Great Britain Fossil Expedition Day 6

Amazing walks today along the coastal paths, wonderful gardens of lavender and amazing architecture abounds. Even saw four more Westies today. Got a nice pic of my dear ol Mom and me. Everyday the fossils and I see something new and exciting. (which  does not take much) We had the traditional fish and chip dinner tonight before heading out to the cinema and wasting 20 pounds on the movie “ The Wedding Video.” The caption mentioned that it was directed by the fellow who also directed Calendar Girls which was a rather good film.  If you ever get the chance to see it….don’t.  It was fun to see the theatre, more like a big screen TV and it was like we had a private viewing as we were the only ones in there. That should have been our first clue.

Great Britain Fossil Expedition Day 5

It’s like having little ones around again with the fossils. They are into bed by 9pm at the latest. Plus they are up about every four to six hours during the night for potty training. Then up early at 6am-7am for breaky. Wow I thought I was finished with this once my kids grew up. I’m re living those days of  sleepless nights, early feedings and kids underfoot all the time.  No wonder I slept in till 10 today. I’m sure it isn’t jetlag but shear exhaustion from trying to do everything in slow motion. Really, it hasn’t been that bad and maybe it’s a good thing for me to slow down, relax and stop to smell the roses  ocean.

Some of you know that I have a Westie named Jock pining for me at home. It’s been fun to see all the Westies here in St.Ives. I’ve had fun taking their pictures and meeting them with a pat and a scratch.

Today we visited the Tate Gallery, strolled through the streets, shopped for shortbread and scones at the local bakery and had an amazing day enjoying the beautiful views that abound.

The fossils did have a good day today as well. Maybe it’s just that they have their days and nights mixed up? Maybe they’ll sleep through the night tonight!

Great Britain Fossil Expedition Day 4

Lovely little things to see around town today. Everything was interesting, unique and really special to see for the first time. So many cute eye catching scenes and novelties. Here are a few….

Fossils had a good time today visiting their Art Galleries, wandering, sauntering, mingling, tinkling and taking pictures.  This is what most of my day was like with them….

God kill me now…we’re only at day 4…17 more to go. You know those signs that tour operators hold up to make sure their group stays together and knows where to go at airports…well I’m getting one printed tomorrow marked…..FOSSIL TOUR.  I had to keep pulling them out of the way of  oncoming traffic. It’s like a tour with zombies…they’re in a trance with all the things to see. Gotta love em’.

Great Britain Fossil Expedition Day 3

 

Bit of a day today…travelled from London to St.Ives and you know…best laid plans….*)(&&%*^*&  Caught the train, however ( note to self…book reserved seats next time)  no seats available unless you reserved or were in 1st class. Did manage to find a seat for Dear Mom as that would have been a nightmare if she had to stand for 6 hours on the train.  It did end up working out all right. Uncle and I stood for about 1/2 hour then did find small pull down seats small isn’t the word, barely one cheek fit on these things, then someone showed us that there were a few unreserved seats which we were able to sit in. To make a very long story short, did arrive in St.Ives and did get settled in our lovey cottage. We’re calling it the Ikea Cottage as it looks like it’s out of a Ikea catalogue…too cute. It’s good to be settled now for the week. We dined at the Sloop Inn, very quaint, very British..you had to go to the bar to order your food, plus pay in advance…? Uncle and I had the special…roast beef, Yorkshire, roast potatoes, and veggies…Plus Chocolate desert ( and after the day we had..I needed chocolate) plus if you bought two specials at 9.95 pounds each, you got a free bottle of red wine…what a deal!  The desert was a chocolate cake with pudding drizzled on it plus a huge scoop of clotted cream on the side.  That’s what they call it…clotted cream. Almost wants to make you gag just saying it. I did try it and could almost feel my arteries clogging with each bite. It tastes like whipped butter…but it was awesome with the cake and there was not a trace left on the plate….help call 911. We walked to the local co-op store, picked up a few things for breaky and lunch and headed back to the cottage. Shopping here really makes me appreciate the wonderful selection of grocery and food we have back home…we are truly spoiled. I will never again say…” They want how much for a 10 pound bag of potatoes”.)  Fossils did well today considering the trip and the walking…both are fast asleep tucked in their beds. Looking forward to what tomorrow will bring.

The Great Britain Fossil Expedition Day 2

A little jet lagged but no worse for wear yet. Had a quick nap at the hotel then headed to Windsor to visit the Queen!  Well she was there but of course we didn’t see her.  My mom and the Queen are the same age so mom thinks she has a special connection to her. She is always comparing how well she has been preserved against the one who wears the crown. Actually my mom has faired much better. We had a lovely late lunch at The Drury House, met a sweet young waitress who had when young, played Frisbee with Prince William and Harry and met Princess Di. It was like meeting a celebrity for the fossils, they were so excited. We learned much more history about the Drury House than we had wanted to, as it had been the quarters of  a Nell Gwynn, the favourite mistress of King Charles II. They even showed us the secret tunnel he used to get laid  to the premise. Seems to run in the family with males named Charles!

We watched the swans being fed on the Thames, huge numbers, quite amazing to see. Fossils love nature, so that was time well spent.  Headed back to the hotel, had a quick swim, and am ready to crash! Here’s the fossils Dear mom and uncle enjoying the day.

The Great Britain Fossil Expedition Day 1

I thought it would be appropriate that I get tartan toes for my trip to the UK. My Dear Hubby says I’m never home…what the ____ is his problem. The last time I was away was with him!….oops I’m mistaken, I was away to The Checkers Annual Event with the girls from Kindred Spirits Quilt Co. a few weeks ago. Really, is he keeping track? You can’t really count this trip as it’s with my 86 year old mother and her 77 year old brother.  I know…what was I thinking…A fossil trip? Do I really need the hassle at my age.

