I am listening to..

OOPS this should have been posted on Thursday but somehow got missed so posting now two days late!!


After yesterday's day of socialising today aims to be somewhat quieter, a friend coming round this morning for a cuppa and then out walking this afternoon - hopefully manage four miles and keep the leg in tact and camera club this evening.

 

This last couple of weeks I have been listening to Mike and the Mechanics, this is probably my favourite track from the CD, "In the Living Years" - hope you enjoy it.

 

 

What are you listening to right now?

 

Having just popped over to Eileen's blog I realised that today is the last day of BlogtoberFest, I have certainly enjoyed taking part in it and it has made me blog every day (ok a couple of days I missed due to being too busy) - will I try to continue this trend?? Yes I would like to especially with the build up to Christmas drawing ever closer -I shall do my best to continue.  I really cannot believe it is the 1st November tomorrow and eight ...yes 8 wks today it will be Boxing Day .. now that is scary but exciting at the same time, as for me it will mean both my girls will be home :)

I have been trying to loose half a stone in weight for ages and it just is not happening, mainly due to my love of food and major lack of will power, but it has got to the stage now where it is really bothering me, so today I am REALLY REALLY starting in earnest and Mick has promised to nag me and help me along the way!! Not sure if that is a good thing or not but we shall see.  Two things that hopefully will keep me on track is a trip to see Bernadette on the 19th November and then a dinner/dance on the 22nd so I really do need to get my act together. 

BlogtoberFest 28

Well how did everyone survive the storm??  I haven't actually seen it yet, a few leaves down and some twigs on the roads but we have had a lot worse.  Which is great as it meant I managed to go to Exeter today, we arrived at 8.15am to blue skies and the sun shining. :)  The show wasn't that big but we enjoyed the lectures we went to, the first was by Damien Lovegrove (he doubles up as the blog I visited today) on advanced lighting techniques and the second was about marketing.  We both bought some paper for printing and that was it. The drive back wasn't too bad some showers but nothing too worrying. A good start to the week.

 

 

As it is now pouring down outside I thought I would post a memory of sunnier days.

 Now home for tea, bath and an evening on the sofa with Amanda :) 

 

Hope you have all had a good Monday as well :) xx

BlogtoberFest 26

Well Cornwall is preparing itself for a storm that is due to arrive at 8pm tonight!!  Have to smile that they know exactly what time it is due to start especially as the clocks changed last night (hope no one forgot!!)  I can't help but feel (hope) that they are blowing this all out of proportion mainly because I was due to go to the Photography show in Exeter tomorrow and it now looks like we may not - a bit annoying as I have taken a day off work for it. Still it will mean I could get out and take some stormy weather photos!!! 

 

Who remembers the storms of 1987?  I was working in London at the time and we had just completed a very busy night duty with alarms going off all over the place.  I remember getting in my car with my friend to drive back to the section house, as we closed the doors of the car a gust of wind moved the car forward approximately two foot into the wire fence that was in front of me!!!  My friend and I just sat and looked at each other in shock and then burst out laughing!!  We had a slowish drive home and slept through the day :) just like I am hoping we will sleep through this storm as it is due to arrive at 2am now!
Re tomorrow we have decided to go ahead with the trip and if we have to turn back we turn back - fingers crossed we don't :)

A couple of photos I took earlier this month.  This is the Cornish countryside the tourists don't get to see!!!

 

Some regard these are beautiful, personally I don't, they are a blot on the landscape and what is even worse is the big companies who are creating them initially agree to make them good again before they walk away from them, but they don't - they stop working them and leave them and our council is so spineless they let them get away with it.  Hence all across the
Cornish county are hidden quarries left like this.  Admittedly this one is still working and is actually one of the better one's very tidy and controlled, but most are not. It is still ugly in my eyes.

Clocks go back

Whippee an extra hour in bed tomorrow morning and as I type this Amanda is on the train on her way home for a couple of days before she heads off to Bristol to see her sister and boyfriend :)  So a roast chicken tea tonight.   

 

A dog rose in France.

Haven't had time to visit any blogs today as working this morning, walking this afternoon and now off to get tea sorted for Amanda's arrival.  Have a good weekend everyone.

BlogtoberFest Day 25 & more laughter.

