365/182 Gothic

.. To be sure I even looked this up.. sitting in a square beside a fountain in the twon centre of Lille.. the definition was very specific, architecture / French etc etc.. so all I had to do was look around!  We also went into  large church in the town, St Maurice, there were some amazingly Gothic looking parts to photograph.. and so many confession boxes, we smiled a lot as we reckon we would both be in there a long time if we had to confess all our 'sins'!!

I have also taken a bunch of other nice photos but I am saving some of them for a barren day when all I see is the inside of our office!

365/181 Silhouette

We spent the day .. well half of it.. eating!  We got up late-ish, breakfast (and Col is a recent convert to chocolate croissants) and then to see the guys again, but with a barbecue lunch for one of their birthdays.. it was good to show them our kit and talk more about business but we were back at hotel with a bottle of wine in the sun by 4.30 and hurrah for being an hour ahead, it stays warmer later!


ooops. didn't notice my finger there!



Needless to say my blog words may be somewhat slurred and Col is resting his eyes on a lounger by the pool.. it's a hard life but someone has to do it...

365/180 Free choice.. and no cooking..

.. to be fair these are the croissants I ate as we left home on Wednesday but they reflect that we are 'in France' ... ferry crossing was uneventful, baring that I hated having to walk between huge lorries in the car deck as we were classed as 'freight'being in a big van..

..we spent the day Thursday travelling over and then down to Lille to meet our French resellers and a new one from Belgium too.. it promised to rain but in fact never did, but was soooo hot, and Col works so hard explaining stuff and being so positive with these guys!  the day ended late with a fab meal at our Holiday Inn and a super comfy bed to boot.. just what we ordered after the tired sloping bed from the night before!!

365/179 Weathered

.. amazed I have managed a connection here at our hotel, so trying to blog speedily.. and send some pics for 'your enjoyment'..haha

'Weathered' .. I picked up the prompt en route to our stay in Hythe Weds eve but didn't manage to find a pic for the day.. sure made up for it as we queued for the ferry in Dover.. the pic we took on the ferry is rather tired, through a sea swept window but I liked it because there was a new piece of slippage, which you can see as very 'white' and it appealed to my geology brain..xx

365/178 Still life.

Short note today but must say thanks to everyone for their kind comments about Col.. his ego is boosted ..xx  We head off tomorrow so I am hoping to pick up the prompts on my

phone and at least enter something.. even if it's just a picture entry without being linked until I get back Monday.. so pop back and see if I manage it..

Still life...randomly took some pics around the house in last ten minutes (manic trip to town, shops and then extra five people here for tea tonight... well timed given I should be ironing or packing.. but hey, we are taking a van so maybe I'll just throw half my wardrobe and all my shoes I own in a box!!  )  ...and I even tried out a bunch of bananas..but settled for our growing family of meerkats and figures.

The sailor meerkat was JB's gift to Zac to celebrate his first sea phase at Christmas, the Aviator is Col's as homage to his fondness for the Battle of Britain stories .. oh and the diver figure was a present Col had many years ago .. it has a skull face inside and the helmet is gold plated.. not many of these about, but the irony was that when he was given the figure the same guy owed him quite a bit of money and things were toght and he would sooner have had the money!!  I think he would sell it given the chance but it is a piece of his history, not many people have walked on the bed of the North Sea have they, albeit in more modern kit!

(couldn't decide which picture, with or without flash!)

365/177 Sizzling!

Well if we are running a poll for most helpful photo prompt husband my Col will be the winner today for sure! After tea I was pondering the word of the day and he told me to shut up, relax and stop finding something to worry about... okay .. so I did..

.. just browsing some emails a while later and Col suddenly pipes up..he has a solution! Laughing I follow him with my camera ready on my phone.. across a flooded yard in my flip flops...

Col leading the way, unlocking the workshop, turning on lights.. and carrying a baking tray.....we donned safety glasses (got to do things properly!) and then he heated up a piece of metal and plunged it into the baking tray of water... truly sizzling!!!

Yeah, he was what I'd call a good egg.. funny, last week I'm sure it wouldn't have happened, I was so grumpy.. which comes first though,,the end of the grump or the betterhumoured husband!??.. ahh it's better now, who cares!

365/176 Pleasure

Well we are almost half way through the year's challenge, I missed a couple of weeks early on but try not to think of that too much, though my mind would feel a little 'tidier' if I knew I had done the ones at the begining.. keep busy and I may forget!

