Stylish Blogger Award

Good afternoon everyone,

WOW! And OMG! It’s thrilling to be given an award, especially the Stylish Blogger Award, once, but to be awarded it three times is simply wonderful and a bit overwhelming. Three lovely ladies have taken the time to make this award to me. They are Sarah of The Handmade Card, Maggie of Maggie’s Crafts and Carol of the mysteriously entitled blog, Something Gone Missing – thank you ladies, it’s very much appreciated J

When I first started writing this blog it was with the encouragement of Sarah who, in an email suggested I should go for it! Her YouTube demos were the first I watched and learned from. A bit of research and humming and hawing I did indeed ‘go for it’. And I’m so glad I did, because had I not I wouldn’t have ‘met’, albeit in cyberworld, Maggie and Carol and that would have been a pity because they both give me inspiration with their lovely creations.

Now, depending which instructions your passing on, I am required to do the following:

1.      Write a post and link back to the person/people who gave the award.

2.      Share 7/8 random things about myself.

3.      Pass the award on to 8/15 lovelies.

4.      Contact those bloggers and let them know about their award.

Hence the delay between Sarah’s award and this post, but with Maggie and Carol showering awards on me too the time has come to carry out their instructions J

Step 1 is being taken care of by the very fact that I’m writing this so on to Step 2.  Having gone through this exercise once before I’m really not sure how interesting you would find it having to trawl through endless factoids so as a compromise here are just five:
(once again, feel free to skip this section if you wish)

·         Although a Scot, I was born in a little English village, Marchwood in Hampshire where my father, a RE in the Army, was posted after WWII.

·         I have lived an incredibly peripatetic life having, after Hampshire, lived in West Lothian, Edinburgh & Leith (home of my heart), Surrey, Yorkshire, Wiltshire, Northern Ireland, Germany, Middlesex, Banffshire, East Ayrshire, Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Manchester itself, Massachusetts, the High Peak District, and now South Ayrshire.

·         When younger I was a registered foster mother, fostering 9 children in all.

·         One of my skills was to take medical shorthand at 140 wpm. I worked as a medical secretary for many years in hospitals and general practices up and down the country.

·         I love gardening, particularly cottage gardening, and all the old fashioned flowers associated with that style of gardening. My all-time favourite gardener was/is the late Geoff Hamilton – still sadly missed.

On to Step 3, now I have two different sets of instructions so by my calculations I can pass this award on to 37 people!!! I won’t, of course, do that but will limit myself to 15 and again I repeat the chosen 15 are representative of you all – because you are all so deserving of this award : )

Finally, in no particular order, my chosen 15 are (drum roll here):

Ikky - http://ikkiscuttlebugcupboard.blogspot.com/
Margaret - http://makingpapercrafts.blogspot.com/
Fiona - http://magickdiva.blogspot.com/
Brenda - http://stamping-fantasies.blogspot.com/
Jules - http://jules-alwayswithaheart.blogspot.com/
Scrapcat - http://scrapcatssscribbles.blogspot.com/
Dee - http://love-a-ladybug.blogspot.com/
Ros - http://wildcards-rosc.blogspot.com/
Helen - http://stampingbyh.blogspot.com/
Twiglet - http://twiglet5.blogspot.com/
Wipso - http://wipso-astitchintime.blogspot.com/
Marie - http://baileyrosy.blogspot.com/
Shazsilverwood - http://silverwolfcards-shaz.blogspot.com/
Christa - http://scrapmommie.blogspot.com/
Laura - http://airingcupboardstamping.blogspot.com/

Phew – that was a bit of a marathon. Before I go on to complete the instructions with Step 4 I’d like to leave you with the first photographs of spring:

Hellebores - earlier this year than last despite the winter we've just had

Wallflowers in bud in February!

my beloved columbines aquilegias just coming to life again(