California was wonderful ...

here we are with the whole family ...

Sydney, Katelyn, Kerry and behind them Joe and John, then Stan and Susan and me ...


We had a lovely day at the lavender farm ...

 At my favorite Lighthouse, Point Loma in San Diego, we had a wonderful meeting with some people we have known for a long time online and now have finally met in person.


On the right, I am being presented with a gold Thomas POint Lighthouse. John was the gifter but it was presented by Bill Younger, the founder of "Harbour Lights"

From the left ...

Kim Fahlen, Stan, me, Harry Hine, Gary and KAthleen Pence, David and Peggy Dutcher and John Chidester  and sitting in front Bill and Nancy Younger.

We had some lovely times with Sue and John and the fire was just wonderful ... I think I might give Stan a Fire Pit for Christmas

And I learned to quilt ... must make more of that, especially now I have my new sewing machine!

Phew ... I am just about surfacing. I spent the worst 24 hours traveling Sat/Sun. I had to come to Germany because my godmother died and my mother needed support.
So I hopped on an Eurolines bus because last time that was great and it also was the cheapest way to get over to Germany.... BUT ...through the night in a bus full of drunk folk who were not interested in anyone but themselves ... through the night with a WC that did not work and stank to high heaven ... Not fun! May the return journey on Monday be more comfortable.

The memorial service for my godmother though was lovely. Yes ... I really mean lovely! A celebration of her life in a church FULL of people!

My aunt in better times ... she was 89 years old and we loved her a lot!  

The resurrected hair clip

For ages  I had the hair clip covered in clear glass beads. Found it boring and so never wore it. 

Then I got the butterfly and bits and pieces in a bag full of "bead soup" from The Bead Shed and this is the result. Like it?

Am I going to carry on with the blog? Maybe not ... seems like I am doing this just for myself and that seems a) a bit self indulgent and b) a bit of a waste of time. So ... I shall have to think hard ...

There we go ... finished with tassel .. and yes I know ... the Kindle does not need a bookmark LoL 

Beaded Bookmark designed by Sooz

There it is -- the beaded book mark ... I loved doing it and all that is left now is to find a needle suitable to pull the tassel threads through. 

Well there we are ... the latest "creation"

The picture does not do the colours justice. The stone is a beautiful rose quartz worry stone. And the wrapping is made from purple rainbow beads and silver spacers.

I am now working on testing Sooz's bookmark pattern and having a ball with it - despite the fact that it is sooooooo fiddely!

Phew ... did I need that? ... yesterday morning my beloved laptop went pfffffft ... the screen is now not working and they quoted £220 to attempt to repair it. With a 4 1/2 year old lap top, that is a risky thing. So ... I got a new one.

It is astonishing how many little things you set up on your "work horse" over the years. All gone now and I need to start again. That is bother on one hand. But on the other it is good to have a computer working so quickly again :)

So here we go!

We had a lovely day with our grandchildren Florence and Ben and their mummy Wendy.

Granddad Stan and Ben are doing a puzzle



  Mummy and Florence want food

Ben sitting on Granddad's lap. They are watching Alvin and the Chipmunks, but Kusje got terretorial, because, after all that lap is his, not Ben's.

Amazing how patient Ben is craninig his neck to be able to see. No sign of him wanting to remove the dog.

Granddad and Florence

Mummy and tired Florence having kisses

http://youtu.be/E2VCwBzGdPM ... if you nailed me down and I would absolutely HAVE to decide the one song I love I would be hard pushed ... but if it could only be one, it would be the one behind that link! Got you curious? ... well go listen!


It is Valentine's Day and my fantastic husband has given me a fantastic 12 red roses and a double CD of Louis Armstrong ... I love it ... and him !

He got his favourite yellow roses and red carnations ... and a canlde lit dinner at home, which he much prefers to going out!











The pooch got a few prawns from the dinner table, which he much enjoyed (hope we won't regret it!)

And this afternoon we are having strawberrey cakes and coffee ... and prawn sandwiches for tea ...
All in all a nice day!

Hope yours is as nice! :)

Why is it that we are so alone sometimes?

I am married to a wonderful 81 year old. He is lovely and couldn't love me more! But ... there are things he just can't or better shouldn't do. And then I shouldn't do most of those things either. My back is in all kinds of troubles if I do.

By way of explanation ... We needed to move a concrete flower pot with a cornifer which is about 4 feet tall - the thing is heavy!! So what can we do? DH with his none-existant balance and me with my troubled spine...

We have nobody we can ask to come and do it for us, so we just did it. And now I can barely move ... Thankfully DH is OK!

But it made me think ... we are alone really. It makes me all the more thankful that my mom is not so alone and has folks she can ask to help her!

Well, we have moved the cornifer and now I can keep an eye on the furbaby when he is in the garden! I am glad about that!

It is a long time ago, that I made FIMO beads, but I thought I would have another go at it. I found some FIMO with a little glitter in it, so I thought it is just the thing for some Red Hat things ... the above set is for me me me ... (why is it I give most of the things I make away?)

a little hat pin

a little larger hat pin

and this is the larger one from behind ...

The hat pins will be little presents ... and I am about to make some red hats too and some glasses holders ...

