Photo a Day - 27 Feb

SOMETHING YOU ATE - That would have to be homemade Thai spicy chicken and Shiitake mushroom soup.

I hasten to add that John made it not me.  There is no recipe - it's just something he threw in a pan.

Photo a Day - 26 Feb

NIGHT - This is where I like to read at night time.  In my cosy bed.

Photo a Day - 25 Feb

GREEN - A walk in the woods is a very 'Green' way to spend an afternoon.

Photo a Day - 24 Feb

INSIDE YOUR BATHROOM CABINET - My cabinet was the only thing I really wanted when John re-built the bathroom.

It's long and tall and twists around so you can hide everything out of sight.  It has a mirror on the other side.

Bathroom before:

Bathroom after:

Photo A Day - 23 Feb

I've not been able to get near the computer for the last few days so I've got a few days to add.

WHERE YOU WORK - I think I've used this already so thought I'd take it from a different view.

 As of the 16 April this will be my old view as I will have a nice new desk, in a nice new office, in a nice new school.

Photo a Day - 22 Feb

As I wasn't in work today I swapped the prompts and went with tomorrow's prompt SHOES instead. 

I bought these shoes for our works Christmas night out last year but it was so icy on the night I didn't wear them.  I'm giving them their first outing this weekend when we are out with friends.
I love them.  They are very 1940s.

Photo a Day 21 Feb

A FAVE PHOTO OF YOU.  Not what I would have liked as a prompt due to the fact that most photos don't really look anything like me!!  I think that's probably because I get fed up waiting for them to be taken that I have stopped smiling (just at the wrong time).

This one I do like though.  Samuel took it in 2008 when we were at Ballindalloch Castle.

Photo a Day - 20 Feb

HANDWRITING is today's prompt.

I actually like my handwriting as I had a really great teacher when I was about 11 or 12 years old who wouldn't let anyone use anything but a fountain pen in his class.  We used to take in bottles of ink and store them in the cupboard.  My favourite colour ink was turquoise.  Cartridge fountain pens were not allowed!!!!

Photo a Day - 19 Feb

Today's prompt is SOMETHING YOU HATE.

Hate is a bit of strong word for many things I dislike but there is one thing I do actually hate and that is all the paperwork, mail and junk that accumulates on the end of the kitchen work top. 
It's always left to me to sort out what gets kept, filed or re-cycled.  Can no-one else see the ever growing pile of paperwork?

In this pile there is a sports clothing magazine, an odd CD, postcards and letters, a charity clothing bag a scrappy type project, receipts and the book War Horse.
Does anyone else have a pile like this lurking somewhere in their house?

Photo a Day - 18 Feb

DRINK is the word of choice for today and my choice would be tea!!  I do like the occasional glass of bubbly or red wine and have even partaken of a gin & tonic or two but most of the time I'm quite happy with a cup of tea.

Oh how very middle aged!!

Photo a Day - 17 Feb

This prompt was TIME.

I automatically thought of clocks and how many we have in the house but then after a bit of mooching about I remembered I had my Nana's watch.  The one I wore as "someting old" when I got married back in 1995.

The box is a little worse for wear and the watch doesn't work but that doesn't matter as it's a family heirloom.

I think they call it "Vintage" nowadays!!

Photo a Day - 16 Feb

SOMETHING NEW is the prompt for today.

That would have to be my new glasses.  Out with the reading glasses and in with the varifocals.  I know!!   It comes to us all in the end!!

So far I love them.  It is so much easier to see when you can leave your glasses on instead of taking them on and off every five minutes. 

Photo a Day - 15 Feb

Today's prompt is PHONE.

This is my HTC Desire S.  I should love it.  But so far, since getting it last November, I have had 3 handsets, one new sim card, one factory reset and countless phone calls to Orange trying to get the thing to work properly.
It kept losing signal and saying emergency calls only.  Text messages took hours to come through (some not at all) and then last weekend it decided that the touch screen wouldn't work and the phone would dial my Mum 5 times in a row without me touching the handset!!!!
This is my 3rd handset and fingers crossed, so far, all is well.

