Memories and wishes

Today would have been dad's 90th birthday as well as Christmas Eve. He just loved the whole birthday/Christmas experience and would have a big smile on his face that would put a nine year old to shame. This is dad with mum last year.

Heather and I will be going to spend time with mum today at her care home and open some of her presents with her. She will be full of smiles as always, especially when she opens any of the "eats"! There are some pink and white marshmallows, Thorntons cakes and fruit jellies so she will enjoy those.

We're then going back to Heather's and will be having a Chinese takeaway just as we always did for dad's birthday. I'll be coming home and then going to the midnight service at church which is something I've not done before but am looking forward to. I'm going with my neighbour so it will be a late night for us both.

I've decided to have Christmas day itself on my own so I can just spend a quiet time. I'm going to cook a proper dinner with (most of) the trimmings which will keep me occupied for a while. Heather wanted me to spend the day with them, but I think this first Christmas without David is one that I need to be on my own for. 

Well, I just want to wish everybody a very happy and peaceful Christmas. I'll sign off with a picture of my tree with one the two new Bambi decorations that I got last week....they are flocked and I added ribbon bows and bells as well as some white spots to their rumps - ever so cute. There are also some vintage baubles that I picked up for a snip in a charity shop. Hopefully they will survive Tara's growing interest in the sparkly, shiny ornaments that are tantalizing her!

Happy Christmas everybody.
PS I tried scheduling this post to come on yesterday whilst I was out but it didn't work! Oh well, happy Christmas again!

Bury St Edmunds & an afternoon out

Hello to all the ladies who came to see me

at the Stamp Hut in Bury St Edmunds on Saturday - it was a very busy and enjoyable day. My journey down there was long but the wonderful scenery along the way made it pass quite quickly. The train passed through wonderful rolling hills in Derbyshire with little lambs frollicking in the energising sunshine. As we neared the latter part of the route, the landscape flattened out to endless fields - a much starker, yet equally dramatic vista. I was not quick enough to capture the wonderful view of Ely Cathedral which was gone before my camera would whirr into action...so frustrating! Not many birds along the way, though I did see rather a lot of Pheasants and loads and loads of Bunnies - very sweet! I arrived in time to have a look around the town and, unlike my last visit in November, it was still daylight so I was able to take in the sights. Here are just a couple of views of the very atmospheric Abbey which held a beautiful park within its' walls. It had centuries of history etched into the walls and doors as you can imagine. I spent the evening writing some articles for a project that I am working on at the moment and had a great night's sleep....too good really, as I could hardly believe how quickly the morning seemed to arrive!

All the ladies who visited the Stamp Hut were so eager to see new ideas and I hope that you are all having fun with your purchases and not getting too light headed when making the trees! I was so busy that I just didn't get chance to take any photos of the day and even missed the chance to snap the new cards I had made. Oh well! Above you can see a Starbuck's mint tin which I decorated using Personal Impressions canvas coloured with Alcohol inks...I loved the leathery effect that this gave. I used Shrink Plastic to create the little medallions and strung them from gold thread which I wrapped around the tin. I used a gold Decocolour pen to add some swirls and a few bronze coloured gems added the fiishing touch.Here is the tin surrounded by the "Moo" cards which I made to fill it with. I don't think that I have made them the correct size for Moos, but they fit my tin so I don't mind! For those who may not have heard of these little cards, they are a standard, smaller sized business card, which, like ATC's, can be swapped or given away to share ideas or your details. I had great fun making this little set and it was very simple to do. I used JEJE double sided adhesive sheet to stick the canvas around the tin as it's a strong, all over adhesive so it gives a smooth finish.

My friend Elaine came to see me at the end of my demonstration, helped me pack everything away into my special Tardis suitcase and then we hot footed it to a restauant for a quick meal and a catch up before my train was due to depart. I don't get to see Elaine very often, so it was a lovely chance to get together, even if it was a bit rushed! The journey home was rather tiring to say the least - train travel in the dark always seems so much longer with no views to speed things along.

I didn't get to mum and dad's for Mother's Day, but my sister took them out for lunch. So, mum had a second treat today as we went over to see them and took a trip to a rebuilt garden centre which had been beautifully designed and was a feast for the eyes with unusual displays, well thought out decor and gorgeous flowers. There was a customer survey to vote for your favourite three from a selection (over a hundred) of brand new Violas and Pansies. They are among my favourite garden flowers and there were some exquisite little blooms of countless colours..very hard to choose!
Here are mum and dad by two Pansies, though I hasten to add that these were artificial ones and were not a new Triffid variety, though, judging by mum's face she's not too sure! Carrying on the oversized theme, we found this rather unusual planter. Dad thought he'd better check if there was a cuppa in there though! It was a lovely afternoon and a nice change for all of us! Well that is all for the moment. I thought that I'd better write a longer post as I have been away from here for a few days. I'll be adding new cards and some new Blog Candy soon, so keep an eye open for that. I'll be in Ashton Under Lyne on Friday and Wrexham on Saturday, so pop in and see me if you are around - details in my diary on the left of course. Take care folks! Lindsay

Happy Christmas everyone!

Hello everyone, and hope that you are all looking forward to Christmas now, in whichever way you spend it. Hope too that you got all of your cards made...I have to confess that I didn't get to make all of mine! I've just finished wrapping the last of my gifts and will be off to my parents' tomorrow for a week of rest and relaxation, although I will be cooking the Christmas lunch which is rather a worry as I'm not known for my culinary expertise!

I'd love to say that I took this gorgeous picture of the squirrel myself, but, no, I have to confess that it was on the RSPB newsletter! Isn't he cute though, all tufty and bright eyed. I took the photo on the right though!

This is under mum and dad's tree which we decorated a couple of weeks ago - the snowmen on the right are ones I made years ago and look a bit battered now, but one of the lovely things about this time of year is the way that traditional things are important even if they are tatty round the edges!

I shan't be able to post now till next year (!), so I wish you all a wonderful Christmas and let us all hope that 2009 brings us all lots of positive things. Lindsay