25th Feb - Quotation week and #25 my bedside table

This week is my quotation week. I thought we should get back to more snapping this week with this quote by the philosopher Immanual Kant.

" Look closely.  The beautiful may be small"

Here is a 3 min video on his philosophy, amusing but.........????

So to start the week here is something small that Zac and I found last summer, a grasshopper and on looking through the camera lens close up is quite attractive!!

FSM #25 My bedside table as I woke this morning at 7.50 to a cuppa from Peter

24th February - Our love song #24 Clouds

#24 Clouds... typical that we have no clouds but a grey cloud cover today so used a photo I took in the car in Jan on our way to town

Yesterday Peter rang from his friend's house to say "don't start dinner we are going to an Elvis Tribute night to night". His friend had 2 spare tickets for a 2 course dinner and Elvis show, it was such an unexpected surprise and great fun.

Here I am with Elvis and below with Peter's footie friend David

 Dave's wife Linda with Peter, you can tell he is really enjoying himself!

End of Nostalgia today so I am finishing the week with mine and Peter's song.  He has just heard it playing and said "there's our song"!

Thank you Kathi for this week's challenge.
Anne I have been thinking of you since Thursday and hope Rhea is doing OK? xxxxx

23rd February Affairs of the heart Part 2 # 23 My Word

FSM #23 WORD - If

Affairs of the Heart Part 2 - my friend Carol
Yesterday I talked about my oldest close friends from college days.
Today I will tell you about my close friend Carol. We met in 1980 when I returned to work and teaching after I became a single Mum. Carol worked in the school office. We immediately became friends. Her and her late husband John were a brilliant support to me through some difficult years .Every Sunday in the summer we would go down the the old town beach with their motor boat and we all bought wet suits and learnt to waterski. The club we belonged to bought a parachute so that we could all go para gliding off the beach, pulled by a motor boat. Life was such fun thanks to them. Their oldest daughter became my babysitter so a social life also developed too.
After meeting and marrying Peter the 4 of us had several holidays together in France and Anglesey (I think they were the only people we have been on holiday with and we all wanted to go again!). John used to call me Carol's sister as we were both only children. Over the years I started to scrapbook and finally 4 years ago encouraged her to start too.

Sadly 1 week before a third holiday in Anglesey John committed suicide in 2010. It was a terrible shock for us all and I was there at the hospital with her when he died. Now it was our turn to be there for Carol. She frequently came for Peter's Sat cooked breakfasts. Together we went away on our own to Egypt in Feb 2011 just after the first uprisings( leaving Peter at home, something I don't think I would do again!) We helped her move house from the country into town and to live closer to us which was great!   I think there would have been further holidays for the 3 of us except, last year she has met someone who lives in Wilts and more and more she is travelling there to be with him and I think this year will see her move in with him. I am sad for myself that I am losing my friend locally but pleased for her to have a second chance of happiness and she is very happy.
I sincerely hope that in the future we can maintain out friendship from afar, we shall see.....
Here are a few photos of those last 32yrs

Happy Days in Anglesey 2008

Carol's birthday a month after John's death 2010

Egypt Feb 2011

Moving house July 2011

 Moving into her new house

 Fish and chips supper on moving day with her family

 Scrapping class at a Cardinal Colours retreat

I will end with happy beginnings in Wiltshire for Carol Oct 2012 with Peter, myself Carol and Dave

Affairs of the Heart - Love Songs from the 70's

A bit more nostalgia for today with a song from the 70's from my favourite group Bread,  the album was The Sound of Bread. When my first DH left me I would play this over and over and cry in the evenings when the boys had gone to bed!! As you can see from the top of this post I used If as my FSM word photo for today

22nd Feb - Old Friends #22 Makes me Smile

Well I tried altering my blog but blocked Jenni so unless I list the people who I want to read this I am putting up with Anon as Karen does.
#22 Makes me Smile...meeting my oldest son for coffee this morning :) This is our first meet up since his birthday nearly a month ago so you can understand the smile!! It was good to see him

Affairs of the Heart part 2 -  Friends
I was an only child but never felt lonely at home as my father was a teacher so he came home at the same time as me from school and was great company and fun!  During my Sec school days I had a group of friends, we went around with in and out of school. Judy still lives in the town and I call her my oldest school friend since we knew each other at Brownies and our parents were friends. She came back after teacher training college and taught in Hastings as I did. After having our children, (we didn't go back to work in those days!) we regularly me. Sadly these days we are only in touch by cards at Christmas and birthdays.
In the 6th form (we were a Grammar school) several girls joined for the local Sec Modern and I became close friends with Monica. We spent our weekends and holidays together in coffee bars and Jazz club nights which were Tues, Fri and Sat nights, on the prowl for males!! Going to Teacher training college for me and work in London for Monica at 18 meant we saw very little of each other each year but she was still my chief bridesmaid in 1967 and Godmother to my 2 children in 1970 and 1976. By then she had married a lovely man called Alun but again we have now drifted apart and although they have 2 grown up daughters I have only seen them a couple of times as children and I have no idea if they are married or have any children either.A Christmas card a year is our only connection :(
My closest friends I made whilst at college for 3 years. There were 4 of us who have stayed close since 1963. Pat lives in Chew Magna Somerset, Ann nr Ampthill Beds and of course my room mate for 3 years Sue who you all know went to live in BC Canada and died in May last year. Although we have never lived close to each other, occasional long phone calls and 2/3 visits per year is enough to be as close as we were at college. We continue to laugh, argue and cry together as we did all those years ago and have many times and seen each other through sad, difficult and happy times.
 Here are some photos of us all
In 1964 all 4 of us in our digs back garden, Sue has her hair in rollers and a cap on, Pat is lying down and Ann is LH and I am RH side. note the knickers on the line!!!

