Creating in Color

I don't know about you but there are times when I am driven to create something in a particular color. I went though all of my quilt patterns and found a suitable project for someone getting over an illness....not too busy or complicated, small and a limited number of colors and pieces to cut. It's a table runner that I bought from Pearl Louise (her shop is located in Rapid City South Dakota)a while back called "Chocolate Covered Cherries". It's an adorable table runner that has hearts set at an angle, I've always meant to take the time to make it but alas there were so many other projects calling me that (I'm ashamed to say it) I pushed it off until another time. I've gone though my stash of fabrics and I must admit it took me a while to pick just the right pink- the brown and green fabrics were never in question and once I found the right pink fabric the 4th color immediately fell into place. The off white with the hint of swirled bits of tan and the pink rose buds with green leaves were perfect!

Now for me to get the fabric pressed and cut and ready to stitch together. I'm excited to be making my first quiting project in my new to me home.

Quote of the Day

There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in his home.
Ken Olsen (1926 - ), President, Digital Equipment, 1977

reduce reuse recycle

It seems that no matter how many times I "purge" items from my home I always seem to find "something" to be able to donate. I hate to throw away embroidery and counted cross stitching charts, I've tried selling them before and I've actually sold a few of them. But now, I'm just going to donate them. Our church has a donations spot for such items and I plan on bringing many items to fill up the spot. As I was going through my cross stitching charts I came across some patterns for "teachers gifts". My children are well past the age of giving teachers gifts and with that I'm going to be donating those charts so others can make a special gift for their child's teacher.

Now to get on with things here at home. I'm feeling better after my drug induced coma and I slept like a rock. It's the first time in days that I don't feel as if I have a metal rod in my spine and neck. I'm taking it easy and won't over do it, I promise. I'm going to sport some fabric and take some close up pictures of my armoire (how it's made sort of pictures).

Must have more coffee and then I'm off to sift through a few Rubbermaid totes of fabric.

Quote of the Day

If people are good only because they fear punishment, and hope for reward, then we are a sorry lot indeed.
-Albert Einstein

I'm not quite dead yet

With that being said, I've gone and made an appointment to see the doctor today. I've been suffering with a headache since Tuesday, my neck is sore and stiff, my spine hurts, I'm achy all over, running a low grade fever, I'm exhausted and I suffer from dizzy spells. Lets not talk about the tummy problems. So I'm going to see the doctor- maybe he can tell me what's wrong. A couple of friends who are nurses are super concerned about my health and yes, I'm taking their advice and am getting checked out. Now back to bed until my husband comes home to take me to the med clinic.

Quote of the Day

Dead Body Collector: BRING OUT YOUR DEAD *CLANK*
Live Guy: Alrighty here you go
Dead Guy: I'm not quite dead yet
DBC:what?
LG: Oh nothing here's your 9 pence
DG I'm not dead
DBC: He says he's not dead yet
LG: He is
DG I'm not
DBC: he says he's not
LG: Ah he will be he's very ill
DG: I'm getting better
LG: Oh be quiet you'll be stone dead in a moment

-Monty Python and the Holy Grail

It's only a little broken...

Everyday and every outing is an adventure. Yesterday was not without it's adventures that's for sure.

After going to the doctor (on base) and then being referred to radiology in another town- the results are in...words from the radiology tech "it's only a little broken but not enough to warrant US putting a cast on it". This is the NHS at work. The looks on our faces must have been something because my daughter and I looked at each other after the tech left and both uttered the same words...WHAT??? Did she just say what I thought she said? We drive back to the base to bring the x-rays to the Doctor for him to look at only to discover that the clinic closed at 3 pm, nice! No one told us that it closes early on Wednesdays, that would have been nice to know. If I wasn't so darn sick it would have been down right comical.

We still have the brace from the last time Hannah ratched out her left wrist. Funny thing is that I came across the thing last week and had put it on her dresser- how is that for ironic? LOL!

So here I am at home being sick. Neck hurts, I've got aches and pains all over, I still have a headache (going on day 3), low grade fever, feeling dizzy at times, I've got tummy and intestinal problems and I basically feel as if I've been hit by a bus. It's amazing that I don't have a runny nose nor do I have a cough-yet. I'm sure that it's just a matter of time until I do. But the weirdest thing is that my nose sure is awfully itchy!!!

Enough said, I'm going back to bed.

