A Croppin' I will go!

This hasn't photographed at all well - the close up was worse, so girls coming to the crop - be patient and I'll email you a better one so you can get the stuff together! This LO is the 'lesson session' for our crop in Ludgershall this Saturday - July 4th. If you wanna join us, use the contact me button in the margin to erm, contact me and I'll overload you with details. I've been very busy this morning, but as the sun swings around to the back of the house, I'm going to abandon ship and do other things - Miss Dunnit doesn't know it yet, but there's a supermarket grand prix too undertake and because the house will be in the shade at the front, we might very well wash the little green rocket! Yikes, she'll be Miss Disgruntled before long if I insist on any more than that today - after all, she'll be parted from MSN for about 3 hours!
Don't forget to slip slap slop in the sun everyone, happy Monday!

And because loads of you wanted to know which of the beauties was mine and I can pretty well be flattered into anything (and because I've finally got her permission!), here's another picture of my Prom babe.

Class of 2009

It was Prom last night. The weather was perfect. The girls looked beautiful and the boys were incredibly handsome. The parents blubbed (well me, a bit!) and a great time was had by all. It was great, and hats off to school (again) for everything they did to make it so special - a huge awning over the main entance and a red carpet, the keystage head emceeing arrivals with really funny comments, the two teachers who took on the role of bouncers - ipods plugged into one ear and talking into their sleeves whilst 'checking' tickets - then a good old dance and an 'after party' at a friend's house and a sleepover which was really a crash where you fall arrangement and then a very large, very fried breakfast. How fun to be nearly 16 and have a Prom. I know it's an American tradition and it's infiltrated our traditions and I know that in terms of cost it can get incredibly silly. But it's been quite a good sort of closure really; Leaver's Day was so emotionally charged that the enjoyment of it all was coloured by how much it meant. Prom was just fun. Ours had choices - nice dresses and a 'do-it-yourself-transport', or a shared limo experience and the best we could do for a dress. Well, they certainly chose well. A decorated farm trailer pulled round the village on a vintage tractor thanks to a well connected chum was the most fun and definitely the best transport of the evening. The limos were fab to see, but windows were blacked out and all we could see was a big ol' car - no sign of the kids having fun inside. To be honest, it was all so exciting that this lot would happily have walked into the school drive - it wouldn't have mattered a jot. So if you have a prom to face in the coming years, take this advice - keep it balanced, don't allow stressy drama type behaviour over being the only one who doesn't have blah blah blah. Make it fun in other ways...the Class of 2009 that rode that trailer thing done up with balloons and crepe paper will never forget the fun, or have any regrets over a shiny limo! As for scrapbook opportunities - well, you can imagine! Watch this space as they say in really interesting, less self-indulgent blogs!

WOYWW turns into WOW!

Allowing for time differences that I have no intention of trying to get my head around; this is from Sissy Dunnit. And to prove that we just wanna see what you're working on, you'll be unsurprised to know that the floor is Sissy's work surface of choice for this beauty. I'm a bit breathless about it; it's just amazing! Of course, part of the skill is that putting-patterns-that -shouldn't-go together-thing and it works so well. Not one of my skills. Scares me to death!
So there you have it, two Dunnit WOYWW, one a true wow!

What's On Your Workdesk? Wednesday

Comes round quite fast this silly WOYWW!! It's insanely pleasing though, so please keep going!

My workroom is at the back of the house and therefore in full shade this morning. Bliss to work in but not great for photos! You can see evidence of some 'almost cute' cards that are a work in progress; the cute images are clear stamps. Stamping is my first crafting love. Introduced to it years ago by my sweet Sissy. She had selfishly moved to California (some 16 years ago now, so we're getting a little more used to the separation). For Easter, Sissy sent me a card embossed in gold with a PSX image on it. Inside the card was a note to say it was home-made, even the gold bits...well I was pretty much on the next plane out there trying to find out the what and the how! And that's how I got started. What about you?

I'm impressively (for me) on the ball this morning; Miss Dunnit (tired and little disgruntled) has to go into school this morning and I have to sit and wait because it's 'only for five minutes'. So I'm doing this now, secure in the knowledge that it'll be lunchtime before we get home!

Show us your work surface: floor/table/desk/lap tray - no matter,we just want to see what you're doing this Wednesday! Leave a comment so I and any others can visit your glory surface!

