Sian's Pile of Postcards Exchange

As soon as I saw Sian's post about the exchange I signed up! I love receiving happy mail and what better to receive in the summer than postcards!

I knew that I would be going to Crete on holiday, so bought my six postcards (plus one for Sian of course!) and wrote them whilst on holiday, but decided to post them once I returned home as I wasn't sure of my Greek to buy the correct stamps!

I've been seeing my cards pop up on blogs, so I am happy to see that they have arrived. I have received all six of mine too! I received one.... then another.... then four on one day!

I received a card from Barbara all the way from the Smoky Mountains in Tennesse, a card from Buxton - Alexa of course! Abi sent me a card from her trip to the Imperial War museum. Another card from the States from another Barbara(!), this time though from Nashville. A card from Paris from Lea and finally another from the UK from Nicola in Whitstable.

I have put all the cards up in my scrapbooking area.

Now I can see them whilst I am doing my scrapbooking and be reminded of the lovely friends I have made all over the world through this blog. Blog friends are great! However, the hashtag we have been using on Instagram for this exchange was probably not the best!  #sianspileofpostcardsexchange

Thank you Sian for organising this! You do come up with some great ideas :)

Birdy Nut Tree

So, here it is. The last story for Sian's Storytelling Sunday 2011. If you hop over to her blog, here, you will find links to many more wonderful stories, not least her own, which I can't wait to read.

My story for December is actually a Christmassy story. I had two very different stories to chose from - one that was actually a story from Hugh's family and the other from our second Christmas with Ben. I decided to go with the Ben story, but I may share the other story in a couple of week's time!

So, it was Christmas 1991 and Ben was 2 and a half and Penny 7 months. Hugh and I decided that we would have a real Christmas tree, not an artificial one, so whilst I stayed at home with Ben, Hugh went off to Leighton Buzzard market (where we were living at the time) to buy a tree.

The one he came back with was lovely, but (you knew there was a but coming didn't you?) it was a bit too big to go where we needed it, on a table in the bay window of the lounge. So, off Hugh went to the back garden with his secetaurs to trim the tree to fit. When he came back in it still wasn't right, so off he went again. This went on for about 20 minutes, by which time the tree had reduced in size so much it really wasn't big enough or balanced enough to have in the lounge! I was not very impressed as it had not been cheap to buy, but it really was beyond saving. However, we decided it could be used still, but out in the garden. We had some strings of bird nuts and so once Ben awoke from his afternoon nap we wrapped him up warmly and sent him into the garden to decorate the tree for the birds - the 'birdy nut tree' as he called it!

  Ben decorating the tree with some 'birdy nuts'

The tree in situ down the garden with the nuts hanging off it.

 We ended up with our first artifical tree that year and have not had a real tree since! Unfortunately I do not have any photos of the tree indoors that year - it is all on video as it was Penny's first Christmas and actually we spend Christmas Eve and Day at my parents, but believe me, it looked beautiful!

Christmas Cards

I hardly ever make Christmas cards. However, as you probably know, I meet up about once a month with three friends and we spend the evening scrapbooking and/or cardmaking. December's meet will be at my house and we have a Secret Santa swap all organised and Penny will be making some festive cakes. So I thought that I really ought to at least make cards for these three friends even if I have bought cards for everyone else! In the end, what really inspired me to get card making, was Sian's post here and her wonderful snowflake card. I dropped a comment on the post asking if she would mind if I copied her idea and she replied that she wouldn't mind, so here are my cards (and thanks Sian!):

I have to admit that I did go to my local scrapbooking shop and buy a new snowflake embossing folder and whilst I was there the snowman punch just happened to fall into my basket too (well it was half price and it would have been rude to leave it behind!). The snowflake border punch is one I picked up half price last Christmas and haven't used much. I love this look of white on white - it is really pretty. I am thinking of using the snowman as part of my JYC date 'block' - I am going to have a play this evening and see what I come up with.

Storytelling Sunday

I haven't joined in with Sian's Storytelling Sunday before, but a few weeks back she posted a story about her best friend from school who is still her best friend now. That made me think of my best friend, Ann and I thought that I would like to share that friendship with this little story.

