Friday Smiles

Hi Everyone,

I can't believe how late I am to join in with Annie's Friday Smiles. I've been intending to find time all day but instead it's run away from me. Still, I'm here now.

So, what's made me smile this last week. Well, rather a lot actually, but I'll try to keep it brief.

First of all, the really good news is that my niece, Louise, had the liver transplant she has been waiting a year for last Saturday. All went well given how, due to Type 1 diabetes, ill she is though she did go into an anaphylactic shock after one injection she was given after the operation. However, she was allowed home yesterday to recuperate so here's hoping all continues to go well for her.

As you might have noticed we've been on holiday. We stayed at Kirriemuir, the Gateway to the Glens. Here's a few photos taken there that made me smile.

We don't see nearly enough of these ice cream carts anymore. This one was in the restaurant we visited a few times - tasty food and they make a delicious Knickerbocker Glory.

Himself resting in front of Peter Pan. Kirriemuir is the birthplace of J M Barrie, author of Peter Pan.

This crooked chimney pot was spotted just outside the house where Barrie was born.

The house where Barrie was born. His father was a weaver there.

Finally, the wash house just outside where Barrie, as a boy, put on his first play. The old boiler where Barrie's mother did the washing for a family of ten is still there.

Finally, this little lad had his second birthday on Saturday.

Callum seems to know how to make himself comfortable eating out.

Well, it's still Friday so I'm just, only just, on time to join Annie and her smiley friends.

I hope you had a host of reasons to smile this week and that the weekend will bring many more.

Weekend In Aberdeenshire

Hi Everyone

I'm back and rested after a hectic weekend spent up in the village of Stuartfield, Aberdeenshire. We were visiting my son, Alun, and his family, to celebrate his 44th birthday.

And here's the birthday boy himself. He and his partner, Elaine, are both keen gardeners. Not in shot is a productive vegetable garden ... his cabbages are superb this year :) Just behind him is a very old apple tree that's just groaning with fruit ... cookers not eaters.

Just a few shots taken around the Buchan area where they live. It's almost harvest time and the fields are golden with ripe wheat, barley and oats. Top right is a field of barley .... whisky in the raw :) Bottom left is a shot of the White Horse on Mormond Hill - a war memorial in honour of Sergeant James Hutcheon of nearby New Pitsligo. It's Scotland's only white horse. I'm told there is also a white stag, somewhere on the other side the hill, which was created in 1870 by Mr W F Cordiner of Cortes as a wedding present. Despite our efforts we didn't find it. They are both made of quartz, unlike the many white horses that can be found around England which are made of chalk.

We just had to pay a visit to one of the prettiest, and my favourite, Scottish castle. Fyvie Castle is said to be haunted by several ghosts, as if one isn't enough :)

On Saturday we had lunch in Peterhead, known by the locals as the Blue Toon. The name is derived from the blue woollen stockings the fishermen used to wear.  The stockings were knitted with patterns that were unique to the town. So unique, in fact, that after any fishing disaster, the drowned fishermen could be identified by their socks. The statue on the left is of Jessie Buchan, known as Fisher Jessie. Fisher wives like Jessie would sell/barter fish from their creels (baskets) on their backs. I couldn't resist taking the shot on the right of the gull perched on top of Field Marshall James Keith ... gulls are no respecters of persons :))

It's raspberry season here in Scotland and we are very lucky to have them growing in profusion, wild and free for the picking. As well as the normal red ones, there are also plenty of the golden ones growing along the roadsides. Even the track up to the guesthouse was lined with ripe raspberries.

And talking of the guesthouse, here's the EM with one of the four cats that live there. It was not unusual to be greeted by one or all of them waiting to be let in, or out, by any passing guest :)

The trip up north takes us through beautiful country - this photo was taken on the road just beyond Stirling, during a wee hold-up. In the distance you can see the mountains of the Trossachs - Rob Roy country.

And this is one of the most arresting sights we experienced on our journey.

