ROCKING YOUR WORLD FRIDAY - NUMBER 20 FOR 2013

Morning, afternoon, good evening, Rocking Your World Friday, time to take a breath step back and appreciate the last 7 days and the silver linings and positives contained therein because it's

So let's see what has happened since the last time we met?

Well Friday last week was a day off work which is always a blessing although these days I struggle to fathom out what I'm supposed to be doing which makes it hard work, but a day off is to be celebrated no matter what.

Saturday saw us at the theatre to see Taming of the Shrew performed by the Propeller theatre group.  This is about the fourth play we've seen performed by this all male cast and it has to be said they get better and better.  They make Shakespeare completely accessible, understandable, flamboyant, vivid, enlightening and most of all thoroughly entertaining.  I really cannot praise them enough, so if you fancy a good afternoon or evening at the theatre and they are playing anywhere near you I cannot recommend them highly enough - book those tickets you will not be disappointed!

Sunday and we set off to Wentworth Castle to see an art installation.  When we were there at Christmas for their fayre said 12 year old painted a wine glass for the art installation

and last Sunday we got to see it with all it's pals in a glass sculpture in the Rotunda (which is a follie and was originally built as a summer house for the castle).

Inside we found this

And I adore this photo as the glasses look like they are hurtling towards you!

We enjoyed the walk over, admiring the sculpture and chatting to the glass artist who is doing 12 of these follies for follies.  This one being the third one at Wentworth Castle, we've got three more to go at Wentworth Castle, the next of which is at Halloween where she's hoping to coincide with the relaunch of the renovated Victorian Conservatory and she's hoping to use some of the original Victorian glass - watch this space!

The rest of the week has been a blur which I blame work but amongst the days I've managed

• Arriving home earlier on Monday than normal, not quite a 12 hour day. 
• Adhoc making of scones when we fancied something sweet by hubby 
• Eating of said scones with cream and jam, most naughty although said 12 year old had already almost emptied the can of cream! 
  
• Going to the dentist on Wednesday and getting a clean bill of health and some clean teeth to boot! 
• Managing a bit of arting Thursday evening in a steampunky kind of way
• Other positives include Sarah being so understanding over her missing circle journal in the collaborart, Donna and I (mainly Donna I might add) are doing our utmost to recover!
• Getting to spend a little bit of time with my sister when we went to the theatre on Saturday, I've really missed her whilst she's in the throws of Uni assignment writing! 
• Hubby for putting up with my crazy ideas for adding pull out racks to a cupboard in the kitchen and finding subsequently that it works a treat, I now have a tray for the herbs and spices and one for bread! 
• Said 12 year old for making us a cup of tea the other night without prompting - twas truly lovely! 
• A Jamie korma curry (not something hubby would usually entertain as not usually hot enought), but Mr Oliver likes to add a green chilli so that was hubby happy and a lovely curry for us to enjoy! 
• Hubby overall for listening, I seem to need to talk a lot at the moment and him listening has been a true blessing. 
• Seeing a jay in the back garden even if we didn't get the photographic evidence! 

So there you go people, you start by thinking, well I haven't done a lot, the week has just been full of work but then by taking those few moments you realise that a whole lot of positives has happened for which I truly am immensely grateful.

And lastly to all those that happen by here and read and those that join in whether it be once in a while, once a week, once a month I always feel truly blessed that you take the time to enjoy something that has become a weekly ritual.  I love to come and visit and find out what positives have occurred in your life, so if you fancy joining in, blog it head back here and link it and then we can come and visit. 

I'll leave you with a layout 

And of course Mr Linky 

ROCKING YOUR WORLD FRIDAY - 19TH FRIDAY OF 2013!

