WOYWW 416 - Celebrating 8 Marvelous Years!

Yes, we're celebrating! It's the 416th week of Julia's What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday. That's 8 years she's been turning up every Wednesday (with the exception a few when LLJ magnificently stood in for her) on the Stamping Ground to reveal her desk and encourage us to show ours too. It's an wonderful achievement and one I appreciate so very much. Where else could we crafters 'meet'up on a regular basis and share what's on, or not on, our desks and chat about crafting. It's a date I, personally, don't like to miss - I get withdrawal symptoms if I do.

There's plenty of stuff on my desk today but not much actual crafting going on. I'm still in the throes of the clean up operation. How can one person collect so much stash??? So today sees me sorting out embellishments (in the wee black basket) into colour-coded boxes. The boxes were originally intended to hold photographs but now that the photos are in albums - up to the year 2000 so far, still a way to go yet! - the boxes could have been surplus to requirements had I not thought to re-purpose them. As well as the usual bits and bobs that have a permanent place on my desk there is, for one week only, a pile of ink pads, a jar of black embossing powder and a pile of stamps waiting to be pressed into service. They're mostly scrapbook themed sets,

This set includes a stamp for the year 2014 - that will come in handy if I every get around to scrapping photos taken in that year!

You can just about see the lovely view from the window. It's looking particularly nice with the lilac tree (in a neighbouring garden) in bloom. Purple lilacs. However, I thought you might like to see what I can see if I look up.

A trio of tiny glass panels that were a gift from a friend a few years ago when she returned from a city break in Prague. The colours have faded over time but I rather like them like that.

I was going to tell you how lovely it was to sit here and listen to a bird chirping, quite loudly, just outside the window but it was much more exciting than that. It was a baby sparrow and it was chirping away on the hall landing windowsill behind me! I've no idea how it got in - there's a window open a crack in the bathroom so that hardly seems likely. Maybe it flew in when himself left the back door wide open earlier - it's a habit he has. Whatever, it had moved in and we had a job trying to encourage this tiny little fledgling to leave through the hall window ... it was having none of it. It flew into the craftroom and I hastily went around closing room doors - I'm sure it didn't need a guided tour. Eventually, himself managed to capture and release the wee thing back into the garden and it didn't seem any the worse for the experience. We, on the other hand, were quite shaken and in need of a recuperating cuppa. And as excuses for being late to the party go, I think this one is my best so far. :)

All I have to do now is link up at Julia's to join in with the ATC swap. I've made quite a few already, and I'm quite happy to make a few more so if you would like to swap me let me know, and email your postal address too.

Before I go though, I just want to say my thoughts are with the people who have suffered in any way from the dreadful terrorist attack in Manchester. The city means so much to us, it's my second home, I lived there for years and, indeed, my dear husband is a Mancunian. My heart goes out to Manchester.