Arria - Scotland's answer to the Angel of the North can be seen from the road (A80) close to the town of Cumbernauld. This sculpture of a female figure with two large swooping arcs from the upraised palms of her hands to the hem of her dress ... the idea of the arcs comes from the Gaelic name for Cumbernauld, “comar nan allt”, which translates as “the meeting of the waters” ... is absolutely stunning, especially when it shimmers in the sunlight.

Unfortunately, the weekend was over all too soon. We've returned to showery weather, and the temperature seems to have dropped making it feel a tad chilly. Let's hope it's temporary, after all it's still only August.

I haven't had time, or, truthfully, the inclination, to go into the craft room yet. Maybe tomorrow.

I hope you all had a great weekend too, whatever you were up to, and that Monday hasn't been too bad either.

Take care and happy crafting,

Flat Susan Travels Up Country To Strathpeffer

Hello Everyone

One of the highlights of Flat Susan's adventures in Scottish Highlands was this trip to Strathpeffer, a village and spa town in the Ross and Cromarty region.

Although there is no longer a rail service to Strathpeffer (the branch closed in 1946), the charming old station is still well used as it contains a number of shops, for crafts and second-hand books, and an excellent coffee shop that serves delicious soups, light meals and home bakes.

The Victorian architecture is stunning and what was the line has now been planted up with roses and hostas. Impressively, there is no evidence of slug damage at all to those hostas, but then the many busy birds that inhabit the nearby trees probably provide all the pest control needed. They also take advantage of the fall out of crumbs from coffee shop customers seated at the tables on the platform. Here's a cheeky wee robin using the sign as a lookout point :)

A project is under way by the Strathpeffer Spa Railway Association to restore some of the track, buy an engine and run a short heritage line. Whilst this would undoubtedly be good for the village, encouraging even more visitors, I can't help thinking it would be such a shame to pull up those fabulous hostas.

Flat Susan got very excited on discovering that the Highland Museum of Childhood is also located at the station. Being a bit of a doll herself, she was delighted to be able to see the Angela Kellie Doll Collection - over 300 of them in fact. The big kid in me enjoyed being reminded of the toys and dolls I played with too many years ago to number!

Just outside the museum was this Rowan Tree in full bloom. There was a heavy sweet perfume coming from it ... the local bumble bee population clearly thought it was heavenly because the tree seemed to hum with their pleasure as they buzzed from flower to flower. Hope you can spot the bee in the lower photograph.

Strathpeffer has a pretty little village square with a few shops, some sheltered by a very pretty Victorian canopy. Nearby is this bicycle shop, the name of which seems to be a contradiction in terms! Alan was fair taken with the penny-farthing ... he would have taken it home if it had been for sale :)

Although the main Pump Room was demolished in the 1950s, the Upper Pump Room still exists and now houses displays showing the history behind the development of the Spa and visitors can, if they want, sample the healing waters. This representation of a lady being lowered into a mud bath is the display that most amused Alan ... he suspects I was the model!?!?
 

On the approach to Strathpeffer we spotted this stunning display of oriental poppies ... we just had to stop the car and take these shots ... they make a fabulous welcome to the village.

We had a wonderful day at Strathpeffer and would happily return there in the future, perhaps making it our base for another holiday. Flat Susan certainly enjoyed her day there.

Halloween WOYWW - Wk 178

Happy Halloween WOYWWers, Followers and All,

I feel I should have a bowl of apples bobbing in water on my crafting mat today but, sadly, all I have is the detritus associated with cardmaking ... shame :) And why is that, you might ask, it's because I'm checking in at Julia's, the Stamping Ground, to reveal the state of my desk and it's not very interesting - hop along there and you can see the more interesting desks of others.

Photo taken very late Tuesday. After making a scrap page at the weekend and so creating a few leftovers, I thought I should use them up instead of adding them to the snippet drawer. So far, I've made a tag and a card and now I'm in the middle of making a final card with the very last  of this sheet of Vintedge Flourish. I seemed to have used it on any number of projects ... I've discovered you can get an awful lot out of one 12"x12" sheet.

I've been stamping the butterfly stamp using the second generation inking technique, hence the piece of paper with the swarm, or kaleidoscope if you prefer, of butterflies on it. Shame on me, there's a used and crumpled piece of kitchen roll still lying there! The other collection of stamps are new from Our Daily Bread, some of my favourite quotations ... I plan to use a Helen Keller quote for this card.

