One week later..

Zac is still in the news, got his GCSE results today, a clutch of A*'s and A's with a splattering of B's and C's. A job well done...and he's more excited by the day about the new car... counting the days to his birthday in 10 days..the stereo is fitted and the theory test is booked.. perhaps I should run a sweepstake to see how soon before he is out on the open road on his own!

Took Kate and cousin Madison to Illogan for Just Scrapbooking session yesterday morning, nice to see some old faces..and some who found my blog too.. hope it was worth a read!

Both the girls created some great pages, Centre Parcs featured large and our Lilly of course..loved the lilac lace on top of the bright yellow.. perfect for the hot week we had .. must have been 'summer', that week at the end of June. Interesting to see Kate use some of the same photos as I did but so differently... must get a shot of Madison's pages when we see her next.

Kate and I took Lilly to The Play Zone earlier in the week., or should I say Lilly and I took Kate.. haha, who had most fun!? Obviously great opportunities for scrapping.. what do you think?

Hot off the blogging press!

True to the reputation Zac has given me I am blogging as it happens...

dear thing, he had a very emotional moment this evening....like most days the past month he spent a couple of hours after tea trawling the web for cars which might be suitable for his driving debut in September.. I even showed some interest this time...but the trump card was mine!

Col arrived a few minutes later and I suggested Zac should go see him outside.. he twigged straight away...hence the emotion!... Col had done 4 customer visits up north and also managed to view/ check/ fund / collect and then tow home behind the van a lovely Ford Focus.. better pics tomorrow in daylight!
(Kate observed that it will free up the computer now for everyone else..but added that no doubt Zac will have some other purchase / spare part / improvement to browse for soon!)
Note : dutiful Rob hoping he might be able to go along for the ride, or bag the back seat perhaps!

Book worm.

Maybe it's a sign I've had too many holiday-days this year, ... or just that I have become a better user of my time, .. or most likely that I am saying Sod It! to stuff I really should be more bothered about.... but I am loving my books at the minute!

In the Maldives I read the teenager book Elsewhere (read it.. no kidding, it was a lovely lovely book..about death, but simple clever idea and a beautiful thought when you've loved and lost), followed by Perfect Day (fodder and easy but interesting formula, all set in one day)..and then an autobiography from Frank Skinner..yes, it's amazing what you read when the choice is the hotel bookcase!

I also tried a bit of Maeve Binchey, but it was short stories and I was a little disappointed. Not one to be defeated I am now reading her Evening Class.. partly cos Linda told me about it when we were discussing the reasons why everyone gets a buzz from scrapping..(I think it's a bit like a therapy.. hello, I'm Kathi and I'm a scrappaholic!) But, anyway, it's quite nice, needs reading in binges as each character is pages long and you need the run at it.. but looking forward to the next installment.

At Centre Parcs I read Perfect Day by local Cornish author, slow but sure, another single day theme which I like.. and Lovely Bones, recommended by great friend Michele in the States and applauded by Lisa too. It didn't let me down, compulsive reading, and I cried buckets!

I really like biographies and have several stashed away.. everything from Jayne Fonda, to David Cassidy and Kate Adie...but they deserve a proper holidays attention!

Gone fishing.

Browsing through the pics this evening, couldn't let the moment pass without this great pic of Pops' catch last Saturday. we were out almost all day and spent a good while fishing. My favourite spot, just around the corner from Penberth and Pops got a bite.. he reeled in and had 3 pollack on one line.. it was more like mackerelling!

Felt a little guilty on Tuesday afternoon when I was telling Sarah Rowe our cousin about it as she told me sister Lynn and the kids had been on Lee Plat in the cove at the same time but didn't have a bite!

Good to see everyone there, as Sarah said 'It wouldn't be the second Tuesday in August if it wasn't St Levan Sports'

Summer evening..

... at 5.30pm this afternoon I thought the evening would pass uneventfully. Lisa and I had been busy working on a paperwork purge in the office (all I need to do now is try the same in my true-life as the kids call it!) Kate had been to Flambards with Heather and her girls who are visiting (her Mum Peggy is one of Jean's oldest pals) and JB had baked a cake for Pop's birthday tomorrow... he will be 75 years young! We had a barbecue last eve with all the family in good hearted attendance, so tonight I imagined an easy tea and a sit in the garden with a long port!

Oh, no, kids and Simon had other ideas, and by 6.30 7 of us were on the boat out of Penzance Harbour. Kate was first in and did a great job on the kneeboard, followed by Zac and then Simon doing some serious water-skiing back to the harbour. It blew away all the cobwebs and the sunset was beautiful, see it here lightening the new building at Penwith College, my old school and Zac's college from next month.

It was great to watch, Colin happy at the helm and passengers Pops and I enjoy the view, the warm sun and the food.. tonight I even managed to take a flask, much appreciated by Zac and Kate when the wetsuits and windchill set in!

Adorable!

.... that's the best description for Col's Uncle Bill.. and for the Pics he sent me of his grand-daughter Maya running to meet him on his (shhhh!) 70th birthday. He just moved house so I scrapped them and sent them out, he has got it now so I can post this pic of the finished item without spoiling his surprise!

I used the Graphics challenge Linda set in one of her newletters, similar to the Hats layout I used for Lilly, and although it worked almost too easily I really liked the result.. the papers helped and I just had to add the embossed year date!

Busy days..

Hello for August.. just realised I needed a kick-start to get back to blogging and Janice's challenge helped. We've been so busy just living and trying to cram in some fun times for the kids, that the blog has suffered.

Went Just Scrapbooking last w/e and did a couple of 12x12 acetate pages, they came out pretty good, but would be best as part of a whole acetate book and not so easy to photograph to show here either.

But this week I have been working on an 8x8 of our family, for my brother..it's been a bit speedscrap mode but I have used a nice antique kit in the main which has helped, and I've not gone overboard on the embellishing, it's more of a picture / memory journal... may even do one for our crowd too.. but isn't it odd how every generation adds another element of family so you see your heritage kind of watered down.. or enriched, whichever way the day takes you.

As Dad died when I was young and we grew up in his home fishing cove we always seemed to consider our Thomas roots, but since Mum and her sister died I have come to appreciate their stories (and glad I listened) I have found lately a whole album of cards scrapbooked by my Gran Leo Warren..some as old as 1899.. one was from her soon-to-be-husband and he wrote on it 'with sincere affection'.. I guess that would be 'love loads chick!' in 2009!

I have also found a notebook of Mum's Dads thoughts when he was sent to Africa in the First World War, he was a teacher really, and writes eloquently about his experiences, though not always p.c. for todays world...he reads like a kind of Tom Hanks character from Private Ryan!

Also found this pic of him outside a tent in Daresalam, isn't technology great, it really 'grows' the pics when you can scan and improve them!

Chain challenge?

This is a new one! Janice sent me a challenge, (which I have to pass on to others once posted..)

......pick the 4th photo from your 4th file (where you store your pics in cyberworld) and publish it on your blog. And tell a bit about it. ..

(It was a hard choice as our family have so many places we store pics it was hard to be true to the challenge.. so I left it to Picasa to dictate).. here is then, a great picture, which tells a thousand words, of son-in-law Tom with baby Lilly, 5 days old... both of them look happy enough don't they! I just love how tiny babies are so content to just hold on and sleep.

12 months later she's our little star, and he and Uncle Zac are heading off tomorrow morning for a day's paintballing in a bunker near Exeter somewhere! ..and weather permitting Lilly will be on paddling pool alert!

(and for those following, see dragon / seahorse tattoo.. which is it.. you decide!)