Diana's Space

MY NEW BLOG is here....

2007-11-30T08:41:00.000+01:00

http://itsacreativeworld.typepad.com/diana_s_space My new blog

My word this week is "Reflections"

2007-11-19T04:47:00.000+01:00

Happy Monday everybody. Woo Hoo I am packing and have something to confess. As I pack up my home it is becoming once more just a house. It feels like the soul of my home is being put into boxes ready to emerge somewhere else.

Right now as I sit in my living room, there are none of the bits and pieces that made my house my home. It feels good cos I am leaving a blank canvas for the new owners to put their stamp on. Only 6 more sleeps and the packers are in. There should not be too much for them to do. They have to pack my artwork move the furniture, move my clothes and not much else. This has been my easiest move in 40 years.

Funny thing is that the more I pack the more 'echoy' the house becomes. I feel it as I move through the house and especially if I am on the phone. It sounds empty LOL. well I guess it is!

This week I have a little pampering, nails and waxing on Thursday and hair cut on Friday. I am also having a little hair do on Tuesday 27th for my birthday which is now all organised. I am having drinks and snacks with 6 girlfriends at my local pub. We will, I am sure, behave very badly LOL. Hopefully will get a few pics to share with you.

Had a great weekend but I partied too much on Saturday and was wrecked on Sunday. All I wanted to do was sleep. Hee hee and I did.

I arrived early at the party on Saturday and was so pleased with this shot. I was sitting outside and took the shot through the window and managed to capture the reflection of the outside table and the backs of two of the chairs. The shot goes all the way down to the kitchen where my friends Richard, Jill and their daughter Rebecca are standing.

So here are my reflections:

Candles in brown paper bags never go out of fashion here in South Africa. They are so effective set in the garden!!! It was still light when I took this shot but already you can see the relection of leaves on the wall.

Here is a close up of the candle set in some sand at the bottom of the brown paper bag.

That's it from me for today

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

The word today is Away and SPS

2007-11-17T02:34:00.000+01:00

Away

Caz my DD walking away. Sorry this is a cheat!!!

My SP for today. Had fun dressing up in my fairy outfit!!! Sorry my wings have been clipped. LOL.

A Question...(again)

Now I wanted to ask again, is there any chance I could get to meet some of you when I am in England? Maybe we could meet somewhere where we all have to travel a bit. I know I cannot meet you all but it would be just so good to see some of you in real life. You have all become so special to me these past few months!!! Have a think about it. I will be based in Hertfordshire but am definately planning a day shopping in London. Could anyone get to London??? We could have tea and sandwiches and scones at my favourite restaurant in Harrods!!! And we could bring our cameras and take pics of each other.

Had this up yesterday as well and I may get to see Lynsey and Hazel Woo Hoo.

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

The word today is Collect and Miniature

2007-11-15T03:24:00.000+01:00

Collect: To bring or gather objects together.

Although I am packing up there are still some of my treasured collections around the house. Yes some angels tha have avoided being packed cos they have just been bought LOL.

Miniature: A replica of something in a smaller scale.

Oh such an easy one my lovely lttle miniature stove

WOO HOO and Clink Clink everyone!!!

Have finally received confirmation that the house is SOLD!!! I am so excited and relieved I do not know what to do with myself. At last.

Thanks for all your lovely comments of encouragement and well wishes. You have been my lifeline for the past few weeks.

I move out on the 28th November which is less than two weeks away!

So today I can start cancelling things; electricity, water, alarm, pool doctor, telephone etc. I have a big list so will just work through it! It will not take long as it should be just a few phone calls. Can you tell how excited I am? Woo Hoo.

My dear friends at my local scrapping shop have said I can come craft there and use their equipment so that I can really pack the craft room.

The other decision I have to make is where to stay between the 28th November and the 10th December. I have had quite a few offers from very dear friends and family so it's decision time. Another friend has offered secure parking for my car while I am in England visiting my DD caz and darling son in law Stu.

I have just changed my ticket to Johannesburg which was scheduled for the 23rd November so now fly on the 30th November and return to Capetown on the 3rd December. So I will have a birthday with family in Johannesburg albeit a bit late.

WOO HOO girls!

Thanks for visiting and love from Di

The word today is Snip

2007-11-13T04:12:00.001+01:00

Snip: To cut quickly.

I can hardly get in my front gate will someone cut this QUICKLY!!!!

Oh I found this little weaver pottering about the garden the other day!

Just a short post for me today folks as I have lots of craft stuff to do over the next 2 weeks for IACW as well as packing up my crafty room and getting rid of a few bits and pieces. I find de-cluttering so therapetic and although I did this in April May of this year there is still some stuff in the house that I really do not need!!!

Update on the Packing:

So today I have to be ruthless with CLOTHES. I just have have too many and do not wear them all. There are so many people who need clothes I am sure I will find a worthy cause.

Update on the House:

I heard yesterday that the house sale is confirmed BUT have not seen the paperwork yet. I also want to see the SOLD sign outside of my house. Well guess I have to be patient just a little longer. The thought of leaving my home on the 28th of November and it is NOT sold is very scary. Oh well guess I have to be a big brave girl.

That's it for me for today

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

The word today is Almost

2007-11-12T03:39:00.000+01:00

Almost: Not quite or very nearly.

I have benn emptying kitchen cupboards in preparation for my move!!! So far I have emptied 4!!! Well ALMOST LOL.

Morning folks. Hope you all had a great weekend. Must admit mine was quiet and it was quiet on HS:MS. Well it's another Monday!

Update on the house:

Have to get cracking with the packing. 13 more sleeps and my movers come in (on the 26th November) to pack up my house. They will be doing all of the packing except my crafty room and my 'personal' stuff. My clothes are going in to portable wardrobes and will be unpacked at the other end Woo Hoo.

Update on IACW:

By the way I have a 'South African pinny' as my post today at IACW so have a visit if you have time. The other news over there is that we are launching an A to Z Art Journal project on the 5th January 2008. We have already had quite a few readers signing up! It should be a great project and will last the entire year. One letter of the alphabet every 2 weeks!!!

Here is a sneak peek at my pinny:

Update on ME: And woo hoo it's 14 sleeps to my real birthday (the 27th November). I will be in an empty house and have organised "Marvellous Maids" to do a spring clean of the house after all the furniture has gone. So I will be spending my birthday spring cleaning LOL. However have organised to party a bit in the evening with a few of my best girl friends.

It was so good to hear from Charli this weekend. I was worried about her (guess you were too)as she had gone AWOL. Welcome back Charli!!!

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

SPS and SOS #12

2007-11-09T08:19:00.000+01:00

Decided to combine SOS and SPS this weekend!!!

I have been busy sewing for IACW so can share with you today a sneak peak at our "Alternative Xmas Press Wrapping" post. All of my bags are made from calico and off cuts of 'Christmassy" fabric. They are 'rag bags' inspired by Trish's rag wreath.

So if you have a mo, get on over to IACW and see the other projects the girls came up with for today's post!

And can you believe it's another SPS!!!

Ok promised you my before and after pics so here goes.

This is BEFORE the haircut taken on Thursday:

LOL No, I am not practising ballet, I am just having a big happy stretch. And this is AFTER the haircut taken on Friday:

Definately a much funkier hair cut! Thanks Natalie!!!

Update on the house:

Well there is no confirmation yet that my house is officially sold, so I am biting the bullet and going ahead with moving my furniture on the 26th November. I cannot live in limbo any more. So that's that. I have to postone my trip to Johannesburg which was scheduled for the 23rd to 28th November to celebrate my BIG 60th birthday with my family. Not a problem I will just delay my birthday by a few days. Hee Hee I get to stay 59 a bit longer.

Update on my trip to England Well this is still planned for the 10th December. I am getting excited now and as you saw the other day starting to collect pressies for Caz, Stu and the children (Rebecca and Callum). Rebecca and Calum also live in England with their mum. They are not my real grandchildren but I think of them as grand kids. They call me Di and they are really good kids. Callum teases me and Rebecca loves to do crafty things. They adore spending time with their dad and Caz in the country so Ii do hope to see them at Christmas.

Update on our Just Giving Page:

If you would like to make a donation to our breast cancer awareness campaign, you can go to the link at the top of my blog. You have been so generous THANKS.

Update on IACW!!!

On Saturday we launched a GREAT project which will be starting in January and run for the whole year so get on over and check it out!

Thanks for visiting and LOVE from Di XXX

The word for today is Disturbed

2007-11-09T05:16:00.001+01:00

Disturbed: A feeling you get when something unexpected happens. Can you find it through your lens?

Well it's not exactly unexpected is it but at last I am getting cracking with the packing amd my craft room is VERY disturbed.

Morning all, so sorry about that nasty bug from yesterday!!!

Off to the hairdresser this morning and think I will have a "sort of" crew cut; short and spiky. After that a quiet day, have a bit more sewing to do.

I have made a start at the packing well a teeny start actually. Packed two very small boxes. LOL

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

The word today is Anxious

2007-11-08T07:58:00.000+01:00

"Whether the word anxious defines that you are worried or eager, try and capture this through your lens and your imagination."

I got home this morning from my early coffee date with Anne Marie and this poor little bug was lying belly up at the entrance to my computer room. It was very anxious cos it is still moving a teeny bit. I have now got to put it out of it's misery.... So I too am VERY anxious!!!

I am hoping that my kitchen door is being repaired / replaced today so hold thumbs! Am then going to take a 'before SP of me as I am having my hair cut tomorrow. Will share with you on SPS.

Have a great day folks

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

The word today is Confused

2007-11-07T03:34:00.000+01:00

Confused: This is something we can be almost everyday. But can you capture confused through your lens?

What the heck!!! You bet I am confused. How on earth do you think I am going to get this little lot into my suitcase when I travel to Caz and Stu in December. AND I have only just started to collect the stuff. I guess I have to take an extra bag that I can dump in England. I so far have 2 oriental rugs, clothes, tablemats, books, scissors, tapestries and goodness knows what else. I WILL make a plan LOL.

LOL thought I would share with you today a few more pics of my home seeing as the "Favourite Spots" theme is finished.

This is my stove! And what a great stove it has been. OK it's not an AGA which is what I have always dreamed of having. But I can fit inside 4 roasting trays or 4 trays of biscuits. How cool is that?

And this is the cabinet in my dining room where I keep my beautiful crystal glasses and precious stuff. On the top are two lovely urns which I bought a few years back. They are shaped like ginger jars.

And here hidden away is the dreaded TV. I love that I can close the doors and it's gone. No, I do not have a modern flat screen; it's just a big fat Sony TV LOL. My home will be packed up soon and relocated to Johannesburg. What I try to remember is that it is the house I am selling NOT my home. Well I am lunching today with friend Little Di so have fun folks. I will!!! PS please don't forget our Just Giving Page over at IACW - we are now trying to double our target by the end of the year so we have a way to go!!! Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

The word today is Excited

2007-11-06T08:22:00.000+01:00

This week we are going to focus on emotions. We prompt you with one word and you translate it the best you can through your lens. Try hard as you can NOT to use a human face to reflect that emotion.

Sitting in my computer room and looking at me are these layouts ready to be filed away. BUT they do not want to be hidden away yet. Excited, You bet I am!!! IACW raised so much money thanks to you for breast cancer awareness, I scrapped my boobs TWICE and we had so many generous sponsors who gave great prizes. Forget SAD I prefer EXCITED....

Update on the house:

Still waiting to hear if the sale conditions have been met LOL. Oh well PATIENCE!!! But I have put some empty boxes into my crafty space so now have to get cracking with packing and labelling. Must make a start today. The problem is that I soon as I pack something I will want it!!! Maybe I'll delay the packing a bit at least until the 20th of November LOL..

Update on me:

Have a very EXCITING week planned for this week. Lunch with my friend "Little Di" on Wednesday, coffee with my friend Anne Marie on Thursday and the hairdresser on Friday! Woo Hoo Seeing 3 friends in one week. So who is my friend little Di? Well she is little and I am "BIG Di", cos she is about 4 foot 10 inches and I am nearly 5 foot two inches. Hee Hee. We have been friends for about 14 years and she works in our local pub the Royal Oak. I used to see her quite often but rarely go to the pub these days. Tomorrow (Wednesday) is her day off so we are lunching.

Life is just soooo EXCITING. Thanks for the prompt Kirsty and Anita.

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

The word today is sad...

2007-11-05T09:56:00.000+01:00

This week we are going to focus on emotions. We prompt you with one word and you translate it the best you can through your lens. Try hard as you can NOT to use a human face to reflect that emotion. For instance - Sad. A dying plant, a messy corner, mucky windows (we all have them at one point!).

Some of you may have seen my sad empty room before but here it is again.

This room looked so lovely before I emptied the furniture an all the lovely decor. Yes it makes me sad. i decorated this room for my mom who has gone. It is now bare and empty and very very sad.

