Busy, busy, busy but 2 things to share!

I am so busy with a visitor here from America that I have no time to stitch, to post, to breathe!

However, I must just tell you two things very quickly. Patti is celebrating three years blogging and is having an amazing giveaway. She calls it 'the mother of all giveaways' and it is! So go on over and enter TODAY!! (http://tapestry-of-dreams.blogspot.com)

The other thing I wanted to share is, for me, equally amazing.

I was walking along the beach with my mum and the dog and chattering away as usual when suddenly, my mum stopped saying 'Sorry to interrupt, but what is that?'

When we looked, it was a pod of dolphins playing just off the shoreline. They were jumping and doing that lovely curved swimming thing and were just beautiful. We couldn't move, we just stood there transfixed by these creatures. We watched for about 20 minutes until they moved north along the coast and were lost to sight.

Now those of you in hotter climes must be thinking 'er yeah - so?' but remember this is the North-east coast of England, not the Gulf of Mexico and I have walked on the beach every day for 6 years and have never seen them before. We felt so privileged and our spirits were lifted.
Joyous!!

I will try to get some stitching done soon, and sort out a giveaway and finally give out the awards. Please bear with me.

Irene xx

Home again, home again, clippety clop

I am so disorganised it's untrue!

I returned from holiday early on Sunday morning, but since then my feet have hardly touched the ground. There has been so much to do. All the things I postponed until after my holidays had to be taken care of.

The sky was black with chickens coming home to roost!

I had a central heating unit to service, a tooth to be filled, hair to be cut, a dog to collect, a mum to return, a class to attend, meals to book, tickets to buy, letters to write, and two days work promised. Then you have to eat, so you have to shop, so you have to cook.

Hey ho.

We went to Southern Ireland for two weeks and what a beautiful place it is. I thought we were lucky here in the North of England, we have the Dales, the Moors, the Coast and the Lakes all within an hour or two, but Ireland - well - its something else.

My only tiny gripe is ......the rain.

And boy, did it rain -

river-flooding,
garden-drowning,
despair-making,
holiday-spoiling,
monsoon-copying
rain.

I became very expert at winding down the car window, snapping a quick photo and winding it up again before we all got drenched. In the end, it was so bad it was funny! We decided just to do everything we had planned anyway, but it was a shame. There were pretty villages and fishing harbours which we only peered at through the swish of the windscreen wipers!

I have pictures and I will post some when I am on my main laptop. This is just my netbook and I don't store them here.

I took sewing with me - Mary Wigham - but actually did none at all. There was certainly time, but somehow my mind was in a whirl and I just couldn't settle to do it. Now I am back I am trying to pick up and finish some of the smaller projects I started before I went but which were too much hassle to pack and take. I have a 'Welcome Baby' heart, a Christmas ornament and a needle case similar to the one I gave Patti well on the way.

I have had some lovely comments on my blog, some even talking about previous postings which means readers actually went back and looked at them. Thank you so much. I have had queries and tips and praise and I am grateful for them all.

As soon as I get my head together, I will finish choosing my award winners.
About time too, some would say.

Irene
xx