Drawing board > reality

This is the pergola and half finished decking that transforms the (large) patio area at my sweet In-Laws home. The athletic figure in the back of the photo is Mr Dunnit, the designer, builder and installer of such splendour. He is truly a devoted son, husband and father, and I thought it would be OK to have a little brag about my man! (Mine I tell you, mine!) It's amazing huh. And better yet, a dry run for our own decking project. Although of course, ours will be on a titchy scale by comparison. So you see, I have both Dunnits at home this week. We've opted for an early stay-cation so that jobs such as that mammoth decking project can be done, so that we can see Miss Dunnit off to prom after a relaxed Friday (how exciting), so that Mr Dunnit and I can see something of each other for no reason and luckily, so we can enjoy some weather. So how does getting up an hour later than usual and eating slightly less to routine times throws such a loop in my curve? I've barely done any housework although I've been in the kitchen a lot, haven't been food shopping, although I spent a fortune in the farm shop yesterday - ah the organic pork is just incredible; I haven't managed any of last weeks challenges, although I'm still finding time to blog and I certainly haven't done much craft work. Although yesterday I spent 3 hours fiddling about with some flocked paper that wouldn't inspire me. Of course I should have put it down and done something else instead, but I didn't. I was almost jealous of Mr Dunnit's aching back by teatime, at least he'd achieved something! As I've surmised before, I'm a slave to my routine! Sunshine and Wimbledon don't help - Mr Dunnit is very keen on any sport and really has no regard for my personal 'no daytime tv' rule. (It's a pathetic attempt at self repsect - I know I'll end up in a blob on the sofa all day if I have the telly on, so I don't.) So as I type, the TV plays Wimbledon coverage to itself (because he's wandered off to do something or other - ants in his pants, that man.) I have my back to the doorway through which I could watch tv and have done something slightly overdue in honour of your fascinating comments to the last post; I've backed up my hard drive. Unsurprisingly, it's been longer than I thought, so it's a very fulfilled and not a little smug fat woman that sits before the screen. However, hold your horses though - y'all had so much to say about archiving, copying and originals that I feel a reply coming on. Will formulate and respond. Just as soon as rain stops the tennis and my lovely family go back to work and routine!

Question:

And a WOYWW picture from my sweet Sissy Dunnit - oooh and ahh; digital and everyday sewing, digital and drawn fabric designing and california sunshine - all in one photo. I tell you, whatever day of the week, this WOYW is just the biz for me, am so enjoying the legitimate scrutiny!!
I visited Eadaoin's blog earlier, I was going to leave a facetious comment about muffins, but her current post made me think a bit harder, because of course, it ended with the immortal words 'what do you think?' so I told her. And then I thought, dear interweb, that you may like to know what I think too. I'm absolutely sure you have an opinion, even more sure that anyone with an ounce of computer skill and a good scanner will have a very firm opinion! See, this lovely gal has been lucky enough to find a shed load of black and white photos in the attic which will tell hundreds of stories. Most exciting and inspiring for sure; the possibilities almost motivate me! However, Eadaoin thinks that she should copy the photos for scrapping and 'keep the originals safe'. I don't. I think she should avoid cropping them at all costs, wherever they are annotated on the reverse she should copy/scan that, and then do the scrapbooker's thing with the originals. I don't think they could be stored anywhere safer than an acid free album; the invitation to enjoy the pictures and their stories is implied by them being in an album. Safely storing them in an attic (however carefully archived) sort of belies the reason the photos were taken in the first place. In my opinion. Of course, I'm the first to admit that my massive collection of photos will not entirely end up in albums -I'm selective about the ones I scrap because of the quality, story or blahdy blah, and of course, I like to talk about doing this stuff much more than I actually do this stuff - I will always have archive photos to go in the attic for sure. But they won't be originals that are faithfully reproduced in albums. No ma'am, they will be the ones that don't tell the story but I don't want to throw away. Like the fifteen pictures of sheep that Miss Dunnit took from too far away and in less than ideal conditions. Some of them have told the story in an album, the rest are in my 21st century shoebox (the hard disk, actually).
So how do you do it? Forget about the digital luxury - what would you do in Eadaion's position? Lordy, I can hear some of you clapping your hands with glee at the scrapping opportunity this would offer. Grab one of those fresh muffins and a cuppa and let us know. The floor - or rather the worktable - is yours. (Blogger allowing. I think the bugs have gone..if you see a late comment from me, you'll know I've been allowed back into the ether!!)

Now this is the third time that I've attempted to blog today. And to be honest, I will give up if this won't actually 'publish'; because it's really not important enough to keep fighting over it with Blogger.

This post then is merely a test. I'll come back with the real thing if I can get this up/on/published/blah.

The LO was done (and finished later of course) at the last Ludgershall Crop where Fiona kindly agreed to conduct the lesson session. Which means that she had to come up with a LO and then let all of us copy it and use her stuff! It's like a big ol' sketch really, with benefits.

Oh and the Banana Muffins - Nigella of course...and I always leave out the butterscotch - because we don't like it and if I add choc chips instead, Mr Dunnit doesn't like it and...oh you know!

3 ripe bananas

125ml veg oil

2 eggs

250g flour

100g caster sugar

1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

150g butterscotch or choc chips.

1. Pre-heat oven to 200C Gas 6 and line a muffin tin (or invest in a silicone one - unbelievably, amazingly, stupidly, smug-makingly totally non-stick - my words, not Nigella's)

2. Mash the bananas and set side for a min.

3. Pour the oil into a jug and beat in eggs.

4. Put the flour, sugar, bicarb, and baking powder into alarge bowl and mix in the beaten egg and oil mix, followed by mashed bananas.

5. Fold in the butterscoth morsels, place equal amount in the muffin cases and bale for 20 mins.

Makes 12 average. I prefer them fresh from the oven warm with a large mug of java! Oh yum.