Biffy!!

We went to see Biffy Cliro last week at the 02 Brixton Academy. Laura had got the tickets as my birthday treat back in August. I admit to being a bit nervous, as I haven't been to a concert in at least 20 years!!
Needn't have worried though, the evening was just brilliant, the lads give so much energy to their music I wonder where they get it all from! Wish they would bottle it and sell it!
I took some pics with my phone, they're not that brilliant but at least they're a reminder of the evening!!

Have nearly completed my Christmas cards, have been making all the elements and now they just need putting together. Pics soon!

Ben came home last week, unexpectedly, he just turned up with Laura one evening. She knew all about it, and had picked him up from the station. Turned out he was feeling a bit homesick and just wanted to come home for a couple of days. We had a lovely few days, but taking him back to the station was hard, and there were a few tears on my apart (again!!) He's due to come home for Christmas on the 12th December so it's not long now!!

Poor Laura's new car has had to go back to the workshop because all the electrical stuff is playing up. She's devastated, she waited so long for it and she's only had it 3 weeks!! Hopefully once she gets it back it will for good!

Ally Pally

I went along to Alexandra Palace yesterday just to 'have a look' at what they had. Of course, due to a new law, I HAD to buy just a few things.



You may notice there are TWO 21st mini albums, this is because I've had real trouble finding ONE album for Laura's birthday next year, so when I saw the plywood album at Sugar and Spice, I had to buy it there and then. Of course later on in the day I also found the acrylic one at the Art of Craft stand. So I've decided to keep them both and save one for Ben!!
There also some lovely new buttons for my new button jar, pics later, some rub-ons and a set of nestabilities Labels One folders. Yum!! Could have spent a lot more but I have to restrict myself due to a disappointing lack of funds.
Ben seems to be enjoying himself in Newcastle, he has his first lecture today, wonder how he'll get on? It's going to be a long day for him, his lecture starts at 9 and, with a couple of hours off in the middle, finishes at 5!!
My sister and I are off to the solicitors this afternoon to deal with my mums affairs. She has Alzheimers, and we've recently been granted Power of Attorney.So we're just going to see how we can safeguard things for the future for her. She still lives independently, has carers coming in twice a day and meals on wheels. But we feel it's best to look to the future and what could happen further down the line. It's quite depressing really but it has to be done!!

He's gone!

Well we took Ben up to start at Newcastle University on Saturday. It was a long journey but sooo much better than last time we went up there! His hall are very nice, of course Ben, being Ben, chose the most luxurious and most expensive room, having a large bed and a huge en-suite. I must say it's lovely, and he seems to have settled in very quickly, having met his room-mates already on Facebook, so it wasn't such a hard thing to meet all these new people.
We came home yesterday, it was very very hard leaving him there, but it felt like he is really going to enjoy his time there, which makes it a little easier for us. There were still quite a few tears though!
I gave him the mini book I'd made for him, to remind him of what home looks like!! I think he quite liked it.
Back to work tomorrow after a long weekend off, will be glad to have something to take my mind off things!

I'm a bad blogger!

Well here I am after a long while, blogging again.
Lots of things have happened since I last was on here, the main one being that Ben has got his place at Newcastle University! Yay!! He goes on the 19th September, so just over 3 weeks left at home. :-(
He got an A and 2 B's, which is brilliant, but he wasn't particularly happy because he wanted 2 A's, but didn't need them to get into Newcastle.
It seems such a long while ago when we went up to look a the university. Well, looking back at my old blogs it was last September! So a year ago! How time flies. So it will be a sad trip up the A1 with all his stuff. Oh, and just to make it worse, it's the weekend of the Great North run, so there's not a room to be had in Newcastle, so we're having to stay blooming miles away in Hexham! Also all the roads will be closed after 8pm till 2pm the next day! Joy!!
I've been on holiday for the last 2 weeks, haven't done too much really, but it's been a nice break. We spent a couple of days in Nottingham, not much going on there really, so a bit disappointing. On the way home though we stopped at Melton Mowbray which is a lovely little town. Had a walk in the park and took these:



Well back to work tomorrow, you've got to go back sometime so tomorrow's as good a time as any!!

