Macro Monday!

It's BH Monday, but I haven't been anywhere. The weather has been gorgeous this afternoon, so I have been sitting in the garden for a bit. Here's one of my lovely fuschias taken with my macro lens. It is really difficult to get the bit you want in focus - I now use a much smaller aperture to get more in focus. I still manage to get a nice blurry background, but I think this background is a bit cluttered - it would be better without the blob of red at the bottom (another fuschia flower)

Sunday 30th August

Well, here's the after photo! Looks better eh?

Nearly finished clearing the room. Just got a few bits and pieces out on the floor at the moment cos I have advertised them on Ukscrappers and ebay. Then I need to move stuff back in that is in the hallway at the moment!

Hope to get it all ship shape this afternoon and tomorrow cos DH is coming home on Tuesday! Can't wait to see him now!

Saturday 29th August

I spent the day at the The Craft Barn (www.craftbarnonline.co.uk) in Lingfield Surrey with my friend Burn.

We had just the BEST time! We palyed with foil, card, Stazon inks in the brightest colours ever!, black paint, cuttlebug embossing folders and paper artsy fairy tale stamps! First we glued aluminium foil to card, and ran it through the cuttlebug with a variety of embossing folders. Then we got really messy with black paint to 'distress' the foil a bit. Next we applied Stazon ink to the foil with cut n dry foam. Finally we made a background sheet for our stamps with the same Stazon inks. What fun! And I LOVE the little book we came away with.

Friday 28th August

Here's the before picture! Before I clear and clean my lovely pine dresser in my dining/craft room!

Thursday 27th August

I have been doing Emily Falconbridge's 52 Questions (http://embers.typepad.com/e/) this year. She sets a question per week, adn the idea is to make a tag and write your answer to the question on the back. I did another class of hers a couple of years ago, and it's fab to look back on. I decided to combine it with a Big Picture Scrapbooking (http://www.bigpicturescrapbooking.com)class I had enrolled on and never done, '52 pick up', which gave 52 different techniques for 52 cards - ideal! I haven't sone all the 52 techniques, some I just didn't like! But most of my cards are based on that class. I have just made a concerted effort to catch up - I was about 6 weeks behind! Here they all are, up to week 33, and here's some of my favourites so far:

WEdnesday 26th August

After the paper clutter course I have been doing over on www.simplify.com, I decided to try out the freebie course, Help I don't know where to begin!', aimed at helping you make a start on clearing the clutter in your home. Here's one of my 'clutter' areas, the kitchen sink windowsill. I have since decluttered it a bit, but wouldn't it be lovely to have it so clear that I could just wipe it down without having to move loads of stuff first! My friend (who I went to see this afternoon) has the most clutter free home I know, and I am jealous!!! (But then you can't be a crafter and have a clutter free home can you?)

Tuesday 25th August

I made this bag for my friend for her birthday. I made it mostly today. It was quite easy, except that I haven't done much machine quilting before and hadn't used the 'walking' foot on my machine before! Not too bad so long as she doesn't look too closely at the stitching LOL!

Monday 24th August

An unusual photo for today! Just been for our evening dog walk, and found this demolished traffic light just round the corner from home! The police car just happened to be driving past LOL! Not sure how it happened - me and Nicholas were stood for ages looking at skid marks in the road to try and work it out! We think it could have been a motorbike OUCH!

ooops missed Saturday!

Hurrah! Lucy is back! Here's her little green Micra in the drive. Although I enjoyed my few days 'home alone' I was actually really glad to see her and Tom tonight - and we shared a nice Indian takeaway! YUM!

International Birdman competition

Just spent a glorious afternoon sitting on Worthing beach with 000s of others watching the International Birdman Competition! What fun! As you can see they had to jump off the end of the pier (off a big gantry specially built for the occasion) and 'fly' through the air. There is a prize for flying 100m, which apparently someone nearly did yesterday! I am fraid my photos are not very good as they are cropped quite considerably and the birdman here is a bit blurry!!! As the Shoreham airshow is also happening this weekend, quite a few special planes flew over Worthing, including these 2! I think the little one is a spitfire - forgotten what the big one is, anyone know?

Friday 21st August

I am posting early today! Here's a picture of my kitchen. It never looks this tidy usually! That's because I am home alone for a few days, (except for the dog!) DH in the Himalayas, Nicholas in Salisbury until Sunday, and Lucy in Great Yarmouth until Saturday. It's lovely! And around my kitchen sink is tidy, there are no wet towels all over the bathroom!

Thursday 20th August

Oh I know I shouldn't have! Especially as I am supposed to be clearing out my dining/craft/sewing room this weekend! But I couldn't resisit these punches! The tab one is for my paper clutter binders, the flower ones replace a broken one (well the little one does! - just thought they would look nice layered up!) The littel birdy one is just scrumptiousand I had to have it!

Wednesday 19th August

Mum came over to help me garden, and after tea, we went for a wlak along Lancing seafront, where they were having a sailing race.

