Well, we're in

The house is full to overflowing, and we're gradually working on getting things put away, but it's a slow job. I took an hour last night, and this morning while DH was catching up on much-needed sleep to make a few cards. My brother's birthday is on Monday and this will be late, but hey. His present will be even later because I'm still waiting for a copyright request to be replied to before I get his gift ordered. He should be used to this after 7 years of presents at all weird times.

We're also having a glut of babies being born around this time too. Liz and Colin welcomed Anna Mairi just 3 hours before my own birthday, and Fran and Dave are the proud new parents of Alice Hannah. My fellow alto in the choir, Ruth, has just become a second-time granny to Lucy Alice, and Diann and Andy are expecting their first boy any day now.

These cards are lifted straight from Chrissie at Less Is More where this week's challenge is a shaped card. If I had had more time and less guilt at playing, I would have used more imagination, but hey, less is more, right? ;-) Forgive me Chrissie!

It's just so good to be back blogging and crafting a little again. Having said that, we still have a LONG way to go, so I wont be indulging again for a while. Or not until that baby boy appears, anyway!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Scrap Whispers new format!

Our furniture is arriving next Tuesday. Probably. And that also happens to be my birthday, so no rest for the wicked here! But it will be SO good to have our possessions back again. I am just intimidated by the amount of work that has to happen in this final week, so this will be my last post for a while.

But I had to tell you about the changes that are happening at Scrap Whispers. With Kelly leaving the DT, me being all but out of action for a while and Georgina trying to launch her new career, it just couldn't carry on going the old way. Instead, Georgina has come up with some clever streamlining which I think is making it a better blog.

There is more going on, LOADS of challenges and inspiration. I've been given a whole bunch of beautiful sketches to put into our trademark purple format - and I will do that once I have a little time to myself. For the next few weeks, to quote my dear Aussie friend Glad,  I haven't time to scratch myself! So pop in and check out the new-look blog.

The latest game has started, and it is now being run as one big team of 15 people, each with a week to play. The forum is no more. All communication is being done by e-mail. You can read about it all on the blog HERE, where you can also find the contact details.

Must dash. I have to take up the hall/stair carpet/underlay and take it to the tip, and gloss paint the stairs skirting board so it is dry before the new carpet arrives on Thursday. Oh and I have to check in to the new hotel, as the old one suddenly got full between when I left the hotel and when I arrived at the house yesterday morning. And it's going to start raining by lunchtime so.... toodle-ooo

Some more gorgeous pics

He really isn't bothered by me standing in the window taking pics of him, is he?

A stunning April shower cloud formation being blown over from Wales.

 

Thank you to Anmarie for this gorgeous "welcome home" rose. Isn't it exquisite?

Oh deer squirrels!

Just a quickie, as I'm supposed to be glossing windowsills and skirting boards. Yes, I know. That's why I'm here, putting that off! I've done the sanding and washing, and I'm just waiting for it to dry off before getting out the turps hand-dessicater.

DH is back at work today, leaving me free rein in the house. I have to share with you the friends who visited us yesterday.

This little chap had just had a fight with a greater spotted woodpecker over the feeder. He won.

I went outside yesterday evening to lock up the back cellar door and I heard a be-domp be-domp be-domp be-domp and two deer went cantering down the garden right past me. They must have been about 6 yards away from me. They didn't go far - I could see them at the bottom of the garden watching us. 2 minutes later they were back. Here is mum, looking very moth-eaten from her winter moult.

And here is her handsome son, possible last year's young, or maybe one of those spotty babies that I showed you 18 months ago. Hasn't he grown? See the beautiful velvet on those proud new antlers.

And mum and son together under the magnolia tree, hoovering up the fallen flowers. DH and I were standing at the open window above them, talking and clicking away. They kept looking up at us, but obviously decided we were no threat, and carried on munching. 

Seriously. Tell me why we ever left this place?

Updates

OK folks, I'm just letting everyone know where we are with stuff.

We're staying in the local travel lodge, about 2 miles from our home, until our possessions arrive from Australia around the beginning of May. DH starts his new job on Monday after only 2 weeks of his expected 3 weeks off between jobs, because of the delay getting out of Australia. It's a shame he hasn't more time, but he does have two short weeks because of Easter. Also he'll be working sensible hours, at least until the new job gets under-way. He'll be home in the daylight!

