Christmas is coming!

Whether we like it or not the big C is coming!! and before John set off on his travels he got some of the decorations down form the attic. I got as far as taking the lid off the box before telling myself it's too early to be thinking about decorating. Samuel loves to help with the tree and in the past I've let him decorate it all by himself.....................................only to re-arrange it once he'd gone to bed!! (bad mother). This year we've decided to put the tree up on the 6th as that's the day John's due home.

On a different note I took Samuel and his pal Big D to Starbucks on Saturday. Samuel and I pop in a couple of times a year so I was surprised to find that Big D had never been before. I automatically took it for granted that as we now have a shop in Elgin , he would have been in.

Samuel bought them both a hot chocolate as believe it or not he still had money left on a Starbucks card he got for Easter from his Auntie Ruth. Not being a big coffee drinker and because normally I think everything is over priced.......... I tried the Gingerbread Latte :) It was delicious and they should serve it all year round. I had to sneak back in today to get one to take away at lunchtime. Just because, you understand, it's a whole 12 months till they come back again :) Oh no I think I might need a second mortgage to keep me in GBLs :)

A wet walk

A dog is an "All weather pet" and as such I had the job of walking Moss today as there was no danger of Samuel doing it!! So armed with my umbrella I set off to squelch my way around the pond.

It wasn't as bad as thought it was going to be and at one point it did actually stop raining. If only for a few minutes.

My phone camera is turning out to be quite handy as it's easier to take pictures while holding a "brolly" than it is with a big SLR. moss and I were the only two out walking today and it was nice to have the peace and quiet to ourselves.
It must mean that Christmas is not that far away as the Holly berries are out in force. Not long now..........................

Pink Saturday

I don't really have any new pinks this week so I thought I'd practice my mosaic skills and do a quick montage of previous weeks. These are just some of the flowers you can see at Kew Gardens in London.
Thanks to Beverly at How Sweet the Sound for hosting again this week.

Have a look this week at Maia's Colour magic - Photography she has some beautiful flower shots and if you look through the categories on the right there are all sorts of wonders there to look at.

Hope you're all having a Happy Pink Saturday :)

HSMSHS - English

I have to say that this one had me stumped for a long time today as living up in Scotland I don't have a lot of anything English. Then suddenly it came to me.....I'm English although I support Scotland when they play and will stick up for the British if needed :)

Mobile pictures

Isn't it typical that the day that John goes away for 10 days Jessops phone to say that my camera is ready to be collected in Aberdeen!! Well I'm not driving 120 mile round trip to get it so I'll make do with my mobile for the time being.

This is a shot I took at work yesterday lunchtime as the sun was coming through the trees. Not too bad for a quick point and shoot.

More pictures tomorrow I think while walking the dog.

Fill-In Friday

1. Wait! Wait, don't forget your passport.
2. Baking a cake followed at once by eating it of course.
3. The trouble is I have too many grey hairs.
4. By tonight John will be many miles away.
5. With a faint pop the lights went out.
6. I don't read books that are shadowy and ominous.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to having the TV remote to myself, tomorrow my plans include Christmas shopping and Starbucks and Sunday, I want to do something crafty!

Not earth shatteringly, amazing answers but all I can think of at this time of the morning :)

Quote of the Day

From John, while trying to get a better deal on the car insurance................."Every penny's a prisoner!" LOVE IT :)

HSMSHS - American

The word for today is American and what can be more American than the Stars and Stripes? Happy Thanksgiving.

Todays ups and downs

Today started with this perfect pink sky and ended with.........................................

one sad looking puppy :( Apparently after all this time it looks like some kind of food allergy that is the cause of all his woes, so a change of food is called for followed by tablets and shampoo to get Mossy's coat back into condition. One of the tablets he has to take can knock him for six hence the sad, hangdog expression.

Oh and the other horrendous news is that I haven't got my Nikon back yet and John is taking the Fuji to New York!!! NO CAMERA for 10 days. I'm beside myself.......what will I do?

HSMSHS - Birthday

Wednesday's word is Birthday so here is Samuel, January this year, at the grand old age of 12!!

HSMSHS - French & Scottish

Lagging behind on the prompts as usual but as Samuel is off sick today I get to catch up. Monday's prompt was French - Me by the Eiffel Tower in 1995.

Today's word is Scottish - This is Samuel in his Scottish outfit for my Cousins wedding in 1998. Traditional Scottish heather for the buttonhole. What could be more Scottish?

My first Mosaic

Thanks to the lovely and very helpful Riet I have managed to put together my first mosaic. I found that Picasa 3 is available to download for free so John very kindly did that for me and hey presto..........................ten minutes of messing about with photos and here you have it.

