The way it was

Really sorry but ´hubby´ gave me the wrong link! hopefully this will work:

Our Wedding Photo Book Online

We met in 1971 at the local youth club, shall I divulge the ages, oh yes ok then,
 I was 14, very shy, and interested in the weight training team events, but did notice this boy who kept walking from the table tennis room through the main hall,
  Chris was 16 , we clicked as they say, he would leave his 6th form school and walk to meet me from school, shedding the blazer, due to the competition between the two schools and walking me home, oh the bliss of youth

A few hic ups along the way but Chris proposed in 1975, New years eve  and we were on our way, Chris was doing an engineering apprentiship (which he hated) and really wanted to be a  musical   entertainer, we ended up being a duo, touring in our local area to fit in with work, even gigs in Wandsworth prison officers mess, (that was an experience all on its own), but things got in the way, parental concerns over a musical career and fathers intervention meant a huge tear and we were torn apart.

Life has its way of dealing the cards, I married and had my two beautiful wonderful children, Chris ended up in New Zealand due to his musical contracts, our two families kept in touch, we were finally reunited in 2002 with the realisation that it was others not ourselves that drove the split.

Chris came back to the UK for a school reunion, his Mum said to contact me and that as they say was it.  However lives built abroad needed to be addressed and so it wasnt until 2003 we were reunited with a rainbow. In NZ, Chris had this storm followed by a wonderful rainbow, he said it was a sign, then a couple of hours later he received a phone call saying his Dad had passed.  He came back for the funeral and never returned. Hence the rainbow connection
so before you all nod off, this was to be the theme of our wedding, great excuse to include so much colour!!

 the table decorations, made from mason jars with lace and sprinkles

 our butterfly mobiles with rainbow colours

Tiny Suffolk puffs around foam spheres, ruched organza puffs, wooden hearts, cut, painted and decorated, lots of balloons, two bird cages filled with statice and gyp, sprinkles and crystals

I also made the pew ends from statice, sage, rosemary and gyp

On the table in front of the altar sat a remembrance candle which I stood in a glass bowl surrounded by amethyst crystals we were asked to light this and take a few moments to reflect on those unable to be present.

I had had the fore thought to put little royal blue organza bags with tissues in on the pews, just in case!

We decided to sing one of the songs we sang back in 1975,

I´ll never find another you by The Seekers

We collected the vibrant bougainvillea flowers and dried them along with some roses and lavender, made some cones from doilles and filled them for confetti, worked brilliantly

I also made spheres from different coloured yarns for decorations

On our return from Gibraltar we had another vibrant rainbow, another sign?

I found the two bird cages in a Chinese bazaar for 14e and just filled them up

I made the cakes, both sponge, one chocolate, the other lemon, there was very little left

Enough for now!?

Sorry about the layout and spaces, but the program will not let me change them around and as our connection is getting slower, I don´t want to push my luck

Hope you all enjoyed your Easter break

take care

xcx

 

Sharing our news

Hello everyone, rather a long break, for all sorts of reasons, perhaps most of all, just because!  Wow one whole year just seems to have zipped past and disappeared.

I´m sure I shall flip back to some events, but I thought you may like to share in our news,

We have been very busy these last three months, planning and crafting, organising

Chris and I have just got married

First we went to Gibraltar in February, getting married in Spain was proving very difficult, every document had to be translated and stamped, the time was taking an age and it was getting stressful, so we opted for Gibraltar for the legalities.  It was very easy, and even though there were no frills, we still enjoyed the ceremony, with Rebecca walking me in to the room and giving us the rings.

So with Chris´s brother, best friend, Rebecca and Antoni we had a picnic on the balcony then a photo shoot down on the beach.

We were going to visit the monkeys etc on the rock but the cable car was being refurbished, best thing as it turns out as we organised a private tour with an excellent guide and had a lovely time.

We also visited St Michael´s caves, which were outstandingly beautiful.  I really do not do tunnels or caves etc but was determined to go in, it was wonderful, they hold concerts there and the lighting systems made it magical.  When I touched the rocks I was surprised to feel it was very warm, there was a polished stalactite and the energy was amazing.

