Life at the Gables

It's 11.05pm and it's still 20 degrees here in the NE of Scotland. That doesn't happen very often.

As I've had to stand most of the day (as sitting is still a bit painful) I thought I'd do a "Shimelle" and scrap standing up. It's not actually that bad and I managed to do 4 catchup LOs for SLYMI. Only 2 to go now. So here we have... Scrap a Self Portrait. Use pen on your LO. Use green and blue. and this weeks Use stickers. I also finished adding the ribbon to 57 tags for Samuel's class mates to go inside the toilet roll book I made for his teacher who is leaving this week. and on that note I think I'll call it a day for today.

Saturday was an early rise as Samuel had kayaking at Knockando again at 9.30. While he and the others braved the cold water of the Spey I went for an wander along the Speyside Way snapping at a few things while I went. It was sooooo quiet. After the noise of work last week it was lovely to be just me and the dog. The sky didn't look too inviting with grey clouds coming over but it stayed dry. I walked over this bridge and trying to get better shots of things I bent down and took the shot through the bars of the gate. It's amazing how different things look from an unusual angle. Half way along the bridge is a little view point but with all the leaves on the trees just now you couldn't see much so I took a shot looking down. Remembering the rule of asking people if you can take their photo I stopped this lady on her horse and asked if she would mind me taking her picture as I was doing a project on photography. She very kindly said yes. The horse, who's name e

Arch - A curved symmetrical opening spanning an opening. Find an arch in your space today. Elgin Cathedral. Bit of a tilt on the photo but you get the idea :)

Samuel was in his first school rugby match tonight against one of the local primary schools. He's not a natural rugby player but really got stuck in. He was part of the scrum too!! His school won by 6 tries to one.

Centre - The middle point of an object. Show us the Centre of your space today. The centre of the yellow flags that are blooming round by the pond at the moment. Sunglasses - Glasses that are tinted to protect the eyes from the sun. Show us some sunglasses in your space today. A very old pair of sunglasses that John got given when he first went to Kuwait in 1991!!!! Contempory - Belong to or occurring in the present. Show us something contemporary in your space today. This is the wall art in our new bathroom. John wanted a boat but I got these as I thought they looked like sails.

My first copy of Scrapbook Trends arrived today along with my GoGo kit (which is Lush). It is so nice to finally read something scrapbooky that doesn't revolve around the same people and their inflated egos!!!!! Off my soapbox now :) There are some brilliant LOs in there just waiting to be scrap lifted and hopefully I'll get round to that this weekend. I have about 5 weeks of SLYMI to catch up with. I thought I'd take the picture of the magazine stood next to the new jar cover I made on Monday while watching Everest ER (which is a fab programme narrated by David Tennant!!). Well why not?

I've been tagged by Joshy & Belle , you have to mention six unimportant things you love, link to the person who tagged you and then tag six further bloggers , so here goes... 1. I love sitting quietly at home happy with my own company. 2. I totally love crocheting and am very impatient to finish one project before starting another that I normally have 3 on the go at once. 3. I love Blogging - I only started to find out what all the fuss was about and now I try to blog every day. It's mostly about me and my family but also about my craft projects and of course HSMSHS . There are so many talented people out there with great blogs to read. 4. I would really love to give up work and be a SAHM. I could easily find things to do to fill my days. 5. I would love to be better at photography and have learnt one important thing so far. READ THE MANUAL!!!!! 6. Family - I would love to be closer to them all but unfortunately work keeps us apart. Who knows.....maybe one day :) ht

Hat - A covering for ones head, show us a hat in your space. Caught Samuel out this morning and took his photo while coming downstairs. Perfect timing too as he started pulling silly faces at having to have a picture taken so early!!

