Hello my friends. Goodness, that week went by pretty quickly. Thank you so much to everyone who stopped by and commented last week. Thanks for all the birthday wishes, cards, presents… WOW! What a time I had. I managed to meet up with my whole family here in Wales last Saturday. Because we are all in one bubble/extended family group, it was perfectly legal for the 10 of us to meet up outdoors. The weather was cold, crisp but bright; my daughters had designed and planned, with military precision, the whole time. All sorts of plans came and went, but we decided Horseshoe Falls near Llangollen – just this side of the border, a place to walk, and lots of space to have a family time of games and picnic.

Now, you have to understand that we are completely barking when all together…so the girls planned a tournament of silly games. We laughed, we talked, we howled with fun, we looked stupid – yes we had a great day. Games included a tennis ball in the foot of a pair of tights. Tights put on the head… knock down 5 skittles with the ball and don’t use your hands; a scavenger hunt; and the largest laugh of all – place an After 8 on your forehead and get it into your mouth using only your facial muscles! One son in law managed it in 3 seconds!

However… back to sanity – or at least, what passes for sanity in this house! Two desk shots for you this week – and both are upstairs. The first was taken halfway though a bit of a cardfest – using lots of my own printed photos. You can see peel-offs, gems, leaves (yes! Having a use-up-stash session!); inks and brushes; the usual ruler, blade, scissors, glues; and there in front of the green cutting mat is the little pile of cards.

The second desk shot was taken around an hour later when I was playing about with some brushos as card fronts. I was, I admit, having a great deal of fun! The scrap paper on the green cutting mat is now soaked through, having liberally sprayed the card with water. You can just see four efforts up near the guillotine, drying out. They are now under a heavy weight flattening out. Please take special note of the guillotine – Canu Camilla would be so proud of me to know that I have been regularly using it. I have finally (I’m a mere 70 years old) mastered it. It has taken years. And for someone with a mathematical and musical brain I don’t know why I could never figure it out – but I couldn’t. However… now I have. Yay! At the far end of the table is a bag and some coloured shapes. These are Christmas ideas, and will hopefully come to fruition over the next few weeks. On the floor is an order from craftstash, again a Christmas idea and present… note to self – TIDY UP before you stand on it!

So these are my efforts! Looks rather like a summer flower border!

So, that’s me this week folks here on the North Wales coast. To everyone who lives in an area with extra restrictions – oh, I wish you well. I feel for the poor folks who have just gone off to university – almost straight into isolation. Ouch! All the hopes and dreams of uni life, gone in an instant.

Take care, each one of you. Stay safe and well. God bless you.

Margaret

Well, hello my friends – another Wednesday. Surely not? Already? But yes – a week has flown by. And you find me feeling thoroughly discombobulated! Another week, six months to the day when Britain went into lockdown, and now restrictions are really tightening again. Infection numbers are rising, local lockdowns are in place in many areas, and more are “on the amber alert list” – ie., “look out! You too, will soon not be permitted to move out of your area without a good reason”. Oh well… here we go again.

So what have I been up to since last week – not a lot really. My desk has moved around the house as I have done different things Upstairs I have actually made some cards – 2 birthday cards – 4 sympathy cards (for my daughter’s father in law died quite suddenly at the weekend) – and a great-grandma card. Needless to say I forgot to take photos of the sympathy and great grandma cards as I was in such a rush to get them in the mail!! However…

Downstairs, I have crocheted, inspected (but not yet done) my knitting, and spent time hunched over a jigsaw board.

But then, on Monday, a treat! You see, this week has been looming rather large in the calendar – it’s a big birthday – you know, the sort which changes the number on the front (oh, groan!). My family’s plans have changed so many times it is unbelievable – due purely to restrictions. The plan to go away – cancelled. The plan to meet at the elder daughter’s house – cancelled. The plan to all cross the border into Wales and meet up outdoors – being held loosely as the weather is changing. BUT – the elder daughter decided this wasn’t good enough. She had all the presents and cards… so we would meet. I had to cross the border into England, but we met for hot chocolate, a walk by the canal, and lunch at a place called Grindley Brook. A gorgeous little cafe with fantastic outside space by the water, lots of activity on the staircase of locks, and a beautiful sunny day to boot! How precious to see her – and yes, risk a hug! When you live on your own as I do now, physical contact is nil – and you don’t realise how important it is until it is denied. I have seen Joy only once since February – and if you knew my family you would know how unusual that gap of time is! So, it was really good to meet her. I’m still hoping that the whole family can meet come the weekend. It all depends. Currently it is still legal. Who knows by Saturday what will be permitted! So, a little reminder of the gorgeous day out.