The rest of the stuff is either waiting to be used or has already been used and should be cleared away but I've been a roll today, so tidying up has been neglected. Later, I'll clear up later :)

We are off to see my granddaughter this evening - got to see her in her costume. We've seen her in this photo but I'm sure it will be even more impressive in real life - just look at those teeth!!!

It's now the wee small hours of the morning so I'm off to bed when I've posted this and hopefully will be up bright and early to link up with Julia and join in the hop - I look forward to seeing what interesting projects you are all working on this week.

Before I sign off, I'd like to once again send my best wishes to everyone who has been affected in any way by Hurricane Sandy ... I hope you have all been safe throughout and that your homes have escaped the worst of the damage.

I wish you all a happy WOYWW, take care and have a good week.

Oh, and Keep Crafting :)

Some Road Trip Photographs

Afternoon Everyone,

Another wet, though warm and muggy, day here - I'm beginning to doubt the sun will ever shine again :(

And, the rain stopped play at Wimbledon, just when our very own Andy Murray is battling it out too! Delighted  to see he's made it to the quarter-final ... doing a little happy dance :)

I've been sorting through the holiday photos ... do I hear a cyber groan somewhere :)) I'll try not to bore you rigid but thought I'd bring you a wee selection of the highlights ... from a holiday full of highlights.

Warning: this is a photo-heavy post! I've grouped the photos together and condensed them, otherwise this would be an even longer post, but, if you want a better look, just click on a photo to enlarge it.

First up are the pics I took as we set off and motored through the south of Scotland, Cumbria and Yorkshire.

Our travelling companions seem happy to be leaving Scotland behind. That's me - chief driver's mate - with the map on my knee. Going across country, the nearest we got to a traffic jam was caused by these caravans ... aren't they fabulous?

Kirkby Lonsdale - a very pretty market town situated just between the Lake District and the Yorkshire Dales - a great place to stop and break the long drive to Harrogate. The name of the shop, Shades of Green, caught my eye because I'd just read a review about the novel that is causing a bit of scandal at the moment, entitled Shades of Grey.

Salt Pie Lane - so called because an enterprising lady living in the yard made hot salted mutton pies for sale to the traders in what was once the adjoining Horse Market. After consumption of the salty pies it was necessary for her diners to adjourn to the nearby 'Green Dragon' pub to slake their thirst - the landlord of which just happened to be a relation to said enterprising lady!

The first stopover on the trip was the famous spa town, Harrogate. Here you can see the Pump Room and the Royal Baths.

You can also see the EM descending the stairs inside what was the Winter Gardens, behind the Royal Baths, where visitors used to socialise after taking the waters - which apparently contain iron (chalybeate), salt and sulphur - smelly but apparently medicinal! The Winter Gardens are now a pub/restaurant.

Harrogate is justly proud of it's flowers and gardens, the crowns being part of this year's Diamond Jubilee celebrations. The town has also supplied this perfectly framed photo opportunity :)

The Old Swan Hotel - the hotel that Agatha Christie, bestselling crime-writer, disappeared to in 1926. Her disappearance sparked off the biggest 'manhunt' in history ... I just had to take a look!

We stayed in the Montpelier Quarter of the town, conveniently close to the world-famous Betty's Tea Rooms. The food is delicious - I had chicken and asparagus rosti and it was very tasty. However, my lasting memory will always be the homemade lemonade - incredibly refreshing and moreish :)

A drive over to Pateley Bridge we passed along the Nidderdale Way, designated An Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, which rewarded us with the best views over the valleys we are ever likely to see. Oh, and we passed through Bedlam on the way:)

At Pateley Bridge we visited the Nidderdale Museum - we weren't allowed to take photos inside but we found an old mangle and this touching memorial to a miner's pet dog, Prince, just outside. And wouldn't you know it, the little town has the oldest sweet shop in England to tempt us :))

After two days in Harrogate we carried on our journey to Chesterfield, home of the crooked spire and what I think might just be one of the biggest outdoor markets in England.