Windy Sunday

It's miserable outside, blowing what looks like a gale, and I'm depressed. What else is new.
Finally got round to going to Capture the Magic in Soham last week, it was a long drive, but when I got there they had lots of lovely stuff! The shop was a bit disorganised, they had SO much stuff it just seemed to be all over the place! Bought a couple of bits, some lovely ribbon and some large chipboard letters. Just need to clear my mind of depressing stuff and get back to some scrapping. Ho hum.
When I left CTM, I went into Ely, which is quite close by. It's a nice, quiet town with a couple of interesting little shops. The cathedral is impressive.While on my way back to the car, I saw a family of ducks waddling along the road! What a sweet little group.




It's my 'through week' at work this week, which means by Friday I'll have worked 2 weeks with only one day off in the middle (today). So come Friday Ill be completely knackered as usual. Oh, I am already!!

Lazy Sunday!

Just having a lazy day at home today, work tomorrow and yesterday so just relaxing (!!haha) today. As it's father's day, Laura and Ben are cooking a nice roast dinner for tonight's tea, yum yum. Ben's at work all day today so Laura has just gone out to get the food.

Am trying to get some creative inspiration for a bit of scrapbooking, but, as so often lately, there is nothing doing. Consequently the supplies currently laying on the dining room table will be cleared away for tea and may not be seen again for some time!!

Went out in the garden this morning and saw these beautiful clematis flowers.Thought I'd capture their beauty.




Also my pot of violas look beautiful too!


Thought I'd have look in TK Max the other day. I was really surprised to see some lovely stuff! Got myself this lovely wire basket for my letters and things, also bought a white wire basket for some of my embellishments.Pic later!!

Well my weeks holiday is nearly at an end, :-(, very sad but I know I have to go back! I haven't slept in late once this week, thanks to floor sanding next door, binmen, phones going off and someone over the road having their driveway done. Thanks!!
Haven't really got up to much this week, been to a couple of craft shops, namely Sugar and spice at Barleylands, Billericay, and Artbase in Hornchurch. Haven't really done much on the scrapping front either, my focus has deserted me and I'm uninspired!! Still, managed this LO for Ben's mini book, using a 7 Gypsies card and scraps from my stash. The flowers were punched from scrap paper and have a black gemstone in the middle. That's what I like about mini books, you can finish a page in about half an hour!

Have been looking at loads of other blogging sites, mainly for scrapbooking and crafts, there are some amazingly talented people out there! Also their lives are so full and exciting. Why is mine so dull? Ho hum, must get some chickens....

Had a productive time at the 'Light my fire' class at imagine that.. yesterday. We made a match book album from a Basic Grey kit, with black and white photos and metal embossed flowers as embellishments. The cover is decorated with alphabet stickers outlined in glitter gelly pen, with a metal flower and ribbon completing it.


The inside pages are decorated with more embossed metal flowers, that had been run through a cuttlebug with an embossing folder. I've never used one of these before and it was very satisfying and gave a good, quick result.
All in all a nice,simple and quick album to show off some of my favourite pictures.

I've just come back from mum's, had a go at the jungle.. sorry, garden, with my strimmer. Looks a lot better now than it did yesterday, and small children won't get lost any more in it. All I have to do now is rake all the grass and put it in a bag and take it to the tip and... mm maybe I'll do that next week.
Have a weeks holiday this week, just looking forward to chilling out, perhaps going to a new craft shop, and sleeping in late! Bliss!

Now 18!

Well Ben had a lovely birthday, liked all of his presents (eventually!!) and we all had a very enjoyable family meal in the evening.
Bit of an anti-climax now, nothing to shop for!! Am looking forward to my holiday in 2 weeks time. Just a week off, but can't wait for the rest and relaxation! Don't suppose I'll get much of that but at least I won't be at work.
Have got a class booked that week, at imagine-that in Upminster, it's to make a mini book with tiny black and white photos. I'm really into mini books at the moment, a page gets done so quickly!!
Did a bit of gardening at the weekend, can't say I enjoy gardening but it looks very nice now. Wish I did enjoy it more, other peoples gardens always look so nice when they spend time on them.
Ian, Laura and James have all entered the draw for next years' London Marathon, Ian's started training already, even though you don't know if you've got a place till September! I've been out running ( oh all right, jogging then..) a couple of times with him. At least he'll get fitter even if he doesn't get a place.
Well I may do a bit of scapbooking at the weekend, to finish the mini book I've started. Must remember to get the photos for my class printed...

Nearly 18!

