2013 Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt - Number 18

Number 18 on the list was your local pub/bar, coffee house or tea shop.  Well, I have surprised myself by not photographing the local pub (as I spend so much time in it lol!) and gone for the tea shop in the village - McDees.

A couple of Saturday's ago we saw ourselves offspring-free; Josh was on a trip to Jodrell Bank with the scouts and Alex was off on her Duke of Edinburgh expedition so we headed off for breakfast before spending a day shopping and lunching.  With the beautiful weather we were able to sit outside and although it doesn't look that attractive from this angle it does have a view of the village green.



Usually it is Tony and Josh who head off here every Saturday morning for some male bonding time and Tony has checked in on FB regularly for each visit.  So much so that one of his friends thought he was taking Josh to McDonalds every week!  On a Saturday morning when he updates he is doing something else and can't visit lots of friends express their sympathy and horror!


It is such a well run establishment owned by two sisters, one of whom was in my first ante-natal group, and they have a great reputation for good home cooking - the potato cakes are divine!  This day though I settled for a slice of granary toast and a cuppa!


Back soon with a few more finds and even some scrapping!
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2013 Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt - Number 14

The other Sunday I took my some of my Brownie unit to a church service.  We only go to three a year and  this one was based around "home".  The girls wrote a lovely poem saying thank you for all the things we have in our village and were so confident standing up the front and reading.

At the end of the service, while everyone was sipping cups of tea in the foyer, I sneaked in and took a photo of the stained glass window above the altar - it's only on my iPhone so not great, but it ticks the box!


And here is the outside of the church taken a few years ago for a photography course;

Stop by Rinda's blog to see more finds on the scavenger hunt from across the globe!

Back soon with more photos to share :)

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UKS Weekly challenge - Flip Flop Fail!

The challenge on UKS a few weeks back was an interesting one that involved clothing or footwear which got me thinking about a story I wanted to tell from our holiday in Greece last year so I based my page on the criteria of A photo of clothes or accessories including shoes and I put this page together about how Josh got flip flops to wear around on holiday for the first time and could not get the hang of them!  On many occasion he either fell over his own feet or left one on the path behind him!

I used Fancy Pants - Be You papers from a Sarah's Cards kit and added some enamel dots, some wood veneer shapes and sprinkles of mist.  I really love how this page has turned out - my favourite for quite a while :)

Sketchy Scrappers June sketch - A special visitor

We had this sketch to play with last month from Jess...

At first I was a bit stuck as I had two photos and a kit to use up bit not enough paper left to cut the large circle.  So I adapted the sketch and used the circle as inspiration for three areas of embellishment.

The journaling is going opposite this page on a 6x12 but basically it was "a special visitor"as it was the first time I'd seen my brother in 18 years after a family fall out meant we lost touch.  The wonders of Facebook put me in touch with my niece and then my brother :)

I have used Prima - Blooming Retro from an old Sarah's Cards kit.

TFL

PS According to BlogLovin' I have a 135 post to read as I've not been near it for a week or so!  Hopefully I will get to stop by your blog soon!!  Thank you for your patience :)

2013 Summertime Photography Scavenger Hunt - And we're off!

Everyone else seems to be posting their finds already so I thought I'd best start showing mine!  If you've not come across the scavenger hunt before then pop on over to Rinda's blog who will tell you all about it.  If you like photography and a sense of achievement in ticking things off lists then this is for you!

Below is the complete list and I have a few things in mind for some  but I am going to post this photo for number 9;  something that is clearly out of place...

We were heading home after doing a little shopping in the village I live in when we did a double take as outside the toy and book shop, Forget-me-not (a lovely independent shop run by two local sisters) when we spotted the Michelin man.  Alex screamed and begged me to turn around for a photo so there I was doing a u-turn at the next available opportunity and we headed back for a picture.   I felt so sorry for the poor guy (or woman - who  knows?!) as it was a sweltering hot day already.  He was there to promote I-Spy books, something that brings back fond memories of childhood holidays and long car journeys.

