ME ON MONDAY

I've been back home for a week now....and it's taken me till now to find my Blogging mojo again.

It's been a difficult and emotional couple of weeks, but by today I have managed to find the time and inclination to sit in the sun, in the shade of my new parasol:

The weekend?..... It's been mainly house tidying and cleaning, as my mum and sister arrive tomorrow for a few days. My sister came back from New Zealand about seven weeks ago and has spent all of that time either at hospital with dad or looking out for mum...she returns next week, and we felt that it would be good for the three of us to spend some R&R time in the sun. Mum is looking forward to it, but with mixed feelings, as it will be her first time here without dad; I am discovering that my mum is a very strong and resilient lady....I think I take after her...I hadn't realised quite how alike we were until these last few weeks and I'm grateful that I have seen this side of both of us.

Thank you to everyone who has been in touch in these last couple of weeks.....as always the Blogging community has been so supportive and caring!

Waving to the other Monday Wavers, spurred on by the lovely SIAN

Thanks for dropping by!
Take care of you
Alison xx

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ALWAYS IN MY HEART

OThe man who had held my hands and my heart all my life has been called home.....I only hope and pray that his grandson, who has waited almost 21 years to see him again, was waiting to welcome him.

Dad's 60th birthday

 

Ready to fly to Spain at Christmas...almost 21 years later

 

I'm heading to Scotland in a few hours and just wanted to thank you all for your thoughts and prayers during these past few months...I'll be back when I'm back.

 

Thanks for dropping by!

Take care of you

Alison xx

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ME ON MONDAY

Waving to you today from sunny California.....yes, you read it correctly! I am in San Jose with Craig.....a trip that I knew might be upcoming, but which I wasn't at all sure I should make, given the situation with dad.

In the end though, Craig decided I needed a break and booked for me to come over with him....so here I am, sitting in the sunshine outside Starbucks!

I'm still at the jetlag stage, but managed to sleep for a few more hours last night than the previous one so I'm feeling ALMOST human.

The weekend?.....I met up with Craig at Amsterdam Airport, spent around ten hours in the air (I had a window seat,which I like) during which time I read a book ( THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS by M R Carey; highly recommended by Kirsty and I thoroughly enjoyed it) and played Sudoku, as well as watching out said window- I am always amazed at how vast and empty Canada is as you fly over it. Between Passport Control, waiting for luggage and standing in the Car Hire queue,it was another three hours before we left the airport. Once Craig got the meetings he needed to organise set up, I was able to get in touch with RINDA and make arrangements to meet up with her on Wednesday ( so looking forward to that!)

As always, thank you all for your kind comments and promises of prayers and keeping us all in your thoughts ; there's no real change in dad, but then I'm not expecting there to be.

It's been a holiday weekend both sides of the Atlantic, so hope you've all had a great one!

Thanks for dropping by!
Take care of you
Alison xx

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ME ON MONDAY

A day late again, but this was me yesterday...still catching up with laundry after all my visitors of the last few weeks had left.

The weekend? I saw Kirsty and the boyfriend on their way back to the UK on Friday, spent some time pruning and weeding in the garden, visited MY LITTLE OLD LADY who has ended up in hospital after a bad fall, had a very pleasant lunch at a local restaurant with good friends on Sunday....and  finished my last Layout for my FIVE FAVOURITES for February..... I"m hoping to get the photograph taken of that tomorrow and then I'll share them with you.

We also had word last week  that, after having an MRI scan, the doctors were pretty sure that dad had gallstones...he had surgery today during which they removed two rather large stones without complications.... he is now in Recovery and we are all hoping and praying that he will be able to start eating again and  build some strength up.

Waving at SIAN (whose idea ME ON MONDAY was)... and her merry band of wavers - and of course YOU!

Thanks for dropping by!
Take care of you
Alison xx

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ME ON MONDAY....

...yes I do know it's Tuesday, but this WAS yesterday:

In one of our favourite shops...one I know that RUTH will recognise!

 

 

The weekend? It was a sudden decision to fly to Scotland, run up and down to hospital to visit dad ( who has, thankfully, now responded to treatment and is back at home), try to keep mum sane, meet the boyfriend (Kirsty's, not mum's ;) manage a quick coffee break with friends, drive to Newcastle to go to an appointment with Kirsty kind of weekend!...stressed?....only slightly!!

