Learn Something New Everyday - Final Page

To round off the project I scraplifted Shimelle's journaling for the last page in the album: 30 days...certainly more than 30 lessons learned. A collection of daily snippets to capture where I am right now. Comfortably grown-up, but still searching for some answers. But aware, trying and learning every single day.

I bought one of Shimelle's kits for this project and apart from adding a few small brads and blue rikrak, it did the job (even if I did have to mix 'n' match cardstock towards the end!). So much so that there is almost nothing left, which is always a good sign of a well thought out kit. All that it left for me to do is to give some thought to how I'm going to decorate the front cover.

I've signed up for Shimelle's Journal Your Christmas class next. It runs from 1st December to 6th January, so watch this space!!

What I Learnt On Day 30

That frequently poorly pups need pet insurance! Yep, the dog has another upset tummy and is off to see the vet at 5.20pm this evening. I wonder if we could buy shares in the vet's practice??

"Standing Tall" LO

Here's another LO of DS completed using this month's srummy Scrapagogo kit. After lunch I'm hoping to complete my last entry for my Learn Something New Everyday album - today's snippet stars the dog!

Note to self - must have a looksee on Shimelle's blog to see what else I can learn.

Death Of A Hollywood Icon

The actor Paul Newman died on Friday at the age of 83. Somehow I never thought of him as old, in my mind's eye he always looked like he did when starring alongside Robert Redford in Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid. Modern Hollywood could learn a lot from him. They don't make stars like they used to.

What I Learnt On Day 29

That constructing a folding mini-book always takes far longer than anticipated! Strictly results show and a 2 hour episode of Poirot long, to be honest! I liked the look of a mini-book Sib featured on her blog last week and she kindly pointed me in the direction of instructions on UKS. It took me 3 attempts to make a half-way decent effort!! Ho hum!

(Note the 2-tone cardstock - reduced to making do for the last 2 days!!)

What I Learnt On Day 28

That it will be costly when something goes wrong with the car. DH was supposed to drive his sister up to Derbyshire today to see their parents but he only got about a mile down the road. Apparently the car wouldn't produce anymore than 2,000 rpm and the engine management warning light came on on the dashboard. Luckily the car is booked in for a service at the garage on Tuesday already but we may have some difficulty getting it there!

Hotel Rwanda

The next time you have a night-in with a DVD and a take-away, watch this film. We saw it last night and were completely blown away by it. It's been a long time since a film made me cry. Initially I felt ashamed that I didn't remember much about what happened in Rwanda in 1994 but then I realised that for 6 months of that year I was living on a volcanic rock 7 degrees south of the equator. There was no TV or Internet then and newspapers were rarely seen.

Watch this film.

What I Learnt On Day 27

That being a mummy is fantastic. It's taken me almost 21 months to learn that!

"Curious" LO

I've loved the recent photos of DS in the garden so much that I've now scrapped them twice! One LO for DS's album and one for our 2008 album. I scraplifted this LO from a LO by Karen Moss called The Frisbee Flop, featured in this month's Scrapagogo kit. Apologies for the flash reflected on the image.

What I Learnt On Day 26

That scrapping one day every month is creating a living social history. Apologies if that sounds a bit up myself!!

Scrap Your Day - September's DLO

Here it is.

Scrap Your Day #6 Part 2

A fwe more images from today. The one of the collection of photos is my attempt at catching a reflection. I don't think I did too badly because you can see me reflected in 2 different photos.

Loft Progress #8

I went back up the ladder today, as it's Scrap Your Day day. I have to say that our new roof is a thing of beauty!! Inside the loft space there is now a semblance of flooring and the stud walls for the bathroom are in place. Fingers crossed for more dry days.

What I Learnt On Day 25

That I'm not too old for new trendy specs!!

Scrap Your Day #6

Here's a preview of what has caught my eye so far today. Note the attempted self portrait to show off my new trendy specs!

Loft Progress #7

Jeff the Roofer did pretty well today with the slates and the guys have actually fitted a Velux window. On an interior note, the man came to measure up for the new staircase and reckons he'll be able to deliver it on Monday next week!!

September's Scrap Your Day

Shimelle posted her link for Scrap Your Day just as I started typing this post. Spooky to think of her in South London thinking exactly the same thing as me over in West London! The modern technical age!!

Scrapping Black Hole??

