Life at the Gables

Well it's still just about Monday here so I can legally squeeze this in :0)
Both Amy at Over at Our Place and my sister Ruth are playing along with this so I thought........ Why not?

What are you saying hello to this Monday?

Hello last Monday of the school session.  Only four more days to go till the summer holidays (3 by the time I publish this.)

Hello picking up flight tickets for Turkey.  I now have them in my hot little hand.

Hello first day of Wimbledon.  At last a sport worth watching.



Hello ASDA!!  Best time to do your weekly shopping?  Monday afternoon.  It was really quiet.

Hello crochet.  I've been AWOL for a wee while but now I'm back.


Hello Monday is a series that originated here.  This is my first Hello Monday post - I like the idea.

My sister Ruth has posted about her weekend on her blog which she did after reading about Carrie's weekend over at Rosalind Revival.  Not one to be left out I thought I'd give it a go too.

Not very exciting due to the bad weather but a weekend all the same.

I did the usual housework.
I ironed my last lot of school uniform for this session.....yey!!
I walked Moss in the rain (both days)

































I sorted out some holiday clothes.


































I got sick and tired of it raining.
I phoned my sister.
I started a new crochet blanket.
















I made a very nice Chicken Tikka Massala for supper.  The Teenage One had pizza!!!
I got sick and tired of it raining.
I watched a few episodes of The West Wing

































and did I mention I got sick and tired of it raining?

How was your weekend?

Wishing a very Happy Birthday to my friend Carol.  She's 50 today but you wouldn't know it.

We decorated her desk on Thursday as we thought we'd be out of school on Friday for a Sponsored walk.  She was not expecting that!!
and June's son Stuart made a delicious cake (that tasted just like a real one!!).


Happy Birthday Carol.  I hope you have another great day today x

Elaine at work sent us this today................

Do you think this dog is inbred?


















Like I said.  It made me laugh :0)

This is the card I made for my friend Carol.  I cut up an old acetate sheet that had the heart and flowers already printed on it and then used brads to fix it to patterned card before adding a few flowers and a butterfly to finish it off.
I don't normally use yellow but it seemed the right colour to mount the heart on as it made the flowers stand out more.
She liked it :0)

Today I have my very own James Heriott at home. 

 Christopher Timothy as James Herriott in All Creatures Great & Small
Samuel started his work experience at the local vets this morning and can't wait to go back tomorrow.  He helped out with the morning surgery then watched a one year old Alsatian bitch being spayed and then watched a cat having it's teeth cleaned and having one taken out.

Gorey or not he loved it.

Maybe this will encourage him to knuckle down to his studies!!

There is definitely no turning back now.  The diggers are demolishing the old school and one of the first things to go was our old office.


I hope we didn't leave anything behind!!

A splash of colour in an otherwise very grey day.

Today saw The Teenage One and I take a day off school/work to travel the 60 miles to Aberdeen for an emergency visit to the orthodontist.

We -
1.  Left at 9.45 to get the train
2. arrived at 11.25
3. hung around for an hour before the appointment
4. spent 10 minutes in the orthodontists
5. went for a bite to eat
6. got the train home at 13.39 and got back home at 15.15


So all in all a 5½ hour trip for a 10 minute appointment.  And we still have to go back in 3 weeks to get everything tightened up.  Still one good thing is that Samuel goes on the train for free at certain times of the day

He better have the best looking teeth in Scotland by the end of all this :0)

Wow the 10th of the month sure does sneak up on you.

This month I've chosen a few things I do every week (mundane and not so mundane).  I'm sure my week is not so very different from many others.

1::  Laundry
2::  Ironing
3::  Going to work
4::  Cooking
5::  Walking the dog
6::  Circuits
7::  Taxiing Samuel to his sports in the local town
8::  Reading (both Kindle and paper versions)
9::  Watching TV
10::  Sleeping
There are more 10 Things on the Tenth over at Shimelle's place.  Pop over and take a look.

A week or two ago I was lucky enough to have my name picked for Alison's "Pass the Book" and today it arrived all the way from sunny Spain.

Thanks Alison.  I'm going to keep it for my holiday in a few weeks time and then I'll pass it on when I get back.
Alison wrote:

The book was actually written for the 'YOUNG ADULT' genre, but like HARRY POTTER, TWILIGHT and THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME is a perfect adult 'crossover' book.
The story is set in the not-too-distant future, and revolves around a 15year-old American girl who comes to stay with her Aunt and her family, somewhere in rural England. Starting off as an idyllic, almost ENID BLYTON-ish (with a bit more 'bite') story, it soon changes, as un-named occupiers invade Great Britain and the nation is thrown into a state of war. There are some interesting insights into what life during an Occupation can/would be like, and there is of course a  Love Story runnin…

As most people here know this year is the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
Some people in the UK don't like the royal family or the Union Jack but I for one am PROUD to be both a British and a Royalist.


This is photo heavy post - most of the photos from Google


I thought the Pageant on the River Thames was excellent but thought the Royal family looked absolutely freezing stood watching for what must have been hours.

:: The Queen with Prince Phillip who is now in hospital.  We hope he gets well soon.
:: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.  I was really hoping someone would bring Kate a coat as she looked chilled to the bone.
 :: A selection of the 1000 boats that took part in the Pageant.
 ::  The War Horse on top of the National Theatre.  The Queen loves this show apparently and spotted Joey running along the top of the building.  I think that's a must see show next time we go to London.
 ::  Fireworks on Tower Bridge at the end of the Pageant on Sunday.

Monday…

There are so many gorgeous, colourful flowers blooming at the moment.
Iris by the pond:

Beautiful red Rhododendron:

and the neighbours Clematis:
just to name a few.

A few nights ago I had an absolutely brilliant time at my first Murder, Mystery Evening.  A couple of teacher at school are getting married in the summer and this was their "Hennie" (hen night).

We set off for the Spangles Hotel where Tom Speed a talented director had been murdered the night before the "Eric Awards".  Da da daaaaahhhhhh!!!

We were all given our characters a few weeks before the night so we knew if we playing a male or female role.

 I was to be Hunter Sharp - a reclusive Independent Producer/Director.
An easy costume for me as it was Black Tie for male roles and posh frocks for the ladies.

Mind you by the end of the night my character seemed to have been spotted sporting a very fetching blond curly wig!!!

Enough said about that the better!!

After a night of non-stop laughing, putting on plays, eating lovely food (especially the chocolate dessert) and generally have the bestest time ever it was time to find out who the murderer was.

Were we really …