The C word

And after the B word, it is ok to be a bit worried lol!

But mine is dedicated to CATS. I love my cat and my big man who disappeared last year. This was a tough one to do, as I kept getting all emotional (and Sue does not like tear wet wrinkly paper ;o)) So here it is, I am trying very hard to use my own handwriting and not print everything out - although it is nasty to do that! I am quite happy with this one, the 'books' where their names are have got lots of pages underneath that explains where we got them from, what their personalities are and what their fav thing to do was. Now I fully expect a slating from the other two as they tell me on numerous occasions how much they HATE cats - but hey ho, I am sooooooooo used to their moaning and negativity. (and I know Carol will at least be on my side!).

Oh and you'll be pleased to know a new fabby camera is ordered so hopefully this is the last scan lol. Right off to finish D, and wait for Em to catch up.......

Another canvas!

Yes, I have done another canvas! I know it is all a bit boring now, but hey I have to get my money's worth from the AFTH course lol!



This one is for Grace Elizabeth and I think Tracie liked it ;o). Grace has the same affliction as many of our children (and pets!) and that is perfect photos taken purely to scrapbook! I decided to use this photo (which took my breath away) rather than the mean mummy one where she is all wrinkly and wrapped in a pink ribbon pmsl!



I am quite happy with it. I am doing another one for a friend and it just is not working! Am walking away from that one for a bit, sure she won't mind ;o)




Ol has been poorly this week, he's got this horrible sore throat and cough. I know he has been poorly cos he is asking to go to bed!


It was Parent's evening tonight. Overall a good boy as expected lol! She mentioned him being 'gifted' in maths - woo hoo! Of course I take full credit for that and his father has had NOTHING to do with that. I am upset that she thinks we need to go back to the speach therapist. I really didn't like the therapist, so am going to ask to see a different one. We were told one aspect of his speach he would probably grow out of, but potentially he's now got into a bad habit that we need to break.............


DH found me sobbing the other day *blush*. I was doing my C page (take note Em, you're gonna be last again!) and found a couple of photos of Casper ;o(


He was so handsome!

Last night was freak out night at college. We had some guest tutors come in to talk about dyslexia and what our responsibilities are going to be. I think I had a wake up call for what my responsibilites will be.........freaked me out a tadge! But still can't wait to do this!

Right, Torchwood time *sigh* - catch ya later!

World Book Day

Well Tuesday was World Book day at Ol's school. He has quite a few costumes, so I figured he'd be a Jack Sparrow, or a dragon, or a knight.................oooooooooooh nooooooooooooo he wanted to be a Trex, Well actually a ravenous beast, which is his fav book.

So everyone said I should be really good at making a costume, being creative and everything. I pointed out that I can make necklaces and stuff but have never actually made a dinosaur! So no pressure at all then!

I started making the costume and wanted to check with Em and Sue what I should do with - a shoebox, paint, a green towel, card, elastic. Em wrote back and told me what I should make, which I was making - so woo hoo! Sue wrote back and wished me luck..........how helpful was she?!!

So at 10.45pm I finished it and laid it out on the landing.

In the morning I heard a very loud WOW! I then got a huge hug and told I was nearly as good as grandma at making stuff!

So he went off to school, (surrounded by lots of Jack Sparrows ;o)).

He only won 1st prize out of the whole school!! He won a £10 gift voucher and obviously the pride from his friends lol! And I was told I am now officially better than grandma - yeay!!

He is a little disappointed that he has to spend his book voucher on books but overall quite chuffed!

Em and Sue are trying to take credit for his winning, but I am unashamedly taking FULL credit as I worked WAY too hard to share this!

We have some photos, just need to get them loaded on - so watch this space xx

B is for.......

Well tis time for B (now Em has finally pulled her finger out and finished her page!).

Every time I thought of this I just came coming back to one word................so I stop trying to fight it and accept it!