This photo is pinched
off Ann's Facebook
Page - she has
not aged at all!

We met on the first day at Hemel Hempstead Secondary School - neither of us knew anyone else in our form and as were sat girl/boy and alphabetically she sat behind me (I was Armstrong, she was Bradley), so we got talking - well, we were not going to talk to boys!

Stories? I could tell a few about the two of us! Getting called into the Senior Mistress's office (Miss Hughes, really old school) and being really told off as we had been seen eating apples whilst walking home from school in school uniform! Ann, coming round to my house during the teaching strikes and having lunch (faggots in gravy) before walking into school, in the snow, to collect work to do at home. Then, her being extremely sick in the hedge outside the school once we had our work! We didn't get called in and told off for doing that! In fact, we had trouble getting hold of any teaching staff to get them to call Ann's mum to get her to come and collect her!

Occasionally on a Sunday, when I was about 14, my Mum and Dad would go out for a Sunday drink and Ann would come round to have lunch with Pippa and me. On one occasion Mum left a box of Bird's Trifle mix out for us to make. It all went really well, until it came to the decorations. There was a small packet of chocolate strands and so I said to Ann to grab the jar off the shelf and put a whole handful more on. However, I didn't watch what she was doing as I was washing up. We dished up the trifle, both took a mouthful and instantly spat it out! She had sprinkled loose tea all over the top of the trifle!

There are so many stories I could tell, but I will finish with Ann on the morning of my wedding. I would have loved her to be my bridesmaid, but things didn't work out that way. However, she was still there on the morning to support me whilst I got ready. She arrived all dressed up and looked lovely. Things were going swimmingly until my Mum offered her a drink. She accepted and Mum passed her a glass of cola, which she promptly managed to throw all down the front of her pale blue dress! We then had to rapidly sponge her down and try to get rid of the stain before we left the house! It took my mind off my nerves anyway.

This is Ann, in the blue dress (minus cola stain!) with one of Hugh's good friends - we tried to pair them off but it didn't work!!

Ann really is my best friend. We have known each other for over 30 years and although we don't get together anywhere near as often as I would like, whenever we do get together it is like we only saw each other yesterday.

Passing on the book

Well, I only had one person sign up for this who hasn't already read the book! So, Maria, it goes to you! Please send me an email to gotchfamily'at'btinternet.com and let me have your full postal address. I hope you enjoy it!

Pass the book

I was the lucky recipient of Sian's Pass the Book - Still Missing by Beth Gutcheon. This came to me via Mel who had it in December. I have read it in January and am now ready to 'Pass the book'.

This book left me with very mixed feelings. Whilst I was reading it, at times my heart ached for the main character and I felt that I could actually be her. When I finished the book I really felt as if there was something missing in my life and on analysing myself realised that there is. I am missing my children being little. In fact, I am missing it dreadfully. The realisation that Ben will be leaving home properly (rather than just going to uni) this year and the fact that he and Penny are now adults has left me with an extremely sad and aching heart. I so thoroughly enjoyed them being little. OK, there were times when I was tired and fed up, what parent isn't, but on the whole I absolutely loved being a SAH mum and I miss those days tremendously.

But, I don't want to put you off the book! It is a great book and an author I had never heard of, which is always a good thing.

Sian has said that we don't need to do a review of the book, so I haven't done that, just told you what feelings it raised in me - it might make you feel completely different! However, she has said that if we are inspired by it, to reveal what the book inspired in us.

Well, apart from the realisation of what I am feeling at the moment, which I think will help me to cope now I know why I have been feeling blue recently, the book inspired me to do the following layout.

The book also inspired me to go on the website of Persephone Books, who published this one, and to order another book from them.  Persephone Books publishes 'forgotten fiction and non-fiction by unjustly neglected authors'.  Some of the authors I had heard of, a lot of them I hadn't. So, how did I chose my next book from them? Well, I just read down the list until a title sang to me!

I have already read this book and it was brilliant. I even had to share a chapter with Hugh, as there is an absolutely brilliant description of a train journey to Cornwall and of course the GWR is Hugh's greatest love (after me of course!). Needless to say, this won't be the last book I am ordering from them. They would also make brilliant birthday presents, as they are so pretty!

