WOYWW 108

Nothing stunning on my desk right now, just a few bits and bobs I picked up in Spain. Oh boy, there doesn't seem to be one single craft shop near to where we were last week so in desperation I wandered into a small shop which makes flamenco dresses to order as I'd spied rolls of ribbon in the window. I got just a few bits of ribbon and some lace:

The sludgy brown grosgrain ribbon is gorgeous (ha, even though it was carefully joined about 30 cms from one end)! I don't blame the lady shop owner for the join, it looks as if it was done by the manufacturers but just suppose I hadn't wanted a join? She wasn't to know that I happily chop up lengths of ribbon for card making. Perhaps my pink nose and 'Turista' tattoed across my forehead made her realise I wouldn't be back to complain?! Hey, ho - at least it made me smile when I realised just now about the join! The red ribbon with hearts is perfick for Valentines Day and the cotton lace will be good for a Vintage look I think.

The Spanish flag ribbon (red and yellow) and the postcards are for a little project I have in mind. My OH recently dug out some photos from his youth, including holidays in Spain with a load of his chums and I'd like to do some layouts which will be a start of a scrapbook for him I hope. Watch this space :)

Finally, we did find out how the boat came to be wrecked (I posted about it a few days ago). Apparently there was a tremendous storm which just picked it up from the harbour itself and dropped it against the harbour wall - so much for the shelter of a harbour. There is no money for it to be salvaged so there it remains for now:

We got home very late last night, affected by flight delays due to the thunderstoms and a lightning strike at Gatwick.  So, hopefully I'll have time to hop round some blogs over the next few days - remember that all the fun happens at Julia's!! Ooooer, Julia is on her hols and has left things in the capable hands of Lady Lunch Jan - so many gorgeous materials and things she's making might have you rushing for your sewing machines!!!

Di
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A lazy Meditteranean day - and a recipe

.............for a lazy Meditteranean Chicken Pilaff!

Edit: Photos are courtesy of Tams, who made this and kindly sent me photos before and after the oven cooking bit - just like sunshine on a plate!!:

Lazy Mediterranean Chicken Pilaff

6 chicken breasts - preferably skin on
5 tbsp lemon juice (ie. juice of 2 lemons)
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tsp dried mixed herbs or Herbes de Provence
salt and pepper
1 small onion, chopped
4 oz sliced mushrooms
1 red or yellow pepper, deseeded and chopped
2 oz sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
18 small black olives
9 oz basmati rice, rinsed and dried
1 and a half pints (Imperial = 30 fluid oz, or 845 ml) boiling chicken stock


In a large bowl combine lemon juice with garlic, dried herbs and pepper and salt to taste. Add the chicken breasts and toss well to coat. Cover the bowl with kitchen film and marinate for 2 hours at room temperature or up to 24 hours in the fridge. Toss the meat occasionally.


Preheat oven to 400F/200C/mark 6. Grease a shallow ovenproof dish and scatter the chopped onion over the bottom. Cover this with the sliced mushrooms, chopped pepper, tomatoes and olives, and then the rice.

Remove the chicken from the marinade (keep marinade!) and heat the oil in a large, preferably non-stick frying pan - working in batches if necessary - over a low-medium heat for about 3-4 minutes on each side or until the chicken is lightly browned.

Arrange the chicken pieces in a single layer, skin side up, over the rice. Pour over any remaining marinade and the stock. Place in oven uncovered and leave undisturbed for about one hour or until the chicken is cooked and all the stock has been absorbed. Serve with a green salad.

OK, so I brought a photocopy of the recipe (in case the Spanish sun addled my brain even more than it is already) BUT, if you Google it then there are some very similar versions on the web so I did a big 'copy and paste' then tweaked it :)

My observations, for what they're worth, are - the amount of rice base is really more suited to four people and for ease I just make the full amount of the marinade for us two.Ooops, and I also make the full amount of rice base just 'cos it's easier and someone here loves this dish! It truly is like sunshine on a plate as I said above the photos - even back home we love it although a sunny evening does make it a bit more special. Or a Sunday lunchtime in the garden with family and friends round.