Nuff said!!  :0)

Photo a Day - 14 Feb

Happy Valentines Day and Happy Coral Anniversary to my friend Elaine and her husband John.  35 years - wow ♥

Today's prompt had to be HEART

This is a picture I made and have framed and hanging in my hall.

Photo a Day - 13 Feb

Today's prompt is BLUE

This is one of three dark blue roses I have on a candle stand.  I bought it out in Germany about 17 years ago and have never lit the candles.  Maybe I never will!

Granola Bars

I've had half a packet of Alpen open in my cupboard for months and it's almost at it's sell by date.  I didn't want to throw it out so Googled "Recipes with Alpen" and found...................nothing.

Then I Googled Granola recipes and found one on the BBC Good Food website.  It said to use oats but I thought I would swap them for Alpen (as that's all Alpen is anyway).

It is such an easy recipe and tastes DELISH :0)

Granola Bars

100g butter, plus extra for greasing
300g of ALPEN
50g Granola cereal ( I had Quakers in the cupboard)
50g chopped nuts
3tbsp of honey (local honey made by friends of ours)
100g light brown sugar
1tsp cinnamon
100g dried cranberries, cherries, raisins (I used both raisins and cranberries)

1.      Heat oven to 160C/fan 140C/gas 3. Butter and line the base of a 18 x 25cm tin. Mix the Alpen, granola  and nuts in a roasting tin, then put in the oven for 5-10 mins to toast.

2.      Meanwhile, warm the butter, honey and sugar in a pan, stirring until butter is melted. Add the oat mix, cinnamon and dried fruit, then mix until all the oats are well coated. Tip into the tin, press down lightly, then bake for 30 mins. Cool in tin, then cut into 12 bars.

Photo a Day - 12 Feb

Today's prompt is INSIDE YOUR CLOSET

I love my wardrobe.  We used to have a horrible flimsy thing made of chipboard when we moved in, with mirrors that were really low down John could only see his legs in it.  (The previous occupant is only 4' 11").
One day, about six months after we moved in, whilst I was at a Scrapbooking Crop in Aberdeen, John and Samuel set to and ripped it all out.  We lived with a big gap on one wall for about 6 weeks until John made a new one with custom built sliding, mirrored doors.  I was so proud of him for making it.  He just said "It's OK"  A man of few words when it comes to talking about his DIY.

Monthly Make 2012 - February

I have been looking for a bag that goes across the body but is big enough to put your camera, purse and mobile in .  A lot of bags in our local shops are either, just big enough for a purse and a phone or are the size of a suitcase.
I had a rummage around in the top of my wardrobe and found this black & white bag I bought last year in a local supermarket for £1.50 (approx $2.30).

I un-picked the handles (which were just long enough to go over your shoulder) and re-stitched them to make one long handle stitched at the sides of the bag instead.

Then I got some felt flowers (that I'd got in a swap I did over on UKScrappers years ago), made some leaves and embroidered around the petals.  I also added buttons just because.

I then stitched them onto one side of the bag.

This bag will now hold everything I need for a day out in Paris when we visit France again at the end of March.

For more Monthly Makes 2012 head over to Flickr

Photo a Day - 11 Feb

MAKES YOU HAPPY is today theme so I chose the Snowdrops by the pond.

I haven't quiet figured out how to change the overlay to white so it stands out better.  Something else to add to my ever growing "To Do" list!!

Photo a Day - 10 Feb

The dreaded SELF PORTRAIT

I tried just about everything to get a decent shot of myself today and the only good one was blurry so I resorted to the old "hold camera at arms length and press button" routine.  This is the best of a very bad bunch!!

Why is it when I look in the mirror beforehand I always look presentable and when I've taken the picture I look like I've been dragged through a hedge backwards?

