Crackers, cards and cats

 Good evening

I hope everyone is enjoying their run up to Christmas and not getting too stressed

I am loving the family being home, Amy and Ben arrived yesterday, so the house is full, and happy

I made these cute little crackers for my neighbours doggies, they have some little festive dog biscuits in them

And I made some of these gift card holders for the kids, I copied a design that my good friend Linda shared, she made me one and the bottom held chocolates, in my version I added a lip balm to each one and all the kids gift vouchers fit onto the slot at the top

Thankyou for the inspiration Linda

Finally I have a cute photo to share

The pets are all spoiled for humans to snuggle with at the moment

Sox couldn't wait to get on Rob's knee so perched herself atop his shoulder

They are so going to miss them when they have all gone back to uni

Love and christmas kisses

Tracey

xxx

I'm baaaaaaaack !

Hello

When Neil asked me if I had given up blogging I realised that my posts have been less than regular

It has been a case of life getting in the way, in a very nice way of course - all the kids are home yayyyyyyy

I mentioned in my last post that Robbie was the first to arrive and quickly found himself a job to tide himself over the holidays, he is still working hard and doing lots of hours, he has finished the  training he was offered so will be getting a pay rise shortly. He survived last week which was the Charlestown Regatta and was his busiest week to date. We are beginning to notice a big difference in the amount of people visiting -  our sleepy little towns and villages are becoming increasingly busier with lots and lots of holiday makers enjoying all the joys of Cornwall, thankfully the weather has been kind with most days dry, sunny and warm.

Ben and Amy are also here now, and both working

Amy has got a job in the tea-rooms at the Lost Gardens of Heligan and absolutely loves it, she says the people she works with are all super friendly and helpful. She commented last week that she loves the general laid back nature and genuine friendliness the Cornish people have, and she gets lots of yummy treats to eat on her breaks

Ben is working at a seafood restaurant - Wreckers -  in Charlestown just across the road from where Robbie works, he also works similar hours so it has been easier for Neil to drop them off and pick them up at the same time

And last but not least AJ is working as a kitchen porter at The New Inn in Tywardreath, he has applied for an apprenticeship at the Eden Project but wanted to keep busy and earn himself some spends over the summer

And now for a little crafting update ( I found a few images on my computer of projects that I have not yet uploaded to my blog, so I will try and incorporate them into my next few blog posts)

My mum's birthday card from last month

I created an 8" x 8" card base, I extended the Nestabilities die to fit the card, matted and layered the patterned papers and added a punched border, using a Martha Stewart border punch

The flowers were created using a variety of Marianne dies ( the largest actually being a snowflake)

The butterflies are also a Martha Stewart punch

And next I have a page from my bullet journal last month

Each month I create a 'memories' page, a little reminder of the things that made me smile that month, I love that my bullet journal allows me to document what I want, how I want ( and I get to do lots of doodling)

And finally all our pets are super happy that we have a house full of knees to sit on, extra playmates and many more opportunities for spoiling

Sox alternates from being super sleepy and peaceful, knee hopping as each of us gets on with our daily activities to being ultra playful, taking a swipe at dangling dressing gown belts, laces, ear phone wires and generally anything that catches her attention

One full house = happy kids, happy pets and one very happy mum!

Love and family fun

Tracey

xxx

St Mawes

ST Mawes is a small fishing village at the end of the Roseland Peninsula, opposite Falmouth on the South coast of Cornwall, approximately 30 minutes (by car) east of where we live

We have passed sign posts many a time as we have travelled to and from Truro and promised ourselves a little trip there once the weather picked up

Tuesday was glorious and so we packed the beach towels, dogs and a picnic into the car and off we set

St Mawes is positioned within the gulf stream and basks in mild weather all year round, during the summer it is often a Mediterranean climate, which explains why there are some stunning gardens in the area

We headed straight to the harbour so the dogs could have a run on the beach

This is the view from where you enter St Mawes

We started out on Idles Beach

It didn't take the dogs long to dive in, Bruce is already swimming ( that little dot where Molly is heading)

I wandered off down the beach to explore the rockpools, Molly was not far behind, ears flapping, tail wagging and stick in mouth ready to play

I love this photo of Bruce, checking that his little sister is not far behind, he is a very elegant and strong swimmer, hardly making any splashes when he is in the water, Molly on the other hand, starts off like she is drowning with seemingly more legs than an octopus, she eventually settles into a lovely little doggy paddle but Bruce is always mindful that she is ok.

