Springwatch 2011

So good to see this back on our screens - and great to see Charles Hamilton James as a presenter this week - I loved he Halcyon River Diaries when it was on last year.






This year the team are based at Ynys-hir nature reserve which isn't too far away from where I grew up in Mid Wales. Next time we are back down that way I think we should pay it a visit.

Weekly Challenge

I have set this weeks challenge over on the team challenge thread on UK Scrappers this week - the lady who was originally doing it had to pull out so I offered to help out.

For that reason I have kept the challenge nice and simple and to gain maximum points all you need to incorporate into your page are the following:

♥ As I am trying to play along with Shimelles 4x6 Photo Love class I would like you to use one or more 4x6 photos.

♥ To use punches on your page - I just love border punches at the moment - and of course the obligatory butterfly punch!

♥ To incorporate some history into your page - whether that be actual history or family history it doesn't really matter.

Here is my page:







I am still using up my Echo Park For The Record kit from Gottacraft - this kit has been such good value for money as I am eeking it out over quite a few pages. The photos show our visit to the Royal Yacht Britannia last May - I found the visit amazing and a wonderful insight into the lives of the royal family - well worth it.

It's Monday. What Are You Reading?

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading is where we share what we read this past week, what we hope to read this week…. and anything in between! D This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from!

I am currently reading a debut author who was recommended to me - a long round about story - but the author is the godmother of the grandson of one of my kickboxing instructors. I am about half way through it - it is typical chick lit - but the lighter side of the genre. The storyline is quite improbable but it is funny so I will read it all. This is about as much as I am going to say about this one as I am reading it as part of the Chick Lit Challenge in which I need to read 2 debut authors - so a review will follow shortly.
























Wasn't sure what to read next. I am going to have to go through my library book pile and pick out the ones I really want to read before I go on holiday as the rest will have to be returned - or I will come home to a pile of overdue fines!!




Top of my list is the new Jodi Picoult - my favourite author.

OMG!

Sam stayed round at his friends last night along with some others from the karate club - but at some point they obviously popped out to Asda - and this was the photo message I received on my phone (and worryingly taken by his instructor!!) :




"Planking" is the new craze apparently (also called the lying down game)- is the act of lying face down with arms to the sides of the body, in unusual public spaces and photographing it. You can read more about it here. My first thought was "but he is wearing a white top" and my second what could happen if his clothing got caught in the mechanism of the escalator! Needless to say we will be having words when he eventually arrives home.

He has also just started Parkour -

It is a non-competitive, physical discipline of French origin in which participants run along a route, attempting to navigate obstacles in the most efficient way possible, using only their bodies. Skills such as jumping, climbing, vaulting, rolling, swinging and wall scaling are employed. Parkour can be practiced anywhere, but areas dense with obstacles are preferable and it is most commonly practiced in urban areas.

- but that also leads him into trouble as they use people garden walls etc whilst participating in the sport - and getting told off for it.

I suppose I should be grateful he doesn't hang about the streets or bus shelters and mugging old ladies!!!!!

52 Weeks In B&W # 22

Looks like a raspberry but not 100% sure - I took this photo whilst walking through the woods at Duff House last weekend.

Skywatch Friday

Series 4, episode 46.

I had to stop on the way home from Banff last Sunday to take this photo - love the contrast between the ploughed field, the yellow of the oil seed rape and the sky - just a shame it wasn't a blue sky but we did have all four seasons that day!!

See more skies from around the world here.

Sporting Weekend Part 2

While Sam was in Glasgow Callum and I headed over to a very breezy Banff for the final rugby tournament of the season.

I think we had all four seasons in one day - beautiful blue skies and warm sunshine followed by a big black cloud, a torrential downpour for five minutes which included hailstones!!! Then it was back to blue skies again until five minutes from the end when the heavens opened again so all in all we were very lucky with the weather.

The Kinloss Kestrels came a very respectable second overall - which was a great end to the season.