Morning all and a happy Monday to you all.

I have an real easy peasy post today at IACW - christmas decoration or bunting for inside the home! Here is a sneak peak:

Hee Hee went to my old work this morning to spend a few hours helping with a tool that they will be using to match customer information, and it was great fun. I was really stimulated and felt that I added some value. That is real important to me.

This week I will be busy packing up my crafting stuff; well some of it! I am hoping to hear real soon if my house sale is actually going through so that I can get on with planning the end of November and beginning of December.

LOL I had a comment yesterday from my nephew Allie. I am doing my next parachute jump with him in about 8 years and he said he is going to help me down. Well how kind is that! Thanks Allie!!!

OH dear it's just a short boring post from me today folks!

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

SOS #11

2007-11-04T12:07:00.000+01:00

SOS

Not a great shot of the sunset but a great memory of whale watching in Hermanus a few weeks back.

LOL my brother called me yesterday and said that my blog had been BORING for the last 2 days!!! Well I said to him that's cos I have been busy getting stuff ready for IACW next week.

He also reminded me that I am doing another parachute jump with my 10 almost 11 year nephew Allie when he is old enough. Well I think to myself, I can handle that!!! So within the next about 8 years I will jump again. LOL. I will be almost 70 by then!!!

Update on the House Sale:

My house sale is still a bit confused. I am planning to move out by the end of NOVEMBER, but there is still a "subject to clause" on the sale. However I have bitten the bullet and organised my removal company to pack me up on the 26th November. But that raises a tiny problem as I was due to fly to Johanesburg for my birthday on the 23rd November. No problem! I will make a plan.

I am also due to fly to London from CAPETOWN on the 10th December so may have to change that as well.

I have a "Moving House " journal and it contains everything I have to do. It's a BIG list and am a it frustrated cos I can't actuall start until I know for sure that the house is sold LOL.

One other fly in the ointment. I have applied for a copy of my marriage certificate so that DD Caz can get her British passport. This will probably only be ready at the end of November so I will stay in Cape Town till I have got that!!!

Hee Hee life is such fun.

That's it from me for today

Thanks for visiting and love as always from Di XXX

SPS #11

2007-11-03T09:20:00.000+01:00

And It's SPS yet again.

Woo Hoo I had my nails done yesterday and my lovely manicurist "treated" me to a little bling on my thumbs! Sorry about the wrinkly hands; it comes with old age, washing dishes without rubber gloves, too much sun and too little hand cream!!!

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED ladies! LOL

I have been tagged by the lovely Lynsey. Here are the rules: 1. Link to your tagger and post these rules. 2. Share 7 facts about yourself: some random, some weird. 3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them). 4. Let them know they've been tagged by leaving a comment at their blogs

Seven Random facts: 1. I have my nails done every 3 weeks (gel overlays) and waxing legs and eyebrows as well. And my hair is now cut every two weeks 2. I have presented papers at many international Data and Information Quality Management conferences - in Europe, England and the U.S. 3. The food I eat most often is chicken. 4. I have been married to two great men, but neither marriage worked. I wish I had tried harder!!!

5. I am totally impulsive but I prefer to think of it as SPONTANEOUS. 5. I have jumped from an aeroplane - with a parachute. LOL 6. I am a certified PADI scuba diver but have not dived for the past 20 years.

7. I am a compulsive scribbler. I go through journals at an amazing rate! Thank goodness cos I love to buy them and friends buy them for me.

I'm tagging:

Charli

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

Favourite Spots

2007-11-02T03:32:00.000+01:00

Garden

This is a bit of a cheat today. It's my pot garden at the side of the pool.

Hi folks. Just a short post from me today.

THANKS!!!

We had a great day yesterday at IACW to fnish our Boobs Extravaganza. There were lots of prizes and I was so happy that Charlene won my 10 pound donation. I made the payment this morning in her name! Guess that's you Charli!!!!

Off to have my nails done this morning, oh, eyebrow and leg wax as well. So it's a little pampering for me today.

Have been busy sewing this week so will have soome cool stuff to show you next weekend after I post on IACW!

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

Favourite Spots

2007-11-01T01:59:00.001+01:00

Fridge

Outside:

Inside:

Oh dear not much in this fridge LOL.

Morning all

Just a sneak peak of what we have over at IACW today. There will be prize draws all day! We have loads more prizes to dish out!!! Today is the end of our Boobs extravaganza and we are paying tribute to all of you and the victims of cancer. Thanks to you all we have now raised a whopping 440 pounds! Well done and THANKS!!!

You may remember my "in the pink" photograph, well I did this with it and have dedicated it to you!

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

Favourite Spots

2007-10-31T14:32:00.000+01:00

Drawer

This is a beautiful little chest of drawers that lives in my bedroom. My jewellery lives in the top drawer that you see in the pic.

I have been tagged by my DD Caz:

1. If you could have £100 worth of scrapbook paper or assorted embellishments, which would you choose?

I would buy only cardstock. You cannot have toooo much!

2. If you had to choose between using only stamps or rubons, which would you choose?

mmmmm ok then stamps!

3. If you knew how to do both awesome cards and layouts but could only do one for a whole year...which would you do?

Layouts!!

4. Would you rather own a scrapbooking store or have your own scrapping room at home...(can't have both he he he)

My own scrapping room. It will be as big as my living room (5 by 8 metres.) It will have great shelving, a big table in the middle, space for my sewing machineS, laptop, printers and craft robo. It will have a fridge, kettle, coffee, choccies, and wine. It will be open to the garden, and have a bathroom / toilet. Woo Hoo and I am going to have all of that in December!!!!

5. And last but not least, what is your CURRENT cardmaking or scrapping style.

It has to be BACK TO BASICS. I fear that we have lost much of the spontaneity of scrapping by using all of the expensive embellishments.

I'm tagging in return:

Chris

Hazel

Finally here is another shot taken at the airport last week through two sets of windows!

IACW Update on a WINNER!!!

JENGA wins the Scrapping Angels kit donated by Anna @ Scrapping Angels. Please email your addy to acreativeworld@hotmail.co.uk Thank you to everyone who left a comment :)

And of course the fun is not over yet! Everyone who has donated, sent in a LO up to the end of today and leaves a comment on todays post will go into a big lucky dipper prize draw to win a goodie bag from Scrapbook Inspirations!!!!

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

Favourite Spots

2007-10-30T12:07:00.000+01:00

Bedroom - You have seen my bedroom before I think as "white", but this is a new pic LOL.

I had to laugh on the weekend, my brother ROB who lives in Johanesburg visited my blog for the first time and left me such a lovely comment. Love you too Rob.

As promised here are some shots from the rose farm!!! My camera and I cannot do it justice and unfortunately you can smell them we choose 'smelly' roses and were spoilt for choice!!!!

I loved this one as it is green in the bud and turns to a gorgeous lime yellow but pale!!!! My personal favourite - looks like a cabbage!!!! IACW Update And we have another lucky dipper prize today for our Scrap Your Boobs campaign. Its an A4 sheet of Zettiology rubber stamps donated by 3Djean and the winner is Hazel Harris. Please email us your address at acreativeworld@hotmail.co.uk and we will get your prize to you!!! A big thanks to our very generous sponsor!!! Woo Hoo we are giving away another prize today. It's a Scrapping Angels kit donated by the lovely Anna @ scrapping angels! There will be a draw tomorrow so leave us a comment to be eligible for the prize!!! Chris's Mini Challenge The lovely Chris has donated 10 pound to our breast cancer awareness campaign on behalf of the winner of her mini challenge winner Marieke. Thanks so much Chris and congratulations to Marieke. And thanks to all you lovely folk who have made donations!!! You have now raised 392 pound!!! Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

Favourite Spots

2007-10-29T08:34:00.000+01:00

The word today is Window

This is my most favourite window in the house. When the sun shines, the sun catchers and crystals make beautiful stars on my walls and ceiling.

Thanks for all your lovely comments on the weekend. I have just arrived back from Johannesburg and we had such a lovely weekend there seemed to be no time to BLOG (sad face). I will make it all up to you this week!

I should have some lovely shots to share with you tomorrow as we visited a rose farm yesterday to buy roses. I thought I had died and gone to heaven!!!

Oh almost forgot I made a little mini album which is on IACW today. Here is a sneak peek. If you would like to see more please visit IACW!!!

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

SOS #10

2007-10-28T04:39:00.000+01:00

I took this on Friday morning at the airport through two lots of windows while I was having coffeee waiting to board.

Woo Hoo

The winner of the kit supplied by Kirsty Wiseman is Rach. Well done Rach I know you visit my blog too!!!! Please email us at acreativeworld@hotmail.co.uk with your postal address. Thank you so much to Kirsty for putting this kit together with her own fair hands.

Today IACW are offering a fabulous handmade bracelet created by our very own Trish. Everyone who has made a donation to our Just Giving Page up until the end of today will go in the lucky dipper. All we need from you is 1 pound!

And wow girls isn't it amazing that HS:MS has gone from about number 19 to number 9 over the past two days!!!

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

SPS #10

2007-10-27T14:51:00.000+02:00

A cheat today as I took these on Friday before leaving Cape Town for johannesburg!

My new RED HAT!!!

And with my ACW hat on:

Today IACW are doing a prize draw to win a fab kit from Kirsty Wiseman . Just leave a comment on the post and the winner be shown on Sunday. We have exceeded the target for donations that we had set ourselves and are really grateful to all of you that have donated on our just giving page, Thank you, and a HUGE thank you too to all you lovely brave ladies that have scrapped your boobs and sent us the pictures.

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

Favourite Spots #3

2007-10-26T10:00:00.000+02:00

Hi all. Am now in Johannesburg for the weekend so have no idea how I will do the prompt today unless it fits one of the places I took shots of yesterday!

But I FORGOT I am moving to Johannesburg and this will be my new home. Have I told you that I LOVE towels. And I just love the colour of these which is the same as I have at home!!! They remind me of Watermelon!!!

I am sorry did not get around to your blogs yesterday but my day started quiet and ended in great excitement. I had viewers to see my house and AN OFFER which I accepted!!!! My estate agent was so pleased that we got on line and she made a donation to our breast cancer awareness campaign!!! How sweet was that?

The evening was spent with estate agents sorting out the paperwork and documentation they required.

I am just so excited and they want to move in on the 1st of December 2007! I can now finally get on with the move and my life. Woo Hoo!!!

By the way if you can visit IACW today, Charlotte has a GREAT post on easy peasy "hand made buttons"

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

Favourite Spots #2

2007-10-25T08:10:00.000+02:00

My favourite part of my hallway is my beautiful flying magic carpet. I love the feel of it on my toes. Morning all. Just a short post today from me today and tomorrow I will only be on line much later as I am flying to Johannesburg for the weekend!!!!

I went round the house this morning taking photographs of all sorts of odd things in preparation for today's favourite spot. How DAFT is that!

Been to the hairdresser this morning for my two weekly trim. It looks great (I think).LOL.

In case you have not checked IACW; readers have raised 346 pound for Breast Cancer Awareness!!! And we have received 47 entries for out "Scrap your Boobs" challenge! That is just so GREAT. Well done folks.

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

Favourite Spots #1

2007-10-24T06:19:00.000+02:00

My first favourite spot:

My most favourite corner which contains poppies painted by my Mum and a reminder to me to have fun and laugh. I see it every time I enter the lounge and it is GREAT medecine.

Morning all. Hope you are all well and not suffering from colds and flu!

I am getting excited about my trip to Johannesburg this weekend to see my sister and brother in law. And I have another trip booked at the end of November for 5 days. I will be in Johannesburg with my family for my 60th birthday on the 27th November!!! That beats spending it here in Cape Town. I decided that I did not want to have a party so will probably have dinner with my close friends in Cape Town when I get back from Johannesburg. Life is HECTIC. Woo Hoo I love Birthdays!!!!

Been doing lots of crafting this week but cannot share with you yet as they are IACW prokects LOL.

What you think of this old tractor! I took this on the way back from hermaus on Friday. we stopped at a farmstall to biy some home made bread and there were two old tractors! It might have made a cool "Green" shot LOL.

And a BIG Woo Hoo for our prize winner at IACW, "queenofstash (Debra) ". If you could email to us your address your prize wil be on its way to you! (acreativeworld@hotmail.co.uk) .

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

The word today is PINK not VIOLET!!!!

2007-10-22T15:52:00.000+02:00

"Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain." Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Indigo Violet!!!

"Richard Of York Gave Battle In Private." Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Indigo PINK!!!

This is the lovely Thank You card given to me by my niece Jo and her boyfriend Richard - Loads of pink LOL

And what would life be this month without a little something different or the same!!!

I have a few of these little things in different colours and love to wear them This is my favourite!!!

And a little more research!!! "The use of the word pink as a color first occurred in the 17th century to describe the light red flowers of pinks, flowering plants in the genus Dianthus. The color pink itself is a combination of red and white. Other tints of pink may be combinations of rose and white, magenta and white, or orange and white.