As usual I cannot believe we are nearly at the end of another month and tomorrow sees the clocks going back!!! The darker evenings are back.  Personally I like the winter (well I like all the seasons) but I do like wrapping up warm, a mug of hot chocolate to warm cold hands, scarves, gloves and hats to snuggle into oh and boots - I LOVE BOOTS - (though I wear them all year round actually!!) hence I do appear to have a lot of them and just looking at getting yet another pair!!  Back to lovely roast dinners every Sunday (the one time I enjoy cooking) the rayburn back on warming the kitchen 24/7.  The smell of winter in the air especially at night, hmm just love it all.

 

But we aren't there just yet so back to laughter, yesterday I shared a Sandra Bullock clip, today I thought I would share another favourite, Hugh Grant and this clip from Notting Hill, (hope it doesn't offend anyone)
 

 

 

 

 

Linking with Lucky Snapping

Photo from a shoot I did in the summer, Cody and Lloyd.

Popped over to An Obsessive Neurotic Gardner's blog today, his gardening exploits made me laugh, but his results made me envious. lol 

Lucky Snapping - Laughter

My quote for this week in October are 2 quotes on Laughter. I liked them both!

• “A laugh is a smile that bursts” ~ Mary H Waldrip 1907- 1998
• “ Remember you don’t stop laughing because you grow old,

  You grow old because you stop laughing” ~ Anon

An interesting website http://www.laughterlinescoaching.co.uk 

It says “ we are passionate about laughing. It illuminates life. It is refreshes and invigorates us, enhancing our everyday world. Laughter is the icing on the fruitcake of our existence and too good to leave to chance.

Can you remember the last time you had a good belly laugh?”

What makes you really laugh? Do you laugh as much now as you did when you were younger?

Show us some photos of what makes us laugh or you laughing, not just smiling.  I might find this difficult as I rarely laugh out loud...never have!   So I will be showing you what makes me laugh!

 

As soon as I read Lynne challenge I knew I would be taking part this week as laughing I seem to do a lot of - thank goodness, a lot of the time it is at myself - which is also pretty good I feel! 

I can't always explain why something makes me laugh, guess none of us can, something just catches the funny sense in me and when that happens I am off, this story is just one such occasion that still gets me laughing uncontrollably and I don't know why?? Hopefully some of you will find it funny as well - though probably not as I think it is one of those 'need to be there' moments.

So my first post for the week takes me back nearly three years when we were searching for a university for Bernadette.  Mick and I took it in turns to take her to the varies universities to have a look around.  For some reason she insisted that he took her to Oxford, I have no idea!!!  Anyway I was booked to take her to Warwick, so being me I decided we would travel up one day, stop at the Clarks Village on route (well with a slight detour!!) to Warwick stay the night somewhere then onto Warwick Uni the next day and see what we had to see!!  The plan had gone really well, shopping done, b&b found and very nice, food was OK, not going to win any prizes but we were fed.  We woke up to a frost which was not so great as I had not gone prepared for frosted windscreens hence nothing to scrap the windows with in the morning. After lots of moaning, scratching at the ice and stress levels rising we set off, not as calm as I would have liked but we were on our way.   I must just say here, that I am happy driving 99% of the time but not when I don't know where I am in a busy area, plus I DO NOT get on with Mrs Sat Nav, with her irritating American twang trying to impersonate a British accent constantly saying "recalculating" "recalculating"!!!  I don't use her any more after an incident back in Nov,  I have reverted back to a good A-Z and using my tongue to ask directions and funnily enough I don't get lost any more!! 
Anyway I digress we are happily driving along to Warwick uni when we came across a sign post for a village  - well I cannot explain why but it really hit a funny nerve with me (I am even laughing at it now) I do apologise if anyone reading this happens to live there or know someone who does.  The place is called SNITTERFIELD ....... it got so bad I had to stop the car as I actually had tears rolling down my eyes and tummy ache!!!!  Seriously it left me totally uncontrollable, thankfully Bernadette was laughing as well (though I think at me more!!)  why it makes me laugh I just don't know, but I shall be chuckling over this all day. 

You can now guess why she didn't want me to go to Oxford with her, so glad she didn't get in lol

 

I will grow up one day but not just yet!!

