A warm welcome to all my visitors,

Thank you for taking the time to come and look at my blog, I really do appreciate it. I would love you to leave me a comment, even if it’s just to say Hi. It means I can come visit you!

All my designs are original, so copyrighted to me. If I have been inspired by someone elses work, I have named them in the post, and where able, I have provided a link.

Please feel free to use my designs for inspiration, I just ask you to credit me, and provide a link back to my blog.

Thanks, Shaz XX

Friday, 31 December 2021

A year in review

 

A lot has changed over the last 12 months, I think it is fair to say that this year has not been our/my best “when two become one” it was never going to be really now was it!

My life this is hard to do, how the fk do you guys do this every year? anyway, this may prove to be beneficial to me.
 

So then, things that I am grateful of, things I am proud off and things to look forward to in the 2022. 

So let’s start with grateful

My family & friends
You have all been my rock and I love you all dearly, losing Shaz was hard on all of us, and still is, she will always be a part of our lives, so thank you all for the check ins, the meals, the time and the chats.

Music
Music has always been a huge part in my life, both the live scene with concerts and the digital one, It is music that have kept me sane this year, a large home with just my own noise is kind of hard you know?
Being able to see bands this year despite covid, bands who’s members you can call friends has been important to just get me out the house, a reason to travel again; ‘The fallen State’, ‘Ashen Reach’, ‘Mallen’, & ‘State of Ember’.

While at the same time this year I discovered some new ones, as tends to be the case with live shows; ‘Mad haven’, ‘Ethryfield’, ‘ Raven breed’, ‘Haxen’ & ‘Dead man’s Whiskey’ you guys N’ gals rock!


Things I am proud off in 2021
Work
I am proud of my accomplishments at ‘Netcom Training’ to see my students flourish when they leave us is kind off hard to put into words, rewarding does not come close, to say it feeds my ego would be some what of an understatement.
So yes I am incredibly proud of my accomplishments at work.

Passing my motorcycle test.
This has been on my bucket list for about 30 years now, but as Shaz and I went everywhere together (work and play) and she refused point-blank to get on the back of a 2 wheeled motorcycle I could not justify the cost of the lessons etc as I would not buy a bike if it did not get used.

 So, this one, this one was for me! thank you RMT in helping me with this, this meant so very much to me x

Things to look forward to in 2022 

(This one I thought would be difficult, but it seems that is not the case at all)

Travelling
Come spring I plan on spending time on two wheels, visiting friends all over the UK and in time in Europe too, being able to travel further afield for concerts and attending more ‘last rides’.

Live music
This stands to reason, there are new albums being released, so new tours that will follow, and lest not forget festivals. 


On a side note, I have made bread and butter pudding using Sharon's recipe two times now and both times it came out perfect, oh and a few days ago trifle as was traditional every Christmas Shaz would make at least one.

Sharon's Bread and butter pudding recipeOne trifle with double angel delight


It stands to reason I wish you all the very best of health for the coming year, do the things that make you happy, tell loved ones that they are indeed loved, and capture moments on video not just photographs, memories may fade  or indeed fail you, but pictures & video can last forever.
 (terms and conditions apply, you may lose data if you don't back them up, just saying)

Wednesday, 3 November 2021

WOYWW 648 - Check in time again

In a variation the wise words of our Julia..

         Its kinda all about me! 

And that is exactly what I have needed, so, since I last touched base with you all, a few things have happened, I kind off broke again for a bit, some touching things, and a personal goal realised. 

I have layers and walls like most, and sometimes, unintentionally, they come down.

Work has been a great distraction, but next to family, music has been what has been getting me through those dark moments, favourite us songs, are now reserved to when I can process them, these songs I let-in when I can handle them.
To add context,  a verse from my favourite song of all time.

Its too late to be there
When a life is lost, It brings you to your knees
And I need a moment, to gather my thoughts
About our loss
How Indescribable it seems to be.


This song is 'Nova' by the band 'The Fallen State', one of the songs played at Sharon's funeral service.

