Sunny, wintery afternoon.

When in doubt, mention the weather! Why I struggle with the title is beyond me; maybe I should wait till after I write the blog? I have been catching up on my emails and trying again without success to upload cards onto the do-crafts site. Trying just makes my computer go mental and then I lose the Internet connection. I have regained my mojo but cannot prove it, except here!

This is a card I made a while ago following a template sent to me by Bernadette (berniebear) from the Magnolia magazine. It is so simple to make and has a certain wow factor when opened. I have made a couple more but have yet to photograph them. The Tilda is Tilda with Fall Flowers, coloured with Promarkers and mounted on a panel of scalloped card sent to me by Bernadette which I decorated with flowers and leaves punched from core-dinations card and various pearls and beads. The star was covered with Papermania double sided Christmas Paperpack paper.

It's lovely to use because each side co-ordinates.

This card is for my daughter Sian who loves peas and pea-related things. I thought she'd appreciate the joke and the digi-stamp is brilliant (Pollycrafts, I think)

I made this card using the Fat Cat digital stamp download offered in Issue 61 of papercraft essentials and the free papers it contained plus Liza's free digi 'merry' sentiment and my new eyelet setter. I was having a fiddle, as you can tell. The fat cats are really brilliant and great to colour up with the ever-faithful Promarkers.

The last couple of days have been busy. I took my mum to the Elderly Persons Mental Health Assessment unit on Thursday and the good news is she has been discharged after 30 months of assessment and no deterioration of her condition. Her memory loss problems are not indicative of Alzheimer's or dementia and so we are ecstatic. Between me and my sisters and Mum we manage the situation but my wish would be that Mum interacted more with people her own age as its hard to vent to your children or complain about them, which she needs to do - we are such bossy bitches! When we were coming away from the hospital to have a wee treat (a lunchtime snack in the cafe at Crafts 4 U 2 do - win,win for us both!) Mum said "What was I there for again?" I told her that she had memory problems and she replied "Do I?" which set us off giggling. Humour is such a relief especially when Mum still has it in her to have a laugh.

After our lunch at Fir Tree yesterday (I has the most delish mushrooms and roasted garlic on wholemeal toast) to which Morag had come as she had Friday off, we went to find Leigh Cat and Dogs Home. Morag is missing her dog Miles so much and her house is so empty that she is considering rescuing a dog. To me, if she is thinking that then she should go for it. I thought we'd have plenty time but had not reckoned on the heavy traffic on the East Lancs Road - we got there just in time to turn back as I had a doctors appointment to meet - looks like another gynie referral in the offing - so we are planning another expedition next week! It will be fatal if I am exposed to dogs - I will want to take them all home and Mr H will pack his bags - he has threatened to do so.......hmmmmm. No, don't be tempted H.

On that note I had better say cheerio before my daydreaming goes any further!

Hazel x

Still in Creative Limbo

Seriously, when I think back only a few weeks, I couldn't stop crafting and now it's as if I can't summon up the creative energy. I even went to Crafts 4 U 2 do, my local craft store and lifesaver and resorted to some Kanban toppers and shiny, swirly card just to give myself a boot up the not-inconsiderable backside. Oh, I made three cards but somehow it felt like cheating.

This card I made for my daughter Morgan and her fiance Mark. Decoupaged ski-ing teddy bears on Kanban card. Also added an insert inside since the embossed card is no good to write on. Just a simple card really - just to encourage me!

I made this card for Mr H just in case you think I love someone else! The third card is for someone who reads my blog so I am not going to spoil the occasion by uploading it.

And that was all she wrote! I got a nice wee freebie today from a giveaway from Practical Publishing International whose crafting mags I love. The contents are really to encourage children to craft so I will pass them to my great-nephew Niven along with some glue; my niece will be pleased!

I went out with Mum on Monday and did a bit of what my daughter calls "shit-shopping" in the pound shops which are so beloved of my aged parent. I have been asked to take a picture of one of the purchases that both me and Mum bought as a giggle and so here it is in all its splendour!