I wonder how we'll all end up by the day 366, it's really nice following other people's days along the way, the smiles and the frowns and the big events and the little ones too..as Anne says I do hope we can do something next year too.. maybe if Suzie's creative juices are at the bottom of the glass us stalwarts could take on a theme or month each.. would be interesting to see what everyone thinks.. I know several of you are pals on UKS  so I'm not sure what you did before this..

 

'Pleasure' .. well today's pleasures are simple ones after a hectic day yesterday, a lay in and then few chores, nip to the shop for bits and now a little blogging while we watch the F1.. this evening holds the promise of some wine and an early night.. ready for a busy week coming up.  Col and I are heading for France to visit a company who sell our kit, we've dealt with them for a good few years but this is our first visit there.. over in Lille, almost Belgium.  The idea was to fetch Kate on the way back, as she is off to T4 next weekend, the pop beach event, but after much planning I remembered our new van only has two seats!! Doh!  So Ross says he'll get her, he likes a road trip!

Picture for today is our Lyla yesterday enjoying a cupcake.. she loves food, especially when it is exactly the same as everyone else is eating, not cut up, not small pieces.. ...oh and this one of Lilly last summer just loving the fruit salad!

365/175 Nature

Before I left home today Zac called from Sydney and we caught up on all his news.. he says it's quite cool out there but almost always nice when they get to the South Pacific islands.. it's so good we can speak so easily, so different to when my childhood friends brother was in the Merchant Navy and just seemed to disappear unheard of for months on end.

Well the weather held out and Mazey Day was great; well, too many people for our liking but fine weather, some lovely processions and for me the best bit is seeing people I haven't seen in ages... kind of just what I need with the mood I've been in... yes, the grey cloud has lifted, at leats enough for me to have seen the fun in being out getting wet this evening!

I met my cousin Julie which was nice (I think  and then a girl from school just two other girls from our year walked past..and some friends who have kids the same ages as ours.. its so funny how we all seem to swap stories of our children's current whereabouts.. maybe it's the way us pre-Facebookers are..

I brought the girls home for a bit while M&D had a few hours 'off', I enjoy doing it even though sometimes it is a little hectic, it's a kind of pay-it-forward thing as I really appreciate now what our Mum's did for us.. and with five of them!!

Usually we hang out at ours and its a gradual deterioration into chaos before they go home, but today a pal was having a bit of a birthday thing on an old piece of restored Railway so we set off to say hello.. it was fun too.. me and Col juggling the girls, Lilly being extra confident asking all  kinds of questions from complete strangers she now reckoned should tell her everything and a train ride to boot! 

In the car park (which was quite a run back in the pouring rain) we spotted a proud peacock and I thought he's make a nice 'Nature' picture for today..

Lilly asked Col why he had a hole in his sock and she looked so hurt when I told her it was because I was a 'rubbish wife'... so she made me a card later to show me I wasn't!

I asked her later if she was hungry.. 'Just hungry for a drink'... howabout milk?...'Milk would be lovely'.. awhh Lilly, you are gorgeous.... 'Yes, I know'.............she cracks us up!

365/174 Sunshine?..Every cloud..

..what a miserable day..(Thursday).. grey rainy summer evenings can be so draining.. I had hardly any enthusiasm for anything and when I got in from work I sat down to chat to JB and grabbed a blanket to warm me up.. next thing I knew it was almost seven, I'd been asleep and J had cooked our tea.. what a hunney!


Poor Col had no such rest, drainage works.. yeah 'nuff said' but he was just finishing off when I set out to fetch Kate home from her beau's house..this is the view across the yard.. (phone camera hence the rubbish quality for sky images at 9pm but I liked it..)

I have a little thing for light showing from behind the clouds, it reminds me that just out of reach our Mums are there, watching, waiting, reminding us that even when life is grey here, then we should be thankful for whatever has been and whatever is coming soon.

I was chatting about that, about the summer barbecues and cream teas we used to have, often at Col's Mum's instigation and this time of year I often find myself missing having the older ladies about to nudge us into a 'bit of a do'... I know it's down to me now but the girls aren't just ready to play my role yet..

(Fri) I have been really quite mis' the last few days, it seems it's not only me though, and I do wonder if it is the weather.. but also I think, although I am nowhere near having an 'empty nest' then I am suffering the 'empty nest syndrome'.. I really miss the time with JB, fetching and carrying her, listening to her laughs and woes as she comes or goes from work or college, ... now she drives herself it's not quite the same listening in between ironing and making tea..