The all about me bit :) 

So, for those that have not been following on social media, or missed the last couple of posts, or forgot, its a thing I do it all the time, so I had been taking motorcycle lessons. 

Long story very sort, Shaz refused to go the back of a bike with 2 wheels, I had one for a couple of years before we got together and I felt it time to get a full licence, so, there was 4 things you needed to accomplish in order to gain a full license. 
CBT, Theory test, Module 1 & Module 2.

It was the dreaded Module 1 that I was hung up on as I kept putting my foot down, well I managed to pass that on the 29th of September with just one minor fault picked up, 1km/h below the required speed limit for the avoidance test.

Well Monday this week (01/11/2021) I had my module 2 and I only went and passed it first time, and yes I am immensely proud of myself for doing so too :) 

Happy hublet

So a huge shout out to RMT motorcycle training in Redditch for their patience and training.


So back to the music, and the later bit.

The music scene like many others have been struggling over the last 2 years, so the first chance of supporting them and going back to concerts I was all for it, with the aforementioned band being top of the list, although a couple of concerts have been had before the one mentioned below.


Sunday night, the day before my mod 2 bike test, the band 'The fallen State' was playing about an hour away in Cannock, it was the last gig of the tour, I had bought tickets for the family to attend and attend most did, some had the dreaded lurgy (I still have man flu, I kinda forgot to mention that bit, I am still very much full of flu) but 6 of us poured in.



So 4 bands played that night, all for just a TENNER! with the fallen state headlining, 3 songs from the end and the band slows things down, being at the front i can see the set list, and know what song they are about to play next, I have a lump in my throat and dry mouth already.
Then Adam (the lead singer) dedicates the song to Shaz and another that is a local to Cannock, you see, ever since we first saw them as support we connected with the band and the music, so they too where close to us both. 

A thank you goes out to Rae Robinson for taking the video and for allowing me to use it.


With mobiles phones out with the torch's on we all song our hearts out, and me right at the front doing the same, but with tears streaming down my face.


You will see in the video my younger brother made his way to the front to pop an arm around me,
Love you bro, it only broke me a little I promise x 


With Halloween just gone, it would be rude not to share a picture of our Shaz at the Halloween crop from 2015

Head over to our  Julia's for the latest gossip and desk goodness over at the stamping ground 

And finally....





Sunday, 10 October 2021

Wedding anniversary pride

 

Wedding Anniversary 

Exchange of rings

12 years ago today in the presence of our loved ones Shaz and I exchanged rings and vows, it was unusually warm for the time of year.

The vows we exchanged where the traditional ones, we had thought of writing our own but decided against it, those vows we honoured, not because we felt bound by them, but instead because we lived by them for the previous 18 years, we loved, honoured, respected and trusted each other unconditionally.
The faithful part goes without saying, we where the love of each others life and always will be, on reflection we had a relationship that you often only see in movies.


I am not going to do step by step account of the day or the places we have seen over the 29 years we had together, you have all seen and followed along over the last 11 years on this bog and via the Facebook posts.

I spent the days leading up to today dreading it, losing sleep over it, waves of grief coming back all over again wondering how I should feel, especially if someone was to wish me/us happy anniversary because, well, quite simply it isn't or wouldn't be with her physically here with me.

But, now that we arrive on this day I don't just feel sad, lost, and miss her with all my being, but I also feel pride that Shaz chose me, blessed that we was able to spend the time together that we had. I also  have the love of my family and friends, while it is not the same as i always had that, it is enough.

My blog posts are often too wordy, or two picture heavy so I will leave it here with a new And Finally 

This is a video clip I found from 2010, my brother had arranged a 60th birthday party for my mom at his house, I was waiting in the lounge for Shaz to get ready so we can leave, I had our camcorder at the ready as I was going to to record the evening and give it to my mom as a DVD ( I did, I am thankful that I did as there are many great videos of us together in it) anyway back the video below.


I have no idea why I did, but, I decided to video Shaz as she entered the lounge, she saw the camera and well, check out her reaction to it....