Quote of the Day

Guard well within yourself that treasure, kindness. Know how to give without hesitation, how to lose without regret, how to acquire without meanness.
George Sand (1804 - 1876)

No time like the present...

So here we are...I've said it before I'll say it again- My life is a series of little emergencies. Andrew 'just" made it to the bus this morning, then I took Hannah to see the Doctor this morning to check her left wrist as it may be broken. She was horsing around giving a friend a piggy back ride and fell down- Ouch! This happened on Monday. I came back from our trip to see the orthodontist at Lakenheath sicker than a dog. I've been sick since yesterday, mild fever, major headache, I feel like I'm going to vomit at the drop of a hat and the other thing (diarrhea). All together, those are symptoms of the FLU. I'm sorry I don't have time to be sick, but yet I am...this sucks! Did I mention that I had the H1N1 flu vaccine yesterday...yes, while I was feeling like this. Oh yeah! My arm still hurts from the shot too.

I'll be taking Hannah to the hospital in Banbury in a few hours for her to have some x-rays done of her wrist (we had to make an appointment for this). Meanwhile I'm going back to bed.

Quote of the day

I am a kind of paranoiac in reverse. I suspect people of plotting to make me happy.
- J. D. Salinger

The to do list

How do you start your week? Do you start your week off with a to do list? I do. Sometimes it's a short list and others it long. Here's the kick off for my week

Monday-

• call /get seat on medical shuttle for tomorrow-DONE
• drop off my son's muddy suit at dry cleaners DONE
• hang valance in formal dining room DONE
• press valances for Master Bedroom DONE
• press valances for Hannah's bedroom DONE
• take pictures of armoire
• post pictures of dowel/curtain rod

Tuesday-

• Hannah and I take medical shuttle to Lakenheath
• look for items at BX and commissary (as time permits)
• mail package to my Mom
• do price comparison at our BX
• buy grocery items at commissary
• fill minivan w/petrol
• bake mini muffins for retirees social

Wednesday-

• retirees social- drop off mini muffins
• start work on crafting project
• laundry- a never ending circle

There it is...the kick off to my week.

Quote of the Day

And in the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter and the sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed.
-Kahlil Gibran The Prophet, On Friendship

Using US appliances in the UK

My husband is indeed the man who came home with the goods! Yes, I have to say that I was a little apprehensive when it comes to my darling husband buying me a coffee pot. My requirements were simple- coffee maker needs to run on 220 voltage, carafe needs to be between 10 and 12 cups and it needs to be programmable. Well he surprised me with the Braun KF590- it even has a Brita water filter-woohoo! Braun (to me) is the Kitchen Aid appliance maker of the European world! It had an entire pot of steaming hot coffee brewed in 10 minutes- no joke! Talk about awesome!

Now for my American friends coming over to England or being stationed in an any other European country. Even if your house has the built in transformer taking 220 and making it 110 your appliances WILL have a hard time with the 50/60 hertz issue. Unless our appliances are 50/60 hertz adaptable they will have a very hard time preforming in the same manner as they did state side and they will die an early death. I highly recommend putting your appliances into storage and buying new ones here. I have not replaced all of my appliances that I had put into storage, I bought the ones I can get by with. I bought a hand mixer in replacement of my stand mixer, I bought a combination Immersion Blender/food processor to replace 3 appliances- my food processor, my stick mixer (immersion blender) and my table top blender.

My poor little Kitchen Aid coffee maker that I had shipped to myself was now taking 1 hour to brew a pot of coffee that used to take 10 to 15 minutes to brew. After 6 months of near daily use I have to be honest with myself and admit that I may have ruined it- I'll find out in the autumn of 2012 when I see it again.

Quote of the Day

I did not have three thousand pairs of shoes, I had one thousand and sixty.
-Imelda Marcos

Secret Toast and Jam

What is it about toast out here in the UK? I've always loved toast- toast and jam, toast and apple-butter, toast and cinnamon sugar- all that. But the folks out here take it one level higher. While I was out looking to buy a replacement coffee maker I was in a store that had 28 different toasters on display ranging from £7.50 to £149.95 I couldn't believe it! It was the same for electric water/tea kettles again it was amazing- there were 30 of those and ranging in price from £10.00 to £249.99...it's an electric water heater people what is the attraction? I was cracking up with the prices and the selection. I've seen this very thing at 3 different stores now...rows of electric tea kettles and toasters as far as the eye could see. And with all of that, only 1 coffee maker on display and it was £80- eeek! At the 2nd and 3rd shops they weren't coffee makers in the normal sense (I'll explain more further on).

