Hopping all over the world

Dear Reader

It's been a busy week and I've not managed to take any pictures of my crafting efforts to post. So tonight I sat back, poured a glass of wine and went blog-hopping. I love doing that as you never know where you'll end up. Tonight I came across two blogs that I thought worth sharing with anyone who likes a bit of artyness. Perhaps you've already come across them but they were new to me. The first is http://illustrationfriday.com which surprise, is a weekly illustration challenge posted every Friday with a word of the week. This week's particularly appealed to me as the word was 'proverb' (I love proverbs) and I thought there were some really good entries. This blog led me to another http://ornithoblogical.blogspot.com/ , a blog by award-winning Anna Raff, which is posting a whimsical bird-related image every day for 365 days. There's some really good ones. I particularly liked day 218: A bird in the ham. Which is your favourite?

Happy weekend everyone!

WAKE UP AND SMELL THE WILDFLOWERS

Dear Reader

I just had to stop this morning and take a couple of pictures to share with you of the wildflower border along Humberston Road, Cleethorpes (or is it Grimsby Road Humberston - never sure as at one time we had one signpost on one side of the road and another quite different on the other side). Near the Cleethorpes Tesco......

Anyway, I've been noticing something 'happening' there but today in the sunshine with all the pinks, purples, blues and whites bobbing their heads in the breeze and enjoying the fine weather it was in its prime and absolutely stunning. There are hundreds of tiny flowers, most look like some kind of cornflower but there are other bits and bobs in there too (not a wildflower expert as you can tell!). OK, don't expect showy actors like the cultivated roses, peonies or azaleas we have in our gardens or floral soldiers planted in lines and patterns of the kind we find in local authority bedding schemes , but in my book this border is so subtle, so understated and so so pretty. It runs for quite some distance, starting just past the Pear Tree pub restaurant and if you're in the area take the time to check it out. I did get a couple of funny looks as I screeched to a halt, leapt out of my car and started photographing the verge but hey ho I like flowers! I'm guessing it's been planted by the Cleethorpes in Bloom people and what a wonderful job they've done. I love it when we have something to celebrate in our area. Yes, I know it's just a tiny thing but someone somewhere has come up with the idea, planted the seeds and they must be bursting with pride now that it looks so good. If I'd done it I'd be marching up and down with a sandwich board on saying "Noticed the border yet?!" There are no empty patches, no vandalism (although I bet a few schoolkids might be tempted to pick some for their mum), just a sea of nature's finest for the whole community to enjoy. My idea of floral heaven.

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE!

Dear Reader

Well the Easter Bunny is nearly upon us, so Happy Easter everyone. Hope you all enjoy your eggs! Here is a picture of some of my Easter things. From l-r, an Easter card I made in an RWS class, an Easter basket I made for a Simon says Stamp challenge, an Easter Basket bought inVenice (can't resist their favours) and a birdcage Maurice bought me for Easter which contains the egg I bought him! And a little yellow Easter bird on top of the cage (didn't want him trapped inside). After Easter I plan to decorate the cage a bit more when time allows. And finally my Easter banner that I made one Saturday at an RWS crop. I think people wondered what on earth I was doing but I like it - it's cheerful. Thank you Loraine for giving me the images to use. I was commissioned to make another this week - but for the birth of a baby boy. I made the banner and matching card using just blues and whites and a blue/white gingham ribbon but this time hand-painted a bear with balloons stamped image

.

We've had a lovely Easter so far. Off we went to Ikea yesterday morning to get 'some bits' for the craft room we're still creating. I know it's been a while but it's a work in progress! We are hoping to get it finished over the Bank Holiday. Anyway, still undecided where to put shelving etc we decided to pay the Swedish shop a visit for inspiration. I love an Ikea experience now and again. It's like being in some kind of nordic parallel universe where nothing appears to match and yet somehow goes together so well - like bacon and egg, or should I say raw fish and rye bread. Maurice loves the meat balls with the sauce and the red jelly stuff. I like the way it tells you exactly how many you will get for a small, medium and large portion - I think Maurice opted for 14 this time! Everything in Ikea has wonderful names and I get carried away shouting "Can you see Sockerart in pink? It might be near Fridfull or Blomster." Of course, we buy something 2 metres long that causes Maurice to sweat and go "Redvig" trying to fit it into the "Carster". Only way is for me to pull my seat right forward so my eyelashes are touching the windowscreen. Well not quite but I bet Lynda's would now she has falsies! Not quite the way to travel when there's torrential rain late afternoon and the windowscreen wipers are on 'manic' setting, sending me dizzy I'm so close to them. I shut my eyes and go to sleep.

