What's On Your Workdesk? Wednesday 472

It's a bit dull this early. My desk isn't exactly over exciting either! 

I've finished this LO but can't quite decide on it being finished. So I'm walking around it for a little while. More old pictures being scrapped here - 1996 I think! I'll need the desk for workshop preps later, so it hasn't got long!  At far right you can see the little tool bag that houses my Scan&Cut tools. Yesterday I went to another training session and decided in my wisdom not to take the bag (or indeed, it's contents. Or indeed, the electrical cable. Huh?). Weird really, what you decide when you're in a bit of a hurry! Of course I needed them all! Anyway, all's well that ends well and I think I've learned a couple more valuable methods. We'll see how long they last in my memory!
Meanwhile, in the real world, my lovely friend Kathy took part in WOYWW via Instagram last week. This is thrilling. So, I decided to join Instagram. I waited till we visited the-child-who-knows-everything and I asked about it. I was a bit amazed to discover that #WOYWW is already a thing and quite a few non-bloggers do it! More amazing, it sounded pretty easy. Well it's not, because my iPad/Facebook/PC and me don't understand each other. But I am going to sort it out. Just as soon as I get more than one hour at home. Which won't be today. Or tomorrow. 
So please, be patient. Whichever way you join WOYWW, please join in today, it's very important that I'm not alone and uninspired!

The party goes on...

I have received more Anniversary ATCs over the past couple of weeks and don't want to miss the chance to share them with you. Because I'm about to find a home for them you see, and as you know, that means the effort of removing them from where ever they find a home, photographing them, putting them back - well, it all becomes a challenge for me doesn't it!

Kyla, Christne, Syvia, Szuzsa, Robyn, Shaz, Neet Cardarian

Seriously, these little artworks are such a pleasure to receive examine and wonder at! Even Mr Dunnit has wondered at the scale of them. And noticed that this year we've used fairies more than any other single theme. He immediately hit on the master board idea when I invited him to look through my new collection. Interesting isn't it. Not as interesting as his reaction when I said that yes, a lot of us are familiar and use the master board technique. But a lot of us don't. It's all about choice and happiness in making. He was a bit aghast about this part...because it would be 'fiddly' wouldn't it. Then I tried to explain that whichever way they're made, they are loaded with the investment of the time and design and thoughtfulness and that's what is received. Noises were made about 'feelings' and I had to find another way to explain that there was more to it than the ATC itself. I settled on 'an investment in the expression of the solidarity and friendship of WOYWW'. There were murmurings about small round objects. I know. Sometimes even I don't understand myself!

What's On Your Workdesk? Wednesday 470

I don't know why, but Wednesday feels a day earlier than normal this week; perhaps because I can feel deadlines starting to slip already! A bit chilly and dull this morning. 

I am still basking in after-party warmth and have received some more lovely ATCs. I will sow them separately so you aren't distracted. I'm also still playing with the 'cards from one sheet' thing, slow because of other jobs rather than lack of ideas - isn't that always the way...idea overload when you can't get near the desk! Apart from putting my half finished coffee on the desk, it's pretty much as I left it last night. A sentiment waiting to be cut out and mounted. My little blue Bluetooth speaker which I should have recharged overnight. The blue wallet file holds patterned scraps. It's not an attractive way of storing them but it means I can lift them all out of the box at once and that means I go through them much more often. I'm in a rush to clear this lot up so that I can attempt a daily sketch challenge on a Facebook group called Inspired by Memories. I can't keep up with daily, but starting a new scrapbook page every few days makes me feel as if I'm making progress. I did one yesterday with a photo from 1996. Progress indeed!!
Be inspiring then will you please. And make allowances for me..Wednesday is also visiting day for me and my lovely Mama, which takes all afternoon and evening because of distances and all sorts. Link your lovely WOYWW post here and we'll trot round. A boiling kettle is always a good way to entice a desker....

Travels...

Only minutes after getting home from Spain, we went to Cornwall. It felt like minutes but really it was a week. We had a weekend aboard Amelie Poulain, a converted barge. It sits on the River Fal, a stones throw from the Falmouth estuary at a permanent erm.....berth... mooring?
Fortunately, you don't need nautical knowledge. Luckily, in the case of certain landlubbers!
I didn't take any pictures of it as a whole, there are some on the Facebook page - search Floathouse. It's big...got 3 double bedrooms and a proper bathroom. By 'proper' I mean big - enough room to shower or bath and step out of either and dance yourself dry.

Not posed...brunch on deck.  Would like to be there now, I must say!

These barges were of course, for carrying goods, and they had little 'sheds' on the decks for the bargees to live in and steer from. Actually, that might be navigate from. I don't know. You don't need to know, this is a permanent dock! So the 'shed' has been removed and more glamorous 'top' has been built as you can see. Such a delicious design to allow for the view, it's hard to tell where the glass stops and the view begins!

When the tide goes out, there are birds feeding from the revealed sand, cormorants and seagulls crabbing, a host of swans and erm, lots of others! On Saturday night, we simply at without any lights and let the lights on the river entertain us;  just as we thought to turn in, we were treated to a huge fireworks display somewhere over the estuary! We had armchair ringside seats. A lovely bonus! Amelie has a kitchen of course, a proper one with a big fridge and a dishwasher. Or...you can jump onto the quay and visit the popular and busy café on the wharf. Couldn't be more convenient! The wharf also boasts some lovely artisan studios. Jewellery, art, clothes..you know!

