Birthday and christmas all rolled into one

First up today I have the card I made for Neil for his birthday

I have seen this combination of aqua and deep red all over pinterest and on many a cardmaking blog, I love the contrast, so decided to try it out for Neil's card this year. He loved it too, so it was a successful experiment

We celebrated the occasion at The Rashleigh in Charlestown ( where Rob works ) and enjoyed a beautiful meal, there were plenty of gluten free options for AJ which was a bonus and Rob was happy to be back drinking the local beer. He has come to the conclusion that it is hard to find a decent pint back up country ( this is what happens when you educate a drinker and have access to a wonderful array of local brews)

Up next I have Neil's christmas card from me. I made four of this design in total, for special people, all the same but ever so slightly different

Every year I attempt to make 'flatter' more mail friendly creations but I just can't help adding all the little bits and bobs. So I gave up on the clean and simple style and decided to hand deliver most of them ( they took up half my travel bag when I delivered the 'northern' cards last week )

Well, that's it for today. Roasting aromas are wafting in from the kitchen as I type this post, tempting and tickling my tastebuds. I wonder if anyone will notice if I purloin a potato. It is time to put the finishing touches to our dinner so I will bid you good evening and will return tomorrow with some more christmas cards

Love and sparkles

Tracey

xxx

Magical creatures

There has been much happen since my last blog post

I have not quite got the hang of blogging everyday occurrences and tend to only think to blog if I have crafting to share. I must rid myself of this habit as my crafting is much less prolific now

We have been to a couple more gigs, we saw The Cadillac Three in Cardiff and then more recently The Temperance Movement in Plymouth

We have enjoyed lots of beach days with the dogs

And we made a much needed flying visit back up country to visit family and friends before christmas

This last few weeks have seen copious amounts of crafting as I needed forty christmas cards, six birthday cards, an anniversary card and a commissioned card had been ordered 

Going back to November, this is the card I made for Amy for her birthday. She is currently enjoying all things unicorn so I set to work trying to find a way to make one from my trusty punches

It was a case of trial and error. My first couple of attempts looked farcical rather than magical, but, I persevered and I think the final version turned out rather cute. Amy loved it

The next couple of cards were for my lovely neighbours Mary and Colin who both celebrated birthdays at the beginning of December

I must apologise for the poor photos, the pictures were taken in bad light and don't show the true colours as they should

They are a very special couple and have taken me and the family under their wings since we moved here

So, the lights, tree and trimmings are all up, the gift shopping is finished, the cards have been made and mostly delivered, the house has been spring cleaned and we have almost completed the wrapping, I don't think I have ever been so organised and I must admit to feeling rather relaxed and ready for the festivities to begin

All the girls from work got together for the christmas meal last week, we met at The Britannia for a delicious and very festive 3 course meal, a little tipple and many laughs, so the christmassy feelings are in full flow

I will love you and leave you as Neil and I have one more small pile of presents to wrap and I will be back tomorrow with some more craftiness to share

Love and unicorn sparkles

Tracey

xxx

Bryan Adams at Eden

One of the highlights of this summer has definitely been our trip to Eden to see Bryan Adams

Neil won the tickets in a competition. Worth over £250.00 they also included a four course meal, champagne reception, nibbles and drinks after the concert and a goodie bag each to take home with us

Unbeknown to me, Neil had also been in touch with Bryan's tour manager and arranged back stage passes so we could meet the man himself

Eden's function room looked stunning

All the tables were adorned with these spectacular centrepieces, hollow glass skulls artfully displaying stunning exotic blooms

Our meals were so beautiful to look at and utterly delish

We enjoyed a tomato salad and asparagus starter

Mango sorbet

Mediterranean tomato rissotto

Grilled banana dessert ( scoffed down before I remembered to take a photo)

We both ate the same and our vegan tastes were catered to perfectly

We were allowed backstage anytime we wanted and caught a few moments with Bryan before the show, he was an absolute gent, very soft spoken with his trademark husky Canadian drawl

He was much smaller than I imagined he would be, I felt like a giant next to him ( thank goodness I didn't put my towering heels on)

We wanted to see the show from the front of the stage so joined the crowd and spent over two hours singing along to all the classics, what a showman

The band were fantastic, Bryan's voice is one of the best I have heard live and I would definitely put this gig in my top five of all time

Thankyou Eden for an absolutely fabulous night, the gig, the food, the staff and the venue were all faultless

xxx

Anniversary

Neil and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary back in May

I wanted to make him a keepsake rather than a card, so crafted this little exploding box

When the lid is removed three layers of pages flop outwards

Each of the pages is embellished with a pocket, in which to hold tags

I made 25 tags in total and wrote on each of them a little message

25 tags

25 years married

25 reasons why I love him

There are many more

We decided to spend the day together pottering around Padstow

Loved this doggie made from wellie boots

We headed to the harbour first then meandered around the tiny streets

We stopped at Rick Stein's for lunch. I love Rick Stein, have watched most of his shows and was looking forward to the experience

Sorry Rick, we have enjoyed better fish and chips in Grimsby ! It wasn't awful but it wasn't the best we have had either, and, for the price, I would have like to have eaten from proper plates rather than the cardboard it was served in

We then drove a short distance to Port Isaac

We really liked it here, it was still off season so not too busy

We don't watch Doc Martin so didn't partake in the hunting down of all the sites from the TV series but we did enjoy it for the picturesque fishing village it is

After a quick wander round the shops at Wadebridge we headed back home for an Italian meal

Neil asked me if I would do it all over again (meaning marry him) and I said yes I would

He then presented me with a stunning new wedding band

(see - he's definitely a keeper)

We spent the evening with our lovely friends Sue and Paul at Fowey and discovered a fab local band Assassins of Silence

We had decided at the beginning of the year to celebrate our anniversary this year with music, we both love mostly the same kind of thing so choosing gigs we would both enjoy was a breeze

That is a whole other blog post though as this one is getting rather long, so I will leave our gigging adventures til next time

xxx

Pupdate

We are oftentimes asked what we do to fill our time now we are retired 

In truth -  I have no idea. Ask any retiree and they will generally tell you the same - they can't fathom how they managed to fit work in !