I couldn't find chicken breasts here with the skin one - how odd is that - but skinless ones worked just fine and didn't dry out and I didn't need to cover them at all with foil, which was my concern. The crispy skins do add to the dish though....apologies to any veggies, and of course BIG apologies to Margot and Harriet, Sandra's gorgeous chickens!!!

A mixed leaves salad goes just great with this dish - and garlic bread if you want to be a bit piggy :) The flat, stone baked garlic bread is the best I think.
 
So, that's almost the end of a lovely, and very relaxing holiday. We fly home late tomorrow so might well have time to go early to watch the fishing boats unload their catch in the harbour area in the morning. But, the best laid plans and all that........so this is a last image from here:

Now, why is there a gap there betwen the two boats - waiting for that wreck to be parked perhaps?

Think of us tomorrow - we flew BA and breakfast coming out was a cheese straw and coffee basically! Guess who'll be having a jolly good lunch before we pack ready to leave tomorrow.

Di
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Mad dogs and Englishmen..........

........stay out of the midday sun! Well, mid afternoon sun really. Yesterday was a scorcher so we scuttled back here for shade and cool drinks after a troll round the Sunday market in the Marina area. All questions about the 'beached boat' were met with shrugs and raised eyebrows so I'm none the wiser about that prospective 'venture'. Just as well since it seems that so many folk would be hanging over the sides wearing a shade of delicate green around the gills if we did have a crafting convention!

So, I played with my watercolours, did some reading and then just relaxed before cooking pork tenderloin steaks marinated in olive oil (not too much oil you understand, enough so it doesn't dry out) and smoked paprika. With salad and new potatoes it was yummy. I used to drag jars of Spanish smoked paprika back home each year until I found it either in Sainsburys in tins (on the 'posh ingredients' shelves) and then in Morrisons in their ordinary herbs and spices range.jars. Being loathe to buy umpteen jars of herbs over here I just pop a couple of spoonfuls of whatever I'm likely to use (Herbes de Provence, Smoked Paprika, Chilli flakes - for the boss - etc). into tiny little zipped polybags. I'm a sad little soul who loves trawling round local markets and such buying local ingredients and then playing at being 'Delia Smith' in the kitchen most evenings rather than eating out every night. That way, to me, it's the best of both worlds and I love the challenge of a different kitchen. Oh, and the barman is also very good :) A great favourite is 'Lazy Meditteranean Pilaff' and although I won't have a piccie of the finished dish 'cos we had that the other evening I'll try to post the recipe on here. I know, it's a craft blog really but this truly is one to share!

So, yesterday afternoon this was my craft area:

And before Sandra asks what the yellow cocktail in the little plastic pot is - it's water coloured with yellow paint! Must admit, it could have been egg nog by the time I'd finished! The images are a couple of Tildas (never been a favourite of mine due to the lack of mouths, but they do grow on you I must admit), LOTV Bunny on Swing and LOTV Boy with Cricket Bat...I just love the look of guilt on his face). My mostest favourite one though is the one I did a day or so ago - it's a Ching Chou Kuik design, made by Sweet Pea Stamps and to see some fabulous results do hop over to Sue's blog. The images all need tweaking with other mediums once I get home - and the favourite one (called Red Hearts) will be twinkled up for sure. I did more or less stick to the colours that the Red Heart image packet showed but there are so many possibilities here and they really are a delight to colour.  I NEED more of these!

That's it for now folks!

Di
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Another sunny day in Andalucia - and a boat!

Whoop, whoop - ship ahoy, avast ye landlubbers - 'Master and Commander' calling from Sunny Spain.

Yesterday I posted that we'd bought a boat - yippee, brilliant...'a life on the ocean wave' etc. etc.! It's really massive and I'm already working out where my crafty room will be - there might even be room for two craft rooms!! Also room for loads of visitors - interested?

