What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday - Week 839

Hello Everyone,

Happy WOYWW to you all.

Not much has changed on my workdesk since I last posted two weeks ago. I'm still working on alterations - a pair of pyjama bottoms this time. I missed posting last week and for good reason. I woke in the early hours of last Wednesday to find a flood in the bathroom, The water was coming from the flat above. The next few days were spent mopping up and trying to get the leak stopped. Not easy when your neighbour is out and his flat can't be accessed. It was Saturday before the plumbers were able to get in and stop the leak.

Usually I show my workdesk, first photo, because it's where I make scrap pages but today I thought I'd also show you this lovely desk. The one where I store the laptop. And where I now plan to type up these blogposts. This was Alan's writing desk and until last week was just tucked away in a corner of the main bedroom. Recently, though, I decided that I wasn't making enough use of the living room. In fact, except when I had visitors, I rarely spent time in there. The cat spent more time snoozing on the sofa than I did sitting on it! 

This room is front facing and looks out on to a very small garden area, much neglected until recently. There's a privet hedge screening it from the road which, because it's a well-known shortcut to the beach, can often be very busy. It's also on the shady side of the building. Nice when it's been as hot as it has been this week, but not when the weather is, as it so often is here, not so fair. Indeed, today the temperature has dropped by 10 degrees, it's grey and overcast above and rain is forecast shortly. 

It's been a few years since I could do this, but at last I'm able to pick flowers from the garden and fill a vase. Just nasturtiums and cornflowers for now but I'm delighted!

I'm also delighted to see that Annie's Rose is in bloom, joining Alan's Rose and the Douglas Rose. Lovely!

Silver is never far from me, Here she is on the sofa hoping for some fall-out from my lunchtime snack. 

And finally, a few funnies.

Obviously AI generated but this 'Blowin 737' cracked me up.

Phone box of the day: Outer Hebrides. Pic by Joan Irvin

Silver has obviously attended the Kitten School!

To see more creative workdesks pop over to Sarah's blog, Sarah's Craft Shed. If you don't already do so, feel free to join in the fun and show us what's on your workdesk this Wednesday. You'll be made most welcome.

Have a great WOYWW day and a fabulous week everyone,

Take care everyone,

Elizabeth

What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday - Week 837

Hello Everyone,

Good Afternoon! So late. No excuses beyond the fact that life has been busy and this morning it all seemed to catch up with me. Sometimes, I forget how old I am and do more than is good for me then pay for it and need to rest for a day or two to recover. So what have I been up to that's taken so much out of me, you might ask? Well, gardening yesterday, after days of seemingly endless rain, sorting through and reorganising of my entire wardrobe all Friday and the weekend too. and the all day conference on the Wednesday. 

The conference was held in an interesting venue, the cinema in Saltcoats. I attended as someone who has been one of the many unpaid carers this organisation tries to support and also as someone who is, as a volunteer, about to undergo training as a carer mentor. I found the speakers informative and interesting and I met a lot of lovely people too.

No scrapbooking has been done at all. No time. Instead, my sewing machine is making a rare appearance on my workdesk today. I don't think I've used it for about three years! Not that I'm planning to make anything pretty, like a quilt. No. It's just that, after the wardrobe sort out, I have a little pile of alterations now waiting to be done. Mainly waists to be taken in and trouser legs to be shortened. The instruction book is at the ready just in case I've forgotten how to use the machine, and I've found the box that's full of sewing accessories and the one that has the dressmaking scissors in it. I think it's nothing short of a miracle that I was able to put my hands on everything that will be needed after all this time. 

All this reorganising has meant that I've finally had to decide, what to do with Alan's treasured collection of coats and jackets, some never worn. Soon they will be on their way to a charity shop where I hope they will help raise funds and where they will be bought, used and loved by shoppers there. 

Out in the garden the rain has worked it's magic and the rose bought in memory of my husband, Alan's Rose, is in bloom for the first time. 

Simply beautiful. It's a floribunda rose named by the breeder after his son, Alan. Unfortunately, I've not been able to find out more than that so the breeder remains unknown for now. 

Another rose that has just started to flower is The Douglas Rose, gifted to me by our Jan and Julia in memory of my late brother, Douglas. 

He's blossoming among the ox-eye daisies that have gone a little mad and are looking fantastic. That heatwave earlier in the year followed by all the rainy days we've had has just spurred them on. 

The garden was looking a bit wild and out of control until yesterday when I took advantage of a few hours of sunshine to get out and do some tidying up with the secateurs. 

There's more screaming out to be done but this recent injury is slowing me down. I don't know what I did, but it still hurts! 

Silver is doing her best to console me.

And finally, a couple of funnies I saved thinking you might enjoy them.

This one rings so true! 

To see more creative workdesks pop over to Sarah's blog, Sarah's Craft Shed. If you don't already do so, feel free to join in the fun and show us what's on your workdesk this Wednesday. You'll be made most welcome.

Have a great WOYWW day and a fabulous week everyone,

Take care everyone,

Elizabeth

Friday Smiles

Hello Everyone,

I haven't joined in with Annie's Friday Smiles in forever! It's been a hard six months with not a lot to smile about since the last time, but finally things are looking better, and once again I can see I have much to be grateful for and plenty to make me smile. 

For example:

I think there is nothing better than being able to line dry the washing. I just love that fresh air scent on my bedding. It dried in no time at all today, which is just as well because it was so gusty I had to rush out and bring it in before it took off and ended up in the Clyde Estuary! 

