Wednesday 25 April 2012

Food





A subject close to my heart ... and hips ... and thighs etc
Why do carbs taste so good and broccoli tastes like ... well broccoli ?
Why is everything deep fried delicious ?
And why can some people eat for England and never gain a pound ?
And why do I have to eat every least chip including the dodgy one at the bottom of the scrunched paper that looks like it may have succumbed to a spot of potato blight ?
Why does only wine hit at the spot at the end of a bad day ?
Why won't an apple do instead of a Cadbury's Wispa ?
Why can't spinach have the same allure as salt and vinegar crisps ?

The answers my friend are not blowing in the sodding wind but just plain facts of life so I'd better get over it and go bake myself a fat - free broccoli and spinach casserole.

I'm in the danger zone .. I'm poised over my keyboard lusting over scrapbooking papers as an antidote to the pouring rain outside when I should be preparing some lesson plans for my next pupil. I can't face getting back on my bike . My clothes have only just dried out since this morning's drenching. Tough choice but do I indulge in a little retail therapy in the dry with a cuppa or do I get back on my bike and pedal off into the downpour ?

Hmmmm , kettle's boiling.

And just so that you now what I may be tempted by .... it's these ...






and these ....

and these...

Saturday 21 April 2012

I could eat this

Every now and then a delicious new range of papers comes along and you find yourself wondering why they look different from the myriad previous releases . Just like with music - there are only 8 notes and yet an infinite number of arrangements of those notes which makes every piece of music unique ( apart from the majority of the top ten chart which are virtually identical of course ) .

So if ether are only so many colours in the rainbow how does yet another combination manage to look so fresh. This range from Prima look good enough to eat ( most of my analogies are based on food I have realised ) but I may resist the urge to munch them and cut them up instead into an interesting layout or two.

Thank you Prima for presenting me with an unquenchable urge to purchase ... not that I ever need an excuse to buy new stash.

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Sunday 8 April 2012

Titter Ye Not

And for those who aren't old enough to remember, that's one of comedian Frankie Howerd's catchphrases from an ancient comedy called Up Pompeii - think 'Carry On' Meets 'I Claudius' ... oh dear, showing my age again.

So the mystery is over. The squeaking bedspring birdcall that's been irritating the pants off me for the last couple of weeks has finally been identified as the Great Tit ( hence the title of this post ) by Emma and verified by Sandra, courtesy of Chirp - an inspired App for your iphone which she kindly shared with me, which gives you sound-bites for every known resident bird in the UK.

Now I just have to work out how to get rid of my annoying little feathered friend. In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy the double entendres of being able to post comments like ' managed to upload my  Great Tits ' on here and elsewhere. Nothing like the word Tit to get a cheap laugh .. as Frankie Howerd knew well.

Sarah's Cards Retreat

Despite the fact that it's held in Warrington ( no disrespect to Warringtonians ... just the fact that it costs an arm and a leg, takes half a day and about 500 underground station steps with an overweight suitcase to get there ) it is well worth the trip and that's an understatement.

I missed my train buddy Emma en route this time , especially as she'd had the foresight to bring some tinnies ( G&T ) with her last time but this was more than compensated by the fact that she and Kate were both there on arrival for a celebratory bounce on the bed, a quick room search for the minibar ( sadly none) and a forage in the shop within minutes of hitting the crop room.

Several bottles of red wine later we were underway with the first of 6 superb classes, all of which are accompanied by class kits full to the brim with luscious new scrap goodies . You have to pass by the Rhubarb and Custard sweet shop en route to the classroom and it was here that I discovered blackcurrant and liquorice toffees. A love affair at first bite.

A game of bingo and a raffle later we were sat around our enormous tablecothed crop room table armed with fabulous new cocktails courtesy of Emma - that girl is a master at ferreting out tinned alcohol. Note to self for next time .... bring Wine Box as well - an inspiration.

The weekend continued in much the same vein - food , scrapbook shopping, coffee, pecan pastries, a class or two, more shopping , chocolate brownies , and armful of those lethal toffees something new and alcoholic in a tin ( or bottle ) , more food , more scrapping , you get my drift.

The icing on the cake was that we got to spend the Sunday night there too. A great to way to relax after a wonderful time .. with the inevitable bottle or two of red wine with which to reminisce about the weekend's events and count the days until the next one.

Thank you to Lianne and Sarah and the Design team for your exhaustive pursuit of the perfect retreat, seemingly achieved with such ease and yet I can only begin to guess at the amount of hard work you put into the weekend.

Here's my layout from the challenge kit ....
Before They Fly the Nest .... Make Sure they Know How.