Hootings of an owl

Abandoned

2011-02-01T22:01:00.000Z

My love for Blipfoto is so great that I have no time for Blogger. 100 days of blipping have passed and they've been such fun. If you'd like to join me I'd love to see you there.

Happy Birthday

2010-11-22T00:09:00.000Z

A lot of people say they like driving. I like the ability to drive. Knowing that when my daughter is at a concert at night I can fetch her at 10 pm, despite the rain and the cold, and know she is safe.

Or I can take my car to go to a city centre church when my own church is up for sale.

Or I can go here and there, coincidentally looking for my daily blip.

All of which is a suggestion of why, despite my blog being five years old today, it barely gets any attention from me. But I am glad I've got it.

It's in the post

2010-11-09T13:42:00.000Z

The Philatelic Bureau used to be based at the main Waterloo Place Post Office in Edinburgh, at the end of Princes Street. That was in the days when a car could drive along Princes Street and trams were in the past. It was easy to go to the Post Office and buy the latest "pretty" stamps. I used to enjoy First Day Covers and collected them for years.

Then the Waterloo Place PO was sold (allegedly too cheaply) and the Philatelic Bureau moved, I had given Jonathan the Classic Album Covers stamps in hope but he put them up on his wall as too beautiful to use. So I bit the bullet and ordered some from the Philatelic Bureau (it's the cost of post and packaging I don't like!) and browsed through their catalogue. I like writing letters and I do enjoy putting an interesting stamp on the envelope. It's rare that I receive a pretty one back, mind you, so many folk like the self-adhesive boring ones. But I can dream. And when the price of stamps goes up again next year I'll probably have a few in hand.

Today's word in NaNoJouMo is nicely appropriate. One of the best ways of forging a friendship is by letter writing, and blog commenting isn't far behind. There's no virtue, though, in saying that, at this moment, Dawn is linking to my blog and I face with equanimity the fact that I may be late for my next meeting. But maybe all these references are too esoteric!

Saturday interlude

2010-11-07T02:19:00.000Z

I like windows!

The top of CEMC

I was going to a talk this afternoon in Nicolson Square but I went into town earlier with Alice. I enjoyed wandering around St Andrews Square with my camera.

The Portrait Gallery

I was wondering how long this name will survive

Desolation on the north side


The Royal Bank of Scotland!

Earth Tongues

2010-11-04T23:21:00.002Z

I took my blipfoto of these toadstools first thing this morning, not realising it was going to rain all day again. I came home from work (and a little ball dress reconnoitring with Alice) in the dark so no more outdoor photography.

I don't really know much about mycology but Google took me to two interesting keys to help me to track down my toadstool and discover they are Geoglossum I think. Earth tongue is very descriptive when you see a mass of them from the window, but they look different close up.

The word for today was quarter. Perhaps I could say I've spent a quarter of my day on or around my computer. Definitely not a waste of time: I've learnt a lot about toadstools, found out about Stephen Leacock because of this blip and discussed various houses near my mother's house (where I grew up) while referring to Google Street View. I do like the internet!

Which wash day?

2010-11-03T22:50:00.001Z

"They that wash on Monday
Have all the week to dry;
They that wash on Tuesday
Are not so much awry;
They that wash on Wednesday
Are not so much to blame;
They that wash on Thursday,
Wash for shame;
They that wash on Friday,
Wash in need;
And they that wash on Saturday,
Oh ! they are sluts indeed."

I have a friend who took early retirement and became the househusband. He told me what he did on which day. I was surprised when he said he washed the towels on Thursdays.

Now, I will admit that, when I was a little girl, wash day was Monday, but that was when washing machines had to be watched and the spinning done in a separate machine.

Nowadays a sunny, blowy day just begs for the towels to be washed. By good fortune there was no rain today.

Laura Ingalls Wilder explained which chore should happen on which day:

"Wash on Monday,
Iron on Tuesday,
Mend on Wednesday,
Churn on Thursday,
Clean on Friday,
Bake on Saturday,
Rest on Sunday."