While in the states I remember having a selection of a whopping 3 electric water bubblers (that's what I call them). I bought the one with the features I liked- no heating element to be seen inside, auto shut off, side view water level, pouring filter and a base the kettle sat on. I had my nifty water bubbler put into storage before moving out here. Soon after moving here I bought myself one that works on 220 voltage that had all of the features that my other one had.

Now I've been looking to replace my beloved Kitchen Aid coffee pot for one that's made to work with the voltage system out here. Our house has a built in transformer (yes it's a rather nice feature if I do say so myself) so I can use both British and American appliances. But my poor coffee pot was suffering, it's been having a hard time with the 50/60 hertz thing and brewing a pot of coffee was taking 4 times longer than it should- so I decided to send it back to the states for storage and I will seek a new coffee pot out here.

Searching for a coffee pot out here has been a little more difficult than I thought it would be, LOL! I know that they drink coffee out here, but everywhere I go I see these little coffee machines that use those small round coffee pouches and make 1 cup of coffee at a time. That's not what I'm looking for. I want a real honest to goodness coffee maker, one that brews between 10 to 12 cups of coffee at a time and it flows into a glass carafe. So today... my darling husband with all his wisdom will be at the mother base and he's looking at coffee makers for me. That's right, I've got my non-coffee drinking husband looking to buy me a coffee maker- man oh man, either I'm desperate or very trusting, actually I think it's a combination of both! we shall see what he comes home with.

So I'm spending the morning drinking PG Tips tea, having toast and my favorite jam -Smuckers (seedless) Blackberry Jam :-) Hopefully in combination with my headache medication it'll help me work past the migraine headache that I woke up with.

Quote of the Day

Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do... but how much love we put in that action.
-Mother Teresa

Consumed

Here I am, yet again consumed with my stuff being packed up and going into non-temp storage and the movers who are packing my belongings up into cardboard boxes. What a life!

Quote of the Day

Make big plans; aim high in hope and work, remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded will not die.
-Daniel Burnham

Be Happy where you are!

Here in the UK as back in the states I prefer to surround myself with things that make me happy;paper crafts, quilting, sewing, gardening and reading. Making my house into a home and making friends with positive thinking God fearing people that I can have meaningful relationships with are both key to my happiness. I do feel that I have been blessed with regards to both.

Today it may have been gloomy dark and gray outside but inside at a friends home it was bright cheery and full of great conversation and laughter. None of us realized how overcast it was outside. Leaving my friends house was like stepping out into another world. So here I am reminiscing of the great time I had this afternoon while putting away groceries and having a cuppa. Indeed I am blessed!

Quote of the Day

Sometimes the measure of friendship isn't your ability to not harm but your capacity to forgive the things done to you and ask forgiveness for your own mistakes.
Randy K. Milholland, Something Positive Comic, 11-07-05

make your own curtain rods

The first of my new twist on making a cheap version of a wooden curtain rod are in place. I gave my idea over to my husband who in turn made it happen (I love that he can do that). We've used dowels and hooks- I've done this very thing when hanging quilts on the wall for display and well I thought this..."why wouldn't the same concept work on curtains or valances?" When you see the ones I'm using for the kitchen in the kitchen/breakfast area you will snort and giggle. I have finial ends for those too :-) I hope to share this little brain storm with others. There are things to your spend money on then there are things to spend as little as possible on, LOL! Buying curtain rods in the UK can be pretty expensive when you think that for every British pound it is roughly costing $1.70- so £50.00 is actually $81.32 in US dollars and today's exchange rate is low ($1.62) but our bank tacks on a fee- a percentage for using our credit card here in the UK so the rates go up-ugh! Enough about money and exchange rates!

I'm here to show others how to make curtain rods from Dowels and to be able to keep a few hard earned dollars in their pockets! So I'm off to take some pictures of my husbands handiwork and hopefully get him to buy some more dowels at the hardware store so we can finish the rest of the house. But knowing him and how it's a "holiday" he'll probably go into work for a while...he always does.