A lovely thought

Last month my sister asked if I could make a couple of crochet flowers for her friend's daughter Bea. Only stipulation, could they be "Girlie". Bea had been given a cardigan/jacket that had some kind of logo on the front and Rachel wanted to hide it. Well who was I to say no? A few scraps of girlie coloured wool and a crochet hook later and I had two flowers made. Off they went to my sister who passed them onto Bea (who is 3).
Imagine my delight today when I got home to find a message on the answer machine from Rachel, thanking me for the flowers and saying how wonderful they were and how perfect for hiding the logo and apologising for not sending a thank you note sooner. It made my day that Rachel would take the time to phone. I know she is very busy with two young children and she would have said thank you next time I saw her.

Isn't it great when you get a message like that out of the blue?

Some scrapping at last

I made a decision today to leave the crochet to one side and crack on with some scrapping. I haven't done any in such a long time I've lost the knack!! It took me a while to find where I'd left everything and I spent ages faffing instead of sticking but I did manage a few layouts today. I'm still playing catch up with Scrap like you mean it on UK Scrappers and have 7 to do before I'll be up-to-date.

Daily doings

It was just a short walk today for Moss as after all the running about he did yesterday he was a little bit stiff. It was the first shoot of the season for Innes Estate so Moss (and the boys) were a bit out of practice!! It was very peaceful in my house last night as they all fell asleep early :)

Anyway we took a walk down the lane and around the pond and who should we meet but this little fella. It was just typical that I still have to use the old Fuji as this would have been a much better shot. Still it's lovely to see red squirrels not far from our house. They're quite timid and not at all like their London cousins, the common grey variety :)

We also Mr & Mrs Swan back on the nest, although it looks a bit water logged at the minute. It's normally a lot higher out of the water than it is just now. With any luck they'll get it sorted in time for the spring when we hope they'll use it for the 3rd time. This year we started with 7 babies and ended with 7. I like to keep a count of my babies as the foxes are very partial to them, given a chance.
And finally the view of the pond. It's looking very bare and sad at the minute..................

a big change from earlier this year!!

Pink Saturday

For some strange reason I didn't get an e-mail from Beverly this week and without her weekly reminder forgot all about PS!
Probably just as well really as I've had such a busy week with computer problems at work. Drs appointments, being Sporty Mom last night and having to get up early today to get the "Boys" ready for their first weekend of picking up Pheasants!! (Well Moss picks them up not the boys!! )

So to make up for my lack of pink this week I'll share with you the gorgeous flowers John bought me this week........just because :)

And on that note I'll wish you all a very "Colourful" weekend and I'll go off to attack the mess that is Samuel's bedroom :) Wish me luck!!

Fill-in Friday

I'm a little late with this as straight after work I had to drive through to Aberdeen. Here goes anyway

1. We need an end to war
2. Samuel did really well tonight and it made me smile.
3. If you want a mince pie you'll have to be quick!!.
4. It is because I'm your mother!!!!.
5. Massachusetts has a proposed 5% sales tax on elective cosmetic surgery; I think you should be happy with what you are given and grow old gracefully.
6. Family makes for a happy holiday.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to John doing the driving , tomorrow my plans include a trip to the hairdressers and Sunday, I want to relax!

Dig deep for Children in Need

Yes it's that time of year already. The time when you count your blessing for healthy children. I find that watching the films of the children who are helped by this fantastic charity just makes me feel so humble. There are children out there who just want a childhood but for whatever reason don't have a chance of getting one. It makes you really appreciate what you have.
So dig deep and DONATE. you don't even have to leave the house!! Text DONATE to 70077 and it's done. £5.00 ($10.00 approx) will be winging it's way to Children in Need.

Not selected

Back in August, after seeing the Edinburgh Tattoo I decided to enter their photography competition. The picture I chose was the Top Secret Drum Corp from Switzerland as they were the best thing on the night. Unfortunately my picture wasn't selected as a finalist, but never mind there's always next year...or the one after that.....or the one after that :)

Poor Moss

Moss is off to a dermatologist next week to see why he keeps going bald!!!

Another award

I received this award from the lovely Sonja. Thanks for adding me to your list :)


The rules are:
I need to pass this award on to five people, post on their blog to let them know I left this award, and then I need to answer a list of questions in ONE word.
So here we go:

1. Where is your cell phone? … Kitchen

2. Your hair? … dyed
3. Your mother?… home
4. Your father?… missed
5. Your favourite food? … Hubby's
6. Your dream last night?… unknown
7. Your favourite drink? … Tea
8. Your dream/goal?… happy family
9. What room are you in?… craft space
10. Your hobby?… crafting
11. Your fear?… heights
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years?… Home
13. Where were you last night? … home
14. Something that you’re aren’t?…Single!!
15. Muffins?… Raspberry
16. Wish list item? … craft ROOM
17. Where did you grow up? … UK, Hong Kong
18. Last thing you did?… Phoned insurance company
19. What are you wearing?… Work clothes
20. Your TV?… Bones
21. Your Pets?… Moss
22. Friends? … Hopefully
23. Your life?… Busy
24. Your mood?… Calm
25. Missing Someone?… Dad

26. vehicle?…Peugeot 308
27. Something your not wearing?… ear-rings
28. Your favourite store? … M&S
29. Your favourite colour?… Lime
30. When was the last time you laughed?… today
31. Last time you cried?… unknown
32. Your best friend?… Nearby
33. One place that I go to over and over? … Tesco
34. Facebook?… Occasionally
35. Favourite place to eat?… at home

I'm going to pass this onto 5 blogs I read everyday.