Well? What do you think?

I was having mad 5 minutes ... how about the artistic pooch ?

I finished my cuffed cape ... like it! 

Somehow the virius has overtaken me again ... grrrr ... I have had enough of it now. Since Boxing Day on and off ... not good!!

Just decided to work on another blog ... http://debonairesofwsm.blogspot.com/
This time for one of my Red Hat Society Chapters: The Debonaires of Weston super Mare
Have a look and let me know what you think. Bearing in mind that is in infancy stages as yet. Work in progress ;)

got to bragg a bit ... my friend Wendy took me to a fantastic shop. You know the kind: "I have died and gone to heaven!" :)

Well I found this lovely wool there and started making this cuffed wrap.

Look here for the pattern and a picture of the finished cape.


So this is the nearly finished first half ... :)

 

On Saturday "The Weston Belles" - Chapter of the Red Hat Society - are celebrating their 5th birthday. We decided to have a theme "Now we are five" for the party and we will try and dress like we did then, make food for a five-year-old's party and generally have fun.

So I searched out some pictures of me at five ...

 

Here is the whole family then ... from the left

Hans my brother, Mama, Baby Christine, Papa and me. This is just before my fifth birthday!

 

For my  fifth birthday I got a new pram for my baby doll. Boy was I proud of that pram! 

We often had picnicks in the garden then.

And we played with the old fallen plum tree

So now what do I wear on Saturday? I guess I can find a skirt and blouse and a coat. But those boots ... ???

Did I tell you that I have joined a choir? After far too many years, I am singing again and loving it. A friend sugested I should try the Somerset Singers and I am glad she did. This is a challenge for me, Never even come close to Elgar before. I come from a German choral tradition, where Elgar is not on the agenda somehow ... much. So this is new to me in all kinds of ways. Well ... nothing like a challenge! And I am beginning to really enjoy it. Amazing ... Well, if you are in the area, come to hear it in Wells Cathedral The choir is worth listening to and the Cathedral is worth visiting

New me

Well, you could have knocked me over with a feather. I went shopping for a new swim suit. You see, I want to do some aqua-aerobics and we are going to California. So I needed a new one. The old one is well past it and I won't be seen in it any more. So off I went and found a lovely new one.
I was surprised that the swim-dress is "in" again and so I bought one, came home, tried it on and ... husband went for the camera!

our posh pooch

Once every six to eight weeks Kusje has to go to the poodle parlour. He hates me on the way there and when I hand him over. But when I pick him up again, all clean and white with a lovely hair cut, he positively dances: "Look how beautiful I am!"

 And then ... in the garden, husband picked up the camera and the dog starts posing.

"Am I not cute?"

"Well? I know there is a doggy bed behind me, but I want to sit on the sofa! What are you going to do about it? "

On husband's lap ... best place to watch TV and look outside so I can growl at people walking by

Too much to do today ... somehow the new shelves next to my desk are brilliant! All I need to do is sort out the paperwork now. A tax return needs to be done too ... But then ... hey ...
So this coming week I need to concentrate on sorting out the paperwork, so I can do the online tax return and get that over with!
So Sunday night is "Dancing on Ice Night" and tomorrow that work starts!

Crochet .

yeah ok ... long time nothing and then three posts in a day ...

I just decided that the bed sock pattern I made up does not work. So I started to look around and found a free sock pattern. Must have a go at that But... I also bought a pattern and am itching to get on with that ... now what? Which one ???

And on top of that I am looking for little small light weight gifts to take to California for a possible Red Hat Get-Together ... I so beleive in getting too much to do, don't I?

But what do I make? Any ideas anyone?

Friday 13th ...

Just noticed -- yes I know I am slow -- it is Friday the 13th today!
Lucky day for me! How about anyone else?

me again...

We - that means our dog Kusje and I - went on a little walk on the beach and since the sun was shining ...

Kusje thought that it was great fun.



Do you like his fashionable coat? I had to buy one two sizes too big, because Kus has such a long body. But some alterations made it fit OK. At zero temperature he needs a coat. Somehow he shivvvvvers very easily. Bless... He is a 2 1/2 year old Coton de Tulear ...

quit stopping my playing !!



I know I am scruffy, but I am going to the poodle parlour on Monday :)





Al long time has passed ...

It seems forever since I managed to write here. A lot has happened. The Red Hat Chapter I belonged to broke up in a spectacular fashion and we formed a new one, which is totally nice. So now I belong to two chapters and both are a lot of fun :)

Here are "The Debonaires of Weston-super-Mare" at our Christmas Tea

Also I have joined a choir ... finally. Singing is something I love doing, but have not done anything like enough of in the last ... toooo many years! So now I am a member of the Somerset Singers and straight into a challenge. We are rehearsing "The Dream of Gerontius" by Edward Elgar for a performance in honour of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee on April 14th in Wells Cathedral!  Great fun and a challenge!

And we are getting ready for a visit in California with my husband's daughter. And then I am off to Germany to stay with Mama again and bring her over here for a couple of weeks after.

On top of this I am back to crochet. And I am trying to de-clutter and and and ...

I will write as much, as I can and hope for the best :)