They are back!!!

I have a bird feeder in the garden, its been out there for a few years, usually I have to fill both feeders at least once a week, but recently the birds have not been eating from the feeders :( . We had been having daily visits  from a pair of pigeons but they stopped coming and we thought that something had happened to them.

When the snow started again, I was surprised to see that we had a pair of pigeons back, I can't say that its the same pair, but they have really tucked into the food again and have been everyday for the past week.

We never seem to attract any small birds, its the whoppers that seem to like our food, we regularly get a pair of Magpies as well, they seem to scare off the little birds and the pigeons are not too keen on them either!!

We seem to have had a large amount of snow this year, I think when the trees are covered with snow it looks rather magical. The weather has been so cold that the snow has hung around for a good week. Tonight we were forecast more snow but sitting in the conservatory I can hear the rain on the roof and I can see the snow disappearing :(

Its been a busy week generally and last night it was good to go to our 'Aqua Zumba' class. I was pleased that the new swim suit I had ordered turned up in time, My old one was far too big and had lost all its support, so the new one was a huge improvement! The class is brilliant, the water resistance really has an effect on your muscles. This week we progressed to Aqua Gangnam Style, which was hilarious. We also managed a few extra lengths afterwards. I am not going to attempt any bike rides with all the ice around!!!

I am looking forward to the weekend, looking for a bit of a chill and a bead making session.

I nearly forgot, I have finally finished my crocheted blanket, it seems to weigh a ton and took a fair bit of time to construct and finish all the ends off but I am thrilled with my first attempt. I am very keen to try something else now, I wonder what to do next ?

PS it looks better in the flesh than in the photo, I have now washed it to freshen it up and I love it!!!

A great Weekend- going back to my youth!!!!

After a weekend of constant snow there was something brilliant to look forward to, a trip to the 02 to see Donny and Marie Osmond!!  All day Sunday it snowed and we were worried that we would not be able to make the trip. We had originally planned to drive to Cockfosters and get the train from there, but as the roads got worse, we changed our plans and left from WGC. That meant we had three trains to get. It started badly with the first train delayed over thirty minutes. The snow on the platform was spectacular, every time a train went through it set off a blizzard so heavy that I couldn't see the platform on the other side!

We eventually got underway and headed for Kings Cross, two trains later we arrived at a very snowy 02 arena. It was so exciting !!!

The last time I was at the 02, it was called the Millennium Dome, so at least thirteen years ago! Things had changed. We took a walk around and finally stopped for dinner at a restaurant called Thai Silk, we had a nice early bird meal for a bargain £9.50. We beat the rush!! by the time we left it was crammed with people. We still had half an hour until the arena opened so we had a drink at  an 'American' Bar by the entrance.

Once we got in, the show started and bang I was 13 again!!!!

I wasn't a big Marie fan but she was fantastic, she put on a great show, she was far better than I remembered!

Subo appeared and sang a duet with Donny, she appeared to be very nervous, but sang beautifully. she seemed to be in awe of Donny, but I expect as a girl she had been a Donny fan as well!!!

Towards the end they sat down and sung a few of the oldies.

It was a fantastic show, the audience loved it, I don't know how the pair of them had the energy to bounce around the stage for a couple of hours. We were exhausted with just getting to the venue!!

Afterwards we joined the huge queue of people waiting to go down into the underground, it was still snowing  all the trees were covered with snow, it was a magical trip!!!

And it keeps on snowing!!!!

We already had a good covering of snow from yesterday and this morning around 10am it started to snow again. In fact it kept on snowing all day and its still snowing now. It been an age since I have experienced prolonged snow!!! 

Last night I experienced a new exercise, My friend Jane (above) and Beth went to Hatfield swimming pool and took a Water Zumba class. Well it was quite an experience, lots of jumping around and trying to keep up with the instructor who worked herself into a healthy rosy glow. Mean while us 'students' were bobbing around in the water trying to control the parts of us that were bouncing around more than they should have been!! By the end of the evening we were exhausted, with freezing cold noses and ears. We thought we would go on and do a few lengths but 4 lengths later we called it a day. Today my neck aches and my arms wonder what I have been doing to them!!! The best part of the evening was that I haven't laughed so much in a swimming pool!! - Well not since we were on holiday with Rick and Dina in France watching people fall out of their costumes on a big slide!!!!

Jane wanted to make a snow man, so Beth went and knocked for her and we went out the front to start creating. Sadly we were unable to make a snow man, it was the wrong kind of snow, very dry and very powdery, it just wouldn't stick together. In the end we settled for a couple of mounds which looked surprisingly like a pair of boobs!! made us laugh!!

For the first time in her life Hunny decided that she wanted to play with a stick. She found this half a tree and decided to drag it around. She was so excited that she ran around slapping us in the legs with it!! She even laid down at one point and started to chew it. Daft dog!!