About Dowels here in the UK- they are about 2½ meters long unlike buying Dowels in the USA which are about 3 feet in length. So you and I CAN use these to make curtain rods for wide windows :-) Dowels come in many different widths which makes them perfect for this very thing! From hanging heavy quilts to room darkening drapes these are the things to same us some $$ or in the case some £'s. Stay tuned for some pictures...

What 3 day weekend?

As friends ask me- What are YOU doing on this 3 day weekend? Well I don't mention 3 days weekends around my kids as it bums them out because they attend British school and well they don't celebrate American federal holidays now do they, LOL! So the kids are in school, I'm still in my jammies typing away on the computer and my husband...well maybe he's relaxing reading a book in the living room.


The rain has just about washed away all of the snow, there are a handful of little white spots lurking around our backyard but I'm sure that those will be gone by the afternoon. The grass is even more green and beautiful, hopefully it'll stay cold enough to keep it dormant so we won't have to mow it, LOL! Now on to my craft endeavors...

Quote of the Day

I don't put on airs of how I am, or what I expect people to be like around me. Be yourself, be who God intended you to be. We all are here on this planet for such a short while, live life to it's fullest, give yourself to worthy causes, be true to your work, your word and your friends.
-Sandie Grisé

that's right, I quoted myself today, this is an excerpt from a letter that I wrote to a dear friend as I felt that she needed a lifting word from yours truly.

Rainy Day Fun!

I love the rain, especially when it's clearing away all of this yucky snow! I think that it's time to have some rainy day fun!

Maybe I'll hang some window treatments and give a cheery view to the out of doors. Or I could bake a scrumptious cheesecake (I'm thinking tropical flavors) or how about finishing up the pack up stuff for the non-temp storage pick up? What ever I do I'm going to be sure to have fun doing it! Maybe if I'm lucky I can knock out all 3 this weekend!

Haiti

By now everyone all over the world has heard about the terrible devastation that has occurred in Haiti. I want to encourage you to give if you can. I have no heartfelt story to tell you of some past trip or connection to anyone who has been there. I have only this to say - these are people that have a suffered a terrible tragedy and are in need of our compassion

Quote of the Day

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.
-Anne Frank

2212/1770

2212 That's the number of views my my webshots page has had this past week and 1770 is how many views my scrapbooking/crafting room album has had this week-WOW! I hope that all who saw my album have been able to find inspiration from the pictures of my various scrapbook nooks over the years. I just keep adding pictures to the album. I think that it also gives an insight as to the evolution of my crafting spaces not to mention the ever changing selection of items available to us for organizing such spaces.

My very first crafting space was of course the kitchen table and I stored my items in a tote bag then I spread into a small linen closet (that was Texas), next was a corner in the formal dining room in Virginia, then in government quarters aka military housing in South Dakota it was a utility closet (I shared my space with a water heater and a furnace), then a room that was made especially for my scrapbooking and paper crafting habit (the house we bought in South Dakota) and now here in England it's a very small bedroom of which I've been able to create my latest Scrapbook Nook". All along this journey I've used what was available to me. The industry that designs and sells Organization tools and supplies has undergone an evolution of it's own- there's so much more available to us now. Places like IKEA are virtual fountains of inspiration- just walking through the various sections makes my imagination soar! The hardest part is figuring out what you want, the 2nd hardest part- putting together the items that you just bought at IKEA, LOL!

Quote of the Day

A little and a little, collected together, becomes a great deal; the heap in the barn consists of single grains, and drop and drop make the inundation.
-Saadi

I'm a Mom- that's my job

Being a Mom to 2 teenagers who attend school in a foreign country isn't easy. Rules for testing and so forth are different here although it does remind me greatly of when we lived state of Virginia. Way Virginia? Because that's a state that teaches their state test just like England teaches the stuff that's on their GCSE tests.

It's the national testing of students and the GCSE testing. It's done at the same time all across England and even with the given current conditions across the country with many schools being closed because of the snow on the roads (which they won't plow) they won't postpone this testing- INSANE!!!! Thousands of schools are closed and the testing still goes on. Where am I going with this you wonder? Our school Kingham Hill out in Chipping Norton realizes the importance of this testing and doesn't want our kids to miss out on this. Can they take the test again in June? Well yes BUT and there is a rather large BUT in all of this. You see, the test given in June is;
1- not the same test
2- they can not prep for this test again with another mock test
3- if they fail the test in June they are screwed!

So it's best if they all take the test now and if any one of them fails for it, they have that 2nd chance to pass it.