1969 all together and all married but no children!L to R Ann, Pat, Sue and I

1979 all together all have children children but I am separated from my first DH. 

L to R Ann, me, Pat and Sue

 2009 all together for the last time at Chew Magna. I am married to Peter, Sue is now divorced and has brought her man friend Rob over to UK to meet us. L to R Ann, me, Sue and Pat

2012 July 2 months after Sue has died we had a weekend together with our husbands in Chew to talk about Sue and try and celebrate her life. We cried and laughed a lot and finally went to a garden centre to buy identical plants to plant in our gardens to remember Sue.(that was Pat's idea, bless her xx)  We have now been friends since we met at 18yrs and this yr we will be 68yrs old in September. That means we have been close friends for 49yrs! We really haven't changed just our bodies LOL!!

This weekend I will talk about my close friend  Carol and let you know my favourite love song to finish off this topic

21st Feb - more Valentine photos and FSM #20 and #21

Before I blog I have Anonymous back again and not sure who or what it is. Can anyone pm me on FB or UKS to tell me what to do, thank you friends xx

FSM photos#20 - Were I stood- in Hobby Craft seeing a lovely Easter display

FSM #21 - Full - a photo of one of our cupboards, they are all full of glass,I just love it though sadly we hardly use the cut glass !!

Affairs of the Heart part 3
I had totally forgotten about these photos I took in 2007 and 2008.
These were taken in 2007. Peter doesn't even though I have this photo!! Ssh.... don't tell!

Note the artificial flower we used for years and threw it out last year. I must have made that card, had just started scrapping and made the class where I went for lessons!!

 Our evening meal that evening

2008 I was making maze books and loved them. This was a Love book with love and friendship quotes

2009- A real rose from me(note who is the romantic) but look at his face, he loved it!!

and a meal that evening

 In 2010......It was the birthday meal for 3 of our crowd on Valentine's night so red roses for all the ladies

The table laid and red balloons added!!

A photo of them all during the meal

Will be thinking about friendships tomorrow but no more romance this week!!

19th Feb - Mrs Grumps and #19 I am......

#19 I am....Nanny and childminder to 2 DGC today

 Sadly I am Mrs Grumps!! Not had a good time with one family last night and struggling to ignore the situation, also Peter has decided to be out all day whilst it is half term. Took the children to gym this am and Zac was really grumpy too and it was so crowded that we only stayed 40mins:(

This afternoon I decided to look in the archives and actually found I had red roses from Peter in 2009, so he can be a romantic without prompting!!

More photos from other years tomorrow but no special stories I am afraid except the yearly card, must try and find it!!!

Finally got round to taking a photo of last week's class LO  we did with Anita M. I think next month's LO is on her blog. She chooses such lovely papers for the kits xxx

18th Feb - Feb Nostalgia -Affairs of the HEART week and #18 something I don't like!

#18 something I don't like..... is getting my hands and my craft room messy. Today I was doing messy play for my Impossible pages!!

Today I got on with my pages for my Lucky Snapping album, here is a peep at the pages

 Unfinished Silver Linings Impossible had fun with pearls powder with the lettering and distressing ink and  picket fence distressing paint and Tim Holz stamps 

 Feb View LO

another view later in the week on otherside                          

 Jan snow another view

 Quotation week 

Feb Nostalgia week by Kathi has started today and is about AFFAIRS OF THE HEART..Love and Valentines.....need to read it again tomorrow! Anyway here are some photos from last Thursday and the story for today!.
No red roses as they were too expensive LOL!! but I love Astromerias and they were red and only £3,,,very romantic. We were together in Sainsburys when the conversation took place and I picked these up!!!

 But he is well trained (tongue in cheek) and here is the inside of my card

 and the front of the card

There was no card in the morning but he arrived with it and an artificial rose at lunchtime....Peter said he could get the rose out of his drawer each year from now on!!!!

Oh and about Amarylis bulbs for old people.  Well it was always the present we bought our MIL's later in life when we didn't know what to buy them for Christmas!!!

17th Feb - AWOL #16 Perfect and #17 In your hand

#16 What do you take a photo of that is perfect? Well I decided on the Amaryllis again that is now in full flower and looks wonderful. Until this year I have hated getting one at Christmas to grow, isn't this was you buy old people? well I got bought one!!

#17 In you hand. here is the marmite jar to spread on the bread and add bacon to it. I love marmite, yummy!!

Yesterday we had a really good day. One couple didn't come as they sadly had to have their 21yr old cat put to sleep. You saw the hat challenge collage, here they all are except me on the last night waiting for the show to start.                     August 2011

and last year our first meeting in Feb 2012

Sadly no group photo yesterday :( They are all coming to Hastings in the summer for fish and chips in the old Town :)

Off to catch up on Lucky Snapping album this afternoon ..............