Saturday Scribbles - April 2016

Little feathered friends flit madly round my garden seeking out the food I just put out - I love watching them at this time of year as they busily feed themselves before flying off with food in their mouths for the "she who must be obeyed" sitting on the nest! Their great flurry of activity excites my special feathered friend who shares my home - as he flies from window to window to watch them - he chirrups and tweets just like the sparrows before coming back to "help" me type - and then flitting off again as he catches sight of the blackbird. He does love to "help" me when I am at the table crafting - though Bertie is quite the little demon for pinching cocktail sticks - I am always finding them at the bottom of his cage!

He is such good company though - and he is so funny - he isn't very tame really, I can't get him to stay on my finger for more than a second or two  - but he can't resist the craft stuff or my fingers on the keyboard of my 'puter.












I am NOT a tidy crafter though - I have everything I think I might want - along with loads of tools all over my table - my work space just gets smaller and smaller - LOL - but I do have to try extra hard NOT to leave anything really tiny visible that he might be tempted to swallow - self adhesive gems and pearls particularly worry me - especially as they often"ping" off and then I can't find them!! Oh the joys of getting older!!

However I am enjoying the sight of our cherry blossom against the sky as I look out the window  - it is so very pretty - so there is no doubt that our island will soon be visited by incredibly high winds - and I will then have a carpet of palest pink instead of my gravel in the garden - it's no wonder the Japanese celebrate the flowering cherry - when mine is festooned in blossom it is a delight to the eye and there is no doubt in my mind that Mother Nature can decorate better than any interior designer I have ever come across.

April has been a busy month for me - a trip across to my parents - now BOTH Nonogenarians - my mum is another gracious lady who celebrated a special birthday this month. We had a lovely meal out - with as many of our small family we could muster and I think she enjoyed it. We certainly hoped so anyway -

 - -and as this post is the end of the month -a few numbers - Julie of Notes on Paper has a regular post featuring her own "Month in Numbers" - and it's always worth a read! So - from my month
APRIL - when our family celebrates 2 birthdays - Mum and my youngest daughter both have springtime birthdays.
3 days off island with my sister to celebrate mum's special birthday - 90 years young  - though mum said "I didn't DO anything - I just keep breathing". Which did make me chuckle I must admit.
126 minutes catching up with a very dear friend who I see so rarely these days. A highly valued friendship - it doesn't matter that we see each other so rarely - it is always as if we could still see each other daily when we do managge to meet up - so special.
4 hours (approximately - en route for our flights back to the island - transport links from mums to the airport always mean we have time to kill) with my sister in Manchester's Northern Quarter, exploring quirky artisan studios and shops in what was the old fish market, lunching in a cafe serving quality produce, (different, perfectly cooked and great value) and seeing this awesome street art - - - - - - - - - a real 1 OFF!! (Check out the artist, - Akse P.19 - here and also on facebook). The Northern Quarter is definitely worth a visit - not at all as I remember it from childhood - though the streets and buildings are still the same.

April was also the month in which Craft Club had their Spring Allday crafting session - so I put together 16 kits, made up 3 boxes and 12 cards - as demo pieces. We had a lovely day with 11 of  our members making it to the day. We used boxes by Candy Box Crafts as our base for our projects - and were really pleased with the quality of them and how easily they went together

I was also asked to make 1 Wedding card - which I was really pleased with when it was finished, so hope I might get a few more commissions - I love making a special design

Of course I can't do crafts without a bit of shopping can I  - so this month my treat was receiving
 in a selection of wonderful packs from Julie's Etsy shop - from her selection of Plundered Pages, Serendipity Packs and Interesting Bits - always somethingof interest - and always just a bit different! And my parcel arrived so quickly - containing and enormous 96 different items - papers and more! and that was not counting the wrapping which I have very carefully hoarded!!

Well this has turned into a very long post - an essay even - so I will finish with the 201 photos taken with my iPhone - a few more from our visit to Milntown - the colours were irrisistible. As always - thanks for dropping in - do drop in on Julie at Notes on Paper if you have the time , for her Month in Numbers -

'til later,
Bannaghtyn,  J x

The Merry Month of May - - - in numbers

Hello friends and welcome - - I have been  - - as you know pretty much absent from the blogosphere for many months - - but an unexpected, and lovely email from Julie gave me a much needed prod - -  
As you probably already know Julie hosts her Month in Numbers at the end of each month and as May has had a few activities I would like to remember I participated in - recording them this way seems a good place to start.

