Virtual Coffee Tuesday - It's a tad late today...

...but it's fine to have a decaf coffee after lunch... :)

Yes, I had my usual summertime salmon and salad, though I took a pic before I added the lemon mayo specially for Bodhi Chicklet... :)

It's after-lunch coffee today as I was getting a pedicure this morning...
It's a way to keep my feet healthy - a possible problem for diabetics - and it's very relaxing :)
I don't get a nail polish, instead Katherine gives me an extra-long massage on my feet and calves *sigh* 

After a relaxing hour, I was ready for my morning coffee, so I went here...

I hadn't been for a couple of months, and I discovered a nearby shop had gone from a local butchers to an old-fashioned sweet shop...
Now, given my body's aversion to sugar, you'd expect me to go right past... but a sign out front declared 'selected diabetic sweets'...

I couldn't believe it! They look and taste the same as regular jelly sweets - the mini cola bottles are my favourites!! - but you must have self-control, as the invert sugars they're made of are a natural laxative!! So be warned... :)

Well, I'm already talked out, so I'll just sit back and hear all your news of the past week... and do stop by Amy's to enjoy some more coffee chitchat :)

Inspiration Avenue Challenge - Summer Sun

As a hayfever sufferer, I'm not a great Summer fan... much more of a Spring and Autumn girl :)

But the one place I can find relief in the summer is on the beach... not that there are the best beaches nearby - the North Sea is pretty cold even in summer!

I was inspired to make this collage for this week's challenge using photos from last year's Toast summer catalogue - I love the contrast between the blues of the sky and the sea, and the browns of the beach...

My lovely daughter cut out the figure and the sun for me - I so miss not being able to wield scissors *sigh* - but I've got a paper cutter and today, at least, a willing helper :)

Oh, the little birds came from Rae's 723 etsy shop - part of a goodie bag she included with an art folder I bought :)

And don't forget to drop by IA - by hitting the button in the sidebar :) The challenge finishes tomorrow and the entries are published on Monday...

Virtual Coffee Tuesday - Let's take our time today...

... after all, it is the longest day of the year :)

How are you all? How has this week been?

I hope you had a fun weekend... my dad and brother came for Father's Day on Sunday. My lovely dad brought me this lovely fuchsia

and these are Nick's cards from the kids

We had a fun day eating and drinking too much - roast beef and yorkshire puddings (my dad's favourite) followed by apple and raspberry crumble - YUM! My hubbie's become quite a cook these last few years :)

We oldies had a nap after lunch, but my bro took my son for a few games of pool - a great break from all his revising, bless him! And my daughter retreated to the sanctuary of her bedroom...

Nobody actually wanted anything at tea-time (!), but that means we have cakes to enjoy with our coffee this morning :)

They're homemade, just not in our home... from a stall on the market...

Anybody want my icing? As a diabetic, I can enjoy the cake just not the topping...

I've been diabetic for 12 years now. I had gestational diabetes with both kids, but thankfully it vanished when they were born... I had to have yearly checks, and it returned full-time when my youngest was two.

Generally, it's well-controlled with pills and two types of insulin - slow release and rapid release - and I keep it well in the background of my day-to-day life...

That changed a couple of weeks ago when I somehow managed to overdose my rapid release insulin, while out having lunch with my dad... I knew at once what I'd done and quickly drank a can of coke (yuck!) - there are 16 teaspoons of sugar in a regular coke can...!!

My dad was able to bring me home and stay with me. I seriously felt like death - my dad said I became a dirty grey colour - but we didn't need to call an ambulance (phew!)...

Father's Day was the first time he's seen me since, and he was pleased to see I'm no worse for wear...

But the scare has brought home to me how important conscious and deliberate care are regarding my diabetes, and I confess I probably take too laissez-fare an attitude, mainly because I hate making a fuss, and I hate the thought of ill-health controlling my life...

... which is why, I'm more than ready to change the subject...

Being in England, let's talk about the weather :)

Well, it Midsummer's Day, the 125th Wimbledon started yesterday, ergo the weather's awful - wet, wild and windy!! But there was some tennis yesterday...