This brought us to the end of our first week, so I'll stop here for now ... I bet you're relieved. Seriously, I hope you've enjoyed seeing some of the lovely places we visited on our holiday. What isn't evident in these photos is just how nice the folk we met were and how welcome we felt wherever we went ... and it is this that made the holiday extra special.
If you can stand it I will do a second post showing highlights from our second week - spent in Wiltshire - some time soon.

Update on the peds horribilis (horrible feet!?!?) ... situation improving, and I'm hoping to be able to wear shoes again very soon ... and, dare I say it, venture into the craft space for a bit of crafting time too :) I am so tired of watching TV, there's only so many repeats a woman can stand!

This post is a lot later than intended so in just a few hours I will be joining many of you for WOYWW  ... see you there.

Happy Crafting,

WOYWW 160 - Holiday Crafting ... a few cards I made

Hello Everyone,

As I write this post it's late Tuesday evening and whilst the day started of lovely ... sun shining, temperature good ... it changed completely by mid afternoon, the rain came down and it's decidedly dull and miserable now ... boohoo :(

Happily, tomorrow is Wednesday and that means it's WOYWW day, that's the acronym for What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday ... the day a goodly number of us reveal all, well, all that's on our desk ... anything else might frighten the horses :)  Don't already participate but would like to join in? Just click the WOYWW icon (in the left sidebar) and you'll be transported to The Stamping Ground, the admirable Julia Dunnit's blog, she's the genius who dreamt up this massive weekly snoopathon.

Now I know that Julia likes us to keep our posts brief but I hope she will forgive me if I go on a bit this week - I've such a lot to show and tell :)

Having been on my travels around England for the last two weeks, I've had to forego the pleasure of peering and peeking around your desks. However, I didn't miss out on all the fun, not entirely, because Jan (Lunch Lady Jan) kindly arranged that we meet up for lunch last Wednesday and to my delight Julia, herself, and Di of Pixie's Crafty Workshop and Sunday Snippet fame were there too.

Me, Jan, Julia and Di

Everyone came bearing gifts, a desk tidy for each of us from Jan, essential goodies for any crafter from Julia and,  Di brought along her delicious Raspberry Tiramisu for dessert- click here for the recipe - I know I shouldn't have but it was truly mouthwatering and raspberries are my favourite fruit :) 

 

After lunch, Jan's husband, Gordon, took the EM off to look at steam engines - his idea of bliss! While we went off to Shopkeeper Gal's emporium ... needless to say I did not leave empty-handed.  She's moving to bigger and better premises soon - see Julia's post here for the full info -  so I'm sending good wishes for a smooth and trouble-free move. Here's a couple of photos of what just had to come home with me :)

The other side of those 12x12 papers

Quite a pile! I'll be scrapping and crafting for months with this lot!!!

All-in-all it was a fantastic day and I had the best of times getting to know these lovely ladies even better ... I wouldn't have missed meeting them for the world. 

I did take a stocked tote away with me thinking that if the weather was too bad I could maybe find a wee bit of time to craft. However, the weather was kinder to us than anticipated and we were out and about a lot so crafting time was minimal but I did manage to make a few cards.

It was difficult deciding what crafting supplies to take ... there are so many items I think I can't live without!!!

I generally resist collections but thinking it would make things easier I bought a designer collection ... Dawn Bibby's Classical Bloom. I quite liked the look of it when I saw it on TV and visualised myself dashing off a huge number of cards ... they'd be great to donate to charities, etc. So what did I do? I made FOUR ...  here they are.

Finally, I returned to a pile of mail and in it was this super ATC made by France to celebrate WOYWW's third anniversary - lovely :)

A mammoth post this week - I promise I will keep it brief next week :)

I hope you are all well and perhaps even enjoying better weather than we are experiencing currently ... it would be nice to get out into the garden now and then ... never mind, there's always the tennis to watch :)

I will, as usual, do my level best to visit you all ... however, I have a lot of visiting to do this week - taking souvenirs to the family ... and it's my beloved granddaughter's ninth birthday tomorrow too ... nine, I can hardly believe it!

Happy Crafting to you all and have a lovely WOYWW,