And finally ...

Wednesday, 22 September 2021

WOYWW 642 - check in and share of new found videos

 So I figured as part of this post is craft related (not mine but our beloved Shaz's It is only right I schedule the post for a Whats On Your Work-desk Wednesday, after all it is kind of Sharon's desk I am sharing on her behalf.

You see, I was updating Sharon's PC this weekend and while snooping around (as you do) I explored her craft drive again, this time I came across 3 videos that she hadn't uploaded to the Tube of You's (Youtube) yet, I have looked through the blog to see if they where here but could not find them.

They may have been uploaded and I have overlooked them, but hey, better to share them twice than not at all right?

The birds video folder

The folder named 'uploaded' is one I created after going through her YouTube channel amd matching videos, gratuitous plug for the channel is below👀

BIrds youtube channel


There were a few videos to sort through and ensure they have not been uploaded,  I have given them each a name and added date of the video to the title of the video, in time I will sit and watch all her videos properly to learn from her and of course to hear her voice again as I miss her so very much.
The ones that are scheduled to go live along with this post can be found below.

 Snowflake triple stamped card (recorded 05/08/2018)

Stencils & Stencil paste (recorded 10/12/2018) inspired by Lucy Ellis for (Sweet Poppy)

Foil embossing techniques (recorded 12/12/2018)

So now about me 

So what have I been up to?

Outside of working or working on work stuff (if that makes sense?) I have kept myself busy

First off I have to confess to having...well..... I managed to fluff my Mod 1 bike test, not once but twice by putting my foot down on the slow manoeuvres each time (different places), the first time (slalom) I expected it as I did not feel confident going in, the second though I have no idea why I (insert naughty word here) it up, but I put my foot down on the U-turn, something I have been going over and over and nailing almost 100% of the time.

My conclusion is this,

Shaz wants me to have more practice and is keeping me safe, I know I will pass when I am meant to so I am not that concerned, I have my next Mod one on the 29th so the third times a charm right?


In the interim I have the use of my nephews 1 year old 125cc bike on which to practice on, this I have been doing when the weather has been ok and sometimes when it has not been.

On that score I have joined a couple of facebook groups for motorcycles, one named 'Bikers of Worcestershire' and the other called 'Biker escorts UK

Now I know what you are thinking 😕

 Doug! about that last one!!!!!!


Well it is not what you think (gutter level the lot of you) this is an official group that organise group escorts/rides for occasions like Proms & funerals etc 

It was the latter of which that caught my attention.

As you know I fretted like mad trying to ensure that Sharon's send off was as perfect as I possibly could, ensuring I tried my best to ensure everything was as perfect as it could be.

Well when bikers passes, if they (or their loved ones) want them to have a motorcycle escort is where this group fits in.

 I  attended my first one last Thursday 16th September on my nephews 125, the bike size did not matter as even on the dual carriage ways a hearse does not travel fast.

Last ride for Peter


It was well organised with Marshall bikers on mahooosive trikes blocking traffic on slip roads and islands.
Tthis particular one was rather spontaneous as I only spotted it was going on an hour before they were due to start arriving for the meet, so I didn't have a lot of time to consider the fact that I would be returning to the Redditch Crematorium for the first time since.....

Anywhoo

This was not about me, it was about making someone else's day as special as possible, something I will be doing again as many times as I can, and travelling further to do so when I pass my test.

In fact my next one I have booked the day off for, a young family man of 25 that sadly took his own life.




Anyway that is my check in for now, hopefully my next check in will be to say I passed my Mod one and have date for my mod 2

Head over to our Deskspert Julia for the latest gossip and desk goodness over at the stamping ground 


Just a random shot of Shaz from 2015 at the Edan project

Edan project July 25th 2015


That can only leave and finally...


Death works from home 

by the way, this was wrote on Sharons pc

Saturday, 14 August 2021

Doug's Check in time.

For the last few weeks I have been busying myself with revision for my goal of getting my full motorcycle licence, you see when I where a lad....

