Oh dear

My cat peed on my bed last night.  While I was asleep.

I am not happy with him at all.

At last!

Gordon Brown is apparently committed to to ending the ban on Catholics succeeding to the throne in Britain.  Hurrah!  I could become Queen!

Because, of course, the only thing standing in my way is the Act of Settlement.

Right, I’m off to polish my tiara.  Just in case.

I never thought I’d see the day

My niece got a magazine that had a free bouncy ball on the cover.  Once my not-yet-quite-two year old nephew got hold of it, it got filthy, and my sister chucked it in the bin.

A few hours later, my niece (who is four) ran into the sitting room with the ball in her hand, shouting, “Mummy, I am very angry with you.  I never thought I’d see the day when you threw one of my toys in the bin“.

Fern fronds unfurling in our back garden

I love it when the sea is this colour.

Jumping waves

My niece on the beach.

I’ve just realised that the island you can see in the background of this picture is also in the header picture on this blog, but from a different angle.  Can you spot which one it is in the header?

Top 100 tutorials of 2008

This is something I meant to post ages ago, but I forgot because my darling sister, brother-in-law, niece and nephew came to visit us for five wonderful, fun-filled, love-packed weeks, and when they left I slumped into a pit of despair because I missed them so much that I thought my heart would surely break. But this week I gave myself a good talking to and managed to start dragging myself out of that pit. The pain of not being with them is still there, but I need to stop feeling sorry for myself, and start counting my blessings again.

Anyway, I digress. The actual point of this post is this: The Long Thread put together a list of her Top 100 Tutorials of of 2008. It’s a brilliant list: there’s so much inspiration there, and it’s all handily referenced into different categories.  And, AND, my Mushroom House and Toadstool Cottage tutorial made the list! I can’t tell you how chuffed I feel to have something I made featured in a list that includes tutorials from proper craft bloggers. Anyway, check it out – it’s great!

Books I’ve read this year #12

“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” by J K Rowling.

Ahhhhh… of course.

And, do you know, in this book they actually mention needing a bathroom so the girls can wash?  Note: just the girls.

Books I’ve read this year #11

“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” by J K Rowling.

Six down; one to go.  I’ll have to start reading grown up books again soon.  Any recommendations?

Books I’ve read this year #10

“Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” by J K Rowling.

This is my least favourite of the series so far.  It’s far too long – 766 pages!  – and really very boring.  Still, at least someone finally had a bath.

Books I’ve read this year #9

“Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” by J K Rowling.

Do you know, no one ever washes in these books?