Footprints in the Snow

I am pleased to report that the snow has now all melted and life has returned to normal. Before the snow melted I noticed these prints in the snow



I wonder who they belong to???

Aah, could this be the culprit?



~A

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone - it's been a while since I last posted. I hope you had a good Christmas and are ready to face the year ahead.

Life in the UK has slowed down somewhat after the deluge of snow we received earlier in the week. The children had one day back at school and then schools were closed for the rest of the week - much to the delight of my kids.



The neighborhood kids made this fine fellow



The view up my road - what road??



The sun was out today and some snow managed to melt despite the low temperature. I noticed these on a neighbors house



~A

Beautiful Butterfly

This beautiful butterfly was sitting on my patio this morning, enjoying the wonderful autumn sunshine.



~A

Easily Distracted

I can be summed up with two words - easily distracted! Just ask my family, they will agree.
I started this blog with the intention of showcasing my handmade cards but then I got distracted. Anyway, for those of you who have missed seeing a card from me, I made this one over the weekend. The words are printed (Microsoft Word) onto a clear transparency film, which I then put on top of the ribbon and stickers. Not sure if you can see this in the photo.



Ribbon: Papertrey, stickers: Provocraft 'Zany-zoo' (so cute!!)


PS Right now I should be doing housework but instead I'm blogging!



~A

Caught in the act

Remember our sunflower from this post? Last week I cut the flower head off and hung it in a tree, wondering if the birds would find it. Well, I didn’t have to wait too long - yesterday I noticed these two... can you see two? Click on the pic to enlarge it, one bird is on the branch, just above the sunflower and one higher up the same branch camouflaged in the leaves. From my bird book I would guess that they are Great Tits (wonder who gave them that name?)



It was lovely to watch them, they would come down from the branch to get a seed, then fly up into the leaves where they would try to break open the seed by holding it in their beaks and ‘hammering’ it on the branch, their little heads and bodies bobbing up and down.





Sorry the pics are not the greatest, I think it's time for a new camera.

~A

Autumn in the Allotments

Our house backs onto allotments. If you are not familiar with them, they are small pieces of land that the local council (usually) rents out to people so that they can grow vegetation. I guess during the war people grew food but these days people seem to have different motivations for having an allotment.

Most people have a shed



Which they decorate in various ways





Some plots have personality








(I love this cat keeping watch over this tiny pond)

Some plots are neat, tidy and organized





Some are just plain messy





Some people grow fruit and vegetables







Some people grow flowers







Some have a plentiful harvest







Some not so plentiful



And some visitors go home with a handful of seeds so that next summer they can hopefully grow some of those huge sunflowers.



~A

Super Tuesday - the British way

Our local Domino's Pizza has a 'Two for Tuesday' deal - buy one get one free every Tuesday. My husband, who loves all things American (as do I), has renamed the deal Super Tuesday (Google 'Super Tuesday' for the real meaning if you are not familiar with it).

This was last week's Super Tuesday..





What's on your menu today? Wishing you all a Super Tuesday!

~A

Heritage Weekend

It was Heritage Weekend in our town this weekend and the theme for this year was World War II

The town hall was decorated for the occasion


and we were taken back in time. The tea car was there



Anyone for a cuppa?



This fine looking Rolls (wonder who had money to drive one of these during war times?)



and this army truck



with minimalist interior



Inside the town hall memorabilia was on display



What??? a whole week?



more memorabilia



Anyone for pie? (hey, my grandmother and aunt had knives like that!)



I'm crazy about old handwriting, so these were a real treat for me








A message from the past or a message for our future?



And finally, the town jail - complete with rats!



~A