(lack of) Dancing on Ice

We were supposed to see the Dancing on Ice tour at the Braehead Arena near Glasgow this evening... but it was cancelled at the last minute! We arrived at the venue only to be informed that the cast had food poisoning. It was very disappointing, as we were looking forward to seeing Torvill and Dean. Lots of people had travelled from all over Scotland to see it. I wish we'd had tickets for one of the Friday or Saturday shows, as they went ahead without a hitch!

http://www.dancingonicetour.co.uk/




We went to TGI Friday's instead and I had a Barnamint Baileys cocktail. My favourite... and a bit like an adult milkshake with Oreo cookies! Full of Baileys and ice cream and no doubt completely fattening. Not quite a health product. Still, it was nice and I haven't had one in ages...

Blue Joy

Here's another card I've made for - and just sent to - a friend in America. Yet again, the cuttlebug embossing folder has been used for the background. The scalloped paper down one side was made using a Quickutz Revolution die, as was the oval double tab.

Roses

My Dad's three sisters very kindly - and out-of-the-blue - bought the biggest bouquet of flowers for me that I've ever seen! When "divided up", there is a full vase of about 24 roses (pink and white, as in the photo), a full vase of white lilies, some orchids and two vases of carnations - ridiculous! (but very thoughtful).

Artex

So... here's a photo of the offending (and offensive!) artex! I've jacked up the contrast in the photo to ensure that the delight of the finer details cannot be overlooked. We're having it smooth skimmed on Tuesday and a cornice added in the junction between the ceiling and the wall.

Oh to be 18 again...

My youngest cousin (by far) has just turned 18... half my age (how envious am I?!). I made this card for her and I'm quite pleased with the result. I love this Quickutz Revolution scroll die and I'm getting lots of use from it. The small tag and the numbers are Quickutz dies too, although the background was stamped with red Colorbox chalk ink. (I forget the precise shade, but it's a dusky red rather than a bright primary red). There's some Stickles holographic glitter on the scroll too.

No joy whatsoever on the plumbing front. The plumber visited last night, but the overflow was still running this evening and it's as bad as it ever has been. One could lose the will! We'll be giving him a call and asking him to think of a Plan B. Demolition of the entire house could be an option!

The weather has been a bit grey with rain on and off for the last week or so (a huge change from the copious amounts of sun we've had and the very mild winter beforehand), but it's picking up again and it is supposed to be sunny this weekend and then for at least a week thereafter, I think... or so the BBC etc would have us believe.

We've got a plasterer coming next Tuesday to skim the lounge ceiling. In summary, we have what I can only describe as a 70s style retro artex shell pattern on the ceiling and it has appalled my sense of taste and decency for the last four years. I've decided to do something about it at last and - hopefully - as of next Tuesday it will be a case of "shells no more". I'll need to post a before and after shot. The before shot will be good for entertainment value, if nothing else.

It has been a busy week at work this week. I'm in Edinburgh all day tomorrow and then in Newcastle on Friday. I'm tired just thinking about it, to be honest.

Happy Birthday Mum!

Mum's birthday today.... and here's a photo of the card I made for her! The embossed backing paper was made with a Cuttlebug embossing die. I love this particular die - I've been using it a lot. I confess I've been very bad and I've relented and bought a Cuttlebug die-cutting machine, notwithstanding the fact that I already have a Big Shot and a Revolution. It sounds like sheer greed, I know, but I got it quite cheaply... so I thought it was too good a deal to pass up. I've used it several times already and I've decided I really like it as it takes up much less space on a desktop than the Big Shot. My Big Shot is too big to keep "on display" 24/7, so I'm finding I haven't been using it much as it's a complete hassle to drag it out from storage.

I haven't managed to post much this last week as I've been really busy at work. I have managed to add a list of links to some excellent rubber stamping and crafting blogs in the sidebar, though. Well worth a look. I haven't quite got this blog site up and running the way I would like it, so that's an ongoing process. The "bones" are there, but it needs some work.

We've had a plumber out to have a look at our "overflow problem". Needs must. In summary, we've had torrents of hot water akin to a mini Niagra Falls cascading down the back of our house from the overflow pipe a couple of times per day for the last year or so. There is no shortage of water in Scotland generally, but our back garden is a prime example of a flood plain! It seems to have been getting worse recently. My Dad spent AGES trying to fix it - he thought it was something to do with the head of pressure and we think that's probably the case. A friend of Dad's recommended a plumber and he's returning next week, hopefully to fix it for good. The back garden is like a swamp in the meantime. Wellies urgently required!

More Cards...

Photos of a few more cards made over the last couple of days.

Celebrate Spring

I've made a few cards over the last few days, but I'm still around ten short! I have a loooong list of cards to make, including thank you cards, new baby cards and birthday cards... and I'm running out of time. The Celebrate Spring card shown above is a Thank You card made for a friend. The background is embossed with one of the Cuttlebug embossing plates and the front ovals were cut with a Quickutz Revolution die.

I've been tidying in the garden today (with the help of my mum) and we've managed to clear some of the winter mess, weeds and dead leaves etc. I also managed to find time to relocate a Hebe plant to a flowerbed (it had long since outgrown its plant pot and its roots were completely squashed) and thereafter planted a new Twisted Hazel bush in the middle of the lawn. It has nice curly twigs!

