What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday - Week 661

Hello Everyone

I don't suppose I'm the only one to notice today's date.  All the twos. I can't remember the last time time the date was made up of all the same numbers - I'm guessing 1.1.11 but I'm probably way out and some statistician out there knows the answer. What they won't know is how likely I am to be interrupted on a  Wednesday morning to see to something more vital than typing up WOYWW post. It's often. This morning it was a form for DVLA. The one they should have sent three months ago! The one that will enable DVLA to decide whether Alan is allowed to drive again. It did come with a letter apology but really!!! Rant over.

Breathe. 

Where was I? Oh yes, at my desk.

I know, not very exciting. Just me deciding on the papers and photos to scrap next. Yesterday, I spent much of the day putting together papers, stickers, etc., for this months Scrap Backward's kit. It's bigger than January's but I hope to make a lot of pages this month. Well, that's the plan! Here's a peek at the papers I've chosen.

Lovely, aren't they? Very springlike - summery even. I'm going to enjoy working with them.

The kitten bit:

Sunlight streaming through the window. Such a rare sight it enchanted Silver. She pinches Alan's chair at every opportunity - it's so comfy she loves it.

The book bit:

Not too surprisingly I'm drawn to any book that has 'bookshop', or 'book' even, in the title so when I spotted this one I had to download it. And it's a heartwarming enough story, if somewhat predictable. The main character, Natalie, inherits her mother's struggling bookshop and at the same time finds herself helping her aged grandfather. Of course, it's not as simple as selling up, finding a nice home for her grandfather and getting back to her high-flying career. What follows are enough twists and turns in the plot to entertain me to the end, even though that ending was just a wee bit corny. Sometimes corny is good. If you're a romantic you'll love it. And, bonus, I did learn more about San Francisco's history, about the 1906 earthquake, the subsequent fires and the loss of life and destruction that followed.

The funny bit:

That's all from me today. Note from last Wednesday - the cauliflower cheese soup was voted a great success and one to make again. No soup today but I did make potato soup yesterday - my mother's recipe - and that always goes down well. 

I hope you've had a wonderful WOYWW and that you will have a fabulous week ahead.

Take care and stay safe.

What's On Your Workdesk - Week 660

Hello Everyone,

My, but these Wednesday's do seem to come round faster then ever these days. A sign, I suppose, that I've had a busy week, but I'm blessed if I can recall what I was so busy doing! 

Anyway, it's time to share what's on my desk and link over on the Stamping Ground where Julia, as ever, is hosting WOYWW again today. 

There's not a lot to say about what you can see this week. There's another scrap layout in the planning. This one is based on the half and half formula and I'm planning to use the cutfile for the title ... once, that is, it's been decided how to treat it. I'm not sure whether to back it with another patterned paper or simply colour the letters to make them stand out. Decisions, decisions. 

What was on my desk.

When I was bragging about all the lovely crafty goodies I'd spent birthday/Christmas money on, I forgot that this fuse tool was still to come. Often seen on YouTube demos being used to create shaker pockets, the fuse tool looked one that I could use for attaching extra photos to a page. I can feel some experimenting coming on. And that's the February edition of my favourite magazine arrived already. It's a struggle to keep it until February before reading it.

The kitten bit.

Silver's undecided. Should she stay in and eat dinner or should she go out to play with the neighbour's cat, Harper, for a while. Decisions, decisions. She opted this time to stay and eat. 

The book bit.

If you've been following this blog for a few years you may recall me mentioning at sometime that I was, when young, a member of the Women's Royal Army Corp. What I might not have mentioned was that I opted to work in the Intelligence Corps which led to my being  attached to the Signals Corps. And that is a rather long-winded way of explaining my interest in the highly secret work at Bletchley Park during the WWII, and it also explains why I chose this book by Margaret Dickinson, 'Secrets at Bletchley Park'. The book, although a good read, is not what I expected from the title, mainly because about two-thirds of it take place before the war and before Bletchley Park. That said, I enjoyed the stories of two highly intelligent girls, Mattie and Victoria, from very different and difficult backgrounds but who are eventually thrown together as adults in a job they could never have foreseen for themselves. There's a lot of emphasis throughout of keeping secrets, perhaps a little too much, but I had hoped there would, all these years later, be more of the work that went on at Bletchley Park. So, I'd say good story but not what I was expecting. 

The funny bit.

I'm absolutely sure that that Silver attended that class and learned the lesson well!

That's it from me today. I am off to see to the soup that's bubbling away in the slow cooker. Today it's cauliflower cheese soup. Never tried it before but I've become quite adventurous with my food in my old age! 

I hope you've had a wonderful WOYWW and that you will have a fabulous week ahead.

Take care and stay safe.

What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday - Week 659

Hello Everyone

I hope you are all keeping well and finding time to craft. Of course, I'm here for Julia's WOYWW over on the Stamping Ground. I would have been there last week, was intending to, but that's not how things turned out. 

Unfortunately, I wasn't very well and, so, this was my desk a week ago. However, I'm absolutely fine this week, back to normal and even managed to get some scrapping done. Such small successes are worth celebrating!