Roseus is a Latin word meaning "rosy" or "pink." Lucretius used the word to describe the dawn in his epic poem On the Nature of Things (De Rerum Natura). [1] The word is also used in the binomial names of several species, such as the Rosy Starling (Sturnus roseus) and Catharanthus roseus." To read more about PINK go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink

LOL I cannot believe I have done this just for you!!! I am so happy in my wrinkly skin LOL. And it is not even SPS!!!

Finally a lucky dipper prize is on offer today at IACW so get on over and leave us a comment on Tuesday's post to be eligible for the prize. We are offering the prize because thanks to you all we have now exceeded our 310 pound target!!!!

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

The word today is INDIGO

2007-10-22T05:21:00.001+02:00

"Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain." Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Indigo Violet!!!

Yes this is a perfume bottle; my current favourite "Alien" by Thierry Muegler.

I actually had to do some research on Indigo as I was not too sure what it looked like. LOL "Indigo and violet are different from purple, which cannot be seen on the electromagnetic spectrum but can be achieved by mixing blue light with red light." There are 4 indigos!!

Electric indigo

Deep indigo (web color blue violet)

Pigment indigo (web color indigo)

Indigo dye "Pigment indigo (web color indigo) represents the way the color indigo was always reproduced in pigments, paints, or colored pencils in the 1950s. By the 1970s, because of the advent of psychedelic art, artists became used to brighter pigments, and pigments called "bright indigo" or "bright blue-violet" that are the pigment equivalent of the electric indigo reproduced in the section above became available in artists' pigments and colored pencils."

Because I am really a '60s HIPPY", I have chosen "Pigment indigo" !!!

And a big thanks to all the girls (and boys) who accepted my challenge and donated so generously this weekend. I have just paid my donation and it's dedicated to you !!

And a reminder that you should send your "Scrap Your Boobs" layouts to acreativeworld@hotmail.co.uk before the 31st October 2007.

Woo Hoo!!! We won the World Rugby Cup.

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

SOS #9

2007-10-21T03:49:00.001+02:00

And its SOS again

LOL I made another rag wreath whilst in Hermanus this week visiting the WHALES. Again it took me about 1 hour and was just so rewarding to make!!!

I took this from the car whilst we were driving quite fast from Hermanus to Cape Town on Friday. It is an informal or squatter camp and yes people live here!!! The area is ENORMOUS and growing daily. The shacks are right beside the highway. In a country as rich a South Afrca, it's hard to believe that millions of people "live" in this squalor.

And just a reminder:

For every 1 pound that you donate to IACW Breast cancer fundraiser ( Just Giving page )I will donate 1 pound. This challenge is open until Sunday midnight 21st October!!!So come on girls just 1 pound from each of you! And why would I do this? Because cancer took my Mum. Here she is:

Because of her I had a mother, I am a daughter, and I am blessed.

A big thanks to all the folks who have donated!

I was struck yesterday by the number of people who have lost friends and family to cancer. If its not too painful, perhaps you would share your memories of them with us in a layout???

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

SPS #9

2007-10-20T04:38:00.000+02:00

And it's SPS again!!!

Had a little fun in photoshop!!!

Today is my 100th post on blogger and to celebrateI have the following challenge:

For every 1 pound that you donate to IACW Just Giving page I will donate 1 pound. This challenge is open until Sunday midnight 21st October!!!So come on girls just 1 pound from each of you!

And why would I do this? Because cancer took my mum.

Because of her I had a mother, I am a daughter, and I am blessed.

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

The word today is BLUE

2007-10-18T15:41:00.001+02:00

"Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain." Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Indigo Violet!!!

So just so you see how cheap it is for you to visit Cape Town, a great meal can cost as little as R45, that's about 3 POUNDS STERLING!!!!

But have to tell you that nobody obeys the rules!!!! Here we have a motorcycle parked beneath a NO MOTOR CYCLE sign.

LOL I have given you so much sea in the past few days, so here is another. This is the view from our apartment looking to the right... Had a great day yesterday with my niece Joanne and her boyfriend Richard AND my nephew Steve and his girlfriend Samantha. We all went for lunch saw lots of whales and just had a good laugh together. (I LOVE hanging out with young people they are so much fun) Well today we go back to Cape Town so it's good bye to the whales. maybe I will come back in November just for a weekend.

And WOO HOO, I have been given a YOU MAKE ME SMILE AWARD!!! LOL. Thanks Hazel. I will handle this tomorrow if that's ok. Going home to Cape Town today, and Jo and Richard are off home to Johannesburg BOO HOO. I will miss them as they have been great company this past week. P.S if anyone is struggling looking for Indigo look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigo.

P.P.S. And a big Woo Hoo for SuzyB who won yesterday's great prize at IACW! Please email us at acreativeworld@hotmail.co.uk with your address and the prize will be on it's way!!!

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

The word today is GREEN

2007-10-18T05:55:00.000+02:00

"Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain." Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Indigo Violet!!!

The Windsor Hotel is next door to us:

This is the view from our apartment:

This tiny little luminous green creature landed on Richard's Smoothie!!!

LOL!!! Had such fun with Green!! Could not choose which one so you have them all! And it was another great day in Africa yesterday!

As you can see the whales are really close to the shore!!! My best is when I hear them; it's like a great big blowing sound.

My nephew (Steve) and his girlfriend (Samantha) are in Cape Town this week so they are joining us in Hermanus this morning!

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

The colour today is YELLOW.

2007-10-16T19:03:00.000+02:00

"Richard Of York Gave Battle In Vain." Red Orange Yellow green Blue Indigo Violet!!!

I took this yesterday on the way to Hermanus. It's growing wild and indigenous to the western Cape.

And as promised some whales. Perhaps tomorrow I will catch them breaching!

Having a GREAT time and just enjoying seeing these gentle GIANTS of the ocean. Will share as much as I can.

Parting thought HEE HEE, this is my idea of a rainbow, a shop full of CROCS!!!

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

The word today is ORANGE

2007-10-16T14:08:00.001+02:00

LOL I am in Hermanus in WHALE space, but did bring this bag with a few crafting things to keep us busy in the evening.

Have already seen loads of whales but need to sort out the pics so will show you tomorrow. The weather is GREAT and Jo and Richard are so happy!!!

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

The word today is RED

2007-10-15T11:10:00.000+02:00

Inspired by IACW to make a XMAS RAG WREATH, I made one yesterday and it was SO QUICK. I cut a ring from quite strong cardboard, tore fabric into 1inch by about 4 inch lengths and just tied it on. Then I cut narrower strips of red felt and tied them on. Then green ribbon tied on and VOILA VIOLA it was done. This is the MOST rewarding fun thing I have made for a long time!! Thanks Trish at IACW for the inspiration!!! Right now I have it hangingin the room where my computer sits and it looks GREAT with all the red and orange curtains I have in this room.

Happy Monday everybody!!! Well it's happy for me LOL. I have family staying with me and we have a great day out planned for today.

And GREAT news!!! The lovely Angela and the lovely CHRIS have entered our SCRAP YOUR BOOBS competition. They have made gorgeous layouts and just so tasteful! You can see it their blogs or at IACW. Thanks Angela and Chris MWAH!!!

AND MORE NEWS!!! Chris has started her own mini challenge with GREAT blog candy prize. In addition she is donating 10 pound to IACW breast cancer awareness in the name of the winner. So Chris's winner wil stand a chance to win one of the IACW prizes.

Chris says:

"I am asking you to take part in my little challenge to be included in the draw to win lovely blog candy and I will be making a £10 donation to the Just Giving page for the winner also... who will then be eligible to win some of the goodies IACW are offering too :D"

Please visit CHRIS to see the GREAT challenge she has put together!!!

I was so bleak yesterday when the prompt was late, but decided to post as normal. So if you missed yesterday I had a big scare!!! See Sundays Post.

Almost forgot. You can see my crochet blanket if you visit IACW today. I think it looks great!!!

Thanks for visiting have a great week and love always from Di XXX

SOS #8

2007-10-14T05:38:00.000+02:00

Well I have to tell you all now that I had a BIG SCARE on Saturday morning at 4.00am. Someone tried to BREAK IN to my home!!! I woke up at about 3.45 am and was sitting in the lounge with just one lamp on when I heard a scratching scraping sound coming from the kitchen. I crept through and listened and it was coming from my kitchen door. I quickly put the lights on and dashed to the window and a HEAD appeared; I shouted "WHAT DO YOU WANT GO AWAY" and the person disappeared. I felt ok cos although the door is made of wood, behind it is a metal security door. But I was a bit shaken. I put all the outside lights on and I assume the burglar ran away.

In retrospect I should have hit the panic button and the alarm would have wakened the neighbourhood. But instinct is such a funny thing and my instinct was to confront the thief LOL. NOT CLEVER

When it got light I took my panic button and went outside to investigate. This is what I found...

The burglar had been chipping away at the lock!! He did not know about the extra door behind this door!!!

So it was off to the police station to report it. Unfortunately they may not do anything about it because they have so many more serious cases to deal with.

But the good news; Jo may niece arrived yesterday with her boyfriend Richard. We had a lovely afternoon just chatting and chilling then went for a yummy fish dinner. Home to bed so I missed the rugby. Who won by the way?

So not much to show off today except my damaged lock.

Thanks for visiting and love from Di

SPS #8

2007-10-13T00:41:00.000+02:00

And its SPS again!!!

Took this yesterday for today's post at IACW - Christmas sewing. It's a pinny/ xmas sack / xmas shopper. I made it from my fat quarters and calico that I showed you a while back!!!

Woo Hoo had my nails done yesterday and we chopped quite a bit off. I think this is the best length for me. Not too long! Also had the eyebrows waxed. (no eyebrow pic sorry)

My niece and her boyfriend arrive today!!! Am so excited. Just have to do a bit shopping and then I am all ready for them. Woo Hoo.

Have a great weekend folks and remember our SCRAP YOUR BOOBS challenge at IACW. I may have more exciting news for you tomorrow thanks to the lovely CHRIS!!! No hints today!

Thanks for visiting and love always from Di XXX

The word today is Tongue

2007-10-12T06:10:00.000+02:00

Tongue: A fleshy muscular organ in the mouth.

Sorry all, this is VERY poor and I am embarassed will be back later with something better!!! OK decided to experiment and is this remotely better???

Morning all. Its a Thursday and Friday update in one.

Yesterday I created my post early as usual and published it. Then when we got the prompt I could not edit the post. The HTML and COMPOSE tags were missing and so was my post. Could not create a new post either. Tried everything and eventually last evening rebooted again but this time went to internet options and cleared all of my temporary files. Voila!!! That seemed to fix it! Phew! I was frantic al day thinking each time I tried the BUG would have disappeared.

Update on my trip:

Some of you asked yesterday about my trip to England so here goes. I leave Cape Town on the 10th December and arrive in London on the 11th. I will have Christmas, New year and Caz's birthday with Caz and Stu in Hertfordshire. I hope to visit Scotland for a few days. I have not been back to Scotland for about 38 years!!! I leave London on the 20th January and arrive home on the 21st of January. So it's a nice long holiday. If any of you are close to Hertfrdshire it would be GREAT if we could get together. I will probably go to London (Harrods for shopping and tea and sandwiches!!!) one day so maybe I could meet some of you there. Anyway think about it there's still plenty of time.

Caz has a few projects planned for us LOL, so I guess she wil keep me busy.

Update on me:

1 more sleep and my niece will be here! Am so excited. Then next week we are off to Hermanus whale watching. Watch this space for some great (or not so great) whale shots.

Today I am having my hair trimmed, nails done and eyebrows waxed. There's nothing like ay little pampering LOL.

Update on the "new" bedroom:

The guest bedroom looks MUCH better. It's amazing the good a little decorating has done me. Suddenly my house looks again like home. The two empty rooms were very depressing.

IACW update

IACW have had some FANTASTIC entries into our scrap your boobs challenge - thank you to everyone who has entered the challenge or donated via our JUST GIVING PAGE, as has been said before every penny counts and you have until the end of this month to join in with the scrap your boobs challenge. You can email your entries to acreativeworld@hotmail.co.uk . I thnk we have more spot prizes this weekend.

And, our readers have now raised 187 towards our 310 pound target! THANK YOU!!!

(PS I too suffer from insomnia! So now I just sleep when I can and do not fuss if I cannot sleep at night. I know I have to get back to a proper routine but right now I am just going with the flow)

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

The word today is Steps

2007-10-10T05:31:00.000+02:00

steps:

Update on the "new" bedroom:

Hee Hee I was going to use one of my white duvet covers but when I was out shopping I decided on something a bit brighter and more cheerful! Here its is. I need to go and buy 2 more pillows cos just 2 seems a bit mean. I also need to do something with the curtains so watch this space LOL.

