Quote-itis!

...the quotes on my site are getting better...a couple of days ago it was a quote from David Letterman..that 'humans are the only animals which can have phone sex'....Words fail me, not a common occurence but probably best in this case..! Trouble is the quote changes every day, and I have to keep posting them so I can remember them!

Today's quote made me think about mum again.. you know, how she's the sun peeking out behind the cloud......No matter how dark the night, somehow the sun rises once again and all shadows are chased away.. sure, things always seem a little easier as a new day arrives.

At the moment Ross is seeing the sunrise way before us, he's out in Bali for 3 weeks, getting some serious bodyboarding done he hopes....all his pals at home are thinking about him..I was in town today and saw at least 3 people who wanted to know how it was going!

Love to ya Ross, have a great time.. and what a Lucky Guy not to have to think about getting a job when he gets back! ..xxx

First project for 2009..Christmas 2008!

Just to say I finally completed my Christmas mini-album which I
started at Just Scrapbooking on 10th Jan.. my scrap room is a tip
(nothing new there!) and I couldn't tidy it til the album was done.. now there's no excuse, but the room is still untidy!


It was a lovely project and I used most of the pics from December's shopping trips and the ones I took over Christmas, when Will & Michele came over from the States..he arrived at 5pm dressed as Santa, such a star!.. and a real photo opportunity!

The weather was really chilly, but fantastically cold so we had some great winter walks beside the Mount and the pictures show the chill! Needless to say we all enjoyed the Tropical Biome at the Eden project after skating...but not me, I'm just happy to be the minder and coat holder..

I think the weather was good training for Will, who last week endured the freezing temperatures in Washington to celebrate President Obama's inauguration.. good luck to all our American friends and family (see our family blog to hail the visit from Col's Uncle Bill and his family in the early summer)

Quote of the day...

I have added the Quote gadget and generally have a browse, but somehow today's quote seems to deserve a little preservation.....

....................you don't get to choose how you're going to die, or when. You can only decide how you're going to live. Now. Joan Baez.........................

..worth a thought after a busy day in office land, followed by a great trip to Penwith College with Zac who is chosing his options for 'A' Levels. I never want the kids to feel that I am living my life thro' them, but it really gives me a buzz seeing them learn and showing (even the smallest amount of) interest in the subjects I loved... and for Zac to study at the same site where I had 2 great A level years (way back when..) it's an added bonus.

..Oh and Lilly got her first tooth peeping through today...small things which mean the most.

Blog-itis!

Well 2009 has got off well on the blogging front.. just when I thought I had dried up creatively I went scrapbooking at the weekend (and Linda says I smiled all day.. at least the default face was in a box this week!) and got half way through a lovely album of our Advent period, with loads of pics of pizza, shopping and a great trip to the Eden Project skating with Will & Michele on a visit from Baltimore!
.. but more of the scrapbooking later..

So about the Blog-itis...? Well, Col's Uncle Bill who has lived and raised his family in the States this past 40 years, is planning a trip with his 3 children, to the UK to discover and celebrate their roots..(oh, and his 70th birthday!)....to this end we have created a blog http://smiths-cornwall.blogspot.com/ so we can swap ideas / dates/ loves & hates and get to know each other before we get together in the summer...I am excited already, any excuse to show them all my favourite places and follow it up with barbecued fish and a cream tea or two!
So Kate and Jordan have come along on the blog-mobile and I think Ross is wavering towrds compliance too.. to please his mommy! Only Zac and Lisa to go now,, and I know she reads this one, so pretty please???

Winter morning sky.

About 9am I had hardly arrived in the office when Rob the dog went awol and I had to go up the road to search him out in his favourite haunt...was I fed-up?... cursing all the way up the lane, stupid dog, never learn, why am I always chasing about to find him... blah blah blah...then as I walked along in the chilly January air I couldn't resist taking this great pic of the sky..

.. made me think of other days in the past few months where the warmth of the Cornish sun has brought thoughts and warm memories of Mum.. and I smiled...x

One for Ross..