Back to my workdesk and this is how it looks this morning. I cut into these lovely new papers (from my January kit from Mind The Scrap) to make a page yesterday. I did have to search for the circle cutter - that's the problem with decluttering, reorganising and tidying stuff away ... where stuff is stashed is easily forgotten! The little bottle of yellow watercolour was used to create spatters - spatters are so good at breaking up too much white space. But now it's done with and it all has to be tidied away again. 

New Stash:

Over the last couple of weeks I've been keeping my postie busy. Not my fault really, honest! Generous gifts of  birthday and Christmas money are to blame. The only advantage I can think of to having a birthday late in the year is that I get to have an almighty spending splash just when the days are short and the weather grim.  

Being an insatiable bookworm, there was no way I could resist Photoplay's Notting Hill Book Store, by Becky Moore, paper pack. Sadly Hugh Grant isn't included. Sigh. The coloured card packs are there to replace dwindling stocks.

After all the winter pages made last month, I've run out of seasonal patterned paper so this Winter Market collection from Carta Bella was another essential purchase. I've discovered that I particularly like layouts made in shades of blue. The intention is to continue scrapping photos from winters past occasionally throughout the year, if only to pare away at what is an enormous stack of photos still waiting to be scrapped.

And, of course, this month's kit from Mind The Scrap. I should say kits because my subscription includes the mixed media kit with the paper pack. MTS kit subscriptions and birthday/Christmas gift splurges notwithstanding, I'm still on a (probably lifelong) spending freeze. It would be wrong of me to do otherwise given the amount of patterned paper I have amassed - but there's still a few exceptions, essentials such as adhesives, plain white/black/coloured cardstock, etc. - the stuff without which no scrap pages could be made. 

The kitten bit:

Not the best shot but I thought you'd like to see Silver, our nature watcher, enjoying WinterWatch with Alan. She was totally into watching the skeins of geese fly past. 

The book bit:

I first read Jane Austen's 'Emma' when I was a teenager, some sixty years ago! And since then, when asked, I've always said it is my favourite Austen and Emma Woodhouse my favourite character. However, it's come to my notice that not all readers agree with me. Even Ms Austen said of Emma that she was 'going to make a heroine whom no one but myself will much like.'  Puzzled, and having no memory as  to why I enjoyed the book as much as I clearly did then, I downloaded an unabridged audiobook to listen to. And I'm so glad I did. I enjoyed the book as much again. Emma is, indeed, a vain, snobbish, selfish and meddlesome young woman, intent on not marrying herself but equally intent, rightly or wrongly, in matchmaking others. Mostly wrongly as it turns out. She's quite the antihero, and I'm a sucker for an antihero, especially one that finally sees the error of her ways. 

The funnies bit:

Ouch!

For all of you who have resolved to get fitter this year :) 

Silver has taken to guarding the bathroom door!

That's me done for today and so late again too. Life just gets in the way - I'd bore you with a list of interruptions but that would only make me even later.  

I hope you've had a wonderful WOYWW and that you will have a fabulous week ahead.

Take care and stay safe.

What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday - Week 657

Hello Everyone

Oh dear, I've only just realised it's Wednesday. The holidays have knocked me out of kilter and I'm feeling quite discombobulated! Hopefully, joining in with WOYWW over on Julia's blog, the Stamping Ground, will bring me up-to-date.

The desk bit:

On my desk today it my Cats, Dogs & Other Animals album, a partially done page featuring Silver, of course, scraps of paper, enamel dots, flairs and a pack of pet related ephemeral. There's also my tiny Sapphire die-cutting machine ready and waiting to be used. I might cut a paw or two for this page - and then again, I might not. Up on the back left is a bowl of essential tools - the sort of tools I could not live without. The bowl has also been known to serve as a large circle template when needed. 

The kitten bit:

Silver's napping. She's had a busy day up to now. She's either been out checking that all is well in the grounds of Casa Worthington or getting under my feet ... not for nothing do I call her my little silver shadow. 

The book bit:

I've decided to bring back this entry on Wednesdays. I know some of you are interested in what books I'm listening to/or even reading. It's also a way of me keeping a book tally over the year. 

James Rebanks's 'English Pastoral: An Inheritance'. I'm really pleased that this is the first one of 2022. You may have noticed from topics I have photographed/scrapped/written about on this blog that I have a particular interest in nature and the countryside. This may be because, for a few short years, I spent an idyllic childhood growing up in the country with nothing but the woods and fields surrounding where we lived. There's something special about having the country as a playground but for James Rebanks it's a way of making a living, and not at all an easy one, especially today. He mixes memories from his childhood of his grandfather’s old farming methods, growing up on his father’s farm in a time of change and finally his experiences when he runs the farm himself. The men and women who had lived and worked on the land had vanished from the fields; the old stone barns had crumbled through neglect; the skies had emptied of the birds he/we remember from our childhood. His intense passion for his land is beautifully expressed and he is an eloquent and persuasive advocate of a more sustainable way of farming. Also by the author is 'The Shepherds Life: A Tale of the Lake District,.