Rafa won his opening match quite comfortably 6-4, 6-2, 6-2

 photo copyright The Guardian

But Andy Murray - playing yesterday evening, under the roofed Centre Court, as the rain siled down - gave us the usual British-hopeful scare... losing his first set 4-6, before winning the next three sets 6-3, 6-0, 6-0...

photo copyright The Guardian

I don't know if my nerves can hold out for the next two weeks... :)

Well, if you're able to hang around for a few more minutes, I do have one more story to share...

Last week, I actually found, and won, on ebay two issues of a magazine I've been coveting for over a year!!

Uppercase is a Canadian publication and costs $120 for overseas subscribers!! (A large part of the cost is shipping  as each issue is quite hefty!)

A few months ago, I did manage to find a UK outlet online - I won't name them as it wasn't the best experience - bought the current-at-that-time issue, and it never appeared... thankfully I paid via paypal and got my money back!

Rachel at It's Like Art had suggested earlier in the year, I check out ebay, and lo and behold my persistance paid off!! It's a gorgeous magazine with wonderful artwork, graphics, interviews, and bucket-loads of inspiration!

Now, of course, I want more... :)

Monday Music - If You Ever Doubted the Sheer Power of Music...

Fabulously Happy Friday!!

Today is a wonderful day...

I finally received a book I've been coveting for sooooo long! Friends in the US got theirs months ago, but it's only just been released here in the UK...

It's Misty Mawn's first book and it is as beautiful as the woman herself....

I've never met Misty, but I've loved her work for years...

Indeed, when I was in hospital for those 3 months after the stroke in 2007, I promised myself I would treat myself to a Misty original... which is what I did early in 2008 - once I could read and operate the computer...

She hangs in our hallway, and gently smiles blessings upon us as we go about the day... and I love her :)

Misty (generous soul that she is!) included a print, which I had framed, and it hangs in our living room...

The print is very 'Misty' and the colours and style are echoed in a wonderful addition to the book - a paper doll (!) and two outfits pre-cut and ready to play with :)

Here are more pages to feast over...

Now, don't you want to get this book???

Inspiration Avenue Challenge - So Romantic...

Finally, I've got my act together to enter the Inspiration Avenue Weekly Challenge after several months of dropping by on a Monday to see what the new theme is...

I now feel able to post the IA button on my sidebar, so do press it to see what goodies the Avenue has to offer :)

So, to this week's challenge - so romantic...

Nothing makes me feel so romantic as travel and adventure...

I would have loved to be alive - and wealthy! - in the 1920s and 30s - the clothes, the hairstyles, the artwork, the architecture... I would have loved to ride the Orient Express to Vienna, or taken a Cunard cruise to New York *sigh*

This little ATC (Artists Trading Card) is one I found tucked into an old journal, dated May 2006.
I actually have very few of my ATCs, as most were made for swaps and giveaways, but I guess I wanted to keep this one :) You can see more detail if your click on the image...

I just love the little tag stamped with the Tamara de Lempicka image of this painting - an all-time favourite which I remember seeing in the States (can't remember where...) and being amazing at how tiny it was - only about 12 inches square... It still packed a punch though!
A note in my art journal says I got the tag from Fran Burras' etsy shop...
and the quote says 'You do not realize how far you have come till you look behind'...

Oh, so true...

Virtual Coffee Tuesday - Lots to share...

Hello, lovely people!

I was hoping we could have coffee outside today, as it's lovely and sunny, but it's f-r-e-e-z-i-n-g!!
I thought this was 14 June not 14 March!!

So I've set up in here, in the warm... got my favourite mugs out... so, tea or coffee??

Sadly, we don't have any nice biscuits :(
but there's a few chocs left in the bowl... Help yourself while we natter...

I will even share my new favouritest chocolate with you...

I found it in the health food shop - so it's obviously extra-healthy :) - and it's fairtrade *hooray*

I'm wondering if you've noticed my new haircut and colour as I'm making your drinks and sharing my chocolate...

