Photo of the day

Not good quality photos - will need to continue to practise these bigger subjects more - I have been so focused on close-ups.

Sunday 3rd June

I did not go out on Sunday so needed to find a picture that I could take from the flat. I have taken so many of the lovely church and school opposite from my bedroom/living room window that I thought the view from the hall window might be more interesting. I love the view of this roof terrace - it looks such a green haven in the middle of town and with the black and white timber house in the background, I think it shows just how much variety there is here in town.

Monday 4th June

I think the bad (or not so good) side of the town should also be shown here. This monstrous building is unfortunately very prominent in our market square - a real sign of 60's planning gone wrong. It also happens to be the most unfriendly, un-customer oriented shop in town (my Karstadt rants are famous!) and therefore, it deserves a mention! Not a week goes by without experiencing a new low in terms of customer service in this shop - I could write a book. But it's the only department store we have in town so I find myself there all too often...

Welcome to June!

I cannot quite believe that we are already here - where does the time go?

Last week I realised that I am already in the *2nd* half of my last year in my thirties! The 22nd May is my half birthday so it is less than 180 days to go. I am quite nervous about it but am really trying hard to stay focused and positive - my life will not be over when I hit 40, I know that. But will things change? Am I supposed to start feeling and acting my age? Will I begin to look much older all of a sudden? Of course the answer to all these questions is most probably not, but the fear is still there. On top of that, my thirties have just been so brilliant that it is hard to imagine my next decade living up to that. Well, the countdown has begun and there are quite a lot of things I want/need to do before *the* day so I will keep you updated!

On a lighter note, I have decided on my theme for Photo of the Day for June. Recklinghausen. I am so lucky to live in such a lovely little town here in Germany and am really quite proud of it. It has some very beautiful corners and there always seems to be a festival or celebration of some sort going on in the market square. A month of capturing the essence of this town is called for I think.

Friday 1st June

This is the Petrinum grammar school that we can see directly from our flat. I love the building, the trees and even the sounds of the kids during the day although I must admit that the peace of the summer holidays is nicer!

Saturday 2nd June

Sommerfest (Summer festival) in our street today. There are stalls outside each of the shops, bands and musicians every hundred metres or so, street theatre which is connected to the Ruhrfestspiele festival at the moment and just a general feeling of happiness and goodwill to all.

Photo of the day

for...

Thursday 31st May
Luscious and green ... wonderful

Photo of the day

...for:

Wednesday 30th May

I need to make a decision about the theme for photos during June.... Fast approaching.

Photo of the day

Photo of the day for:

Tuesday 29th May

Sweet peas - filling my space with a wonderful scent.

Rainy days here in Recklinghausen but the trees I can see outside my work room window appear to be enjoying it.

I want to get on with my Canada album but I have reached the point where I need to sit down and write up the last few days of our holiday's journaling and I am just not motivated to do it. But I have just ordered a load of photos to keep me going on the scrapbooking front for the next few weeks so that is something positive.

Traditions

Everyone knows the story of how R & I met and how I broke his heart in those first few months. I feel terrible about that now of course, but I thought it was something I should capture before it is forgotten - though the reason for the single white rose each year is unlikely to be forgotten!

And here is the photo of the day for:

Monday 28th May

Again, played with the saturation of the photo and just love the results.

Legacy

This is a layout for my Heidi Swapp class "A Year To Remember" for May and it has been a real journey of discovery.

Starting with looking through the photos with mum and looking at the birth certificates etc and talking about the family tree that she has started, all the way through to me thinking about how to approach the whole "legacy" subject. I wanted to take the line through mum and grandad to grandma because I feel that grandad was so important to me and grandma made him the man he was so therefore, she has an impact on me. And in the process, I discovered that when I look at pictures of grandma, I see me. I would never have imagined that. And while the instructions we were given was to focus on our legacy, through the photos I decided to use, I saw that I am the result of these people and therefore, I am THEIR legacy. An interesting realisation for me and it made the page really easy to complete.

I am not really sure about the whole stencil thing that Heidi wanted us to use but I did it and it looks OK. I am just not sure if I would do it again. Overall, I am really happy with the layout and it has been one of the most interesting to create that I have done so far.

CC appreciated as ever.

Speed scrapping!

Just got it into my head that I needed to do this page.

I had the idea of the "One Little Word" word challenge (which was "GO"), for some time and then I saw this photo of me laughing it just flashed into my head. I know that I am too late for the challenge, but decided to put it together anyway. I think it only took me 30 minutes which must be a record for me. I love this new Amy Butler paper and decided to go the whole hog and use one of the brightest in the pack. Love it!

And the story? I never laugh in photos. In the past, I usually didn't even smile. R has brought out the happy side of me and I am slowly learning to let go - in all sorts of ways.

Sunday 27th - photo

Sunday 27th May

Am so enjoying these wonderful roses which I have right next to me here while I am typing. Beautiful and slightly scented.

Green

Nothing much to report here. R is working in the office - moving from one office to another - so I am here alone pottering with my blog settings, looking at photos, scrapping a bit and generally tootling along.

Currently working on my "Legacy" layout for my Heidi Swapp class and have been looking through some old photos I brought back with me from mum's last week. What is really odd is that the longer I look at photos of my great grandmother (Grandma), the more I can see something of me in them! I have always looked like my dad's side of the family and have a striking resemblance to Nanny (dad's mum) but the more I look at these photos, the more I see me. Joan and Pat have always said that but I have never seen it before. I don't know if I am just seeing what I want to see - I have always wished to be a bit more of a "Green" - but I can definitely see something. I think the photo below is too small for you to see it but this is the one that I think has something. Interesting.