctor Lee and the two evil henchmen. Wonderful actors who made the show what is is. As the girls got older, and with Dr Lee takeing retirement both from doctoring and acting, and dad no longer able to hear what was going on, we stopped going. We havn't been for some years, but Kelly has a new found interest since her friend Hannah started taking part in the products. This year she invited us and her grandparents along. She even got Grandad to try out a hearing loop (with great success may I add). And whats more, Dr Lee was back taking his usual part as the dame, and the two henchmen after a years lay off were also centre stage.

It was brilliant, with lots of traditional audiance participation (Its behind you!) songs old and new (even a Take That hit) a script that, as usual, had little bearing on the original fairy story of Sleeping Beauty, plenty of awful jokes and a gun that squirted most of the watchers in water. However the thing I found the funniest, and the best was the way the cast got round some very silly Health and Safety rules.

We had all been agast and dismayed to hear in our local rag that this year, throwing sweets into the audience for the smaller observers was to be prohibited. Apparently one theatre had recieved a complaint from some old lady who had been hit by a flying missile - sorry I mean candy. So in its usual heavy handed way, authorities had banned all those taking parts in Panto's this year from distributing unhealthy teeth treats from the stage. Stupid. One more sign of a world gone mad. Yet our fun was not to be dimmed. If the cast cant throw sweets, then simple, lets get those people sitting in the front row seats to chuck them about instead!!!

Anyway it was a good evening out and the only thing missing was Laura who I wish could have come too.

So BPS Load of this class is over. I amazed myself by keeping up and learnt a few new digi tricks along the way. Here are the last few LOs.

Joanne Bain kit

kit from Kim's designs (Kim Broedelet) called Loveable,
and is a scraplift from Carol (Croppy) on her design team