MIAM

MIAM

Saturday 31 May 2014

Scavenger Hunt - May

Time for the May Scavenger Hunt link-up.  Is it just me or is anyone else finding the prompts more challenging each month?  I guess that's a good thing...isn't it?



L

is for lamppost....taken on my recent trip to Spain

7pm

 I'm not a soap addict but very occasionally I watch this one

Left





Gadget

 The stalwart of my crafting arsenal

Puzzle




Letter

 Terribly obvious I'm afraid, but I failed to find inspiration

Reflection

Myself, other shoppers and the stripy roof canvas of the market stall are all reflected in these sunnies.

Fresh

a market stall in southern Spain

Tiny

....a weed methinks?


Hidden

a frog in long grass in my garden




 (due for) Demolition

 a derelict prefab in my village


Antique

My Victorian opal and diamond ring, inherited from Mum


Thanks as always to Greenthumb for hosting the challenge, check out her blog and the other entries and next month's list here.

Sunday 25 May 2014

What's Your Name, Who's Your Daddy

It's been a while since I've done a card but after work yesterday instead of collapsing on the sofa in front of the idiot box I got busy...quite impressive after a 12hr shift wouldn't you say? There's a die-cut theme at Less Is More so I had a rummage in my collection and came up with this.

Dies - Spellbinders oval nesties
         Marianne's bird on a branch
Stamps - Inkylicious    
   Hobby Art
 Also linking to this week's ATCAS challenge- Texture


Talking of work, we've seen more slebs (I use that term loosely) in the last couple of days than you can shake a stick at.  Well ok, five actually.  Nigel Mansell, Nigel Havers, John Gordon Sinclair, Tess Daly and Vernon Kay. One of them was a bit up themselves.

I'm on nights tonight so I got a lie-in today but yesterday at 4am, Radio 2 woke me up with this tune and I was singing it all day. I love Rod Argent's psychedelic improv bit and imagined doing 60's dancing to it with very swingy hair and go-go boots. It featured in a Tampax advert once...time of the season??



Thursday 22 May 2014

Espana Por Favor

Yes, I've been to Spain .  I was invited to stay with one of my hostie friends, Jill, who has an apartment on the Costa del Sol and I had a rather nice time.  Jill ferried me all over the place and our first outing was to the large local weekly market where you could purchase all manner of things.


fruit and veg


baskets 




pottery



plants and flowers...




plus the usual tat.  



I managed to restrain myself and came away with only a half a kilo of cherries and a bastard massive necklace.



We were out and about the next day, even after all the wine consumed the previous evening.  En route to our destination we stopped at this rather incongruous Stupa, the biggest in Europe.  Quite why it was built here remains a mystery, we did ask the guide but unfortunately failed to understand his response.







Next stop was Mijas, a quaint if touristy village up in the hills, the weather was looking very ominous at this point but didn't stop us enjoying the church and many leather, (mucho pricy!)and souvenir shops.





There is also a bullring at Mijas although no fight was scheduled for that day.  I was amazed to see the entrance prices - 150 euro for the best seats in the shade. I hadn't given the danger aspect of this quintessential Spanish tradition a thought until I noticed a parking space right outside the entrance, reserved for an ambulance!  However, this article claims that bullfighting is much safer now (not for the bull) and the last matador to die from injuries sustained in the bullring was in the 1980's.

Before we left, I was even persuaded to sit on el burro for the requisite photo.

The weather improved so the next day we made off to the beach..



..where we drank coffee and read trashy chic-lit. It's so difficult to concentrate on anything serious when there are rotund, half-naked  German ladies with pendulous tits strolling past the end of your sun lounger.

The good weather continued and on our final day we went out to spot the beautiful people at nearby Puerto Banus.  Unfortunately the minute we arrived a bird, quite possibly an Albatross, deposited a large amount of guano in Jill's hair and all down my white cardi. Not really the look we were going for to mingle with the world's well-heeled.


  



I wouldn't have dared to enter one of these establishments, the shop assistants viewed us very disdainfully from the doorways.  No doubt the bird shit said it all.



Don Juan de Borbon  Count of Barcelona


The wealth floating in this marina,(the Saudi king has a yacht here) is staggering and we enjoyed watching the world go by from a waterside cafe and partook of a sangria or two.  


Back near the apartment I noticed this graphic sign gracing a pretty square which made me laugh, although judging by the amount on the streets, Spaniards take scant regard of these warnings.

But enough of the poo talk, I'm now home and back to work tomorrow, deep joy.  I'm off now to catch up with some blog reading.  Enjoy your weekends.
xx



Wednesday 7 May 2014

Sussex Scenes and Random Ramblings

I've been out and about this last week, firstly a drive through leafy Sussex to TW for a squizz round the chazza's and a fabric purchase.

 
 The chazza's were fruitful and I came home with a mac, a polka dot blouse and a Fatface skirt.  I suspect there would have been more but I had to race back to the car after two hours as the sodding Pay & Display machine failed to register that I had paid for three... and there's never an attendant around when you need one, is there ?

Polka dot blouse £2.75 Fatface skirt (as yet unironed) £4 both
Hospice in the Weald


On my way home through Holtye I noticed an abundance of bluebells on the common and stopped for a photo when I discovered an abandoned church and went for a nosy.





 The graveyard was extremely overgrown but amongst the weeds and long grass was a mass of bluebells and primroses.  I felt as if I was in The Secret Garden, it was so quiet, not a soul in sight and just the wildlife for company.  It seems terribly sad that the graveyard is so neglected and by the looks of it, none of the graves cared for.  A Google search revealed that St Peter's has been redundant since 2007.


On Sunday I drove out to a tiny village in picturesque East Sussex for a vintage car meet-up in a pub car park.

   En route I spotted a gorgeous field of rape and made a mental note to stop for a pic on my return.   After a pub lunch and a ride in a fifty year old truck I set off home via the beautiful field, where I took these snaps.


   I parked by the gate to the field, not realizing how wet, muddy and churned up the ground was until I tried to drive off, when ....you've guessed it I was well and truly stuck.  The car wheels were spinning like mad in a quagmire and I was in the middle of nowhere with new red sneakers on!  I tried ringing the pub in the hope that my friends were still there and could come to rescue me but I couldn't get a signal.  Fortunately I was saved by a lovely group of lady cyclists who happened by and volunteered to push me out. 


I'm back to work today, I wonder what this week will bring?  I'm getting quite an education in sex aids lately...honestly, you wouldn't believe what some people pack in their hand luggage.

Sunday 4 May 2014

Scavenger Hunt - April

I'm fashionably late again for Scavenger Hunt.  I found some of the April subjects more difficult than they first appeared.  Carry for instance...trying to photograph folks going about their everyday business without looking like a stalker was challenging, you learn to be sneaky.  Smooth was another toughie, I'm afaid I copped out on that one, maybe I'm just not very imaginative?  I'd love to hear what you think about this month's photo's.


A is for 


 Aubretia



11am


cake and crochet at Stitch & Bitch




Smooth

...according to the label


Scale


my niece practicing a scale for her grade II piano exam

Tile

on a washstand at a local auction house


Logo

 Spend a little, live a lot

Scrap

at my local yard


Match
  




Path



Layers

 four layers in my trifle



Carry
  I took this picture (my most boring ever?) of a council street cleansing operative on my way home from night shift.

Truck

 1963 Chevrolet C10


As always, thanks to Greenthumb for hosting, you can see other
 link up's and May's list here.