And now the funnies:

That last one pretty well sums up life with Silver the kitten. 

That's me done for today and so late too. Next week I should be more day aware. 

I hope you've had a wonderful WOYWW and that you will have a fabulous week ahead. 

Take care and stay safe. 

WOYWW - Week 557

Hello Everyone,

Wednesday again! Another What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday over at Julia's Stamping Ground! And I'm still not into full crafting mode but there's been some progress, I've been pottering about in the craft room and - surprise, surprise - the desk is no longer as clear as it was last week.

Nothing too exciting.  There's a clutter of bits and bobs, found in the wrong place, that need to be put away in the right place. There's stamps, both in the box and on the desk - the latter a Debbie Moore freebie that came with a magazine. I used the bee stamp in the set on the masterboard and the new blog header shared in my last post here. Since then, the masterboard has become the toppers on these cards.

There's been a bit of action at the sewing machine - not much, but still some.

The embroidered panel in the middle was a sort of sampler that I've been working on for far too long. Really, it was just an excuse to try out new stitches and remind myself of those I was taught at school. Once finished, I decided to make a small cushion. It will be a constant remind of the hours spent stitching.

And now the book bit:

Dr Richard Shepherd is the UK's top forensic pathologist, having performed over 20,000 postmortems. In his autobiography, Unnatural Causes, he remembers the most high profile cases he worked on during the course of his career - cases like the Hungerford Massacre, the death of Princess Diana, the Clapham Rail Disaster, the London bombings of 2005 - to name a few. It's a fascinating memoir, a record of a remarkable career and, despite the gory bits, I really enjoyed listening to Dr Shepherd tell his story - he has a good narrator's voice. 

That's it from me this week. I'm off now to see what Julia and our fellow deskers have been showing us today.

Take care everyone and have a great week ahead.

WOYWW - Week 554

Afternoon Everyone,

It's another Wednesday and another excuse to reveal all for the weekly deskfest that is What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday. Not that what's on my desk today is much of a revelation, as you can see. 

I'm in cardmaking mode and, because Julia mentioned them last week, I've unearthed a lovely bunch of wood-mounted stamps. All winter foliage, my favourite Penny Black's, and festive greetings. The little one with the trail of ivy image is the first stamp I ever bought, brought home from Massachusetts in 1995! Good stamps never date.

As is often the case at the start of a new year, I've been thinking about sorting out the mountain of stash there is cluttering up this craft space. It's just been too easy to ignore it. There's a box full of all the inky, painty, stenciled experiments - the one on the left - and all the scraps used for testing new embossing folders - the one on the right. It's too easy to toss them in a box, to be used one day, never! Well, never has arrived. The coming week is going to be spent working my through those boxes. Hopefully, when you see my desk next week, the contents of those boxes will be very much reduced and there will be a lovely pile of cards to show instead.

Now, the book bit.

Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons - a classic children's adventure and a childhood favourite.  Absolutely brilliant even though it's dated and I'm certain parents today would not allow a group of young children to sail away to camp on Wild Cat Island for the summer holidays without adult supervision. Putting that aside, this book is a delight, and still an entertaining read even today.



That's it from me this week. I'm off now to see what Julia and our fellow deskers have been showing us today.

Take care everyone and have a great week ahead.

WOYWW - Week 549

Hello Everyone,

Wednesday, Whizzday, has a way of sneaking up on me ... I need more hours in the day and more days in the week. Especially at this time of the year! Anyway, it's What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday time and here's a shot of mine this morning.

I'm working in a guddle again. There's papers, stamp sets, embossing folders, photos and even, right at the back, a circle die set. Out of shot is my wee Sapphire die-cutting machine. Altogether too much stuff but I'm at the stage of 'who cares' ... the cards are written and posted off, the presents bought and wrapped, ready to be delivered and all is more or less under control.

I do have to confess to being just a bit behind with the '12 Days of Christmas Scraplifts' challenge. It's now the 11th and this is my Day 4 page, completed yesterday. The photos are of us both, from last year, and this year's new tree decorations - a deer for each of us.

This is Day 3's page. The winter wonderland in the photograph is the Camellia House in the grounds of Culzean Country Park. The photo was taken a few years ago. We rarely get snow here on the west coast of Scotland, and when we do it doesn't lie long, so a photo like this is a rarity and all the more beautiful for that.

And now for the book bit.

I'm on to my seasonal reading now and I started with, 'The Gift' by Cecelia Ahern. It's a magical, fable-like, tale - and it's a twist on guardian angel stories that was, for me, very reminiscent of Dicken's 'A Christmas Carol' and the film 'It's A Wonderful Life'. There was the feeling that the protagonist, Lou Suffern, was being taught a lesson about the most precious gift of all, especially at Christmas ... that is the gift of time. “Time cant be given. But it can be shared.” This wouldn't be my usual choice of reading but it drew me in and had me absorbed from beginning to end. 

Right, that's it from me for now - I'm off to have a spot of lunch and then I'll be back to check out what's on your desks today.

Take care, keep warm, and stay calm ... it's only Christmas!!!