So, now it is time for me to pass on 'Still Missing'.

If you would like to be in the draw for this book (see all the details about Pass the Book on Sian's site) then please leave a comment below. I will make the draw on Valentine's Day, Monday 14th February, at 9pm. I am happy to pass it on to anywhere in the world, so just make sure you leave your name by Monday 14th.

Sian's Christmas Club - another memory

From Ben's first Christmas Hugh has dressed as Father Christmas. His outfit was made by his sister and is still going strong.

In my family, my Mum always had an extra little present for each of us which was left under the tree. This present was always from Father Christmas and was given out late in the afternoon on Christmas Day, so that there was something to look forward to later in the day.

When Hugh and I had children we decided to adopt this tradition, but change it a little and have Father Christmas actually arrive at our house (or whoever's house we were at!) with the presents.

Father Christmas always arrives to the jingle of sleigh bells (an old set of bells that Ben had from the Early Learning Centre) and much calling of 'whoa Dasher, slow down Dancer, whoa there Rudolph' and then Hugh will arrive, ahem, sorry, I mean Father Christmas!

Each person is then given their present, but Father Christmas always asks first if they have been good! There is the photo call with the children, and sometimes with the adults too! Each lady gets a kiss from him and then he asks where Hugh is. The children all shout 'he's gone to the toilet' -as that is where Hugh always says he is going! 'Oh dear' says Father Christmas 'I've missed him again. I'll leave his present on the table'. Then we all say goodbye and off he goes for another year.

Olivia (who is now 8) said last year 'I know it's not the real Father Christmas'. I asked how she knew and if it wasn't, who was it? 'I know it's Uncle Hugh because he is wearing his shoes!'.

We hope that one day Ben will take over and become Father Christmas for his children. Until then, Hugh is more than happy to continue in his once a year role.

3rd Christmas Memory

I decided to ask Penny if she had a favourite Christmas memory she could share with us, and here it is.

'I remember the Christmas I was 8 years old (1999) and I got my first Pokemon game for my Nintendo Gameboy and we were staying at Granny and Grandpa's. Ben also got a Pokemon game and we spent the whole of Christmas Day playing them, either in the study or the living room, very close to the fire as it is so cold at Granny's!'

I also remember that Christmas, although we don't have many photos of Christmas Day. Unfortunately Hugh's family don't like having their photos taken and make a real fuss, so in order not to upset them I very rarely take photos when we are down staying with them. This is the only photo taken on Christmas Day, although the one below was taken at our house a couple of days before we went away. I took a photo like this of the two of them for quite a few years, starting from when Penny could stand on her own at about 18 months. The last one that they would stand together for I think that Ben was about 14 - after that he got too self conscious!

This photo was taken last Christmas, and although Ben and Penny are not on their own, at least I have got a photo of them by the tree!

Another Christmas Memory

Oh, I am enjoying this soo much! I have been going through lots of old photos today to try and decide which memory to share. This is a memory that I used in the first every JYC that I did.

It was 1989. I had given birth to Ben in the August of that year and had a pretty rough time, although it was a natural birth. By the time Christmas came around, Ben's first Christmas, I was still pretty poorly, but determined to enjoy it!

As you can see, I had one of the many varieties of track suit that were then available (thankfully not a shell suit though lol) and I still had a lot of baby weight to lose. My hair, which had been really over permed, was not looking its best, yet I thought I looked quite good on Christmas day.

Ben's little suit came from Adams and he looked really cute in it. He woke, as usual, at 5am, but we made him wait until about 7.30am before he could open his presents! He had a walker from us (yes, a bit early, but you could use it as an activity centre when sitting in a car seat) and also a soft toy fire engine, which crackled, rang a bell when you shook it and had various different materials on it. Of course, being only 5 months old he wasn't really all that interested! Far more interesting was to watch what was going on around and be passed amongst the adults.

As this was Ben's first Christmas my Mum invited us to her house and my sister and her first husband also joined us. We did have a fun day, although as the day progressed my throat got more and more sore, Ben started to run a temperature and my Mum and sister started to come down with flu!

