In A Vase On Monday - From the Wild

Hello Everyone,

It's Monday again and I'm back with my offering for Cathy's In A Vase On Monday over on her blog, Rambling in the Garden.

This week it's another pretty bunch of wildflowers gathered on one of my tootles round the neighbourhood. There's red clover (Trifolium pratense), bigleaf periwinkle (Vinca Major), aquilegia, cow parsley (Anthricus sylvestris) and Hawthorn blossom (Crataegus mongyna). 

The little brown vase is a charity shop find. I've tried to make out the name of the pottery but so far none of my attempts to read it has helped. It's a mystery.

The froth of hawthorn blossom is a joy to see at this time of the year. Not that my mother, grannie and nana would approve of me bringing it inside the house. All three generations of women were incredibly superstitious! They considered it was certain to bring bad luck if it is brought into the house. It was believed to invite illness and death. 

Happily, I'm not a believer!

There's no association with the flowers and the wooden bobbins that I can think off. They just happened to be on the mantlepiece where I posed the vase for today's photos. They are a souvenir from a visit to New Lanark Mills - a very picturesque 18th century village popular with tourists to the area. 

As usual, I'll finish by saying that to see many more lovely arrangements, just click on the link to Cathy's blog, Rambling in the Garden.

Take care, everyone,

Elizabeth

This Week's Smiles - Week 373

Hello Everyone,

It's been forever since I shared a smiley post. Blame life - it got in the way! I've started going for walks again. Just short walks as I'm still feeling weak from my recent fight with horrid side affects from antibiotics. Me and antibiotics just don't agree. Anyway, today I went out early for a wee walk around the neighbourhood. and the blue, blue sky over Ardrossan had me smiling from ear to ear. 

As did the sight of these Welsh Poppies growing in someone's front garden. They're such a cheerful sight. 

When is a park not a park? When it's called the Holm Plantation. The plantation is very near the street where I live and it is lovely. There's a burn (stream) running through it and in early spring it's a mass of daffodils. Sadly, they've all gone over now. 

What it looked like in March. 

Discovered this blue plaque as I passed Ardrossan Academy. Edith MacArthur was a noted Scottish actress born here in Ardrossan in 1926. She had a long and varied acting career, appearing on stage, in film and in many very popular TV series. She is also credited with discovering David Tennant, he of Dr Who fame, when he was only ten years old!

And finally:

Silver, sitting on the compendium of games on the piano stool. I think I was being challenged to a game of draughts with her! There never was a piano but there was the keyboard - long gone but not forgotten.  I played the piano, Alan the keyboard, and very good he was too. 

That's it for today. A very quick and photo heavy post but hopefully you enjoyed the insight they give into what it's like living here in beautiful Ardrossan by the Sea. 

Take care, everyone,

Elizabeth

Visiting Alfie - Rainbow Challenge No.2

Hello Everyone,

I'm back with the second layout for the Facebook challenge mentioned in yesterday's post. The colour to use for this layout was blue which I found more difficult than expected. I have lots of material in shades of aqua, turquoise and teal but very little in what I call real blue. So I scraped the bottom of the barrel for this one. 

I love the photo, dated 2019, of Alan feeding carrots to Alfie the donkey. One of last taken before he caught Covid and became to ill to drive. Alfie was living alone at the Ballantrae garden centre by then, his last companion had sadly died, so we visited him as often as we could back then. 

The challenge includes a sketch. I always find sketches inspirational even if I don't stick rigidly to them. This one included a heart shape which did prove a problem. I still haven't unpacked my large die-cutting machine - it's in the shed in one of the last boxes somewhere and, in all honesty, I'm in no hurry to tackle the unpacking just yet. There's too much stuff and nowhere to put it so it can stay in the shed for now.

Fortunately, already unpacked is this set of templates. It's ancient! It's what we scrappers used before dies and die-cutting machines became available. Yes, I've been scrapping that long. Twenty-eight years or so. The advances I've seen in papercrafting in that time is, well, amazing! The largest heart shape wasn't really big enough but I made it do. 

The papers used are from Heidi Swapp's 'Set Sail' collection except the floral one which is from Hobbycraft's 'British Garden' paper pad. Embellishment items for clusters from various sources, some old (e.g. 2017), some new. 

That's me done wittering tonight. I'm getting the 'time for bed' look from the resident furry nag. After all she has a 4am start in the morning!

Take care, everyone,

Elizabeth 

What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday - Week 779

Hello Everyone,

I'm determined to not only join in with WOYWW over on Julia's Stamping Ground this week, but to be bright and early too. It's time to get up, dress up and show up!

But before I get on to this week, let me show you last week's desk which never made it to WOYWW because there's a very important little person in residence. Our lovely Annie, Wipso on here, made this sweet little memory bear from Alan's favourite shirt. The tie, a reminder of his career in chemical research, is pretty special too. Thank you, Annie.

Now on to this week's desk. Photo taken yesterday.