Kate is getting pretty self sufficient and well Ross, he is doing his thing.. I fell upon a pic of Zac last night, taken on the boat the other day and I was surprised at the sudden 'missing him' feeling I had.. he too does his own thing but when he's here we all kind of hang out more and 'do things'.. perhaps, to be fair it was the sunshine day on the boat in the picture I am also hankering after.. or just the 'having everyone about' thing.. blah blah  

2011 Mazey Day

Anyways, it's festival time in this neck of the woods and tomorrow is Mazey Day, I should be meeting Lisa and we can show the girls the processions and the bands..

Lilly will love it and Lyla will hate the noise, but maybe will like it from the safety of my arms..I shall hope for warm (or at least an almost dry day) and perhaps don a maxi dress and join the myriads of people in their tie-dies and home made handbags..

I should really paint a few flowers on my cheek, get some John Lennon sunglasses and go fully incognito!  Maybe then I'd relax a bit and have some fun and stop being the miserable cow I have become the last week or so ...

365/173 Moomin' marvellous!

It's raining cats and dogs here in my neck of the woods, so I am not doing much..so probably a good moment for Moomin to make a final appearance..though he is small and compact enough I may let him take up residence in my bag and let him star when and if the moment deserves a Moomin's eye view of things!


He reckons it would be fun to come out in the boat sometime, or even maybe cadge a lift with Zac someday and go see the islands of the Pacific..so much so this is how I found him this evening.. wishful thinkin'...

365/172 Same but Different.. Out of Doors!





"..not sure what all the fuss is about 'the Great Outdoors', this huge furry giant looks friendly enough to me..

.. along the way I met with a wax owl and he introduced me to a pink Stingray..mmm.. maybe I am seeing things ..must be those G&T things they have to drink.. knew I should only have the one!

Hang on a minute these glasses help with the headache!

 

 

.. I don't know.. I think I should just go inside.. I'm getting spots in front my eyes as I look out from under this dog....

...some of these guys here look a lot more my type.. especially plastic duck.. must have come from the yellow factory next door to me.."

 (Okay so I am finally losing it here.. even Kate said us bloggers on the Same but Different prompt have got too much time on our hands!!)

365/171 Same, but more in proportion!

"I got left in her scrap den overnight, which incidentally is still quite tidy.. it won't last!.. but I had a bit of a look round. On the wall she has a load of cards and pictures, too nice to store in that desk drawer where the bulk of them have found themselves..and amongst them I found this super little card which is just my size..it's got a little plinth and I sat here a while drinking my milk..that little black cat looks a lot less like me that Scrapping Nana's cat, I guess it must be a different breed"

'' I'm hoping this evening this thing called 'Summer' might give me a little trip out of doors.. .. a barbecue and maybe use up some of the charcoal Col has stored in the sheds, which should have been well depleted by this time of year, apparently.. I heard him grumbling about it when he went to bed and again when he woke up...

Everyone's also a little anxious here as there is a wild rabbit who eats the grass in their garden and he is getting very brave. Yesterday he was only about ten feet away from that huge cat Joey that lives here..it's a bit like a battle of wills, which one of them can run the fastest the day Joey decides to make chase!  Yesterday morning Kathi saw some grey and white fur on the decking and Joey looking very full, but come the end of the day the rabbit reappeared, again eating his own weight in grass and dandelions... maybe he has seen his friends and family being stalked and is enacting his own one-rabbit stand against the Feline!

.. it's not just rabbits that Joey likes to chase by all accounts, the night before last fur was flying and all the young guns in this house were woken when he set on an intruding cat from up the road..a little anger-management is needed where that there cat is concerned I think !"

365/170 Same but better..

".. I learnt a lot the last 24 hours.. all about a thing called Twitter, where JB posted this cool pic of Col in his previous life as a Father's Day tribute..'Tweet for Dad'

.. and about scrapbooking.. there are loads of sticky gluey things to play with and I got to sit in charge of them a while, then when the pages were done I got a closer look.. hey, that Zac-man guy really gets around.. and for some reason his Mum has got a Meerkat calendar she uses to post the dates of pictures on her pages.. (apparently he used to stretch his neck to see things and reminded them of meerkats way before Sergei and Alexander made them famous on TV)

Great Outdoors!

Well I finally got myself back in the scrapbooking saddle today.. I printed out some of the pictures Zac left for me and thought I'd link it to enter the Happy Scrappers online monthly Challenge.  I am slightly apprehensive as I have a double page layout but the pages are about 11x8, which is a bit unusual and not on 'the list'.. hope Shaz will understand and it IS undoubtedly a scrap layout..

...On his first seaphase Zac got a days excursion in Mexico and they went canoeing and also trekking, they even went swimming in the pool while they watered the horses.  