The lawn is like a swamp (as a consequence of the fact that there is a concrete layer about one foot beneath the lawn - courtesy of the lazy builders who constructed the houses in this estate about fourteen years ago) and we can't cut the grass yet... which means it looks horrendous! The lawn is so wet that there are things which look like mini reeds growing at one end of the garden - not a good look! It looks like a proper pond or swamp. My feet sank in quite deeply when I tried to walk on it, although I guess there was no prospect of sinking more than a foot bearing in mind the concrete underneath. It's just as well the back garden is screened off from the front of the house or we'd be mortified by our urban swamp jungle! As it is, I suppose there's a bit of an "out of sight, out of mind" mentality. We need to do something about it, though - we're thinking about decking part of it. I also planted up the remaining two planters situated at the front door with two evergreens and some pansies for colour.

Cow Card!

We went to B&Q today and bought a few more plants. Hopefully I'll have time to plant them tomorrow, as I ran out of time today! It was sunny again, though - very odd weather for Scotland. I also bought two weed rakes... we need them, trust me. We have "weed overdose". We ordered our new sofa beforehand (chocolate leather)... we've been threatening to buy one for about two years. Yes, it has taken us this long to find the time to order it. They said it would take ten to eleven weeks for delivery, but we'll see.

We went to see the new film A Perfect Stranger (starring Bruce Willis and Halle Berry) in the evening - it was ok. Worth a watch on a Sunday evening, I suppose.

A friend from America sent a surprise cow card (photo above) at the end of last week - I am so impressed with it! It's fabulous! It was a nice surprise. She also sent a couple of books, which was really kind of her.

Stairway to Heaven

My Stairway to Heaven shrub has bloomed with two small pale blue flowers! I planted it two weeks ago on Dad's birthday, 31st March - I bought it as a memorial plant for him, along with three others. I can't believe how quickly it has grown! It must like the soil/section of the garden it has been planted in, which is great.

As it was sunny, I took advantage of the good weather and managed to put some plants - mainly pansies - into the empty plant pots in the front garden.

Tulips & Sunshine

Another sunny day again in Scotland.... it really must be the effects of global warming.

For the first time, we have tulips in our garden! We've lived in this house for four years, but this is the first time I've planted tulips in any garden - and they've bloomed very well in the last week. It really looks like Spring!

Bergamo

We were in Bergamo, Italy for a short break from 6th to 11th April. It's our favourite part of Italy - an "easy" bit of escapism in a place we've visited many times. A place we know very well - it's like a second home. We can get cheap flights to Bergamo Orio airport and it is touted as a Milan airport... but we much prefer Bergamo to Milan and I've lost count of the number of times we've been. It has a huge, swarming lower city (citta bassa) which has plenty of restaurants, bars and shops etc. In addition, though, it also has a beautiful upper city (citta alta) raised on a hill, which looks like a medieval walled village - and quite like Siena, in my opinion. You can walk to/from the citta alta or take a funicular or bus. From the citta alta, you can take a second funicular to San Vigilio, which is a beautiful, peaceful village with many wealthy homes, several deserted properties in need of renovation and the remnants of a castle.

The weather was good (around 24 degrees) and it was lovely to get away. The entire trip passed so quickly, though - as does everything, it seems!

Easter Bunnies

An Easter card for my mum and brother to cheer them up. The rabbits have "googly" eyes!




Happy Easter.

First Birthday!

A first birthday card made for a friend's son. The die cut was made using one of the new Revolution dies. The "1" is nice and glittery, although you can't really see it in the photo.

Good Luck

A good luck card for my friend, who starts a new job next Monday.

The die cut was made with one of the new Revolution dies.

I like the colours. It looks quite cheery.

Where Does Time Go?

Whilst uploading a few cds to iTunes this morning, I realised I had not yet uploaded One of These Nights by The Eagles. How odd! I think I've gotten so used to listening to Eagles compilations albums over the last few years that I'd forgotten about their "real" albums! One of These Nights was my Dad's favourite album. I bought it for him on cd about 18 months ago. It is probably my favourite album too, as it contains "Lyin' Eyes" - and that is my favourite song. It was my Dad's favourite song too. Whenever my Dad picked me up in his car (even within the last few years), he'd have that song queued up and ready to play when I got into the car - such a nice, thoughtful thing to do! It was a bit of an "in joke" between us.

My first memory of music is hearing my Dad playing that song on a loop when I was about 3 or 4 (c. 1975). Where does time go? I'm almost 35 and I had forgotten the song "Too Many Hands", for example, until I listened to it again this morning. Now that I've heard it again, I also remember my Dad playing the whole album (on tape, back in those days) over and over - not just Lyin' Eyes. Time really does wait for no man - it flies past and we forget lots of things until something jogs our memories. We spend too much of our time caught up on the treadmill that is work - for what?

"You can spend all your time making money; you can spend all your life making time...."

(c) The Eagles, "Take it to the Limit".

Happy?

I created a "Happy" card for a colleague who left work last week to start a new job with a children's charity. She is looking forward to new challenges.



I love the Basic Grey paper used for the background of the card. The leaf rubber stamp on the matching envelope is one of the new Penny Black Spring 2007 stamps.

I have about three birthday cards to make as well as several thank you cards, a congratulations card, a new job card (yes, another one!) and Easter cards... but I've made a grand total of none! I am finding it difficult to get motivated. Creating things normally cheers me up and gives me a sense of release, but it is difficult to focus on anything much at the moment.

I met a friend for lunch today. Her Dad died three years ago when he was only 54 years old. I hadn't seen her since late January, so it was good to catch up.

We've had an amazing quantity of sunshine in Scotland this past week; very unusual! Perhaps we'll have a good summer... which can mean only one thing - global warming! My Dad really loved sunshine and sitting in the sun, not that he had much time to do so! He would have enjoyed the weather this week. No doubt it will snow next week, though - one can never trust the Scottish weather.