Let's Celebrate

So, what have I got to celebrate you may be asking? Well in truth, I do lead a pretty quiet life so it may lead you to believe that i don't actually have anything to celebrate. Ahhh, but it's the little things we need to celebrate once in a while isn't it?

For starters the fat, pink camera is actually pretty lovely after all. We went out yesterday in the blazing sun for a country ramble to a nearby village pub. The intention was that we didn't have to endure the smell of BBQs, shouts of 'Come On England' and anything to do with the World Cup. Call me a pessimist but we haven't won since 1966 so it wasn't going to be happening now. We must be the only family in England who really couldn't give a fig about football. So I took a few shots of the pretty Hertfordshire countryside along the way. It was a gorgeous day, the corn fields glowed and the blue sky shimmered. When I say 'nearby' I mean about 5-6 miles away. But how we enjoyed that pint when we arrived. Incidentally the beer was called 'Come On England' and a lovely pint it was too. So nice in fact that we had a few more. The garden overlooks countryside, farms and horses grazing......no farting horses this time! (that's another story). The journey home took a little longer as we took a couple of wrong paths.....of course it had nothing to do with the beer.

After a few busy weeks, I have found time to scrapbook. The photos where from my sons birthday treat to London with his friend Archie. As you can see the day consisted mostly of eating. This layout is in preparation of my team hosting the weekly challenge at UK Scrappers. It's not for a while so i won't give the details away just yet. I really enjoyed scrapping again and already have a mini book in mind called 'Pints of View'. Yeah that's right it's photo's of my pints.....with a view. You wouldn't believe where we have enjoyed a pint while viewing some of Europe's most spectacular scenery. Unfortunately most of them are up a mountain.

So that's what I'm celebrating at the moment......country walks, beer and scrapbooking!

It's not thin or red!

I'm normally the sort of person who jumps in with two feet and then lives to regret it. So when my quest for a new camera started I did a bit of research. The whole point of getting a new camera was because mine was just too heavy and bulky to carry around with me. My Minolta was a fantastic camera otherwise, It took beautiful clear shots, had a macro mode, a continuous shooting mode and lots of other modes I never used, even manual but sometimes I left it at home because it was just too big.

I didn't want to compromise with the quality but had a limited budget, so after browsing the Argos special offer magazine, I really needed to see the cameras in the flesh and just find out a little more information about them.

So off I went to Currys this morning....couldn't find one camera that Argos had in their sale but they did have a lovely little red Samsung (have I told you red is one of my favourite colours) with all the modes and spec. I wanted. But hang on there....I wasn't going to get all impulsive this time, I wasn't going to get disappointed, I really should check out the range in Argos first.

Hubby and I looked (you can't touch in Argos), at the ones I was interested in.......we would go back to Currys and get the one I had just seen. When we got back another customer was looking at the same camera, so I quickly asked an assistant to check if they had stock of it. Ha! I would get the last one. No, the last one had just been sold....they had a black one though. But I didn't want boring black, this camera was going to be special to me, I would gaze at it and even stroke it occasionally....I wanted red! So back to Argos. I would get another Samsung, it was red, it was a higher spec, it was reduced! But did it have all the modes I wanted? It must have? It was a higher spec, surely it would? So we got it.

I got outside and opened the box.....it was....it was.....not quite what I expected. " It's pink and fat!", "It's cherry red" Nigel corrected, " And it's slimmer than your old camera". I still didn't know if it had a continuous shooting mode, the manual was just a quick start manual, it didn't say. "Well if you aren't happy with it, take it back" Nigel suggested. While I hummed and oohed Nigel checked the receipt " Oh you can't, it's exempt from the 30 day back guarantee" Well I could of cried...in fact a little tear did squeeze out in frustration. "But I want a thin, red one with the modes that I know I will use, not a fat pink thing, I can't afford to throw money away, why does it always happen to me?" I hadn't been rash this time, I had waited and checked and been sensible. Bah to sensible!

So all they way home, I convinced myself it would be all ok,........It is a cherry red, it's much smaller than my old camera and it must have a continuous shooting mode, I repeated over and over to an understanding Nigel, who very nicely agreed with me (for once).

And do you know, it is ok. It is a fantastic little camera, all the modes I could wish for, pretty and slim and almost red! (just like me in fact).

Love you always.

22 years of married bliss?

Sometimes he irritates the life out of me, he swears I don't tell him things (he switches off after the first two words), he can be moody, he has a dubious taste for 60's and 70's television programmes and most of the music he likes nobody has heard of (and wouldn't want to either).

But he can make a mean spaghetti bolognaise, brings me a cup of tea in bed, makes the daily packed lunches, washes up the dishes every night, puts up with me disturbing him 'for a chat' when he is working upstairs in his office, encourages me with my crafting projects, 'gets' being arty, has patience of a saint, ignores my dubious taste in 70's disco/new wave music and makes me laugh.

We don't really have arguments, I make my point, he ignores me, then it's all forgotten. I don't bear grudges...well not for long anyway! And only one spaghetti bolognaise thrown in anger at him!

Happy Anniversary Nige!

Better late than never...

Yes, I know I'm a little late with the April and May Document 2010, but you know what it's like, life just gets in the way of crafting sometimes. But as it was half term and the weather was not brilliant it gave me plenty of guilt free crafting time.

So let's start with April. We had the Easter Half Term so I was able to go into London a few times. Once to meet up with my cyber scrapping buddy, Ally and again with my family to The Natural History Museum which was soooooo busy.
Some of my favourite flowers started to bloom in the garden as well this month. Oriental Poppy, Jacobs Ladder, Nearly Black Tulips and a funny Yellow Fluffy Flower I don't know the name of. I also went to The Big Stamping and Scrapbooking Show at Alexander Palace and walks in the woods with Robert.

I like this photo of the architecture inside The Natural History Museum but struggled a bit with the colour scheme until I decided on some peach colour papers. I stamped swirls onto a couple of tags and then brushed over some perfect pearls. I then finished it off with a Anna Griffin birdy tape and a chipboard rosette received in the matchbox swap.

So that was my April, May pages coming soon!