Advent Calender 2013 - Day 1

First day of advent and I am feeling somewhat excited about it all, though sad to see no advent calenders in our house this year as they are with the girls in their respective rooms at uni. (I don't tend to have one myself). All my christmas cards are written and waiting to go in the post.  Presents are starting to be bought, and the decorations are due to come out for a viewing.

I am joining in with Julie at KC's Court and Josie at Josie-Mary her photo advent calendar, a Christmassy photo a day, it can be a new one, an old one, or a borrowed one off the internet. Just post one a day.

My first photo is an old one I am afraid, didn't have chance to take the one I wanted today, a candle.  I thought of an advent candle today but don't have one (you can tell I was not a girl guide - nor a brownie for that matter!!)  so I have decided to burn a plain one we have for five minutes each day in the evening. The one being burnt is like this but white, who knows I might even get around to marking the days on it before we get to the 25th lol.

Well if any of you read yesterday's post you will no doubt be keen to hear how the 'Hot Yoga' went!  Well ............... it was really good, I survived the hour and a half.  At the start the guy running the class said the aim for the first session is to just manage to actually stay in the room for the whole class!!!  Brownie points to me as I did and I managed to do ok attempt most of the exercises, I did start to flag in the last twenty minutes or so.  At the end he said I did well and looked like I was enjoying myself!!!  Hmm guess he was right as I have signed up to go again on Tues morning.
 

So the final thing I have learnt this week is when attending a hot yoga class take two towels with you, one for the actual class and one for the shower, as the towel you put on your mat throughout the session is so sodden with sweat by the end of the class it is not very pleasant to use to dry oneself on after a shower!!!! Plus I couldn't believe that out of approx 20 of us sweating buckets only two of us had a shower!!!!! eek!! Still each to their own I guess hmm!!

 

Linking up with Lucky Snapping and KC's Court

Learning Day 4 - Thurs

Posting a day behind as yesterday was rather a full on day.  Yesterday at work I got issued with my new phone - a blackberry!!  As of next week all my work will come through on this - no more paper timesheets, no more phone calls on my days off (apparently!!) I will now be able to look at the council's internal website and see what is happening now as a pose to last week and I will have to check it on a regular basis as any work changes during my shifts will be sent via email instead of a phone call!! I nearly managed to wipe the phone clean whilst putting in my password due to being told how to do it wrong!! You get five attempts to enter it after that the phone is swiped clean and then I have to request a reactivation from my boss who has to request one from her boss who has to request it to the IT department who have to ask someone else (probably the cleaner in the shop opposite) before they can issue me with a new activation code and start the phone up again!!! Well I got to the 3rd attempt and contacted the IT department and explained my problem, eventually after 15mins on the phone and being very patient with me between us we managed to get me in having issued me a new password before we got shut out.  I accessed the phone but now as I type this post I am looking at the phone and part of me is dreading the having to attempt the turn on lol. By this time next week I shall be a wizz at it!! So my learning for yesterday was how to turn my new phone on!!

 

Linking with Lucky Snapping

 

Learning - Day 3

 

Lucky Snapping quotes

“ Anyone who keeps learning stays young” Henry Ford

 “You cannot open a book without learning something” Confucious 

 

Back to work today after a week off, lovely to see my regular folk again and see how well they have progressed in a week to regaining their independence and health.

 

So today I have learnt that I can contribute to a class room discussion and not be laughed at.  This may sound odd to some of you but all through school and college I would be the one sat there and not say anything in case I was laughed at, so I would just listen and think to myself.  Last night and tonight I found myself in a group (last night they were all complete strangers - tonight familiar faces) and in both cases I had to speak out about my thoughts and ideas!!!!!  I did it and no one laughed at me instead it developed into a good discussion which I enjoyed.

The other thing I learnt today is - always double check that your  camera is actually in your camera bag before putting said bag in boot to go out and take photos. Derrrrrrr!!!! lol

 

Short and sweet today as I am also a very tired teddy. xx

Learning day 2

This week's quotes for us to blog about are:-

 

“ Anyone who keeps learning stays young” Henry Ford

 “You cannot open a book without learning something” Confucious 

 

So my learning for today has been how to create a contact sheet in CS6. A quick google on U Tube produced a fantastic tutorial and contact sheets produced in seconds, it has taken me longer to sort out the printing!!!  Here are two of the six done :)

As you can see these are from my telephone box project.  Think I am going with the landscape format and the 50mm lens on a full frame camera. Though it will be interesting to see what Colin and the other students on the course think.