Well I didn't get picked for today but never mind it was really interesting to see how the system works. We had to be there for 10.30 ( I got there at 9.30 as I had to drop the car in for it's MOT) and once we were all checked off we had to go into the court room and sit on the public benches. They obviously don't encourage the public to go as the spaces were so narrow it was difficult to get along them. They then go through the routine for the day and what to expect. Then the accused comes in and sits in the dock followed by the "All Rise" and the judge's arrival. All the names of the prospective jurors are folded in put in what can only be described as a large goldfish bowl. The clerk of the court then pulls out 15 names to be the jury. They go and sit on the jury bench, the judge goes out, the jury goes out, 15 minutes pass, the judge comes back, the jury comes back and the rest of us are dismissed!!!!! All very bizarre but interesting at the same

Guess where I am today? I really hope I'm not needed. Most days I have trouble remembering my name let alone what would be going on in a juicy case :)

Filter - A strainer or other device through which liquid, gas, smoke can pass but not solid material. Show us Filter in your space today. I haven't played along properly for the last wee while so I thought I'd start again today. This is the filter from John's coffee pot. It's used every day and I think is beginning to let the bits through!!!

We have been soooo busy here this weekend with one thing and another. :: John decided he wanted to move the shed in the garden so he's been busy laying new slabs ready for the big move next weekend. The garden looks huge at the moment. :: Samuel helped his Dad with the slabs and then had his pal round today. :: I had a mad cleaning day yesterday and blitzed the kitchen, did the bedrooms and tackled the ironing. Then today I made chocolate chip muffins and scones and I've done some of my pink crocheted cushion. :: The porch has had a tidy out too ready for my chairs (once I've been and looked for some!!!) so hopefully we'll be tidy when our visitors get here in the summer holidays. :: In between all this madness we took Moss to the Spey for a bath!! It was gorgeous down there and really hot. Apart from Samuel and his pal getting lost!! it was a lovely walk. I also took a couple of pictures of the fountain in the Square as this year it has water in it!!!!

I saw some fabric hearts on this blog.... Its a Creative World. ....and thought I'd give them a go. I bought the 3" x 3" fabric squares from e-bay and drew a heart onto card stock to use as a template. I originally sewed them inside out but they didn't look right once turned the right way round so I used embroidery thread on the outside in a contrasting colour. Once stuffed with kapok I sewed a button on the front and then joined them together with ribbon and buttons. I chose vintage fabric but next time I might get something more funky!! They now have pride of place outside my craft room above the door. I love them and have to make more!!!!!!

I have completely neglected my poor old Wonky blanket these past two weeks while I have been getting my stash together for the GoGo scrapping weekend. The poor thing started off OK, then I got an idea in my head about making it different in the middle, then I got confused as to how to square it off so had to improvise which is why it's now officially "Wonky". Never mind it is unique and will still be as snugly and warm when it's on my new chair in the porch this summer.

Engine - A machine in which heat or other energy is used to produce motion: find Engine in your space today. I can't take credit for this photo as Samuel took it while on a school trip to 617 Sqn at RAF Lossiemouth yesterday. The boy done good. A photographer in the making? I should say for anyone who doesn't know what it is, it's the tail end of a Tornado aircraft.

Finally managed to finish two of the LOs from last weekend. First is the Make & Take from Friday night. After sitting there for ages looking at a brown piece of card with 4 black printed frames on it and one piece of white card stock, wondering what the hell to do with them, I saw the gorgeous LOs SJ had done and they were fabulous. It's amazing what some paint can do to a dull page. After buying a few paints yesterday I finished my LO of Harry. This LO is from Fiona Beckman's class and I actually finished it in class which is a miricle in itself. I hunted round for ages to find some facinating photos and in the end picked two of Samuel which I thought would match the papers!! Turned out OK.

What a brilliant time I had this weekend. It was well worth the hassle of trying to get a day off and having to fly to terminal 5 at Heathrow. I met friends from last year and made new ones this year. GoGo the Northern Girlies. I painted, embossed and of course I flocked!! I did 3 great classes and one brilliant workshop, chatted, laughed and ate too much. And all in the name of paper crafting. What more could you want from a weekend. I've had to "borrow" these photos from Ruth as I didn't take my camera!! I know shock horror, I didn't take a single picture.While I was there I met up with Val who was one of the original Scrapdragons over on UKS. She popped over for a chat, a coffee and a few piccies. Thank heavens for a picnic table and a purse to get the self timer going. Here we are even if we were a little chilly!! Ruth, Yvonne, Jo, Me and Val. And of course I met up with Mandi :). Mandi who had a passion for napkins! a very large........hat and of co