See my little sunspot in the open front door? My word it was gorgeous. Hot. The wall in front of my chair is the quay side. When the tide is in, the floor is level with the top of the quay. At other times, you make like the French Lieutenant's woman and climb the stone steps from erm, ship to shore. It's not hard or dodgy, but for a land lubber, it's sort of romantic!

Of course, you water-life-familiar types will probably cheerfully jump in and out of the dinghy and row yourselves across river or down to the shops. We loved the idea and no doubt that Mr D would have enjoyed it. But then we considered my wonky-fat-woman status and thought better of it! There's no dignity to be had trying to get in and out of a rowing boat I can tell you!  Perhaps next time, I'll still be wonky, but I may not need to roll! We did enjoy a leisurely break, I must say.  We walked and explored locally and then summoned up the strength to get in the car and go further afield. I've never quite got over that about Cornwall - nothing is very far away! 

Cornwall in late spring is a gift of wildflowers and promise. We really were lucky with gorgeous weather all weekend.

Not that we actually went into the water you understand.....

My cousins built and own Amelie, are letting her; if you are on Facebook, you can find their page and contact details by searching Floathouse . You'll know you've got the right page if it says Jubilee Wharf as the address and some of the pics will look familiar!

Mr Dunnit says you can tell you've had a good weekend when you're photographing the stones that are acting as door stops!!

What's On Your Workdesk? Wednesay 469

Well I hope you really enjoyed the 9th anniversary workdesk hop, I certainly did, and I have loved the toing and froing of messages about ATCs and I've received some too, thank you! I appreciate your joining in, on the desks or with an ATC PIF, or comments..whatever!

I'm flirting with that 'make as many cards as you can using one sheet of 12 x 12 background paper' thing. I say flirting because I started with one patterned sheet and couldn't make it work, so started another. Now I wish I'd stuck it out with the first sheet, so could well have quite a few cards made by this tie next week! 
You may well have a truly inspiring desk for me to see today - share away so that I can be enabled and copy your fab designs, please!

May - travel season!

Back at the beginning of the year, we set up work calendar and on my insistence, pencilled in a break, in May. As you know, we are building an extension and if it's ever getting to have more than footings, we need to actually do something to it. So that week off turned into a fortnight. In Spain. It was delicious and a lot of fun.

We picked a slightly cool, overcast day and went for a drive, away from the Malaga Costa, up the nearest mountain. Oh my gosh, Spring makes Andalucia a green and wildflower strewn region. We stopped at a bustling Pueblo. It was pretty cool, you can see the clouds that were hanging over the coast. This part of the town is very picturesque; clings to the hillside and is full of twisty turny streets. Traditionally, they used Donkeys to get about and to carry their goods. These days there are still Donkeys for the tourists to ride. Like it or not, the Donkeys looked well fed and weren't being mistreated in our line of vision. There were lots of them, and plenty of people waiting to have a ride around part of the village. We stayed on our feet and walked up and up and up. 

Steep and twisty - you can see why the Donkeys are and were an advantage. Some of the streets were too narrow even for a regular car. And some were for pedestrians only.I do love how all the homeowners have collectively agreed to use the same colour flower pots; I wonder if it's actually a community directive?! I was half expecting a sign telling me that this was a Kodak opportunity! These geraniums are probably a blaze of colour by now.

Inevitably, there were gift shops and inevitably there were bars and restaurants with panoramic views. But it stayed cloudy and so our photos are pretty limited. Be assured though of the greatest inevitability:  I found an ice cream shop, and we managed to overlook the cloudy coolness and do some market research. And bracing myself for the walk down and down and down!

WOYWW 9 - the after party

Well it was a lovely day. The sun shone and we all enjoyed congratulating ourselves on the anniversary of this blog hop. It was fun and unless you take part, I don't think you'll quite be able to understand the atmosphere. Join in and find out!
Like all good events, there were memorable things.
This year, there was no Mr Linky when y'all wanted to link. Entirely my fault. Having composed and edited and re-composed and edited and then thought that I'd underdone my post, then overdone it, I walked away from the PC and went to bed. Totally forgot to use the link tool! Still, all's well that ends well. It did shake up the order of things, so I reckon all PIF postings will have gone to very unexpected recipients. Nice.




Our Nikki made up these cyber badges for us to display on blogs - if you want to! Nikki is a very clever gal. Her designs are available through her website and she is incredibly generous with her time...based on my ability, I am assuming these badges have taken her all of the last year and caused grey hair to create and get online. I do not know how she does it, and reports in with a tidy desk!


Quite a few asked about the blue mouse mat on my desk. Actually, it's one of two circles of scrapbook paper that I'd cut out to use the outsidey bits as a frame. These two pieces were left on my desk ready to be sacrificed to the cutter and the patterned scraps pile. And it has happened. It's the only desk action that's taken place since Wednesday I can tell you!
 And then..happy post! My word it's lovely to have real post and for me, that's the nicest thing about our ATC swap...opening the mail box and finding unexpected treasure! Look already -

Honestly, the inspiration that falls of these little ATCs is mind blowing, thanks to Margaret, Heather, Sarah, Twiglet, Annie, Diana, Kim, Elizabeth and Helen. I don't know how you do it. And that little smiley face on Elizabeth's ATC...yep it's me! At a very tender age, don't be jealous of my youth, it's not real!
I can 'see' each of you in your WOYWW spaces making these and it really makes me smile!

And a genuine and sappy note of thanks to the best BFF. Jan. She kept it all together whilst I was recuperating from the big brain op (now nearly 2 years ago) and was the one who erm, pushed me into WOYWW Crop. She was right. And there it is in writing!