WOYWW 30 ....and Xmas with the boys.

I'm back after a chilled Xmas with Steve,Emma and the boys.
Well I was chilled before I started this ....not sure why all my spacing is strange ...bear with any large gaps you come across....they seem to have gone but I am sure they will return when I publish this lol.
All I had to do was drink in the atmosphere created by the two little, mostly happy, chaps. I did do the washing up as other wise I might have stuck to the sofa lol but I was not expected to lift a hand....thank you Emma and Steve. What an experience it was to see excitement and discovery through the eyes and mind of a young child .... and how differently identical twins react to a situation ... as our boys are developing at different speeds and in different directions at the moment.

I had two Christmas' as I came home to open pressies from Vicki and Jay and there amongst all the non craft goodies were the tools to start Metal work and the making metal and card flowers ....cant wait to have a go ...so that is what is on my desk ...well computer desk as every where else is a mess due to the 'where shall I put this 'syndrome or is covered in tins of biscuits, sweets and nuts due to the 'must buy this in case' syndrome.




I must have taken 1000 photos ....do not worry I'm not preparing you for a never ending veiwing of toddler shots .... these were thinned down to around 600 that were not obviously blurred due to Ben and Jake always moving at the same time as the shutter!!!! and then have managed to discard a few more which were not so good when downloaded. The next job will be to thin them down so that I can get prints of the best.

I have managed to pick 9 to show Ben and Jake's Christmas 2009 .... I hope you enjoy them.

Emma has a family tradition over Santa's gifts which I think is brilliant .....
Gifts from family and friends are wrapped and put around the tree but those that Santa brings are found .... not in a stocking or wrapped, as of course Santa has no time to wrap as well .... but in little piles .... one for each child.These are investigated first and they have a little play before being given those that are under the tree.

Paper really is fun ... but a little help was required to expose the gift.
Books are a great love of the boys ... especially Ben but the book with the mirror on the last page was a real favourite of both of them.
This was their first art lesson lol ...and Jake took to it like a duck to water .... Ben was more interested in Mummy's drawing and informed her that it was 'A Cat' ... in case she had any doubt .... much fun was had by all especially daddy who loves to get messy.


Emma's Granny has always knitted these dolls for all her grandchildren and Emma still has hers ... now she is making them for her Great grand children.

Brotherly Love

We may not have had snow falling on Xmas Day but we all felt it was magical to have a' White Christmas' no matter what the actual definition is. Watching Ben and Jake discover snow was amazing. You are lucky I didnt put all the snow pictures on here.


Had to add this one ....not sure who was under this lol
Last but not least here I am giving a cuddle to the boys before they go to bed on Boxing Day night.

Take Care and have a very
HAPPY NEW YEARxx

An amazing day

I have just had a fantastic Christmas present .... a wonderful day catching up with my cousin Mike, who I have not seen since 1977 as he lives in New Zealand now.
It took 10 seconds and a hug to make all the years ... and my stupid reservations ... disappear and I felt we were youngsters again. His laugh is something I have never forgotten ...we had such fun when we spent time together in the 50's and early 60's and his smile is the same as when he was little. He probably is as mischievous ...given half the chance.

We reminisced about the past, talked about our late parents and our children and grand children. I filled him in on some family history and about why his older brother has the unusual middle name Yelland, which apparently he uses as a double barrelled surname now.
Mikes' wife Helen, whom I have never met before, is his perfect partner ... no wonder they look so happy together. She enjoyed reading my Mums memories of Leven while we chatted and she admired my FH LO's... I felt that I had always known her. I wish we had had more time together ... maybe the next time they are over in a couple of years. They are off exploring tomorrow, before traveling south to spend Christmas with Helen's parents. I do hope they enjoyed their visit as much as I did.


I am off to my DS on Monday so I shall miss WOYWW next week and maybe the week after so I am wishing everyone ..........