 (yup I am starting the story that way)

Between the ages of 16-18 I had a motorbike, (granted it was only a 50cc) there was an overlap because as soon as I was old enough I took driving lessons and passed my car test in July 1991 just before my 18th birthday, so I bought a car and enjoyed the freedom of the open road, as most of you know Shaz and I got together in March 1992 (34 weeks later).

Shaz loved the look and sound of a motorcycle but she flat refused to ride pillion on one, She was fine on a quad, although I had once managed to get her on the back of a scooter in Greece.

Fast forward a lot, as Shaz and I where inseparable, we went everywhere together, even work, so with me being sensible I could not justify the cost a motorcycle that would just sit there and look pretty. 

This brings us to the present, I am doing this for me, call it a mid life crisis (I think I have earned that right), with the exception of my kid sister my siblings all ride motorcycles so it will be nice to get on the road and do road trips with them and visit friends and family without the concerns of traffic. 

So where am I in this?
  • 29th June -  I passed my Theory test
  • 23 July -  took my CBT (you cant fail this, but they can insist you need more training if they don't think you are safe) I was perfectly ok with it.
  • 29th July - full day on a 125cc
  • 31st July - Full day on a 650cc when we got back my instructor was like, I want put you in for your Module 1 test, he was obviously happy with how I was with it.
A motorcycle licence  needs 4 things CBT, Theory, Mod 1 and Mod 2

So what next?
 22nd August (next Sunday) I will be practicing manoeuvres ahead of the test 
 25th August (the morning off) I will be having a go of my Mod 1

Then it will be training for Mod 2 (no dates as yet for this) kind off depends on what happens on the 25th.

So what else have I been up to?

Well the back garden is on hold at the moment, my focus is shifting to the front one, there is a reason for that, in the short term I will need a secure location to store the motorbike as we do not have garage, so the front garden it is securely anchored down until I can sort out the back.  

Work begins on that next week.

But on a more personal note. 

This month has been particularly hard for me, as it has also it has also been for our family too, as most of you know Shaz and I shared our birthday (which is/would be today) so the last few weeks has been really (insert naughty word here) tough.
The reason is not just that it would have been our birthday today (yes I know it is still mine, but I wont be celebrating that for a while) but it also marks 6 months since we lost Shaz.

How the (insert naughty word here) has it been 6 months already?

So this weekend we will be toasting to our beloved Shaz, consuming lots of Gin in the process, I can feel the hangover already 😬.

 I had considered maybe organising a wake, but I will be honest with you, on reflection I would not be able to cope with a wake after this amount of time, I don't think family could either.

Instead when we get on top of this (insert a fresh new naughty word here) human malware that is Covid 19 (or what even number we get up to), we will when it is safe to do so organise a crop or two instead, we can eat lots and lots of cake.


A gratuitous snap taken back in 2014  I give you Bird-ception,  a bird, on the bird, while holding a bird :)





And finally

Wednesday, 23 June 2021

WOYWW 629 - Doug does dirt

Warning picture heavy post inbound 


So its been a while, I have been mainly working and spending time with family, I have have also been preparing for my coming motorcycle theory test at the end of the month as well as doing some much needed repotting of house plants.

It is the repotting and the reasoning behind it which is the focus of this post, you see last year during all that heat we had, my office gets incredibly hot, it is an east facing large window.

So I present to you the window, along with a predicament, (this picture is from August last year btw and most of the plants are now just a wee bit larger), well that centre window needed to be openable.

I bought a portable Air con unit and the pipe (think tumble dryer hose) needs to go through that centre window, and loads of the cacti and succulents are in need of potting on so they are going to take up more window space.





 I give you exabit A, my poor pot-bound African spear plant, 

desperately in need of a new pot. 






So after spending a while in thick rubber gloves and repotting, I achieved my end goal, the windows got cleaned on the inside (not letting onto how long that has been) and the Velcro window seal is in place, the window as you can see is closed, and takes very little to open it again. 