So 1 down and 20 to go - looking forward to Summer photo scavenging :)

1.   Open air market
2.   Theater for performing arts (not a movie theater)
3.   City Hall, Capitol or other similar civic building
4.   Airplane
5.   A sunset
6.   Someone or something taking a nap
7.   A sign that is intentionally or unintentionally funny
8.   A tower
9.   A photo with someone or something that is clearly out of place or doesn't belong
10.  A bench that is outside
11.  An animal in a zoo, aquarium, nature preserve, etc.
12.  A cloud in the shape of something (please specify what you see)
13.  A fence
14.  A stained glass object or a mosaic
15.  A fire truck or police car
16.  A windmill 
17.  Candle(s)
18.  Your local pub/bar, coffee house or tea shop
19.  A fisherman
20. A dinosaur
21.  A photograph of you with an artistic tool or craft supply (you cannot substitute for this item)
Bonus/substitute items.  If you find any of the above items too difficult, feel free to substitute either (or both) of these items.  You can substitute up to two items, but you cannot substitute Item #21:
A person wearing an outfit (or item of clothing) that symbolizes your country
A sundial

Well, many of you were asking so here it is!  It is such a hit that Alex picked it for her final Food Tech assessment last week when she had to cook several courses at once.

I would like to give her a photo credit for the below picture (although I am sure she is not supposed to have her phone out in lessons lol!) and also report that there was very little left by the time she came home from school!

I serve it with the tortillas/doritos in a separate bowl and just let everyone tuck in!  Ignore the Small Oval Baker below - just use any medium sized dish that is oven proof :)

Hot Broccoli Dip

Ingredients:
1   cup broccoli florets, chopped 2   tablespoons chopped onion 2   tablespoons chopped red bell pepper 1   cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese 1/2   cup light mayonnaise		1/2   cup light sour cream 1/4   cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided 1   garlic clove, pressed 1/8   teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

Directions:
1.	Preheat oven to 375°F. In medium bowl, combine broccoli, onion and bell pepper. Add cheddar cheese, mayonnaise, sour cream, 2 tablespoons of the Parmesan cheese, garlic and black pepper; mix well and spoon into Small Oval Baker.
2.	Bake 20-25 minutes or until heated through. Remove from oven; sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese.

My month in numbers - May

Hello little blog. Have you missed me?

I have been sorely lacking time of late since starting my new job but have been desperately trying to read everyone's posts.  If I've not commented I'm so sorry but working 40 hours a week now is seriously eating into my blogging and scrapping time. (Did you see how I sneaked my first number in there?!). Anyway, discussions had and house meeting held and we have a plan for some organisation. Let's hope it works!

So as mentioned above my first number is my increase in hours from 30 to 40 a week and whilst the juggling of work, home, kids and life is a challenge the job is fabulous and I'm so glad I made the move.

Following my argument with the pan of oil in the oven last month I ended up with a total of 7 dressing changes.  The nurses were so lovely and very gentle.  The burn is healing well and I think after a while there will only be one small scar the size of a 5p piece.  However currently I have a huge red mark that kind of resembles a map of New Zealand and is about 6 inches long!  I could share a photo here taken in A&E but... no not  good idea!

57 was my raffle ticket number at the wedding of my cousin Becki.  It was for a bottle of champagne given out during the speeches.  A nice touch that had us all scrabbling with excitement - but sadly I didn't win!  This was the first of 2 weddings in May.   This one was a family affair with Alex and Josh in attendance...

Wedding number two was Tony's best friend for over 30 years getting remarried (at Chester Cathedral no less! - No she wasn't rich and famous, she just works there!!)  So Mr H got to be best man and delivered, possibly, THE best speech for a best man I have ever heard.  Honest!

I hosted a Pampered Chef party at the beginning of the month and earned a gazillion points which meant lots of free goodies :)  Including this little chap...

...which I use to make broccoli dip, having learned how to do so on the night.  Now I'm not a broccoli lover but, oh boy!, does this taste good!  Let me know if you want the recipe...

Finally I celebrated two 50th birthdays with a load of lovely ladies at a bar and restaurant in Manchester... the two birthday girls are far left and second from right.  Would you believe this photo has a combined age of 199 years?!!!

To share your month in numbers just jump in and join Julie each month.  Or if you just want to be nosey and read everyone else's then please go to Notes on Paper for a closer look.

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