Three hours in the hairdressers on Saturday afternoon - I was exhausted! - but I like the results... It's got a little red in the highlights, which is closer to my natural, young-girl hair colour, from 40 years ago...

Sunday was yucky all day here in Britain - though our farmers, and gardens, need the rain. So I sorted through my art crate, which I haven't touched since we moved last August...
And I found these treasures...

I used to LOVE art journalling before the stroke, making little ATC's to swap and share...

There are lots of images of the inner pages on my old blog here - none are great as we didn't have a digital camera at the time, so they're all scanned - but you get the idea...

Sadly, I simply cannot work so small nowadays, but I have been feeling the old art mojo coming back, and so I recently bought a custom-made journal from the lovely Jenny, over at paperclayjunkie

It's 8x6", so a great size, and I asked her to keep the covers plain, so I could finish them as I wanted, and it's spiralbound, which keeps the pages flat and secure as I work...

She also included an extra smaller book (above) and fun tags (below) for days when I have less energy...

And bless her, she even included, in a plastic sleeve, some ready-cut collage pieces, as I'd mentioned I can't wield scissors any more...

The world is full of lovely, thoughtful people - just like yourselves :)

So enough about my week, how has yours been...??

PS Can I ask those of you who use Blogger for your blogs - could you change your comments to pop-up mode - then I can leave a comment... technology, eh??

PPS I've just noticed this is post 90!! How cool is that??

PPPS Amy's link is now up... enjoy :)

Monday Music - Serious Crush

I've been a Snow Patrol fan for a long time. This isn't my all-time favourite track (that's Dark Roman Wine, but I couldn't find a good vid), but I like this video :)

Gary Lightbody ticks sooooo many boxes:

a gifted poet
a great singer
that gorgeous Irish brogue
that smile
that mop of hair
that...


I'll stop there :)

Virtual Coffee Tuesday - Lots to Catch Up On...

I'm determined to catch up with you all...

Trouble is, Blogger's been a real *%^&£"* lately and I simply haven't been able to comment... seems to have something to do with the comments settings - hence my comments now appear in a pop-up box - so if it looks like I'm ignoring you, I promise, I'm not, it's actually 'cos your comments don't pop-up - honest :)

Last week the kids were on half-term, so the days just evaporated... couldn't tell you what we did, but we all chilled, and the kids weren't happy to go back to the early-wake-up routine yesterday :(

One piece of great news I wanted to share today over coffee is yesterday we got confirmation that we can rent this house for another year and with only a nominal increase in rent - hooray!! Sooooo relieved we don't have to look for another place for another year :) We're all enjoying the extra space and being closer to town, and I love seeing this birdhouse from the kitchen window - by the end of the summer, it will be completely engulfed by vegetation...

And I loved seeing these beauties on the way into town today. They're growing out of the pavement and next to the main road - what an unexpected delight :)

I also wanted to show you a few of my favourite books... I have these three I'll show you on the sofa next to me and I just LOVE dipping into them...

I got etc a few months ago and I cannot praise the share beauty of it enough!! It's incredibly well-produced for a mass-market book, and feels divine!!

Under the kraft paper cover are hardboard covers bound wth black linen and letterpressed...

Inside are delicious photographs - all printed in soy inks *sigh* - and the chapters are separated by glassine pages...

You really need to see it in the flesh to really enjoy it :)

Another new favourite is this - which I bought with some birthday money...

Another beauty printed in soy inks - this time by an independent small press.

Here's a couple inner pages...

It's a real treasure-house of inspiration for illustrations and great interviews with both the illustrators and the ethical fashion designers.

And a last one for today...

I've always love Schiele's figures, but I was unfamiliar with his landscapes...

But I love these... his palette is so distinctive and they look so modern - this was painted in 1914!!

This book was published by Prestel and is a lovely volume :)

So what have you been up to this past two weeks?

I'm going to pop over to Amy's and see - hopefully Blogger will be more helpful this time...

Take care and see you again sometime soon xx

Monday Music - Forget the blooming heather...

... it's blooming freezing!!

Brrr! I could do with a hot toddy :)

Enjoy dear Kate!