Wednesday, September 28, 2011

WOYWW wk121 …. Yet another week flies by

I have been trying to get back to this LO since Saturday …the second of the four I prepared for crop day …. (the first is two posts down if you want to see my vintage one) ...this is a WIP


and the three pretty laces, ribbon roses and packs of mini letters are part of a little spend at the Angel Crafts shop … and yes I also gave in to a small pack of the Flexipens …I will let you know if I think they are as good as they seemed . lol

Yeah ….I managed a really short post....I will be around to have a nose around your desks later.

Take Care xx

Monday, September 26, 2011

West Wemyss …revisited … with a child

Although ruins can still be fun and of course the lure of the sea and a beach is very high on a child’s list of things to do, there is nothing that beats a Play Park for Kristofer…no matter how small it is.

Refreshments are very important too, so we had to pop in to The Walk Inn … which now sports a smart new sign … and was very busy.

…and last of course there are boats …I didn’t actually walk down to the end of the harbour last time …but I was dragged there this time …and he had so many ‘Why’ questions … about everything he saw....I think Nana Anja's answers kept him happy.

It was a beautiful afternoon and the rain stayed away until we got home.

Take Care xx

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Two Brilliant Days ... with Friends

Friday

I met up with my friends, just in time for an early lunch at Jimmy Chungs Chinese Buffet …What a fantastic meal … the best I’ve ever had there.

I like to try a little of several dishes …nothing too hot … although a touch of heat adds something extra to the experience. My first plate …of starters …a small one for me …then a large one of main … yummy noodles …flavoursome special fried rice … Mongolian lamb … Satay chicken … BBQ wings, to name but a few of what I sampled … then a top up of their amazing Hong Kong Sweet and Sour chicken, all washed down with a glass of draught cider. I then managed to followed all that with banana fritters in syrup and a scoop of ice cream then rounded off the meal with a black coffee.

During this two and a half hour meal we caught up on what we, and our family had been up to … and then ‘Ahhh’ed over our pictures of our respective grand children.

It was so great to see them again …we used to live so close to each other when I lived near Croydon …Inger taught my late husband flute and he in turn taught Ian saxophone.

I had to catch a train by 4.30 because after that it is so busy with commuters and if one waits until 6.30, the trains and buses are few and far between and it takes so long to get home …I got caught last time, so we just went for a stroll with more chatting so that I could get back in time for the train.

There were fun sculptures of endangered animals through out the Prince’s Garden and surrounding area, at the moment …the aim is to raise money for conservation charities and these couple caught my eye.

For Inger it was love at first sight lol.

Saturday

Crop day …and a great time was had by all. We had Angel Crafts shop and a demo of the new Flexipens …I quite like them and its good that none of the colours are the same as Promarkers but they can be used in conjunction with each other.

Vicki made Apple Flapjacks and Key Lime Cheesecake Cupcakes …both were amazing and as usual I talked and munched a lot. lol. Everyone was chatty and we had a few visitors who came along with Angela of Angel Crafts … nice to have new faces and see how they craft...

Optimistically I took four kits that I had made up…who was I kidding … but I actually completed one …yep totally finished it … and even started another. …and here is the finished one….vintage again

Close up of details ...the lower one show my experiment with Big Shot and Velum.

I have to gather some information to go with this LO, before I put it on G the P, as I don’t have a proper story about him. I did do a little detective work to date the photo though …on the original there was the photographers name and address …I looked him up and found he only had a studio there for three years. I decided to take the middle year, which made Sandy, 20

Take Care xx

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Wednesday, September 21, 2011

WK 120 …Hoping for inspiration to come my way.

This week has flown by …totally lost Monday and nearly misplaced Tuesday.

I have just read that we are all in for an horrendous winter in the UK, starting mid October ….oh joy …more sky high heating bills…or maybe we should go back to the days of multiple jumpers, thick socks and a throw to bury ourselves under …not forgetting the dash between rooms through unheated halls and sitting in a freezing loo…. well we would save loads of money….and those of 60+ years must still remember a life before central heating....well in the Uk anyway. lol.