Although there a few little things to sort out first. Nothing too major though dontcha think? It was a real bargain too:

 

In fact, they almost paid us to take it away. Bernie, eat your heart out for such a bargain - this is bargain hunting beyond compare :)

OK, so I jest (tee, hee...it isn't for sale) and I'm amazed at just how this boat landed up right where it is! If you look closer, it's on the inside of the harbour wall - perched precariously as if it just dropped in for a quick siesta. They don't have Tsunamis here and this is beyond me - it wasn't here last time we stayed so perhaps some local intelligence from the Cat and Dog Shelter ladies today might throw some light on the situation. If I find out, I'll let you know  - and if we win the Lottery and do buy a cruiser here I'll also let you know and we could have crafting conventions in the sun.....but don't hold your breath, not even for a nano second!!!

Di

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A lazy day in Spain and cat watching

Today has been a relaxing day, so late out of bed I'm ashamed to admit it, but hey, it is holiday after all! After lunch - so I was at least up, about, had my fix of coffee and showered before lunchtime - we had a lovely (long) stroll around the man-made harbour of the Port/Marina here in Estepona.

The huge boulders that it's made up of are full of cosy, shady nooks and crannies - plus the fishermen land their catch nearby. So, we always know what that means - feline residents! In some ways it breaks my heart to see cats and kittens living like this, especially as the parents often look quite worn out and ragged, often with cataracts. It's what they know though and they are tough little cookies which would hate being confined in a home in the UK.  Trust me.....I've often thought about it!!!We saw one mother with three kittens, one of which was kneading away at her and feeding. Further on I made a new little friend, who could have comfortably sat in the palm of Len's hand. Even though I stayed a distance away and just zoomed in - he/she was very happy after some while to pose for my lovely blog readers. And sent this messages - 'Hey Senoras/Senoritas, what do you think of me then? What do you mean, I have big ears?! I will grow into them - up yours mate Hola from Espana. Miaow!!!'.

I guess this piccie should be especially for my cat loving friends - you know who you are girls, Moira, Helena and Pauline to name just some! Tomorrow morning there is a weekly craft market in the marina and a group of English ex-pat ladies collect money for animal welfare. It's all very genteel and sweetly done - and I have a whole pile of euros in my purse to give them as usual. Their priority is to treat ill animals, rehome those they can and also spay those who just wouldn't settle into domesticity.


So that's my slightly bitter-sweet posting for today from Andalucia. Tomorrow I'll show you the boat we just bought!!! It's so exciting - we go to have a good look at it this evening :))

Oooer, I almost forgot, I won the random draw prize in A Gem of a Challenge too. Crumbs, it's all happening!


Di
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Just a couple of flowers.....

....that I spotted whilst we were wandering aound the marina yesterday trying to decide which cruiser to buy. At the same time the band was playing 'Believe It If You Like'..........well, we can dream can't we :)?

Hibiscus of course - and so vibrant. But, I only wear already picked flowers in my hair so these are still happily soaking up the sunshine in their rightful place.

I hope the sun is shining down on you too today!

Di
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WOYWW 107 - and it's a bit late I know!

Well, absolutely zilch, nada, nothing on my work desk to show at present.And, this is why:

 

I tried to upload this photo yesterday and, as my baby pink notebook was running Ubuntu it just wasn't playing ball :( That's why I'm a day late as have defaulted back to MS Windows. And now we have success!

This is what I'm currently looking at - Estepona Marina in Southern Spain. Mind you, as threatened I've been doing some watercolouring late this afternoon so crafting isn't totally on a back burner!

I had a lovely email from Cardarian confirming that my PiF  has arrived so now I can post some photos of that too - they are front, back,top and inside of a little treasure chest style box I made:

Of course it's pink - what else would anyone expect of me. I painted it with umpteen coats of acrylic paint, added peeloffs to spell out WOYWW and coated it all with some matt varnish before adding pink organza ribbon with a lovely little pearl ribbon slider sent to me a while back by Dee, rows of pearls (thankfully all on strips) and the finishing touch on the lid was a selection of rmore pink ribbon, roses, leaves and such (from Wild Orchid crafts) which had been sprayed with Glimmer Mist. To add some more fun I enclosed a couple of rose scented votive candles. It's great to know that Dolores likes it :)

Right, that's my late WOYWW - if you're late looking do be sure to hop over to Julia's to join in the fun and frolics! I'm off to have a glass of vino and to put more cream on some mossie bites - the little perishers love me and one was hiding waiting for me last night!