Our air-freight arrives tomorrow. That will include clothes, my iron (YAY), the printer/scanner, some computer equipment, and some of my scrapping stuff. I'll be honest, I'm not 100% sure what got packed in the air freight in the end, so it will be interesting to see it again, even though I have no furniture to scrap on yet, or time to play. The Dyson vacuum cleaner is also in there, although DH has to mend the switch before I can use it, as it stopped staying on literally the morning that it got packed. DH had to carry the dratted thing around after me holding the button in while I vacuumed up some of the dust. Ironic huh?

So after he's back in work, I'll get to work on the decorating. I've stripped the paper off the box room walls except behind the radiator, which DH has to help me drain and take off before Monday. Then I have to seal the new plaster and then paint that room, ceiling and walls. I've chosen the palest pink imaginable, with light-reflecting particles. It should go well with mushroom-coloured carpet and be perfect for a tiny room.

Then we have the study/scrap room to do. That's the one which had a roof leak just after I left for Australia last year, and it still has a lot of drying out to do before I can paint. Thankfully it wasn't one of the rooms I decorated last year. DH discovered that the best way of getting the paint off the damp wall was with a vacuum cleaner! It obviously has never been sealed properly, and it was coming off with the most satisfying "fffffffthup, ffffffthup" noises. Buuuuut that wall really is pretty lumpy now, so we have the choice of getting someone in again to skim it (rolling eyes) before painting, or making the most of the current fashion of the feature wallpaper and just covering it up. Whatever we do I'm sticking with blue. I love blue.


That's all we have to do decorating-wise before the shipment arrives. But we also have to have a new boiler and one new radiator installed, and all radiator valves replaced. A minimum of two weeks after that, the new carpets can go in. Then the furniture can go back in, and finally the new kitchen will start to be installed at the beginning of June. So much to think about.

As far as crafting is concerned, I'm going to be taking a holiday for a while. I'm missing it already, but priorities are priorities. I hope you're all still there when I come back! Happy spring!

Scrap Whispers Challenge #125 - journalling

It's technique time at Scrap Whispers this week, and Georgina has chosen JOURNALLING.

I know this is a challenge in itself to many people. Even I, Mrs Chatterbox, often can't be bothered to include much more than the essentials: the who, the where and the when. I think a lot of this is because I often forget, after 4 years of doing this, to save a space in the design for the words. Yes I know - DUH.

I developed a method to get round this very early on, and I'm finding myself using it more and more to avoid cluttered layouts. For me the photos are nearly always the main focus. So I tuck the journalling behind the photos, and leave a tag at the top to pull it out of the top of the page protector. No messing about with cutting holes in page protectors, no having to pull the LO out to read the journalling. I like to be tidy! Have you noticed? Haha.

This is the other half of a double page spread. I showed the left side a few weeks ago for the red, orange and green challenge, and told you all about Wirra Wirra. This is the cellar door and the actual church block: the piece of land with the church on it (that tiny building at the back) where the very first grenache grapes were grown for the original Church Block wine blend. I made the labels to echo the label on the bottles, and the Wirra Wirra sticker is off the packaging - well-insulated with foam tape and several layers of card-stock because I'll bet my boots it isn't acid-free. Here is the double page. They definitely look better as a pair.

Do you have any good ideas for how to hide or display journalling? What are your pet methods? Maybe you don't journal - well here's your chance to try something new. Share on Scrap Whispers, link us up and link back to the blog, and you will be entered into this month's fabby prize draw.

Beautiful Surrey

We arrived back in the UK yesterday morning (Thursday) to 0.5*C, thick fog and jet-lag after being up since 11:30pm (UK time) Tuesday night. Consequently we were a bit useless yesterday! My brother took us all out for a wonderful walk in the unbeatable Surrey Hills after the fog cleared in the afternoon. Most of the trees are still bare so we were able to watch the birds and squirrels flitting around. The blue tits and great tits were disturbing spring blossoms like pink and white confetti floating down. There was pussy willow and lambs' tails or catkins, and daffodils, primroses, wood anemones and even bluebells in bloom already.

My brother had been on this walk only last month in thick snow, and was showing us his photos as we walked. What an amazing place little old England is. Right now I am SO pleased to be back.