01.01.10***Happy New Year***

Happy New Year to you all. I just had to write 01.01.10 as I think it looks really cool and this is the only chance today i have had to write it, and after all i will never get another chance.

Mmm summer time and that means Blue Swimmer Crabs and guess what special feast we had for our New Years Day meal....mmmmm (only 3 of us had it as Joe doesn't like seafood). My online scrap challenge/course from here
started yesterday and this is my cover page. It should be good as the only thing i will have to buy is my album, the course is designed to use your stash and just like my fat 1/4's (from quilting) i have my favourites and i think "oh they are so lovely i will keep them and use them on something else" and what happens? You don't use them at all and they just sit there, so i am going to use my favourite papers in this course. That's the end of this post but before i go (yes there is always something from me with my ramblings) I would really like to thank you ALL for spending some time with me and for your support in what has been a very difficult year. I love this blog world and i love reading your blogs and see whats happening in your part of the world so THANK YOU and i wish you and your families a very Happy New Year.
Linda
xxx

Done & Dusted

Last night I finished question 52. Can you believe it, a whole year gone and I managed to finish the challenge. I love the little book that I made so I had to show you it again. As it has been a sad year for me some of the questions where hard to answer but I did and in its own kind of way it was part of my grieving process. Not artistic in anyway but all made up of scraps and bits of ribbon and left over stickers,chipboard and flowers. So definitely not an expensive challenge. Here is a peek at the inside...

and here are some more cards that I made on Kraft card stock and again with scraps from another LO i posted before. Susan

estimates that I must have hundreds of cards but let me tell you they all get used or given away for other people to use.

Tomorrow I am very excited as i have enrolled to do an online scrapbooking course here

with Lisa Day called "The Challenge of Me", so that should be fun as I have never done anything like this before.

I feel that I should be baking or cleaning or something but I cant be bothered.

Joe got an Xbox for Christmas and has gone and purchased Xbox live and is having troubles getting a game (does anyone know about these things) so he is moping around and Caitlin- naughty, naughty Caitlin went to the beach the other day and came home looking like a lobster.

Before she went I said "put on the sunscreen and don't get burnt" her answer was "yes mum (roll of eyes) sigh ,yes mum " humph obviously the roll of the eyes and the yes mum mean nothing.

Oh dear-teenagers, and yes I was one once.

Now it's new years eve tomorrow who is going out or doing something exciting?? Let me know what you are doing as we are staying home so maybe i can share in your excitement.

Yes I really feel like I should be doing something right now but what, If I can be bothered I will go and make some almond bread/biscuits that i intend to give as gifts on Saturday night, oh alright i had better go and start them.

Talk to you all later

Linda

xx

Our Christmas Day

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Yes, yes I know that Christmas has gone already and that I am a bit late but this whole week is Christmas to me. We managed to get through our first Christmas without my dad. I was really bad on Christmas eve day and nearly spent the whole day crying but Christmas day was much better.

Now this is what Santa got for me. hehe not a cup of coffee but a cappuccino machine. YUM. So drop by any time for a coffee or hot chocolate. My two kids are old enough now that i ask them what they want because god forbid we were to buy the wrong thing, but every year Andrew and I rack our brains to get them that extra present that they know nothing about and the joy/excitement on their faces is such a wonderful thing. We managed to surprise Joe this year.

Here they are ready to go to my brothers for lunch.

and here are Andrew (dh) and Grace (s-i-l)

and an Australian Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without the proverbial game of backyard cricket with the bin for the stumps

I hope that you all had a lovely day.

We spent today at my mums as it would have been their wedding anniversary today 58 years, such a long time, so Happy Anniversary dad and can you believe it Michael (my brother) actually did the washing up.

Now I am going to start printing pictures and putting them in my mini Christmas album that i showed you all a little while ago.

Its going to be 40 degrees here tomorrow so keep cool and remember to slip,slop,slap. (if you are from anywhere other than Aus and you don't know what that means leave a note and i will explain it to you.)

Have a great day and thanks so much for dropping by and spending a minute or two with me.

Linda

XXXXX

Oh my gosh, did I make that?