 Linking with Lucky Snapping

 

BlogtoberFest Day 22

Today I feel like I am impersonating a pin cushion having had the last of a set of three vaccine jabs for an accident back in August and then the doctor wanting bloods from me for some test for something?  Normally I don't mind but this time I have been left feeling a bit queasy - which is not nice, plus I need to sort out having the flu jab and I know that will knock me out for a couple of days as it did last year.  Still apparently it is all for my own good so moan not eh?  Only managed to edit one image today due to other things happening and now I have been called into work early!!!

 

For a change I thought I would show you the before and after image.  I am not big on editing images with photo shop but I do sometimes do a little.  Lately I have been using Light room, which is lovely it seems much easier than photo shop.  Anyway here is the before, the sky has over exposed due to the bright sun hence the trees are a bit under exposed.

 

 

This is the edited version, I used a graduated filter, changing the exposure to bring the sky back in, then one on the right hand side to bring the trees back in and then one on the bottom to slightly darken the foreground down a bit hoping to push the eye in to the centre.  Then I slightly cropped the right side.

 

Discovered this blog today Rose Street Reflections some wonderful photos on there, right up my street.

BlogtoberFest Day 21

Well we had a lovely weekend away - well an overnight stay!!  Drove up to Westonbirt Sat morning, we arrived to blue skies and warm sun, by the time we had walked around and stopped for a cuppa the sky turned grey and then the heavens opened big time!!!! Our timing was impeccable for once.  We had a lovely meal out Sat night then Sunday we stopped in Bristol to see Bernadette which was lovely.  Then home in the afternoon.  So all in all a lovely couple of days.  I haven't had the chance to do any editing to the photos yet, but here are three unedited from Sat - hopefully have some time on here tomorrow.

I popped over to Linda's Crafty Corner today and she has written a post re what some call centre operators have to put up with.  It did make me laugh and the frightening think is that these are more than likely genuine!!!! lol 
Going to link this last bit to Lucky Snapping as well for this week's challenge. 

End of the week.

Another week gone by so quickly, will life ever slow down??  This weekend Mick and I should be heading off to Westonbirt Arboretum in Gloucestshire but unfortunately the weather is not looking too promising and it would appear the leaves haven't started to turn that much yet. No doubt we shall end up somewhere as the other option for the weekend's activities is decorating the lounge - a job that needs doing but neither of us really want to lol. 

I was heading out again tonight to another car show room but the rain has put a stop to that and as I am home alone tonight I shall have my tea on the settee then settle down to some knitting :)

Here are two more from my trip to the Jaguar garage the other night.

                     

BlogtoberFest Day 17

Wish I was somewhere like this right now with nothing to think about or chew over. Didn't get time to blog yesterday.

 

Visited  http://thecraftyexpat.com/ 

BlogtoberFest 13

Rather a busy day today, so just posting this video that I saw on fb this morning, thought it was rather lovely.

Sorry about the advert, just skip it, It is worth watching.  Sure it is a set up but still nice.

Post one get one free

OOps who forgot, well didn't get around to blogging yesterday?? Hey ho never mind, not the end of the world.  Yesterday I popped over to Kirsty Wiseman's blog, I had to smile as I could feel her energy for life whilst reading her posts.

After work yesterday I popped over to an industrial park on the outskirts of Truro to start taking images for my project.  Once again I had images in my mind but quickly realised that in order to get them I would have to speak to the owner of the Jaguar garage and ask him to arrange the cars as I wanted, not as he wants them and to turn off a lot of the lights that are on the cars  -  I think the chances of him agreeing to that are a great big fat ZERO lol.  So I abandoned my ideas and went with what I had.

So this was the first one

 

First lesson, check lens before taking photos,  this will avoid blobs around the place!! Secondly as much as I love light trails I really didn't want any in the image, so not great but still converted to b&w to see and will print off for college!  The b&w version.

 

Second image, clean lens and moved across the road, I am now stood with the car behind me, better this time as it has the empty feeling I wanted and no blobs :)  much less busy.

and the b&w version

 

So back out tonight to a retail park.