The ducting goes out through a (Velcro'd on) material surround to stop the hot air coming back inside again, and it works very well, has a zip and attaches to the inside of the frame it has been bliss to work in here of late.

Seems like a lot of work for our summers, well yes and no, I have 2 servers in this room that kick out a fair amount of heat, this exacerbates the issue

And I kinda have to work in here for all day.

Some plants simply did not fit back into the window, I needed the space, so bottom left Rubetia Heliosa , one that I have had for years in my window and one that should not really survive this long for being grafted, I have had no choice but to move it into the kitchen window, it has had a soil change and is now back in flower again so fingers are crossed. 


The centre picture is ( I think a kind of a jade type tree is a Crassula, and is a succulent) this is now in the downstairs loo right above a radiator.

The (left plant) in the Right hand picture, this is now in the dining room, the Left hand plant is the one pictured above that had the repot and yes that is a cable tie around it keeping the leaves from snapping, it is close to 3 ft tall now. 
The ornaments were mothers day gifts to Shaz from her son and daughter in laws over the years.

The one in the centre of the same picture (the bunny eared one) is a stowaway we brought back from the Eden project, it is a prickly pear (according to google lens)

Into the garden next, some stunning climbers, if I remember I will update with the names of some of these.
On the left we have (I believe is a clematis Copernicus?) 
In the centre we have a clematis called Josephine, I believe it is the first year the rain hasn't beaten it to death while in flower.
On the right is indeed a Dave Austin, it is a climbing rose called (Rosa Spirit of freedom) and is in full bloom at the minute, it fills the trellis and is all over the kitchen window and roof line.




Well that is me for a bit, head over to our Julia's Stamping ground, and share your desk, also apologies for how long it is between posts, real life gets in the way sometimes x

As the summer solstice has just been and gone, this one is a rather fitting picture of us from 2014




And that just leaves the and finally...


Wednesday, 2 June 2021

WOYWW 626 - happy mail dance

 So it has been a couple of weeks again since my last post, work and life has taken over, stuff and things needed doing or sorting.

I have had some happy mail and gifts arrive over the last week, so I warn you this post while being shorter than normal will have no less pictures ha ha 


So celebrating the WOYWW celebrating 12 years of friendship swap we have an awesome card complete with splendid poem inside from Annie (Wipso) and Jo (Twiglet) 


Yesterday I had a visit from my younger brothers as we had arranged a bike ride out  (I dont have my bike licence so i was pillion on my brothers) , And just as we was ready to leave I had someone trying to post something through the door, Odd I thought, Its bank holiday monday wich means no mail.




So Imagine my surprise when I opened the door to find Debbie's, hubby Phil at the door bearing a package.




As I didn't have time to open it as we was off out, I set it aside for later, later came and went and I had forgotten all about it, I am sat in front of the TV when I glanced up and saw the carefully wrapped parcel on the record player (Yes I am old school and proud).

So carefully I begin to unwrap it, first a bubble wrap pouch, next some buble gift wrapping paper, then many layers of tissue (not going to lie, all I need was music for a game of pass the parcel), I am then left holding a piece of art that has an uncanny resemblance of not only the image I have had in my head since Sharon's passing, but also has the colours that depict how I felt too.



 

I sat holding it for what seemed like an age before I realised I couldn't see it anymore, my eyes had started leaking again.


I was so overwhelmed by what I was seeing, it was so uplifting and mournful at the same time. 


I sat and allowed myself to take in all the details, Deb is meticulous, no single addition is added without reason, I am sat studying it and I remember thinking am I seeing what I want to see? 


So I picked up my phone and I start to write a message to Debbie thanking her. I am fully aware that quite often the art is different for each and every one of us.


I give her a breakdown on my take of this piece she had created, explaining my reaction to it and my thoughts as to why there are two wolves in the image 

I saw myself as the lower left one, howling in grief, and that Shaz is the one watching over me.

You know what? 