Note to self - the anti-wrinkle cream isn't working!!!  :0)

Photo a Day - 9 Feb

FRONT DOOR is today's prompt. 

I could have gone for the safe option and taken a picture of the door from the outside but decided to try and capture Samuel coming in from school.  I'm not normally home until about 20 minutes after him so he wasn't expecting to see me lurking on the stairs when he came through the door.

I haven't sussed out how to use Corel Paintshop Pro X4 yet so the picture is a bit dark.  Something to add to my "To Do" list for this year.

Tomorrow is a Self Portrait.  How I hate doing those.

Photo a Day - 8 Feb

Well today's word was SUN and in true Scottish fashion............ there wasn't any.  I caught a very quick glimpse of it driving to work this morning but unfortunately I couldn't stop on the new bypass to get out and take a picture.  By the time I got to work it had gone and it stayed away all day.

I've had to resort to an archive picture from France last summer. 

My son in the sun.

A bit of a cheat but better than no picture at all.

Photo a Day - 7 Feb

Today's word is BUTTON and I spent a little while wondering if I had any interesting buttons in the house.  The basic answer?  NO!! 

That was until I was ironing my favourite jeans a saw this...........

This button is so me :0)

Photo a Day - 6 Feb

The word for today is DINNER.

Now this would normally be a no brainer.  Just snap a picture of what you're having for your supper.  Unfortunately today I have the abscess back on my gum and I'm finding it hard to eat anything too hard.  Luckily I'm very fond of rice pudding and it came to the rescue tonight :0) 

When I've finished my weeks worth of anti-biotics I'm off to the dentist next Monday to see if I can get my tooth taken out.  Oh the joys!!

A wee felt hoosie

You may remember this post where I had a lot of sewing stuff strewn across my dining room table.  Well the result of all that mess was a wee felt house.

I'd seen one on a blog called Charlotte's Fancy and followed her link to a lovely on-line shop called Intres Handmade.   My only problem was the price.  Her felt house (below)  was priced at £25.00. Eeeek!!!

I thought "I could do that" and immediately set about raiding my scraps box.

Here's what I came up with...............

This is the front of  "My House".  Three windows, one door and at certain times of the year, a hanging basket for the Fochabers in Bloom competition.

The basket is my favourite bit.  I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

I now have another 5 (possibly 7) to make!!!!  Oh dear why do I start these things?  No wonder I said it was a year long project.

Photo a Day - 5 Feb

Today's prompt was a time and not a word.   10am
This is what I was doing at that particular time. 

The same thing I do every Sunday morning.......................the washing!!

I borrowed an idea from my sister-in-law Barbara and put my camera in the washing machine on self timer.  Works for me :0)

Photo a Day - 4 Feb

The word for today is STRANGER.

I did wonder about this one and as I haven't been out anywhere to meet any strangers I went for a play on words.

"Stranger things have happened". 

Samuel hoovering his room with no prompting. Now when I think about it maybe stranger things haven't happened.  At least not recently.

Photo a Day - 3 Feb

OK so today's word is  HANDS.

For me this would have to be mine doing what they do a lot of recently...................crochet.  You have got to love the self-timer on a camera :0)

The overlay is courtesy of my sister who has them courtesy of Ali Edwards.  I think they add a little something to what can be a very ordinary picture.

Photo a Day - 2 Feb

Today's word is  WORDS. 

I was going to go down the dictionary route but then thought I'd go for the word on my mantelpiece.  LOVE.

I made it a few years ago out of chipboard and covered it in Scenic Route papers.

Photo a Day - 1 Feb

I'm a bit behind with this challenge for 2012 but the beauty is you can decide to do all 12 months or just one or two throughout the year.
It's being hosted by FatMumSlim and the thing I like best is the prompt for each days photo.  After doing 365 in 2010 it got to be a chore deciding what to take a picture of.  I'm hoping this will be easier.

So for 1 February the prompt was -

1::  Your view today......

As most of my day was spent at work I went for the view of my desk.