 

Today I visited It is Safe for You to Love blog.  Right off to work now. Have a good evening everyone. x

 

 

Memory Lane

Earlier this year I did a post re where I first lived, prompted by a challenge on Lucky Snapping. Then out of the blue my eldest brother contacted me to say he was off to Beccles for the weekend and did I want any photos of our old house, well bungalow, that we moved to from the Finningley.  Well naturally I did and this is what he sent me.

 

 

It hasn't changed too much apart from there use to be a tree in the front garden.  I developed a print of my brothers and I in the tree earlier this year for my 'Fifty' scrapbook. I have done the layout apart from the journaling.  Tomorrow I shall photograph it and post it for you to see the difference. Too tired to do it this evening.

Nearly forgot to say, I popped over to 'An ounce of creativity' (which I frequently do) and love this post about a hand stitched title for a layout.  Just wondering, well hoping I find the patience to have a go at it.

(BlogtoberFest Day 11)

 

 

 

Photo walk

Some of us from Camera club went over to Lanhydrock this morning with the hope of photographing the autumn colours.... hmm apparently autumn hasn't arrived here yet!!

Thankfully one of the ladies brought her 3yr old Springer with her, naturally I couldn't resist taking her photo, she was on the go the whole time, I can see why they are called Springer's.  This one is called Gwen but I think she should have been named Tigger!!  A quick shot of her, unfortunately I didn't have the right lens with me.  So I shall be joining her one morning down the beach for a photo shoot soon :).

 

Have finished Amanda's room as well, so feeling chuffed with that. 
Off to camera club this evening.

 

College was good last night (Viv I am doing a photography course, see this post) we were looking at landscapes photographers as well as talking about our project.  Now I am not a huge landscape photographer, love the landscape but prefer to be in it rather than photographing it, if you understand my meaning.  So I couldn't believe my luck when Colin decided to look at the work of Robert Adams and had his book 'Summer Night Walking' - which I adore but not prepared to pay £102 for!!  Anyway, using this book as inspiration for some night-time photos  was one of my ideas for a project so that made my mind up.  So my homework for this week is to photograph a local retail park (thankfully we have one in Truro!!) and print some images out for next week.  Feeling rather excited about it. In case you are wondering what a retail park has to do with landscape, Robert
Adams was classed as one of the new topographic photographers when he first started out.   They photographed their environment, what they actually saw, what we see, what is not necessarily pretty but real. Everyday life. Things that you wouldn't normally think of photographing. Not everyone's cup of tea.  Not mind really but the night time element has it for me.

 

So today I popped over to Karen at And so, I sew another very crafty person with a lovely blog.

 

Once again loosely linking with Lucky Snapping - irresistible dog!!  So many links in this post, sorry. :)

A good day

A lovely morning spent with my friends from Button Moon drinking hot choccy and putting the world to rights.  Came home and found I had the courage to tackle Amanda's bedroom.  She has been gone three weeks and it has taken me all this time to be brave enough to go in there!!!!  It has been an adventure into the unknown, but I have had to call it a day as I am at college tonight and I know I shan't have enough time to finish it properly so that can wait until tomorrow afternoon. Still it is already looking more respectable - not difficult!! Plus I am slightly loosing the will to live in there!

 

So college tonight and decision time on project... have I made up my mind - no not at all, maybe I should put the list up on here and let you all decide which one I should do lol. Hopeless at making decisions.

 

Thank you for all the feedback on the previous post re the b&w or colour image. Really appreciate it.

 

My photo for today is one from the Tour of Britain cycle race on Dartmoor. 
This pony could not resist having a go at the motorbikes parked there, he had already tried to pull Mick's bike jacket off our bike twice whilst we had a cuppa before making our way to the finishing line. (Linking this with Lucky Snapping - loosely lol ) I can't resist taking this sort of photo :) said it was a loose link!!

 

 

 

Visited Narcoleptic in a cupboard today, she has some amazing quilting projects on the go.  I admire quilting but have never really got into it. Though I have books on it and love looking at the diffrernt designs and love to see the finished quilt. If you pop over there scroll down til you see the post about her tote bag it is gorgeous.

Comments please

Ok I know the subject matter is not everyone's cup of tea but I am after some feedback here - which do you prefer the black and white or the colour?  Thank you.

 

Day 8 of BlogtoberFest and today I visited  Smitten Kitten today some lovely crafts on her blog.  Made me think that I really should try crocheting again!!