That was exactly the why behind it,


It is fair to say that I love it, and that I need to find a special place for it xxx


 



You know how there is normally a gratuitous picture of Shaz, or us at the end of these post's? 


Well opposite we have many..


Here we have a gift from my Niece Karina, she had taken some pictures from our social media and had them printed onto a piece of white crushed velvet.


 So I have draped it over the back of the chair, where Shaz would normally sit and work, which incidentally is visible from my office directly opposite.


The thing which crushed velvet is you can't not stroke it x



Well that is my offering head over to our Julia's Stamping ground and share yours 

and finally ...

Wednesday, 12 May 2021

WOYWW 623 - So what have I been upto?

No desk to show, but I have got screenshots of what I have been up to.

 So the garden is on the back boiler due to it raining for the last two weekends, but working during the week is helping to keep my mind focused.


So as I could not get into the garden I have instead been focussing on researching the family tree, as some will be aware both Shaz and I did a DNA test through a company called myheritage these were one of tests that trace your DNA origins, but it does so in a way that gives you your geographical origins rather than a family history (hope that makes sense?) 

so for an additional fee (subscription) you can take start to build a family tree, using some of their automated research tools that dips into births/deaths and marriage registers etc along with a bunch of other places like others own trees.



It has been interesting, enlightening and kinda therapeutic at the same time.

As you can see from the image to the right, I am mostly English and Welsh, this I knew already and was the expected result.

And 
lets face it

 Boring in comparison to Sharon's which we will look at next..


 

So here I give you Sharon, and her DNA, with just 14.8% English  &  27.0% Irish/Scottish/Welsh  that amounts to 41.8% for the UK .

Still less than the 42.9% Scandinavian, and all the other bits from the Viking pillaging ha ha .


Now that my friends is a cool Origin story worth investigating.

And therein lies the problem.

I cant see Vikings registering many births.

But I have found some of Sharon's relatives (yet to be fully confirmed) below is a screenshot of as far back as I have gone, each colour (blue and pink) above a picture is additional branches so it would be impossible to do an all inclusive picture.


At the bottom of the tree we have Sharon's Mother and late Father, above them I  have gone back as far as her Great Great Great Grandparents Thomas and Emma Morris and the year born in 1852 & 1848 respectively.


Mine goes back on my mothers side to my great great great grandparents Thomas and Mary lander 1861 and 1862 respectively.

Back to the garden hopefully this weekend as I have a new plan for the building I am building, more on that later.

So that's it from me, I am late posting this and I wasn't going to do it as a WOYWW post either , but hey ho, lets get Sharon's blog on the list again.


Gratuitous shot of us from our nieces (in the picture) 21st birthday party in 2013


So that just leaves the  and finally...



Wednesday, 28 April 2021

WOYWW 621 - Inquest time is nigh

 So I honestly can't remember if I shared this news with you lovely peeps or not, but well,  as the title may well indicate we have an inquest into the cause of Sharon's passing, the date of said inquest is/was yesterday (Tuesday 27th April 2021).

So no desks to share this week, in its place, I will share a picture or two instead, I hope you all don't mind? 




 I am writing this post on Tuesday and have it scheduled as I normally do (as long as I remember its Wednesday) and to think I Teach IT ha ha and forget the days of the week.

So, the elephant in the room is well, the elephant in the room isn't it? 
~
A part of the process when someone with such a complex history as our Shaz who was undergoing treatment even if palliative towards the end which is what the last chemo was.
None of us know if this will help give us closure but what we did know is it needed to take place. 
On a personal note I was unsure if I was going to be back to square one with all the what-ifs all over again? 
 After all, my wonderful Wifelet passed a little over 10 weeks ago now (I know right, it feels like a week or two at most) so a lot of suppressed emotions are boiling all over again 😩. 

The paperwork that the coroner's office sent out  about a week of Sharon's passing included some stressful content to go through, time lines to remember to be able to build a picture, details to re-live, questions and concerns to raise etc all of which I did parallel to arranging Sharon's funeral only to be told that it will only be to decide on some very specific outcomes.