Di

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A quick make

When I sent my WOYWW PiF off to Cardarian (Dolores) in Slovenia, things had been so busy here I could only make a quick little card to enclose with it:

LOTV Cute Squares stepped in and helped out (from the Tea and Chat set), backing paper from a Papercraft Essentials Sweet Wishes Paper stack (free with a magazine I think) plus spotted ribbon, flowers, brad and gems from my stash.

The parcel should be almost there by now - I hope!

Di
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Just 'poodling around'

On Tuesday, with a little bit of free time, I just 'poodled around' and came up with this card:

The backing papers were sent to me by Dee (aka Peggy when she comments) - a lovely pack of 'Parisian themed' papers - thank you again Dee!! I covered the card with one paper and then cut round circles in a diamond shape on one of the other papers. The image is called 'Petit' and is from Kirsty Wiseman's range of Bug Girls stamps - so very oh, la, la and French chic isn't she! Coloured with Pro Markers and then cut round to layer onto the card. The card candi was coloured using Pro Markers, the red, white and blue ribbon came from my stash (QVC I think). The poodle charm came from a super idea from Dee - Primark sell necklaces and bracelets with French themed charms on right now - poodles and Eiffel Towers to mention just a couple. I bought a necklace (or two) in Nottingham the other weekend and the poodle came from one of those. No bracelets to be had, I think crafters have cottoned on.......and the chain was from my stash.

So Sandra, now you know what I meant when I emailed about poodling around!

Di
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WOYWW 106

EDIT!!! Mr Postie has just brought my PiF from Fiona (Angelfish) - it's truly lovely and goes beautifully with my craft room - in fact I swear Fiona used some of my spare curtain material for the background :) Take a look - isn't it gorgeous...and the colours are much more vibrant than in my rubbish photo!!!!! Anyone who knows me will know that I adore pink roses too:

See what I mean about the curtains (the darker bits) - how spooky is that?:



I'm trying to clear some stash away from the few cards I've managed to make recently, so my desk is pretty unexciting right now :(

It isn't your eyes, this photo IS a bit blurred! I had my boxes of charms out whilst 'poodling' around yesterday making a card - plus some plain white card candi arrived in the post (brilliant to colour in with Pro Markers to match whatever colours have been used on images) so I've just added it to the RUB storage tray which seems to have a ton of candi in, even though I've given loads of it away since I first discovered it. Maybe it's breeding on the quiet?

Behind the boxes and trays are a few stamps which will be stamped and then go on their hols with me next week in case I find a little bit of time to play with Aqua Markers. A couple of the stamps are Ching Chou Kuik's designs, made by Sweet Pea Stamps - so delicate that they are calling for watercolours. If you want to see some fabulous results using these stamps, do hop over to Sue's - she does some amazing colouring using watercolours and Twinkling H2O's. Hiding her light under a bushel you have to poke about a bit in her blog to discover that she recently joined the Sweet Peas DT, well deserved. I think I'll just take Aqua markers with me and then add highlights with Twinkling H2O's when I get back - need to leave a bit of space for something to wear!

Advice from any water colourers please - I use Fabriano Classico 5 300gsm 50% Cotton watercolour card - having found that the other card I tried buckles or 'bobbles' when the watercolours soak in. It's great stuff but it's an off-white colour. I know that watercolours are generally painted onto off-white backgrounds but sometimes it would be good to have a pure, crisp white background, especially when layering onto a pure white card. Help! I use The Glitter Pot's own brand High White, Ultra Smooth card (290 gsm) card for Pro Markers and that's just great for those pens. It's pure white card suitable for Aqua Markers that's got me stumped!

