What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday - Week 800/20

Happy Week 800 to you all! What a number! Who would have thought that, when Julia posted her first shot of her workdesk on The Stamping Ground way back on 3rd June 2009, desk sharing would become such an enduring pleasure for deskhoppers everywhere. Not Julia, I'm thinking. But endured it has and today, now that Julia has retired, it's ably hosted by Sarah, from her Craft Shed.

I started my blog in September 2010 and it was only a few weeks later I discovered WOYWW. I don't know where I got the temerity to join in the fun, but join in I did on Week 71, 12th October 2010. Of course it was Julia's warm and no frills approach to blogging, and crafting, that drew me in. Since then I've shared my desk 454 times, 455 when this one is counted in. 

One of the inevitable outcomes of the weekly deskhops were the WOYWW crops. I missed the first few, but when I eventually mentioned it to my husband, Alan, he was all for it. So off we went. From Scotland to Llandudno, Wales, in 2017 and Shrewsbury, England, in 2018. Here's a couple of pics from 2017.

Llandudno, hosted by Margaret, Glitter and Glue.

Annie, LLJ and Julia

Julia and myself.

The group photo 2017.

Shrewsbury, hosted by the two sisters, Annie, Wipso-A Stitch In Time, and Jo, Twiglet .

The birthday presentation to Julia.

The group photograph 2019.

Lovely times, lovely people, lovely memories.

Whether met virtually or in person, it's been a privilege to get to know so many fabulous and talented WOYWWers. 

Of course, it wouldn't be WOYWW if I didn't show a pic of my desk today. It's a different desk in a very different place in totally different circumstances but my intention is to continue deskhopping as often as possible. And hopefully WOYWW will continue under Sarah's watch for many more years to come.

And finally, it wouldn't be my WOYWW post without a photo of Silver.

Not so much a crafty cat, more a very naughty one. She did her best all morning to distract me from putting this post together. And now she's curled up on the sofa beside me, out for the count. Typical!

Best wishes to all my lovely WOYWW friends, old and new. Have a wonderful week. 

Take care everyone

Elizabeth 

In a Vase on Monday - Tulips

Hello Everyone,

Thanks for visiting my blog. I hope you are well and, if in England, enjoying the May bank holiday.

Not just tulips, but there's white honesty, yellow forsythia and the foliage from aquilegia. 

Any flowers I bring into the house now are like a magnet for the kitten. She can't resist examining the vase and nibbles at flowers. And she tries to drink the water which can end in an upturned vase. So, for the time being, my little displays are kept in the kitchen, out of harm's way. 

The eggs in the basket are from a free range source and delivered by our milkman. This very odd looking egg was in this week's delivery.  

To see more lovely floral arrangements pop over to Rambling in the Garden where Cathy hosts In a Vase on Monday every week. 

Have a good week everyone. 

What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday - Week 665

Hello Everyone,

It's been a while. I didn't realise until today quite how long it's been since I joined in with Julia's WOYWW. My last post is dated 12th February - that's weeks ago! Alan has been poorly again and consequently needed a lot of TLC. He's been better for a few days so I'm hopeful he'll be fine for a while but we can never tell with long-Covid - finger's crossed.

Right, onto the desk. 

What's on it is an almost completed page. It wasn't until I viewed this photo that I realised I'd missed out the inners of some of the letters in the cut-file! 

They have been coloured with a watercolour pen - Spectrum Aqua 'Spice'. I'd almost forgotten I had this collection of pens, and they are lovely.

The kitten bit:

Introducing the Licky Mat. Silver loves eating her food from it. I'm told it makes food more interesting for her. 

The book bit:

And it's not an audiobook today but a real printed paper book - 'Little Stories of Your Life' by Laura Pashby. This is a delightful and beautifully illustrated book, in which readers are encouraged to look for the magical moments in our everyday life. 

Sorry, given what's happening in Ukraine, there are no funnies this week. Words fail me. My thoughts are with everyone caught up in this terrible war, in particular the children. 

Finally, we were saddened to hear Julia's sad news about her beloved Mama this week. Alan and I will be thinking of her and her family during this difficult time. 

Bye for now

Elizabeth

Friday Smile

Hello Everyone,

I'm back, joining in with another of Annie's Friday Smile posts over on A Stitch On Time. I really enjoyed reading all your posts last week and look forward to doing so again today. It's been another ordinary week, much the same as usual but for one exciting bit of news. 

We have a new great-grandchild on the way. Due in August. And, no, we don't know whether it's a boy or girl yet. That can wait. We're just delighted with the news. Here's how young Callum announced the news to us all on Facebook.

Milo looks a bit nonplussed, but there's no mistaking how Callum feels about it - he's clearly delighted at the thought of being a big brother. 

Other less exciting, but still noteworthy, reasons to smile this week have been:

Snowdrops in Culzean Country Estate. No, we didn't take a trip down to Culzean but Facebook kindly reminded me of our visit there six years ago when the snowdrops were particularly abundant. 