And today, a lovely morning and early afternoon crafting with some really nice people, including Sandra from Scotland who was an 'absolute caution'. And laugh? Did we! And I got some of my Harry Potter Owl Post envelopes distressed (thanks Lynda/Bee for your help). Maurice and I then went to look at a car I had spotted yesterday. It was an automatic Chrysler Touring Cabriolet, no more expensive than the basic Toyota I'm presently driving but it looked more fun to me! Certainly was. It broke down on the test drive and left me stranded at the traffic lights near Grimsby Tesco on Victoria Street. Aaaaaagh! I got out whilst Maurice ran off to the garage to get help. Some young lads drove past and shouted "Should have got yourself a proper car love" which I thought was hysterical and was still laughing when the police stopped to ask what I was doing. Apart from laughing. I told them I was test driving a car but it wouldn't go and they started laughing too. Ah! well, can't win 'em all as Granny would say.

And tonight I found out I'd won a top three blinkie for last week's Whiff of Joy Challenge, which was an absolute shock - I'm still amazed - but also delighted. Thanks very much to the Design Team for choosing me. It's made my Easter very special.

PUT A SOCK IN IT

Dear Reader

Just a little note about our recent trip.

Here's a picture of Maurice and I taken on the Grand Canal in Venice by an obliging American lady whilst we were being rowed across on a gondola. This is the cheapskate version of a gondola ride in Venice. The real deal costs around £70 for half an hour but you can catch the 'local authority' gondola for a quick trip across the City's widest waterway for half a Euro or 50 pufflinks as Maurice would say. As you can see it was a bitterly cold day. What you can't see is that it was Maurice's 50th birthday that day. We had a really lovely time in Venice and great fun celebrating his half century and I would recommend it as a 'must see' destination. As Barbara mentioned on Saturday the fact that they you never see a car in such a large place is a really strange phenomenon. It is also achingly beautiful and truly romantic in an original shabby chic way. The light and the mists make it an artists' dream and you can walk for as long as your legs will allow just drinking in the atmosphere and the wonderful sights and scenery crossing over canals and bridges and getting more and more lost in the labyrinth of tiny streets and passages. Then there's the heritage and of course the novelty of travelling, very leisurely, by water boat. Just watching everything being brought into the city on the water and people going about their everyday life by boat is so novel. And water is so relaxing don't you think. Window shopping in the 'designer' streets is a 'how wonderful but how much!' experience too, although I did find a branch of my very favourite sock shop in the entire world - Calzedonia - if you want to check it out. It only used to exist in Italy but the sales assistant says there's now a branch in Regent Street London which caused me great excitement. The socks and tights are wonderful quality, made in Italy, are not too expensive and wash like a dream. I bought 16 pair. Not all for me I hasten to add in case you think I've got a sock fetish, although I could write a book on socks and tights and disappointing pairs I've bought lol! Hmmmmm, as Granny would say 'Put a sock in it' Anne and change the subject, your readers will think you're mad!

Anyway, that's the good side of this unique place. On the negative you'll need Securicor to deliver the money you'll need to enjoy your holiday and the wonderful Italian food that you get everywhere else in Italy just didn't make it to Venice. They've got a tourist paradise and unfortunately they've exploited that. But still, don't let that put you off. Go. Go now.

Jane's Candy

Dear Reader

Pop over to www.janeslovelycards.blogspot.com to be in with a chance of winning Jane's bloggoversary candy. It's a year since she set up her blog and to celebrate is giving away this amazing and generous candy. Thanks Jane. And thanks for giving us so many lovely cards. Your blog is aptly named xxx

I've not managed to do any crafting this week as I'm in the process of moving my craft stuff (thanks for spurring me into action Loraine!) to what was Alice's bedroom. Alice is at uni and has made a home for herself in Leeds where she has been for nearly three years now. It's a bit sad to think that both the girls have finally left home and set up for themselves but that's life and the way of things and it's great to think that they have become independent women and are out there busy living and having fun.