A couple of weeks later a bunch of the crew went up to one of the high points in Hawaii on a special 'mission' .. Bad weather had meant that the previous trip had missed this island and a family that were travelling out to sprinkle the ashes of their mother there did not get there.... so this trip the crew took 'Beatrice' to her final resting place.  

I was fascinated to see the snow on the volcano in Hawaii, a volcano itself would be great, but snow in the tropics is just too much.. x

Happy Father's Day for him...

... meant a bit of mowing, a lot of MotoGP on TV, a good amount of chocolate and a the love of a good family.. awhhh.  And for me it meant a little catering, some washing to turnover, a good bit of laid back scrapbooking, catching up on Zac's pages from his last trip... so almost a Mother's Day too.

JB just came in from an eight hour shift, catering establishments are always so busy on these special days. I quite miss her the last few days, since she got to drive herself about, it's surprising how many of our conversations have been had in the car en route to the college bus or work or to friends..I guess we'll settle into finding some chatty time as things sort themselves into a routine..

.. here's the Moomin having a look at the Twitter pic JB posted of Col today..almost famous!

365/169 Same Moomin, different adventure!

" So there I was, being just a little inquisitive as to what this coffee thing is that gets a mention a lot in this house.. I was only looking... 'You'll fall in if you're not careful' she said. I didn't actually, but she is a witch in diguise and wondered out loud if I did fall in would I float, so she tested it.... and did I float?... no, I sank?!!  

Still, the old softie in her kicked in and she fished me out with a spoon, like a wet rich tea biscuit!  And then she took my picture.. funny girl.. but cuddled me up and dried me off in a (tea) towel.. thanks Kathi!! "

365/168 Same.. but different 2

" It's been what they call a pretty average day in this household.. food shop and chores.. pretty much.. but I had one adventure which I'll tell you about tomorrow"

365/167 Same .. but different...

..our prompt for the next few days is to feature a mascot / toy / pet or similar in our activites.. sounds just great for me as I like to try and find a tenuous link between what I wrote and the daily news..

.. I was in half a mind to feature one of the girls Ty softies, maybe the giraffe or polar bear, or even Freddie Teddy from my own childhood .. but here is my 'Star of the Week'...Moomin.   I bought him for Col way back when, probably some crazy Christmas thing, as I think he called Zac it a few times when he was small (mmm, Zac is really going to appreciate that when he reads it!) .. anyway, you know how it is.. we had a whole bunch of names the kids were called, Lisa ranged from 'Sausage' to 'Tilly Mint' .. they're the ones I remember best!

..so it's Moomin, mainly as he is only about 3cm high and can go in my pocket or bag and should make a small world look like a much bigger place..

.. so here he was ...standing on the shelf above the computer, hoping I would notice him and cook him something healthy from one of the many cookbooks..

Everyone is out, I mean everyone, so just me and Col for tea.. a lavish meal perhaps, an evening out, what will it be... the weather outside is miserable like a bad autumn chill is in the air.. so I think we may light a fire, snack for tea and find something nice on TV.. til teen taxi is called.. though it is so odd to have Jordan out on her own.. such independence and freedom.. my stay-at-home girl just left the building!!

PS 9.30pm..

''they had beans on toast for tea and settled down to blog and watch MotoGP on TV.. two kinds of heaven.. getting used to the teenless quiet... even appreciating it..I wonder if they'll take me out tomorrow if it stops raining.. it's been a long time since I went out of doors...''

365/166 Face

Well I have enjoyed already seeing some of the faces I haven't seen before (Jen.. we have a similar blonde in our house as you know.. they are such a joy.. mostly!)

My Col is due home soon, it has seemed an age since he left on Sunday lunchtime, perhaps longer because his Dad has been away too so not so much catering required here at all this week.  I kind of like that for a week now and then, but inside I think I may be a 'feeder', like my Mum used to be, always trying to give food to people when they come by..like my whole existence is justified when I am catering for people!

.. the weather has turned really grim and I need to go to get 'fridge food', so it was lovely when Col suggested picking up fish & chips on his way back...and in he just walked with them and.. for JB's test passing, celebratory Krispy Creme donuts!

(small eating interlude)

Face...couldn't really not do Kate could I?
She has been here this evening entertaining us with tales of her job at a local Chinese... a classic moment was when she said that she asked a lady from Manchester if she was from Liverpool.... (bet that went down well!) and when the Chinese guy (from Newcastle) she works for was trying to teach her to speak properly..!!

We tease her because she can be quite calm, even shy but when she's on a roll a mini version of Stacey Solomon appears..

I told her I needed some 'face' pictures so she gave me the middle two, but wouldn't be serious so I have added the first and last snaps from her photo session we had in Watford in March..