Update on my trip to England:

Had some emails yesterday from CAZ my DD. I promised to take her some small oriental rugs so here they are. All I have to do is fit them in my suitcase or hand luggage!!! I really like this one for Caz because it has sort of a modern feel.

And this little one will fit perfectly in the hall upstairs OR wherever Caz and Stu choose to put it. Caz said that I can use her computer when I am there so that saves me taking my laptop. AND best news of all she has some leave when I arrive and just before I go back!!! So she will fetch me from the airport. Yeah. Thought I was going to be taking the tube to Kings cross then a train to Hitchin then a bus to Great Wymondley.

Other bits of news...

I am sorry that I did not get round to all of your blogs yesterday. Just got busy with other stuff (blush).

I have just checked out the prizes IACW has for this month and they are GREAT. You can see the sponsors if you visit IACW today. We also have a lucky dip prize winner today who wins a pink 12 by 12 album!!!! . So get scrapping your boobs!!! You can also see the entries if you visit "It's a creative world".

And this is the prize (donated by the lovely Andrea) for the "Scrap your Boobs" competition which closes at the end of October:

A special thanks to "Kirsty Wiseman" who has donated a great prize. THANKS Kirsty!!!

By the way for those who noticed that Vanda has been missing in action, she is OK and could be back soon. Thanks for letting me know Vanda, we do worry about people who go AWOL!!!

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

The word today is Crockery

2007-10-09T05:23:00.000+02:00

Crockery: A collection of ceramics, porcelein and china.

This was given to me by by mum and someday I have to take it to my DD Caz.

Morning all, I can now show you a 6 by 12 design and some themed layouts that I am busy with. I intend to make 4 "6 by 12" layouts them frame them:

Using this size you get to use all sorts of little pics that maybe are not suitable for 12 by 12 scrapping. I found it a really easy size to work with! I now have to wait for Autumn and Winter LOL, to finish the project. I will do Winter in England (when I am on holiday in December January) and hopefully have some snow!!! Update on Breast Cancer Awareness: We have now reached 155 of our 310 pound target for breast cancer awareness. We had really hoped to get a few 1 pound donations. So if you care to donate, get on over to our Just Giving page. There will be a great prize draw for al people who donate!!! By the way get on over to It's a Creative World to see what Caz has put together on these 6 by 12 layouts. There are some GREAT ideas. Update on me: Bought the new bed yesterday and it was delivered. The empty room looks SO much better. Today I will buy the duvet and pillows and the room will look really welcoming! Then all I have to do is pack loads of the scrapping stuff from the cupboards and the room will be ready. Woo Hoo 4 more sleeps and my niece will be here!!! Update on my New camera: As for my new camera, I am ashamed of myself. I have not been using the manual! Yesterday really highlighted it to me when I wanted to take a closeup. So the manual is now sitting WITH my camera and I promise to work my way throught it LOL. i found this little creeping thing just outside my front door. It is about 1 1/2 inches long and I used the closeup function. Woo Hoo Update on your space: I really loved all of the Autumn photos from yesterday! In South Africa the seasons get a little blurred and it's almost like we have just Winter and Summer. Because of the climate we plant a lot of indigenous trees and they do not have the wonderful Autumn foliage. Great shots folks!!! Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

The word today is Autumn

2007-10-08T05:10:00.000+02:00

Autumn: The third season of the year.

So sorry what a poor photo. all the colours on this paint card are shades of "autumn". Was in such a rush to get it done and my batteries were fading. AAAAGGGGHHHHHH . OK next one is a bit better. If you click on the pic you should be able to read the paint colours!!!

Woo Hoo I have been shamed into reading the manual and discovered this button that says 'macro' so now you can SEE the paint colour LOL!!!

Morning all and happy Monday to you. I am so excited cos my niece and her boyfriend are coming to visit me on Saturday for a WEEK. We will be spending 3 days at the wonderful Hermanus and hopefully will see lots of whales. Am soooo excited!!! I always love to see my niece Jo as she is a little like me. She is very analytical, a great doctor, a wonderful daughter to my sister Linda and brother in law George, and a friend to Steve and Danni her brother and sister.

We will also be visiting the waterfront for some retail therapy LOL. We have planned a night out at a great sushi restaurant. Woo Hoo I am going to have such fun and more important great company. I have not met her boyfriend yet but have heard he is special and that I will definately like him.

LOL, I sold my spare beds a few months ago (when I thought the house was sold) so am going out today to buy a bed, duvet and pillows. I have loads of linen so am ok there. It feels good to be doing a bit decorating around the house!!! I want to make the room look really nice and comfortable for them!

Well that's it from me for today.

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

SOS #7

2007-10-07T06:56:00.000+02:00

And it's show off Sunday again

I only have one photo, taken this week, that I was quite pleased with and here its is.

Update on the house:

Well after lots of deliberation it seems like my house is still on the market. I am feeling quite fine about it and determined just to be patient. There is a buyer out there and it will happen. POSITIVE THINKING!!!

Update on the blanket.

I have finished the blanket but CAZ wants to include it in her post on the 15th October. So you will have to wait till then to see it. I think it looks GORGEOUS LOL.

Update on me...

Good news is that I have been scrappng. Most of what I am doing is for IACW so cannot share with you until it is posted. I am having fun and developing a very different style (I think).

Heee hee Yesterday (as Tina Turner) I was singing "Simply the BEST" cos that's what you all are!!!!

Thanks for visiting and love always from Di XXX

SPS #7

2007-10-05T21:50:00.001+02:00

And it's Self Portrait Saturday again!!!

Heee heee this is another of my wigs. I really love this one!

And this is me pretending to be Tina Turner LOL.

And just a reminder that you can make a donation to our breast cancer awareness fund raiser on our Just Giving page. Woo Hoo. We have raised 135 pounds towards our target of 310 pounds!!! We also have a GREAT prize on offer if you submit a layout of your 'boobs'. (in some way or another). So just to encourage here I am boobs and all LOL. (OK they are a bit small and droopy, but I am almost 60 and have never been brave enough to do breast augmentation.)

I am sorry if anyone finds this improper, but I did this for a GREAT cause. Have a great weekend folks.

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

The word today is Blade

2007-10-05T04:41:00.000+02:00

Blade : A flat sharp cutting edge.

Hee Hee I bet we all have some of these!!!

Woo Hoo I have beent tagged by the lovely Ettey!!!

Here are the rules which you must abide by if you are tagged. 1. Link to your tagger and post these rules. 2. Share 7 facts about yourself: some random, some weird. 3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them). 4. Let them know they've been tagged by leaving a comment at their blogs.

7 facts about me:

1. I would LOVE to be Tina Turner.

2. I am shy and a bit of a recluse at times.

3. I want to travel to Tibet and visit Everest base camp and the Potala Palace previously home of the Dalai Lama, My trip was originally planned for 2002 but was cancelled because of unrest around Tibet. Work pressure delayed all subsequent attempts to get there. It may be the budget now that stops me going LOL.

4. I am an imperfect perfectionist but would like to be a perfect perfectionist.

5. I would move heaven and earth for my dearest daughter Caroline.

6. My sister Linda is the wind beneath my wings. She has been my inspiration and support all her life.

7. If I came out of retirement I would love to teach. I have been an IT practitioner all my life and would love to end up with my first love, teaching.

AND THANK YOU!!!

A big thanks to CHRIS who has promoted "It' s a Creative World" and our efforts to raise funds for breast cancer on her blog. Thanks Chris {{{{hugs}}}}. Chris is also giving away lots of wonderful goodies this month in support of breast cancer awareness. And just a reminder that you can make a donation on our Just Giving page.

Now I'm tagging these wonderful people...

Rachael http://tunbridgespace.blogspot.com/ Suzyb http://mind-spillage.blogspot.com/ Jolanda http://jolanda-picturesfrommyspace.blogspot.com/ Chris http://craftsbychrissy.blogspot.com/ Aubrey http://aubsphotoops.blogspot.com/ Sue http://suenicholson.blogspot.com/ Caz http://wickedcaz.blogspot.com/

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

The word today is Mesh

2007-10-04T09:37:00.000+02:00

Mesh : A material made from a network of wire or threads.

Now I have to tell you that I am NOT a cat person (sorry). But for the past few months I have been "haunted" by cats wandering about my garden. They are almost all black cats. My DD Caz lost Flo (Florentine) a few months back and she was a DDG black cat with a mind of her own. My first cat appeared just after Caz's cat disappeared. IS THERE A MESSAGE HERE???

I had a very bad day yesterday so could not visit your blogs. I am better todaay and will get round to all of you later this morning.

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

The word today is Tray

2007-10-03T06:28:00.000+02:00

Tray: A flat , shallow container for carrying food, drink and small items.

My Christmas tray made by me. Sorry it's not a great shot (blush).

Hi folks.

Can I persuade you to donate a little something to IACW fund raiser for breast cancer? It's really easy to do and you can donate 1, 2 3, 4 whatever pounds. It really is for a GREAT cause. Go to our Just Giving page to donate. It takes only a few minutes. Thank you!!!

I lost my mum over 2 years ago to cancer. No, not breast cancer. She had a large brain tumour and was gone in just 3 months after having endured the "radio" treatment. She lost the power to speak but we managed to interpret the "words" that came out. She is really missed by my family and her friends, and I only wish we could have caught it sooner.

We have all been touched in some way by this dreaded cancer. So I urge you to continually check yourselves and be aware that it CAN be beaten.

Thanks for visiting and love always from Di XXX

The word today is card

2007-10-02T04:49:00.000+02:00

Card: A Piece of thick, stiff paper.

I was given this supply of handmade cards on a trip to Australia about 20 years ago!!! yes I am a hoarder but I am afraid to use it all up cos then it will be gone. LOL

Update on the blanket!

I have joined together 7 rows horizontally so another 6 to go then 15 vertically. I used safety pins to attach the squares to the sheet. These work better than straight pins!!!

Update on IACW:

Don't forget to to visit IACW Just Giving page where you can make make a donation to Breakthrough Breast Cancer.

Woo Hoo as of this morning IACW readers have donated 100 Pounds!!! Great stuff Folks and THANK YOU!!!

For those of you who did not visit IACW yesterday, this was my contribution to "scrapping my boobs" - Calendar Girl LOL.

And my post today at IACW - Tipsy Brandy Raisins LOL

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

The word today is Wheel

2007-10-01T06:45:00.000+02:00

Wheel: A circular object that revolves on an axle.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month - the BOOBS are out!!!

October 2007 is breast cancer awareness month in the UK, and with that in mind, the team at It's A Creative World have been busy getting creative with their boobs! We wanted to do our bit to raise the profile of breast cancer awareness month, and, in addition to our creative efforts, we have set up a Just Giving page where our readers can make a donation to Breakthrough Breast Cancer, one of the UK's leading breast cancer charities.

We've set our target at £310 - that's £10 every day throughout October - if we could exceed that amount we'd be absolutely delighted.

The donation page will remain active for 3 months until the end of December, and you can donate at any time up until then. Anyone who donates online between October 1st and October 31st will be eligible to win a prize in our draw, which will take place at the beginning of November, to give as many people as possible the chance to donate in October. We already have some fantastic prizes on offer, including a pink scrapbook album, a pink bracelet, an A4 sheet of Zettiology stamps, a £10 M&S voucher, and a £10 NEXT voucher. Further prize details with full details of donors will be added during October.

And IACW are challenging readers asking you to make October the month that you SCRAP YOUR BOOBS!!! Please visit "It's a Creative World" to see what the team have come up with!!! I'll give you a little clue about my contribution: I am at last a "Calendar Girl" LOL.

Update on the blanket!

Woo hoo, I moved the target cos my squares were slightly larger than I expected!!! So only completed 224. (14 by 16 rows of squares). Here they are first pass laid out on a sheet. What I will do now is look for blocks of colour, same designs and move a few squares around. (They are totally randomly placed right now.) Next job is to pin them to the sheet, then crochet them together.

Thanks for visiting and love always from Di XXX

SPS #6

2007-09-29T02:45:00.000+02:00

SPS!!! And a close up of the crinkly wrinklies LOL!

And a catch up from yesterday!

Cushion: Soft furnishing to adorn a chair.

Another problem with my internet service provider so no post yesterday. I had withdrawal symptoms!!! Could not get to the internet at all so I was bleak.

PRIZE DRAW!!!

Today IACW have a real treat for readers of "It's A Creative World". The very generous Papercrafts shop in Elgin, Scotland have kindly donated a selection of Bella rubber stamps to give away as a prize draw for anyone who leaves a comment on SATURDAY's POST post either on Saturday or Sunday. (The stamps are so beautiful!!!)

Just a reminder that October is "Breast Cancer Awareness" month. This is something that touches most of us, if not all of us, at some point in our lives. IACW are doing a charity "just giving page" for Breast Cancer Awareness month. We want to make you think about this one... through art. And then we want you to give.... And then think some more. IACW have interpreted this through scrapping and ATCs. This art awareness is linked to the "Just giving project", and there are sponsored prize draws for those who participate and give to the cause.