I've only been crafting for a year but I seem to have spread myself all over the house so I'm trying to consolidate! If only I was a bit neater and tidier. I really am cross with myself for getting in such a mess. The irony is that I usually know where everything is. Well sort of!! I'm also typing up my mum's war memories which are absolutely fascinating and she tells a great tale. She's also found some pictures to go with the stories so it will make a wonderful family book. Tomorrow I have a pool match and Thursday am going to the pictures with mum and Chloe to see Alice in Wonderland so crafting is taking a real back burner this week. Be back soon though xxxx

ENGAGED

Dear Reader

Last night was my friend Nina's engagement party. Here she is with her lovely man John having a cuddle in the kitchen. Kitchen's always the best place at party's right? And above is the card I made for them. It's a gatefold card and inside, apart from our love and best wishes to Nina and John, is a short quote from Leo Tolstoy:

"He felt now that he was not simply close to her but that he did not know where he ended and she began."

Stop filling up Lynda!!! But if you can't have a romantic saying in an engagement card then as granny would say 'it's a poor show'. I wanted the card to be like one of those soft focus romantic moments that you get in films - all gooey and heart-melting, to make you feel all warm inside. I love a bit of romance! Anyways, I stamped everywhere with an Anna Griffin stamp (she does romantic really well I think in her papers and products), used lots of tattered rose distress ink, some soft pink Martha Stewart card and some embellisments from RWS and my stash. Just to complete the whole romance of it all I made the card for them on Valentines Day. Oh! no - you're filling up again Lynda !!!

All the ingredients were in place for a cracking party - lots of bubbly, food, people and a mood for celebration so you'll not be surprised to hear that it turned out really well and was a great night. John's family had come from all over the place and I had a long chat with a lady called Sue from Darlington who used to do sugar craft and was stopping in her caravan outside in Nina's garden with her two dogs who'd come with her, a jolly motorbiker from t'other side of the Humber with lots of biking stories, and masses of other folk including Nina's neighbours. Turned out that Nina's neighbour was called John too and apparently there'd been a bit of embarrassment when they first moved in. Nina had shouted loudly for 'John' to bring her some loo roll up and got an answer through the open bathroom window from a surprised neighbour John next door to say he would try and help! Oooops - bet she remembers to check Mr B Ogroll is in place from now on!! And thank goodness she's now 'Engaged'!!

POST IT NOTE

Dear Reader I know I said I wouldn't be back for a while with any cards but I thought this one was so lovely that I'd just have to post it on my blog. It was a big surprise when it arrived in the post today. I opened it wondering who on earth it was from and guess what, it was from Nurse Tammy! If you've been with me from the start you'll remember that on a visit to the docs, Nurse Tammy and I started off talking low fat diets, moved to cupcakes and then on to crafting cupcakes which was all far more interesting than limp lettuce! It's really cute with beautiful decoupage which my photo doesn't do justice to and lots of sparkle.

Isn't it lovely when you get a nice surprise in the post. I fear with all things going 'e' that the days of the posted card may be drawing to an end (terrible for us crafters and I don't know if I should even be voicing this fear in case it makes some of you faint!). I truly hope not as an 'e' card, appropriate in some circumstances I give you, just isn't the same as a card sent in the post. Even the post office seem to be conspiring to get rid of handcrafted cards by, as Jane has recently pointed out, making it impossibly expensive to send them. I suggest that when the politicans start lobbying us for our votes this May we ask them where they stand on the issue of a reasonably priced posted handcrafted card! Ha! That'll put them on the spot and sort the men from the boys as granny would say. In the meantime though thanks Nurse Tammy for the card - it's beautiful.

A PHOENIX RISES

Dear Reader

It's a while since I blogged as I've been having what they call today 'health issues', what we in Grimsby say 'been a bit badly'. Lost the fight with the tooth last Thursday. The dentist said it was a 'rogue', so I called it Bill Sykes and had it out. RIP Bill. Unfortunately I've now been faced with a whopping bill the size of Iceland's national debt so I'm not a happy bunny. And today I was faced with a haridan of a nurse when I went for chiropody treatment for my poorly toe (is there no end to my minor ailments!), who tut tutted and had the nerve to tell me that my best shoe boots were far too high and pointy and hence bad for me. This from an insole of a woman sporting the worst pair of size 8 clumpy blue trainers I have ever seen, who clearly should be arrested by the shoe police. Well, I'm sorry but there are limits and I've reached them. I may look for some slightly wider shoe boots when I've finished handing over my pay cheque to the dentist but I'm not giving up my heels .... yet.

Apart from that it's been a good start to the week as the logo for this year's Business Awards event is ready. Hope you're liking it. As you probably (well hopefully) can guess, this year we're having a Harry Potteresque magical theme for our Awards and I wanted the logo (crest) to represent that.