To the right is a lovely GorJuss mug and pen given to me by Moira - how thoughtful is that!? I can't bring myself to use it for coffee so it's here for me to admire. The big pink Piglet mug does have coffee in it - a permanent fixture when I'm in here!

Then, ahem, to the right hand side of my desk a 'kinda tidy' selection of baskets as usual. One with scraps of unusable paper in for recycling, one with used stash to put away (the pink acrylic paint is a hint at the PiF I made but it's en route to Dolores - 'Cardarian' - in Slovenia so I can't say more). The green basket to the back is stuffed with unused stamps mostly, so some of those will be dug out and stamped ready for hols. 

That's my little patch for this week - to see much more interesting desks do hop over to Julia's for a good nosy around! I didn't manage to do much hopping around last week - hope to do better this week though. Have a great WOYWW everyone!

Di

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Happy Birthday to you!

Tomorrow is my step-mum's 79th birthday. If you've followed my little blog you'll know that she has been unwell for a while. She's now in a permanent care home and suffering from rapidly accelerating Alzheimer's/dementia, which is so sad. I spoke to her on Sunday, and of course will phone again tomorrow, so this card does have a lot going on to try to brighten her day. It's awful to see how such a smart and clever lady can become so confused and unable to care for herself - one minute she's like a lost soul and the other minute there are such flashes of humour and spirit, a terrible thing and I only hope that she doesn't fully realise it's all going on:

I have no idea how I found time to make this on Sunday, still on my knees here! It's an easel card which will prop up well for her, I could do with a prop as well I think! The image is from a really sweet Fizzy Moon Celebrations stamps set, coloured with Pro Markers (my little bit of therapy time colouring this!). The leaves and die cut flowers were also coloured with Pro Markers. Baby pink pure silk ribbon bow, spacer, crystal brad and other crystals in the flower centres and along the bottom of the card came from my stash, the backing paper is from the ever-faithful Dove craft Back To Basics 6" x 6" pad, sentiment from Craftwork Cards and the lace also came from my stash along with the Bakers Twine (both from The Ribbon Girl, as is the silk ribbon). The little teddy bear charm came from my stash and the 'Sending Hugs' tag was made using a Whimsy sentiment and die.

I'm trying to get back into crafting so am entering this into the following challenges - even though life itself is a bit of a challenge right now. Def. need a holiday and some sunshine to recharge those batteries!!

Totally Gorjuss - Flower Power

Bearly Mine - Anything Goes

Pink Gem Challenge - "BLOOM IN CHARMIN" (flowers and charms)


Have a nice day folks!

Di
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A Blog Candy Giveaway!

The so generous Kristin at Lilsweetpeaplace is giving away a whole heap of blog candy, to celebrate being published. As she says, there's so much stuff it isn't even funny!! Yay! Here's the link.



I'm celebrating a bit too -  some of you who follow Kirsty Wiseman will know she recently ran a huge raffle to raise funds for a cute little doggie in urgent need of an operation. The money was raised, and some! Plus, so many really generous donations of prizes rolled in from tons of retailers and individuals I sort of lost track!
And, lucky me - I won some stash. Kirsty picked 1st, 2nd and 18 runners up - I came in the runners up, whoop, whoop!! I won't know just what until it arrives but watch this space.

I hope it comes before we head off in search of sunshine in just over a week - don't know about you but it's p*ddling down here right now. Just the kinda day to craft - or catch up on ironing whilst watching a movie (no competition really!!). I'm mulling over what to take to play with whilst away - current favourite is a selection of stamped images and Aqua markers. I have lots of delicate images that lend themselves to water colouring rather than Pro Markers  - plus it's a lot less to stuff in my suitcase!! :))

Have a lovely day, whatever you're doing! I'm gonna do a bit of crafting plus some ironing - keeps my conscience appeased!!

Di
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There's a kind of hush.........