This afternoon I have managed to lose a small photo which had been placed on a piece of cardstock as part of a DLO. How? The kitchen table is not that big yet this photo is nowhere to be found ... last week I lost a red plastic storage pot for punched shapes ... also last seen on the kitchen table. Weird!!

What I Learnt On Day 24

That red is the colour of Autumn.

Loft Progress #6

Today saw the roof of the dormer window become water tight and, joy of joys, Jeff the Roofer began laying the new slates ... and then it rained!

What I Learnt On Day 23

That I don't have enough cardstock in these shades of blue & green to complete this project! Doh!

Loft Progress #5

So ... the new roof slates arrived today ... after much discussion between us, Jeff the Roofer and the Project Manager (a poor description of him because we hardly see him!). The bottom line is that we will be having a completely new roof; the old slates were deemed too expensive by the PM (seems too many were broken when they were first lifted off six weeks ago) and we point-blank refused to have a patchwork roof. A compromise was finally agreed where we have used a cheaper slate and the whole roof gets done at no extra expense to us.

The photos show Sam (tea, Standard Nato!!) directing the arrival of the slates and a (not-very-interesting) close-up of said slates.

The noise level today has been the worst so far and poor DS was unable to sleep. I took him out thinking he would nap in the pram but all that happened was that I walked around the park for 2 hours and got caught in a heavy rain shower ... I consoled myself with a Starbucks Vanilla Latte on the way home. DS was asleep within 2 minutes of going to bed at 7pm!

What I Learnt On Day 22

That I really do have too many clothes! No, it's true ... the photo shows only half the wardobe and let's not forget the chest of drawers! So here's the thing ... for the next year I am going to attempt not to buy anymore new clothes (excluding undies, tights & socks). However, clothes in the form of a gift will be more than acceptable!!

What I Learnt On Day 21

That old and new can complement each other.

The City Of London

Last weekend we decided that if the weather was nice this weekend, we'd go "up town" and do some site-seeing. We settled on the City of London, aka the Square Mile, given that DH knows it like the back of his hand and makes a good tour guide. My favourite bits were the Swiss Re building on St. Mary Axe (photos 1 & 2), known as the Gherkin, and Leadenhall Market, which is undergoing some restoration so isn't looking its best. Photo 3 is of Lloyds of London and photo 4 is DH & DS posing with a sculpture called Rush Hour. DS loved going on the Tube and ended up eating his lunch on it on the way home, much to the amusement of other passengers.

Newsflash: Londoners spotted smiling on Underground!

Strictly Come Dancing!

Yay, it's back on the BBC!! Tonight was the 1st competitve show and the boys went first. I'd already decided that I was going to back Austin Healey because he is a Wallasey boy; turned out he got the best score of the night for his Viennese Waltz. Others I'll be watching are Tom Chambers and Mark Foster, both very easy on the eye!! Bring it on!

PS: DS absolutely loved it (well, until he went to bed at 7pm!).

Curiosity LO

This is a shameless scraplift from a LO called Autumn Adventures by Zahra Conway and it's on page 63 of October's edition of SBI. I love the simplicity of it and it goes so well with the photos of DS earlier this week. That particular sheet of October Afternoon paper has been in one of my Really Useful Boxes for a year because I didn't know what to do with it!

The photo isn't that great because the light, as you know, in the kitchen at this time of night is rubbish!

Favourite Foods CJ

I finally finished the DLO for this recipe CJ, which has been hanging about for a week now. I chose yummy Cheesy Mince from the Lady Laird's cookbook - a real winter favourite in our house.

What I Learnt On Day 20

That everything is a learning experience when you are only 20 months old.

Signs Of Autumn

It's been a gorgeous day here today but there is Autumn in the air, particularly noticeable when the sun goes down ... or maybe it's just because we have no roof on the house just now!

Loft Progress #4

Yours truly braved the ladder today and went to up onto the scaffolding to see what was going on. Jumping up and down in the back garden has not given me any satisfactory insight into what has been going on!! The first 2 images were taken this morning when the old loft hatch was being removed, in preparation for the loft floor going down. (Note the water damage on the ceiling on #2 from when the old water tank leaked!) Number 3 is the roof minus the slates but with the Velux frames in place under the felt and number 4 shows the Velux at the back of the house (area over the bathroom).

What I Learnt On Day 19

That change isn't always for the better. Gone is the beautiful Morgan garage and in its place is a Polish supermarket.