This is not me fishing for virtual hugs, I am sure you all know me better than that, it really is just the fact of the matter x


So the inquest is set out to ascertain the following


Who 
Where
When

Why (this is the only part they were undecided on)

But that is all done now, 

Sharon's passing is registered as a complication of the treatment she was receiving, sepsis, which was  brought about as a side effect of chemotherapy for her now very aggressive cancer, it was explained far more elegantly than that. 
Cancer is a natural occurrence, a mutation that occurs when cells replicate some are more aggressive than others as was the case with Sharon's, at the end there was simply no treatment that could cure or slow it down, slowly at first but then rather rapidly towards the end it took over until it won.

Anyway let's lighten the mood with a gratuitous picture of our Shaz doing something else she loved, Road trips and Coffee, taken in 2015 on one of our road trips, this was taken in Margate



By the time you see this, this chapter will be behind us, and we all need to try to move on, 

That is how it is supposed to work right?

I came out of the inquest with very mixed emotions, wounds that had started to heal, while now a little smaller had just had the scab ripped back off, so I am kind off broken again!

Baby steps Doug,

Baby steps

 Changing the subject now 

The garden is now clear, not quite the blank canvas yet, but with the help of my brother Rob who popped round on Sunday it is very almost there. 

Saturday I felt rough, guessing it was either the Covid jab from the day before or I have been overdoing it a weeeeee bit ripping the ivy down on Friday right after getting stabbed in the arm, possibly the later or maybe a combination of the two? 



I am so not used to this manual labour malarkey!

After all, the heaviest thing someone working in IT lifts up is a piece of hardware or their cup of coffee.

So I have some fence panels to repair and some more rubbish to move, the rubble in the foreground will be eaten up by the concrete base and footings, this week will mainly the the design/planning time and no doubt a lot of reflection.

I even came across some pictures from back in 2004 from when that part of the garden looked really  nice, we were younger and fitter back then, we kind of all were ha ha

         Let me know if you want to see one of them?

So that was more of a WOYPW - What’s On Your Plate Wednesday which sounds more like a Facebook post showing off the meal you are about to eat than anything craft related, but, I digress again.

 So for the real thing head over to our Julia's Stamping ground and share yours  for What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday  


 
Which just leaves... and finally...



Wednesday, 21 April 2021

WOYWW 620 - Jungle, what Jungle ?

 Well its that time of the week again, and boy do I ache, so what have I been upto this week, well pretty much more of the same, I have been taming the wildlife garden over the weekend (not really, I have been beating the overgrown jungle into submission) and also I have been doing some more practice with the engraving and well work.

So for my desk this week, will be just that . the 



So For those curious, we have an old router , a cisco switch, a mini patch panel, a cable tester, a toner/probe, a cable map tester, continuity tester and you can also see both cameras in the shot, the overhead one and the one I address the students with when I am demoing/teaching at this desk.

So the garden

Shaz will be laughing at this because she knows what i say when it comes to gardening, the tedious side like weeding I really don't enjoy.

Does anyone enjoy weeding? is that a thing?

I digress again,  the standard joke is that "I don't do dirt"
I dislike having dirty fingernails or getting bitten by mozzies (don't see the appeal to it) don't get me wrong I am more than capable of it , I just wouldn't choose to do it as a job, or hobby, etc.


So let me remind you of what the 150ft garden looks at the bottom of it, this is the same picture as I shared last week.


Now, I work at a desk all day, I drive everywhere and the heaviest thing I lift is shopping bags, and yes I bend my knees, you only have one back.

So when I started this two weekends back, I sort of had an idea of what the outcome should be.

But!

My life!!!

Am I sore this week, the journey is one born out of  blood sweat and tears, but it is also very much a labour of love and apologies...

The latter due to some of the plants Sharon wanted to keep are just not possible. 

I did move a variegated holly bush and cut right down some climbing roses that may come back. 
But the rather large elder was far too far gone (back left of the original picture), as was a rather spindly magnolia that was more dead than alive (not really visible right in the original image picture. 