Irresistible

Anne has asked to blog about what we regard as  irresistible and possible add a photo of food and a recipe.  Well anyone who knows me knows I love food but don't do recipes as that involves cooking and I really am NOT a good cook.  Though I do owe a very good collection of cookery books!!! 

 

"This is such a positive word as it only has to do with the nicest things.

You don't say bad weather is irresistible or catching the flu is irresistible, but a beautiful smile can be irresistible, a cake can be irresistible ( tell me about it ), that little dress or top in your corner shop is definitely irresistible.

So this month, we celebrate the arrival of Autumn and if you don't like it too much like me, we just think about the nicest things so we can go through.
So, what is irresistible for you ?
As of our photo challenge, let it be a bit more " challenging " this week : Let's take a photo of things we can eat, starting with any of the letters of the week days : M, T, W, F, S and if you want to (no pressure), you even can upload the recipe."

The first thing that springs to mind for me is 'tomatoes'  there is a permanent bowl sat on the worktop which always has tomatoes in it and as I walk by one always jumps out of the bowl and into my mouth!!  I just can't stop them, they do the same whilst I prepare a meal (I do do that every day because that is what you do - not because I enjoy it!)

 

 

 

Some home grown tomatoes from awhile back, I didn't do very well with them this year :(.

 

Visited Debbie does Handmade today.

 

Linking up with Lucky Snapping reflect and BlogtoberFest

 

BlogtoberFest - Day 6

Yesterday was rather busy and I didn't blog til late in the evening and then it was from my phone!!!  Which was new to me lol, anyway I didn't visit another blog or post a photo (one step at a time with the phone business) so today I shall visit two blogs and post two photos. So the first blog I popped over to this morning was PlanetTreasures some lovely photos of her trip to Italy, would so like to go there. The second blog is Shells in the Bush  Michelle is actually hosting BlogtoberFest this year.  Lovely blog.

 

Photos for today, another one from the Bird of Prey shoot I went on.

  

and a very rare shot of our eldest daughter Bernadette.  When she was home last, I took the girls out for lunch on the beach, it was a beautiful day though windy.  I managed to sneak this shot - if she knew she didn't say anything!!

 

 

Not sure why but I really like this image, maybe because it is so rare lol.

BlogoberFest Day 4

I need to get this blog in early today as off to the dentist then onto work for the afternoon/evening.  The coming week brings in the changes they have made at work re the cutbacks.  So this will be my first week on my new reduced hours, shorter working days and less travelling!!! Those points are all good until the end of the month comes and the pay slip arrives through the door and then we will really see what the cut backs mean for us.  Still on the bright side I still have a job which I really enjoy, so all is not lost. 

 

Last night at camera club was the judging of the first competition of the season.  I was very surprised to get a commended award with this photo

 

 

it is a Gyr Saker falcon, taken on a Birds of Prey day out with Plymouth Photographic Group.

 

I popped over to http://annie-flowergarden.blogspot.co.uk/ for a peek and Annie has some lovely garden ornaments and very crafty with a sewing machine. I shall be popping back there on a regular basis I think. x

BlogtoberFest Day 3

Last night was the first evening of my photography course.  As with all courses the first evening is finding your way around and intros, though that wasn't too bad as all but one knew each other.  Thankfully there is another lady on the course so I am not the only female - which is often the case and does get boring with all that male testosteronal (my word) egos flying everywhere as they do with photography!!!!  It always starts with the smile and the question "and what kind of camera do you use??"  Anyway thankfully I knew all the males and they know me well enough not to go down that road lol

So this week we have to come up with an idea for a project to create a body of work - I have a couple of ideas flying around in my head but need to work out if I could actually do them, so the thinking cap is on.

I have actually been given the go ahead from the physio to go for a 'short' walk today, so even though it is pouring down out there I am going, fingers crossed the leg holds out and this will be the start of many more.

 

Photo for today, taken back in May on a visit to Enys Gardens, the house was open so we went in and in one room all these bottles were on the windowsill, I just fell in love with them.

 

 

 

 

Today I visited   http://www.katmcnally.com/2012/10/blogtoberfest-day-3-worthiness.html

her post for today was right up my street involving music.