Monday is our big launch so get on over on MONDAY and see what we have done to launch the initiative!!! No sneak peaks but it's very exciting....

Great weekend everybody.

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

The word today is Stamp

2007-09-27T03:10:00.000+02:00

Stamp: To make an impression. A small token that ensures carriage of mail. To make a noise with ones foot.

Hi folks from Di. Thanks you so much for all your lovely comments! I bit the bullet yesterday and bought an "adhoc internet data bundle", just 250 meg, to tide me over to the end of the month. Special thanks to Sue who offerred to email me the prompt so I could continue to at least take my photographs every day. You are real special!

Just wanted to tell you about my crystal jug and decanters. I have had them for almost 30 years, and they are used often. I hand wash them myself (no dish washers allowed for crystal), and you would be surprised just how sturdy and robust they are. Cheap glasses break. I have a few crystal glasses as well and have had them for MORE THAN 30 years. I use them almost every day. From an original 8 glasses I still have 7!!! So, if you have crystal, use it, it is really not fragile, and is so beautiful.

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

The word today is Jug

2007-09-26T10:47:00.000+02:00

Jug: A container from which eases the pouring of liquid.

My very beautiful waterford crystal water jug! I would love to take my crystal to Caz in Decembeer but can maybe manage just one piece.

I had such a laugh yesterday at the comments about my schedule! Thought I would share my FRIDGE with you.

My memory is so poor!!! Last year I went to the doctor because I was terrified I was in the early stages of Alzheimer's. My doctor was not convinced and tried to reassure me, but I find that if I write down the appointments I have that I am continually reminded. So, my fridge holds little notes to myself. They are continually in my face and it does help. (My favourite fridge magnets are from Geneva and Amsterdam so they also adorn the front of my fridge. )

And can you believe what Margaret did yesterday? She picked 3 clivia from the garden, because, she said, she knows that I love flowers and they are so expensive to buy! How thoughtfull was that?

Update on the blanket:

150 squares completed! So I am more than half way after 10 days.

Update on the house:

My friend is visiing again on the weekend with her husband and family. It sounds like the house would be great for them So keep your fingers crossed. Thank you!

I cannot visit your blogs this week and am not sure if I can even play at HS:MS. I have about 50 MEG left which probably most of you could use in one day. :( :( :(

Thanks for visiting and love Di XXX.

The word today is Sponge

2007-09-25T06:38:00.000+02:00

Sponge: A natural (often man made!) material to soak up liquids..

LOL there is nothing natural about this sponge! And what good is a sponge without something to do the cleaning up!

Hi folks from Di.

Update on the blanket:

Woo Hoo another 15 squares done!!! I had to buy another 3 balls of wool on Sunday. For some reason some wool has used up quicker than others. I guess some are slightly thicker than others although they are all double knitting LOL

Update on the House:

The friend who is considering renting the house is coming to visit today. I have drawn up a list of "pros" and "cons" and the "pros" have it. I think I can mitigate any risks of renting the house so I believe I have made an informed decision to go for it!!!

Update on me:

Having coffee tomorrow morning with a friend at 7.00am before she starts work! I always like to see Anne Marie, she is a great friend, makes me laugh and is so "together"

Hair cut on Friday.

The new positive me is also at last a bit more motivated!!! On Sunday I am going to a little place called "Darling" so see the "wild flowers". Apparently they are really great this year so I hope to take lots of photographs!!!

I am also determied to do some layouts this week.

Well, that's it from me today.

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX.

The word today is Dog

2007-09-24T03:37:00.000+02:00

Dog: Man's best friend. Have you got a lil pooch in your space?

My wee dog Finlay (a Scottish terrier) immortalised in one of my tapestries. He and his sister Fiona were my great companions but are now gone.

Hi folks.

Update on the house sale:

I have an opportunity to RENT my house. Now I am not so keen on renting, but it is someone that I know. This would mean that I could pack up and move to Johannesburg, get a little income from the house, get on with my life and keep my investment. Will keep you informed on what trnspires.

Update on the blanket:

Another 15 squares completed!

And just about me:

I have been feeling a little UNINSPIRED lately. Can't seem to get on with scrapping and creating. I guess that's why I have put so much energy into the blanket LOL. I hardly need to think as I crochet, and the exciting part will be when I start to put the squares together.

We have some exciting new designers joining "It's a Creative World" so if you have time get on over and visit the blog. I have my normal Monday post today and it's REAL simple stuff! I put it together because every now and again the creative juices do dry up and the post describes one of my ways of getting them going again.

One more week and my internet quota increases to 2 GIG per month. Woo Hoo, cannot wait!!!

LOL how posh to have a "housekeeper". Most South Aficans would say they have a maid. I prefer to think of Margaret as my friend, companion and "housekeeper". She works for me 4 days per week and think I have told you before, has worked for me for 20 years. She knows and loves my family and is really part of the family. No, I do not need a maid 4 days per week, but I am doing my thing to create employment. Here she is:

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

SOS #5

2007-09-22T23:48:00.000+02:00

And its SOS again.

The clivia in my garden are now in full bloom! My housekeeper "Margaret" normally picks one every week or so and puts it it in my little cranberry glass that sits in the entrance of my home. There are 3 pieces of red glassware and I like this shot because I caught the reflection of the the little venetian glass in the big vase.

Update on the blanket.

Woo Hoo I have finished 98 squares after 7 days so I am quite a bit ahead of schedule.

Thanks for visiting, thanks for all your lovely comments and love always from Di XXX

SPS #5

2007-09-22T10:18:00.000+02:00

Hey don't you know that "Girls just wanna have fun..." And YES I LOVE SPS!!!

And this girl (ME) definately has fun but often in disguise. I need NEVER have a bad hair day ever again. Last year I indulged in a few WIGS. They are the VERY BEST THINGS I have ever bought. When I wear a wig I feel like a different person, with a different personality. OK so today, every girl deserves to be BLONDE!!!

Short, blonde, and sassy!!!

OK and the "other me", HEE HEE! Laugh out Loud girls it's real good for you.

Can't wait to visit your blogs - it's my weekend treat until the 1st October when my internet quota increases to 2 GIG per month.

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

The word today is Stare

2007-09-21T04:56:00.000+02:00

Stare: To look fixedly or vacantly at someone or something

Had to resort to me this morning!!!

Hello from Di determined to be more optimistic and put my house sale to the Universe. As you say there is nothing I can do about it except what I have done in presenting my home as best I can.

Woo Hoo tomorrow is Saturday so having limited my internet usage I can visit your blogs tomorrow.

Busy today preparing posts for Sunday and Monday at Its a Creative World. I do not like to wait to the last minute LOL. I also have two posts ready for October which is going to be a great month at IACW.

Going to practice my SPs today so that should get me back to my normal cheerful self. Look forward to seeing YOURS tomorrow.

Update on the blanket:

Still a little ahead of target. 68 done 220 to go That means I have almost done 25% of the blanket!!!

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

The word today is Break

2007-09-20T05:41:00.000+02:00

Break : To seperate into pieces.

Well no kit kats, could not bear to photograph my breaking heart, but still found plenty of broken stuff this morning...

A broken paver...

A broken roof tile....

A broken coffee mug...

Thanks for understanding that I cannot visit your blogs on a daily basis during September!!!

With regard to my house sale, no news, no buyers, and no offers :( (hence the breaking heart.)

BUT Woo Hoo, my niece from Johannesburg, is coming to visit me in October and we are going to see the whales in Hermanus. That will definately lift my spirits. The whales are good for my soul, and I can sit and watch them and listen to them for hours. So roll on October.

Eyebrow wax today, another potential buyer coming to see the house and that is the extent of my hectic busy day LOL.

And I now have 55 squares completed only 233 to go !!!

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

The word today is Quirky

2007-09-19T05:13:00.000+02:00

Quirky: Something characterised by the peculiar or unexpected

LOL my whole house is quirky!!! I love this bronze paper weight made for me and given to me by a dear friend, Marion.

Hi from Di in sunny Cape Town. Wow, the "hang" shots yesterday that I saw were all so diferent! I have said before that I like prompts like this as it really challenges us to go out and find something on the day.

My internet saga is now painfull so I really cannot visit your blogs until the weekend. I have upped m quota from the 1st October Woo Hoo. So please forgive me not visiting your blogs on a daily basis :(

My crochet blanket is progressing well. I started on Sunday and now have 40 squares so I am a little ahead of schedule. I have chosen 10 colours and 4 square designs / patterns / colour schemes so all the squares will be different! 288 UNIQUE squares.

248 to go and counting!

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

The word today is Hang

2007-09-18T06:41:00.000+02:00

Hang: To suspend, be suspended or dangle.

LOL could not resist this, muslin drops hanging on the wash line.

This mask is hanging ouside my front door. It was given to me many years ago by Caz my DD.

And my almost empty garage is quite organised!!!

Hi all, its a real short post from me today. Thanks for all your lovely comments. You guys are really special to me!!! And thanks too for visiting "It's a creative World".

I have started to crochet a blanket thanks to Caz's challenge. Have to make 288 squares, so I have set a target of 10 squares per day. It should then be ready well before Christmas. Wish me luck!!!

Thanks for visiting and love always from Di XXX

The word today is Us

2007-09-17T05:31:00.001+02:00

Us : you and me!

LOL this is my attempt at us today, a sketch of Caz, and me in real life!!!

Hi from Di. Hope you all had a great weekend. Thanks for all your lovely comments on my blog!

I know that most of you are YOUNG, and I am always amazed when I see your SP's. You all have such lovely SKIN. Well do me a favour and LOOK AFTER IT. I have lived in Africa for 45 years and my skin is sun damaged and wrinkly. (crinkly LOL) Believe me you will end up the same if you do not protect your skin. And yes a sun tan can look great but just think of the consequences!!

Please, go and visit "It's a Creative World" today to see my post and I would love you to leave me a comment!!!! It's something a bit different especially for those of you who THINK they CANNOT draw. Here is a sneak peak:

Just an update on young Olivia for those who did not see her comment on my blog yesterday. I was worried about her so left her and her mum messages on their blogs. It seems she has just been busy and should be back with us on Thursday.

Thanks for visting and love from Di XXX

SOS #4

2007-09-16T21:54:00.000+02:00

HS:MS SOS

Have not really taken anything exciting this week but I was quite pleased with this one; part of my pot garden at the side of the swimming pool. The geraniums have been joyfull since March this year. The nasturtiums are just self seeded, and I continuously pull out loads LOL.

And I wanted to share this with you today. Taken at Caz's 30th birthday in January 2005 (after the party). I had BIG hair which I loved. It was normally permed but for Caz's birthday the hairdresser gave me big soft waves. These are the only shots I have from her birthday. Completely unplanned our outfits were very similar! I hope that you can see how she has my big smile !!! And yes she is TALLER than my 5 foot 2 inches...

And here she is my BEAUTIFUL daughter, and yes she is my princess. We bought the tiara for her birthday!!! I used to call her 'Saucers' because her eyes are big, bright and beautiful.

These shots are VERY special to me!

Hi folks. Loved all the SPs yesterday! Well done to all of us.

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

SPS #4

2007-09-15T10:37:00.000+02:00

And it's SPS again!

You can see I am loving this! Every week it gets easier and hopefully eventually the shots will improve. Right now I am just relaxing in front of the camera and having fun! I suppose it helps that I live alone, so there is no-one watching me leap about! The tripod helps as well, as does the self timer.

OK I think you are entitled to have a laugh at my expense.

The other day I went to the local shopping centre planning to take a photograph of a 'sort of dressmakers dummy". Caz my DD wants one. So I took the shot but then realised I had the lens cap on! Now how daft is that. I wasn't actually looking I just took the shot. Well what I got was a BLACK photograph. LOL.

Thanks for visiting and love from me Di XXX

The word today is Tweezers

2007-09-14T06:50:00.001+02:00

Tweezers: An instrument for picking up small objects.

I have 'fat fingers' . Well they are not really fat but they feel fat. So I love these tweezers. Without them I would have great difficulty working with all the lttle bits!!!

Hi all, from Di. And it's Friday again! Well My internet quota is going really badly so I have bitten the bullet and from the 1st of October I will have 2 gig per month instead of 1. That should be a lot better and I will be able to visit your blogs more frequently. Until then I still have to ration myself :(

Not much news today. Went to have my nails done yesterday so feeling very glam LOL. Thought I would just share one not very good shot with you. It's a very dreary sunrise in Africa.

But if you look very carefully at the top of the shot you will see Venus!!!

Thanks for visiting, have a great weekend and love always from Di XXX

The word today is Curious

2007-09-13T08:28:00.000+02:00

Curious: Eager to know or learn.