•  2 craft club meetings instead of our usual one, this month - the first time we have had to do that - and all because my island home hosts the TT Races - which this year take place between 30th May to 12th June - meaning that road closures in the evenings would prevent our members being able to attend for our monthly "crafty get together".

Picture from IOM TT Official Site

We didn't want to miss our June meeting entirely - so we moved it back to May! Good job May was a long month, eh? This year we have had card making workshops as a theme, with cards made using a different folding technique each month, which is proving rather fun.

"June's" card designs

a sneak peak of July's design

• 4 days of the month were accounted for by taking a trip with my sister to visit mum & dad. 
• 1 of those days we spent taking mum out to Chatsworth House to visit the part of the gardens. It proved to be a lovely day - including the weather, which is always a bonus.

• 1 trip to Ikea - perhaps not of great note to those of you who have access to such stores on a daily basis - but for us islanders - a bit of a treat - and it is all too easy to get carried away, as everything seems to be such a bargain!! Our last day was spent in Liverpool - shopping - and enjoying the vibrancy of the city with sand scuptors and street entertainers - and that can't be bad can it? before getting the evening ferry back to our island.
  

• 6 friends who helped to make up a team of 8 people to try to solve a Murder Mystery - Murder in the Alps was performed by a local group - WASP - who offer their services as the entertainment for Fundraising Events, for local good causes. We managed a 2nd place for our team - and won the raffle. It was a really great evening,  good company and great entertainment - what more can ask of an evening out?

Photo from WASP Official website

• 29 years of married life - The 21st day of the month saw us celebrating with a trip out and lovely lunch - more details here - but this is the waterwheel in the grounds of Milntown.

I am not quite sure where all those years went to  - - - -

• 6 performers - who made up the Flamenco Dance company who entertained us royally - on the 28th day in fact,  when we went to our lovely Frank Matcham designed theatre to see traditional Flamenco music and dance performed to the highest standard. I was so pleased that the theatre, though not full, had a considerable audience ,who all seemed to enjoy their virtuosity - and at least one of the dancers could be classed as "eye-candy" for the ladies - just a little something to add to mine and my daughters pleasure in the evening!
  

 I'll finish here - thanks so much for dropping in - and don't forget to head on over to Julie's Notes on Paper for her numbers - it's always worth a visit.

'Til later,

Bannaghtyn, J x

My Month in Numbers - September 2013

Welcome, welcome - - so very nice to have you drop by. I haven't been around much this month, and for that I do apologise - the change in the seasons has upset my hard won equilibrium somewhat and the turn of the year here, as we head to the darker and shorter days has been unexpectedly hard for me.  Summer has played fast and loose with us I fear, fickle lover that she is , and abandoned us overnight. The golden days have given way to misty mornings, grey, cold, damp - heavy, gloomy skies and rain bringing with them thoughts I know are fruitless, the "why didn't I - - - " kind yet I can't make them go away - - - -

However enough  - this sudden change has me longing to hunker down in front of a cosy fire with a good book - Any recommendations anyone? I am trying to get back into reading at home,(I have only read whilst on holiday of late years) - but now - a quick round up of these September days

Julie - of Notes on Paper - invites us to record memories of our month - in numbers - so for a full explanation hop over to her blog here - she will not only have numbers of her own to share but also others around the globe who also record a month in numbers.

Straight into this month's Communal Count -

I was 4 when I started at All Saints Mission School - - which was a small Infant school, attached to the Mission church - I think I was there 3 or 4 years before moving on the the separate Junior School - -  when it was demolished I wept, and at that time I was a mum of 3! - the site it was on is now a small housing estate complex - so my number relating to this can't be completely accurate - but it is the best I can come up with for this aspect of the Communal Count - and depending on which port we have to dock - I now live 147 or 165 miles away from my primary school.

And 1 pint of milk costs me 60p - - but I forgot to keep track of our consumption!! Doh as Homer Simpson would say!

1 - online class - Shimelle's Learn Something New --- which I have participated in from the beginning - though this last couple of years my lessons have been very hard won and so are for my eyes only - - but I will post a photo of this years album in a separate post.