So that’s me this week folks, here on the North Wales coast on a very dull and exceedingly wet Wednesday morning. Thank you so much to everyone who visited and left comments last week. They were lovely!

Take care of yourselves. God bless you.

Margaret

Hello there, my friends. Well, I didn’t do too well last week.. prepared the photos and everything… and then didn’t post. No excuse, just didn’t. So, sorry folks.

So I am trying again this week – the photo is the one I took last week because the desk looks exactly the same. I haven’t been near it all week. Just seemed to struggle with any enthusiasm. Terrible, but there it is. I rather gather many of you are in the same state… However – my desk

As you can see – not a great deal of interesting stuff to look at! The lens cover for my camera; my CD and radio; black pergamano embossing mat, used as the background for photos of my cards; DST, glues, scissors; a die; my mobile; and stuff piled on the floor (saves leaving the drawer open, thus threatening to fall to the floor and disgorge all the contents!)

So there you have it, folks, here on the North Wales coast. Restrictions became more intense this week, with Mr Drayford saying that unless we do as we are told we are only weeks away from a large lockdown again. Oh boy! The problem is, folks are tired of having their lives controlled in this way, with it feeling like the government is playing fast and loose with peoples’ lives – go to work, stay at home, stop going into school for 2 weeks, so parents cannot work… Sorry! Rant over!! There are so many millions of people in the world so very much worse off than we here in Britain!

I do trust you are all safe, from viruses, wars, fires, violence… Take care of yourselves.

God bless you.

Margaret

Hello my friends. I think it is confession time! I have been MIA for four weeks now, and thought it was maybe time for me to put in an appearance before you thought I had left the planet! My excuses are decorating the lounge, and having half of my gorgeous family to stay. but first… my desk! NOT that it has seen a great deal of use in the past four weeks!

As I said… not a lot has been going on! You can see a guillotine, a pile of scrap paper upon which are a couple of finished cards which I can’t show you yet as the birthdays haven’t happened, a glass cutting mat piled high with boxes, some of which I am still deciding whether to tesselate and make advent calendars, and the coloured ones of which are filled with greeting cards and made as Christmas presents. Not a lot of signs of anything terribly busy or creative going on… so… off to other parts of the house!

Those of a nervous disposition should most definitely look away at this point, as I reveal the reason for working creatively elsewhere. This was my lounge carpet…

For eight and a half years I have called it my tropical underwater scene! I think the chances are that it was laid almost when the house was first built. There is every colour of the rainbow in this carpet, apart from a true red. So… time for it to go. I stripped all the walls, discovered that the previous decorator had signed his name and the date – 9/9/1983 – under the anaglypta wallpaper, painted and wallpapered! Then finally, out went the carpet and in came a new one. You asked for a glimpse… so.. ta-da!!!

Whilst all this was going on, one day the postman arrived with a fairly large parcel…

My daughter’s handwriting… and the parcel rattled… I couldn’t wait to open it!

A white box and a note from one of my grand daughters!

She had sent me a jigsaw, knowing how much I love to do them. I immediately set it up on the dining room table – adding to the utter chaos in that room! I had piled all the furniture from the lounge in there… Gwennan had taken a jigsaw, made it up, then painted her own picture on it for me!! Believe me – it was NOT easy – but I was determined to complete it. It took me each break time from being up step ladders! WOW!!

It’s just lovely – and so essentially Gwennan! Eventually the lounge was finished , new carpet laid, furniture back in the room, house tidied, and the family arrived. No opportunity to come up to my landing space as a grandson was sleeping there – so… not much else done apart from a lot of TV watching, family games, and parcel opening. My daughter’s mother in law had been knitting and crocheting again, sending three blankets and three cardigans for Uganda. My son in law had asked me for a list of any jobs I couldn’t do, and came armed with tools for the jobs! He put up new light fittings, curtain rails, mended bits and pieces… THANK YOU!!!

Isn’t that just lovely?

I’m afraid, Julia, that you are right… I couldn’t resist going into my local craft shop once it opened… and bought some yarn to make a blanket! I know – yes – I had only just emptied my yarn stash… but you see, I just couldn’t bear sitting watching tv with nothing to do…. It hasn’t got very far yet, but I’ll show you when it is done. I also opened another parcel… and discovered two more jigsaws to do… yes, the nice new, neat and tidy lounge is no longer! There’s a jigsaw board filling the empty space!

Well I woke early to write this, and now, despite a glorious pink coloured sky, it is raining here on the North Wales coast – the lawn must wait yet another day! I do trust you are all well and healthy.

Take care. God bless you.

Margaret