A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS

.... today ....as I think this will be my last post 'til Xmas is over.
I hope everyone out there has an amazing time and eats loads and has no guilt about doing so but just has FUN FUN FUN .... dont forget to put out the refreshments for Santa

Take Care xxxx

wk 28 ....OMG IIWA

PLEEEEEZE would someone stop speeding up time ....I feel I am so behind and the more I think about it, the less I seem to get done.

Well lets talk about WOYWW .... for me .... nothing again .... wrapping paraphernalia and card bits cover the table downstairs................ and the craft room shows no sign of any mojo... in fact I have packed things away and have decided to buy my special cards this year as ... without mojo I cannot make anything that pleases me. I think Mojo has definitely gone away for Xmas ... if its come to stay with you ... could you send it back in the New Year.....wont need it til then.


I did, however, have a great day yesterday though ..... at The German Market in Edinburgh.



It is a wonderland for kids and adults alike and the food is fantastic ....as are the hot boozy drinks. I had a warm Scottish mead with apple juice and a tot of whiskey. I could have eaten and drunk my way round all the stalls but I was sensible ....for once ....but took a big bag of German sausages home ...lol. What I did eat was fantastic and I topped it off with a waffle covered in cherries,melted nutella and whipped cream ......OMG......heaven
This was a treat day out from DD and Vicki so I didn't have to open my purse once ... which made it even better.

We ended up taking two of Vicki's nephews with us too and they were so good. Vicki took them on the 'Teacups' and a small Helter Skelter and they giggled with happiness through it all.... as did Vicki lol




Everything we ate ...they tried ...and enjoyed. Stall holders gave them lollies,biscuits and chocolate to try too and they smiled all the time they were with us ....how great it is to experience Christmas through the eyes of children. The darkness made all the lights so magical ...for all of us and we didn't even notice the light rain ...except when we needed to sit on a bench lol but the boys managed to find somewhere that had a puddle so they could splash about.


Hope you got the feel of our time at the Market .... sorry about the lack of crafting and the photo over load ....I spared you the rest of them ....honest ... lol.

Take care xx

Missed WOYWW wk 27......due to computer malfunction

What a rubbish week we have had here with our computers.

First ... DD's lap top dies at the end of last week but then we are told about the Computer Doc who makes visits in our area (Fife) and he did. What a nice man ... off he went clutching the lap top ....giving us hope that it might be able to be resurrected. He returned on Monday with a working machine and a very affordable bill.
Then DD couldn't remember the pass word to the wireless rooter so it still couldn't be used without some investigation. Tuesday came and the main modem gave up the ghost too and so we were Internet less ..... my goodness how I missed blogging.... couldn't wait for the man from Virgin to come. It is now Thursday evening and at last everything is working .....I hope ... lol and I really must have a blopping fix but I am finding it hard to keep my eyes open.

Sorry I missed WOYWW ...first time since the start. I really do have so much to catch up with, on all your blogs but it has really hit me how close Christmas is and all the things that need to be done still.
I have to get myself organized as I am going to be with Ben and Jake this Xmas ....cant wait ...it will be so magical to see it experienced by them.
Next week I am meeting up with my cousin who lives in New Zealand now ....we haven't seen or even talked to each other for over 30 years ...I am quite nervous but excited at the same time.

Hopefully I will be back on track next week
Take care xx

Week 26 ....the half year point for WOYWW

Good Morning ...well I think it still is ..... JD's brain child is six months old today.... Hip Hip Hurrah.
The interesting thing is that it is gathering momentum and not fizzling out. I think this is for three reasons ....we love JD, we are nosey and for us not so prolific bloggers, it makes us post at least once a week.....I think I may have said this before ...blame my grey cells

I was not sure whether I was actually going to be able to blog today as ...... when I came up to the computer ..... I found that a cat had managed to throw up on the desk, keyboard and floor !!!!!!. I assume ... by the quantity .... that it was 'eyes bigger than tummy-itis' and that the culprit stole some of the others food. Cleaning the keyboard was not a pleasant job but I hope I have rescued it. DD's lap top has died this week and we are having a visit from a 'computer doctor' tomorrow .... in case life can be breathed into it again. This would just happen before Xmas .....maybe there will be some bargains in the January sales ..... if the worst comes to the worst.

