I'm getting excited!

Knowing that we are only 3 weeks away from our weekend in England is cheering me up no end! I am so looking forward to it. Check this site out before I forget: www.catpottery.co.uk They make cats and the ones for the garden are wonderful. I have fallen in love with them and Peter and I are seriously thinking about saving up for one for our anniversary. I have mailed them, though, to ask whether they do Siamese ones, which would be fantastic of course!!! This site is also great for finding Bed and Breakfast places : www.bed&breakfastinyorkshire.co.uk We are staying in Stanbury, at Ponsden House, which is just outside Haworth, famous for the Bronte sisters ( and brother!). So far this is the itinery:- Friday morning arrive Robin Hood Airport and pick up hire car etc. Drive over to Maltby and see old house and buy fabric for curtain in hall at Dunhelm. On to Meadowhall Shopping Centre for an hour or so, then over the tops towards Derbyshire for the Ladybower Reservoir ( Dambusters film fame) and lunch at The Strines 16c Coaching Inn. Up and down the wiggly roads towards Penistone and on towards Leeds and out across towards Burley in Wharfedale and Ben Rhydding and The Cow and Calf rocks above Ilkley. Potter around Ilkley a bit and then drive over the moors towards Haworth. Evening meal booked at The Old Silent Inn with Lindsey and Jerry too. Next day to Hebden Bridge and the village there with walks around the area, and then out onto moors or to Aysgarth Falls etc. Evening meal?? not sure yet, as we might still be out and driving around. Sunday a slow wander around Haworth etc and then back to the airport. Hopefully the weather will favour us and allow William and Lily the opportunity to see how magnificent and beautiful my home truly is.

the card reader is working...we hope!

Peter suddenly came down this morning and said he thought he knew what to do to get the reader working again...so I got the memory card and downloaded all the photos in the hope that...and although my beloved photoshop is not yet back (boo hoo) I am able to let you see some photos from last weekend when we were busy with painting the tops of the houses! It must be a male thing, to be so keen to play with with this enormous toy!! William, Peter and Dennis had hired it for the weekend ( curtesy of a certain local business..) and Marcel got his hands dirty moving it around etc. Us girls stood around a bit and thought it was interesting for a while, but then we just let them get on with it! The results are super though - the paintwork has come up a treat and the row looks as good a new! (almost, hmm..) Glad that you were willing to get up there and do it chaps!

Happy Birthday Xander!!

yes, Xander is 6 today! Not that he cares- off into the sunshine already, full of Whiskers, ears ringing from his happy birthday song, and determined to enjoy his day!!

This is probably how he hopes the day goes.........Genghis and Xander lying on the sunlounger, full stretch!!! We don't get a look in and have to make do with the ordinary chairs. It is here indeed a CATS LIFE!!!!

Ah well, who would wish it otherwise? HAPPY BIRTHDAY SMUFFKINS!

new stuff from Ikea

to scrap, of course! In the new Creatief met Foto's magazine they showed how to scrap clocks....and I think that is a great idea for christmas presents!! So we are off in search this morning, and then I hope to make the first one as a "test". And I have been asked to create two layouts for in frames for someone, and they want the Ikea frames, so got to pick them up too.... any excuse!!! I am going with Lily and Sara so nice to have company. I haven't driven into Amsterdam for ages so the route is a bit vague in my head right now, but I am sure we will find it ok. The weather is cold and wet and rather autumnal wouldn't you agree? Horrid! I am not sleeping well due to the rain in the night and Peter working into the small hours and then coming to bed - albeit "quietly" according to him, but I hear everything. Poor dear is working too many hours right now and getting stressed with all the work. He cannot cope with it anymore but doesn't seem able to get the help he needs from Michael, his boss. My chap isn't getting any younger and he can't do what he used to and feel great, so I feel very sorry for him and hope he can reward himself with a sunny holiday in October!!! (and us too!). Men in Trees and Ugly Betty start this Monday - hurray!!! Tim and I became fans of UB when we were in England in May - great show, and M in T's is already a huge fave of ours from the first season. Monday night TV is back on track!!! Everwood comes to a close again today, but they are the repeats from the last season so I have seen them all........but it is SO GOOD!! I hope it comes back to Saturday nights when MacKleods Daughters ends...not that we are telly addicts of course!!!! Gilmore Girls finishes next week too, and I wonder what will happen between Lorelei and Luke.................been following this series for at least 5 years now, can't give it up! Sad that it had to end with Logan but I think it was inevitable. Keeps us all guessing! Anyway, got to get ready for going to Ikea. Tim is off swimming in Hoorn with the usual crowd, so I am pleased to see him out of his room for a day!!! Go Tim!!

boys and their toys!!!!