I have planned and postponed a trip to Tibet since 2001. It is my one dream to see the Potala Palace in Lhasa Tibet, visit the monasteries and stand at the top of the world. My other love is Cezanne. Yes the Dalai Lama and Cezanne both fill me with curiousity. I wll achieve my dream to visit Tibet bit will probably never see this Dalai Lama.

The wisteria is at last beginning to flower. Pity the sky was so blue this morning lol. Think I need to take a late afternoon shot, then you wil more clearly see the beautiful blue of the flowers. They are like bunches of pale grapes.

And what is this? Inspired by Caz in March I planted some parsley from seed and here it is. I planted it to take with me to my new home but guess I now better use it.

That's it from me

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

The word today is Kiss

2007-09-12T01:22:00.000+02:00

Kiss: AKA: Pucker up, swap spit, snog, tonsil tickling (tee hee). A show of affection by means of mouth to mouth contact.

LOL this is me standing in front of a mirror, hair a mess sending a kiss to all of you! Mmmwwaaaahh . I did get the pucker bit, no spit swap and no mouth to mouth contact. (Did try kissing the mirror but that did not work very well!!!)

Hi folks and good morning from me myself Diana. Forgot to remind you yesterday to get on over to "It's a Creative World" where I did a post on knitting this easy peasy blanket! So if you have a moment get on over today.

Hairdresser today woo hoo! Then have a great layout to finish for IACW. Think you will really like it. But you have to wait until October and NO sneak peaks lol. We have some GREAT stuff planned for October and lots of spot prizes. Been thinking about printers since yesterday's prompt. Now I don't know how much printers cost where you are but I can get a really good printer copier scanner (like mine) for about R1200.00. Now that's about 75 pounds sterling. However, when the cartridges run out I have to pay about R400.00 for relacements. So what I do is buy a new printer about every 18 months (after 2 cartridge replacements). I then donate the old printer to a friend, a school or a charity. It just makes sense to me.

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

The word today is Print

2007-09-11T03:34:00.000+02:00

Print: To produce in large quantities by mechanical process.

Something went wrong with my blogger last night and I could not upload any images. I lost the HTML and compose tabs and all the editing tabs. I created a new blog but that did not work either... Looked on blogger help and deleted all my temp internet pages and 'cookies' but nothing helped... I was BLEAK. Woo Hoo I do not know what I did but suddenly everything is back. OK I did revert to the classic template but cannot believe that fixed the problem, as I had the same problem on "Its a Creative World"!!!

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

The word today is Cake

2007-09-10T00:24:00.000+02:00

Cake: A soft, sweet food.

LOL, I do not eat cake so there is NEVER any in my home so went adventuring in search of CAKE and this is what I found! Sorry it's a little weak. Will try to find something better later in the day.

Morning folks hope you all had a great weekend. I really enjoyed seeing all the SPs and SO photographs! Was playing big time with the new camera this weekend and had such fun. This week I am planning a "photo shoot" with one of my friends. Now I have never done this before so it shoud be a laugh. She is going to "model" for me and I will be the "photographer". She will come to my house and we will take some shots in the garden, but some I plan to have her sitting inside and "posing". Now have to tell you about this friend; she is quite outrageous, very funny, and dresses a little of the wall. Well in fact she is off the wall!!! So be prepared to see my first attempts later this week.

A bit of pampering this week; hair cut on Wednesday, and nails on Thursday. Now that my hair is short it really needs to be cut every 2 weeks. Love having my nails done. I have gel overlays on my own nails (no extensions). They look so cool.

Hey, if you have a mo, get on over to "Its a Creative World" to see the progress Caz has made on her beautiful crochet blankets.

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

SOS #3

2007-09-09T08:00:00.000+02:00

It's SOS again.

And what have I here but a very bad scan of a very old and precious photograph not even taken by me but it is of me. It was taken in 1948 when I was 5 months old. My dearest dad was always my strongest ally. He had absolute faith and confidence in me and even at 5 months thought I was "the wonder child"! Thank you dad.

This is what he wrote on the back!

I hope you will understand why this should be my show off pic.

And who would this be?

This is my dear friend and housekeeper Margaret who has been with me for 20 years. She works for me 4 days a week, looks after my home, house sits when I go on holiday to England, and generally is always there for me. She loves to have her photograph taken and when I bought her this dress (just cos I thought she would like it) we had to take her photograph! So this shot is special because she is special...

My house is on show again today, so I will be dashing about making sure that everything is in order. The house sale is going on so long, and yes, it does get me down a bit. I want to move and get on with my life but right now I feel in limbo. But no use worrying about things I can do nothing about. So, as I have to be out of the house between 2 and 5, I may go walking on the beach. That should cheer me up LOL.

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

SPS #3

2007-09-08T09:51:00.000+02:00

And it's SPS again!!! And mine is inspired by all of you.

Trying to get a bit closer to the camera this week. Had lots of awful shots and this one I was reasonably pleased with. (Caught a bit of reflection on my glasses etc etc) I am having trouble being serious in front of the camera because I am forever leaping between the back of the camera and in front of it! The following is a discard taken earlier in the week LOL.

I am sorry that I have not been able to get to all of your blogs this week. I am really struggling with containing my internet access within my budget / quota of 1 gig per month, and getting to all of your blogs. 1 gig costs me about 75 pounds sterling per month right now. When I sell my house and move to my sister we will have ADSL and a bigger (and cheaper) internet quota.

It may be that I have to post every day but confine my visiting to the weekend. Last month was easier cos I ate up lots of my DD's internet quota LOL Sorry Caz and Stu.

Finally just a sneak peak at what I have planned for IACW next Saturday!

Great weekend all and thanks for visiting

Love from Di XXX

The word today is Talk

2007-09-07T04:30:00.000+02:00

Talk: To converse or communicate

Oh dear very uninspiring from me this morning. "Tabletalk" is our community newspaper. (I live in "Tableview" CapeTown) (see below for why they call it Tableview).

Been to the city today to fetch Caz's birth certificate from the Department of Home Affairs. And then made copies of the birth certificate, got them certified, then all in the post to Caz. So that took me a few hours LOL. But woo hoo it's Friday so the WEEKEND LOL. So this is where I went! The city of CapeTown sits beneath Table Mountain and I live on the near side of the bay. This is not one of my shots, it is quite and old shot I think taken by Caz about 5 or 6 years ago.

Have a great weekend folks and thanks for visiting.

Love from Di XXX

The word today is Feast

2007-09-06T23:45:00.000+02:00

Feast: A large meal or a plentiful supply.

Sorry folks, you have to remember that I come from Africa, and for many many people THIS IS a feast. Every day I have people knocking at my door looking for food, money or jobs. I do what I can but cannot give to everyone. Things will get better as our black people are educated and get good jobs. Until then we live with poverty and hunger.

Hi all from Di

Thanks for your feedback on how you use digital imaging software. Sounds like we mostly use it to crop and add text. Perhaps I should have put this discussion on the forum! Having lots of fun with the camera experimenting. I have wanted to understand how I get some of the shot ain focus and some blurry so tried it! Here you are. The shot itself was not very interesting but I was really concerned with the effect.

I took this looking through my window and the "trellidoor". Will look for better subjects next! Great excitement over at IACW as we are planning ideas for next years. Looks like we will have LOTS of exciting things to keep us busy.

A little pampering today as I am going to have my eyebrows waxed and tinted. It is the very cheapest treat that I indulge in every 2 weeks! It costs me about R25 which is less than 2 pounds sterling! How's that for a bargain. I only takes about 10 minutes as well.

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

The word today is Hold

2007-09-05T04:58:00.000+02:00

Hold: To grasp, carry or support with your hands.

Still in my PJs, its very early (about 5.30 am). Tried holding my pen and a coffee cup and ended up holding me!

Happy Wednesday all.

This was something I made as an experiment for IACW way back in June. It is made entirely from buttons, brads,beads and bows!

I always 'scribble' my ideas nto my ideas journal so have a look! My scrapping recently has been real simple and minimal and I ave really enjoyed it! So here's another layout I did yesterday. It remembers the wonderful night before Caz's wedding when the girls all stayed at the Thistle hotel in Great Wymondley. We had such a wonderful night. In our goodie bags we had lots of purple and black glittery stuff so we fashioned it into WIGS! Thanks for visiting and love always from Di XXX

The word today is Thoughtful

2007-09-04T00:51:00.000+02:00

Thoughtful: Absorbed in or involving thought.

LOL, wandered into the lounge after reading the prompt and my journal was stting on the floor, It is full of my 'thoughts'!

The following shot I unfortunately can take no credit for it but wanted to share it with you. It is my late mother in law (Caz' s 'yia yia' her Greek grandma), and was taken probably in the early 1940s. She looks so very beautiful and definately thoughtful.

Morning all from Di

Started two layouts yesterday from my trip to London in March 2007. LOL neither is fnished, but this is one from a day out to Camden Town where we passed throgh Kings Cross station and had to see if I would "fly" onto platfom 9 and 3 quarters!! (Caz my DD took this shot of me.) The basic layout is done just have to add a few bits and pieces and journalling. Oh and a had a little saga with my camera yesterday. I bought a battery charger which contained 4 batteries and a spare pack of 4 rechargeable batteries. Now my camera needs 4 batteries so I think GREAT one set in the camera and one ready charged. So I put the first 4 batteries in to the charger and NOTHING happens, a little red light is supposed to come on when they are charging. So I try the other 4 and NOTHING happens. Mmmmmm. So I read the instructons and it says all 4 batteries have to be the same type. Now you woud think that if you buy a set of 4 batteries they are al the same type. Oh No. The pack of 4 contained 2 DIFFERENT batteries. So I had to mix them up 2 from each pack into the charger and VOILA they charge.

One more photo from my garden!

Been practising more self portraits. AND getting braver so perhaps Ill do a closeup on Saturday!!!

Was thinking about my digital imaging software. Right now I use it to crop photographs and to add text. I am reluctant to learn to use the enhancing capabilities really because I want my shots to be mine. Now this may seem silly. Why not use all the tools we have? Well maybe if photography was my profession, I would enhance my photographs. but photography is becoming a passion for me so I want he shots to be mine.

I would be interested to know how YOU feel about enhancing your photographs.

Thanks for visiting and love always from Di XXX

The word today is Fall

2007-09-03T01:51:00.000+02:00

Fall: To move downwards rapidly.

2 abandoned weaver nests in my willow tree which are going to fall down today!

Hi folks from Di

This is just another shot from Hermanus taken last year. It was a stormy afternoon so no whales to be seen. I have not touched this photograph with any imaging software it just came out sort of black and white LOL.

And it's Monday again so get on over to "Its a Creative World" and visit me in my "other space". I'm talking about tapestry today, and would love for you to visit the blog. Here is a sneak peek:

Wasn't that a great SPS and SOS weekend? I loved all your photos. I have a busy week this week. Must finish my sewing project and get some scrapping done.

And Woo Hoo we have a new member on the IACW design team. A big welcome to Joanne. Joanne is a true inspiration to us all!

"She has a knack of finding the most interesting products to introduce to scrapping and altering. She has a style unto her own, that is a mix of the unusual and fascinating, and it's not only the craft of scrapping that interests Joanne, cross stitch is up high on her creating list. She is a GO-GO- GREETINGS design team member :) and was also part of the very creative team at Scrapbook Magic magazine. We are honoured to have Joanne on board and I know she will bring so much motivation and enthusiasm into all our Creative Worlds".

Finally just some shots from my garden yesterday;

And the wisteria has it's first buds; a sure sign that spring is on the way:

Thanks for visiting and love always from Di XX

SOS #2

2007-09-02T06:30:00.000+02:00

And its Show off Sunday today!

I do not have anything really special this week except this one shot in Hermanus 3 years ago. I visit Hermanus every year to see the whales, but this was my last trip with my dearest mum. We were so blessed in the late afternoon, sitting on the patio of our rented accomodation, to enjoy this whale for about 3 hours! You can hopefully see how close it was. (If you click on it, it does enlarge)

Thanks for all your lovely comments yesterday. Judging from your photographs, I really think we are all getting a little braver in front of the camera!

Just a short post from me today. My house is on show so I need to dash about and make sure everything looks good. Then I am going out for lunch. The house sale is dragging on but I am not letting it get me down. In fact I transplanted lettuce and tomato yesterday that I had grown from seed.

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

SPS #2

2007-09-01T11:06:00.000+02:00

Hey folks it's SPS again...

Well I really wanted to do a closeup this week but am not ready to share all those wrinkles, so here is my attempt for today.

I have to confess that I am sort of caught in a time warp. I still feel like a sixties hippy, (well I am almost 60) and often dress like one. But this is my current fashion, white cotton and white linen (well anything white in fact!), with a little bit of sparkle. It has been my style for quite a while and I see no reason to change it! It washes beautifully and I always feel so fresh and clean.

Got one more for you!

