SNAP!

Belatedly joining in with the weekly photographic meme organised by my friend HELENA.

I have just returned from a trip to the USA..... Craig was there on business and I tagged along!

We flew in and out of New York, but the rest of the time we were in Phoenix: whilst there I was taken to a HUGE Asian Supermarket and I was intrigued by some of the produce there:

GOBO (apparently it originates from Japan)

JACKFRUIT (supposedly the largest tree-borne fruit in the world!)

COCONUTS (I thought all coconuts were brown!)

WHITE DRAGONFRUIT

Oh!...and those hands?......

I forgot to mention who took me to said supermarket:

....our very own DEB TURTLE!

.....and her lovely daughter CARRIE!

As always, it was fun to spend some time with these two!

Hope you've all been well while I've been gone

Thanks for dropping by!

Take care of you

Alison xx

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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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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HAPPY MAIL

I have to say, it's been a good week for Happy Mail here what with quilt squares (and candy!), postcards and prizes!

This fabulous quilt square arrived from the glorious BEVERLY.......many thanks Beverly.....I can't believe how scrummy the candy is!!

Two postcards.....One from the lovely RUTH, who I have been lucky enough to meet IRL (and will do so again in September) and the other from KAREN

...and the prize?.......I took part in the SCRAP365 bloghop a couple of weeks ago....and I was the lucky winner of this kit from QUIRKY KITS!

Whilst writing this post, it occurred to me that I hadn't shared the other two cards I've received as part of the PILE OF POSTCARDS EXCHANGE organised by SIAN.

This one came from SIAN herself.....

and this one from HELENA (another blogger I have met IRL!)

Thanks to everyone who is keeping our postman (mail man) busy over the summer!

I am hiding indoors out of the heat today, though I do have an errand to run this afternoon so am about to go and attempt to put some REAL clothes on!

hope you are having a good- and perhaps- sun filled weekend!

Thanks for dropping by!

Take care of you

Alison xx

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THE WEEK THAT WAS

This week has seen me:

RECEIVE......

......another quilt square (and assorted chocolate and scrapping goodies!)...this time from the talented JO over at SUGAR AND SCRAP....thank you Jo!

COMPLETE......

....... this quilt square(though it is not yet posted!)

AND

Week 7 of Project Life

ATTEND......

a Charity Ball/ Awards ceremony ...it went on forever!

TEND.....

.......to Boo's sore eye- she escaped out of the gate and came back with a cut under her eye, which has also meant a couple of visits to the Vet

DECORATE

...the twig tree for Easter

and of course PLAY.....

...Candy Crush Saga-  Level 248 now!

I hope you've all had a good weekend...and I wonder what the coming week will bring for us all!

Thanks for dropping by!

Take care of you

Alison xx

THE RAIN IN SPAIN

Firstly, thank you for all your good wishes re the lurgy...I am pleased to report that I am feeling tons better than I was...hopefully normal service will resume this week!

As you know, we don't get an awful lot of rain in this part of Spain...and when it rains it really does tend to POUR!

Mostly, we are relieved when the rain DOES  come ...it gives the countryside  (not to mention the gardens) such a boost.

However, sometimes (usually about twice a year) we have a downpour-in itself no bad thing; the problem being that the clouds have picked up what appears to be most of the Sahara Desert and then dumps it on us!

I know that the UK has been badly affected by the Saharan dust this week too, but I thought you might like to see how it manifested itself here

the pool is full of it!

the car is covered in it

and I'm fighting a constant battle with hose and broom to try and clean the terraces!

Having seen the amount that was deposited here, I was quite amazed there was anything left to  such a pollution problem elsewhere!

I was however,inspired to make a layout about it (and you know THAT doesn't happen often these days!).

When visiting my friend DEBBIE's blog during the week, I saw this sketch from LET'S GET SKETCHY

Here's my take on it:

I hope the air quality hasn't affected you too much this weekend and that the sun has shone wherever you are..even if just for a little while!

Thanks for dropping by!

Take care of you

Alison xx

PICTURE PERFECT POSTCARDS

I have been fortunate to receive three very different postcards recently...all from lovely friends I have met through blogging!

One is store-bought (thank you RUTH) , one is handpainted (thank you MEL) and one is a photograph taken by the sender and turned into a postcard (thank you MIRIAM).....all made me smile, and are much appreciated : yet again I am reminded how blessed I am to be part of this Blogging community!.....I hope all of you are having a peaceful  / fun-filled / relaxing / exciting weekend!!