We only took video so will have to take off some stills.

We also visited the tunnels, hacked out by the soldiers, the history was very interesting but I did not enjoy these as much, in contrast the stone was so cold to touch and quite hostile.

So moving into March

On Monday we had a blessing in our little chapel in the Ermita, with family and friends, it was so beautiful, very emotional and we consider this to be our ´wedding´, 

Rebecca, Antoni, Daniel, Shine and Leocia, lovely flower girl, Chris´s Mum and sister

Well perhaps I should call a halt here before you all get bored

So after 41 years 1 month and 5 days since Chris first proposed, through parental intervention, life and circumstances we finally tied the knot

Here is the link to our albelli photo book if you are interested

http://www.albelli.co.uk/view-online-photo-book/ebbe716f-329c-4413-a34e-b1b1e68b37a3?utm_campaign=SFB_widget

so where ever you are take care

xcx

A little tale of the cat kingdom

Such a nice feeling, being able to open the fridge and have it bulging with fresh goodies and thinking what to have to eat, the new recipe of spinach rice went down well again along with the vibrant stir fry.  

We stopped off this morning on our way back from a doctor's appointment to visit the fish counter so today's lunch was fresh mussels in a white wine sauce, with a zingy salad.  I am determined to shed those extra pounds that have crept on, I know it's going to be hard due to all my levels being all over the place, but with the warmer weather creeping on, portion control and fresh produce it must work, surely??!! any tips gratefully received

 

I think I may try walking round the block each day too, its up and down hill so must be a bit of a work out, especially for me with the fibro, would be nice to do some yoga too, have to look into that

 

When Rebecca brought me back home she decided to stay until teatime today, we both felt reassured by being around and I´m pleased to say she is feeling a little better, so she has gone home to be with her girlies (cats)  We have put strategies in place for our comfort zones, discussed possibilities and probabilities, so all is very positive and forward thinking

 

I posted a photo of this plant on 29.1.15, where I said I would post another when it flowered, I say this because I can´t find the original one, but anyway it looks very pretty and is a haven for the bees who visit it all day long. 

 

 

We have a couple of other plants that need to mature, but in some of the high winds their pots were lifted off and smashed to the ground, resulting in broken stems.  I have planted these pieces and they seem to be taking, so, a very positive result as we can now dot these around to find the best growing space for them.

 

Last night our TV viewing was the football!

I am not a particular fan of sport, but as with all things give and take is in order

Last night it was between Reading and Bradford, an FA 1/4 final replay

Chris has followed Reading forever, and his Dad and Grandad before

In fact his father´s ashes are buried near the goal post

so it was very poignant last night for his team, that has been suffering its struggles, to reach this point.

so!

can you picture the scene, nail biting, edge of seat stuff

various comments of encouragement and then...within minutes.....

Reading score..............roarrrrr, jumping about and other whoooops.......

well....

there were cats flying everywhere from their safe little havens, where they were soundly asleep

wondering what the dickens was going on,

two raced the length of the house for the cat flap only to collide in their rush,

 others looked totally bewildered when they arrived in the dining room

 then decided it was best to see if any goodies were in the food bowl

other ran then turned and glared

they had just settled down again thinking it was safe

when.................

they scored again..........

the noise was so deafening it was difficult to register it was from one person

that did it

they all fled

every single one of the 9 - disappeared

have to admit so did Rebecca and I

there was another repeat performance with even more volume when a 3rd goal was scored

It was only after this when things quietened, did peace reign once again in the cat kingdom

goodness only knows what will happen in the semi´s

 

right, off to do tonight´s dinner

what to have, ooh let´s go and look

take care

xcx

 

 



Splash of colour

Although it seems a while ago now, I did enjoy my second hot stone massage, unfortunately we continued to have things go wrong, including having water cascading down the landing walls, down the stairs into the dining room and lounge - all because the electronic sensor in the float switch of the top water tank ceased. All fixed now though and we did have beautifully clean stairs (they are all tiles, so no damage).  At last apart from one thing, all the pumps and systems seems to be working, but sshhhhhhh don't say anything!