I don't imagine she would approve of my waiting for a blue moon!

After a storm

2010-11-02T15:06:00.005Z

Yesterday evening the rain started and was soon horizontal in the fierce wind.

This morning the rain stopped after Alice went to school and the sun came out.

I thought it would be worthwhile putting out the washing

But the rain returned before I came back after coffee with two friends. So I made the wrong choice of clothes line!

More photographs

2010-11-01T23:11:00.002Z

I have become hooked on Blipfoto and it's fun each day to choose a single photo. However, some days the decision is hard. Here are two of today's possibilities, from Mary's garden.

It was a gorgeous sunny morning, but it began to rain after 3 and the evening was stormy, with very heavy rain and much wind. This didn't affect us as Monday night means University Challenge and Only Connect. Of course tea carefully coincided with Pointless.

I'm toying with doing NaNoJouMo. In which case inceptionwould apply to the beginning of my love affair with daily photography and blipfoto.

Blipfoto

2010-10-27T22:55:00.001+01:00

I'm often impressed by people's daily photos for Project 365 but, since I don't remotely blog daily, I've never got involved. However, now having found http://www.blipfoto.com, which is not only British but Scottish and open to anyone to use, I'm now looking for inspiration. Do have a look at blipfoto.
I'm really delighted with it.

Cup cakes

2010-10-25T00:10:00.000+01:00

Helena on the blog hop has reminded me of my daughter's baking to take to her English class to celebrate her 16th birthday. She had a fine time with food dye.

This was before she discovered her wheat sensitivity but that hasn't curbed her baking enthusiasm.

Thank you to everyone who has left a comment

2010-10-24T20:57:00.000+01:00

Today has been very busy and I haven't had much chance to go blog hopping but I hope to be able to visit everyone tomorrow. I did take a few moments off when I saw the lovely sunset.

It's going to be a cold night.

Let's Eat ...

2010-10-24T09:00:00.004+01:00

When I joined Amy's blog hop it didn't occur to me that it would happen at the end of half term. So I haven't got any photos or other artwork. However, you are most welcome.

I was horrified the other day when my husband said that mince was my signature dish. I'd heard the phrase and thought it had a far posher image. I was also shocked my husband knew the phrase. However, I suspect it's true.

When I was in the sixth year at school my mother thought if I took over the family baking it would improve my speed during Physics practicals (following a comment on my report!) and so I baked every Friday night, listening to Desert Island Discs which I'm sure was at night in the 70s. I rarely cooked a meal. I'd far rather read a book and wait for my parents (more often my father) to concoct something delicious.

At university I didn't need to cook but when I got a flat of my own I started to experiment. I liked doing roasts and lots of vegetables but the easiest meal involved mince, a tin of tomatoes and tomato puree, chopped peppers and mushrooms, some stock and any herbs. Leave it to simmer, cook some potatoes or pasta and you've got a tasty meal for family or friends.

If you would like a recipe here's one for wheat-free chocolate cake. My mother found the original version in a magazine at the hairdresser's and we've used it for birthday cakes for decades. This year I adapted it for my newly wheat-sensitive daughter:

6 oz butter
6 oz caster sugar
3 eggs
6 oz gluten free SR flour
2 level tbsp drinking chocolate
mixed with 1 tbsp warm water
4tbsp milk (leave this out if using ordinary SR flour but add 1.5 tsp baking powder to the flour)

Bake in a fan oven at about 160 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes

I use a handheld mixer to mix everything but I do it in stages, creaming the butter and sugar, mixing in the beaten eggs then the chocolate mixture, and finally the flour. Cook it in two tins but it will not rise as much as a conventional cake.

Now let's visit the delightful Mel whose recipe blog is wonderful.

Me: The Abridged Version

2010-07-25T23:35:00.000+01:00

Having heard that paperclipping is giving a discount on classes at Big Picture Scrapbooking I thought I would look at the Me: The Abridged Version class.