Late summer evening

It's ages since I blogged more than 1 picture a day, but I couldn't decide with these! I went for a walk with Merlin straight after work before tea, up to one of my favourite places, Highdown hill. It was very clear so I took a few views along the coast. The big white building in this picture is where I walk to the beach from here!

Look how blue the sea is! But the hill is showing signs of late summer already!

Monday 17th August

Today's the day! DH has gone on his holiday of a lifetime!! Here he is with DD Lucy at Heathrow terminal 5 meeting up with the crowd. It was funny how they all looked like Maurice, same age etc! His is the only PINK bag, and no it's not Lucy's!! He decided to buy it so he will know which is his when they all get chucked in the back of the truck! Those 3 guys behind have already started ribbing him! And when we went to kiss to say goodbye, they all lined up behind him! I did feel embarrassed!LOL He is now in the skies above eastern europe on his way to Delhi! Hope he has a wonderful time!

Sunday 16th August

It would have been Dad's birthday today so we all went out for lunch to celebrate! We went to a rather posh Italian restaurant right on the beach at East Preston, the Bella Vista. It was one of Dad's favourites, and Mum wanted to treat us for all the help we had given for her kitchen. So from the left working backwards, we have SIL Lynda, DB Andrew, Mum, DS Nicholas, DN Michelle, DD's boyfriend Tom, DD Lucy, me, and DH maurice. That window behind us looks right out onto the beach, and it is the end of the greensward where I love to walk Merlin. And the food was excellent!

Saturday 15th August

We went to A BBQ at Burn's house. Here she is on the left, with her GDD Milla, and our friend Lesley from Exeter.

Friday 14th August

I've spent the day sewing with my good friends Burnice and Lesley. Here's Burn' s new craft cabin! How exciting is that?!? I can't wait until she has it fitted out so that I can go and sew and scrapbook and stamp and make cards with her - maybe every Friday!!!

Thursday 13th August

We had a day out in the New Forest today! I had to go to Romsey to pick up some books for my Anglo-Italian FHS, so decided that I would take Nicholas and Mum and the dog. WE decided to park at Beaulieu and walk to Bucklers Hard. I had forgotten how lovely it was! Here's my best pic. But the best thing about a walk like this is to see Merlin running, sniffing, swimming and just having the BEST time! What joy!

Wednesday 12th August

Cooking tea! Pork chops under the grill, potatoes in the bottom of the steamer, carrots, brocolli, runner beans and swiss chard in the top. Other saucepan has courgettes in tomato sauce. It was yummy!

Tuesday 11th August

I bought Merlin a new collar and lead yesterday. It looks so smart against his shiny black fur that I just had to photograph it! And then I just had to show you this cute photo too! He has the most gorgeous expressive eyes!

Monday 10th August

I am getting well into my new routine now. Monday is a work day, so I get up early and walk Merlin before work. It's a great start to the day! Here's a picture of the gardens we walk through to get to the beach.

Sunday 9th August

My it is a lot easier when I just upload one day at a time! I can never get the writing to match the photos when I upload a lot like the last one!

It has been a glorious sunny dya here so I have spent it out in the garden. Here is one of the plants I have planted a Rudbekia Goldsturm. I am hoping the slugs don't eat it all! It brings much needed colour and height to this corner of the garden. Just below it is a little ground cover yellow flower whose name escapes me at the monet! And you can just make out a yellow rose which has been fantastic. It's called 'Easy Going'. Beyond is a white chrysanthemum type flower which is the start of my white garden!!! Watch this space!

Tuesday 4th August through to Saturday 8th August!

Tuesday 4th August

I went to a sewing class today with Val and Mary and made this hexagonal box. When you take the lid off, the sides drop down as they are gusseted! Don't you just love the scissors fabric?

Wednesday 5th August

I am about to clear these shelves and start again! It's all part of my paper clutter course over on http://www.simplify101.com/. I am loving the course, especially the other girls involved and the forum chat!

Thursday 6th August

It poured with rain this afternoon and evening, so me and Merlin got very very wet on our evening walk! Here's my soggy rain mac out the conservatory dripping!

Friday 7th August

I went with Mum and her friends to an absolutely gorgeous garden this afternoon. It was 'Latchetts' at Daneshill, East Sussex, near Sheffiled Park garden. I forgot my camera!EEEEEK! But Mum lent me hers, and so I managed to get a few photos. This certainly beat gardening at my house which is what we had planned to do before R&W phoned Mum to ask us to go with them! (see my other blog for more photos)

Saturday 8th August

We walked into town and had an Italin meal at our favourite resturant at the moment. My photos from the restaurant were rubbish, so here's what Worthing Sea front looks like at night!

Monday 3rd August

It is 1 year since Dad sadly passed away. We went to the church yesterday afternoon to place flowers by where his ashes are buried, and to spend a while thinking about him.

Nicholas took hold of my camera and took loads of photos! Here's a lovely one he took of the church steeple, it is a Saxon church and there are not many like this! It is a lovely little simple country church inside. It also happens to be the church where we got married.