Yes, I have to cough to it, I bought a festive loo seat cover and took a photo so that Bernadette could have a laugh! I wish I'd cleaned up the bathroom before I snapped the seat cover but if we can't give enjoyment to our fellows then we have failed! This is a prime example of why Morgan calls it "shit-shopping" - you get home, unpack and go "Sh*t, why did I buy that?" Mum and I laughed so much when we saw them and it was only a quid! Actually, that is probably the whole ethos of pound shop shopping for me, things that make me laugh and amuse or appall others. My Grandad Niven used to take us to the joke shop down the Grassmarket when we were kids and he loved to encourage us to get joke items to play on Granny - things like plastic flies and fake poop - and I think that's where we get it from. Cheap, cheerful, funny and entertaining - my grandad would have loved pound shops! My husband was appalled and thinks I've gone daft, wasting a pound on a stupid gag! However you can also get some crafting items in pound shops so I can go in for serious bargains too.

Bernadette will remember that she sent me some crafty bits and told me that she'd got them from the Euro shop. I was so impressed - a shop where things are imported from Europe! When I told Mr H he howled with laughter and could barely stop long enough to tell me she'd been to their equivalent of the pound shop(she lives in Dublin) but I still feel that my version is best and if I ever go to Dublin I will make a point of going to the euro shops!

As you can tell Mr H is my anchor to the real world and sometimes a bucket of cold water! I couldn't do without him really.

I'm away to clean the bathroom and then make soup for lunch so cheerio for now,

Hazel xx

The middle-aged mind.

I have had another minor glitch with my computer, hence the lack of blog, but I think the secret might be to go on and get off quick before it can crash. Of course that's anthropomorphism only with electrics rather than animals. More than one person of my acquaintance has chuckled at my attitude that the computer has got it in for me! What they fail to understand is that I know it and I also know that it's me doing it to me. The more of a Jonah I think I am the more I become one - I'm confusing myself now. The point being that this is my coping strategy and it kinda works for me because I can talk nice and cajole and somehow it works. I think that anyone not female and not 50 or thereabouts wouldn't find this easy to grasp.

My mojo is slow to return but I put that down to reading. When I went'dark' Mr H introduced me to a Sci-fi series which he'd been keeping to himself and it is so good, I can't put it down. It's Fantasy genre to be more precise, "Shadows of the Apt" by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Mr H has 5 books in the series and is awaiting the 6th. We are a bit cautious about fantasy series' having engaged with the Robert Jordan 'trilogy' which has gone on for many more than 3 books and for years and we have just received the last book, co-authored as Mr J sadly passed away before completing it. Yes, I was rudely awakened early on Saturday morning by the man from Amazon who was delivering this huge final episode. Mr H didn't hear him and his excuse was that he had only ordered it the day before and didn't expect it and was going to tell me about it .....honest.

A sad piece of news was just relayed to me as I was typing this; my sister Morag just phoned to say that she had had to take her dog Miles to the vets and he had to be put to sleep and so she was terribly sad and upset. As was I since I was at the birth and helped to deliver Miles' siblings. He was the third generation of dogs which my sister had bred beginning with Dora, though Blanche to Miles. We had a pup from Dora's litter who we called Dash and he was a terrific family dog. Miles and his sibs were a mistake; Blanche got caught by a local, footloose mutt by the name of Lucky(!) and try as we might to separate them, Blanche got up the duff and had 6 live pups and 2 still born and me and my youngest daughter, Sian, helped her to whelp on the bathroom floor of my sisters flat in Marmion Road, Liverpool in February 1997. Morag had nipped out to find the vet but when she got back the event was nearly over except for Miles, the runt and pure white. Blanche was a golden retriever and had multi-hued offspring, thanks to Lucky, whose owner claimed he was a Tibetan terrier(!). Sian will be awfully upset when I tell her as she was so proud of herself that day!

Sad but a happy memory! And a note to end this blog with. Cheerio for now,

Hazel xx