Mellow yellow

2010-06-26T14:56:00.000+01:00

Shimelle suggested taking a photo and doing something with it. I liked the yellow cones blocking a small road beside our house for resurfacing and photographed it recently. I rarely "do anything" with photos other than store them on my pc. So I decided to do some cropping and here's the result.

Now we have a pretty road with white paint beside us.

Creativity Boot Camp

2010-05-26T21:44:00.000+01:00

When I first read about the Boot Camp I thought I didn't have the time. Then it occurred to me that was exactly the reason why I should try to fit some regular creativity into my day. So I've joined up with Maegan and we'll see what happens!

BTW Thank you to everyone who commented on the It's All About Me post. It's lovely to read all the comments and to visit your blogs.

It's All About Me and a blog hop

2010-05-22T06:00:00.001+01:00

The lovely Mel suggested another blog hop, this time using the It's All About Me project from Big Picture Scrapbooking. It didn't sound too difficult so I signed up and started thinking. The first ingredient was to be an accordion book in a tin. I had a tin I'd painted years ago and I tried folding wallpaper samples to fit.

But one day I was flicking through Cover to Cover and remembered a favourite type of folded book.

With three cuts a wallpaper sample can become a 16 page booklet

I spent so much time thinking and planning the book that I nearly ran out of time making the book. So I've been photographing it in artificial light in the early hours of Saturday. But I hope you get the idea of It's All About Elizabeth before you go on to visit Helena.

The first of my quotes "We are the musicmakers, We are the dreamers of dreams". The other page has an envelope with some journalling about maths.

A selection from my many tapes and brads, beside an allusion to my favourite shop.

When I was young autumn was my favourite month, now it's spring as I eagerly look for signs of green on the trees, longer days and (slightly) warmer temperatures. The sea thrills me, especially when the sun is rising over the Isle of Rum.

All being well 2010 will see improvements to a few of our rooms. (This is our first home and we were married in 1983.) So our bathroom is not my favourite place but I love taking a bath, and I like the colour turquoise, so this would be a happy place for me.The other picture represents something I do nearly every day. We love vegetables (being omnivores) and they steam very well in the microwave (which is an absolute essential in my life).

Two pleasures: origami and coffee or

..... what I'd do given some spare time.

How would I describe me in three words?

And colour makes me happy.

The second quote is "I am, yet what I am none cares or knows" and I love words and dictionaries.

Do I have a collection? Yes, several, but my button collection goes back to before I was born.

Thank you for exploring my book with me. I wish I'd had the time to crop and tidy up the pictures but I can already hear the dawn chorus. Now let's go and see what Helena has done, and many thanks to Mel for the inspiration.

2010-05-21T21:33:00.000+01:00

House Party Blog Hop

2010-05-02T03:00:00.001+01:00

I was excited when my envelope of bits came from Rinda to make a house. I had looked at several of her houses and had had some ideas, none of which matched the oriental theme of the envelope. Because the girl's boyfriend was coming for tea I had cleared the dining table of my craft bits so, after they had gone out, I was able to set everything out and see what inspiration I got. One piece of patterned paper had curves on it which made me think of curtains, I trimmed the ladies and used Rinda's hint about the ribbon. I looked through my stamps and found a Ma Vinci one of calligraphy. An eBay purchase of a crane transformed the maroon card and I could use something from my metal stash. I was in the mood for a quote from Ode by Arthur O'Shaughnessy (the poem that begins "We are the music makers, And we are the dreamers of dreams"). Lo and behold I had a house.

Quite amazingly, I had begun something and finished it in one day.

Now I'd like you to hop over to Amy to visit her house. I've been keeping a page of her blog open in my TooManyTabs for ages because it reminded me to make origami boxes. Thank you for visiting me. Do come back: I might possibly be going to blog my buzz of recent card making!

My wordle

2010-03-25T23:51:00.001Z

I like "punched flower" and "excellent think day" but not "I died" and I'm not sure about "terrible craft circles". However, I frequently "virtually bought book"!

YES

2010-03-25T22:50:00.000Z

A very enjoyable evening at the Young Enterprise awards. The girl's company didn't win any awards but their presentation came third, I think, and the refreshments donated by M&S and Waitrose were excellent.