At the Gala Dinner we going to split the audience into four houses and the crest shows the colours of them. We've named them Grimmydor (scarlet/gold), Scunnerin (green/silver), Humberpuff (yellow/black) and Ravenscorus (blue/bronze). Each house will have its own ghost (Nearly Headless Harry/the Corpulent Count/the Grey Banker/the Bloody Bishop) and its own animal mascot (lion/snake/badger/eagle). There is a phoenix on top of the crest which is supposed to represent business rising from the ashes of recession (I think optimism is a good thing!) and I'm hoping our Awards do spread some magic for the business community. They've had a really tough time of it. I guess I've let my imagination run riot this year but it's been a lot of fun and the graphics people at the Telegraph have really got behind the concept and I think done us proud. We've also had a lot of fun putting it all together and I guess that's what it's all about.

I've had a go at the Magnolia Easter basket challenge and hopefully will be decorating it tomorrow night, so I'll post it Wednesday. It was a bit fiddly - you could do with four hands really - if my toe wasn't badly I might have bought that into play! - but I found that if I held it together with paper clips (the basket not my toe) it made the job a bit easier. That's my top tip for anyone else out there trying it. Or even better get a mate round. As granny would say "many hands make light work". And for anyone out there who's wondering what the heck I'm going on about, take a look at the Magnolia site (link below). The design team have come up with some stunning Easter baskets. I'm just wondering what to fill mine with. Probably teeth!

http://justmagnolia.blogspot.com/

A DUCK AT THE DENTISTS

Dear Reader
I'm thinking you're probably as sick of my teeth as I am but let's get the saga finished shall we? Today I finally got some treatment, after my Friday appointment got cancelled because my new dentist Mr Traingates had got rushed into hospital. I was so eager to get the ordeal over today I actually arrived early! Yes, unheard of and it felt very strange. Consequently I had to sit in the upstairs waiting room on my own twiddling my thumbs and listening to the sound of the drill 'til they were ready for me. There were big notices about telling me to switch my mobile phone off, so I did. Apparently it interferes with the x ray machine's waves. Funnily enough Maurice was telling me yesterday that he has a machine to test microwaves for leakages - not for soup that's boiled over but for radiation!) and that the same machine registers very low levels from mobile phones. Scary huh! Anyway, got called in. My even newer dentist Mr Harris (Thininout) told me how much the treatment was going to cost and before I could get a moan out at that news popped the x ray machine into my mouth. To my horror my phone then started 'quacking'. I hadn't turned it off. The quacking meant it was Maurice as he is the only one with the duck quack ring tone. The dentist looked around startled. I just laid there innocently looking up at the ceiling hoping to God that it wasn't affecting the x ray machine or I would be forking out for one of those as well as root canal and a crown. Think I got away with it. As granny would say "sometimes the best thing to say is nothing at all"....

RING ME

Dear Reader
It's Saturday night so just a bit of fun. You've probably gathered that I'm an avid internet window shopper. In particular I love jewellery and love checking out new designers.

I recently checked out a site of a national award winning jeweller called Katie Rowland and was amazed at what I found. One bespoke ring in particular caught my eye. The idea is that if you meet someone you'd like to give your contact details to, you whip your ring off your finger, rummage in your bag for your mini inker (which comes with the ring). stamp up onto a piece of paper and the following appears "Ring me 01472 54321" or whatever your tel number happens to be. How cool! You can also get rings that spell out VICE, VIRTUE or PLEASURE although quite why you'd suddenly get the urge to stamp any of those words I don't know. Might be handy I suppose if you're stuck for a sentiment in class! Anyway, if you're feeling very flush take a look at the website - go to Purchase followed by Rings and Knuckledusters. Yes, apparently knuckledusters are the latest thing, although I still won't be buying one when they appear in Next. For one thing how could you cut out Tracey's intricate designs with a knuckleduster on lol BUT A WORD OF WARNING... If you're easily offended then stay away. It's not my intention to shock or offend people. There were a couple of ring titles on the site that made my eyes bobble a bit and I'm not easily shocked. As granny would say "Things you see when you haven't got your gun." I'm thinking it's been done deliberately - people talk and it's good publicity - but still a bit unnecessary in my view. If you can get past them (and you'll know instantly the ones I mean) then the rest of collection is pretty fun and funky......
http://www.katie-rowland.com/

Also check out on my blog (down the right hand side) the "Which Jane Austen heroine are you?" quiz. Just a bit of fun. Wasn't surprised to find out I was Marianne Dashwood. Lots of sensibility and not much sense!! Love to know who you turn out to be. Leave me a comment and let's see how close to your character they get!