........all over the house :(

The little grand daughters have been here again and are now on their way back to Southern Germany. I didn't manage to get time to craft with them as we were out and about a lot, but I did snatch a couple of quick photos before they set off today:

I was just going to post one each of the girls piccies, but then I noticed Mia's right foot and shoe in this one - at first I thought she had a wonky leg!! She insists on picking her outfits and dressing herself, and maybe doesn't know her right foot from her left one just yet :) I did think she was walking a bit funny this morning! Here the TV, as a distraction whilst things were being packed into the car, was much more interesting than GranDi behind a camera. But then, she glanced up at me and posed nicely!



'Hello Kitty' is her favourite right now - taking over from Peppa Pig (snort, snort!!). She's a little gem and looks after her baby sister so well. In less than the two weeks since they were last here she is chattering away in English so much more. 'Whatcha doin' GranDi?' seems to be a favourite - along with 'Why?'!!

And here is Livi, the budding tea leaf/locksmith!

She was already frisked for remote controls and keys (yup, we also had to hide keys AND put the heavy fire extinguisher out of her reach after she toddled into the dining room carrying it) - being kept out of any potential crime scenes with her Mum, Kai. You can see the look of pure love on Kai's face - her girls are everything to her, along with their Daddy of course. Meanwhile Daddy and Grandad were outside doing what seemed to be an impossible job, packing the car brim full. They finally managed although the CCTV camera shots, when sped up, look just like a Laurel and Hardy movie....I swear that car was unloaded totally about five times, with much consultation between father and son and head scratching going on :))

It's been a great, although exhausting week. Reunion followed by the girlies visiting again. Hopefully normal service will resume and I need to do some serious blog-hopping as I just didn't get a chance on WOYWW.

It was sad to see the little ones go, along with Matt and Kai, but we're going over there in about six weeks time for a week. Ha, revenge will be mine - no key, remote control, oven timer, dishwasher button or stereo knob will remain 'untwiddled with', pressed, turned or hidden :))

Sigh, it IS awfully quiet here!

Di

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WOYWW 105.........not a lot.......

......on my desk. BUT the school reunion went brilliantly and I had a great time with my friends. We certainly burned the candle at both ends, and in the middle too I think! We have rellies arriving here again today for a few days on their way back to Germany so crafting is having to take a back seat. Maybe this will tell you a bit of the story about the crazy weekend though:



My best pal Moira from schooldays on the left and me on the right (although my eyes are only red from the flash not being on red-eye, I promise!). The theme was Robin Hood, 'cos the event took place in Nottingham, which might explain the silly hats. And no, Moira does not have a white beauty spot - the table had lots of sparkle sprinkled over it and we kinda glammed ourselves up with it in a few silly moments so I suspect that's some light bouncing back!! I know we're so all very tired from too little sleep, too much talking and a lot of walking and dancing......I did NOT mention too much wine, OK girls!! We three, Angie (behind the camera), Moira and I had a brilliant time - I couldn't wish for better friends and I bless each day we have together as we do live a long way apart. And another friend from those days spent a couple of days with us too - Caroline. We original three are old hands at reunions (one Scottish chap who went to school at the same time refers to us as the 'Three Wee Witches') but Caroline is getting into the swing of things without any trouble. It's amazing how the years just roll back.

BUT, my desk has not been TOTALLY bare. It's tidy now ready for Len to move his organ in there while the visitors are here.....and no smutty comments please :) but I found time to make a few thank you cards yesterday evening for my girlie friends who made the weekend just so great:

I love this stamp set - it's called 'Out of Bed' and is from the Born to Shop range. Coloured with Pro Markers and layered onto a bigger Labels Eight Nestie which I'd coloured round with Meadow Green to match some of the image. Great tip that (which I picked up elsewhere) as you can always make a swift backing even when you don't have any of the right coloured card. Then, just a couple of sparkly gems in the flowers, backing paper is from a Trimcraft pad called 'Sweet Owl', some card candy and a single flower with a green brad in the centre. Done! I just love the sentiment too :)

Right, time to do a quick tidy round before the little ones arrive - swift moving of as many things with buttons to press as posssible :)) Have a great WOYWW everyone, sorry I'm not likely to do much hopping around blogs....I'll be too busy hopping around with two little girls I expect!! Eeek, I almost forgot - do go to Julia's to see what eveyone else is up to.....and the chocolate mints went down a treat - they didn't melt on the drive up to Nottingham thankfully.