These will simply be replaced at some point, I need to draw up a plan and map stuff out, but essentially a summer house will be at the bottom and a low maintenance memorial garden in front of it.



So this weekend coming will be removing the rubbish, taking stock of the condition of the fence, and replace panels if needed, remove the ivy from it and maybe make a start on treating it then draw up a plan as I will have a blank canvas.


To give you context as to the length of the garden those steps you see next to the shed and the tarpaulin sheet protecting the cement mixer, that is roughly the midpoint, so to run power down to the summer house wont be cheap either.


The shed will of course go as the tools will go into the summer house as I will partition it off.


As for the engraving, well that is getting there too, I resorted to using a head mounted magnifier to bring me a little closer to the work piece which really helps
Oh and I get my first jab this friday lunch time, better late than never right? 
anyway...

So thats my desk and garden for this week, head over to our Julia's Stamping ground and share what you may have been working on.  


Cheeky picture of Shaz and I waiting t see Guns N' Roses




That just leaves the and finally...



Wednesday, 14 April 2021

WOYWW 618 - the hublets desk

 Well its that time of the week again, and I very almost didn't blog as I haven't done any paper crafting at all. What I have been doing instead is working, working towards my career as an IT teacher, so my desk this week is just that, my desk, but not the one you have seen before I don't think, you see, I have an additional desk that I use for demos, where I show students tech, what the stuff is and how it works, they will typically get an areal view from an overhead camera out of shot bringing in the camera for close ups. 

The view behind the image is unfinished decorating from a couple of years ago for the hall and stairs I never got round to finishing. 



The desk is set up for this mornings class, we are about to go over networking hence the cables and things laid out to hand. This stuff will get swapped out for the evenings class as we going over hardware with them. So yes, two classes, one at 09:30 -12:30 and then 18:00 until 21:00 it is keeping me busy again and i feel its what I need right now.

But, while it has not been used for that I have put it to good use, we have had a dremel for many years, what I didn't own was the long flexible shaft for the extra control, nor did I have the stand the dremel is suspended from.

The reason I made the purchase is of course who else could I entrust in the correcting of  the mistake on Sharon's urn? 

So that cup you see in the image is what I have been practicing on, it dawned on me as I was lay in bed (mithering) as you do, and had a eureka moment, that lettering in white would be ideal to practice on.

The cup was destined for the bin as the one side of the handle had came away.


So I am learning to engrave (still not quite happy with it but I have a lot of time to perfect it) I can't actually see that well extremely close up. 

You would think being long sighted and short sighted would cancel each other out?

I digress...

So I feel another purchase is on the cards, a hands free magnifier for that super intricate stuff 

The metallic sharpies I have had for years but I feel the tip is too fat, (the artist that made the mistake is sending one over and I have had a partial refund and apology) I have come to the conclusion that the ink they used was the gold and not the bronze.

OMG that used to be a garden


So no paper crafting as yet, I am not sure when I will have the time either as I need/wanted to work on the garden so I can do a memorial garden. We had planned a while ago to sort the bottom of the garden (the jungle) so that we could sit down there and just relax.




Believe it or not this are the same area a few hours and many scratches later, all that shrubbery (love that word...Shrubbery) was mostly bramble, it all got shredded not burnt, in fact anything that was live did, only the dry stuff got incinerated.


At the very bottom of the garden will go a rather large workshop/summerhouse/shed with a large pathed area in front of it and a nice water feature.
or at least that is the plan.

Anyway that is it from me, its late and I need to get to bed (yes I am typing this the night before) don't we all?

So thats my desk, do head over to our Julia's Stamping ground and share yours for Whats On Your Workdesk Wednesday  

Random pic of the bird, this from 2014 Kos


So that just leaves the and finally..




An End of an era

An end of an era

I write this with a broken heart, that only time can heal My beautiful, wonderful wifelet Shaz (Silverwolf) passed away peacefully in the ea...