Hello my friends. Well, if you have found your way here – well done. I know that this new website isn’t properly up and running yet – lots of things missing, in different places, etc., but I am seriously indebted to a friend from church who has painstakingly copied all the posts of the past three years into this temporary “nestled” site. He has spent hours copy and pasting all your beautiful comments so that I wouldn’t lose anything when these magic smart objects (whatever they are) turn off in two days time Thank you Kevin!!!

So, a three week break – oh my word! The Isle of Mull is spectacular – great sweeping cliffs falling hundreds of feet into the sea – narrow roads (almost all roads on the island are single track with passing places) – a population of merely 3000 on the whole island which is almost 70 miles long – a lovely house. I could continue… but instead – a tiny foretaste

OK, so I managed to get a photo in here, but can’t work out how to centre it or grow it!! Hmm – talk to Kevin!!!

A week on the island with the whole family, then on to the Lake District to a small campsite, all on my own – so different, but still lovely

So now I am home, and preparing for the crop a week on Saturday – how quickly that has come round. I am really looking forward to seeing so many of you making your way to Llandudno – it will be a great day, with an extra special guest amongst us! Before that, though, I’ve begun to work back in my special space…

From the closest part – some stamps, an acrylic block, neatly laid out distress inks, water spray, lamp, cutting mats, empty mug of tea, coloured sheets I have been playing with ready for the crop, Christmas present list (yes, I took FULL advantage of Mull and Iona, pile of purchases from before I went away with some mags I bought whilst in the Lake District, my computer with Snowdonia in winter as my screen saver, and the pink bird which used to keep turning her back on us all – now firmly blutacked down to the little speaker!

So that’s me this week, folks, already feeling my holiday was a million miles away, looking forward to seeing many of you next week – there is still room to come, just let me know, so I can cook you some lunch – and now to work out how to publish!! It is only a temporary address – I’ll have a permanent one soon.

Take care. God bless.

Margaret

Hello my friends. I trust this finds you well and enjoying your creativity. It’s early Wednesday morning here on the North Wales coast, it’s sunny, I already have windows wide open, and so can hear the birds out over the field opposite. A lovely day to greet my friends from WOYWW. My desk has seen absolutely no action this week apart from being used as a bit of a dumping ground – why? After all the frenetic card making last week? I’ve been making Roman Blinds for some friends at church – they are done. The most glorious sheep covered fabric – they are delivered, but not yet fitted in order to have a photograph (sorry!). I discovered they are not so hard to make, and although they took me a couple of days (I’m sure Annie would have run them up in her coffee break), I have had a lot of fun doing them. So my desk his week looks fairly abandoned…

The yellow pieces of card are all pictures drawn by the children in Uganda to thank you all for your support of them – bags, dolls, teddies, squares for blankets, wool, a really generous donation from last year’s crop. Thank you! The blue and white handmade pot is a personal thank you from the team for enabling them, collecting everything, helping them actually get out there. Beyond that is my paper pile on which I lean when stamping, and last week’s card making efforts which I must write and get sent off. And that’s it!

So, as the recipients of said cards don’t read this… here they are…

A mixture of birthday, anniversary, men and lady cards, and a real mix of fancy die cuts, photos, and decoupage.

The Uganda team had a fantastic time, and have brought back for me just a few photos (so far)… the children receiving their Bibles in a bag. So many folk have given generously of their time, energy, and fabric stash this year and made dolls, blankets, bags, teddies…. that I already have almost sufficient bags for next year! But here are a few smiling faces …

As you can see, the classroom is basic – BUT – it has a proper concrete floor, and proper brick walls – due in no small measure to your help over the years. Your help has provided them with a kitchen area and so they receive breakfast of a porridge on arrival each day, and a meal mid-day. The fact that these children have received their bag and Bible means they have learned to read and write sufficiently well to be able to use it and read it by themselves – for so many in the world that means so little – but for these youngsters it means they are a step nearer to achieving their dreams. Thank you!

I will be missing for the next three weeks. A couple of reasons. I am spending time with my family on the Isle of Mull. We are all travelling up to a rather large house, and spending a week there. Never been before, so I’m looking forward to potential visits to Iona, Staffa and a sailing experience like I have never had in my life! As an aside – I do have to ask what the schools teach youngsters these days! My mobile phone is used almost exclusively for texts – I don’t spend hours on a tiny screen watching films, going on the internet or anything, so when I got it the company turned off my data (??). However, because one of my friends is seriously ill I want to keep up with them whilst away – by email – so yesterday I popped into the local mobile place and asked if they could turn on the data so I could get emails when I was on Mull. The, very pleasant and helpful, young man said “Are you staying in Britain?” “Yes”, says I, somewhat mystified, “I’m going to Mull”. “But where’s that?” he asks. I could not believe he had no idea of our own set of islands! Even when I told him it was an island off Scotland he still persisted in asking if it was Britain or was I going abroad!!!

The second reason I will be missing for a while is that I use Serif for this site – and the blog will cease working at the end of August (something to do with smart objects and google???) – so a friend from church has spent hours transferring all this info, all your comments over the past years, etc., onto a new look, new company, site. Not sure yet what it is going to look like – but I’ll be back, even if the whole site isn’t fully functional, the blog will be – it might mean that the web address has to change a little – but I hope not. Watch this space, as they say – or the new space!

So that’s me this week folks. Take care – enjoy the summer. God bless.

Margaret