Little jottings....

It’s been over a week since I blogged. It’s been pretty quiet and uneventful, that’s why. We’ve also had quite a lot of rain which has kept us indoors a good deal – I’m not ready to accept that winter is on its way!

Spent time in the basement last week, going through Derek’s boxes of tools etc. – an endless task probably, but we’re going to try and spend an hour a day on it. I need to clear my ‘scrapping corner’ and get it ready for painting, especially if work on the new bedroom will be starting in a couple of weeks or so.

Talking of scrapping, I’d been trying to do some for several days without success (something always crops up), I have several ideas and a number of challenges I want to take part in and sketches I want to use but it wasn’t coming together –my mojo went into hiding! Glad to say that yesterday I managed to finish the beer mat book I made in the cyber crop, added an extra ‘mat’ and embellished it, now it has three ‘pages’. I then started one about my birthday last week....

Bought Christmas cards last week! There are still people who don’t yet know we’ve moved – getting a sense of urgency about it now! Just need to cobble a short note to include with them.

Scott went back to Derby hospital last week, hoping to have his stitches removed. Though it’s healing well, they didn’t remove the stitches and wanted him to return this week. Sara asked if he could be referred to either Lincoln hospital or their GP as it’s such a trail to Derby. Thankfully, their GP has a nurse-practitioner and the NP at Derby was familiar with the practice so was happy to refer him there for future dressings and stitch removal. He does have to go back to Derby in a month’s time though for a check up - and he has to have another two weeks off work, which he is upset about. Being self-employed, no work means no money, and he doesn’t like being idle either. Hopefully today he’ll get the stitches out – and he did manage to drive yesterday for the first time.

We’ve been looking at gas fires, or rather stoves as they’re referred to here. We need something in the sitting room, at the moment we have a yawning gap, only filled by yet another silk flower arrangement courtesy of the previous lady of this house. We have a curved fireplace/chimney and have decided to have the whole thing removed to open up the space a bit. The room isn’t big and we think this will be a big improvement. The bad news is we can’t get it done before January and also it’s going to cost us more than we anticipated.

Still no news on who, if anyone, will be visiting us at Christmas – somehow I don’t think anyone will, there’s too much going on in their lives back home for them to spare either the time or the money. We’re OK with that, it’s what we expected.

Derek has been a bit off colour the last few days. We think it’s the diabetes, we really need to handle it better but I think we need some help and advice. His blood sugar is too high. I can find information on how to raise it if it’s too low but not the other way round and apart from making sure he keeps sugar out of his diet (which he does) we don’t know what else to do.

Today I’m hoping we’ll get into the village for an amble round – it will be the first time we’ve been for a month apart from a very quick trip to the English supermarket – for Germolene of all things! Rain is forecast but I’m hoping it will hold off for long enough. After that, I hope to get more scrapping done. A new contest has been set on Scrapitude – an exploding box with the theme of Winter. Never done one before……

Sunday Blog Prompt from ScrappyFairy:

prompt 1: Do you celebrate bonfire night = and if you do, what did you do this year? (or plan to do tonight?) Upload your firework shots (if you have any) and describe your celebrations!

or prompt 2: When did you start scrapbooking - and why - and what is it that "hooked" you into continuing to scrap. How do you feel your life has changed since becoming a scrapbooker? (the reason there is 2 is incase you didnt go out to see any fireworks last night)

Will have to take the second option here, no Guy Fawkes celebrations in these parts (or if there are I don’t know where!)……

When did I start scrapbooking - Autumn 2005 - and why? - I can’t remember how I came to learn about scrapbooking to begin with – it may have been a magazine I picked up or something I read somewhere. I thought it looked like something I might be able to do and enjoy, and I know I bought several magazines before I ever put a picture on a layout. I found the UK Scrappers website fairly early on too, because my first LO was based on a class in the Star Wars Cyber Crop which took place around that time. Lack of craft shops in Lincoln led me to buying most of my stash online and that’s how I found the Scrapitude website which is where I’ve been ever since – my second home! I joined Scrapitude on 4th November 2005, in time for the first cyber crop, so have just celebrated my first anniversary there!

What has kept me hooked is, first, that it’s a fun hobby and second, I have so many photos to scrap – not as many as I would like of my children’s early years though. There were no digital cameras in those days, so it wasn’t so easy to just snap and print – thank goodness we’re able to get so many good photos so easily now!

As to how I feel my life has changed since I started scrapbooking – well, I see more opportunities for recording memorable moments, I don’t always act on them, but I’m aware of them! I also realise how valuable it is to future generations to record the ordinary stuff from days gone by and it’s important to get the memories of older family members passed on before it’s too late. I have several photos of the families of my grandparents but with no clue as to which side of the family and who’s in them. Now I encourage our children to record their family moments, in the hope that some of them will find their way onto scrapbook pages in the future. Not sure who among the family will take up the scrapbooking torch, I just hope someone will – I have a lot of stash to pass on when the time comes!

Right, better get this uploaded and then get on with breakfast. Later!