One of our favourite ways to pass an hour or two is to explore our beautiful county and to do so with the dogs is an added treat

The world is always so interesting through the eyes and nose of a dog, we can learn a lot from their enthusiasm to explore and examine every little detail of a place

Our four legged friends find genuine pleasure in just 'being' somewhere new. They are not distracted by cell phones, time limits, protocol, what's cool and happening

Much the same as small children they can be mesmerised by the simple things in life, the ebb and flow of the tide, the peculiar sideways crawl of a crab or the enchanting twinkling of seaside treasures half buried in the sand, waiting to be released and played with, nudged with noses, padded by paws

Oh to see the unspoilt joys of the world from an innocent

Come on dad, give up with the camera, throw the ball now pleeeeeeease

Bruce has perfected the head tilted, floppy eared look of a dog begging to play, heartstrings firmly being pulled

Molly practising yoga among the seaweed, down dog - beach style

Bruce will always bring the ball back and wait patiently for the next toss, nothing will distract him, his mission is to retrieve and return

Molly on the other hand will run around randomly, ball in mouth seemingly oblivious to everyone and everything. She has been known to get more than one object in her mouth at the same time, ie not drop a ball to pick another one up, she sometimes even manages a ball and a stick !

And of course we can't forget our other little furry friend

What has Sox been up to this summer ?

Yes this cat can sleep anywhere and anyhow, utterly unbothered by the presence of two large clumsy canines. We had reservations when we first brought her home, terrified her tiny frame and placid nature would be no match for the huge personalities of the dogs

We need not have worried

Sox rules !

We also had an unexpected sleepover with this little cutie Tilly

Rob finished his shift last week to find Tilly in the beer garden, without any sign of an owner

We tried to find where she was from, but, had no success, so we brought her home for the night to keep her safe from the roads etc

She loved our dogs ( didn't quite know what to make of Sox) and was as good as gold.

 Happily she was reunited with her owner the following morning

Secretly Rob was a little sad to see her go, I think he would have quite happily kept her

xxx

Crafting Update

I have not been quite so prolific with my crafting as I used to be, but the upside is now I craft when I want to and not when I have to

I have quite a mixed bag of cards here, dating back to Easter, so please excuse the random selection

A bi-fold, envelope style birthday card

The Easter cards I made, to send to family and friends

All the same but different, same design, different colours

Amy's Easter card was totally different as I wanted to put a bunny on hers

Another birthday card

My lovely dad's fathers day card

And my mum's birthday card, another bi-fold design with fancy edges

Lots of space inside this design for a verse

There have been a couple more too but I did not remember to photograph those ( naughty blogger )

Until next time

xxx

Still here

Hellooooooooo

We are still here, although you would be forgiven for thinking we had fallen off the planet

FIVE months on from my last post, much has happened and not much has happened if you know what I mean

In a nutshell

*      We have been up country to visit family

*       Friends and family have been here to visit us (Mum and Dad, Tony and Carol, Kev and Jackie)

*      We celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary

*      Amy and Robbie finished uni

*      All three 'children' are now working

*      Amy has had a tonsillectomy

*      Robbie is learning to drive and has his first car

Some of these events will be blogged in more detail later. I have just finished editing all the photos from the last five months, 700 photos, two hours and three coffees later I have decided there is far too much to wade through in one blog post

And in other news

We had an unexpected little windfall, so bought ourselves this fab little campervan, we have been away in it a couple of times already and are planning our first trip away with the dogs soon

The dogs have had a wonderful time in the woods, on walks and especially on the beach

We have had some gorgeous days out, exploring our stunning county, sometimes just the two of us, sometimes with friends or family and often with the dogs

I gave up trying to cover the grey and have been gradually adding more and more highlights, I am really happy with the results and my hairdresser is fantastic, Paige has the patience of a saint with my stubborn hair

We have also had some amazing days/nights out, we have enjoyed some fantastic gigs this year, local and further afield, found a couple of new festivals, added a few new bands to our playlists and generally broadened our horizons musically ( much more to come on that in future posts )

And yes, I have still been doing a little crafting, much much less than I used to. I toyed with the idea of giving it up and freeing some space by getting rid of all my craft clutter  stuff, but the feeling didn't last long. 

It may take me a little longer to actually get started, but once I have all my pretties out on the table, I remember just how therapeutic it is to have a craft and play session

This is my most recent creation, a card for my lovely friend Sue

I know this is a bit of a 'mixed bag', but you know what it is like to have so much to catch up on that it is difficult to know where to start

A very sensible person once said "just start", once you get going, the fear of the blank page disappears and the rest is much easier, how true this is. Now I have a million ideas running through my head and rather a lot of photos on my hard drive, no excuses then !

Back soon

I promise

xxx