I had some time left at scrapping last weekend and managed to do this lovely single page for Ross and my mum.... his darling Gran. It shows just how great she was to him and to me as a first time mum, always there to chat, listen or just be company for me in the learning years. Funny how things go 'round..

The photo was taken about 20 years ago in Mum's garden in Mousehole, on the old bench in front of the really high leylandi which Phil refused to cut, much to the annoyance of the lady living in the (dark) house next door, and no doubt many others in the centre of Mousehole... and I have NO idea what they all thought when he kept chickens as well!

When I enlarged the picture it came alive and I had to give it the page it deserved.. along with the little pic of Ross blowing his bubbles on the same day. I cut away the leaves on the paper to overlap the picture and used some lovely metallic brown ribbon and card for mounting.

These are the days of our lives..

I chose this Queen song for my music scrap last weekend and really enjoyed working on the LP for the front page..I used greens and oranges in circle shapes to brighten things as I knew I'd have lots of black & white pics.

When I looked through photos I found several old and new ones featuring the same houses at Penberth where Ken & I grew up, and where Dad and his Dad also grew up.

The front page shows the thatched house opposite our home, I hid some other pics of exactly the same spot, and the Penberth Cove sign for the National Trust. On the double layout I used acetates and vellum with the lyrics, the pictures again featured old family photos of Dad & Grandad with colourful pictures of the same spot taken in August when we visited with Colin's Uncle Bill. On the last page I covered a CD with music on vellum and a few new pictures, also one of Kate splashing her feet in Penberth's (always) icey water..so we show 3 generation of my family all on one page.

Mum told me that in the picture of my Dad as a child, he is seen holding a fish, but he didn't like having his picture taken and afterwards hit the photographer with the fish!

..........When we were kids when we were young
Thing seemed so perfect - you know
The days were endless we were crazy we were young
The sun was always shinin - we just lived for fun............

Well away again to Christmas prep... enjoyed the interlude..x

Late night shopping (and photography!)

We went late night (well late afternoon / early evening) shopping in Truro on wednesday and my faithful phone was with me when I saw my latest Christmas diary pic... Kate with a beautiful halo of lights in Victoria Square!
Nearly there with the shopping, always seem to have some last minute things to get, but generally feeling relaxed. Kate had her Cheerleading perfomance at Club2K this eveing and the Leedstown Christmas Lights were turned on (though none of us are much turned on by the gruesome wind and rain!)
Will called from the USA today, they are all geared up to arrive in London on 24th at 10pm and then sleepover and drive down for Christmas Dinner on 25th in the late afternoon....clear the roads.... Will's coming through!

At last photos >>>Scrap pages

At last I have mastered the phone pics and this is one of my favourite scrap pages. It shows a pic of Kate at her last Primary School fete having her face painted. The plan was to use some packaging for inspiration and I used a chocolate cake box to frame the pic which brings out the purple so well.

The other page shows her 3 hours later when she first met little Lilly her new niece, only 16 hours old!

And on the baby pic Kate was wearing a butterfly jumper, and I realised I had the perfect piece of butterfly bag from one of the baby's presents to match it..now that's what Lisa would call proper scrapping!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Thanks ASDA for the meme.. a great little ditty Kate and I kept singing to Colin as we shopped yesterday for everything from curtains and paint for the (nearly) newly renovated sitting room, to books and DVDs galore for presents! Poor Colin, he really isn't a Christmas person, but he tries to enjoy us enjoying it!

(Note to selves : no more house changes in December, can't remember a year when Christmas wasn't preceded by a new

roof, new room or a holiday return with only days to get into festive mode!)

Anyways, I am being good, took note of the Just Scrapbooking newsletter and am trying to picture log our Advent time to make a mini book or scrap pages in January. the girls and I made Christmas cake last week and I took JB shopping in Truro (for her birthday treat)., then yesterday we celebrated a visit to St Austell by bringing home dad's favourite.. Domino's Pizza!

Amazing how interesting and craetive a boot full of shopping can look to a Christmas blogger scrapper!

Not to mention Colin and Kate playing bottle top

hockey with Domino's sauces for goals! (and I said he wasn't Christmas man!)