Tonight its still snowing gently now, but we have around 5 inches, and no signs of it stopping or thawing, my weather monitor still has the outside temperature  at -2, I wonder what tomorrow will bring???

The Snow has arrived!!

All weekend Beth was looking out for snow, I have a couple of weather stations and she must have checked the stations a hundred times praying that the snow would appear and I suspect hoping for her school to close. There was no trace when we went to bed last night, but when we got up this morning we had a covering. The big surprise of the day was that the school stayed open!! Just as well as she had a Biology GCSE to sit!!

By late afternoon the snow started again and we sat at work and watched and wondered how the roads would hold up. It got heavier and heavier but the temperature has remained hovering around zero. Overnight we are forecast some more.

It is nice to see everything covered in snow, its just a nuisance if you have to go anywhere !!

Over the weekend I picked up my scrapbooking again, I like to scrap in order so its a bit of a shock to realise that I am still scrapping the cruise from last June! I have loads of photos waiting so I'll have to get my finger out.....

It was so nice to be able to look at some photos from last summer. We had a surprise foxglove appear in the garden, which grew into a 6 foot high plant. We also had some aliums that flowered with beautiful seed heads following, It makes me wish we were able to sit out in the sun instead of the snow that we have!!

I made this layout with all the bits of left over photos, it makes me smile! There are action and inaction shots plus a couple of scenic shots!! I can now move onto the next lot of photos which will be Carl's graduation and the Olympic Torch relay.

Have a happy snow week!!!

Back in the swing of things.

January is one of those months, a bit of an anti climax after the excesses of December, a chance to get back on the straight and narrow and look forward to the coming year. Its also a chance to get the house back into order after all the Christmas festivities. 

Beth and I have been looking at doing a bit more exercise, we have been out on our bikes and we are slowly increasing the distances that we are doing, we are not going to be worrying Bradley Wiggins anytime soon, but small steps and all that!! Our first ride out was just over a mile, we are now at nearly two miles, so we have doubled the distance and doubled the number of times we are going out in a week. 

We have also gone back to swimming, this week I did 28 lengths and she did 32. The problem with swimming this time of year is that its so cold when you have to get changed :( . I also need to find a new swim suit or I risk being banned from the pool!!

One of the nice things about January is that the bulbs that I planted back in the autumn are starting to flower, I love hyacinths, their vibrant colours and beautiful scent. I usually choose blue ones but this year changed to pink, I have the first lot flowering now, although they are a little odd with one a bit on the stunted side!!!

The weather forecast for the coming week is cold and snow, so I have been watching my storm glass to see what that is showing. It says snow is represented by large flakes towards the top of the fluid, and there are definitely large flakes towards the top!! I hope that the snow is short sharp and disappears quickly!!!

New Year Sales.

I don't seem to have the time or the money to hit the sales this year, so I have done a bit of on line craft shopping!! I have never lost the scrapbooking bug and as I love photography they seem to go hand in hand. I think the love for scrapbooking started when I was a child, I loved to collect all sorts of memorabilia from all the various trips that I took. I can remember bringing back 'stuff' from all sorts of places. Being a scrapbooker allows me to indulge that collecting passion.  

My scrapbooks are taking over my cupboards, just had a quick count up and I have over 70 completed albums! The kids (and I) love looking through them, its great to see how we have all changed over the years. The changes include my scrapbooking style as well. In the beginning I was quite detailed with my pages, then I went through a cleaner look at the moment I am somewhere between the two, a bit of both depending on how much time I have and how many photos of a particular event I have. 

The birthday ones are particularly good to look at what a difference a year makes!!!

Although it was a short week at work I am ever so glad its the weekend !

Welcome to 2013!!!!!

Last night we had our 'traditional' New Years Eve celebration, which involved our friends the Lovelocks, a Chines meal and lots of wine and port.

This year i was able to use my hot plate to keep the containers warm, not that the food stayed in the containers for too long anyway. It was funny when I was ordering, it was anything with chicken!! (sweet and sour, chow mein, chicken and pineapple, chicken and cashews!)  made me laugh!!

We played Balderdash, something we haven't played for a while, its so funny and we are so good at it that it was hard to guess which was right and which was the spoof.

Poor John was driving so he was on J2O's  I think he still had fun, we did!!!

Only managed to get one photo of Carl, so I am sure he won't be impressed with this one!!!

Today we were all fairly late up. Beth and I have been out for a ride on our bikes. That certainly got our pulses racing and once I got back home my legs felt like jelly. I am feeling more confident on my bike now I can get on and off relatively easily and I think I have sussed out the gears, if its hard to pedal swap the gears until its easier to pedal!! Simples. 

I am going to get my scrapbooking out and do a bit of that. I am miles behind, I haven't even started on our Ireland holiday, there's loads to do after that as well.  

Tomorrow its back to the grindstone and we can start looking forward to what 2013 has in store for us.