Anyway enough of all that …lets get to the job in hand …. WOYWW

Mine is covered in papers and photos …not sure where I am going with them yet but it’s the crop on Saturday and I need to take something. I tend to sort out some kind of kit that suits the photos …DD idea … a great one that works for her …and Vicki … but I usually manage to not take what I really need to finish the LO …and in some cases I cant even start, as by the time I sit down with them I don’t like what I’ve taken …including the papers.

Does anyone else suffer from ‘Cropitis’… the inability to create at a crop? I do seem to be the only one at ours …the rest of my fellow croppers, produce several works of art each meeting…. maybe the chatting and the eating of cakes, just distracts me. lol

I’m off now, and in the morning I will have a think about what I am going to create … and I will enjoy a long hop around as many fellow WOYWWers as I can … and again tomorrow, as I’m out on Friday, meeting old friends in Edinburgh, for lunch… yum.

Take Care xx

BTW ...thats Madison curled up on the bed ...she snuck in when I wasn't looking.

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Dysart …. and beyond

Finally ... this is Mother and Daughter day ...the second leg

Any fit person would probably have continued to walk along the coast from West Wemyss but we jumped onto a bus that dropped us in the old part of Dysart.

This town received a royal charter in 1587 and acquired two nicknames: "Salt Burgh" and "Little Holland" due to what and with whom it traded.

There are many thoughts on the meaning of Dysart and where it originated…one strong contender being that its name came from the cave Saint Serf used as a retreat around the 500's, because in old Gaelic "diseart" means a hermit's cell.

Here you can see the Dysart Tollbooth on the right of the photo, which dates from the 1570’s, part of one of the more affluent times in Dysart’s history

…it is said that Oliver Cromwell’s men were housed within its walls at one time during their journey north.

We then made our way down to shoreline and on to the harbour area, passing the tower of St Serf ….

St Serf’s Church was built in the early 13th century but by the beginning of the 19th century it was abandoned in favour of a new church as the cost of repairs would have been far too high. The tower was used in both the first and second world wars, as a look out post.

There appears to be some work being done to it at the moment

Down by the shore we were met by an unusual sight …several upright pieces of timber, all painted in different shades of blue and a little weathered in appearance …hopefully meant … as I have since discovered that it is actually a piece of art work

…a sculpture by Donald Urquhart and the nine coloured beams represent the moods of the water of the Firth of Forth.

Here I am with my two favourite things ...my camera and my trusty, very old, denim jacket that I am rarely seen without.....snapping away at the sculpture

The harbour was man made, hewn from the natural surroundings and used to export salt and coal, linen and iron ore.

The fortunes of this town were always fluctuating over the centuries, being described by Daniel Defoe as "a most lamentable object of a miserable, dying corporation", around 1726 and yet by the end of the 1700’s, local ship owners had about thirty trading vessels; the coal mines were highly productive and their coal was in demand across the North Sea; salt extraction was now a major industry; iron ore from local deposits was being exported; and a regular ferry ran to Leith, not to mention the linen that was being produced by the many hand looms in the area.

The wall behind, in the last photo, looks as though any adverse weather conditions might cause its collapse but looking at all the repairs over time, it appears to want to stay up right, for many years to come. My daughter called it the ‘patch work wall’ and we found our selves studying it for ages.

Much of Dysart was demolished to give way for new housing but some of the shore front buildings dating from the 16th to the18th centaury, and 17th century Pan Ha’ in particular, were restored in the 1960’s.

Pan Ha’ is the name given to these whitewashed dwellings, which once housed workers for the saltpans.

‘Ha’ is the abbreviation of ‘haugh’, meaning a flat area of land usually near a river and Pan, from salt panning, a method of extracting salt from seawater by boiling it in huge cast iron pans.

The Harbour Masters house in Hot Pot Wynd, houses a museum and café and like many other places of refreshment, the walls of the café, are used as a gallery for local artists.