A flower

2010-03-24T23:06:00.000Z

I was wrapping a present two weeks ago and saw the flower I'd punched from newsprint. It reminded me of this flower of Clair's so I punched a couple of circles and rummaged in my metal stash. The card was from the offcuts I bought at Craft Creations and I finished it off with my beloved corner punch. It justified buying the scalloped circle punch when I was in Glasgow. I repeated the idea when I was giving a basket of hyacinths to a friend of my in laws whose husband had died.

Journalling

2010-03-24T22:08:00.009Z

I am a terrible procrastinator. Instead of doing a page in my journal I read blogs or dream. So today I checked out Blogger and then I made a few pages. Here's the first. It was night time so the picture is not brilliant. There are four stickers on it so it fits the Something from Almost Nothing prompt for today.

Poems

2010-02-14T22:14:00.002Z

One of the wonders of the internet is that I can read the review of a book on a blog, check it out on Amazon if necessary, then reserve it, virtually, at my local library. A few days ago I went to pick up some books and was attracted by some little cards at the desk. I picked one up, then collected lots. I found out it was all about carrying poems. Later I emailed the website to say how I carry my poems. I was thrilled to find my entry was on the blog the next day.

How do you carry yours?

Guilt

2010-02-14T19:48:00.002Z

I'm feeling very guilty. I regularly read blogs, but I've not added anything to my blog for years. Now that Mel's put a link on her blog I think I must make an effort. It might help my creativity as well!

Journal Your Christmas

2008-11-29T17:57:00.004Z

Last year I enrolled for Shimelle's class but got no further than downloading each day's prompt. The delight of her class is that each further year is free so I have enrolled again this year and hope actually to journal this time. It's certainly fun looking at everybody else's work!

I'm Balanced, Secure and Realistic

2008-10-23T23:55:00.001+01:00

http://www.helloquizzy.com/tests/what-your-taste-in-art-says-about-you-test

Balanced, Secure, and Realistic.

5 Impressionist, 5 Islamic, -9 Ukiyo-e, -6 Cubist, -3 Abstract and -14 Renaissance!

White chunky book page

2007-02-23T20:05:00.000Z

The theme for February's chunky book page was white and I managed to cut out a tree from paper. I still worry it looks like a six fingered hand! The quote is from Robert Frost. I like getting art with buttons from other people so I hope mine stay on.

Second chunky pages

2007-01-19T22:21:00.000Z

I didn't get the monthly challenge in the post today so I decided to do another page as an apology. I stamped the first butterflies using a water soluble ink on a single thickness of napkin and then used diluted pva to glue it on the stamped background. This blurred the image a bit. On the reverse I used a layer of paper towel with a dimpled surface and stamped the butterflies with a chalk ink. I stamped another butterfly using a mask followed by a postage stamp (if you see what I mean) on plain paper and glued that on, using the blue tinted pva. I "painted" it with the pva several times to add to the texture and the blue tint. Now I can put it in the post.

Monthly chunky book challenge

2007-01-18T23:45:00.000Z

My page for the challenge on ANUK. The suggested theme was friends, I had napkins to hand and Valentine's Day materials. I'm back on doing packing tape transfers and tried rubbing them with matt acrylic medium to remove the shine - and it worked.

Beginnings Resolutions ATCs

2007-01-17T10:49:00.000Z

My three ATCs for the swap on ANUK. I resolve to try new techniques, be on time, use existing materials and keep on communing with my frogs.

My planet

2007-01-17T10:37:00.000Z

I don't like to put out packaging for recycling if I think it should be used again. Hence this cardboard pizza base from Waitrose with Golden acrylics became "my planet".

Creative journey

2007-01-17T10:00:00.000Z

The fourth challenge on Creative Journey was to use the polystyrene base from a pizza with one's theme. I drew out a daisy with a pencil, then used the rounded end of the pencil to impress the area I didn't want to print. I used two ink pads (Impress) in crimson and pansy to make prints, over printing the crimson one with pansy. I also printed the first crimson one onto a piece of board and printed with that.