 

However, by this morning I am sitting in a sunny spot in the-friend-who-puts-me-up when I am in the area's house, breathing deeply before I go to meet Kirsty and said boyfriend for lunch, knowing that I can feel slightly less guilty about heading home tomorrow after doing my duty as a responsible daughter and mum!

 

Thank you all ffor your good wishes for dad...and I sincerely hope your own weekend was less stressful than mine has been!!

Thanks for dropping by!

Take care of you

Alison xx

 

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PAIRS

Joining in with HELENA'S weekly photographic meme, and I'm outdoors again.

A WEEK AGO

The view from our terrace...blossom on all of two almond trees

TODAY

a valley full of blossom!

You might also notice the difference in the weather.....and how the mountain in the background has disappeared under the cloud in the second photograph!

Can I just thank you all for your good wishes for my dad....it turns out he has pneumonia, and at this moment is being pumped full of antibiotics and steroids...he seems to  be responding slowly, so we are hoping the crisis is over again.

Thanks for dropping by!

Take care of you

Alison xx

ME ON MONDAY

I'm joining the 'MONDAY WAVERS' again today........another brainchild of the lovely SIAN.

Doing a bit of 'Google Translating' in preparation for our Intercambio session tonight.....a group of we English speakers get together once a week with a group of Spanish ladies to try to talk to each other in each other's language...the result can be pretty hilarious!!

The weekend?.....there was dinner with friends, food shopping, laundry, a little garden tidying....and SCRAPPING!

The credit for the title of this layout must go to RUTH, who left a comment on my FIVE FAVOURITES FOR JANUARY  post......she mentioned BFG and my mind immediately went to the Roald Dahl book....and I couldn't think what she was talking about! When I realised that she was actually talking about the Black Forest Gateau, I knew I had my title...thanks Ruth!

Unfortunately, by last night dad was back in hospital so it's likely to be an anxious week again...hope yours isn't!

Thanks for dropping by!

take care of you

Alison xx

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INSPIRED......

...by JO and her FIVE FAVOURITES idea, I have completed a layout for the first time in months!!

....AND I actually looked at my PINTEREST boards to find a layout to 'lift'

source

I'm working on my next layout now.....thanks for the inspiration Jo!

Have a great weekend my friends

Thanks for dropping by!

Take care of you

Alison xx

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ME ON MONDAY (ON TUESDAY)

It was a busyish Monday, but I did find time to stop off and buy some new plants for my garden (funnily enough I often seem to find time to do that!)

The weekend?.......it included  having a VERY lazy Saturday , visiting the coast on Sunday, eating too much -including some yummy ice cream- (all with my friend Elaine, who is the first of my summer visitors) , being proud of Kirsty for running in the SUNDERLAND COLOR RUN and finding out dad was in hospital again....a fairly mixed bag I would say!

I do hope you had a sunshiny, fun weekend

NB. dad has been stabilised again and is now home.

Thanks for dropping by!
Take care of you
Alison xx

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TIME FOR TEA

Joining in with ABI's monthly meme..to enjoy more virtual tea and a chat pop over HERE

Do come in..you've picked a beautiful afternoon to stop by...can I offer you tea, coffee or something a little stronger after travelling all this way?..I have a very nice bottle of Rosado open!

You must excuse the mess..I haven't quite got the place back to it's usual state after having had Kirsty and Imane here and then setting off for Scotland almost immediately.

Yes, dad WAS well thank you....he was exhausted by the end of the day, but happy! He really enjoys being surrounded by family and he was well surrounded on Sunday!

I am always happy to get home...even after such a short trip, and even though it's lovely to catch up with everyone.....and all the way home this time all I could think about was if the CHERRIES had survived!!

 I was SO pleased to get here and see this:

  

.....though on closer examination:

...the little blighters have found a way in to some of them!

However I am able to offer you;

...a bowl of cherries...the best crop so far..and quite delicious!

I don't mean to sound rude, but I am actually going out tonight, or it would be lovely to have you stay longer...but do bring me up to date with your own news before you leave.