Well only a few days till Ben's 18th, got everything now - I think!! Just got to wrap and write and then we're done. Ian and Ben have gone to London on a male bonding day (!), so it's just us girls here, watching Tonight's the night with John Barrowman. What a waste that man is to the straight community!
Laura has finished her second year uni exams, and is just waiting for her 3rd year placement to start in June. Ben's got more exams after the holidays, and then he's done with school for ever!! Seems odd that both of them will no longer be school kids!
I found this LO of Laura when she was 18. And she really is.....!

Just had an exhausting day trotting round Bluewater looking for stuff for Ben's birthday. Quite successful, although not completely, which means I'll have to go out again tomorrow, maybe up to London. Why is buying presents for blokes sooo difficult? If it was Laura I'd know exactly what to get and where to get it! Hope I get what I want tomorrow or I'll be rushing round in Romford in my dinner hour next week! (nothing new there then!)

Just found the LO I did for Ben when he was 16, in my early scrap days. Bit plain, still love the picture tho!

2 weeks to go!

Well it's 2 weeks today to Ben's 18th birthday! Can't believe my little baby boy will be old enough to vote, drink and drive a tractor soon! He's busy revising at the mo for his A levels, so he's got plenty to occupy him till then!

A few days off!

Looking forward to a couple of days of, nothing planned as yet. Hoping to do another couple of pages of my my mini book, am enjoying doing the smaller pages, not so much space to fill! Hopefully will post the results here soon!

This card is made by the ladies at my favourite shop, imagine that, in Upminster, where I've just been to sign up to a class, and spent MORE money on stash!! Ho hum! ;-)

Easter Monday laziness!

Just having a lazy Easter Monday today, Ben's at work and Laura is at her boyfriend's. It's been raining all morning but the sun has just come out. I thought I might mow the lawn but I suspect it will be soaking wet, so I'll leave it till later....
Just found some lovely pics on my camera from the snow we had in Feb,of Ben in the garden.Aw!
Think I'll start a new LO today, had some mini prints done last week so may use them. Will post them later!

New LO

My layout of the week this week is a double page about my lovely dad. I hand cut the title and triple embossed it with translucent embossing powder.
There is a piece of journaling hidden behind one of the pictures.
I really like 2 page layouts, especially as I have so many photos to use!

Some stuff!

This is a new layout I've just finished, it was quite an easy one for me, I did just a little bit of scraplifting- it's allowed!- and it was done in a couple of days. Quite pleased with it.

The kitchen is almost finished.... just the flooring to go! It is really lovely, the cabinets and worktops are fantastic, real quality. The only blip is the cooker hood is not working, it's making the most horrendous noise when you switch it on. The man from Neff is coming today to see what's going on!
We've ordered some sample of flooring to look at, so soon it will all be finished!! Yippeeee!

They've started!!

Well the day is finally here!! The builders came in yesterday and ripped out everything in the kitchen. It's now a bare shell waiting for the plasterer to come in and do the walls and ceiling. It's very strange not having a kitchen, the water's not even on in there, so it's pretty tricky getting a drink or something to eat!
Also, the whole of the house is covered in a thick layer of DUST!!! Not that I was very houseproud before, but I don't know how long I can stand everything I touch feeling gritty and dirty! The builders say they'll be no more than 10 days till it's all finished, so at least that's a blessing.
To top it all, I'm off work today with the most horrendous cold, feel really yucky. Hope the dust doesn't get on my chest!!
More later!!

A new kitchen....finally!!!

Well, this week they're finally going to start on our new kitchen, after nearly 4 months of being without a cooker. I can't say it's been fun, but we've all eaten something , everyday, whether it's been from the takeaway, microwave, George Foreman grill or our two little electric rings!

We had a bit of a setback last week. We'd ordered the hob and cooker hood from a supplier in Broxbourne, before Christmas, but were going to wait till after the new year to collect them. When I rang last week to see when we could collect them, all I got was a recorded message saying the firm had ceased trading!! Expletives were said, obviously. Luckily we'd paid by credit card, so HOPEFULLY (!) we'll get some or all of our money back. So we've had to re-order them from another, more reliable (hopefully) supplier.

I just want it all to be finished and done now, and to be able to get back to cooking proper meals and baking cakes and jams and preserves and ..... oh no, I never used to do that before did I?! Well you get the idea anyway!