Then I drew another daisy on the reverse side of the polystyrene. I don't like the patterning for the daisy but I've made some lovely graphic designs of stamps with it and am pleased with them.

Finally, and favourite, I used three diluted shades of blue acrylic paint and painted onto the first stamp. Although I'd washed it there was still some crimson ink which blended with the wet paint. I shall definitely use this stamp with paint again.

Holiday postcards

2006-11-02T19:32:00.000Z

My postcards for the ANUK postcards on a holiday theme. Maria had given me lots of ephemera from her Majorcan holiday and it was fun to select items. I love coffee so there was a lot of references, mainly sugar bags.

Laura's quote 3

2006-10-24T23:00:00.000+01:00

Picasso's quote about money, a fun doodle and a 1966 penny and ha'penny. This reflects Laura's 40th birthday and her return to accountancy. It's also an allusion to my first day of doing Treasurer business for the Parents' Association. I wrote a cheque for over £5000 amongst other things.

Laura's quote 2

2006-10-24T22:41:00.000+01:00

Laura once gave me a poem by Robert Graves in a deco so there's a transfer of it on the LH page and his quote that there's no money in poetry on the RH page. But there's real money behind it!

Laura's quote 1

2006-10-24T22:37:00.000+01:00

My first spread in Laura's quotes book. Oscar Wilde finishes "now that I am old I know that it is." This is not necessarily the view of the artist.

WIP2

2006-10-24T16:18:00.000+01:00

Here's another bit of process enjoyment. I wanted a background for a Picasso quote so I doodled in pencil. I wanted to outline in a waterproof pen so used a Faber Castell PITT pen. The desired thickness came from a brush tip - which I enjoyed so much I started colouring in some shapes. This meant I used pens instead of pencils and I wet the red shapes as well. Very pleasurable.

WIP

2006-10-24T14:33:00.000+01:00

There's been a shortage of art here for the last week, due to holiday and family, but last night I got out this page, a pill bottle, a black ink pad (waterproof) and my WHS watercolour crayons. I gessoed the page and then my mother phoned, for a while. That meant I had to phone my sister, for a longer while, and then it was bedtime. When I went to the book today I wondered what I was supposed to do. The crayons must have meant I was to colour in the rings when I had made them with the pill bottle, and the waterproof ink meant I intended to wash the colouring, but then what? I love the zing of the colours as they change from crayon to paint, it's like the excitement of a magic painting book on a wet day when I was little. Now I want the "ping" of an answer to What Next.

Failure/success at something else

2006-10-11T23:46:00.000+01:00

I'm failing in the challenge to do a daily page in my art journal, though I have done a few backgrounds and thought out what to put on them. However, this is because of being busy with Parents' Association business. I was honoured, a month ago, to be asked to be Chairperson. I graciously said no thank you as I know I'm too immature (at 48!) but I volunteered to be Treasurer instead and suggested a superb person for Chair. Last night was the AGM and we were unopposed. I think we will make a nice team.

While not producing any art I have done a lot of thinking about it, and where and how I do it, and I expect to make changes after half term, hopefully with good results.

Daily art journal

2006-10-04T15:40:00.000+01:00

It's all very well doing some art every day, but where's the time for photographing it and then waiting ages for Blogger to upload?

Feel balanced

2006-10-04T15:32:00.000+01:00

This is definitely tongue in cheek.

Feel inky

2006-10-04T15:13:00.000+01:00

I finally was able to buy isopropyl alcohol locally so I made up some ink sprays and played with them. The idea of the alcohol is fast evaporation but everything got rather wet here. It was nice to play but not highly successful. The back of the page actually looks better! If a journal is a document of life then this shows what I was at on Tuesday.

Feel blue

2006-10-04T15:07:00.000+01:00

Having gessoed a page white, it was natural to paint a black page. Once again, something in the newspaper caught my eye: monkeys at the zoo who were afraid of blue face paint. (That could be a problem in Edinburgh Zoo as the Scottish flag is commonly used in face painting.) It was looking stark until I thought Teesha and got out my Aquarelles

Feel sharp

2006-10-04T14:58:00.000+01:00

I love black and white. I knew what I was going to do here, then the newspaper I had laid down for protection had THE FACTS in black and white! So I changed my mind, sharpened up the act and got stamping.