Where am I going...oh sorry...didn't I say? We were approached a few weeks ago by some of the members of the AMAS DE CASA from our village (basically the Spanish equivalent of the WI) who were interested in having a language INTERCAMBIO once a week. The result is that six Spanish ladies and six British ladies get together for an hour (or so!)and speak to each other for half an hour in English and half an hour in Spanish....under the auspices of one of our JVH members who speaks fluent Spanish! 

It's been lovely to see you again...hopefully we'll catch up again soon!

Thanks for stopping by!

Take care of you

Alison xx

ZOOM IN, ZOOM OUT

It's that time of year when I spend a lot of time in the garden...dead-heading, tying plants to posts , moving plants etc..

As I was  out there, I suddenly noticed that the little green bullets which were the start of the cherries only a week or ten days ago, had suddenly begun to ripen...I had to act fast!...last year the birds beat me to it and all I ended up with was a tree full of cherry stones, even though I had tied long strips of plastic to the branches.

This year's solution is tin foil!

ZOOMING OUT

The foils me of when I am having my hair coloured!

ZOOMING IN

What I'm trying to protect!

To see more ZIZOs, pop over HERE, where HELENA will be more than happy to have you visit!

I am off to celebrate dad's eightieth birthday this weekend, so Boo is being left with one of my friends who is coming to dog-sit...I am trying to keep my case hidden until the last minute, as she's already upset that Kirsty and Imane left yesterday!

I do hope you all have a lovely weekend.

Thanks for dropping by!

Take care of you

Alison xx 

SIMPLY A MOMENT

TUESDAY FEBRUARY 17.....07.30

The cacophony that is the crowing of my neighbour's two roosters has rudely awakened me.....I can tell by the lack of daylight it's earlier than I really wanted to be awake! 

I am aware of the sound of snoring from the bottom of the bed...the noise obviously hasn't disturbed Boo and she is twitching happily in her sleep.

I close my eyes and think back over my weekend  visit  to Scotland; I drove through rain,sleet, snow and sunshine...it's a long time since I've driven in snow, but I managed to avoid panicking and doing any damage to  the hire car- or to anything else!!         

We were able to get dad out for a while on Saturday ; only  for a couple of hours, but that was long enough for him.... thank goodness for Garden Centres with nice Coffee shops!

my brother came in very handy for pushing the wheelchair!

I feel myself being 'patted' through the bedcovers and open my eyes to find that Boo has wakened and is telling me she needs to be let outside...heyho!, so starts my day.

Linking up with ALEXA for her monthly meme....click on the link to find more moments!

Thanks for dropping by!

Take care of you

Alison xx

TIME FOR TEA

It's that time of the month again.....time to spend a little time visiting Blogfriends (though not IRL this time)....co-ordinated by the lovely ABI over at CREATING PAPER DREAMS.
I'm so glad you've waited till today to pop in.....as you probably know, I've been travelling and you would have missed me if you'd come a day or two earlier!


Let me put the kettle on while you make yourself comfortable...it's a bit blowy outdoors even though the sun's shining, so I think the Naya's the best place to sit. I have some fruit loaf that I've taken out of the freezer...I do hope it's ok...it certainly was before it went IN.


I have just about got over my jet lag, which is pretty good for me...it usually lasts much longer travelling east....and yes, I had a great time thank you. It was so good meeting up with RINDA, DEB, CARRIE and DEBBIE...it's a great feeling talking to people who actually 'get' what blogging is all about and what I DO with all that paper! It's something I miss here...do you have the same problem where you live?


In the course of all that talking, I made the decision (finally!) to start Project Life...it's something I have been thinking about since it's launch. I've always talked myself out of it; not at all convinced that it was 'proper' scrapbooking, but after watching from the sidelines I think it may suit my lifestyle at the moment. I often find it difficult to find time to scrapbook, but I really want to keep those memories...so have decided to use PL as my main way of keeping them as they happen.....and when I have the time, I'll make scrapbook pages using all the older photographs still waiting to see the light of day!



So I bought an album....

.....and some (!) supplies and have made a start.....

I must confess to getting the photographs I wanted to use in the right orientations and sizes making my head hurt, but once that was done I enjoyed the process. Are you taking part in PL, or do you just watch from the sidelines, as I did?