I was putting a page together for a Facebook challenge. The first I've been up to participating in for a very long time. It's proving to be a great way of using up old stash and leftover scraps that I've been hanging on to for no better reason than I can't bear to throw any of it away! 

As can be seen, stickers I think I might include in the embellishment clusters get stuck temporarily to any available surface while I think about where and whether to use them. Not all got used on this layout. 

The finished layout is based on a photo taken of us 22 years ago, when my hair was still dark and Alan still had some! His big sister, Margaret, put on a get-together for the family to wish us good luck when we made the big move from England to Scotland. Margaret loved to entertain and she made the most amazingly tasty pink cake too. 

Silver is still a happy distraction in my life. Here she is cuddling up on my lap, preventing me from doing anything but enjoy the moment. 

And finally:

This is the message printed on the side of the box of tissues that's on my desk today. 

Sent to me on Facebook. So appropriate!

Wishing you all a very creative and wonderful week. 

Take care, everyone

Elizabeth

In A Vase on Monday - Bluebells and Granny's Bonnets

Hello everyone,

It's lovely to be able to join Cathy over at Rambling in the Garden with my offering for her meme, In A Vase On Monday, once more. 

Unlikely as it seems, I was able to pick this little bunch of bluebells, hyacinthoides hispanica, and granny's bonnets, aquilegia vulgaris, from the garden. My much neglected garden. I don't remember where I found the blue and white jug but they look just perfect in it.  

The aquilegia is a reminder of the garden we left behind. It's a self-seeded bonus that sneaked here in a pot. 

As is the blue bugleweed, ajuga geneversis, found hiding in another pot tucked away in a quiet corner. I had trouble remembering this plant's name, the label has long gone, so consulted PlantNet which soon identified it as one of the many ajugas that can be found growing in gardens around the UK. 

Beside the jug is my collection of small books about walking, flowers and birds. I've been a hill walker most of my life, but now I'm in my seventies I stick to shorter walks on flatter ground. And, for fun, I take the time to photograph the many wild plants and wildflowers spotted along the way. PlantNet comes in very useful for naming those I don't know so well. 

To see the many lovely arrangements of gardeners more dedicated than I have been this last year,  just click on the link to Cathy's blog, Rambling in the Garden.

Take care, everyone,

Elizabeth 

More Catching Up

 Hello Again Everyone,

No fainting, please! I'm excelling myself by blogging two days on the trot! 

The following are more photos taken during my walk down to the seafront yesterday. This time they are of the memorial to HMS Dasher. 

It's dedicated to the 379 men that perished when HMS Dasher, an Archer Class Aircraft Carrier, sank in the Firth of Clyde on 27th March 1943. 

It is also dedicated to the survivors who never forgot. There's a lot more information on Wikipedia for those interested.

I forgot to mention yesterday that it was (inter)National Scrapbooking Day. A day to celebrate this happy hobby of mine. Not that I have joined in with the many celebratory challenges. I'm taking my time getting back into a routine after so many months of no scrapping at all. However, I'm rediscovering the fun of playing with pretty patterned paper. It's my therapy!

Here's the last pages made.

One of the few double-page layouts I've made. Ever! I'm just not a double-page scrapper. 

I have quite a collection of photos of post office boxes, most of which I put on Instagram but rarely make a scrap page with them, but I think these four are quite special. Yarn bombing is guaranteed to cheer up any PO box.

And here's the last page made for this weekend.

This is my middle sister, Margaret, showing off her new hair colour. She may have MS, may be increasingly disabled, may be living in a care home, may have just turned 70, but she still loves life and  cares for her appearance. So when the hairdresser visits her in the home, Margaret is always up for something new. Pink hair! Why not?

And finally:

 

Silver's preferred mode of entry and exit now that the temperatures are rising. So much quicker than waiting for the in-house servant, i.e. me, to open the door whenever required.

Take care, everyone,

Elizabeth

Saturday Catch Up

Hello Everyone,

It's been a good day. Not perfect. Too misty for that but it was dry and warm enough for a stroll along South Beach prom. Sadly, Arran was hidden by the mist. 

It was nice to see the gulls keeping each other company where the burn runs into the sea. Strictly speaking it's not the sea, it's an estuary but it's a big one. 

When the weather hasn't been so good I've been filling my time scrapping. Truth is, I'm desperately trying to catch up with all the many photos, possibly hundreds, waiting to be scrapped. An impossible task. But here's a few. 

 

I've listed all materials used on postings on Facebook and Instagram (#worthington_elizabeth) should anyone need more information, but feel free to email me with any queries too.

Scrapping isn't the only thing I've been catching up on. The housework was neglected while I was poorly recently so I've been working through my to-do list and another that lists jobs that supposedly take just 10 minutes. So yesterday my 10 minute job was to strip and change the bed. Hah! More like 20 minutes actually. Putting a cover on the duvet is never anything but a battle! And I've tried all the tricks and tips seen on YouTube. 

I'm leaving you with this shot of our beautiful south beach. 

Take care, everyone,

Elizabeth