Yes I am a happy 'panda', and definately happy in my skin. I probably need to practice some serious SPs but it's just so much fun to laugh in front of the camera.

PS did I tell you that my VERY favourite movie is "First Wives Club", and when I sing the song (which is quite often) "You don't own me", I pretend to be Diane Keaton!!!

Thanks again for visiting and love always from Di

The word today is Chew

2007-08-31T04:13:00.000+02:00

Chew: To bite and grind with the teeth.

LOL I have no idea if snails have teeth, but they are doing a great job of chewing my Clivia which are just beginning to bud!

Hi folks from Di in Cape Town. Well at last a bit of crafting! Made a card yesterday for my friend Linda, and managed to get some sewing done. Linda's birthday is today and she is a VERY gorgeous 61 year old!!! Here is a little peak at her very simple card.

The ribbon that you see lying on the counter is tied and used to close the card. The card has a sort of 3D feel to it!

A little update on my camera. Mmmmm, I am such a dope! I just had to press the 'disp' button and all the stuff re-appeared including the AF frame!!! Blush!!!

And woo hoo, it's a new month tomorrow so my internet quota starts again! I will then be able to visit the blogs I have missed over the past few days. Have a great weekend folks.

Thanks again for visiting and love from Di XXX

The word today is Dish

2007-08-30T12:20:00.000+02:00

Dish: A shallow bowl or radio antenna.

Really not pleased with this so will try to find something better!

Well if there is one thing I am sure of it's that I am persevering! The more I get to know the camera the less I know about it. I have now lost the "AF" little frame thing I just cannot see it!!! And does the manual have an index - alphabetic that is? Well NO! Really. How do you solve a problem except by pressing every button, then switching it off and starting all over? So am now feeling BLEAK or GLUM or SAD or GRrrrrrr.

Thanks again for visiting and love from Di XXX

The word today is Cloud

2007-08-28T10:19:00.000+02:00

Cloud: A mass of water vapour.

Thought this would be easy today but I saw no interesting clouds just solid grey! Think it will burn off as the sun warms. So, the sky is just solid grey here today and the only indication that there is cloud is that the sun is very blurry...

And this one I have no idea why it turned out like this. I did not touch the photo at all except to add the text. It looks like I converted it to black and white! But I definately did NOT! But when all else failed I got into the kitchen!!! This is all so new to me clouds are so far away and I have no idea what to do with the camera so here is just one last attempt taken later in the day....

Ok folks am practising this week my self portraits(SP). Have to get the setting right (have tried a few places inside and wellllll, they are ok, but nothing right yet. I either have have curtains and "art works" in the frame or something or other. Also practising with the zoomy thing. (That's, for me, the thing that I twiddle and it goes from 28 to 300.) Well it's such fun! much better than holding the camera up and pointing it at me. Having 10 seconds to get in front of the camera is a lot better than the two seconds I tried at first LOL. I actually think that it is easier than having another photographer take shots of me. I laugh and I leap about, and I discard shots MANY!!!

So here are my attempts from yesterday. This one taken outside and I thought this setting would be better, but it's a bit 'bright' and I am a bit dark LOL:

And this one inside which may be a good place but I'm still a bit dark!

The great thing is (as you can see) I am becoming totally relaxed in front of my camera so maybe I will also learn how to relax in front of someone else's camera!

Sorry I did not manage to get to all of your blogs yesterday, my internet quota for the month is fast running out. Not sure why LOL.

Got my mum's sewing machine out this morning and decided I had to give it a go. Well, eventually I manage to sew a row of stitches! It's really quite easy once you learn how to set the stitches, and when you read the manual. So now have some sewing to do. but that's another surprise. Oh well here's a sneak peak at the fabric I will be using: Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

The word today is Apple

2007-08-28T07:17:00.000+02:00

Apple: A red or green fruit from a tree.

Boo Hoo, no apples at all except this photo taken in Hertfordshire wlilst I was on holiday. So apologies, a cheat from me today :(

But Woo hoo! Today is my 50th post on "My Space". Time flies when you are having fun, and having fun I truly am. Since I retired at the end of January 2007, my life was a tad empty for a few months. I missed working, seeing people and after I did the big de-clutter of my home, yes I was bored and lonely. Well now I am still alone, but not lonely. So many exciting things to do that fill my day. My "new camera" has become my new best friend and companion. I laugh much of the day, and enjoy seeing all my efforts with the camera. Yes, even the bad shots of which there are many.

So, said I was going to the hairdresser yesterday and I am soooo pleased. Natalie cut it really short, the gungy colour is almost gone and I am now naturally salt and pepper! And I LOVE IT!!!! Here I am, yes taken with the timer and the "new camera". (Hope I can improve before Saturday lol.)

I have got so fed up with continually highlighting and bleaching the hair and have been waiting desperately all year to eventually have all the colour cut out just to see what it would look like NATURAL. Well, guess what, I LIKE IT!!!! It feels good . Know what, I really am Happy in my Skin.

I look forward to visiting your blogs and am continually inspired to keep on practising.

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

The word today is Sun

2007-08-27T19:36:00.000+02:00

Sun: An object that gives light and warmth.

Well, the sun has has now gone this morning but it was out early and gave me light and therefor shadow!

Having great fun with my new camera and guess what I can now work the self timer thingy. All (tall order) I have to do now is get the focus and the composition right!!! The SPS thing is making me literally LOL, I am having such fun practising and guess what, have not dressed up yet or put on my normal 'FACE' LOL. Good thing about SPS and SOS is that we have a whole week to practice. Because I am quite new to photography I really do not have loads of photos, so finding one for SOS will be quite easy. Of course I may take some photos this week that I am REALLY proud of.

And just one shot from the "new camera" taken yesterday. It's one of the bird baths in my garden. Well actually it's mostly the reflection of one of the trees in my garden.

And one from this lovely sunny morning. No it does not classify as a self portrait was just playing with shadows.

Busy day for me today, (well not really) going to the hairdresser, shopping, and with a bit of luck, some scrapping. Speaking of which, I'd love you to pop into "It's a Creative World" and check out my normal Monday post. OK maybe I'll give you another sneak peak. It's about what I've created with some of my early layouts:

Oh, Oh, Oh, almost forgot, AND guess what again; I have a secret that I am about to tell. I have booked my ticket to the UK for December. I had some voyager miles so only had to pay the taxes. Will begin to count the sleeps when it gets just a tad closer.

Thanks for all your kind comments over the weekend, you really are a great, supportive, encouraging and very inspiring bunch of folk! I am blessed to have 'met' you all.

P.S. Would you mind if started to create links on my blog to some of your your blogs???

P.P.S. Finally, just some inspiration, from Andrew on one of my first posts on HS:MS "Looking forward to seeing your efforts, Diana. It's great that you are getting confident enough to share you photographs. Take lots and lots and lots and over time you will learn lots and lots and lots and be rewarded with some cracking shots." Thank you Andrew .

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

SOS #1

2007-08-26T05:11:00.000+02:00

"you can post any photo (past or present) that you are particularly pleased with. It could be that you are pleased with the composition of the photo, a technical aspect, or it is just a moment that you are glad that you captured. "

This was taken using the timer on the "old camera" and my tripod. This was my last birthday (me on the right), and I like it cos it was a great evening with friends... And this one I am just proud of. You may have seen it before, but I just love them artichokes....

Woo Hoo, what great self portraits yesterday folks! You all look so gorgeous! I am really looking forward to Saturdays; not because I want to take shots of me LOL, but because it will give me some "focus" on improving my photographic skills and I will have to learn how to use the new camera. Have just been practising (OK I am still in my PJs) with the self timer and the tripod. Had such a laugh at myself leaping in front of the camera as I set it on 2 seconds (instead of 10) to get positioned!!!

Short post from me today. So firstly, if you have not entered your kiddies artwork into our competition at "It's a creative world" you still have a few more days. The prize is a 20 pounds voucher, and all entrants will receive a certificate.

And secondly, just a thought from me.

When I was in England last week I saw an advert for the Ormonde Street Hospital asking for 3 pounds per month donation. Now I know that we all do our own thing for charties but this seems such a worth while cause. And yes, I understand that government really should be paying. But 3 pounds is about 4 sheets of cardstock and even I can afford that.

When I first arrived in South Africa in 1962 the exchange rate was 2 SA Rand for 1 pound. It is now almost 15 SA Rand for 1 pound. So the donation would have cost me R6 but will now cost be R45!!! Thats about 7 sheets of cardstock. Guess all I have to do is find out how to make my donation.

Finally just a sneak peak at what I have in store tomorrow at "It's a creative world" He He. I'd love you to pop in and see my "normal" Monday post "Use your Stash":

Have a great Sunday folks and as always Love from Di XXX

SPS #1

2007-08-25T12:13:00.000+02:00

SPS week 1 - WOW what a challenge - still in my PJs and had to stand with the camera in front of me. Took about 40 pics before I got a half decent one!!! Well I don't expect to look better as the years go on but hopefully my self portrait skills will improve. Thanks for the challenge!!!

Woo Hoo it's the weekend!!!

Thought I would show you today my "sort of first pics" taken yesterday, with the new camera, this time my garden. At the moment I am just pointing and clicking (as I did with my 'old' camera) as I have not studied the manual yet LOL. I still need lots of practice as wll see.

(Have to remind you that Cape Town is in mid-winter, so mostly my garden is JUST GREEN. In a few weeks the clivia will be out and they are GLORIOUS. )

This is an old wheelbarrow and watering can, which in the spring and summer I fill with pots of colour!

And this is just some perspective on where yesterday's stone fits into my garden:

And I tried stone again with the 'new camera':

Anything I cannot use in the house goes into the garden or the garbage bin, so have used these pots in a small patch that needed some colour!!! They make excellent little birdbaths for the little birds.

The wisteria is bare letting in what little sun we may have onto my patio... In a month or two it will be covered in lilac coloured blooms and then just lots of fresh green leaves. The swimming pool is cold Brrrrr...

And lastly I found more stone in the garden... Thanks for visiting and have a great weekend everyone. Love from Di XXX

The word today is Stone

2007-08-24T04:21:00.000+02:00

Stone: A hard solid mineral.

Some 'stone' from my garden, which looks very pretty with a largecandle inside. I love all the mossy stuff growing on it...

Hi all, from a wet Cape Town (well it is winter here after all!!!).

Firstly congratulations to Andrea (It's a Creative World design team) for being selected as a Design Team member for GoGoGreetings . Well done Andrea!!!

Wanted to show you some pics of my home today. Because I am selling the house I have removed a load of stuff and one or two of the shots are from before I got rid of some furniture! The shots are not great so please bear with me.

Sue asked yesterday about 'AUG' on the wall of my living room well L(AUGH)OL here it is:

Right down the end of my living room was my craft room. I have since moved it to a spare bedroom so that I could have the terracotta tiles professionally cleaned for the new owner.

And looking onto the patio and swimming pool (in the rain):

And I would be lost without my special carpets:

My 'old' crafty room now almost empty!: And my kitchen: note very little clutter LOL:

And a view of my 'dresser' where I keep special glasses and precious stuff:

And here is one of my spare bedrooms (was Caz's room) used as a guest bedrom, and now being used as my crafty room.

I hope you have enjoyed seeing some of 'My Space', my home has become very specal to me and I will be sad to leave when EVENTUALLY it is sold. Maybe I need the house doctor? Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

The word today is White

2007-08-23T11:51:00.000+02:00

White: The palest colour and sign of purity.

Hello from me, home safely in Cape Town. This is my serene and beautiful bedroom - all shades of white...

One more pic from the bounty of the allotment. Can you believe the size of these? They look more like marrows but they are courgettes. they tasted great as well.

And if you remember Caz's gorgeous giant sunflower, this is a dying (dead) sunflower, preparing it's seeds for next year and providing food for the birds...

Well... I said I had a secret and that I had done some shopping in duty free. So what you think I bought? Yes a new camera. Caz will tell you that I am impulsive and she recommended that my next step up should be a Fuji Finepix S5000. Well... I did look and this camera and then I saw another the Fuji Finepix S9600. So being the impulsive, spontaneous person that I am, I bought it and the bag and a 2 gig memory card and some spare batteries!!!

It is AWESOME and yes I took some pics just to practice and have started reading the mega manual. OK remember the camera is brand new so sitting waiting for my plane I had to try it out. Not good pics but hopefully I'll get better..

Then on the plane I tried it again...

And when I got home I tried again... Yes I have lots of work to do to find out how the camera works and what I can do with it. Will keep you posted on my progress...

Oh by the way Lin (Briar Patch) and Joshua, I have not been able to get to your blogs for a few days. Can you include me in your list of members? Have missed seeing your photos...

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

The word today is Friend

2007-08-22T10:41:00.000+02:00

Friend: A person you know particularly well.

