Back in the Pool

Woooo Hoooo, I have just come back from my first session in the pool. My hair is still wet and my smile has not faded yet. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed swimming. We used to live on a hill overlooking our little village and the swimming pool so it was no surprise that I was drawn to the pool. In 2001 I took my first swimming class (I was 53 but don't tell anyone). From that day I felt at home in the water and the day I completed 200 laps, I think all of Emu Park heard me.

We moved in 2002 - down the road and round the corner, sort of, and since we live almost on the beach , I took to walking in the early mornings with my friend. At the moment I have an issue with my foot and it is taking some time to get better which means walking is out of the question (and I really need to do some exercise) and since I don't like the feel of sweat, swimming is the PERFECT option.

At last I can Share

Hi all, At last I can share with you, a mini album I made for my daughter. Sometime ago Cathie mentioned that she didn't have many photos of when she was little. Back in the old days (I can't believe that I would ever admit to this) when we didn't have the freedom of digital cameras, photos were not high on my list of priorities.

I did however over time take photos but they were mostly in the form of colour slides. The earliest photo I have of Cathie was at 10 weeks. That would NEVER do in today's world and even more so for a scrapper. Well it took a while of hunting through shoe boxes and cases of slides, but I finally found enough photos that would document her early years.

I found a mini album which the very talented Ruth had made - you can find her tutorial HERE. She had put it up as a give away and since I didn't win it, I decided to have a go and make one myself. Ruth's album gave me so much inspiration and even though in the end my album was nothing like what I had imagined, I was very happy with the way it turned out.

































I wrote a personal message on a little card and slipped it into the inside front cover. I also covered a little box in matching paper to keep the mini album safe when it was not on display.

Thank you for stopping by.....

Irene xxx

Back in Action

Here in Australia, we do not celebrate Halloween with the passion of America but it is slowly catching on (with a big push from the retail sector). Now I don't care for Halloween myself but I understand that the children have a lot of fun dressing up and ending the night with loads of sweets and I don't have the heart to send children away from my door with nothing. Last year I had about 10 children knocking on my door, so this year I made up a few bags of goodies (chocolates, lollies, balloons and mini games ) and baked some cupcakes .

I even brought out my black widow cloak from storage and waited, and waited, and waited. No one came to the door. They were around but not in our street. I even put balloons on the letter box......but nothing !!! Sometimes you just can't win. Oh well, maybe next year.






I even used and American recipe - Red Velvet Cake. I liked the idea of a red cake mix which looked like blood (YUCK) and what better accomplishment but spiders.

This all happened the night before I left to play with my Sydney grandchildren. I have played, fed, changed, bathed, babysat, cuddled and done a little craft with them as well as completing a mini album for Isla for her 7th Birthday. Let me tell you, I am EXHAUSTED. I have to admit that I am no longer as young as I would like to be. I almost fell asleep on the flight home yesterday.

I have loads of photos to share with you but that will have to wait until tomorrow.

Cheers for now,
Irene