2 unexpected dinner guests - twice (does that count as a number too??). As you may know The Artisan loves his outdoor sporting activities - especially his climbing - and on the Monday of the week following our return from holiday went off for his usual hour of exercise before the daylight disappeared - - to meet up with 2 Austrian climbers - here, on our little island. I am sure you can imagine his pleasure in having someone to "show round" - - - - - so he invited them back for dinner! Actually they are two charming (and handsome - who doesn't like a bit of eye candy? )young men,  Dominic and Kimi - and it was lovely to have them visit with us.

1 book - with 3 novels within - read - whilst on holiday of course - and the said book was mentioned here. It was fun to read it whilst in Sicily - the setting for these books - as I am sure some of you may already know, which of course leads nicely into - -

7 days in Sicily - mainly in the beautiful Taormina - which remains charming in spite of it being a tourist "Honey Trap". From the bus station there we were able to visit other smaller villages high in the mountainous region around Mount Etna, all equally charming - though so very small that one to two hours was plenty long enough to enjoy the stunning views and quaint little streets. I truly have spent a week "Exploring with My Camera" - - I tried hard to remember (and learn) all I had read in the manual - and have been pleased with some of my shots. I also tried to practice using my phone to take photos - and again feel I have made a little progress with framing my shots better. I did invest in an App - as recommended by Kat Sloma and feel it was a good buy, and having been using the tips she offers and found them really helpful. Here a couple of holiday snaps which are likely to make it into my album

 And finally - we saw 6 geese in the middle of the road in Purt Ny Hinshey! I am not sure why they were sitting where they were - but I couldn't resist taking their photo as they looked so funny!

Thanks so much for stopping by - don't forget to hop over to Julie's blog for more number crunchers - she will make you most welcome and perhaps you might like to join in yourself?

"til later,

Bannaghtyn, J x

My Month in Numbers - August 2013

Hello again welcome, welcome  - so nice to have you drop in - - I have been wondering you know - how has the end of another month come round so quickly??? It was only the beginning of August just yesterday - - - and it was still summer, whereas now the year is definitely on the turn.

It has been the most glorious of summers - and I am hoping to prolong it a little as we take our first holiday abroad since our world fell apart in June 2012 - we are off to Sicily very soon - another step forward anyway on this long road we travel. However - on to some numbers - alongside the lovely Julie of Notes on Paper, who invites us to join her in summing up our month with numbers as the starting point. She also has a shared Communal Count - so hop over to her blog for full details.

So - for this month I have noted that I needed - -
1 - new suitcase for the above mentioned holiday - and I have to admit to more than a little excitement about going since the BBC showed Montalbano on Saturday nights last year - it looked just so beautiful!

Have received - -
1 - unexpected gift - from the Artisan, which links in so well with the above. He knows that I only read on holidays really - (there is a story there I guess - but one that is hard for me still) and that I love a book set in the area/country we are visiting - - and he picked this up for me whilst on a climbing trip in Belfast last Bank Holiday weekend.

Have taken - -
1 - trip to our lovely Theatre - this time to catch a local production of Cats - - Our island is blessed with considerable talent musically - - and their productions are semi professional in my opinion, so my outing with my friends was a delightful evening.

Been a part of - -
2 - days slipping back in time as our village - and vintage transport system, celebrated the 1940's and our island's involvement with that period in our history.

I have already made - -
3 - blackberry crumbles! Unheard of to have our blackberries ripe so early! This of course led to 3 lovely half hours on the beach picking them, with the ensuing purple stained fingers and minor scratches. I just hope there are some left after my return from holiday.

And now to Julie's Communal Count - -

I had [a]
14 - visitors - including Mum & Dad, my sister, our eldest daughter, 5 friends, 1 Market Researcher   - - and 3 baby sparrows who ran around our garden for a whole day, recently fledged we thought therefore still gaining their "wings" and really needing to improve their flying skills - they spent much of the day hiding in the undergrowth of our tree and fluttering a few inches above the gravel - - (I was very glad that last month's cats didn't visit us on the same day!! though have been back again since).  Usually we are 3 - me, the Artisan and our youngest daughter. Only one of our visitors actually stayed with us.