I have spent today photographing the latest creation from Button Moon for their prints and website.  Such a lovely pair of ladies.

A sneak peek of the princess!!

 

Learning day 1!

Lynne over at Lucky Snapping has asked to think about a couple of quotes this week

It is 11pm on Sunday night and I was just going to bed leaving Peter watching Sun Match of the Day “yawn” and................I think Lucky Snapping Challenge I haven’t finished my blog for Kathi and it is a new challenge on Monday when I realise................Oops it is mine and I haven’t done it or sent it to anyone either!!! Anyway here I am writing it instead of finishing my nostalgia blog and then I will send it to both Anne and Jenni in the hope you are reading it now (Monday am).

 I have 2 quotes for you about LEARNING “ Anyone who keeps learning stays young” Henry Ford “You cannot open a book without learning something” Confucious 

This week tell us each day one thing you have learnt during the day, hopefully with a photo. Make your blog brief as we are all getting busy with the run up to Christmas. Love to you all Lynne xx

I find the older I get the harder it is for me to focus on anything for long, possibly due to so much going on in life that there just isn't enough space left in my old head!!  I still maintain I enjoy learning new things it is just making the time to do it, so this could be a good week for me to make a real big effort.  As some of you know I am doing a short ten week course at college at the mo, last week the tutor set us some homework - to research two photographers so we can discuss their work this week. Thankfully I have already heard of them, but not really looked extensively at their work or their background, so that will be my learning for today.  Martin Parr you can view some of his images here and Alec Soth view his images here, out of the two I have to say I prefer Martin Parr's work, especially his colour work, it doesn't inspire me to go out and replicate his style of photography but I like to look at them. I have attended a talk he gave in Plymouth earlier this year and he is a good speaker and has a way about him that I can imagine it would be difficult to say no if he asked to take your photo.

I did drag myself out of bed this morning to head over to Mevagissey as I had planned for the frosty misty morning shots - only problem was the frost and mist didn't happen.  So another lesson from today was to check the weather forecast thoroughly before heading off out at the crack of dawn. lol

Forgot to tell you yesterday when driving back from St Ives I got held up on the A30 by this

Yes a pig going for a walk on it's own.  You should have heard the squealing it was making as they tried to get it across the road, I did laugh.

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 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. 

Cyber Friends.

Finally 'Cyber Friends'. 

 

Thanks to this wonderful thing called the internet I have met a number of lovely people who I also regard as friends. Most of you I have never met and only know a little bit about but still feel  a fond friendship for you.  I have met Louise :) when she was down here on holiday, which was really lovely, (and her boys are really as handsome as they look on her blog) .  She is as lovely in real life as she comes across on her blog.  Joy I haven't met but we are pen pals so I am getting to know her as well, though I already feel I have known her years, which is lovely.  Plus I so love receiving a letter through the post :)

 

So to all my lovely cyber friends, thank you for letting me into your world and who knows maybe just maybe one day we might meet.

 

Off to put the world to rights this weekend with Yvonne, knitting, starting my Fifty scrapbook album, taking photos and walking - though she has hurt her back so it might be more chatting and movie watching than walking lol - either way it will be fun.  Plus Mick went fishing last night so we have fresh Sea Bass and mackerel for our teas :) happy teddies. xx

 

No photo again :(

Linking with Lucky Snapping

Friendships - Lucky Snapping

Like everyone else life seems to be very busy and we are off on holiday next week so I have sent this to Anne a week early. I am still doing here letters photos and nicknames, must get that finished before Sunday!

Here is this month’s quote, do watch the youtube. Only a couple of minutes!

“Love is Like a friendship caught on fire” by Bruce Lee

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipO9iUaS-Ws

What is important to you in a friendship?

Tell us this week about some friendships that have grown over the years.
About friends you have lost touch with and why?

During the week take photos of some things you have been doing or something that you found interesting.

Lynne's prompt/challenge over on Lucky Snapping is to talk about friendships that have grown over the years and one's we have lost touch with.