Callum scored a try which was then disallowed due to a forward pass - but managed to capture the action on film!!




















A pre scrum talking to from Richard the coach! They are so lucky to have him as their coach - he makes sure everyone has a chance to play in each game and is full of encouragement for each and every player.























A few more action shots from the day:








Quite a few of the kids sustained injuries - Callum twisted his knee during an energetic tackle that saw his flying through the air - but he was back on the pitch before the end of the game!!!

WOYWW 25th May

Only 7 months till Christmas!!!!

On my desk today is the makings of a page for Shimelles 4x6 Photo Love class - I have picked my papers and photos - but that is as far as it has got. The papers are gorgeous Stella Rose by My Minds Eye which I picked up from my local shop for local people - but wasn't quick enough to get the lush flowery sheets - I think these papers flew out of the door.




At my local crop the other weekend I had a play with the Tim Holtz rosette alteration die - and what fun I had!! (thank you Tracey.) They are a bit fiddly but so much easier that using a border punch and all that folding - needless to say it is pretty near the top of my shopping list for when we go to the states.




This months copy of Photo Plus - I have been having a play with some of the photo techniques this month.




Pop over and see Julia and see what everyone else is up to today.

Sporting Weekend Part 1

Sam was down near Glasgow this weekend at the International Sport Kickboxing Association competition - where he won a gold medal for the team fighting event and a silver for his continuous sparring.

So well done Sam - even if there was a distinct lack of communication from him all weekend!!!

He has decided not to go to the world championships this year which are being held in Germany - mainly due to the extra costs involved due to it being abroad. Bless him - he said he would rather spend the money on our holiday - which is now under a month away - woot woot!!!!



This photo has just been posted on Facebook of the team and their medal haul - well done guys (and girls!)

It's Monday. What Are You Reading?

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading is where we share what we read this past week, what we hope to read this week…. and anything in between! D This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from!

Before I start on what I am reading this grey and dreary Monday morning I thought I would share one of my books from last week. Once I picked up Don't Say Goodbye by Fiona Stanford I couldn't put it down. It has to be one of the best books I have read this year so far. I was a Forces wife for 23 years and although I never had to wave my husband off to a war zone I could relate to so much in this book. And I cried on more than one occasion!!




When you fall in love with someone serving in the Armed Forces, it's hard to imagine the impact their career will have on your life.In Don't Say Goodbye, Fiona Stanford tells the untold story of the people left behind when our soldiers go off to fight. She reveals the hidden side to modern conflict - the story of the families, but in particular the wives, girlfriends, mothers and children - how it feels to live on a knife edge, bombarded with 24-hour news and footage of the war, and the constant terror that the next death you hear about on the television or the radio might be your loved one. Through tales of the Army lifestyle, she explains the reply to the age old question: 'How do you cope?' which is usually: 'You just get on with it'Fiona's husband handed over command of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards to Lt Col Rupert Thorneloe before they deployed to Afghanistan in 2009. During the tour seven of their men were killed, including Rupert, and many were wounded.Here she shares the rewards and challenges of Army life - the desperate goodbyes with young children in tow, the bittersweet sense of pride and the huge relief of homecoming. She also tells of other goodbyes; to friends when 'posted on', to children when they go away to school and the ultimate goodbye, revealing the heartache of families whose loved ones do not return.This is a story of love - how love can survive and even grow when couples are separated by thousands of miles and days of anguish.Don't Say Goodbye sheds light on the unique camaraderie that develops amongst the women as they pull each other through the toughest of times.Poignant, inspiring and deeply moving, this book is a tribute to the women and families that support our heroes on the frontline.www.welshguardsappeal.com

I have now picked up a rather large hardback edition of Belle by Lesley Pearce. I have only read one of her books before (Gypsy) which I really enjoyed - she is such a wonderful storyteller.