If you have seen my last post, that's this week's WOYWW post, you will know that I am in the process of making over my very neglected back garden. It's too windy to work in the garden today but I did nip out to check all is well and was delighted to see the pansies are blooming beautifully.

 

Also the auricula, brought here from our previous garden when we moved in 2022, have not only survived but are beginning to flower again.

Admittedly, they do need to be split and re-potted, but that hasn't stopped them looking just lovely.

What else has made me smile? Oh, yes, this little visitor to the summerhouse.

Silver is fascinated by bees and had to be shooed away from this one that had got itself a bit confused. I was able to waft it back out to continue it's pollen gathering mission. 

Talking of Silver:

She's absolutely loving spending time outside with me. As long as I'm pottering around, she's there. It's her self-imposed task to guard against intruders, i.e. other cats! She's very territorial.

And finally, a few images that made me smile.

Substitute comments on blogs for texts and that's my problem in a nutshell!

 

I'll leave you with this last one. I hope it makes you laugh, like it did me. 

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone.

Take care, 

Elizabeth

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. 

What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday - Week 461

Afternoon WOYWWers and All,

It's snowing, fairly heavily actually, so what better day could I have to join in with Julia at the Stamping Ground and share what's on my desk today.

There's the beginnings of the first scrap page following our weekend away. Hope you all had a lovely time by the way - over-indulging on Easter eggs perhaps. Showing more self-discipline than is the norm, no chocolate passed my lips though I did have some rather delicious Pavlova for dessert on Sunday. Back to the desk - I've shoved the page out of the way to get to my keyboard ... would be impossible to write this post otherwise. It's now lying on top of that pile of patterned paper and other goodies - all very Disney themed - which I've opted to use for the second part of the Clear the Desk class I'm still working on.

One of the bonus's of driving halfway across the country on a weekend is there's plenty time to listen to audio books. Three to be exact.

First up was yet another Peter May.

This is the third in the Lewis Trilogy. I've still to read the first - got that well wrong! It was another good read and I enjoyed the mystery as it unfolded but I also enjoyed the descriptions of the islands of Lewis and Harris - very atmospheric.

This Is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay, a former hospital doctor, 'provides a no-holds-barred account of his time on the NHS front line. Hilarious, horrifying and heartbreaking by turns, these diaries are everything you wanted to know - and more than a few things you didn't - about life on and off the hospital ward. And yes, it may leave a scar.' As a one-time hospital medical secretary Dr Kay reminded me of why I eventually left to go to university ... the pressures of working in the NHS can never be exaggerated. 

This is the one I'm currently listening to and so far it's had me chuckling at the measures the staff of the Huddersfield Station Office employed to persuade their manager that what the station needed was a cat. They determined that a cat would be essential and have a vital job as 'Senior Pest Controller' . However, Felix is more than just an employee of TransPennine Express, she, yes Felix is female, has 'changed her colleagues' lives' for the better.

Only one funny today, but it's an apt one.

We returned from our trip to find the washing machine wasn't happy to start on our weekend laundry. It was just fine before we left so, as you can imagine, this came as a shock. Happily an engineer arrived early this morning and soon found the source of the problem - the pump. He replaced the faulty one, read disgustingly dirty for faulty, and gave us some advice on cleaning our machine ... we've only been using the wrong tablets for four years - and off he went leaving us with a fully functional machine once again. Sighing happily!

That's all from me today. I'm off to make a cuppa and a bit of lunch before settling down to check out what's on everyone's desks this week.

Have a lovely WOYWW and a wonderful week ahead. 

Friday Smile

Morning Smilers and All,

Joining in again with Annie's Friday Smiles over on A Stitch In Time. Although it's been a perfectly good week with it's fair share of happy moments I've only the one photo to share today.

My little great-grandson Callum out on the Arrochar trail and something has obviously caught his attention. It looks like mud to me but you can never tell what will fascinate a toddler.

Here's a couple of funnies that caught my eye.

I think the one explains the other at my age. Well, that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!

Have a wonderful Easter weekend everyone. I'm off to visit my two brothers - haven't seen them for ages so it's going to be quite a catch-up.

Friday Smile

Hello Smilers

I have a photo heavy post for Annie's Friday Smiles this week. I hope you will enjoy this little selection of  snaps taken at the Brick City Exhibition in Rozelle House, Rozelle Park, Ayr. They are scenes from round the world - all made from Lego.

South Africa, Green Point Lighthouse
& African Penguins on the beach

China & Hong Kong

New York, Macy's Day Parade

Edinburgh is my home town.

Edinburgh - a Georgian Tenement similar
 to the one I used to live in when I was young.

Edinburgh - the New Town
& the Forth Rail Bridge

Tossed three coins in this fountain but I've yet to go back!

Rome, Trevi Fountain

Two scenes from London, including the impressive St Pancras Railway Station.

Various London sites - Battersea Power Station -
complete with flying pig - telephone box,
Nelson's Column, and a very tiny replica of St Paul's Cathedral

London St Pancras International Rail Station - four photos because this model is so big!

Rozelle House is a lovely old mansion that that was gifted by the Hamilton family to the Royal Burgh of Ayr in 1968.

The House is now a major display venue with a varied programme of exhibitions, events and workshops. Sadly, little of its historic interior remains but there is still this beautifully ornate staircase. (The EM thinks it would be a fiddly paint job!)

And at the foot of those stairs the 'Draped Reclining Figure' by the sculptor Henry Moore, a three quarter size life size bronze.

And finally the funnies for today.

Anticipating Spring even though it's freezing out and we've had a sprinkling of snow this afternoon.


Have a great weekend and a very happy, smiley week to come.