Hi there
I have noticed that not many people are blogging this week. Are we all to busy? Too right. I just had to show you this though,
You know my new toy the GYPSY well it blends things together and you can then cut them out on the cricut. Anyway I have watched a few you tube videos on how to so I thought i would give it a go and wow its so easy. I got a rectangle from the George Basic shapes cart and stretched it to the size i wanted and then i got the numbers from the Gypsy wanderings cart and positioned them on the top and then you press the weld button and hey bingo this is my result.
As you can see it is an album to put my 52 Questions in. The flower is sprayed with pearlised water, a great tip from Jennifer Mcguire .
I am so pleased with how it turned out (much better than what i had imagined, which is unusual) i will show you it in all its glory next week as then we will be on week 52 YAY. (and PS i am behind again but only by 2)
Only 2 more sleeps until you know who will be coming down our chimneys or through our front doors. Are you all prepared.
OK I feel like crafting something so I am going to turn around and steer my chair up to my craft desk
Have a good night everyone.
Linda

Shhhh...I am playing Hookey

Good morning.
Yes it is, a little warm but it is summer after all.
Andrew & Joe are at cricket, Caitlin is at work and what should I be doing...Yes you all know that Sunday is my ironing day,well I am not going to do it because I am on HOLIDAYS so i thought that I would sneak in hear and do a quick post.
Here is today's offering.
A LO with some new papers, the actual photos are not very clear but don't let that stop you from using them and of course a card with the leftovers. Actually i have quite a few leftovers from this paper so i might have to make a couple of cards or even another LO.

OK, I will go and sort and fold my washing into piles ready to be ironed but that's as much as i will do. I have to make it look like I have been doing something whilst they have been out in the hot sun and then after lunch we are going to brave the shops and make a dent in the Christmas shopping.

Have an enjoyable Sunday

xx

Linda

PS THe ladies at Threads of friendship are having a wonderful christmas giveaway, not one but 3 so go and say hi.

A Peek at My Workplace

Well hello, how are you all, I just thought that i would share with you my last day at work for this year. As i said in an earlier post we where lucky to win a ham on the bone and what a big one it was. So we thought that we would share it with our volunteers (all 3 of them) and have a nice lunch. Here is my work bench all decorated by Pina ready for lunch. and here are Pina (with the pavlova) and Michelle (back to us) working hard. These two girls are both hard working and so much fun. I can honestly say that at least once a day everyday we are doubled over with laughter. This does make work fun i hope you have some laughter in your work days.

These girls are amazing and a great help to me so i made them a fruit cake each (sorry forgot to photo them when they came out of the oven. In this photo you are meant to admire the gorgeous tag that i cut with the gypsy/cricut and then glittered.

Believe it or not we do actually do some work but as it was the last day of school for the year we didn't have many students so we could all enjoy lunch.

And today i caught up with some lovely bloggers for a coffee (i was late and that was all i had time for) so thanks Susan,

Lisa

and Janelle

for a lovely hour.

Sorry about the spacings there but when i put a link up i cant seem to type past the name without the rest of my typing being linked. I shall have to go and ask the young adults for help.

Have a great weekend everyone.We are going out to dinner four times starting tomorrow so i guess its not a good time to start a diet :)

xxx

Nearly There

Hi There
Whats the weather like in your part of the world? It has been quite hot today and yesterday 39degrees, it is summer so i should expect that.
Only 4 days, i repeat 4 days of school left then i am on holidays YIPPEE. I have been busy doing nothing much, you know what i mean, busy all of the time but nothing to show for it.
This is a LO inspired by TRACEY
although mine came out nothing like hers. Joe's face is very bruised b/c he had just had laser surgery on his birthmark and i don't know what excuse i can give you for his top other than he must have just had an ice cream or something.. LOL I do remember soaking and soaking that skivvy. Boy i forget how little they were, time really does fly by. I have just done another 8 tags for my 52Q's, i always seem to be behind but thought that i had better get up to date or else week 52 will be here.
And to finish this post i will leave you with some of my randomness
...Santa (me) went shopping today and bought my present, its not craft related and i have had 3 previously that i could never get enough froth with but now they are new and improved. Can you guess what it is? And i don't need to peek coz i bought it and wrapped it.
...Only 1 more week of cricket before the Christmas break
...I LOVE Christmas carols,does anyone else
...Michelle (at work) and I won a ham on the radio the other day, we will have a nice luncheon with our whole 3 volunteers.
...It's our 21st wedding anniversary on Thursday
...Joe who is 15 has just passed Andrew in height so he must be 6ft4in now at least and he calls me shorty and i am 6ft.
...Oh and did i say that i only have 4 days of work left....
Have a good week everyone.
Linda