We tried not to make it too obvious when we captured the work of the local artist Susan Winton ... we found the second one inspiring, displaying so many textures and materials that we had to stop ourselves from stroking it.....well us paper crafters do suffer from that problem lol.

After enjoying a wonderful homemade steak pie we made our way past the ‘patch work wall’ and followed the coastline towards Ravenscraig Park and the castle.

This short tunnel cut in the rock, leads you from Dysart into Ravenscraig but it is so hard to tell actually where one ends and the other begins.

In the late 1920’s around 85 acres of the immense estate was given to Kirkcaldy as a public park, part of which is a beautiful woodland walk.

The castle was then passed on to the state in the 1950’s.It is said that the castle was one of the first, if not the very first to be built in Scotland, for the use of, and the defence against, artillery.

It was built under the orders of James II of Scotland, in 1460 and was actually well ahead of its time. He had a fascination with the cannon and although it had the expected arrow slits, it also had round gun ports, tower walls that were 15ft thick and the possibilities for cannon platforms, which were never completed due to his death later in the same year.

He died after his leg was torn off during the seige of Roxburgh Castle. He was trying out his new cannon, The Lion, which then exploded as they had a tendency to do at that time and unfortunaely he was standing too close. His widow continued to live at Ravenscraig, acting as regent to the young James III, until her death three years later.

James III preferred the The Sinclair family castle at Kirkwall, and took it and William ‘s title as Earl of Orkney, in exchange for Ravenscraig Castle.

The castle was damaged by Cromwell’s army in the 1650’s, as it marched north and sadly, by the 1800’s it had been stripped of much of its stone, for local building purposes.

Hope you got to the end of the trip with me and enjoyed another little bit of Scottish history. It really was a great day out with my daughter ...now I just need to plan the next ...with ruins of course.

Take Care xx

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Woyww …Wk 119

Sorry no desk and yes this is still Tuesday lol

The desk looks the same as last week really …possibly messier. It has been a little bit of an upside down day. Should have had Steve and his family over on Sunday but they couldn’t make it due to illness …rescheduled for Tuesday …meant to get here before two …didn’t arrive until gone five …due to delays their end but out of their control … and then a couple of wrong turns on the way here, added to the delay.

It was obvious they were still not fully well and sadly they only could stay a couple of hours due to bed times but it was so great seeing them all…and I did get some lovely hugs from Ben and Jake who seemed sad to have to go so soon.

Little brother Olly is not into hugs at all but is so happy just playing.

Had to show something crafty so here is Olly’s birthday card.

And ….

Here is the Birthday Boy. himself …One Year and 4 days old

See … I can do a short post....makes up for some of the epic ones lol

Take Care xx

Saturday, September 10, 2011

People Watching …aka ….an excuse for being nosey

Hope you enjoy my ramblings ...sorry no photos this time ...plenty on the way though lol

The other day I dropped into a high street coffee house in Dundee, specializing in the Italian variety of the beverage. I had a need for refreshment and the desire for some people watching.

Having settled for a small corner table, I found that I had given myself a great observation post from which to watch my fellow customers. I dismissed the obvious couples after a quick look and concentrated on two trios, and those who, like me, were sitting alone.

The lady and her book seemed of little interest at first, as her only movement was to turn a page and then to lift her cup from saucer to mouth …I did however watch for a while to see whether she was going to ever miss her target, as her eyes seemed transfixed on the page and nothing else ….I so wanted to see her fail …but the thought made me feel a little evil so I switched my attention to another.

I had to secretly smile while observing my next target, the lady at the table across from me. While trying to elegantly eat her slice of cake with a fork, her prey seemed determined to move around the plate, no matter how hard she tried to control it. Eventually, with great effort, she managed to divide it in half but then grabbed one piece up between two fingers and consumed it rapidly…hunger had obviously won out … but her eyes seemed to be checking, as she ate, that no one was witnessing the event.