 

I will start with a lost childhood friend.  As I have said in previous posts I didn't enjoy school and don't really have many happy memories from that period.  I wasn't a 'popular' girl at school so to speak so didn't have a huge circle of friends. The one girl I was friends with was called Erica Starmore, we had just started to become really good friends when her family moved  to Essex.  So our real friendship grew from letter writing.  We use to have a competition to see who could write the longest letters, sometimes up to 20+ pages!!!   We use to write little poems on the outside of the letters as well addressed to the post man.  My postman was called Danny, he would ride a push bike to do his delivers and always be whistling or singing.  He always had a smile on his face and time to say hello to everyone, young and old, and he use to like the poems Erica wrote for him. lol  Can't remember what her's was called. We kept in touch for years.  I would go and stay with her and she would come to me. When I moved to London we met up a couple of times. I went to her wedding. After Mick and I married, her and her husband Duncan came to stay for a weekend!!!  That was a real eye opener and to be honest we lost touch after that.  Duncan was a really nice guy and we got on well with him, but the difference in Erica and I was amazing.  Talk about chalk and cheese.  Duncan could not do anything without asking her permission first and I mean anything!!!!  Which was alien to me as Mick and I are together but still independent - if that makes sense. I remember him being desperate to have  a look at Mick's motorbike and she wouldn't even let him go to the garage to see it!!!!  Don't think it helped me telling her to give him a break!!  Anyway, they were happy and that was the main thing and who to say my ways are right and hers wrong!!  I often wonder what she is doing now but guess I will never know.

 

 

 

Lucky Snapping - snapping

Just a couple of photos from my weekend snapping to finish off Lynne's week of snapping.

Meet Cassie, a VERY lively 10wk old cocker spaniel.  She is adorable and so so pretty.  She belongs to a friend who was happy for me to go round to take some photos to use on my cards.  Shall have to have a return visit though, as I am not totally happy with the brightness of the white in her coat, one minute the sun was in the next out!!! Plus I would like some more cuddles from her - any excuse really.

 

and this is Molly, a 10 wk old Springer Spaniel, belonging to my sister in law. Once again she is adorable and loves cuddles.  Much bigger than Cassie and abit slower but still very lively.

 

 

I also have a English Bulldog puppy, called Dudley to go and photograph over the next couple of weeks, when the weather and my shifts match up - so watch this space.

Lucky Snapping Quote and France

Over on Lucky Snapping this week Lynne has given us this quote to play with.

June quotation from Lynne

“Life is like a camera.

Just focus on what’s important,

Capture the good times,

Develop from the negatives

And if things don’t turn out 

- Take another shot”

               ~ Anonymous

 

Have to say it is a quote I like and find inspiration from. So Lynne wanted us to get out there and get snapping, handy for me this week as we went to France to visit a couple of family war graves.  It was a great trip and one I have wanted to do for ages, Mick wasn't too bothered but happy for any excuse to go to France but thankfully he really enjoyed it and is so glad he did it.  I found the whole experience rather moving, the grave yards are beautifully kept, some more so than others but all well maintained, but being there makes you think what it must have been like for those soldiers back then, burying their colleagues/friends day after day in horrendous conditions.  We don't know we are born today!

 

Our first B&B stop, so welcoming.

The middle headstone is Frederick Butfield which is Mick's father's Uncle. His grave is just inside the Belgium border in the Lijssenthoek Military - he died on the 26th September 1915 aged 21 of gun shots wounds to his right leg.
 

So many young men. Just a small view of the graveyard.

Will show you more of our visit later.

But for now some POTD from this week. Driving passed Stone Henge, I was rather pleased with it under the circumstances lol

Rouen Bridge.

 

Back home in Plymouth yesterday morning at 6.30am - we finish our trip they start theirs lol

Thanks Lynne for getting me back to blogging. xx

 

 

 

Lucky Snapping - May quote

Over on Lucky Snapping this week Lynne has challenged us to think and write about this quote

“ The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others”

This month my quote comes from a very famous man that we have all heard of......Mahatma Gandi 1869 – 1948   

Please try and watch the videos as they are historically interesting. Well I found them informative and interesting!

Video here http://www.biography.com/people/mahatma-gandhi-9305898/videos

Biography here http://www.biography.com/people/mahatma-gandhi-9305898


 

My first thoughts on reading this quote drew a complete blank as to what I could write. So this morning I have watched some of the videos and learnt a lot, thank you Lynne.