Aspire

2006-10-04T14:50:00.000+01:00

Ideas for improvement.

Feel glad

2006-09-29T09:19:00.000+01:00

I'm about to pop in to a MacMillan coffee morning before going to work. It's being run by the daughter of a friend so I may only buy some tablet (made by my friend) and leave, therefore I've had a nice cup of coffee in my favourite mug. My mother was so glad of the support of MacMillan nurses a few years ago. (I think it's stopped raining.)

feel good

2006-09-28T23:44:00.000+01:00

Feeling so much better with tidiness all around me (and I didn't feel guilty getting things out to use). Alice and I went to a show tonight to raise money for MacMillan Cancer Support. It was very professional, with songs from various shows, and ended the first half on the high of Bat out of Hell. Lovely memories, so feeling really good!! (I had wondered about calling this page feel square, but I don't think I do!)

Feel untidy

2006-09-28T23:39:00.000+01:00

I'd got disorganised: no space on the dining table again, art materials all over the place again. Spent some of the day tidying and cleaning, before chauffeuring again.

Two missing days

2006-09-26T23:39:00.000+01:00

I made no art on Monday but posted my two RR books. We went to the 6th form production of King Lear at night, which was excellent: I am amazed at how word perfect they were. They all spoke with meaning, in the round. I'd never seen it or studied it so I was interested as well as moved.

Today I've been out with a friend: my creative side was thrilled with coffee in The Dome, originally bank headquarters, with lots of marble, a huge high domed roof, wonderful light and palms (and good coffee and a refill), watched dd rowing, and caught up with various things. So I'm failing the art journal challenge, though I did prepare a page before going out.

Everyday book

2006-09-25T08:57:00.000+01:00

The task this time was sun-bleached colours and the seaside. The blue sprayed paper by Maz was just wonderful, weaved with a distressed copy of e e cummings poem and two mini origami boats.

Quote book

2006-09-25T08:39:00.000+01:00

Quote from Robert Frost about shooting stars in Linda's book. I used watercolour pencils and the blue changed with water from what I had intended.

Feel fair - gosh the 6th daily page already

2006-09-25T00:49:00.000+01:00

Harvest festival with our "new" mnister. Lorna and I were asked to do an activity on Fair Trade and food miles so the group stuck food labels from all over the world onto a map. Thought provoking. Some interesting web sites for calculating food miles and finding food in season. We were surprised how quickly it was all over.

Then a combination of art, Dr Who and Jane Eyre.

Feel warm

2006-09-23T23:06:00.000+01:00

A garden near Edinburgh, a September afternoon.

Feel safe

2006-09-22T21:47:00.000+01:00

Inspired by two news items today. Enough said.

Feel organised

2006-09-21T19:34:00.000+01:00

So organised: the spread is begun but is a work in progress, I'll finish it later! It doesn't photograph well in electric light.

Feel unique

2006-09-20T10:31:00.000+01:00

Feel unique: the lone pink boot. First I thought it was lonely, then my daughter said it was alone and confident, and today I realised it was unique, as we all are.

First page in feel art journal

2006-09-19T10:40:00.001+01:00

I decided to join Maz in her challenge to do a page in my art journal every day. I'm using a catalogue, called feel. I'd like to think this could be an altered journal about feelings. The first page was already attractive so I added a few more welcoming bits, or hints of an entrance hall. (And I'd be entranced by that suitcase and floor.) Despite the signs, I am not a pink person, but I can appreciate it.

Some more Everyday Book pages

2006-06-20T08:35:00.000+01:00

These are pages I have done in the past. A given word often suggests a poem to me, (Someone else's, I hasten to add.)

Distress inks

2006-06-20T08:09:00.000+01:00

I tried out my distress inks for the first time at the weekend and I'll use part of this A4 sheet to make my page in an Everyday book, using the colours of spice.