I wish my card reader was working so that I could add the photos to this weekends activities in the Vierkant, Westwoud! Peter, William and Dennis were able to paint the top of the houses with the aid of a "hoog werker", which is a sort of crane called a Niftylift.......well, what do I have to add???? They loved the thing!!!! Levers, knobs, noises, blood, sweat and tears, and it was FUN! The weather held until we were done, which was amazing as then the heavens opened and it rained quite persistently for the rest of the evening. So now 3 out of the 4 houses look sparkling clean and the other........... I hope to get the photos on the blog asap folks! My contribution was to paint the inside of the front door and frame which I now have to do again today as it is dry enough for the second coat. Then we can wallpaper the hall downstairs and finish the lambrisering and get to the finishing touches ( the part I enjoy most!), and we will have a rather splendid entrance at last! I hope we get it done this week otherwise it will "linger on " and I hate that!!! The sun is shining again this morning and I am expecting our hairdresser to arrive any time soon so I will go!

not quite back to normal, but

things are improving computer-wise and I am finally daring to re-organise my favourite scrap-blogs etc and read what is going on in the scrap-world! Not quite "second life" but equally addictive I'm afraid! I have got an ear infection which is making me feel a bit cranky, but I got some drops today so I am hoping it will soon be over. A sore red inner ear is quite unpleasant! I actually started to scrap again today, after a dry spell, and it felt great! I was busy with the paper out of the scrapfever scrapkit which I received last week, and it was perfect for Gertrude the duck! I haven't got my photoshop back as yet but will let you see it once I do. I have also signed up for a crop in November...........nothing like good planning, eh? and to participate in a RAK ( random act of kindness) thing for Christmas. I sort of get what I have to do, but then all these other messages start to confuse me and I get lost again! I think it means an extra present for me under the Christmas Tree so that is an absolute toppie!!!! Just to tell you that I had a great e-mail from Ineke this morning with a film of her wedding album for Johan and Kasia, and it was fantastic! She has done an amazing amount of layouts covering the bride and groom's life histories and it is superb. And all done digitally......got to admire the girls ability AND stamina!!!!! She must have been scrapping 24/7 to get it done on time!!! If you look on her blog I am sure she will add it there soon; the skrepwep one that is, in my list of favourites. Only 4 weeks until we are off to Yorkshire for the weekend with our neighbours!!! I have got a rough itinery planned out now, and think it will cover different aspects of England for them - and us! Peter has got me a new lens for the camera ( and for him too) which has just arrived and it can make the colours spectacular I think...when I get used to it! And Loes will be home this weekend from her 4 week holiday in CHINA. Can't wait to hear all about it, Loes, when I come for coffee next Tuesday, and then we can start with the album, eh?!! I am so glad she bought all her paper etc when we saw it in Simpel Scrappen, in Den Helder, as since then so many new things are in the shop that it is out of sight now. Going to be FANTASTIC I bet !!!!! And the work thing is ok, going well I think. I am glad I had decided to take it slowly though, and not get too many hours spoken for right away. It will be enough to have about 12 per week....!!!! Enough to fund my scrap addiction anyway!!!!

damm thing crashed!

Computers are fine so long as they WORK, and mine hasn't been for ages! It was difficult to get it started before our holiday but I was getting in eventually and then POW! lights out, nothing happening, dead. Peter is working really hard to get it back into working order but not everything is there yet, and most of my saved information is gone into cyberspace! All that loverly jubberly GONE..........................I have just spend one hour getting my e-mail adresses back in Incredimail but I still have to get all my letters and animations and skins downloaded etc so a lot of work!! Hence nothing on the blog lately! So this is just so that you all know what happened and that I will continue with mailing and blogging once it is all back together again!! Just like Humpty Dumpty!!!! Bye!

introducing Gertrude

This is Gertrude, or Gertie, our "resident duck" on our pond! She was a baby duckling last year that I used to feed as she cannot quack and was getting bullied by the other ducks. I taught her to come to a little place in the reeds to be fed away from the others, and she was happy with that idea. She will almost eat out of my hand now, and is getting quite fearless! She is not afraid of our cats either; Genghis has no interest what so ever, and Xander does his best to catch her but she has the "upper wing" being able to fly!!!! She usually arrives in the afternoon around 2pm and wanders around the garden or swims in the pond, waiting to be fed. She does try to quack but nothing happens, so she has a silent quacker I'm afraid!! She is very sweet really, and getting more and more brave.

Here is Xander sitting by the edge of the pond watching Gertie swimming around!!!!! Lovely sight!

went well I think

with the first afternoon of work in oh, about 3 years!!! Beautiful weather of course but we were outside all the time so no complaints there! It was very pleasant actually and I enjoyed the experience even though (having pushed a wheelchair after that massage I had before the holiday),my neck is killing me and all I want to do is sleep! I think it will work out fine if I just take it slowly and don't rush into too much at once! So until next week then...more sun I hope!