Leading to
8 - days with my "fledglings" back under my roof as L---- spent a weeks holiday with us, and therefore requiring a very early start to get to the airport -

5.35am - - the earliest I got out of bed, which is very unusual - my days usually begin about 7.30am - I'm definitely a creature of habit!
Which I think rounds off my numbers quite nicely for this month.

Thanks so much for dropping in. Don't forget to hop over to Julie - she will have more "number crunchers" joining her, and she will give you a warm welcome.

'til later,

Bannaghtyn, J x

Month in Numbers - July

Welcome, welcome - - so glad you dropped in

 - - the days are slipping through my fingers like water and my blog has been sadly neglected this last couple of weeks, and for that I do apologise - but here I am again with yet another month that has disappeared on me!  However it is time for Julie's Month in Numbers meme  - hop over to Notes on Paper for full details - so I rounded up my thoughts for another month. I have answered the questions posed by Julie for a "communal count" as well!

I really don't know where the days making up the back end of the month went to - I did have several days when I struggled somewhat  - but have decided I am blaming the weather myself - it has been so very lovely here on my little island - a true summer - glorious blue skies, warm and sunny - which has pulled me outside on more than one occasion - just to be outside has been enough. I did keep my Scavenger Hunt Photos in mind though - so my list is coming along nicely. More of that later in the week hopefully.

But on to some numbers methinks -

• 1 - new toy! I have often looked longingly at DSLR cameras thinking I would one like to take better photos. I look - feel the weight - and realise I would probably not use it - so put them back on the shelf. I did find this one though - it is Compact System Camera - not DSLR - but it is so much lighter, I can get lenses, fiddle and play with aperture, focus etc  - so I am much more likely to use it. Whether I can take better photos remains to be seen!

• 1 Packet full of all this Happy Mail - I am really loving my Plundered Pages packs. It is fun and exciting just opening them - like an unexpected present! So if you too like intriguing collections then you need to pop over to Julie's Etsy shop to get your own - -  oh and the freebies that tumbled out as I opened it are an extra pack of goodies in themselves! Thank you Julie.

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•  2 - the number of retirement parties I have attended for friends - both former colleagues at the school I worked at myself until last year, with the necessary hand made cards.
  

•  2  - surprising visitors - These beauties visited my garden on 8 days this month. I have no idea where they might live - but they do keep coming down my steps - and always together. They are also very vocal - in the way Siamese cats are! I LOVE tabbies - (I would have a cat if it were not for my daughter's asthma). These two have the most beautiful eyes - I hope they continue to visit me occasionally - they are a friendly pair - and still quite young I suspect.

•  9  -  including this one - the number of posts on my blog this month - not so many as last month, but the blog does look less "abandoned"!

And now - the answers to the questions Julie set

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• 56 - the number  of items in this bag (why?? I ask myself!!) including purse, camera, 5 loose tissues, headache tablets, keys, folding shopping bag, make up 3 lipsticks, 1 mascara, 1 blusher, 2 pens, 1 mirror, 1 lipsalve and a badge)loose money - 3 notes and 22 pound coins!, phone, 2 gems (off said phone case) Moo cards in case,  a strip of raffle tickets (to win Katie Melua's handbag -  and I didn't! - a fundraiser for Manx Cancer Help), emery board, passport, 2 tubes lip balm , 2 bottles of perfume, 2 receipts, 1 hairbrush and 1 business card picked up at Tynwald day)
  

• 351 photos - with 157 with my compact camera, 143 with my iPhone,  51 with my new camera. It remains to be seen if I do take better photos!! I am trying to learn to anyway - - and am spending a few minutes each day to get to know how to best use it - I am reading the manual!!! It is so much harder to remember stuff than it used to be - oh to be young once more! I have been playing with frames on my phone - this is one of my first attempts and is just flower shots from my garden.

Thanks so much for dropping in - and if you have Month in numbers of your own or have enjoyed my numbers - do swing over to Julie's Notes on Paper  - there will be lots more numbers as well as how to join in for yourself.