 

Now having re-read the quote and read it properly this time (I am a devil for scan reading and misreading!!) I think the work I have done over the years with children and now back with Adult Social Care (mainly the elderly) has taught me a lot about myself that I didn't realise was inside me.  Especially with children, I would find myself doing things that I would never normally do - ie singing in front of a hall full of parents (I am tone deaf, no joking and can't hit or hold a note to save my life!!!) but I did it.   Working with ACS has helped me to find a strength to keep a smile on my face when you see what nature and society throws at us as individuals, I will be honest and say it scares me at times, wondering what my future holds for me! 

What I find heart warming is when someone says 'thank you to me' and as far as I am aware I haven't done anything to be thanked for, but then realise they are thanking me for my time, as they know as well as I do that once again I have run over my allotted time allowance, either due to allowing them to do things for themselves at their pace or because we have been chatting. Maybe that is why I love my job and I am happy to toddle off to work. I am also very lucky that my team leaders and work colleagues are all the same and we all admit that if we didn't do it for a job we would do it voluntarily!!  My job has taught me that I can be a very patient person when I would regard myself as very impatient and very impulsive.  As you all know I do fundraising for various charities and from that I have discovered another strong determination to achieve things I thought were beyond me and I shall continue to challenge myself in this way.

 

and to end on some flowers from Hyde Park, London to hopefully brighten your day :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lucky Snapping - Quote

Lynne set the challenge to  "Make rest and refreshment a necessity, not a luxury”

so today I did that.  Yvonne, Louise and Kathi you had best sit down before you go any further because I actually did a layout today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Shock horror, stand back in amazement.

Well here it is.

nothing fantastic, but it is my April view, and the photo is rubbish, rushed to get it on here, some people have no patience!!

Lucky Snapping Challenge - Quote

This week Lynne challenge is a quote - which I think is rather beautiful and inspiring and I like inspiring things.

 

and the challenge......

 

Here is our quote…

 “ Make rest and refreshment a necessity, not a luxury”

I am hoping that this quote will get you snapping again!  

Let’s show each other photos of ourselves, friends, family and even strangers resting and eating or photos of what we do or would like to do for rest and for refreshment!

 

Hmm for those who know or are getting to know me, you will know that 'rest' is a foreign word to me it goes with that word that other foreign work 'relax' as well. So I guess I am being doubly challenged here as to photograph it I will have to do it!!

 

Ok these following photos were taken on Saturday before Lynne set this challenge but I think they fit in.  After work on Sat Mick and I decided to go for a walk over The Nare.  It is a favourite walk of ours but we haven't been there for awhile.

 

 

 

 

Lucky Snapping quote

This week Lynne on Lucky Snapping has given us a quote from a film

This month my quote comes from a movie (might as well use the American word!) titled ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’ made in 1986.

“ Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it”

 

and

This week I want to to use this quote.

1.Tell us how busy is your life this week? What are you up to?

2.Look around to see that you could have missed? Take some photos and show us

Well having looked at my diary for this week I didn't think I would get much if any blogging in as the plan was work Mon and Tues morning, coffee with Yvonne Monday afternoon, hairdressers Tues afternoon, Bristol Wed, home Thurs back to work Friday.  Well I should say that was my plan....................  silly me!!

 

All going well first thing, then at 8.05am whilst waiting to pull out onto the A390 that takes me into Truro and my first call the gentlemen behind me took such a fancy to my rear that he embedded his BMW in it!!!  I had seen him coming up behind me and thought he was going abit fast but didn't expect that.

 

 

Yes I know my car is filthy but if you saw the roads I have to travel down you would understand.

 

Now on the scale of car damage this really is nothing, even so it looks like the car will be written off as we are unable to open the boot!!  Thankfully the gentleman has accepted full responsibility  and his insurance company are supplying me with a car tomorrow and sending a photographer around on Wednesday to take photos so they can assess the damage and decide whether to write it off or repair it. As for me, I was shook up and cancelled my coffee with Yvonne, didn't feel up to it by the time I got home from work. The headache has just about gone so feeling normal again, think the headache was caused by the whole episode as appose to any injury.

 

 

I do hope the rest of the week goes to my plan and not someone else's as in today.

 

and some more daily photos before I drop behind again!!

 

81/365 - Gerbera

82/365-Truro

 

 83/365- Truro - blocked in again, but thankfully not for long!