Footwear

After our holidays I always seem to get into a state where nothing seems to be getting done very fast. Probably because the girls are home and the routine is out of the window. It takes ages to get Emma out of the house- so by the time I've got anywhere I'm feeling ready to come home.

On holiday we noticed that Holly wasn't able to do things that she could do last year and it was a reminder that she's not a puppy anymore. Guy had to lift her out of the brook because they've built up the wall and she can't jump that high anymore. We knew we'd have to take her to the vets to see if she does have arthritis. Anyway at the weekend she wimpered with pain when Guy picke her and  we so worried about her. We got her booked into the vets and she said that she thought given her age and condition- she probably does have arthritis. We were to keep her quiet for a week- with 5 minute walks. Then to go back in 2 weeks to see if they can test her kidneys to see if she's strong enough to go on long term medication. She didn't suggest a scan or xray- so we'll need to talk about that next time.

She gave her some anti inflamatory medicine and she's started on joint medication and it's as if she's high on e numbers. I've looked up the side effects- but they suggest apathy! So although she's supposed to be resting - we are struggling to stop her jumping around. We're not sure whether she must have been in pain before and we couldn't tell - or whether she's had an injection of rocket fuel.

I've followed Anne's posts recently about Rhea and I totally understand the feeling.

Anyway- so that I don't get so far behind that I have to give up I'm trying to catch up again.

Footwear

Amy's collection of footwear in the hall is growing!

 

STRAIGHT

 

The straight lines on a musical instrument at a bird sanctuary that we visited.

 

 

 

 

Star

The Hollywood Star of fame we bought Kimberley for her birthday

 

Triangular

 

Delicious ice cream- with a triangular cone ( I've got to catch up somehow!)

 

 

Teamwork

Holly enjoyed swimming in the pool on holiday- but it required teamwork to get her out. Someone had to squeak a toy and someone else had to corrall her in as she swam past. If she could win the lottery- she'd buy a property here!

                       

                                                                  Curves

                                      l the curved lines on this lily- so bright and pretty.
         

 

 

We have managed to get hold of some tickets for the paralympics in the Olympic Stadium. As high up as you can be- but a chance to see inside and to explore the park again for some more photos. The train tickets are booked and we're really looking forward for another day in London.

 

 

Bronze

I got so behind after our holidays posting here. I was determined to take some missing photos today. We had a lovely sunny day in Birmingham and took a barge trip. We were the only ones on the barge- so had an individual tour guide. She said she'd been on a Christmas edition of Come Dine with Me- her claim to fame!

Bronze

Here's our Birmingham Bull. He's had some costumes over the year but at the moment he's au natrelle!!!!!! It doesn't really give an impression of size- but he's really impressive.

                                                                        Silver
The plants outside the War Memorial have a silver plant in the middle- a really spectacular display.

 Inside the ICC a silver medallist from the Chelsea Flower show had a pretty display.

                                                                        GOLD
Guy surprised me by agreeing to buy a chocolate medal to go with today's theme!!!!!! Also Mo did a fantastic job- as did all of our other athletes who came and competed and did their best- where ever they came. I was so proud to be British.

This is a stunning statue that gleams gold in the middle of the city- just by the side of the road.

Aim HIGHER! Another Bolt pose- my niece was the only one who would pose- as it was REALLY busy today!

HOPE

On the way to the Waterside there were panels with photos and a write up for lots of the athletes from the Olympics and those in charge of organising the ceremonies etc. It just goes to show that there are things to discover in your home town ALL the time. Apparently all through the Olympics there were Carribean stalls in the city centre and dancing and all sorts along with the big screens for all the events.

