Happy Birthday Mama Turtle!

A little while ago, American Deb sent out some teal coloured wristbands with 'strings attached'.  She asked that today, those people who received them, showed our support to her mum by dedicating a post to her.  So, firstly - HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARTI - hope you are having a special day with your family.
Deb suggested that we share something regarding an experience we've had concerning cancer in our families or friends and so with that in mind, I have made a layout of a rare picture of my sister, me and my mum.  We weren't a great photo taking family so this was a real find!

I'm guessing I was about 16 in this photo which would date it at around 1974.  We were at my cousin's wedding and as you can see, hats were very much in vogue at the time, and the bigger the brim, the better!  Mum was not a great hat wearer and much deliberation went into choosing one which she felt suited her. I remember her quoting an advertising slogan 'If you want to get ahead, get a hat' on many shopping expeditions.  Trust me, there were many shopping trips before she found one she liked ......
My family's experience of cancer relates to my mum, who died in 1997 at the age of 76.  She was not ill for long, as unbeknown to us, she also had an aortic aneurysm which was not discovered until she was scanned for the cancer.  I still remember that feeling of shock and disbelief when her diagnosis was made and that is why my heart goes out to Deb and her family.  I know that they are loving and supportive and will do all they can to give her mum the strength to fight this horrible disease.  I send them my love and hopes that the treatment will be successful and that Marti will be one of the success stories.  I have taken part in the Cancer Research 'Race for Life' 5k runs three times now and it is such a wonderful, emotional experience to see all those running in 'Survivor' hats.  Let us hope that it will not be too long before Marti can call herself a survivor too.  Let's all raise a glass to her:

A day in the life ...

That was my day in pictures - here's the link to all the others that are taking part!

http://www.shimelle.com/paper/1005/my-day-in-photos/

Zumba!

I am typing up this post with a feeling of uncertainty in my bones.  My friend Lynda has asked me to go to a Zumba class with her tonight and whilst I wasn't keen, she gave me that look - you know the one, 'I really want to go but I don't want to go on my own.  And we didn't have our normal exercise class on Monday as it was Bank Holiday and we've been eating lots of chocolate and we could do with a bit of exercise and it'll be fun and ....'
So I gave in.  At the time it was a week away but now it's tonight.  It's 15 mins time actually and I'm still not in my exercise clothes ..... Can you tell I'm not keen?
I've been busy taking photos today in line with Shimelle's prompt yesterday.  It was a busy old day, what with it being the first day back at school after the Easter break.  Lots of work to catch up on and lots of new jobs to do.  Countdown to GCSE exams is on, first one on May 16th so the exams office is mega busy.   So busy in fact, that I forgot to take pictures on a regular basis but I've got a few in the camera now.   There will, however, be NO pictures in evidence of me at Zumba.  Absolutely not.  I've done Zumba once before and vaguely remembering saying 'I'm too old for this - never again'. 
Has anyone else out there tried Zumba?  Or any other dance related exercise class?  I enjoy Salsa and I've even been known to do a class or two of belly dancing (even have a belly dance skirt with the coins on to prove it!)  Hey ho, can't put off the evil moment any longer - need to get dressed and ready to go - wish me luck .....

The Monday after the Sunday before

Well, Easter Sunday went by in a whirl of sunshine, chocolate, cooking, eating, Prosecco and relaxing with family.  It really was a lovely day.  Isn't it amazing how sunny days can just change everyone's moods and enthusiasm?  So now onto Easter Monday and Round Two.  Today we have my in laws over for lunch, they are really quite elderly now so it will be a much more sedate day today.  Fortunately, I made way too much dessert yesterday and there is plenty to have again today without me retreating back to the kitchen.  I had cooked slow roast shoulder of lamb with pomegranate seeds and mint for dinner yesterday (that's a recipe for another day!) and there is even leftovers from that so we will be having good old Shepherd's Pie today, as that is especially lovely when made with roasted lamb that you have minced up yourself.  Good comfort food.
But today I am going to be sharing a dessert recipe on my brand new recipe page, it's for Bailey's Cheesecake with Raspberry Coulis and it's a perfect dinner party dessert: easy to make, can be done in advance, tastes scrummy.  Ticks all the boxes.  Try it and let me know what you think!

A tale of two Easters

The weather in England is nothing if not unpredictable -

 Easter 2008

Easter 2011

How can we possibly go from thick snow in 2008 to blazing hot sunshine in 2011?  We are having better weather than Portugal and Spain!  Looks like it may be Easter Sunday lunch in the garden tomorrow.

I do like to be beside the seaside

Today has been another day of glorious wall to wall sunshine and so to make the most of it, we packed up a picnice and set off for our annual day out to the local seaside:

Frinton is such a lovely old fashioned seaside town.  At beach level, all you have is sand, a promenade and a variety of beach huts.  No ice cream kiosks or shops selling tourist items.  Consequently, all children on the beach are busy digging, playing ball games, paddling, or building sandcastles.  No whining about wanting lollies or sculptures made out of shells or plastic bits and bobs.  There is a town there too, but it is so very uncommercialised and quaint.  We've been going there for years now, and it's an annual event.  You park up along the road, and there is a large grassy area, perfect for a kick about with a football or game of cricket if the tide is in and you are waiting for the sand to reappear.  Then it's a long windy walk down to the beach.  As the children are all grown up and our visits are now as a couple rather than a family, we give the football and cricket a miss and just sit down and have a picnic whilst looking out to sea.

It's been a lovely day and I've just got home and had a look at the prompt for today. 

I was interested in the ideas for how to photograph layouts as there is one that I am going to be publishing soon that I wanted to show a little sneak peak.  Deb over at Paper Turtle sent me a teal wristband to wear in support of her mum's cancer diagnosis.  It was a 'Giveaway {with strings attached}'.  The 'strings attached' were to post something appropriate on her mum's birthday which is 29 April, and I have made a layout to go with the story that I will be sharing.  Want to see a sneak peek?  Check these out:

I'm especially excited about the frilly bit of the layout.  It's made with Tim Holtz Tissue Tape and I just love this product, I can see it popping up on many a layout in the near future!

Do you have a favourite product at the moment?

Silly Moo

I live in a town of contrasts.  We have ancient buildings and historical landmarks.  We also have a modern shopping centre.  We are on the cusp of two counties and we have a major London airport within 12 miles.  I live on a relatively modern housing estate, yet if walk 5 minutes from my house I am in the middle of the countryside.  If I drive 2 miles in one direction I reach a busy motorway, if I drive 2 miles in the opposite direction I am heading off down quiet, leafy country lanes where only one lane of traffic can go a time and you have to keep an eye out for passing places in case you meet a car coming in the opposite direction.
Today the sun was shining and I headed off into the countryside to go to lay some Easter flowers on my parents' graves.  As I drove down the lanes, I passed a house that always makes me smile.  Well it's not the house, it's the garden ornament:

This concrete cow is always dressed up appropriate for the time of year or public holiday, it's a real landmaark around here so I thought I would share. 

Hey there, Daisy May, are you ready for your close up?