PS And another thing..........my PiF gift is still here, although it was finished in time, due to absence on other 'duties' - but I hope to post it tomorrow at latest to Dolores (Cardarian) in Slovenia. Thankfully she was most understanding when I just didn't have a free moment to post it off last week.

Di

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A quick wildlife update

Right now, at Pixie Towers, Spike is coming to feed every night. Either it's a very pregnant Mrs Spike or we need to put him/her on a diet! I loaded us up with food for Spike and the birdies yesterday and my OH was so shocked at the bill he pinned it to the bird table! It fluttered there for half an hour before he relented and took it down as it was frightening the hungry little feathered friends away.

Then, yesterday afternoon, there was a flurry of activity and we seemed to be surrounded by house martins in the sky above. At least one pair have already begun building a nest under the eaves of a house nearby. They twitter away all the time and it's almost as if Mrs Martin is saying 'left a bit with that dear' as they both fly constantly to and fro building away. My beloved has now filled an old tray with wet mud at the top of our garden just in case they need their very own B & Q on the doorstep. What is he like?! :)

I'm off to the long awaited school reunion today, back later on Monday, normal service will resume ASAP. It's so hot here that I'll be transporting those 200 packets of chocolate mints in cool bags. Hmmmm, there could well be some 'wild life' at this reunion. Didn't tell you it was a co-ed boarding school...... and it can be amusing to see 'ladies of a certain age' fluttering their eyelashes at heart throbs from their teenage years.

Have a great weekend!

Di
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WOYWW 104 - at last!

Hi ladies! Well, my PiF is all made, almost packed and ready for the unlucky person who links in directly after me :) Made with angst, under pressure from a lot else going on here, but also friendship for whoever it goes to. Nothing to see right now though - but it's sitting here on my desk wondering what its destination will be :)

I've also been  up to my eyes in other things lately such as this:

Innocent enough little thing isn't it?

Those who know me will know that this coming weekend is my old boarding school reunion in Nottingham, although the school itself was in Germany. And those who know me even better will know I have a big mouth when it comes to offering - and can put my big foot in it - and end up wondering just what I've taken on! At the last committee meeting we were musing about table favours for the Saturday dinner dance and I'd got some samples sent by a company who do some very nice decorated choccies. They were fine but a bit insignificant in size and not cheap. BUT, I also took along an idea I had (the basics of which I'd purloined from a couple of other websites) and it was voted a winner. So, 1,000 dark blue scallops punched, 1,200 printed rounds also punched (bearing a mix of the old school badge, details of contents and  place and date of reunion), 200 pretzel bags, 200 labels, 30 metres of narrow dark blue ribbon..... then all the rounds stuck onto the scallops, the whole lot assembled into pretzel bags and tied up with labels - ending up with 200 bags with 2 decorated Elizabeth Shaw Mint choccies in each as table favours. (The mints came in catering sized boxes and are a massive saving if anyone else ever thinks about doing the same sort of thing.) It took me weeks of 'nibbling the elephant a bit at a time' but here's the result, ready to pack into an overnight holdall, pop into the car boot and to go with me when I drive up to Nottingham. I think the forecast is for a warm weekend so I'd better drive fast from Hampshire!! Vroom, vroom!

Yup, that's the little blighters, all 200 of them! But, it's done and now it's all systems go to get sorted out for the weekend ahead!! We've been known to sit chatting until the sun literally comes up the following morning, and three nights of that needs a LOT of rest beforehand...not to mention coming home shattered, ready to sleep for a week and having no voice!!

To check out what everyone else is up to on WOYWW do pop over to Julia's here...but I bet they're all being secretive about what they've doing if they're joining in the PiF fun :) Have a wonderful WOYWW 2nd Anniversary day!

Di
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