The school organized a convoy of 4x4 vehicles, called parents to see if they were interested in having their children picked up in this unconventional manner and be boarded at school for a couple of days while they administered the tests. Only the children having testing on Thursday or Friday would be picked up (year 10 students). My Hannah being a year 10 student was part of that group. I was very impressed with the fact that the schools' headmaster was in that convoy, organizing the pick ups and so forth. Granted we American parents were only given a couple hours notice of this event, we for the most part got our teens packed and ready to go. Only a small handful decided not to send in their children via the convoy due to the poor road conditions. I don't blame those parents for making that decision, I was at a crossroads myself with making my decision to send in our daughter.

Being a mom whose daughter may be spending one or maybe a few nights at boarding school, well I decided to do something special for my daughter. I sent her in with tons of American snack foods...to share with the other girls in the dorm where she is staying. I figure that she's a visitor and those girls have been cooped up there at the school while the Day Boarders got to stay home because of the snow. I sent in my entire secret stash of Girl Scout cookies, Microwave Popcorn the Movie Theater Butter variety, Fig Newtons cookies - apparently the British Kids at this school are crazy about these cookies and we haven't the faintest clue as to why, LOL! Instant lemonade packets- just drop it into a water bottle (with water of course) and Voila! It's the little things that make kids happy. If I had more time I would have made brownies and chocolate chip cookies for Hannah to bring with her to share. From an American view, I have made an awkward last minute boarding situation into a fun loving slumber party...Life is Good! Although I miss my daughter, I hope that she enjoys her time with her bunk mates, that she gains a new perspective on things and sees things through the eyes of the boarding students and how life is for them.

I'm off to wake up our son who doesn't have school today (because of the buses not running due to the poor roads conditions) and then to organize my quilting fabrics.

Quote of the Day

The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' (I found it!) but 'That's funny ...'
- Isaac Asimov

Kids made it back home!

The report from my teens is that the roads are total crap, roads in Chippy are horrendous and cars were stuck everywhere out there. There's no grit or salt for the roads. Bus driver had to dig the bus out of snow, then backed up until he could find a place to turn around then it took him and hour to drive back here.

Kids now doing work sent via e-mail from school.

Snow has become a 4 letter word!

I'm going to say it- I am tired of the snow here in my little part of England! There are no snow plows, no one shovels the sidewalks or walk ways, never mind shoveling out their cars and driveways. The roads are a total mess out here! I'm not going to go on about how America is better- BUT... there are some simple things that need to be improved upon out here.

I had a sinking feeling when I sent my teens out the door to catch the bus today. Received text messages- they are stuck in the snow, yes in the bus in the snow. I'm just sick about this! The school let us know that they are going to send the kids back home, so they must not be all that close to the school. I can only wonder how long it's going to take. Now to wait...

Quote of the Day

Friendship make prosperity more shining and lessens adversity by dividing and sharing it.
Cicero (106 BC - 43 BC), On Friendship, 44 B.C.

The Tuesday that felt like a Monday

Today got off to a very slow start for me. Getting up at 6:40 am (for me that's late) just minutes before our kids left for the bus stop. I went to bed tired and woke up feeling as if I've not slept in days (which I know isn't true).

Our spouses group meeting went well. I truly enjoyed hearing from our guest speakers and learning more about what kinds of things are available to us here at our base. I'm signed up for another terrific ITT trip- woo hoo! Besides ITT, we also had speakers from Outdoor Rec and tour base Library. we've got a lot going on for such a small base. Another great volunteering opportunity just opened up at the library- they are looking for folks to come in a couple times a month for reading to kids at story time on Tuesdays.

Next months function is Bling Bling Bunko- look for more fun and laughter then you've had in a long time!

Quote of the Day

It is the small simple insignificant gestures that make life bearable. A smile, a touch, a word, a kindness, a concern.
-Pam Brown

Girlfriends

There is nothing more fun than having lunch and catching up with your girlfriends. That's what's on my agenda...how about yours?

Quote fo the Day

“And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store.
What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.”
-Dr. Seuss

May Chirstmas stay in our hearts all year long!

Just Veggin'

Nothing extraordinary happening this week- we're just veggin' out reading, finally putting away Christmas ornaments and the tree, tidying up the place and so forth. I love the fact that my husband and daughter are in the kitchen making lunch- home made pizza, crust and all! Now I hope that they clean up when they're done "cooking".