THERE'S NOWT AS QUEER AS FOLK

Here's the second part of the blog. About a year ago out of the blue I got a phone call at work from an Icelandic man called Olafur Hallddrsson. He had tracked me down to talk about "Fishermen - The Rise and Fall of Deep Water Trawling". Oli, as he has come to be known, came from a little town on the North-West peninsula of Iceland called Isafjordur, a community of just 4,000 people. The town had traditionally relied on the fishing and prawn industry but because of dwindling natural resources had had to re-think itself. As Oli said it was "a resourceful little town" and so they thought. And thought. And what did they come up with? They built a university! Anyhows, Oli was doing an MA through his little town's university (apparently no matter where you study in Iceland you can tap into national lectures, talk to your professor and so on, which is very cool) and he wanted to know whether Austin and I would have any objection to the book being translated by him and possibly published in Iceland. I was amazed. The book had been published 12 years previously, had only had a very small print run at the time and I thought it had just disappeared into obscurity. It wasn't even in the pound bin at Wilkos! Of course we said 'yes' and ever since Oli and I have been corresponding about this and that to do with the book.

What brought all this in mind for the blog was an email from Oli a few days ago, asking me if I could help him with a bit of translation. He wanted to know the 'deeper meaning' for the idiom, "There's nowt as queer as folk". Now there's a favourite granny saying if ever there was one. Coincidence, fate that he should write just at the moment when I'm looking at old sayings I don't know but I thought I'd share this story with you. I've written back to Oli to say that the saying is just a northern one and there isn't any deep meaning. Rather, it's just a comment on human behaviour in any situation that strikes you as odd or strange. It struck me how odd and strange life is sometimes, how coincidental too.

OOH LA LA!

If anyone's looked in on my blog this week and found - well - nothing new I do apologise. I was aiming to be fairly regular with my blogging. However, remember how I said right at the beginning of this blog that 2010 was going to be about finding something positive every day, even on a day when I went to the dentist? Well, I've certainly had my work cut out testing that baby out this week. To be short, I got an abscess in my mouth on Monday which caused my face to swell horrifically overnight so that by Tuesday I resembled a crazed chipmunk. Wouldn't have been too bad if I'd had a dentist but I was, what you might call, between dentists. So this week I've been trying out various medical facilities in the town and do you know what, without exception, they've all been marvellous. First port of call emergency dentist in Osborne Street. Slightly worrying that there was a security guard on the door but apparently he wasn't there to stop me escaping. Very kind, efficient, gave me some antibiotics and told me to rest hot tea on my cheek. Fair enough, not good at balancing but willing to give it a go. Second port of call doctors for painkillers. Saw a French doctor who was unbelievably tender and oooh la la'd and clucked at the sight of my chipmunkian features and said I might warrant yet more antibiotic. Third port of call was my new hastily appointed dentist Mr Crossgates, Traingates or similar.Bit dazed as on painkillers by now and everything a blur. I know it wasn't Bill Gates. Anyway, Mr Sidegates apparently works one day a month in a hospital in France. Didn't go into detail as he was lancing me at the time. But I'm liking the French connection - made me feel very EU. That's European Union not 'Effing Unbelievable'. Mr Frontgates has now given me more drugs, told me to put frozen peas on my cheek (will make a nice change from the tea) and the promise of root canal treatment next Friday once my face is, as he put it, flat again. I've always been a bit of a chipmunk so I hope he's not expecting miracles! And to be honest the only canals I've ever wanted to see are the ones in Venice. And when the neighbours walk past and look in I can see them thinking "Wouldn't it be quicker if she defrosted her peas in the microwave". But, let's be positive. I've had excellent treatment everywhere I've been, met some lovely people and there is hope that my tooth may be saved. And Maurice has been an absolute treasure of a paramedic, cooking me scrambled egg. passing me painkillers, tea and peas and filling my hottie. But of course, as grandma would have said, 'abscess makes the heart grow fonder'. I'm sure it was something like that anyway....

THE FRAME AND THE CASSEROLE

Two shopping stories. I've been looking everywhere for a deep frame that I could put a scrapbook page in. Wouldn't work for all pages but I thought some would make a really nice, different, picture for a room and of course you can change it as and when you like with different layouts. Anyhow, struggled to find anything at a good price that was deep enough to take a page that was heavily embellished. Then I came across this Ribba frame at IKEA. It's £13.99 which I think is a good buy and comes in different colours. A 12" x 12" layout just fits inside the mount (which is ph neutral). I bought two, put in matching pages that I did at an RWS class, added some journal prompts and bob's your uncle. If you're looking at the picture and wondering why Maurice is holding it it's because the light kept bouncing off the glass when I tried to photograph it. It's not how we normally display our art as obviously it would make his arms ache after a bit! You, of course, could hang yours on a wall! Anyways, just an idea........