Well after the crop, like JD , not everything gets put away and other things like Christmas get in the way so I'm afraid WOYWW is an untidy mess of all our bits with no work in progress .....not even the much needed cards. I was hoping to show you the LO I created for our crop sketch challenge but DD had filed it for safety and I cannot find it lol. The wall area is DD's ..... as was the colour choice!



DD and Vicki have been working at the Xmas decor ...now the crop is over.The mantlepiece and trees are now done but tinsle and streamers (if we do them!) have to be sorted. Thought you might like a look so far ... as the desk was a wash out.
We have put up four trees ....yep four .... as we are having some little ones round and we wanted to have an 'ooooow' effect for them.









These pictures make our room look quite large .... believe me its not.

Hopefully I will be able to do some work in the craft room ....before next Wednesday but there are large number of presents begging to be wrapped.
I do hope I dont have to buy any cards, as JD sent me a wonderful RAK of card blanks the other week (thankyou again) and I so want to use them .... I even have some ideas ....mainly prompted by you out there.

I shall go now...hoping you liked the photos
Take Care xx

Christmas has Arrived ...

It was at last the long awaited Christmas Crop..... which started with Apple and Cinnamon Muffins made by Vicki..... eaten with glee and coffee/tea on arrival. Sadly there were only 18 of us due to illness and prior commitments but everyone was there to have a great time.
As it is DD crop, she organized it all and made everyone a vintage ATC style name tag with their raffle ticket on the back, Jane thought up all the games, while I dealt with the food. I try to organize a buffet that will suit everyone ... most had two platefuls. I was so glad to see this as I had over catered as usual .... guess what we are eating today lol. Then some of the ladies brought cakes ... there were so many yummy ones that 'she who is a cake addict' had to try every single one and nearly felt sick ...note the 'nearly' lol but my favourite was the 'cheat cheese cake'...must get the recipe as it was AMAZING ....or was it the lemon drizzle or maybe the double choc and cherry cup cakes or .............????

We had so many different games, going on all day ( (9.30 -600) from 'Bingo' and 'Pass the Parcel' to 'Decorating a Stocking' ... all with great prizes ... 2 'make and take' classes, a Raffle and a Secret Santa where one of the members little boy and his friend, handed the presents out, Ahhhhhh, and not forgetting a Lucky Dip which made sure everyone received at least 2 gifts to go home with.
I was chuffed that I won the 'Price is Right' main prize of a pack Cordinations Chocolate Box card stock ...not too easy as it was the price that was paid in the UK, which was then turned into dollars ... as of the exchange rate on Friday.
Everyone said they had had a wonderful day, and the team wished the members a Happy Christmas as they left ...some leaving with very full arms of prizes. The last job was to tidy up and pack away ...I was excused this as my back was aching ..... I didn't protest lol.We were all shattered by the time we got home but it was worth it.

Today I have done nothing except chill and blog....and doze ...and eat leftovers....and incase you want to know ...I'm the one with the Xmas alice band on, in the first photo lol

Take Care xx

Week 25 ... WOYWW

Firstly I need to apologize to all those of you kind people who have awarded me awards over the past few weeks ....I am so rubbish about following them through ... please believe me that I am so chuffed when I am awarded them but feel it is a cheat to accept them until I fulfil the tasks and links and that is the part I am rubbish with. I am sorting the food for DD Xmas Crop on the 28th, so I have been a little preoccupied this week ... I will have a little time afterwards to get some sorted .. in between making cards ...again please accept my apology.

Now to WOYWW?

Well the answer is a big fat NOTHING ... not just no LO's and no cards not even 'no mess' .... as you can't make a mess with NOTHING. All that was left was the plastic table cover ...which was removed 10 secs after the photo.