This photo started a family tradition of taking an extended family photo at least once a year if we can, either at Christmas or one of the family birthdays. Now that there are 11 of us, it tends to be done in the summer when we can take it in the garden!

On Boxing Day we decided we would have to leave and get an emergency appointment at the doctor's. It turned out that I had a quinsy, Ben had tonsillitus and my Mum and sister came down with full blown flu! Oh well, we had a very memorable first Christmas with Ben, one we do talk about often and one we will never forget.

A Christmas Memory

So, as I said earlier in the week, I am joining in with Sian's Christmas Club and sharing with you today my first Christmas memory.

I don't know the exact year or how old I was, but I can hazard a guess at either 7 or 8 by the nightdress I am wearing, so the photos were taken in the early 1970's.

My sister (the younger of us and pulling the strange face!) and I used to wake up incredibly early. All our presents would have been delivered by Father Christmas and left in our sacks downstairs in the lounge. We were not allowed to go downstairs until Mummy and Daddy had drunk a cup of tea. Mummy always got up and went downstairs to make this before coming back upstairs with Daddy's cup for him. Whilst she was down she would turn on the Christmas tree lights and put the Christmas LP on the record player. We would nag and nag Daddy to get up and he would pretend that he was really sleepy and wouldn't wake up! Eventually we would all go downstairs - so, excited we could hardly speak.

This particular year we got our longed for tracksuits, which we couldn't wait to put on. We were always dressed in the same clothes, but in different colours.

We didn't have loads, and loads of presents, but what we did have we really wanted and were so thrilled to get. We didn't get any toys unless it was our birthday or Christmas, so receiving them made it extra special.

I remember getting this jewellery box. I had wanted one with a clockwork musical ballet dancer for ages and ages and was absolutely thrilled to receive it. I used it for my jewellery right up until I met Hugh and his parents bought me a more grown up one!

Looks like Pippa was being the crafty one this year with Replica! Who remembers that? I don't think they could sell it now - you could get very high on the fumes of the melting plastic!

We  both always had a small present left under the tree from Father Christmas and Pippa had the Blue Peter Annual and I got a box of Good News chocolates by the look of things! After opening all our presents we would have breakfast and then go and get dressed. If we were sharing Christmas with the extended family and they hadn't stayed over they would arrive about 11am and from then on the house would be filled with the smell of sherry, cooking turkey, Pop's pipe smoke and cigarette smoke from the rest of the family!

I hope you have enjoyed my little reminiscence and also the garish settee cover in the photo above!

Sian's Christmas Club

I've been catching up on the blog world tonight and over on Sian's blog she has done a post about her Christmas Club. This sounds like great fun and I will be joining in with my first Christmas memory this Sunday.

I came home today to find the most wonderful letter from my 7 (very nearly 8) year old niece Olivia. As part of one of her lessons yesterday she had to chose and write to a person and she chose me. Here is the letter:

This letter brought tears to my eyes - I was so touched by the last sentence, which says 'I chose you because I love you and your (sic) fun I like scrap booking with you.' She is a wonderful little girl and I love her dearly. I have found a sweet notelet with a kitten on the front and written back to her. I will put it in the post tomorrow, so she should hopefully get it on Thursday and I hope that she is as pleased with her letter from me as I was with her letter.

49 things - another list!

So Sian from High in the Sky has posted a new list of '49 things' and I couldn't resist copying it to my blog to see what I have done from it. Have a look at her blog and my list below and see how you compare!