Thanks for dropping by!

Take care of you

Alison xx

ONE PICTURE, TWENTY WORDS

Just collected from the postbox.....another beautiful quilt block...this time from JACKY .... thank you: perfect choice of fabrics!

Joining in with ABI'S lovely meme.....go HERE and check out more!

Thanks for dropping by!

Take care of you

Alison xx

THE WEEK THAT WAS

This week I have:

READ,,,,,

One I've been meaning to read for a few years.....and I'm so glad i got around to it..beautifully written

RECEIVED.....three beautiful quilt blocks, as part of  FIONA'S FRIENDSHIP QUILT

from the lovely SIAN

from the lovely ABI

from the lovely DEB TURTLE

some PL supplies

LOST.....0.75 KG

WORKED ON....

Project Life

TOOK PART IN.....

a 5km walk through the almond groves

A good week, all in all......I hope your week was a good one too!

Thanks for dropping by!

Take care of you

Alison xx

ZOOMING IN AND OUT

Hello lovely people......I'm joining in (yet again belatedly) with HELENA'S weekly photographic meme 

I confess that I have taken my inspiration this week from MIRIAM , who cleverly chose not to venture outdoors and used what she had in her kitchen...mainly tomatoes and garlic! There wasn't actually anything keeping me indoors, but I loved the idea and seeing as strawberries are back in season here...and are particularly delicious at the moment....that's what I chose as this week's subject

ZOOMING OUT

ZOOMING IN

I'm eating lots of strawberries at the moment, as they are supposed to  be very good for fat-burning (!?)...maybe they helped me lose that 0.75kg (1.65lbs) this week!...here's hoping I can keep it up!!

If you would like to see other ZIZO pictures, check them out HERE..in fact why not add your own?

Hope you find some photo opportunities this weekend!

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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THE WEEK THAT WAS

As you are probably aware, I spent the last week or so in the USA. In my last blogpost, I told you about my visit with RINDA in California...now it's time for my visit to Arizona.

We arrived in Phoenix last SATURDAY....and I immediately remembered just how much I love it there.....I think it's the light and the climate.

DEB TURTLE and I had made plans to meet up on SUNDAY to do some sightseeing round downtown Phoenix, but thanks to a local marathon being run that day and the entire area being closed down we changed our plans slightly. Craig and I drove down to Deb and Doug's favourite Mexican Restaurant.....

....where Deb and I got to drink our promised Margaritas in the sun...

Craig went back to the hotel to do some work and I went home with Deb and Doug for a while. Deb baked some of her wonderful chocolate chip cookies for me to take back to the hotel (I can confirm that her cookies taste as good as they always look!) while I got to meet this not so little guy...

He is SUPERCUTE!

Deb and I then headed off to downtown Chandler, which was a cute little shopping area and when we stopped for coffee on the way back to the hotel, we bumped into two of her nephews who sat and chatted with us or a while.


On MONDAY Craig flew down to Austin, Texas for a meeting ....which allowed me to use the car and go shopping! I had 'googled' all the shops I wanted to visit and, after dropping Craig off at the airport got on my way.
My favourite store was one which Deb recommended I visit - SCRAPBOOKS ETC......I could have spent the entire day there; there was so much to look at!!

That evening I met up with Deb and her daughter Carrie for dinner, before heading back to pick Craig up at the airport

Although it was sad saying our farewells at the end of the meal, we all agreed that it didn't seem like goodbye forever ...we WILL meet up again!
TUESDAY saw me having breakfast with Debbie from TELLING OUR STORY...

....Debbie is a keen scrapper .....it was so much fun talking to her about our scrapping lives and how they have developed over the years.
After saying goodbye to her, I went off to have lunch with a friend we met through my godmother...

....Donna is a really fun and interesting lady, so lunch was fun!

Craig and I did a bit of shopping in the afternoon and then went to see the second 'HOBBIT' movie at night...I wasn't terribly impressed I have to say!

We managed to have breakfast together on WEDNESDAY morning, then squeezed in the VERY last bit of shopping before heading to the airport for our flight back to the UK.


By FRIDAY lunchtime I arrived home.....

...a little the worse for wear, but glad to back in the land where there is a severe lack of choice (my head hurt from making choices while I was away!!)


And that, my friends, is the week that was....much more exciting than most of my weeks are going to be...let's see what next week brings!


I do hope all's well in your little part of the blogosphere!

Thanks for dropping by!
Take care of you
Alison xx

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