My other purchase today was a wildly expensive le Creuset casserole dish. In the sale, with another 20% off but still expensive. Cooked up a really big batch of bolognaise last night, put it in the oven to cook out and when I came back after the chicken timer had rung and Maurice had reminded me that it had rung, the glass lid had shattered and imploded into the bolognaise. Wot a mess! I should explain that I lost my original wedding present le Creuset casserole in my divorce. My ex Tony got custody and I didn't even get access!! I've been through three cheap casseroles since. I'm obviously hard on casseroles! Anyway, enough is enough and I took my flexible friend (no this is not the new name I decided on for Maurice) into town and now am the owner of a brand spanking new turquoise oval le Creuset casserole dish. Let's hope I don't need to use the lifetime guarantee!

We were all reminiscing yesterday at the impromptu crop at Runnning With Scissors about sayings that your granny used I thought it would be a bit of fun to finish my blogs with an appropriate granny-like comment and see how long I can find something appropriate without repeating myself. But today I'm torn between two, "You get what you pay for" and "Never Spend a Penny When a Ha'Penny Will Do". I think my granny would have gone for the latter!

NURSE TAMMY AND THE CUPCAKE

Dear Reader

Apologies for the lack of blogging. I've not been idle, just being creative during the evening in a different way putting together a 'Harry Potter' or as I'm calling it, a Hairy Pitta evening. This year Grimsby Auditorium and the Northern Lincolnshire Business Awards will be turned into Hogawards School of Industry and Business and we'll be looking for companies to reward in the Chamber of Success' Room of Recognition. I've been having great fun putting together a Dinner menu, entertainment and show. I'll keep you posted. Or should I say blogged.

Today I had to go for some test results, flu jabs and general MOT at the docs. Dread it. Everytime you go they find something else wrong with you. I don't know if anyone else does this (probably not) but if there's something I really don't want to do I drag my heels until I make myself late and then have to go like the clappers because I feel guilty that I'm keeping whoever it is waiting. (If anyone's reading this and thinking last time I met them I was late and that's because I didn't want to be there that isn't the case - I'm actually mostly late everywhere - just that it seems to be worse if I don't want to go). Anyway, this morning wasn't helped as when I got in the car to drive like the clappers it turned out my watch was actually 10 minutes slow so I was in real trouble. Especially as I then followed a hay lorry (where did that come from at this time of year!!?) for a couple of miles. So, screeched to halt outside docs in bad mood, majorly late and convinced my blood pressure must be sky high. Attacked the stairs like a mountain goat, pressed all the buttons on the new signy in screeny thingy hoping to goodness someone with pig flu hadn't used it before me and got called in to see Nurse Tammy. Yes, the flu jab nurse at our practice is called Tammy. Priceless! Turns out, try as they might, they couldn't find anything wrong with me today. So we talked a bit about low fat diets, exercise, sugar levels and of course before long we were talking cupcakes which was much more interesting. I said mine were actually paper so really good for people on diets and what do you know turns out Nurse Tammy is a crafter. Now I'm lending her my cupcake template and we're swopping websites and everything. So just for Nurse Tammy here's a picture of a finished cupcake. This 'be good to yourself' cupcake can be filled with 'what the heck enjoy yourself' chocolates or other treats if you wish... Of course, Nurse Tammy, mine will be filled with lettuce!

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A MONTH MAKES

Early in December when I was looking for quotes for my Christmas Journal I came across the following by J B Priestley. I thought it was lovely....

The first fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event. You go to bed in one kind of a world and wake up in another quite different, and if this is not enchantment then where is it to be found?

I don't know about you but quite frankly I'm more than a little tired of the white stuff now and fed up of shuffling along like a Japanese geisha. Obviously I don't look like a Japanese geisha as I've been wearing my black rubber boots and an anorak for days. With a pair of trousers I hasten to add in case you're worrying there's nothing in between! Oh for some glamour - a pair of heels and a dress. Anyway, I'm not waxing lyrical about snow any more. Instead I'm liking the following better:

In the town of The Pas, Manitoba
It snows on the first of Octoba
From then, for six months,
It thaws only once
And never when I am quite soba.