1. Seen The Terracotta Army in China
2. Cross stitched a sampler
3. Kept a friend for more than 20 years
4. Made your own jam
5. Seen the Crown Jewels in The Tower Of London
6. Attended a school reunion and enjoyed it
7. Kissed the Blarney Stone
8. Learned how to tap dance
9. Seen one of the Wonders Of The Ancient World
10. Ridden a tandem bicycle
11. Commissioned a piece of furniture
12. Sold for profit something you made yourself
13. Seen Sydney Opera House
14. Walked up the outside of a volcano
15. Met an idol
16. Found or sent a message in a bottle
17. Held a stranger's hand, just because they needed you
18. Thought you might have seen a ghost
19. Been caught speeding
20. Won a bet
21. Visited a penpal
22. Published a poem
23. Had your appendix removed
24. Pierced an interesting part of your body
25. Seen your name in lights
26. Had a handsome man buy you Champagne
27. Had tea at The Ritz
28. Found a peacock feather
29. Made a collection of more than 50 objects
30. Crossed The Equator
31. Partied through til breakfast
32. Found a fossil
33. Seen The Northern Lights
34. Built your own house
35. Started a Mexican Wave
36. Judged a competition
37. Flown in a hot air balloon
38. Spent too much money on something you've only worn once
39. Scored an own goal. Figuratively or otherwise
40. Appeared on live tv
41. Asked for your money back
42. Had your photo taken with someone famous
43. Grown your hair long enough to sit on
44. Been locked in somewhere overnight, or long enough for it to start getting scary
45. Found something valuable and made sure it was returned to its rightful owner
46. Taken part in some kind of endurance event or attempt
47. Driven from one end of your country to the other
48. Been publicly recognised for bravery or special community service
49. Gone out on the town in an outfit you've made entirely on your own

And here are two more for this list:

  50.   Had your gallbladder out
  51.   Been on a train pulled by a steam engine

Let me know what you have done - perhaps post it on your blog. What from the list haven't you done that you would like to do? The thing I would like to do most is see the Northern Lights. I have almost kissed the Blarney Stone! We went to the castle and Hugh and Penny kissed it, but as I am absolutely terrified of heights I just couldn't lie down, on my back and hang out to kiss the blinking thing!

Did some crafting last night with my little circle of friends, so hope to share with you at the weekend when I have actually finished the layouts and photographed them.

Happy Bank Holiday!

I hope you are all having a relaxing weekend. Mine started off at 6.45am yesterday as Ben and I got up and went down to the pool for our weekly swim. I have now been swimming every Saturday at this time for about 10 weeks - it doesn't get any easier getting up that early on a Saturday, but I do enjoy the swimming once I get there. I only managed 54 lengths this week - have been managing up to 60, but I felt really tired!

Once I had returned home, showered and dressed Hugh and I went to Brentwood shopping - nothing for me unfortunately this week! A couple of casual shirts for Penny from M&Co and a couple of pairs of trousers for Ben from Sports Direct. We then rushed home to be back by midday as Penny was coming home from lunch from her Saturday job. Once she had returned, and as it was raining, we decided that we would both spend the afternoon doing our hobbies. I managed to get a couple of layouts done -

this carries on from my layout of Ben last week. I also did this one, which was based on another sketch in the Pencillines book

I used a key which was in my package from Sian and some corrugated alphas which had been lurking in my stash for a while now.

In the evening I watched the video of our wedding, as it is our anniversary today - 23 years! It's a little ritual I have to watch the video every year on, or within a day or so, of our anniversary. The outfits all look so dated and 80's! I really enjoyed myself though and spent a lovely 30 minutes watching it. I did fast forward through our best man's speech though as he goes on for ever and it wasn't very funny at the time, let alone 23 years on!

So, to end this post I would like to wish my hubbie a very happy anniversary, and thank him for the past 23 years (and also thank you for the beautiful Lovelinks bead for my bracelet xx). We have had some troubles, but mostly happy times and I love him lots. Here's a photo from our extremely happy day:

Love you Hugh!

Another prize!

I was really lucky to win a RAK from Sian at 'From High in the Sky' following theHouse Party Blog Party organised by Rinda . It was a great blog party and I saw some wonderful work on the blogs - its still all there, so do hop on over and have a look. Anyway, what turned up in the post from Sian? Well, I opened up the envelope and found this:

 Some yummy brown felt and gorgeous spotty ribbon. When I opened up the 'parcel' I found this:

 When I looked in more detail I had:

two of these 7gypsies portfolios - looking forward to altering them. Will have to have a think about what I am going to use them for - gifts spring to mind! I also had:

all of this! Thank you so much Sian, you are extremely generous. I particulary like the little felt house, which I understand you made for a swap in UKScrappers:

So, have I used any of it yet? Err, no. I just keep unwrapping the parcel, looking at it all and then wrapping it up again and leaving it on my desk looking exciting lol! When I have used some of it I will show you what I have done with it.