The picture was taken in Portugal, when Gail took me on holiday (I was about 17) and she had just made me climb a small hill, which turned out to be a freakin mountain! I was hot and tired and the facial expression explains why I used this particular photo lol!

(still apologising for the scans, no idea where my flippin camera has gone!)

Here are the tags behind the photo, loving 7 Gypsies atm!!

(oh and update on Fred the bunny, he has been 'done' and i didn't kill this one! However he does have an infection, (looks VERY painful!) and I have to give him antibiotics through a syringe. Tis certainly a challenge!

Sad

We buried Annie today, was extremely sad. It was a lovely service, in a beautiful church. She was sent with dignity.

I have a new obsession!

I went on a Art from the Heart course a couple of weeks ago, to learn how to paint on canvases. We did crackling, something else I can't remember what she called it but it involved ripping and dying! and then stippling. I have done a massive hexagon shaped one, which I can't show you yet cos it is too big to scan lol!

here are a couple I have done with stippling, on a smaller scale.

Warning - picture overload!

Well here are a few (!) photos from our Feb holiday in the lakes. I cannot take any credit for the photo's, all taken by dh! And he don't take a bad photo really!





During a drive, I saw a llama. Of course no-one else saw it, so I got the mickey taken for the week. And then we went along the same road, and lookey here - a llama! So Gail - LOOK IT'S A LLAMA!! (of course I didn't get an apology from anyone!)

Daniel Mendoza

Both my mum and auntie are very into tracing our family tree, and Elvina has found a little gem! We are related to Daniel Mendoza, number 82 of the top 100 most influential Jews. Not only this, but his son was also the first ever Jew to become a published writer. And reading what they both achieved is very humbling. Plus it says Peter Sellers is also in this line, so investigations are taking place ;o)

He's even in the t'internet!:

Daniel Mendoza was the first Jewish prize-fighter to become a champion. Though he stood only 5'7" and weighed 160 pounds, Mendoza was England’s sixteenth Heavyweight Champion from 1792 to 1795. Always proud of his heritage, he billed himself as Mendoza the Jew.He is the father of scientific boxing. At a time when the sport of boxing consisted primarily of barehanded slugging, Mendoza introduced the concept of defense. He developed the guard, the straight left, and made use of side­stepping tactics. This new strategy, the Mendoza School, also referred to as the Jewish School, was criticized in some circles as cowardly. But it permitted Mendoza to fully capitalize on his small stature, speed, and punching power.His first recorded prizefight was a knockout of an opponent, known as Harry the Coalheaver, whom he dispatched in 40 rounds. A victory in his first professional fight in 1787 won him the patronage of the Prince of Wales (later George IV), the first boxer to earn this honor. His acceptance by British royalty (he was the first Jew ever to speak to England’s King George III) helped elevate the position of the Jew in English society and stem a vicious tide of anti-Semitism that many Englishmen read into Shakespeare’s characterization of Shylock in his play The Merchant of Venice.Mendoza had a series of storied matches against rival Richard Humphries, one each in 1788, 1789, and 1790. He lost the first battle in 29 rounds but won the latter pair in 52 and 15 Daniel Mendoza, “Mendoza the Jew” rounds. He laid claim to the English boxing title in 1791 when the prevailing champion, Benjamin Brain, retired. Another top English boxer, Bill Warr, contested Mendoza’s claim. In May 1792, the two met to settle the matter in Croydon, England. Mendoza was victorious in 23 rounds. Warr and Mendoza met again in November 1794, and this time it took the champion only 15 minutes to dispose of the challenger.Mendoza, a descendant of Spanish Marranos (Jews coerced into conversion to Christianity) who had lived in London for nearly a century, became such a popular figure in England that songs were written about him, and his name appeared in scripts of numerous plays. His personal appearances would fill theaters, portraits of him and his fights were popular subjects for artists, and commemorative medals were struck in his honor.Daniel Mendoza was one of the inaugural group elected in 1954 to the Boxing Hall of Fame and of the inaugural class of the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990