Oh, the British have the silliest laws!!!!

This was in De Telegraaf newspaper today: the British chose their silliest laws, and they are pretty interesting I thought: in first place; it is unlawful to die whilst in the Houses of Parliament or any government building! in second place; it is illegal to stick a stamp with the Queen on, upside down!! in third place; unless you are a man working in a tropical fishshop, it is illegal to go topless in Liverpool!!! in fourth place; If a Scotsman is seen wearing a kilt in York, it is legal to kill him!!! (interesting...) Finally, pregnant women are allowed to go to the toilet where ever necessary, including in the helmet of a policeman! So now you know! I know we don't update our laws that often, but I suspect these are pretty ancient!!!

These two are my choice as winners at the moment!

Alesha and Matthew to win!!!!

Strictly update week 5

I can't believe we are in week 5 already! There have been plenty of surprises so far, but this week I felt that the right person left the show: DOM. Sad for his partner, Lilia, but he was getting on my nerves with his moods and sarcastic comments, and he stood out as being different in his level of enjoyment v competitiveness from the other professionals. He had said at the start that he doesn't enjoy being no good at something and that he was 'in it to win it', but it was soon apparent that he had no sense of timing or rhythm so like that wasn't going to happen, right?!!!! Kenny is getting the votes for his 'entertainment value' and from Scotland, so he is still in; Aleesha is my absoulte favourite and the one I want to win; Gethin is gorgeous and coming up through the ranks now with Camilla; Matt is also great and is very serious about learning the dances and doing well, and Letitia Dean is making huge strides in her dancing. Kate is hanging on in there with Anton: she didn't trip or fall this week which according to Bruno was " a miracle"!!!! Penny seems to be a delightful person, really gentle and sweet, and she is also a favourite with her partner Ian Waite. It is still wide open, but I think the final 3 could be.... Aleesha; Matt/Gethin and Penny/Letitia. There, that is 5 and we can only have 3, BUT!! I think they are the best at the moment. It could ALL change if Brendan and Kelly stop messing around and get serious again..............come on guys, you are better than this weeks flop!!!!!

fish-dip...

and people say that horoscopes and birth signs don't mean a thing!!!!!!? Yesterday I went to the gym with Loes and the first thing she said to me was that we had lots to tell one another -probably! And then we talked about our weekends, our moods, our sensitivities, our piscean traits, and you know what? Our experiences had been practically the same!!! It is such a comfort when you realise that the way one sometimes reacts to events is the result of ones genes AND birthday and not just one being moody!!! We can relate to one another so well when it comes to how we are as people, and I felt cheered by the knowledge that I was understood by someone dear to me. We are both married to Aquarians as well.........and they sound pretty similar too!! And then I talked to Lindsey who is an Aries, with her birthday 2 days before Tims. She was also someone who hated school, didn't do the work, scrapped through her GCSE's without revising and then failed her A levels and ended up with a grammer school education and an office job she hated. When Lindsey had to support herself financially, later on, she decided to go to university and train as an Occupational Therapist, and find a career for herself etc. I hear so many similar things from her and Tim...their school days are NOT the best days of their lives after all!!! Becci rang last night and had a long chat to Tim, and said that he is fine, just hates school as per usual, so I guess we have to grin and bear the ups and downs of the coming few years until he does realise that he has found something he wants to do in life.................hurry up!!

what the heck was going on last night??!!!!

I don't know who it was in the middle of the night but they were making one heck of a racket in our street!!! Taking photos and talking loudly etc, awful. Both Peter and I woke up to the disturbance and we are not amused folks!!! Highly irresponsible behaviour and rather anti-social I'm afraid, and not something we have ever heard before here in down-town Westwoud!!! I hope it wasn't any of the neighbours but I suspect that it has to have been otherwise they wouldn't have been outside our window!??? Or else it was from across the road and the sound travelled and it felt as though it was right outside our house.... could also be possible I guess....anyway, point being, I'm tired and grumpy this morning, with a cold and a sore nose and throat and not at all inclined to be pleasant!!! "Grumpy old woman" is what I am today, so I hope I cheer up later on and can enjoy the day. Supposed to be one of the last decent days for a while too, heard hailstones and wind and rain etc forecast earlier. Maybe we will go for a walk and blow away the cobwebs? Good idea Suzanne!!

Kreadoe doe doe....

Here is Ann at the Kreadoe yesterday in Utrecht!!! It was actually not as busy as people had been telling me all week, and it was not a case of having to shout above the rest to be heard etc. It was really quite nice! Tiring of course, but Ann found the triple-fold cards she needs for her cross stitching, so she was very happy as you can see!!! Then time for a sit down and lunch before another wander around. It was quite a while before we finally found SCRAPFEVER's stand, and could say hello to Chantal and her father, and Sanderijn who was assisting for the day. I managed to buy most of the things I wanted on my list, including one thing for Loes that I hadn't expected to find, so she will be surprised tomorow!! I bought a small stamp of a Siamese cat, and a post-cat stamp which is cute! and the paper was good too. I suppose having been there I appreciate going to the scrap shops far more, as there is only a limited amount of items they can take to a show, and the small things I wanted were hard to find. But I spent up ( of course!) and we had a lovely day. Now I want to sit down and get on with some new projects ready for the demonstration I will be giving this coming FRIDAY in KREATIEF in KERSENBOOGERD, HOORN. 11.00 til 4.00pm so come along and see me scrapping, and sign up for some great workshops!

The front of the Book....

Here it is, the front of the book. The paper was perfect for it, with the side being of Santa himself and then plain space for the stamp and the rub-ons etc. The tiny bells are gorgeous and I love the folk-art style ribbons etc. Actually found them on the market this morning too; and bought all 5!!! I am very proud of this scrap-art project and will enjoy reading it with the family again this year, as always. I am just a true Christmas believer folks!!!! That magic exists is a wonderful comfort isn't it?!

THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS BOOK

back of page 3 ; inside of back cover; back of page 4; back cover; back of page 1; back of page 2; back of page 5; page 1; page 2; page 3; page 4; page 5; This is the book I have made for Christmas, about the story of Father Christmas arriving on Christmas Eve with his reindeers and bringing all the presents. We have read it every year as a family, and love it to bits!!!! I really had fun creating this version for myself, especially with the fantastic paper from My Mind's Eye and the Daisy D rub-ons etc. And those stamps..... wonderful! The front cover will be added later on....forgot to take a picture of it yesterday!!!!!! I have also made one using the frost paper from MME which is going to be completed soon, and then I want to make one more for little Benjamin, my cousins little boy. I think they will be pleased with that as a present for him to enjoy as he grows up. Anyway, if anyone wants to know more about how I made it, then e-mail me please! Got to run, it is a busy day with a workshop party for 6 girls this evening and then the Kreadoe tomorrow all day....our train tickets haven't arrived as yet so that is a blow - NS you have not kept your word!!!!! Anyway, Ann has solved the problem hopefully and they could still arrive today, fingers crossed. Really hoping to buy all that is on my list there...going to the bank now to get my spends out, yippee!!!!

take a look........

Peter has updated the workshop programme on my website for me last night, with the help of Jos, so I am thinking he might now be able to do that for me every time it needs changing, whoopee!!!!! Thanks Pete!! And my head cold is awful this morning................aah, and I have a thumping headache, and a workshop to run in an hour or so!!!! Take a look at the site: www.thepaperlady.nl Cheers!!