I keep looking for signs of the snowdrops in our garden but so far there's been none. However, the primroses are out on Bonnie's Mound (named to honour our beloved cat, now sadly gone). 

Silver just takes this little tribute to Bonnie in her stride. Her reaction is less tolerant of other feline trespassers on her patch. 

Dawn today. The sky was so beautiful I should have realised it was going to be a lovely, albeit chilly, day. The sun is streaming in through the window as  I type this post. It's almost too hot!

We watched this film yesterday evening and it  was so good. Sheila Hancock is very good, as is her co-star, Kevin Guthrie. In a nutshell, the film is about Edie, a recently widowed 80 year old who feels bereft, not of her bullying and emotionally abusive husband, but of the life she had and gave up for marriage. With her house sold and her daughter intent on dumping her in a home for the elderly, she sets out to take control of her life, starting with a climbing trip alone in the Scottish Highlands. The film, dare I say, is worth watching for the Scottish scenery alone. 

And finally, a cutie to start the weekend.

Have a wonderful weekend everyone - full of lots to smile about.

Take care too.

What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday - Week 662

Hello Everyone,

And a happy WOYWW to Julia in the Stamping Ground and all fellow deskers everywhere. I hope you are well and finding plenty time to spend at your desks crafting. We're still enduring some wild weather here - wind, rain, more wind and yet more rain. We even had a flurry of snow on Sunday. I call it good scrapping weather. 

This is the state of my desk this morning after I'd abandoned it yesterday evening. As you can see, I'm working on yet another scrap layout so there's stuff everywhere. That rickety looking pile just visible on the left is needing sorted out - again! Though it does have to build to wobble height before I'll do anything about it. The page itself is surrounded by piles of ephemera that I've sorted roughly by size - large, medium, small. This helps with cluster building. Once the page is done, it will all be sorted by colour and returned to these plastic boxes.

There's two sets. I don't know what I'd do without them. Yes I do, I'd be working in an even bigger mess than I already do!

The kitten bit.

Silver joined me in the garden yesterday as I checked for snowdrops. She would be more than happy if I spent all day out there but it's bitterly cold even in the sunshine so fifteen minutes was more than enough for me. 

The book bit. 

The book I've been listening to this week is Elly Griffith's new book, The Locked Room. It's the latest in the series that has Dr Ruth Galloway, a forensic archaeologist, and her lover, DCI Nelson, always referred to by his surname, as the main characters. Set in Norfolk during the first Covid lockdown it has everything - mysterious deaths, domestic abuse, missing students and more. I did enjoy listening even though it did bring back the horror of Covid in vivid detail. 

And that, coincidentally, brings us to what is happening now. Alan is not too well at the moment with another episode of fatigue and breathlessness. There's nothing for it but to rest, something he doesn't do well as he hates inactivity.  In the meantime, I'm head nurse, cook and bottle washer so I'll hope you'll understand that I may take even longer than usual visiting and commenting. 

The funnies bit

And finally,

Take care and keep safe. 

Bye for now,

Elizabeth

Friday Smiles

 Hello Everyone,

Rightly or wrongly I've decided to join in with Annie and her Friday Smiles this week. I say 'rightly or wrongly' because, given that I go nowhere and do very little outside the domestic sphere, to most people I must have little to smile about. Not true. I smile a lot and then, because I'm so old, promptly forget what made me smile. Anyway, here's a few photos that have gladdened this old lady's heart recently.

First up is this one of my dear husband doing something he shouldn't but having fun all the same. He really shouldn't be doing-it-himself in his state of health. He did overdo it and had to spend the following two days recovering, but he won't listen and doesn't learn. Oh, and I did help because that was definitely a two-person job.

I'm a great fan of the TV crime series 'Shetland' and never miss an episode, so I was delighted to discover that some scenes for the latest episodes were shot here in Ayr. We are very lucky to live on the coast and luckier still to have a beach that is made up of the promenade, with easy access, and the dunes, not so easy to access but well worth the effort. I'll be watching future episodes of 'Shetland' much more closely. 

We've been very lucky with the weather recently. It's been cold, -2 degrees yesterday, but the sun has been shining and skies have been this heavenly shade of blue. Even if I can't stay out long, I've enjoyed going out and just rambling around the garden while the sun was out. 

And when it's got too cold I've been watching these cheeky gulls from the window while they are taking in the air on our neighbour's chimney pots. 

And finally, what would life after Covid be if it wasn't for this cheeky little charmer. She never ceases to amuse me and put a smile on my face. 

Apologies for what might be to some a boring post - nothing exotic, no cute pics from my adorable family - they've all had Covid too - and no trips out either. Just normal everyday shots from a fairly normal everyday life but I'm sure you'll agree all good reasons to smile. 

Hope you've had equally good reasons to smile too this week. If you have, why not join Annie over at A Stitch In Time and make us smile too.