London 1910. Fifteen year-old Belle has lived in a brothel in Seven Dials all her life, with no understanding of what happens in the rooms upstairs. But her innocence is shattered when she witnesses the murder of one of the girls and, subsequently snatched from the streets by the killer, she is sold into prostitution in Paris. No longer mistress of her own fate, Belle is blown across the globe to sensuous New Orleans where she comes of age and learns to enjoy life as a courtesan. Yet thoughts of home - and the knowledge her status as golden girl cannot last - compel her to break out of her gilded cage. But Belle finds escaping tougher than she imagined, for her life is threatened by desperate men who crave her beauty and attention. Armed only with resourcefulness and spirit, she has a long and dangerous journey ahead of her. Will courage be enough to sustain her? Can she make it back to her family and friends and find her chance at true happiness? Number One bestseller Lesley Pearse has created in Belle a heroine for our times: a strong woman who stands up for right in a world turned bad.

How does your garden grow?

I finally managed to get up to Beauly on Friday to retrieve my camera from the repair shop (and what a shop it was - if only I had a blank chequebook!!!) The upshot of being parted from it for 6 weeks was that they couldn't find anything wrong with it - and put the fault down to the battery. On the bright side it mean all I had to pay for was a new battery so not too bad.

So I have been out in the garden trying it out to make sure everything is working as it should. The garden is starting to look good now with the climbers slowly starting to cover the fencing and the perennials starting to grow and fill the borders. I don't really care much for bedding plants (Bizzy Lizzys and Petunias don't do much for me - although I have 2 half baskets up on the fence which I think might contain a couple of these!) I would rather spend my money on plants that will come back year after year - then I feel like I am getting more for my pennies!

Here are a few photos of some of what is out there just at the moment. The Euphorbia isn't looking as good as last year but after watching Monty Don the other week it appears I should have pruned it right back - lesson learnt.

52 Weeks In B&W # 21

Sorry for posting another photo of Jimmy - but I think he looks fine in black and white. My MIL is still very upset and missing the old man - but he has been laid to rest under the apple tree in her back garden.

Skywatch Friday

Series 4, episode 45

The old bridge over the River Lossie at the end of a lovely day.

R.I.P. Jimmy

Sadly our old cat was put to sleep this morning - although I refer to him as our cat he was adopted (whether she wanted him or not!) by my lovely Mother In Law over 10 years ago - I blogged about that story here.

She ended up looking after him for twice as long as we had him - and became very attached to him - so it would have been cruel to have taken him away from her.

He was a lovely cat - he loved to sit on the wall outside Sue's house and watch the world go by. She will really miss him.

Chick Lit Reading Challenge # 12

My list of favourite authors is growing - and Shelia O'Flanagan is one of them. Stand By Me is her latest offering and very good it is too.

Dominique ('Domino') lives a charmed existence as wife to one of Ireland's most successful businessmen, Brendan Delahaye - until the day Brendan disappears, leaving his company in disarray and Domino and their daughter alone to face the music. STAND BY ME is the story of Domino's recovery and her journey from obliging and dependent wife to a stronger and happier woman, with a new man ready to step into the gap left by her deserting husband. And that's when Brendan comes home, handsome and charismatic as ever, expecting life to carry on just as it was before...
















I liked the main character of Domino and although the story doesn't race ahead at a speed of knots I kept wanting to turn the pages to find out more. Maybe not a happy ending you would expect but enjoyable all the same. The only part of the story I was unhappy with the way everyone stood by Brendan when he did eventually return - not sure that would happen.

You can read more about this author and her books here - and I can't wait for her next book All For You to come out in the summer.

Crop Challenge

It was my local crop on Sunday - and it was a busy one. Almost every chair was filled and it was lovely to see some new faces - and the old ones of course!!

Erika had set us a challenge as usual and this time it was to produce a page using this sketch:






















Now I love using a sketch so enjoyed this challenge but many of the girls who come are mainly card makers so it was time to try something new. There were lots of lovely entries but Sharon was the winner and you can see her page here.

