Rocking Your World Friday 30th August

Wasn't sure what my post would be about today - the week has flown by and all I can say is nothing remarkable happened.

But I am grateful for the scales showing a loss of 1 pound this week - I put on 3 1/2 pounds over my 2 holidays (not much I know) but it sure is a bugger to get rid of again. Perhaps if I stopped baking....

Very grateful for an empty ironing basket - needed to photograph it for posterity as it doesn't happen very often in this house.

Also grateful for the re runs of Downton which make the ironing more bearable - I am watching it agin from the start of the first series - and today did 2 episodes worth of ironing.

I have had a clear out this week too. Mainly clothes that are too small for number 2 son (everything from number 1 sons wardrobe just gets put straight into his wardrobe!) I had a big pile of stuff to get rid of now I have lost 2 dress sizes. But what to do with it all? When the boys were younger they used to do a Bag2School scheme whereby the school got money depending on the weight of items collected. Charity shops mean a  trip into town on a Saturday which is to be avoided at all costs. I spotted at a couple of fire stations in Aberdeenshire last weekend textile banks placed in their carparks. I went onto Google and they are for The Fire Fighters Charity - which provides support for both serving and retired firefighters and their families. The charity receives £220 per tonne of clothes collected. So this is where these bags are headed tomorrow (please note even more washing on the whirly waiting to be ironed!) We should all be very grateful that these brave men and women serve us all.

 

I am grateful for this little chap coming to visit my Buddleia today.

And finally I am grateful for 5 minutes peace and quite to enjoy a cuppa and my book.  The book in question is Coming Up Roses by Cath Kidson and is the story of how the business began and grew and grew as it celebrates its 20 birthday this year.

And I am grateful for good service - I purchased seome crafting supplies from a company I have never used before - Craftie Charlie - at 13.06pm and at 15.29pm I had an emaile to say my package had been posted. Now you can't get better than that.

For someone who didn't know what to write I seem to have written rather a lot. Please pop over to  Virginias blog and see what everyone is grateful for this week.

Skywatch Friday

We took the gondola to the top of Aonach Mor while we were away and despite the low clouds there were some stunning views.

Pop over to the Skywatch blog to see more skies from around the world.

I'm getting near the end now :)

6. Someone or something taking a nap. My kids are going to kill me but here they are towards the end of our 10 hour drive from the North East of Scotland to Wales!!

A bit sneaky I know (and I could well get into trouble for this one!) - my Dad and stepmum asleep in front of the telly while we were on holiday.

You can see more on Rindas blog.

It's Monday. What Are You Reading?

Another new author for me this week - my local library has a stand where it places all its new additions to stock - and this is the first place I head for when I visit. And this is one I found recently - I am a sucker for a brand new book!

There are some people you can’t imagine life without.

What, at the end of it all, is really important?

Liv and her friends can’t imagine a life different from now: freedom, lifelong friendships, and dreams that are still within their reach.

Then, Liv dies.

For those left behind – Mia, Fraser, Anna, Norm and Melody – everything stops. Their lives and dreams are frozen in time.

In the years that follow, they decide to meet on Liv’s birthday to raise a toast and celebrate her life, even though none of them are living their own – not really. Time marches inexorably on, and yet without Liv, the lynchpin of the group, they are all flailing. Mia and Fraser are quietly falling apart because of the secret they share and, as truths are unearthed and their friendships are tested to the limit, they have to ask themselves – is it time to get on with the business of actually living?

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

Weekly Challenge

I have blown the dust off my craft desk and had a go at the weekly challenge over on UKS. We had to use the sketch below, to only use scraps of patterned paper and to use a holiday theme such as holidays or Christmas.

This was the mess on my desk when I started:

And this the finished article. I am pleased that I have used up some scraps of really old Scenic Route papers and piece of 12x12 Bazzill Bling (why did I ever buy it stuff as it really quite nasty stuff.)

2013 Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt

20. A Dinosaur. I thought I would struggle with this one but last week on our drive to Fort William I remembered about the Loch Ness Monster model at Drumnadochit. Drumnadrochit is the Loch Ness Monster centre and as such is heaving with mainly foreign tourists who all pitch up by the coachload. To be honest there is nothing there and Loch Ness itself isn't very inspiring as lochs go - much nicer ones to visit. So here is Nessie herself:

9. A photo with someone or something which is clearly out of place. Whilst staying in our highland cabin we noticed a place called Fairy Glen on the map - and presumed it was aimed at young children so decided to give it a miss. Whilst walking along the banks of Loch Lochy just off the Great Glen Way we noticed a brightly coloured umbrella in the trees and went to have a closer look. Little did we know we had stumbled upon Fairy Glen! Words cannot describe this place full of some of the oddest things - all manner of stuffed toys and figurines, wind chimes and artificial flowers. Somehow in the middle of a dark and rather damp wood it seemed macabre and disturbing rather than magical end enchanting (especially the Winnie the Poo with his head chopped off and placed in a  jar next to him!!) Of course I had to Google the place when we got home and this is what I found out:



CHIMES tinkling in trees, glittering fairies hanging from branches, gnomes and elves peeping from the undergrowth - a walk near Gairlochy has never seemed so surreal. But now an area of woodland near to the world famous Great Glen Way has been transformed into a magic glen, complete with wishing well, mystifying the hundreds of people who walk near it every week. Puzzled walkers have been asking who created the magic - and now the secret is out. Over half a mile of land near Gairlochy, in the environs of the famous tourist path, has been transformed by Karen Dewar and her friend Moira MacDiarmid. Karen, a nurse who lives in Gairlochy, near Spean Bridge, said: "I hit on the idea after organising a treasure hunt for a friend's little daughter and the thing just grew and grew. "We've now put up a visitors' book which is filling with signatures, and the wishing well has all sorts of coins ranging from euros to cents. It's just wonderful to hear the squeals of delight from children when they find the hidden secrets." American tourist Malcolm Balfour said after visiting the glen: "I knew the Highlands would be magic, but this is really great."

Please pop over to Rindas blog and see how everyone else is getting on with the scavenger hunt.

Rocking Your World Friday 23rd August

Rocking Your World Friday is the moment to step back and take stock of your week, to work out the positives, the things that have made life more bearable and to celebrate these facts. Pop a post together, come back and link each Friday and let's share our positives around. It's a great therapy and stops life slipping through our fingers or spending too much time dwelling on the negatives. Not sure if it's for you - give it a go - you'll never know until you try!

This week has flown by.

I am mostly grateful for last week which I spent with my Dad. He drove up from the Cotswolds to Fort William and we stayed in a wonderful log cabin overlooking the Caledonian Canal with views out over Ben Nevis.

I only see my Dad once a year and I am grateful that my boys get to spend time with him.

I am grateful that we spent a few days in breathtakingly beautiful part of Scotland. We are going back (minus the children!) to do some proper walking. This is the view from the top of Aonach Mor.

But mostly I am grateful of the start of the new school academic year. That means that my house will look exactly how I left it when I return from work as it was when I left - before 2 teenagers have made a mess everywhere as they have been doing the holidays. This photo wasn't taken on the first day of term - I did take photos but forgot to put the memory card in the camera first - so I am grateful that Cal gave me another go.

And finally I am grateful that the Great British bake off has returned to our screens - only 7 weeks till I see Mary and Paul.

Please pop over to Virginias blog and see what everyone else has been up to this wee.

Skywatch Friday

On looking back through my holiday photos I seem to have taken quite a lot of photos of boats - including some that we actually went in. There also happen to be some pretty gorgeous blue skies in there too.

Pop over to the Skywatch blog to see more skies from around the world.

It's Monday. What Are You Reading?

I love being a part of this and I hope you do too!  As part of this weekly meme I love to encourage you all to go and visit the others participating in this meme. While I am no longer offering up the giveaway incentive, I do hope you will still see the value of 
visiting other participants and seeing what they are reading- be warned though… this meme tends to add to your reading lists 

I recently read A Night on the Orient Express by Veronica Henry and thoroughly enjoyed it - she has to be one of my favourite authors. It was only when looking on Amazon that I realised that there was one of her books I hadn't read - not quite sure how that happened!!

So I promptly ordered The Long Weekend from my local library - and it has lived up to my expectations.

In a gorgeous quay-side hotel in Cornwall, the long weekend is just beginning...

Claire Marlowe owns 'The Townhouse by the Sea' with Luca, the hotel's charismatic chef. She ensures everything runs smoothly - until an unexpected arrival checks in and turns her whole world upside down.

And the rest of the guests arrive with their own baggage. There's a couple looking for distraction from a family tragedy; a man trying to make amends for an affair he bitterly regrets . . . and the young woman who thinks the Cornish village might hold the key to her past.

Here are affairs of the heart, secrets, lies and scandal - all wrapped up in one long, hot weekend.

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

Skywatch Friday

I have just returned from a week in Lochaber in the Highlands and one of the first places we visited as it was just up the road from our cabin was the Commando Monument. The monument is dedicated to the original Commando Forces in World War 2 and the 3 bronze statues are all looking south towards Ben Nevis. It overlooks some of the most stunning countryside in Scotland with Aonach Mor and Ben Nevis as a backdrop. My husband served his country for 23 years and it was a moving place to visit.

Pop over to the Skywatch blog to see more skies from around the world.