The answer is .... Christmas is coming .... DD was on a mission .......... Xmas decorations are to be put up ... they have been already unearthed from the attic and under stairs cupboard and also there is the fact that we will need to eat at the table and we are actually having friends around over the festive period. Everything is now set for wrapping and sorting presents. Yes all the pressies have been purchased ....I think!!!!
This all means that my area has had to be dismantled and my bits moved up to the craft room .....which was the middle bedroom. CRAFT ROOM ... I hear you shout ... So why don't I normally craft up there ???? ...I hear you add. Well ... have any of you tried to scrap in a trio when two ladies are tidy and creative while the third is messy, chaotic and needs two tables worth in space when on a roll and is protective of her choice of papers.(That's me of course) We tend to share the paints, inks etc and then have our own papers and bits .... but even those we do share too.
Hopefully I do manage to make the rest of my cards ... and the next few weeks WOYWW will be coming from ... The Craft Room lol

It is so windy and wet here ... so very different from yesterday. DD and I had a shopping day and a meal out ... nothing exotic ....traditional basic food ...so yummy and warming. I actually bought a jacket/coat and a smart jumper ... can't remember when I last bought an out door jacket ... I tend to make do nowadays and only replace when the item of clothing has died. DD asked THAT question about my beloved fleece jacket ... How old is that?' Does it matter ...it's still fine' ... I retorted with a little guilt as I am sure it is well over fifteen years old lol It is like an old friend so I am keeping it .... the new one is a smarter garment and will be slowly broken in.

I'm off to sort the freezer as I have filled it with rolls and bread as normal ....forgetting it is Xmas and that means nice treat food and joints have to be stored in it ... think of me in the cold leaking garage!!!!

Take Care xx

It really is Week 24 of WOYWW

Here I am and its only morning still. I have to apologise for being a tardy blogger and blopper but I am so absorbed in my FH . The cousin I am corresponding with (if that is the correct term when using emails) is Diana and we have worked out that she is my 3rd cousin once removed ...we think !!!! It is such fun knowing that there is family out there ...no matter how distant. I now realize that some names I have seen as I trawled records, were actually part of my family even though I didn't know it at the time ...and often I would stop and have another look and wonder.

Well I have to admit that FINALLY my work area has got too untidy even for me and maybe I need to follow in JD's footsteps and have a deep clean. Part of me, however, says just move things but if I do that some other bits will fall off the edge ...afew have leapt off already ....maybe I will tidy a little at least ...but then that does not help me find what I have lost under the piles that surround the mat. I couldn't find any of my 3 pokey tools and had to use the end of my sharp scissors.
I really could not show the whole desk ...so here is just the mat area again ... sorry ... I'm a coward ....


I have taken some shots of the first 5 cards I made for Xmas ....must do more cards ASAP now that I have actually found some card blanks ...hidden in the wrong box !



They are quite simple but I am happy with them....cant believe I managed to be creative this week ... in between FH lol

They have warned us that gale force winds and heavy rain are expected but at the moment the Autumn sun is streaming in and... unlike yesterday.... not a black cloud in sight ...just pale blue sky punctuated with fluffy white clouds.

Take care xx

IIWA .... Wk23 WOYWW

Here is where I show you how quickly I turned a neat work area in to a .... hive of industry ?? ...nope .... a creative hot spot?? .... naah ........... a mess ....yep.
I am glad I managed to keep the shot to only the mat area, as the rest of the table would give Paige and the other tidy organized scrappers a funny turn. I haven't done a lot of crafting this week but I did made 4 toppers for Xmas cards yesterday .... must buy some cards to mount them on ....very soon. I wish someone would explain how I make so much mess and have so little to show for it. The photo makes it look not too bad ....believe me ...the truth be told ....it is bad.

Family history is what has absorbed my attention and time this week. I have come across two cousins x ???, who are descendants of the siblings of David Ritchie ( the LO I blogged 1/11 ... G the P)
It is so exciting but there is so much to take in and really I need to be shut away for a week with intravenous coffee, an endless supply of cake ... and the computer. I find that I need to really get into who's who, imagine the people, their parents and their children .... then everything makes sense and my train of thought and deduction works well, spotting any errors in logic as I go along.
However ...... just at that point I need to go to the loo as there is only so long I can hold it lol ... answer the phone ... go to make food and drink ... fill the washing machine ...wash up ... stretch the aged legs that have now gone numb and the back that has seized ....and worry that I am doing this and not something else, that would be deemed more important by everyone else.