I had a lovely Mother's day (for the first half) as Rebecca had stayed over so we started off with some beautiful gifts, a fold away shopping bag, candle holders and vanilla scented candles, a beautiful amethyst crystal and a rose quartz one too.

We decided to investigate the market at Pedreguer, about 35 minute drive away.  It was very large and we only managed to see half of it.  There were some very good plant stalls and as I got a bit carried away, we had to do two trips to the car....

I also bought several plant plugs of tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, and cauliflower, these were to go with the lettuce plants I have already been bringing on. A medium sized rosemary, a lavender and a pot of chocolate mint found their way into my box too.

This is a photo of a huge thyme plant that Rebecca and Antoni gave to me

We had a lovely break for coffee and a bite at the cafe, then continued on for the veggie shopping.  We had taken the bag on wheels, something everyone seems to have over here and hunted out the bargains.  We found strawberries 2kg for 3 euros, avacados 2kg 4e, carrots 4kg 2e, 2 large cauliflowers for 1e and 3 large heads of brocolli for 1e, they were the best deals but we ended up having to do a double run back to the car to unload  the goodies.  We shared everything out and filled our fridges with the thoughts of brocolli soup, carrot, apples ginger and lemon juices and smoothies packed with yummy fruit and roasted veg. A 2kg bag of lemons was only 1e, freshly picked and unwaxed, the zest knocks you back when you grate it.

Sadly this is where the day started to go down hill.  Rebecca had been experiencing pains and rapid heartbeats etc for a little while and on our journey back home had started to feel unwell.  The whole thing was beginning to feel very frightening so we ended up in the ER. Mention pain, palpitations and the heart and boy do they move! Hooked up to the ECG machine, etc and results and Rebecca whisked into the doctor straight away.  X ray, bloods, calming words, then the wait for results, but then they lost a phial and had to retake 'what!' more waiting, but we were eventually allowed home about 10pm, we arrived at 5.30, with the promise of chasing up the Doppler tests, a new appointment with the consultant and some meds. 

The doctor was absolutely brilliant, and very easy on the eyes!! he had total empathy with us as he had also been on the journey with his young wife, sharing his story with us whilst at the same time trying to compose himself. He was very reassuring, took all the time Rebecca needed and promised all the follow ups, he also suggested that this may be because Rebecca is trying to gain back her life and it could be her body´s way of saying no been through enough and not ready.  We shall see.

Whilst it was not the planned Mother´s day it in fact reinforced the very essence of the meaning, just being a caring, loving, supporting Mum ready to do whatever is necessary, and we did spend the whole day together.

 Jo asked  what projects we had been working on recently so I thought it was about time I posted something. 

 A Mother´s day card for MIL, I chose size 11 seed beads for the butterfly

 

A random mix of little motifs ready to be made into either gift tags or notelets

Miniatures have been featuring a little heavily of late, these are a pair of rustic garden chairs I made from bamboo skewers

I have been asked to take the next club workshop which will be making flowers and pot plants, so I asked hubby for an arbor to fix trailing plants to, space for troughs and hanging baskets.  This is what he has made so far

Now I need to make the flowers, similar to the ones in the garden above and design the garden, some will be thread, others from tissue paper, an office hole punch creates just the right size for making petals. Mind you glasses and tweezers are a must lol.



Just made some carrot, apple, ginger and lemon juice but it disappeared before I could take a photo, yum.  Turkey marinating in lemon, ginger, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and garlic so must go and make the spinach rice and stir fry.

take care

xcx

Ouch - the week that was

What a week! The gas tank needed filling up, the leccie bill from over Christmas period came in, a 5cubic metre load of logs were delivered, also a tanker of water for the house

If that wasn't enough, the pump for the dirty water system has packed up,although it seems it can be refurbished rather than replaced (phew), but we need a tanker to clean out the pit,  the water pump in the Casita isn't working and some how, some where all the water from its depositos has disappeared, which means another tanker of water for them before we can sort out the problem.