Good Morning, good evening hello one and all, tis Friday already and on my calculations it's the 19th Friday of 2013, nineteen Fridays that we've been reflecting, thinking about what good things have happened!  Remembering the silver linings and the positives of the last 7 days.

so what have I done since the last Rocking Your World, well we had a fantastic bank holiday weekend, unusually for this country we managed 3 dry days, 3 days to enjoy family, have some down time and just be together - utterly bliss.  We managed a barbecue, an outdoor fire, visit to Harewood, enjoyed a play event at Harewood, got to see Red Kites up close, breathed, had time and fun and ooooh it was lovely - again again

So here's a flavour of our weekend.  Dearest husband getting oh so giddy about Paul Hollywood's Bread book, he watched the series and has the book so time to put it into action.  Now hubby has never ever made bread before we it's always been an irritation for him because he loves cooking!  But he is no longer a bread making virgin.  I got up to this on Saturday morning

which in turn became this

Then he decided he needed to make biscotti, not just one variety oooh no he had to do two!  Blueberry and Pistachio in one lot and Raisin and Almond in the other, which went from this

to this

to this

and finally this - biscotti are so named apparently because you bake them twice, therefore they are very dry and very hard but delicious with a hot cup of coffee!

Then wanting to prove he was on a roll and also wanting to take a picnic to Harewood he made this olive foccaccia

I tell you he was baking all day and thoroughly enjoying himself and before you ask yes they were all gorgeous and yes my waistline can tell!

Next up Harewood it's about an hours journey from our house if traffic is good and about 50 miles away, we had a straight run up and arrived a little after ten, as well as paying to go around the grounds there was also a fantastic play event on.  Initially we thought most of the things would be too young for said 12 year old but we found plenty to do.

From maze wobble boards

 To space hoppers

 Watching graffiti artists start with this

 into this having got some children to help with the artwork

and the Harewood flamingoes

 But the favourite had to be the sand sculpting here they are with their very own Dolphin!

 Then a visit to the bird garden to see this little guy

 and these guys

Before having a wander around the formal garden and getting a glimpse of these little guys chasing each other around the archaeological dig at the bottom of the field below the gardens

And also seeing these beautiful red kites up close they really are spectacular, we could see two pairs during the day when we had our picnic but as we got back to the car at the end of the day we counted 28 yes I repeat 28 Red Kites - 14 pairs - amazing to see

And finally we loved the lego version of Harewood in the Lego tent

 what do you think?

Monday was spent tidying up the garden, having a barbecue and an outdoor fire.

We bought said 12 year old a new swingball and I got some solar lights for the garden, eco friendly and they look awesome am hoping to pick up some more this summer.

The rest of the week has been a blur of work, sleep and a bit of down time but other gratefuls include

• Game of Thrones on DVD 
• Da Vinci's Demons 
• Tivo box because we can fast forward the adverts
• Starting to tattoo the house again, it has been a long time since we did this with the house in Stafford so we thought we'd put our thumb print on this place too! 
• On line shopping for food (I hate supermarkets)
• The Watch another DVD watch this week, I shouldn't have giggled really I shouldn't but I couldn't help it! 
• Jamie Oliver's 15 minute meal book - really is our current life saver on the tea front
• My Fitness Pal app on my phone, I've had it an age, only just starting to use it but making for an interesting use of my phone - loving the bar code scanner bit! 

So that's it my lovely people, I hope your week has been blessed and fruitful and full of positives, if it has and you fancy sharing pop yourself a blog post together and head over here to link up so we can come and visit. 

In the meantime a quick layout for you another sculpture layout from Beyond Limits at Chatsworth last year. 

ROCKING YOUR WORLD FRIDAY

Tis Friday again, the first in the fifth month of the year, fifth month??? How did that happen? No really how did that happen, that's crazy stuff anyway, time to take stock and offer up the grateful moments that have occurred this week as it's

1. Blue skies 
2. The birds sounding happy in the garden
3. The cat several doors up from us finding a field mouse and chasing it around, the mouse got away - the cat looked confused - made me giggle watching her! 
4. A trip out with hubby and son last weekend to the local English Heritage place enjoying our first visit of the year  Had a fantastic time just enjoying the sunshine and the time with each other. 

Me and said 12 year old - hadn't realised it was going to be a close up - we were miles away! 