'til later,

Banaghtyn, J x

My Month in Numbers - - June 2013

Oh my goodness - - where did June go then? I cannot believe just how quickly this month has flown: perhaps it is something to do with the fact that I have done my very best to keep busy and avoid having time to look back - - -
As a result it has proved to be quite full of a variety of activities - - and to the best of my ability I have tried to take pleasure in them. It hasn't alway proved to be easy - - - but I did the best I could, and so I am once again recording A Month in Numbers.
Julie at Notes on Paper invites us all to join her in recording a synopsis of our month by making a note of significant numbers to help remember the memories - - and though I am much more of a words girl myself, I am finding it an interesting hook to use, and I am finding Julie's monthly round up surprisingly helpful to get me to make a note of stuff, though I am not a natural "counter". This is all down to a Month in Numbers and Julie, of Notes on Paper will give you full details here.
So for June -

• 1 very, very difficult anniversary - - I miss him so much - which led to my next numbers 

(and sometimes only creating something - - ANYTHING has got me through the days)

• 2 workshops signed up for online -  Catching up on my Blog reading I found a link for Find Your Voice - details can be found here - and Passport to Art - info can be found here - on Gallo Organico. My thanks to Rinda for posting the links

•  3. 5 days with our eldest daughter. I worry about her being alone - - and this first anniversary was even more of a worry. Anyway she came to stay for a long weekend and we got through together. We even managed a couple of lovely outings - to The Sound and to Milntown so I am hopeful that the weekend felt more like a short break than holding each other up - metophorically speaking. 

• 4 - Cards made and sent - I am not much of a cardmaker these days but did have fun playing with scraps and was very happy with this card made for the Happy Couple

 

for whom I made --

• 100 + - Rainbow Flutterings - - of paper butterflies - Die cut and assembled as table "confetti" for my friends daughter's wedding day next month. They are larger than traditional table confetti - as they are cut from Memory Box dies - - and I hope the happy couple are pleased with them and that they add the required "Rainbow" to the tables at the Wedding Breakfast. Making them got me through a very difficult anniversary - - and I will be for ever grateful to K & A for giving me a happier event to focus on. I can't give an exact number since I forgot to count them before I gave them to K & A.

 11 - The number of days consecutive sunshine I actually took note of - - June has been a beautiful month for us here on my island and I have had some 15 different "outings".
June is a popular month for activities on my island - not only do we have the Annual Tourist Trophy event - (perhaps more familiarly known as TT Week) when our island is invaded - in the nicest possible way - by Bikers and their sometimes very beautiful machines; but the Mannanan Music Festival, The Queenie Festival, The Laxey Victorian Extravaganza and The Hidden Gardens of Port Erin all going on but also have new or "one time only" events to be apart of; including An Evening with Anton & Erin (think Strictly Come dancing), A 1940's Tea Dance  (Fancy Dress anyone??) and A Cheese & Wine Evening. And of course - I still have my usual social activities of a weekly visit to our bar of choice, a lunch date at said bar/restaurant and my crafty get togethers with friends

- - so this month I/we have used

• 16 tickets costing me some £240 - - written down it looks to be SUCH a huge expense! C'est la vie!

All in all - I seem to have collected rather a lot of memories together this month - - in spite of how very hard it was to get by on some days. I do also want to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you  - from the bottom of my heart - to those of you who have left so very many kind and thoughtful words and comments in connection with my first "number" on this post. You will never ever know just how much they have meant to me and have often felt like a hug of encouragement. The "WWW" is a wonderful community  and am very grateful for this world of online friends from around the globe.

Thanks for stopping by
'til later

Bannghtyn, J x

A Month in Numbers - May 2013

Julie runs her Month in Numbers series on Notes on Paper each month and has done for a couple of years - over that time, I have read many interesting posts from fellow "bloggers" who link up with Julie and last month I was tempted to join in myself, so wrote my first post - - I had some pretty special numbers I really wanted to remember  from April 2013.

I wasn't sure there would be any numbers to record for May - but to my surprise I have found myself making the odd note of a few numbers - unusual for me anyway, as my real passion is words!!.

• 1 Swap - -  

Participated in - - only a small step but since I seem to have had no heart for so much, significant I feel - - so a big Thank You to this lovely lady for organising it. 

• 3 - Books read - -

Reading has been something I have found difficult to maintain my concentration on this last year, so to regain some pleasure in it whilst on holiday has been a surprise. I read Attention All Shipping, Miss Garnet's Angel and The Night Circus whilst on the narrowboat we spent a week on, along with my sister-in law and her family.  I hope it means a return of my pleasure in reading, as the last book I finished was How Far to Bethlehem? at Christmas, and that was one I have read before.

