Just Us Chickens

These are my chickens, they have free roam of the garden at the moment, but that will be restricted next year when I plan to do a little landscaping. Manicured gardens & free roam chickens do not mix, as they will scratch & eat your garden to pieces. However, for now although it is messy, they are fertilizing it nicely for next years plans :)

I have Queenie (black maran) Bluey (blue maran) 2 Welsummers, Rosie & Mz Henny Penny [aka HP] & Bella (cream legbar) Bella is the one with the funny head of feathers that reminds me of a grannies bonnet.

After The Storm

This is the view I took while stood on my front door step immediately after a heavy storm, when the sky had been so black I needed the lamp on indoors. I love my neighbours monkey puzzle tree & that you can just see the top of the tradition red telephone box, beyond that the hills & of coarse that lovely rainbow.

Mail Art

This is the Mail Art (postcard) I created for the 2nd mail art swap over on UK Stampers.
I built up various colours of acrylic paint, starting with a metalic brown & loosely blending flat colours on the top. I then stamped images that reminded me of Autumn using Stazon Ink, added a touch of colour to the breast of the bird & more to the toadstools. I finished it off by adding gold leaf Rub & Buff paste to the edges of the card to lift it a little.
I wrote a message, along with the recipients address on the back, complete with a postage stamp just as you would with a holiday postcard, then posted it naked. I just hope that it doesn't get too wet & it arrives nicely postmarked, but still nice on the front
*fingers crossed*

New York City Blues

I made these 3 ATCs for this months 3 x 3 swap over on UK Stampers where this months theme is Shades of Blue.
The stamp I used for these is by Inkadinkado, I also used 3 shades chalk ink direct to the card for the coloured background, then various pens to highlight parts of the image along with glossy accents.

Yet another grandchild...!

Logan born 3rd July 2010

Mason Dexter Paul born 17th September 2009

Erin Paige born 12th November 2009

Yes, that's 3 new grandchildren in less than a year. I am so blessed, because that brings the running total to 8 now & means that all 4 of my wonderful sons are Fathers.

Have you discovered Dreamees yet?

Recently, I connected with Carol Bignall via facebook & to my delight found out that her daughter Hayley designs craft CDs. They now sell them to the public under the name of Dreamees they have also just set up a blog, where you will find inspirational ideas for using their products. Pop over to their blog to catch up with whats going on for this Mother & Daughter partnership. Oh, one more thing, you may not be familiar with Carol's name, but if you love Create & Craft I am sure that you would have seen a card or cross stitch on there, that she has produced for one or two of their guests

The Graduate

I am so proud of my partner Alex, he had his graduation ceremony yesterday at the Symphony Hall in Birmingham for getting a commendation in Rehabilitation Studies for the Visually Impaired...
Congratulations Alex....love you!!

The One Minute Writer

I was reading my friend Cherrys blog today & through her blog found the One Minute Writer blog, so I thought I would give it a go.
Todays prompt is: What do you wish you liked...but you don't?
I wish I liked homemaking as much that I dream I do in my head...But, I don't?
My thoughts have ideas of how my rooms would look, with the furniture chosen, the colours, the fabrics & accessories used to enhance my living space, but it just never ever ends up looking like it does in my mind.
Yes, I do produce a comfortable, clean & tidy home, but there is always that mild dissatisfaction at the end product.
I always seem to be tweeking it here & another little accessory there, to try & to achieve that final look, but nope, it just won't come to a satisfactory completion.

Oops where did I go & December is here again!!!

I have had my bum kicked into getting this blog up and running again.. So being one that does as she is told {yeah right} here I am :)

I have been slack, there is no getting away from the fact & I am not paying for it by working through a stack of CJs, when all I want to do is have some fun Christmas craft time. I completed a CJ last night & intend to do another 2 today, I can then get them back in the post & on there way to the next person.

Since writing last time another child has been born into the family, she was born on November 12th & her name is Erin Paige......My 2nd grandaughter & she is such a tiny little thing.
I really am blessed, by not only having 4 wonderful sons that I am extremely proud of, but having 7 gorgeous grandchildren too.
Plus, I am expecting an 8th in June '10.

The year 2009 did not start out as a very good year for me, I was in poor health both physically & mentally with lots on my mind, living away from my family who all reside in Wiltshire where I was born & bred. I was living in Shropshire with Alex so that he could be near his children, the flat we lived in was run down & in a place where I was afraid to venture out on my own due to drug & drink abuse in the location then, the marriage of one of my sons breaking down after 10yrs. Alex coming to the end of his Uni coarse & not knowing where in the country he would get work as he works with the blind.
It then all started to turn around at the beginning of June, Alex went for an interview for a job in Bath, I held my breathe for a couple of days because the location couldn't have been better. Then we heard from housing association that we had been offered a bungalow in Wiltshire in Lacock! I was over the moon, especially when later that same day Alex got his email to say that he had got the post he applied for in Bath..
I now live in my little bungalow, with my own contained garden & Ozzie my little Bichon loves the freedom too, Alex works for Deaf & Vision Plus overseeing the Vision side of things, my sons all live within driving distance to pop in and out for a coffee etc. new grandies what more could a girl want, I am so settled here now & life is good again, my mental health is definately so much better. My physical health is the same, but I didn't expect any change there & as usual I am more mobile in the summer months but, the winter months will always bring the pain & lack of mobility, but, thats fine I am used to that now & know how to cope.

The morale to this tale is.....
The grass is definately not always greener on the other side!
You don't know what you got til it's gone.
It's one mistake that I will not be making again!!

Hark at me rabbiting on here........
Anyway that's me brought up to speed & I will get something crafty done to post soon
I am also going to put a blog candy together as well, just to get me used to coming here on a daily basis......So watch this space if you dare

Feeling Poorly......

I am feeling low today, not sure if its the makings of a cold coming on or if it's a side effect of this huge {well feels it anyway} cold sore on my top lip & my mouth feels claggy.
I was supposed to be spending a few hours at my sons today, but rang to cancel, as I didn't think I should be around the baby like this *sigh*
Alex is away in Shropshire this weekend visiting his children, so I am all alone until tomorrow afternoon, well apart from Ozzie, whose coat is yet again full of 'hook seeds'! He is a Bichon Frise for heavens sake, does he not know that he is not designed for rummaging in hedges & shrubs :) The last 2 days I have spent hours removing them, but look around & he has a coat full of them again. I just wish I knew from which shrub they were coming from, I would dig the thing up, I'm frightened to bits they they will grow into his skin, they are frightful things.
I will photograph them tomorrow, maybe, somebody could identify them for me...
Ah well... I'm off to watch Casualty on TV.