 Just enjoying each others company

 5.  Giggling at said 12 year old revisiting his 'youth' he was way too big for this!

6.  Spending time crafting, completely filling my desk with pretty much anything and everything, is it just me that waits until I'm working on a 2" square part of my desk before deciding it needs a tidy?

7.  Taking a few days off when I fried myself at work, even if it did take me one of those days to adjust.  

8.  Hubby giving me strict instructions to craft and leave everything else!  

9.  Listening to relaxing music in our bedroom after I've had a soak in the bath

10.  'Chatting' on line to lovely crafting people loving the groups I'm part of on there. 

11.  Game of Thrones - just started watching this series and thoroughly enjoying. 

So there you have it - there have been other positives along the way but these are my main ones

I'll leave you with a layout and Mr Linky so you too can join in with a 'Rocking' post if you fancy, we are a small band of people who acknowledge the silver linings in our week and are always happy to meet some new rockers/rockettes so join in if you fancy and pop back and link up. 

A photo from the Beyond Limits exhibition at Chatsworth last year, I loved this particular sculpture! 

OFFICIALLY DOING TOO MUCH SO HUBBIES INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE DAY WERE - CRAFT!!!

When you reach the end of the day and realise that you've completely lost the ability to form a sentence, that's when you know things have to slow down and you have to take stock.  So I've taken three 'me' days.  Yesterday (where I failed on an epic scale by getting involved in cleaning), today and tomorrow.  I've woken to beautiful blue skies so even the world is smiling and telling me to let go and relax.  So that's my plan, a lazy shower, a lazy breakfast, maybe a lazy walk, but most of all just chilling at my desk creating.  

So here is a layout of me and other half taken last year, the title says it all.

I hope your day is fruitful, blessed and full of blue skies

MORNING ALL - HOW'S YOU??

Good morning this fine Wednesday morning, tis beautiful sunshine in Yorkshire today and I've taken a day off work, something of a rarity.  Plan for today to do just whatever I want to do, which includes finishing off some arty things that I've promised people.  I'm enjoying myself thoroughly let it be said.  What are you up to today?

Thought I'd pop a scrapbook layout on, not had time to do these for a while if I'm honest must get back into it, getting there albeit slowly.

This one was taken on the 11 November when we visited The Deep, this was the sun setting over the river Humber at the end of the day, it was also the mark of a turning point in my life as it was the day were my life equalled the total number of days my Dad spent on this earth for me every day since has been a bonus and a gift.

FIGHTING AGAINST THE TIDE SOMEWHAT AND A SCRAPBOOK LAYOUT...

I find myself at a mental crossroads, not sure if it's the tablets I'm taking or the time of year, or reflecting on my Dad's life that was only 40 years long (it was the 24th anniversary of his passing yesterday).  Some parts of my life are fantastic and I wouldn't change them for the world, blessed with an amazing husband and a gorgeous son whom I'm lucky to spend time with, who know and understand me.  However, other elements seem to be constantly out of my range, I seem to aspire to that day - you know the one, the one when you have time to do ... and then you'll ... and that's obviously once you've lost some weight, changed your style and become ... mmmmmmmmmmmmm I seem to be waiting, constantly waiting for 'that' right time.  Which is why I feel I'm at a cross roads and I feel like it's time to make some changes.

I personally at the moment cannot see the wood for the trees.  So this morning whilst hubby cooks pancakes and makes pots of tea, reading his new book on bread, with the blackbirds rushing around the garden identifying their territory and the sparrows spending time in the conifers looking for nesting material I'm sat creating a 'goal' template on my computer, because it's time to take from the brain the things that are rattling around and give them some order, some I'll drop (not worth it), some I'll acknowledge (in an 'about time' kind of way) and the rest I'll give myself the time to identify, absorb and make a plan.  It's been a fruitful morning this morning making the template and being quiet, it's so nice being quiet don't you think.  The only noise being the clickety click of the keyboard as I tap away.

So today will be using my new 'goal' sheets to create a plan I'll let you know how it's going

And just so you've got something to look at a scrapbook layout

from Chatsworths Beyond Limits last year next to a giant Hare.