We're waiting for another snow storm to kick in- not that this place needs any more snow thank you! The roads are an icy snow covered mess and well shelves in the grocery stores are getting rather sparse as trucks have been unable to get to the stores to deliver the dry goods. I hope that some drivers braved the elements and made it to the stores this weekend.

So with hot chocolate in hand I'm going back to my cozy spot in the living room and back to my book.
Cheers!

Quote of the Day

I believe that every person is born with talent.
Maya Angelou

Quote of the Day

When you relinquish your desire to control your future, you can have more happiness!
-Nicole Kidman

Embrace your Space- UK version of My Scrapbook Nook unveiling

For inspiration for my new "nook"I looked at pictures on the internet- to see what others have done with small rooms turning them into their crafting spaces. It was important to me that I incorporate pieces that I already had. 1-this helps me to stay on budget and 2- these pieces work very well for me. After looking at what Ikea had to offer I was able to make a decision on what work best in the room. I wanted to give my space a total overhaul but also staying within a budget.
Measuring the room is key- don't go anywhere before you measure everything twice! Measure the items you want to use in the room. make a graph and move the pieces around. For me, I had to contend with a radiator, hence this work desk you see in these pictures, it's perfect for the space!
I also wanted a fresh color pallet- that's one of the nice things about moving every few years, getting to try new things. The black/white/silver makes it not look so overwhelming. Too much color can make small spaces that need to hold a lot of things look unorganized and cluttered. The black and white floral boxes you see in the picture give a uniformity to the space and keeps clutter hidden in a discreet manner.
Any questions- please e-mail me and I'll be more than happy to help you.

I love this glass door shelf unit, there's a large drawer underneath the shelves for storing large tools and such.

I've obviously embraced IKEA- these fabric bins are fantastic and the price is pretty reasonable too!

My IKEA work station

I lined all of these drawers with black cardstock for contrast, that and the fact that I didn't want to see the stacks of stamps.

Same stuff on the shelves as in South Dakota with exception of the Ikea Boxes

My TALL chrome shelf unit- LOVE this thing! Bought it at Lowe's in Rapid City and I've never regretted it! As you can see, this baby can hold a lot! Same items I had on it back in SD now I've added 2 jumbo storage boxes from Ikea. I can hide tons of bulky items that make my nook look messy- love it!

The lower closet area-not sure if I'll use the Cricut while here but I bought it anyway, I'm worried that it will die an early death.

The upper closet area. I used a shelf unit that I had in the home office/guest room at our last house. Black and White containers are from Ikea.

Quote of the Day

There are two ways to pass a hurdle: leaping over or plowing through... There needs to be a monster truck option.
- Jeph Jacques

Of all the things I've lost...

I miss my mind the most. If you haven't guessed, I'm going through another love/hate relationship with my computer. Why oh why does this thing happen to me every year...I've lost some pictures (again), LOL! I know that they're here somewhere, it's that I've got to calm down enough to actually figure out where they went or I'll be tempted to use a baseball bat on this computer and beat it out of it! Why does this sort of thing happen to me? I mean really! Grrr! So I throw my hand up in the air and surrender- the computer wins! I will go and retake my photo's of my scrapbook nook and just chalk it up to another win for my computer- damn thing has more wins than I do, LOL!

Snow in England

I thought that I was moving to a place that had "mild winters"- so much for that! I want to let you all know that this is not mild weather, not at all! Granted the snow fall is not to the extent that we had in South Dakota BUT what we do have has managed to bring many parts of this country into a complete standstill. My heart goes out to the 5000 plus families who have lost electricity to their homes.

My children shoveled the drive way and cleared the walk ways yesterday. It's a heavy wet snow and this is going to take a while to clear. Many towns have run out of grit for the roads. It's not that this area is totally unprepared it's that this amount of snow fall is so rare how can you really prepare for something that happens so infrequently?

In case you're wondering- the painter never did make it back to our house, LOL!

Quote of the Day

The Eskimos had fifty-two names for snow because it was important to them: there ought to be as many for love.
-Margaret Atwood

Snow Day

Some pictures around the yard...
From the breakfast room to the garage

The great expanse otherwise known as the backyard

Scary thing is that we have to mow that in a few months-ugh!

Snow Day!

We have snow and lots of it! Please stay home drink tea, hot cocoa or coffee, make a snowman and snow Angels with your kids and take pictures- that's what I plan on doing today!