I have never 'cheated' before but today I do. This is a photograph taken by my niece Danni on the night before my DD Caz's wedding. We had such a great time all together at the Thistle hotel near Great Wymondley. From the back are Caz's two sisters Chloe and Nina. They live in Durban South Africa and are my two 'other daughters'. Then there is my beloved sister Linda, then me, then my dear friend and almost family Jeanie from Glasgow. Then there is the bride to be my lovely Caz. Yes, my best friends are my family....

We are wearing purple crinkly stuff on our heads. We created wigs and made such a mess of the hotel.

The two young girls Nina and Chloe had such a great time and in fact Nina said "you taught us how to party"! How cool is that from a 17 year old.

Am home in Cape Town in my lovely home and missing Caz and her DH. Think I will go back in December. I have some voyager miles waiting to be used. Well DH did say to come back in December LOL!!!

Thank you all for your wonderful comments. You are so encouraging to this going on 60 year old newbie photographer.

Oh I have a surprise which I will tell you about tomorrow. I did some shopping in duty free. LOL

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XX

The word today is Wet

2007-08-21T06:50:00.000+02:00

Wet: Covered or saturated with water.

LOL it is raining here! just had to walk ouside and EVERYTHING is covered woth water, now including me!!!

Morning all. Sad day for me as I leave CAZ and her DH and the lovely village to return home to Cape Town. I have had such a wonderful time. Caz and I have done loads together, chatted, laughed, shopped and also been really busy!!! It's hard living so far away from family... But enough of this glum mood, I was busy taking a few shots of 'real people' yesterday, and guess who I chose? Yes Caz. Here she is tending her tomatoes (grown from seed in the little greenhouse behind her!!!) in her 'kitchen garden'.

Oh and I discovered another tree in the garden. It's elderberry. Read an article yesterday (in Country Living) about using elderberries to dye fabric. Wish I was staying a bit longer so I could try it.

And fennel also grown from seed... And finally cosmos grown from seed... For someone who was NEVER a gardener she has done so well. I just cannot believe that she plants seeds! So many of us just go to the nursery and buy seedlings.

Just a reminder of our childrens art competition at "It's a creative world". The prize is a a 20 pound voucher from ELC!!!

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX P.S. May not be around tomorrow as I fly home tonight...

The word today is Plant

2007-08-20T08:06:00.001+02:00

Plant: A green living organism.

Been out on the allotment again, rows of all sorts of great plants for eating.

Morning all, thanks so much for all of tour supportive comments over the past few days, weeks. I joined HS:MS to improve my photographic skills and I do believe it's working. I do not want to be a photographer, I just want to take nice pics that I can scrap. The interesting thing that's happened is that I am taking LOTS more pics and organising and naming them as I go. So instead of pict1010 I have snail and water barrel etc. LOL

Yesterday it rained on and off the whole day. But we had great fun reorganising Caz's home and getting rid of a whole load of clutter. I did manage to get a few photos so this one is one I discarded for can, its a water barrel that is not catching any water!!!

And this little snail just appeared beside my feet. The rain always brings them out to play!!!

If you have as mo, pop over to "It's a creative world" today. Monday is normally my post, and I have a few ideas today on getting organised and adding some harmony to your life. It's a little Feng Shui thing.

Thanks for visting and love from Di XXX

The word today is Can

2007-08-19T07:48:00.000+02:00

Can: A container for food or liquid.

Just been wandering around the allottments, and found this old bath with a can inside. It's used to collect rain water for watering the veggies.

And Caz the magpie found this little can on the market the other day. I thought she wanted to put flowers in it but here it is hanging in a bush.

Mornng all. Just finished the rounds from yesterday. Again so many great shots and interpretations of 'Fly'.

Managed to snap this yesterday, in the rain.

Did not get any scrapping done yesterday, as I was helping Caz assemble the blanket. It looks so beautiful, very gentle colours and she has put the squares together 'randomly' so there is no 'pattern'. She is now busy crocheting it together! That's a big job.

Thanks for visitng and love from Di XXX

The word today is Fly

2007-08-18T07:55:00.000+02:00

Fly: To move through the air.

Sorry could not resist this one, which I have in fact posted during the July 'game'. I managed to take this shot from the door of the cockpit flying from CapeTown to Johannesburg very early one morning in July.

And if I had a better camera (or was a better photographer), perhaps you would have seen the movement on this shot :( as the little whirly flies around in the wind.

Woo Hoo it's Saturday, wet and a perfect day to get cracking with the scrapping! Caz and I had had such a good day yesterday trolling round the shops and the market in Hitchin (our closest town.) We found some great ribbon for Christmas scrapping and decorations. We also found this gorgeous little papier mache box in a charity shop!

We had coffee at Caffe Nero ( and a muffin). Woo hoo - I can now have a free coffee!! (Yes, small things make me happy LOL)

We bought some calico and all in all had a super time. We seemed to get loads of 'bargains'. When we got home Caz started clearing clutter!!! (We took a few bags from the charity shop to fill!) I fixed curtains so was up and down the ladder. They look a lot better now.

The day ended when Caz's DH took us to Stevenage for yummy dinner and then home to collapse.

What's in store today? Well Caz wants to assemble her crochet blanket so that will take a while, then SCRAPPING!!!

Whoopee, postie has just been and my prize has beren delivered. Thank you Thank you Thank you Debbie, it is GORGEOUS!!!

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

The word today is Lock

2007-08-17T07:05:00.000+02:00

Lock: A mechanism for keeping something closed that is operated by a key.

My suitcase is standing in my bedroom, staring at me ready to be packed for my return home Tuesday. Having a GREAT holiday here with Caz and her DH...

Morning all. And it's a gorgeous morning in Great Wymondley, well so far!!! Guess what we finished the squares yesterday for Caz's first blanket. (refer to Its a Creative World for more details on the project) We made 224 squares in 7 days, and yes my fingers and wrists are sore.

Been working on my post for Monday "It's a creative world". The girls on the design team are truly awesome and it's always a mission to come up with something good enough LOL!!! Just for example; Andrea is an inspired card maker and Joy comes up with the most exciing different stuff every week, and Maria keeps us so organised on the schedule, apart from the most amazing posts. Oh and just a reminder of our children's art competition. Get on over to the site and get your kiddies crafting. All the children will receive a certificate and there is a very nice prize for the winner.

We had a post on summer barbecue ideas a few days back, This is what we made:

Caz's colourful vegetable kebabs

Di's Decadent Brown onion potatoes (to Die for)

Oh and great excitement I won a beautiful bag from "Oliviagrace Designs" . Thank you so much Debs. Hope you do not mind that I show your photo here...

That's it from me for now, have a great weekend Woo Hoo.

Thanks for visiting and love from Di

The word today is Chop

2007-08-16T07:57:00.000+02:00

Chop: To cut into small pieces. Had this idea for the prompt this morning, the woodpile in the garden is mostly used for summer barbecues. BUT I could not find the axe!!!

Caz and I have been cooking with GAS. We have 21 more squares to do and then blanket is ready to be assembled!!! The last two days have been raining so we avoided housework could not do any gardening so we just did the crochet.

But the sun is out again today so no excuses. Need to do some shopping, gardening, housework (boo hoo), AND finish the squares.

Last night Caz picked some green beans for dinner and here they are. They were delicious!!!

Oh by the way this is a little wedding album I made for Caz's 'other mother' Vanessa who could not attend the wedding:

It's really simple to make! If you would like to see the measurements etc, pop on over to It's a creative world and look under the label "Scrapping".

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

The word today is Window

2007-08-15T08:35:00.001+02:00

Window: An opening in the wall, filled with glass.

The sweetpeas from the allottment are glorious. I pick two bunches every few days and put some in my bedroom and some in the living room. The fragrance is almost intoxicating, and the colours are vibrant. How lucky am I ???

My 'threads' are being transformed. Caz my DD wants to make blankets for her two nieces for Xmas, so we have frantically been trying to finish the first one while I am on holiday with her. We have to make 224 squares and since last Friday we now have about 160!!! We set ourselves a target of 10 per day each and so far we are ahead of schedule! Have to tell you that I taught Caz to crochet on Thursday last week, so she has done really well.

I have had a really lovely holiday with my DD and son in law and will be sad to leave next week Tuesday, but there's always next trip to look forward to.

Oh here are some more shots from the allotment.

Behnd the sweetpeas are beans and this one hollyhock. Great excitement Caz has posted the prompt!!!

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

The word today is Pasta

2007-08-14T09:09:00.001+02:00

Pasta: An Italian food made from dough.

Oh dear no home made pasta in our house!!

It's raining this morning so we are bashing on with the granny squares for Caz's blanket. (Not complaining about the rain, it's great for the garden.) We had a few mistakes with the squares which we laughed about!!! Caz is going to include the one on the right on a layout or bag or something. Its actually quite cute, just not a square.

Thanks for visiting. Love from Di XXX

The word today is Drive

2007-08-13T06:32:00.000+02:00

Drive: To operate a vehicle

We have been driving around in my daughter Caz's "vehicle". Must admit with my short little legs I feel I need a step ladder to climb up!!! Here it is sitting outside ready to take us shopping this morning.

Happy Monday everyone. I have another 'busy' day on holiday in Great Wymondley Hertfordshire. Shopping first then thought I might walk round to the village church which is closed as it needs major restoration. It is a beautiful very old church and the village is working really hard to raise the funds to have it repaired.

This is a view of the church from Caz's garden. I took this in March when every shot was miss and miss!!! Nothing turned out right. Id like to get some better shots today.

Thanks for visiting and love from Di XXX

The word today is Thread

2007-08-12T06:27:00.000+02:00

Thread: A long strand of fibres

An obvious choice for me today, we have to finish crocheting all of these 'fibres' before I leave England next week!!!

Thanks for all your lovely comments yesterday! I had trouble with the internet so have just finished catching up and visiting all of your blogs. I loved all of the 'downs'.

Had lovely days Friday and Saturday teaching my DD Caz to crochet. Well actually she learnt so quickly!! We each made a 3 square by 3 square 'doll's ' blanket so that she could learn the basic techniques, and since then we have crocheted about 50 squares towards the 'real' project.!!!

Here is a sneak peak of what's in store tomorrow (Caz's post) on "It's a Creative world".

This is not the best pic as the sun was a bit too bright. The colours are actually like 'jewels'. I made it for her as a picnic blanket lol.

The weather has been glorious and I got a few more veggie pics!!

We had one of these gorgeous butter lettuces with dinner last night!

And these glorious artichokes are a sight to behold. Wow I am blessed just to see all of this bounty in the garden.

And here is a card I made for a friends birthday. I love the colours inspired by Watermelon.

Thanks for visiting. Love from Di XXX

The word today is Down

2007-08-11T09:00:00.000+02:00

Down: To fall to the ground

Have just come from the garden and the apple tree is so heavy with apples this branch is touching the ground; the apples are literally falling down lol.

It is so wonderful here in Hertfordshire, in the village. The allotments are full of fruit and vegetables and yesterday Caz picked green beans, berries and plums for lunch. So while i was catching the apples I caught some of her lunch as well!!!

Thanks for visiting and Love from Di XXX

The word today is Double

2007-08-10T07:43:00.000+02:00

Double: Two of the same thing

My favourite crocs!!!

LOL, yesterday morning when I was uploading my earring pic this "insect" landed on my computer. My camera was beside me and I just managed to take this shot before it disappeared.

And I have more eyes today!!! Sitting in the garden on Wednesday, I took this shot of my "ideas" journal and her eyes were so cute I couldn't resist more eyes!!!

Thank you all for visiting my space. I have so enjoyed and appreciated your comments and feedback. As a newbie photographer, HS:MS and the wonderful folks who participate have been a source of inspiration!!!

Love from Di XXX

The word today is Earring

2007-08-09T08:43:00.000+02:00

Earring: A little something to adorn the ear.

I do love these earings which were handmade by a friend and given to me as a gift.

Love from Di XXX

The word today is City

2007-08-08T07:14:00.000+02:00

City: A busting place to hang out, meet friends and enjoy.

This will be the closest I get to a city for a while LOL

Sorry folks I could not resist this. I am staying with my daughter in a lovely village in Hertfordshire and this was my view from the kitchen door this morning!!! We have about 40 houses, 1 pub but no shops!!!

Also wanted to share my toadstool pics with you. These were taken in January this year when I was visiting my sister in Johannesburg!!!

Caz (my DD) and I have two cool summer barbecue ideas today at "It's a creative world" - so pop on over and have a look!!

Love from Di XXX

The word today is Eyes

2007-08-07T06:51:00.001+02:00

Eyes: The window to the soul.

Young eyes: Jessica, my daughters niece

And older eyes: My wonderful sister Linda

And beautiful even older eyes, once bright blue: My dear friend Lily

The word today is Bloom

2007-08-06T08:28:00.000+02:00

Bloom: A period of greatest beauty.

My daughter's wedding day when she looked 'blooming gorgeous'. I was especially p.roud of her that day