• 3 - "Heirloom albums"  - -

(My friends description) completed alongside my friends who come along to share Crafting at the Cottage with me each week since January. We have worked together on different projects - me sometimes sharing techniques I have picked up in my years crafting to help my less experienced friends. I have so much enjoyed it, not only their company,  but the sharing aspect of our weekly get-together. It seems R----, C----, L------, P------ and K--- also think it fun - so we start a new project together when I return from holiday - with the addition of a new friend joining us - A----- , a new member at Craft Club. Crafting with these ladies from Craft Club has really helped to fill some of the huge hole I still have in my life , and for that I am truly grateful. These are my albums (all inspired by this lady) - all now awaiting the photos to arrive - one for each of my daughters and one for my sister. The photos - when they arrive - are all vintage pictures of the females in our family.

• 17 - Radish seedlings  

All sprouting and looking healthy! I am a somewhat inept gardener - a "stick it in and hope for the best" kind of girl - the first time I have ever planted anything other than flowers in my tubs and pots and I have certainly never planted vegetables from seed before! Trying to grow a few vegetables in our cottage garden was something I hoped to be able to do with my Ben - that wasn't to be, sadly - but  I made the decision to have a go anyway - I have planted beans, lettuce and other salad leaves - which are all sprouting - but the radishes were the only seeds in a separate pot that I could count!

• 27 -Years together

I can't quite figure out where those years have gone - 27 years?? and think "how did that happen then, our wedding was only yesterday!"And I cannot express how much he means to me without sounding really like some teenage girl experiencing her first "crush".

• 70 Feet

Above the valley floor crossing the Pontcysyllte Aquaduct!

• 460 yards 

The length of Chirk Tunnel on the Llangollen Canal, which we travelled down in a narrowboat as part of our holiday last week. Only a single boat width - it is fortunate that you can see if there is already a boat in the tunnel before you set off!

To find all the details of A Month in Numbers - and maybe join the "number crunchers" yourself - hop along to Julie's blog to link up - I know from my own experience she will give you a very warm welcome.

'til later,

Bannaghtyn, Jen x

A Month in Numbers ???? - - -

- - this is my first time linking up with Julie's (of Notes on Paper) Month in Numbers, and I wasn't sure I actually had enough items I could genuinely count - - but this month I have some very important numbers to remember, so it did seem like a good time to join in. So this April I seem to have been surprisingly busy - - -
So I begin with

• 1 iPhone

My daughter's finally dragged me into the 21st century by persuading me to get a new smart phone -I am now the proud owner of an iPhone. Not that I have much skill in using it yet, I have sent some very odd texts as to start with I was a bit useless using the keypad!!
On a creative level - -

• 2 - Birthday Albums --- two good friends reached their half century this month, so handcrafted gifts were called for.

• 2 - Craft Club meetings  --- alongside our regular monthly meeting we had one of our two all day craft class days --- and this time it was my turn to find and teach a new project for our group

• 3 - Cards including this one for my youngest daughter's birthday 
  

• 14  - Amazing young people who all took a huge leap of faith by Bungee Jumping off the Transporter Bridge in Middlesbrough - to raise awareness of Mental Ill-health and raise funds for Rethink

• 17 - Kind and generous young people who not only invited me along but made sure I didn't feel out of place at the Bungee Jump weekend

• £475.50 - Raised by my girl for Rethink Mental Health in the UK - she has made me so proud of her!

• £534.76 - Raised for local Mental Health groups from a Gig night organised in my son's "local". All the bands gave their time for free - and made it a great evening for all who went along.

• £2670.50- Raised by the Bungee for Ben Team for Rethink Mental Health Charity in the UK

They still don't know how much in total they have raised from their sponsorship forms as they are still collecting in the funds - - this group of my son's friends have grown into young men and women I feel honoured to know - and am so very deeply touched by how much my son meant to them all.

So you see - these are really important numbers  - and so this time I was compelled to link up with the delightful Julie. Thanks so much for dropping in, it really is good to see you my friends - - - to know you all still think of me occasionally is a very special gift I have been doubly grateful for this last year - do you have any numbers  to share? Hop over to Julie's blog for full details - the link's in her name

'til later
Bannaghtyn, Jen  xxx