The boys are doing well and now manage to walk with their walker trolleys ... Jake is about to take off on his own any day now but Ben climbs into Jakes trolley and is quite happy to be pushed lol. It is so difficult to monitor their development as they were not only premature but are twins. Their parents have rightly decided that .. as long as they are developing well ...they are happy. They are a little annoyed that they have been told that the boys are under weight ....believe me they are not skinny. Emms is feeding them healthy food and the odd treat so that they keep slim ... ish, as we tend to be an overweight family. I think it makes sense ... especially as the NHS complain about obese toddlers nowadays!!!! The chart weight for a one year old is now about 27lbs !!!!! When Steve was that at one, they said he was over weight ????

Had my moan ....thanks foe listening .... lol
Take Care xx

Nearly missed WOYWW 22

IIWA ...convinced it was Tuesday when I arose from my slumbers ... but have had to face facts that it really is Wednesday. So what have I done craft wise ....nothing ...in fact I have done very little at all ... except catch up with the washing ... my get up and go has totally gone ...I think it is all this gloomy weather. We have had our light on for most of the day today.

Now what about my craft area ... well I did attempt to sort of tidy it, ready to think about Xmas Cards ...I even found some papers lurking in the wrong place ...now I need to have a good look for the rest ...determined that I am not to buy any this year ... and sort out stamps and embellishments too and maybe the odd peel off. It's the only time I use them and I do have quite a lot still ....do they have a 'shelf life' ??? I fear my resolve not to buy papers will crumble as somehow new stash kick starts the mojo ...we will see ... but I am going to have a ramble through every ones blogs to ignite my creativity as I know so many of you have made some stunning cards this year.
When I tided the this morning I left the bag of rubbish behind ...... Willow adopted it it !!


Now for something a little different ... something for you dog lovers out there.

Yesterday I popped in, with camera, to see my friends puppies ...8 week old Boxers ...the mum had a litter of 6 ... all boys and today they start to go to their new homes. It was strange yet pleasing to see them with their tails ...no longer can they be docked. She has mixed feelings about it as she says that they are fragile tails attached to heavy ...sometimes stupid ... dogs and they can get injured easily and cause problems. Here are some photos .... a bit of an over load .... sorry. ...........

Proud Mum ...Poppy
The one they are keeping as their oldest is now nearly 13 and old for a Boxer. !!

These tails are fun!! ...especially when its not yours

Shoe laces are for playing with (these are still attached to me lol)


Their daughters are so good with them




Time for a rest..... ZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzz


Hope you enjoyed the photos ..

Take Care xx

Halloween was fun

We were prepared for a quiet evening ... even though we lit our doorstep with a carved pumpkin and tea lights in jam jars but I am glad to report that the early evening, between 5.30 and 7.30, was punctuated by the door bell ... 18 little folk called in total .... all dressed up as witches, zombies and skeletons. Some only ventured up to the door, while holding their mums hand tightly but all were polite and thanked us for the sweetie pokes we had prepared. The cutest two little witches sang us a special Halloween Song which tugged at the heart ....how I wish I had taken photos ...but I thought it might have upset parents.

I cant remember when I last carved a pumpkin ...it was such fun but Vicki did most of it ....I supervised lol. We didn't waste the pumpkin flesh that was scooped out either ...Pumpkin and Choc chip muffins are yummy.


I finally blogged my LO's on my FH blog with a little background but I thought I would pop a couple of close ups on hereThis is to show the texture of the distressed frames I hand cut and the lace I used as a trim

The lower one shows the masculine embellishment I created from a metal button ...not sure where they came from but I unearthed a bag full..... and a short piece of elastic that had a ruffled edge and was hidden at the bottom of my ...well if truth be told ...DD ribbon box.


If you want to see the LO's or read the backgrounds just click on Glimpsing the Past at the top of the page.

Take Care xx