Tammy

Felicity

Heidi

Sherry

Riet

Twilight

Now I know that the Twilight series of films are from kids books, but what a good film Twilight was. I'm hoping that Santa will bring me the books for Christmas as I think I'd rather read the others before seeing the next film.

A Sunday stroll

After the last few weeks of rain it was nice, today, to see blue sky. So we didn't waste the nice weather, we drove to Garmouth, parked up and walked the Speyside Way to Spey Bay.

It's only a couple of miles along the old railway line and across the bridge. We stopped to see some fellas playing golf but apart from that we only met two other black Labradors and their owners. A big change from when we walked it the other month when we met every man and his dog!

The river used to be one big section of water but now, as you can see, after the floods it has changed course and runs all over the place. There were so many pebbles and trees washed down stream that the water direction has changed completely.

Once we got there we stopped for coffee and biscuits (sensibly packed as it was too cold to buy ice cream)and Mossy had a quick dip in the sea (or the Moray Firth if we're being correct!!), I took a few photos and we started the walk home.

The sun was in my eyes on the way home and this was all I could see. Makes a brilliant picture though. I'm so lucky to live in such a beautiful place. All this on my doorstep and it doesn't cost a penny.

HSMSHS - Wisdom for the Weekend

This weeks quote is from a song by Johnny Nash (1972).

I can see clearly now the rain has gone. I can see all obstacles in my way.

Today picture is from our walk to Spey Bay beach this morning. Look blue sky!!!

Some crafting at last

I've finally finished the Christmas Birds for the girls at work. All made with left over patterned papers, last years stamp. a brad and some ribbon.

I've put them on a 12" x 12" piece of paper so you can get the idea of size.

Boys!!

One stick + One Swiss Army knife = Hours of fun :)

If you click on the photo you can see the swirl of the knife :)

Pink Saturday

OK so I'm cheating this week. It's not pink.... but I so wanted to share this photo I took at The Botanical Gardens a Kew in July this year. I have no idea what it is but I just loved it. It looked so furry and close up it looks fantastic. That's all thanks to the super macro lens John bought me last Christmas. If anyone has any idea what this little beauty is called I'd love to know.

If you squint slightly it might look pink!!!!! No that doesn't work. Oh well :)

Thanks once again to the lovely Beverly at How Sweet the Sound for hosting again this week. If you have time pop over to see Sheila at The Quintessential Magpie she writes the most lovely posts.

Wishing you all a very Pink Saturday :)

Friday Fill-in

I've borrowed this from Tammy at Lens and Pens and thought I'd give it a go this week.

1. The last band I saw live was Bjorn Again

2. What I look forward to most on Thanksgiving is we don't have Thanksgiving in Scotland but I'd like a slice of Tammy's Lemon meringue Pie :)

3. My Christmas shopping list is still not written!

4. Thoughts of the size of my ironing pile fill my head

5. I wish I could wear anything I wanted and look great!! :)

6. Bagpipes are fantastic, especially in a huge Military band at the Edinburgh Tattoo

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to a large glass of red wine, tomorrow my plans include John making supper, followed by watching Twilight, and Sunday I want to go to the beach, crochet and watch the new Dr Who episode.

Frogging!

I had never heard of the term "Frogging" until recently when I read Lucy's blog at Attic 24. When she explained that it meant undoing your crochet it still made no sense. Then she told me that it's called "Frogging" because you Rip It!! Get it? "Rib it, Rib it".....it all make sense now!!
Anyway I decided to "Frog" BFB the other day as something didn't look right with it. I wasn't sure what but it was definitely something.

I've since made squares from 4 small grannies, edged in my favourite lime green. 12 down 13 to go!!

I'm also trying out blocking for the first time in an attempt to keep the squares, square!! I need to wait until this time tomorrow to see if it's worked and if it has I can do the other six.

I can't wait for this blanket to be finished so I can huddle under it once the heating has gone off at night!!

Blogging the mundane!!!

Now I know that in the grand scheme of things, having bushy eyebrows is not the end of the world................ but when you look like Denis Healy it is!!
That's how I felt this afternoon. So after a quick phone call to my favourite "Wax Shop" as Samuel calls it, I headed off after work to have my eyebrows waxed.
I'm pleased to report that I now have 2 eyebrows and not one!! I feel human again and quite willing to go out in public.

Now if this isn't blogging the mundane I don't know what is!!

PS Did I tell you how much I dislike this camera? I want mine back :(