To cap it all despite our best efforts of finding out why the dishwasher wasn't working, the plumber has discovered its pump has died.  Apparently he said most of it is due to the very high calcium levels in the water here, everything just furs up and pumps, machines etc,  only last about 5 years! Great! Just have to buy a pair of marigolds.

Oh and because of all the very high winds we have had in the last few weeks, the level in the pool has dropped by about a foot, the wind just seems to whip it up and sucks it out, so we will need another tanker of water to top it up again.

So looking forward to next week for my massage, going to need it by then.

Never mind, it's the weekend, just carry on crafting :-)

Enjoy the weekend whatever you may be doing

take care

xcx

A treat

This morning I had my treat and thoroughly enjoyed it. Hubby's valentine gift to me wasn't flowers or even chocolates (can't eat them anyway!) it was one of these 

a wonderful hot stone massage

(and no its not a piccie of me lol)

Rebecca treated me to one last year whilst in Exeter, every one is different but today's was very relaxing with a mix of  stones and hands, certainly helps the fibro. Today the therapist used the stones on my feet, an area we all seem to forget about just how hard we work them. They certainly felt better afterwards.  I think I wafted out of the treatment room rather than walked, to the comments of you look very relaxed!

I really enjoyed the aromatherapy massages that Rebecca used to give, didn't mind being a guinea pig on those occasions! She had a wonderful technique, very calming and caring, such a shame she is unable to do them anymore. Maybe in time.

I have been having a play with random miniatures but the light conditions have been so dull for the last few days I haven't managed a good photo. On my to do list.
take care
xcx 

Brrrr

There I was a few days ago saying about the almond blossom being imminent and how we were in the naya enjoying the warm sunshine.  Should have kept my thoughts to myself..... the temps have plummeted and we even had a snow storm, ok it didn´t lay here but just above us on the mountains it certainly did. It didn´t hang around long but its unseasonably cold and although the sun is shining it is struggling to reach double figures, I don´t do cold, makes the fibro worse, however the blossom is starting to appear and it´s beginning to look pretty.

 

I joined Ancestry a couple of years ago and have been delving into the past, I have enjoyed the fact that if I have contacted a fellow tree holder we have been able to swap stories and help each other on our way.  This week it was the other way around, someone contacted me which was lovely and they were from a branch of the family that I knew very little about, my father´s maternal side.  I knew two  great Uncles had emigrated to New Zealand and had become very wealthy businessmen, with one of them becoming Mayor of Lyttleton, (funny enough the same area hubby used to live) and a gt x 2 having a cow keeping business in Chelsea, then a pub in Essex. I didn´t know that a great x 3 was gate keeper in Hyde Park and owner of 14 cottages and land in Suffolk, or that his eldest son exhibited along side Turner and Reynolds in the Royal Acadamy. There was a sad side though as another gt x 2 uncle and his wife disappeared from the radar and left the young children in an orphanage. Still looking into that one.  My new found rellie was so sweet giving me information and it certainly filled in many gaps, feel quite enthused again.

 

It´s DIL´s birthday this week, so it was thinking caps on in plenty of time to make the post.  As an addition to her main present, I made a little needlecase for her, as I had noticed when staying there that she didn´t have one.

Hopefully a little bit nicer than leaving her needles in the packet

Last week I was keeping Rebecca company for her scan, she was not looking forward to it because of what happened last time when they bodged it, so I thought a little gift might help.  I made this so that I could put a little message inside, along with a opal moonstone crystal for her

The scan went ok and we returned Friday for the results, but unfortunately some of them were not available.  Why they left it so near to the consultants appointment is beyond me especially when both are like hens teeth to get.  So we are back again soon for further tests etc, hey ho......

 

I will leave you with this little gem, talk about busted.............

Lucy has been in Jackson´s shop and is now sporting the latest fashion in collars..... a miniature window................

take care xcx