After our playtime on the beach we explored the town and took a wander along the harbourside.

St Mawes is a beautiful little village, well maintained and very clean. There was lots of painting going on, many of the seafront properties, mostly little fisherman's cottages have been painted ice-cream colours - so pretty, and then there was this stunning thatched cottage, up for sale at a cool £750,000 - but honestly the view it had was priceless

Strolling passed the thatched cottage and continuing around the harbour we found the perfect little sun trap to settle down, take a breather and enjoy our picnic. With views out over the harbour and out to sea, the sun on our faces it was the perfect end to an absolutely beautiful day.

I just love the way Molly is catching the rays, eyes closed, sniffing the clean sea air and drying out nicely.

Love and sandy paws

Tracey

xxx

Last of the Christmas 2015

2015 was our first Christmas in Cornwall

We did most of our Christmas shopping at Truro, I never tire of seeing this beautiful Cathedral

The last few of my christmas cards

This one was for a commission, I made it for our decorator to give to his girlfriend, he wanted something with the theme of Tim Burton, what could be better than Jack and Sally from A Nightmare Before Christmas !

Ben and Amy are completely besotted with all things animal, so I made them a card with penguins

And mum also adores penguins, so this was my card to mum and dad

All the kids made it home for Christmas. Ben and Amy came a couple of days after as they spent Christmas and Boxing day with Ben's parents. They travelled down in the car, got stuck for five hours at Bristol services,  lots of little things went wrong, lost car keys, dying phone batteries, bumbling AA men, etc etc - honestly it was like a scene from Planes, Trains and Automobiles, but they got here eventually and Robbie came home the week before

Seeing Robbie ( on the left in the photo below ) made us realise just how much AJ has grown in the last couple of months, must be all that good clean Cornish air ! You wouldn't believe the taller AJ is four years younger than Rob when you look at the photo - and yes his hair is always like that !

And it was our first ever Christmas with our lovely little lab Molly, look at those beautiful eyes

We bought both the doggies glow in the dark bandannas for Christmas, they look so cute

And my big softie Bruce, awwwwwww

I hope all my friends and family had as lovely a christmas as we did

Love and looking forward to the new year

Tracey 

xxx

Pupdate - the adventures of Bruce and Molly

A gentle stroll, for about five minutes along the chalk track, beside the railway line and stream opposite our house, you will come across a sheltered little park,  nestled between our local football team's home ground and a public basketball court

It's the perfect little sun trap, safe from any roads or hazards (Molly is capable of finding the most innocuous place or item, and, turning it in seconds to a life and death situation)

This is the home to Bruce and Molly's newest adventure

The trials of the tennis ball

Bruce is smart, he knows that to be able to chase the ball (which he loves) he must bring it back

If he catches it or gets to it first he leaves Molly standing

And he brings it back, and Molly follows, and it all starts all over again

Sometimes (usually when Bruce is totally knackered), Molly gets there first (or, more aptly, Bruce lets Molly bring the ball back while he has a breather)

 Molly has a totally different variation of the game which includes escaping to the nearest filthy ditch,  whereby it is a whim that decides whether she will actually keep the ball or leave it in said filthy ditch ! Or will she run and not come back, instead, sit on the perimeter of the field waiting with a grin, whilst, in exasperation, me, Neil or Bruce ends up having to go to her, whereby she will sidestep past us ( she must have been taking note of the footballers next door ) and run hell for leather into the farthest corner at the other end of the field, or,  she will she get totally sidetracked, drop the ball mid-play  and go off to investigate the nearest wonderful and totally mesmerising stick, leaf, rock (whatever, it matters not) !

On those rare occasions whereby she does in fact bring the ball near enough to perform a grab and go technique, we can resume play, Bruce waiting patiently, as always, as his silly puppy playmate learns the part of fetch that does indeed keep the ball in play !

Love and puppy kisses

Tracey 

xxx