Oh...I must tell you...I have received my first quilt block (as part of FIONA's FRIENDSHIP QUILT initiative) from lovely DEB (have you noticed there seem to be a lot of Deb's who blog?!)

Of course, she had also included a pretty tag and bookmark, which was very kind of her. I'm looking forward to receiving the others...but am wondering just how I'll ever manage to make a quilt with them!...do YOU sew, or are you a complete novice like me?

You might remember that I was a bit worried about going so far away when my dad hasn't been so well...the good news is that mum feels he has had a better week, so I'm pleased about that....I do hope your own family are well.

Well, I know you have a few more stops to make to catch up with people, so I'll let you go...do come back next time though; it's been a lovely catch up!

Thanks for dropping by!
Take care of you
Alison xx

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HELLO WEEK

This week I'm saying :

HELLO to dad having got out of Hospital again!

HELLO to continuing with some Christmas Crafting done for our upcoming Xmas Bazaar

made by our Craft Group, not just by me!

HELLO to getting my post written (rather belatedly) for SIAN'S STORYTELLING SUNDAY

HELLO to thinking (seriously) about starting the Christmas Gift List...writing it-not actually buying, you understand,

HELLO to starting the next block for our FRIENDSHIP QUILT

Hope all's well in your little corner of Blogland!

Thanks for dropping by!
Take care of you
Alison xx

SIMPLY A MOMENT

I'm hoping still ALEXA has still got the 'Linky' up for this, as I am late to the party (which is definately becoming the 'norm' for me these days!).


SATURDAY 21 SEPTEMBER....08.43

Through the bedroom curtains I can see a cloudless blue sky ...which means I've slept longer this morning than usual...at this time of year the sky looks grey until the sun gets over the trees at about 8am!

I can hear Boo snoring gently on the end of the bed...another sign that summer is coming to an end and that the nights are getting cooler...... she is spending more time ON the bed than UNDER it, as she does when it's so hot.

Apart from the snoring and the ticking of the JETHRO TULL clock on the wall, all is silent which means the girls are still asleep too...no rush to get up.

I must remember to ring my MIL....it's her Birthday today... I'm so glad that the Respiratory Consultant has (at last) recommended that dad has a nebuliser at home...I can't believe that it's almost been a year since he was admitted to hospital with pneumonia, and how much his health has gone downhill since then.....we are really hoping the nebuliser will help to ease things a bit.

I am exhaustedly tired even though I'm just wakened....self-inflicted I must admit...too many late nights- not to mention excesses of food and drink...my body feels so sluggish...it's probably just as well we only do this once a year! What a great  time we've had though.....good for the soul, if not quite so good for the liver and kidneys!

I hear the funny sound the pipes in Kirsty's room make when someone turns a tap off..a plumbing fault....someone's up and it's time to move!

To read more 'moments' pop over  HERE...thanks again to ALEXA for hosting this monthly meme.

Thanks for dropping by!
Take care of you
Alison xx

HELLO WEEK

This week I'm saying:

HELLO to Craig coming home for a few days 

HELLO to bittersweet memories of Stuart, which are always more prevalent this week in June

HELLO to dad still being at home after four weeks..the longest spell since September last year!

HELLO to (hopefully) finishing  cutting back the overhanging branches of the trees on the land behind us...the branches are causing problems with our fence, so I've been out lopping every night for the last week!

HELLO to slightly cooler temperatures (bliss!) forecast for the next few days

Whatever you're doing this week, remember to treasure each moment

Thanks for dropping by!
Take care of you
Alison xx

FATHER'S DAY

Maybe if I had studied the calendar properly, I would have gone to Scotland THIS weekend to see my dad...but I like to think he wasn't too bothered  about the date... and was just glad to see me! In all honesty if I HAD waited till this weekend, neither the weather nor his general health would have allowed us to do as much as we did last weekend.

In the heat of yesterday afternoon, I decided it would be a good idea to stay indoors and scrap...the fact that it's FATHER'S DAY in the UK inspired me to scrap the pictures I took last weekend ....and I knew I wanted to play along with this month's challenge at  SCRAP AROUND THE WORLD:

 

Here's what I came up with:

The spotty paper is more teal IRL!

I love this die cut I found in the online SILHOUETTE library!