Quote of the Day

Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces us up, snow is exhilarating; there is really no such thing as bad weather, only different kinds of good weather.
-John Ruskin

Back to Scrapbooking...

It feels like forever since I've sat down and have created an actual scrapbook layout. Oh wait, that's because it has! Well ,when ones things have been in storage for 6 months of course its going to feel like that, LOL! If I've said it once I've said it a thousand times- moving is not for wimps and a military move overseas really isn't. It's taken me a month to sort out the mess that the movers have made of my scrapbook nook when they packed it all up back in June. I've been weeding things out, consolidating other things and donating to charity things I know that I won't use. Now I'm almost ready for the unveiling of my new UK edition of my scrapbook nook. Stay tuned....

Perspective

So here I am, doing laundry and preparing to get my kids ready for going back to school tomorrow when...I get an e-mail letting me know to expect heavy snow in our area. I've got the painters here touching up the ceiling. They let one coat dry then come back a while later and add another coat and so forth. You may wonder what that mean for me- it means I hang out here and wait, wait wait. Good thing I've got stuff to keep me occupied -remember the laundry? I've got at least another 4 loads to go. If I had my Duet washer and dryer I'd have been done by now-oh well such is life.

Soooooo, if we're really to get some heavy snow as predicted I'm going to need some food stuffs...milk, cheese, half & half (or single cream as it's called here). frozen breaded chicken strips and some more bread and jam. Ahhh it's the life isn't it? Get a few inches of snow and everything shuts down. It can be a good or bad thing depending upon how you look at it. Myself, I'm okay with my kids being at home another day and I think that they are too. Now I'm trusting my husband to pick up a few things at the grocery store...that could be a bad thing, LOL!

Quote of the Day

All right everyone, line up alphabetically according to your height.
-Casey Stengel

What's more fun than a barrel of monkeys?

Driving to London Heathrow Airport in the winter! Big detour that took me 1½ hours to get back to the same point where I started from -ugh! But my boy is now home here in Bicester with us...until April when we ship him out again for the Prom.



School starts back up on Wednesday- not sure if I'm looking forward to it.

Quote of the Day

A strong positive mental attitude will create more miracles than any wonder drug.
-Patricia Neal

is it Saturday already?

Oh my goodness do I have a list of things I want to get done today! It's already lunch time and well I've got some British treats for my family to try. Pork sausages with caramelized onions- man oh man did those look and smell fantastic! I had to buy them while at the grocery store, they were calling my name and so were the pork and apple sausages. As I want to get my family eating more British foods, I thought that this was a perfect start for the new year.

I've got my husband working in the kitchen, but he's not cooking he's got something else going on. I'll tell you more later.

It's time to measure my windows- got to get some of those room darkening curtains or shades for this house. The ones we bought for the house around the corner are too short! It's one of those things that happens- no matter where you move the windows will always be a different size that at the last house. So now to find something to put on those windows before the sun starts rising at 4 am again and setting at 10pm.

So off I go to measure the windows on the west side of the house...wish me luck!

Quote of the Day

"Year's end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us."
- Hal Borland

New Years Resolutions

I stopped making New Years Resolutions years ago, to me it seemed pointless. I'd much rather set achievable goals and works towards them.

Since having all of my crafting and cooking tools in storage for 6 months I have lots going on in that department...

My goals for 2010

*to make a sweet treat for my family every week

*to try a new recipe every week

*to work in my new scrapbook nook at least 1 hour every day, be it organizing it, making cards, scrapbook layouts or printing pictures.

*to continue to be a mentor for military spouses, to help to get them involved in community service projects and knowing their neighbors and fellow Church parishioner's

*to continue to be a good friend, confidant and listener. To be able to assist friends and military spouses as best as I can with keeping a positive attitude

*to offer classes on cooking, sewing, scrapbooking, card-making and quilting classes to other military spouses

*to continue to work towards my dream, to complete my cookbook and look for a publisher when it's ready

*to laugh every day

*to look for the rainbow after every rain storm

*to never pass an opportunity to tell my husband and children that I love them

*to entertain in my home whenever possible

*to surprise friends with special homemade treats

*to be adventurous

*to travel as much as I possibly can

Quote of the Day

An optimist stays up to see the New Year in. A pessimist waits to make sure the old one leaves.
-Bill Vaughan