Is it truly all but five months since I got on here?   When my Mum used to tell me "time goes faster as you get older" I used to think she was a bit odd, but here I am saying precisely the same thing.   Where did it go, that five month missing link?   Well I had a week away in Gran Canaria over the Christmas period - my first one away and I enjoyed everything about it - new place, new people and best of all, really hot sunshine day in and day out all week!   Seemed strange to spend Christmas Day in a Tshirt in the mountains, but it was splendid.

Since then I have also had a visit from my daughter for her Scrapbooking Retreat, then she and I both went off to Italy to stay with my son and his wife in their beautiful hotel (have a peek at www.hotelleone.it) and a few days away with the new man in my life at Gunton Hall to do some walking and visiting places along the Suffolk Coast.   Such a shame it was bitterly cold and we all but got blown away along Southwold seafront!!

Have just returned from the A Trip Down Memory Lane Retreat weekend - absolutely fantastic as ever and I got a huge amount of scrapping done as well as making a metal-embossed photo frame and various other bits.   Here are some photos of some of the layouts.   Will post a photo of the frame once I have taken one!!

My up-coming travels include a trip to Centre Parcs at Elveden, a week's walking in Cadiz and then some weeks homesitting in France, so more chances to explore the countrysides and take some photos for my scrapbooks.

Fussy cutting!

Here's a layout with rather a lot of fussy cutting, which I so enjoy.   Mind you, it took me almost all day to complete the page start to finish.   It is a rare photo of my brother and sister and their other halves, so I was keen to scrap it!

Here's a few pictures of my mountains!

November news

I can't quite believe it is over two months since I posted on my blog.   I have been travelling most of that time - first for a week in Spain doing some climbing, then just back from there and off to see Tim and Maddy in their wonderful hotel in Montelparo, Italy - just back from there and Mia arrived home for a while.   All go - which has meant lots of layouts of mountains of course!!

Have just come back from a fabby long weekend with my teamies on UKS - what a whale of a time we all had together.   Fantastic company, superb grub and lots and lots of scrapping.   Who could ask for more?   Strange really as we all met on the Forum of course and are very different in our walks of life, our geographical abode and age groups, but we all get on so very well.   Are already planning next year's retreat in the same place.

I must try and write a bit more on here a little more regularly but life and travel get in the way sometimes.  You know how it is!!

September challenge

I have just done this layout in response to Jo's September Challenge in the Crafty Magpies team.  It is an especially favourite photo of mine - my DD and my delicious grandog, Bracken.  I never tire of scrapping that beast!  (the dog, not the daughter!!)

Heritage Scrapbook

I have made a heritage scrapbook of Kenny's life for Neil's 50th birthday and although I thought I had it finished, I came across this last photo of him with the two kids when they were so young - it just had to be scrapped, didn't it?  

All-day Crop 4th August

Went to a smashing all-day crop yesterday run by Jackie DaSilva.   Great fun as always and this is a double layout I did there.   Also, big news for me, I won the raffle which was superb.   A pack of 100 sheets of textured Bazzill cardstock in all different colours.  Obviously my lucky day, eh?