Sunny day

2006-04-05T09:52:00.000+01:00

It's a lovely sunny day, Easter holiday, and I'm giving Blogger another chance to upload a photo. It looks like my problem has been using Opera, my chosen browser, all the time. Internet Explorer worked first time.

Here's an envelope I made for a swap which is rather appropriate.

Photos or not

2006-03-23T09:39:00.000Z

I have several times tried to upload a photo but never manage it. The server for my blog was being replaced and apparently one of the problems had been with photos, but since I can get in again I assume that has been fixed. So, can anyone help?

Fun

2006-03-23T09:25:00.000Z

A sad day. Yesterday was our performance of Carmina Burana. The evening rehearsals have been such fun and the music was so good. For so many amateurs, many who had not sung since schooldays, we made a very good sound. It was nice to meet mothers from the Junior School, and the conductor, the director of music at the school, was a great thrill, so positive and encouraging. "That was fantastic." "If you could just look at me I'll try and help you." "When the men were singing I was watching a soprano who was singing away. If she had just looked at me she would have noticed!" He explained to the junior choir at the dress rehearsal that he would make eye contact with everyone so they must keep looking at him, and if he wasn't looking at them then he would be soon and it would be such a pity if they missed him. Wednesdays won't be the same again.

Snow on Sunday

2006-03-12T12:07:00.000Z

Instead of taking the first part of the service with Lorna and Fiona we have stayed at home. There is quite a blizzard here and I don't know whether we would have negotiated several hills successfully. J and A are enjoying the snow, while I am indulging in mailart and listening to Terence Stamp on Desert Island Discs.

Hobbycrafts

2006-03-10T01:53:00.000Z

Had a lovely day at Hobbycrafts show in Glasgow with Christine. We set off at 8 and got there just after it opened at 9.30. There were some interesting demonstrations and we made judicious purchases. I like my new envelope template best, but some stamps for less than a £1 were nice too. It was fun to play tonight, though I have totally lost my voice (so no choir).

Carmina Burana

2006-03-08T22:37:00.000Z

A gorgeous evening at the children’s school. At the Spring Concert there will be a performance of Carmina Burana and parents can join the chorus. We’ve got three rehearsals and they are such fun. It’s interesting to have a different conductor and different music from the church choir.

Daddy-Long-Legs

2006-03-08T00:53:00.000Z

One of my favourite books is Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster. I’ve reread it often. There’s a poem in it which I wanted to use in a Buttons deco. Judy says she doesn’t know who wrote. Thirty odd years after buying my copy of the book I Googled the poem. Lo and behold it’s by Emily Dickinson. I only know her from a poetry reading when I was a student on retreat in Iona Abbey and an American lady read a poem, including every dash, and then, of course, Paul Simon’s Dangling Conversation. Now I’ll have to study her. Tonight I looked up Jean Webster (real first name Alice) and discovered she died aged 40, of childbirth complications. Her mother was a niece of Mark Twain.

Knitting again

2005-11-29T23:49:00.000Z

I went to the seminar by Postwatch on the change to the mail system: pricing in proportion, I think. From next August we shall pay for post by size not weight. Two men spoke, in the Caledonian board room, and it was informative. I then shopped for an hour or so, including buying wool in John Lewis. This was very big wool and I have already made a hat for Alice.

Trial

2005-11-24T08:22:00.000Z

I am still trying to get used to Blogger. I think I have written an entry and it disappears in to the ether. So this is just a trial.

Handmade cards

2005-11-24T08:12:00.001Z

Since I bought several packs of charity cards this year I plan to make fewer cards myself, but I have already made a start. Actually, it's because I should be doing chores!

Hootings of an owl

2005-11-24T08:12:00.000Z

Hootings of an owl

Success

2005-11-22T21:50:00.000Z

I have spent five days (off and on) trying to remember my password for Blogger. Writing in Leslie's blog today I typed one and lo and behold it was correct. Now I must print out my Christmas card list and start to get organised for the Scout Post.