If your dad is with you today- enjoy! If, for whatever reason, your dad isn't with you...think happy thoughts and remember the good times

Thanks for dropping by! 

Take care of you

Alison xx

HELLO WEEK!

This week I'm saying:

HELLO to being home!

HELLO to breathing slightly easier, having left my dad being improved enough to be enjoying some sunshine:

HELLO to a week of meetings....all to do with JALON VALLEY HELP

HELLO to catching up with blog reading!

HELLO to having started THE SUMMER SCAVENGER HUNT organised by Rinda!

NUMBER 4- AN AEROPLANE

Guess who I fly with?

NUMBER 8- A TOWER

I happened to turn round while waiting for Kirsty's train to arrive and saw this tower...after checking it out, I have discovered it is the tower attached to the Heritage Centre in Motherwell (a town in Central Scotland)

Two down,19 to go.....there a definately a few I'll struggle with this year: I'm especially on the lookout for a dinosaur and I reckon I won't be visiting a zoo or nature Reserve in the near future!

Hoping you are enjoying your scavenging if you're joining in...and if you've not joined in yet, it's not too late!

Have a good week...hope you've got some good things to be saying 'HELLO' to!

Thanks for dropping by!

Take care of you

Alison xx  

LOOKING UP AND DOWN

Like many most places in the world at the moment, the weather here hasn't really settled. This time last year we were having the hottest May for many years, yet this year we are still having rain and cool cold winds....this week's pictures for the photographic meme LOOK UP, LOOK DOWN (brainchild of my friend HELENA) reflect this!

LOOKING UP

As I was sitting out on the naya tonight and looked up, I noticed these clouds rolling in over the mountains

LOOKING DOWN

As I walked back in after taking the picture above, I noticed this reflection in the puddle in the pergola...... it hasn't dried up from rain early this morning

Hope you're all having a good week....mine was made even better by the news that my dad got home from hospital last night!...we're just hoping that he stays home for a while now.

Thanks for dropping by!

take care of you

Alison xx

HELLO MONDAY......with a glass of something cold!

This week I'm saying HELLO, whilst offering you a glass of icy cold Sangria (or whatever your choice of beverage might be), because I'm joining up with ABI , for her monthly 'tea' meme.

 If you don't mind sitting in the sun we can sit outside, but at the moment we don't have any parasols to give any shade.....you might prefer to sit in the naya, where I have all the doors open and there's a pleasant breeze coming through.

I should explain that the shortage of parasols is due to the fact that when we threw out the old ones, a couple of months ago, we discovered that there weren't any actually in the shops yet to replace them! However, that is one of the jobs on the 'to do' list when Craig arrives tomorrow.....he is here for four days, and I think you'll be able to tell that I'm happy about that (and not JUST because of the parasols!).

By this time, hopefully, we'll be settled with our drink of choice and I'll be wanting to hear your own news....hoping that most of it is positive: that the family are well and that you are finding time for being creative.

I'm sure you're wondering why I have so many pieces of paper with names, menus and lists on them.....they are for the '60s Night' which I am helping to organise on Saturday night

If you had dropped in last night, you would have found me tearing my hair out, trying to get the numbers to tally...but all's well now and the menu choices have been sent to the restaurant.


 I'll be wondering if you joined in with SIANS 'Big swap of very little things'...and if so, would love to hear what was in the package you received...I'll also confess that I only posted my package to CHERI this morning, along with another few bits of 'Happy Mail'.

Can you hear that thunder in the distance, and do you see how the clouds are rolling in over the mountains?....I think we're in for a storm...yes, here are the first big raindrops beginning to fall- in fact it's actually hailstones! Let me shut all these doors...and please excuse Boo- she gets really afraid during storms.

As the hail turns to rain, I'll be telling you how relieved we all are that my dad is showing signs of improvement again...and although he's still in hospital, we're hoping he'll get out later this week.

Oh look...the rain's stopped just as suddenly as it began...yes, you're probably right to leave while it's dry...but please do stop by again next month:I really DO enjoy these visits!

One thing before you go....remember it's 'STORYTELLING SUNDAY' over at SIAN'S PLACE ......see you there?

Thanks for dropping by!
Take care of you
Alison xx