This all started with my mother wanting to take one last trip back home. She was under the impression that it would be safe for an 86 year old woman to spend 3 weeks abroad gallivanting by herself. I don’t think so!  I said very little at first as sometimes she just jabbers on. She was going to backpack *_*(*^(*^)*  plus stay in youth hostels ))(&^*^*&)(…..mom that’s why they call them youth hostels not fosstels. I’m was beginning to wonder if she had a touch of dementia coming on, until she came to her senses and indicated that she realized she couldn’t go by herself. To the rescue comes the favourite daughter who for what ever lapse in judgement at that split second said….I’ll take you.  Then it was to include her brother as well whose school reunion was being held at the same time.  It’s the 60th reunion for the school…really how can they hold a 60th reunion? Would there be that many students that would be able to get there or are even still living, plus most of them won’t be able to remember anything anyway. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not that cynical and I do know that one of these days I will get old too but today I sit here wondering…why did I book that plane ticket. So the plan is that we fly from Toronto to London, do Windsor, head to St. Ives for a week, back to London, over to Paris for 4 days, back to London, and then up to Glasgow for the last week. I’m exhausted already, let alone herding the fossils this way and that, I’ll be hoarse before the second day from yelling cause they’re both deaf, plus I’ll probably get an ear infection from wearing ear plugs cause my mom snores worse than Dear Hubby.  I must be crazy!  Mother Dear even asked the travel agent if they could cremate her in the UK if something happened so that I would have an easier time to bring her back…REALLY

So…Enjoy the show  fossil expedition with me!

I’m sure these are low cal

Ready

Set

Go

I’m not really a baker…not the yeast kind of baker anyway…but I was watching Anna Olson’s Bake. The episode on Cinnamon Sticky Buns and she made it look so easy that I thought…I can do that…and I did. It was really as simple as she made it look. The only thing hard about it was the wait times for the dough to rise… and trying to resist eating  the whole pan of them. If I can make these, then anyone can. I used my Kitchen Aid mixer with my dough hook to knead the dough, so no real manual labour involved. I followed her tip that when your dough climbs up the hook, it is kneaded enough, and she was right. I will definitely be making these again.

An apple a day

I had always wanted to try an apple core quilt but was always daunted by the scalloped edge and the curved piecing. I finally overcame the fear and was pleasantly surprised at how simple it actually was to do. With a little patience, and good marking of points on the curved pieces, the pattern went together quite well. We have done a nice size table runner to showcase the applecores and will be offering it as a class at Kindred Spirits Quilt .  The fabric line is  Stonehenge and it looks amazing in it. I did a simple line quilting through out the runner and the saying “less is more” is so true when it came to the quilting as it shows off the curves quite nicely. The curved edge was fairly simple to bind as well using  2 .25 inch binding as apposed to 2.5 inch… and of course bias binding.

Itty Bitty Cutie Patootie

This little cutie turn out amazing. It finishes 28x28 and is darling. We are offering it as a class at Kindred Spirits Quilt Co. The fabric line is from Red Rooster and is called Whimsicals. It is Eleanor Burns pattern Mini Dresden and while the Dresden's are really tiny it was really fun to make. It is by far, one of my favourite quilts.

I’m a fan of this one

My Oriental Dresden Fan sample is finished and ready for the store. I really like how it turned out and this was the perfect fabric line to use. It went together quite nicely as do all Eleanor Burns patterns.

It’s in the bag

This is an amazing purse that will be offered as a class at Kindred Spirits Quilt Co. The pattern is the Thumballina  Bag and the sample was made from a Sushi roll…just like a Bali Pop but a few less strips. It’s a nice technique to try whereby you place strips of batting on the batik strip, fold over a few times and sew along the edge. Then you zig zag all the strips together to form the bag…So cool and I love the way it turned out. Wish it wasn’t a sample so I could take it home and put it into use.

Deja vu

OMG…I’m reliving the nightmare…remember last October when Dear Hubby changed our kitchen taps and we were without water and taps for more than a few days… well to make a long story short, we did get the new tap installed. Even though we bought what we thought was a good brand, less than a year later, the tap was leaking, the tap swivel didn’t work properly anymore and you had to play with it to find the hot water. So….Dear Hubby decided to replace it yet again.  I dreaded the thought of being without water and taps again like last time but even I was at wits end with the tap. 

Miracles do happen….cause Dear Hubby managed to install this tap in record time…less than half an hour and no drips.

Love it…thanks Dear Hubby

Perfect circles

 

I always dread cutting circles out as I’m a perfectionist and I never ever get them just right. I’ve found a way to get them exact…with a little help from my friend. It’s my Cuttlebug and my Sizzix circle die. So simple, so easy, so perfect! You just iron your wonder under to the back of your fabric, place your fabric on the die, plastic plate on top and bottom, roll through the Cuttlebug and voila…..perfect circle..every time. This Mini Dresden pattern by Eleanor Burns is really mini…look how small the finished Dresden plate is. Teeny Wheeny and that little circle is really teeny too but look how perfect it is.

Three’s a crowd…not

 

Here’s what I’m working on for Kindred Spirits Quilt Co. These will be classes offered shortly.  Mini Dresden by Eleanor Burns using the Whimsical line from Red Rooster. Oriental Fan by Eleanor Burns as well with our oriental line and an apple core table runner which let’s you use a new template and technique. It’s in the Stonehenge line which I absolutely love. Looks like I’m going to be busy with these three.