Thanks for stopping by I hope your Sunday proves beautiful and blessed.

ROCKING YOUR WORLD FRIDAY AND ARC - APRIL 2013

Good morning, if you've happened here to read my review for the Artists Reading Challenge for April 2013 and don't fancy reading my 'Rocking Your World' element of this post - then scroll down until you find the ARC - heading in bold, otherwise for the rest of my lovely Rockers and Rockettes good morning and how are you this fine Friday - tis Rocking Your World Time

OK time to reflect on the last seven days, pull out the silver linings, note the positives and the moments that made life all that bit more enjoyable!  This may be a dig deep week - but we'll see...

1. Blue skies - now that's always a positive 
2. Slightly warmer days
3. Spring cleaning the office - not necessarily the spring cleaning bit - but the bit when you walk in later on to find it all clean and tidy - now that I can cope with! 
4. Our first barbecue of the year - let's hope we can manage many more! 
5. Our first outdoor fire of the year, sitting next to an outdoor fire, wrapped in blankets, glass of wine in one hand, hubby and child next to me and a starry night - now there really is nothing finer than that in my book! 
6. Freshly washed bed covers - smell lovely! 
7. Freshly washed bath sheets that have been on the line! 
8. Managing an art page in amongst these very long work days
9. Crazy walks around a local supermarket on a Monday with my Mum, sister and niece, I'm sure the staff think we've been let out of somewhere for a wander around!
10. Sister for second guessing a conversation my Mum was having on the phone completely correctly and us rolling with laughter about it! 
11. My Mum re-naming two of her children with what could only be considered potentially derogatory names - however, it did have us giggling!  I had no idea that my sister was an "eyebrow university waller" - who'd have known!
12. Said 12 year old for getting a postcard from school indicating that he is doing really well (I'm liking all this mail from school - fabulous stuff). 
13. A certain photo company having a great discount last weekend that meant that the 350 photos that I've just ordered shouldn't (fingers crossed etc) break the bank! 
14. Hubby for sorting out my bag the other day that had broken and me now having a credit note to go and spend - mmmm shopping! 
15. Jack Reacher DVD - saw it at the cinema and enjoyed and thoroughly enjoyed it on DVD this week, I like the edgy element to the character!
16. I forgot to mention our trip to see Oblivion at the cinema last week so I'm going to add that to my Rocking post this week because it really was fantastic and given half a chance I'd go and see it again!

Nope that wasn't a dig deep week at all was it!  So there you go, another Rocking post, if you fancy joining in, pop a post together, pop back and link up at the bottom, leave a comment and we'll come and visit!  Now on with the ARC post...

ARC APRIL 2013

This month's book was Snuff by Terry Pratchett (TP), an author whose books adorn at least two shelves on our bookshelves upstairs, we've always been discworld fans but I've had this book an age and given my change in taste and type of book I wondered if it would still be a good read.  Now don't get me wrong as an avid fan it doesn't mean that I always find his books an easy read, I often find you are better off disengaging your brain and just reading until your subconscious catches up and you've fathomed out what's going on.

Snuff started really well, I was engaging in the story, grasping the characters and enjoying the read, albeit that initially I was reading only short bursts of a few pages at a time.  This one is back to one of my favourite TP characters Commander Vimes of the Ank Morpork City Watch, however, in this one he's off on holiday!   The book was overall a good read, there were areas when I felt I was starting to lose the plot a little, but the characters are so colourful and charming that I kept reading regardless.  I thoroughly enjoyed the book, the build up to the ending, the giggles that it brought and expect no doubt to re-read it in the future.  

My art this month is yet again another journal page (becoming something of a habit) albeit more prescriptive on the journal style than the previous few months.  I centred the page around a key character in the book who was called Tears of a Mushroom (not that she was a mushroom or a person technically speaking) - so I hope you'll understand why my page has a crying mushroom on it!  Next month's book is one of the Morganville Vampire books, a series I've been reading on and off for a few years I'll let you know what I think of that in next months review!