I used up some more of my Echo Park "For The Record" kit from Gottacraft and used a photo of Andy and Callum taken a couple of weeks ago down at the beach. It's not often I use a piece of patterned paper as the base of my pages but this one seemed to work so well. The only problem with these papers are that they are double sided so I never know which side to use - maybe that is why these manufacturers do it - so we buy 2 of everything!!

Eurovision avoidance

This was truly the best thinkg on the television all weekend - so much better than the dross that was Jedward and Eurovision.

I did apply for a pair of free tickets to the BBC1 Big Weekend but wasn't lucky enough - but watching it in HD was fantastic.

Gotta ♥ Dave Grohl though - I must have a thing about grubby looking men with long hair ( Russell Brand ♥♥♥)

It's Monday. What Are You Reading?

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading is where we share what we read this past week, what we hope to read this week…. and anything in between! D This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from!

I started The Lies We Told by Diane Chamberlain this weekend as it is this months book for my on line book club. I have enjoyed all of the Diane Chamberlain books I have read so far - she is up there with Jodi Picoult for me.

But what to read next?? I have a pile from the library - there are some that I feel I should read but to be honest they aren't really calling out to me.

How far would you go to protect your sister? After witnessing the murder of their parents, Maya and Rebecca Ward had only each other to cling to in their teenage years and beyond. Now both doctors, they have developed very different coping strategies since the tragedy. Daredevil Rebecca races off to disaster sites with an international team of doctors whilst Maya is content in her quiet medical practice and life with her husband Adam. But Maya is unwilling to deal with the cracks in her marriage, or the secrets she's kept since the night her parents died. When a hurricane devastates north Carolina, Maya is feared dead. Adam and Rebecca are left to mourn and hope for a miracle but as the days pass and hope fades, they face unexpected and unwanted feelings and Rebecca discovers that she's been burying some secrets of her own.
























But what to read next? I usually know what I am going to pick up next - quite often dictated by what needs to be returned to the library next. I have a huge pile of books to be read before I go on holiday - some I feel I ought to read but to be honest don't really appeal to me - and a couple that I can't wait to read.

Maybe this one will be next as it will be a complete change from what I have read recently - Don't Say Goodbye by Fiona Stanforth. I was a Forces wife for 23 years but luckily for me I never have to wave my husband off to a war zone as the search and rescue helicopters he worked on were never deployed!!





When you fall in love with someone serving in the Armed Forces, it's hard to imagine the impact their career will have on your life.In Don't Say Goodbye, Fiona Stanford tells the untold story of the people left behind when our soldiers go off to fight. She reveals the hidden side to modern conflict - the story of the families, but in particular the wives, girlfriends, mothers and children - how it feels to live on a knife edge, bombarded with 24-hour news and footage of the war, and the constant terror that the next death you hear about on the television or the radio might be your loved one. Through tales of the Army lifestyle, she explains the reply to the age old question: 'How do you cope?' which is usually: 'You just get on with it'Fiona's husband handed over command of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards to Lt Col Rupert Thorneloe before they deployed to Afghanistan in 2009. During the tour seven of their men were killed, including Rupert, and many were wounded.Here she shares the rewards and challenges of Army life - the desperate goodbyes with young children in tow, the bittersweet sense of pride and the huge relief of homecoming. She also tells of other goodbyes; to friends when 'posted on', to children when they go away to school and the ultimate goodbye, revealing the heartache of families whose loved ones do not return.This is a story of love - how love can survive and even grow when couples are separated by thousands of miles and days of anguish.Don't Say Goodbye sheds light on the unique camaraderie that develops amongst the women as they pull each other through the toughest of times.Poignant, inspiring and deeply moving, this book is a tribute to the women and families that support our heroes on the frontline.www.welshguardsappeal.com

Pop over to The Book Journey and see what everyone else is reading today.

52 Weeks IN B&W # 20

Findhorn Beach