The three young Japanese girls squealed with delight and broke into high pitched giggles as their refreshments arrived, surely they must be tourist rather than students to offer up so much excitement over three frothy coffees and a bowl of something edible. As they chatted, and giggled some more, they stabbed their forks into the communal bowl that, by their facial expressions, contained something quite delicious. It was obvious they were enjoying their time together even though my eyes had wandered away from them, more giggles reached my ears.

Other than me, there was only one other solitary person for me to observe …I suppose one could describe him as a kind of geek as he sat tapping on his lap top, only ceasing to place a hand on his face in a manner that resulted in his thumb lying across his cheek and fingers curled beneath his nose. His eyes stared at the screen and then into the air beyond him, before resuming the tapping. These actions were repeated over and over again …each time with his digits landing in exactly the same place on his face. I am not sure why he had purchased the large latte that shared his table, other than to secure a seat, as it was still there, untouched, 45 minutes after I had taken my seat.

The final group grew as I sat enjoying my latté with its extra shot, and a slice of Sicilian lemon cheesecake. First a young man settled himself comfortably at a table, which had settee seating down one side and was suitable for at least six, He seemed to be positioning and repositioning himself as though posing for a photograph, and quickly glanced expectantly towards the door a few times…. he was rewarded by the arrival of a vivacious young female who clung to him in a long friendly embrace before casting off her outer garments and settling on the chair opposite him. With in moments another joined the couple…she was less demonstrative with her greetings but settled down next to the young man on the settee. The first girl seemed to be taking centre stage, with her gesticulating arms becoming more and more frenzied, her body language more forceful and an increased volume to her speech. The other two seemed to sink into the cushions behind them and develop a glazed look across their faces, but at the same time managed to hold a forced smile punctuated by a knowing nod now and then.

Alas my watching time had to come to an end …how I wish I could have stayed longer to see whether the geek ever drank his coffee or the ‘three little maids’ ever stopped giggling but most of all I wanted to know, out of the three friends, who left with whom …alas I will never know.

Maybe the most important question really was ….Was anyone watching me?


Hope you managed to get to the end .

Take Care xx

Friday, September 09, 2011

Happy Birthday Oliver John

It is my youngest grandsons birthday to day....ONE YEAR OLD .... already.

This is Olly at 10 months....he never stops smiling

Had to mark the day and send loads of squishy kisses to you. Hope you manage to come over on Sunday with Mummy and Daddy ...not forgetting your wonderful brothers....cant wait.


Take Carexx

Tuesday, September 06, 2011

WOYWW 118 .…Happy Birthday Jay

Firstly..... a quick favour ....Please pop by 'Of Dropped Stitches' on my side bar ....Emma is having her first little giveaway of trimmings and material, and it ends tomorrow.... she would love for you to visit her.

I have been trying to get inspired this week, as I had to make a couple of cards. The tag on my desk is for the front of one for my daughter who is 39 today…oops maybe I shouldn’t have announced that … and I have managed to atleast plan one for gorgeous GS Olly who is ONE on Friday. Thank goodness DD lives in the same house as me, other wise I would be a little late with hers lol

This photo is actually my desk on Tuesday afternoon …

I had real fun playing with inks and stamps and then digging out the metallic rub-on that have sat in different drawers over the years but have now found a place in my crafting heart …not forgetting the little letter stamps I have had for ages and used for the first time only a few months ago.

Does anyone else not see a use in something purchased, hold on to it and then finally use them and love them …and in many cases find they are no longer made !!! …or do you just discard them at the first suggestion that they might have been a waste of money?

Thank you Sue H at’ Karfty Kards’ for kindly gaving me an award for my FH blog …it was so thoughtful and I was so chuffed. I love it when people read and enjoy my ‘Glimpsing the Past’ blog …and to think that it encouraged anyone, gives me a warm tingle.

I am truly useless with links so I need to grab DD or DIL when they are free to sort me out …no matter how many times I am shown, it just will not stay in my head.

For those who were waiting for ‘Day out Part 2’ …I will post it in a few days …and I have a ‘People Watching’ one ready too.

Have a great WOYWW …I shall visit as many as I can …and will always repay a visit to mine.

Take Care xx

WOW I actually managed a short one lol.