Anyway- we are looking forward now to the Paralympic games- but looks like we left it too late for swimming tickets. We really hope that Ellie Simmonds wins another gold. I remember even before the last Olympics Ellie was earmarked for this one. Her mum had paperwork about her Olympic Kit back then- asking what size they thought she'd be. We were all at a swimming meet in Sheffield and Ellie was competing there aswell. She used to swim with my daughters club- and when she was young she refused to be treated any different to the other

 girls. She used to be in the relay teams with the ablebodied swimmers. After she won her gold medals at the last Olympics- she brought them to the club championship where she was giving out the medals and Amy even got to look after them at one point whilst she was 'meeting and greeting'.

                                                          FRUSTRATION
My poor hanging baskets when we came back from our holidays and how they looked before we left. We'd done the best we'd ever done with them- and unfortunately we decided that due to the extremely bad weather ALL summer we didn't need to take them over for my mum's best friend to plant sit whilst we were away!

                                                                  

                                                                        Determination

We visited a lovely garden for the second time whilst we were away. Poppy Cottage Gardens in Truro. The couple bought a cottage with a field beside a road- and planned this beautiful garden from scratch. It is set out like garden 'rooms' - each little section feels like a seperate Oasis. It's a beautiful place. They bought some surrounding ground - sight unseen and extended their vision. It really must have taken some determination to see it come to fruition and also to maintain it. The lady just never stops. On her 'open afternoons' she sits by the refreshment table ready to serve tea and cakes that her husband makes every morning. But she sits there repotting things and she's up and moving about all the time. I imagine she never sits still. She maintains this garden herself.

                                                         EXHAUSTION
We've all felt a bit like this all week- a bit of comedown after a lovely holiday I think. Holly is really missing the beach. She loved being able to take herself off for a paddle from the flat! She wasn't supposed to- but if the door was open she couldn't resist the draw of the brook that leads into the sea!

                                                                      RELIEF

I must say that I felt a HUGE sense of relief when the closing ceremony was through- and Great Britain had put on such a spectacular games for the rest of the World with no major problems and everyone seemed to have a great time. I had my reservations when the BIG name being bandied about for the closing ceremony was the Spice Girls. But I thought the ceremony was stunning. I didn't like all the artists- but the ones I wasn't keen on were my dh's favourites- so they were catering for different tastes. The vehicles transporting the artists around the arena were an inspired idea- they were where they needed to be - when they wanted them to be there! We watched it at our local cinema and I really enjoyed the evening.

Photo scavenger hunt link up party

I managed to get quite a few of these taken on our holiday- although there are still a few tough ones to find!

We were lucky enough to spend a day in the Olympic Village in London and took a few there. I hope my outside staircase counts! It was outside - but had a safety cover.

                                                                            3. Border
There was a beautiful border of country flowers all along the walkway infront of the Olympic Stadium. They were stunning. We've had lots of rain in the early summer- and it was great for the flowers to be ready on schedule.

                                                                   19. Outdoor Staircase
We had tickets to go up the Orbit Tower and the views. from the top were stunning- even though we were there on a fairly cloudy day. You took a fast lift to the top- but the descent was via an outside staircase- 431 steps down.It might not look outdoor- but the mesh was there for safety I think- it was very high at the top. If it doesn't count I have a back up photo of the stairs to the flat above us on holiday- but they aren't very scenic!

21. Picture of me standing infront of something symbolises our nation.

Very rare photo of me- taken just for this challenge. Me infront of the Olympic stadium and the Orbit Tower.

Catch up

Catch up photos!

Matched Pair

My sister bought one of these meerkats for me whilst we were on holiday a couple of years ago- after she'd been poorly. Emma loved it- so bought one of her own. Last year- her bagwas full of these two characters- as they had to go on holiday again. This year I tried very hard to stop them going in the car- but she stuffed them under the coat she was carrying- and here they are again. Henry Higgins and Poppy. They also found a baby meerkat that came home with them! 

                                                                          Crowd
One of the hotels has an entertainment programme that includes a duckrace that takes part in the brook outside our flat. So we heard the 'crowd' and took a photo!

                                                                     One
I wasn't really sure what to add for today- but got in amongst the giant thistles at the zoo to take one thistle flower.

Nine

Again- wasn't sure what to add. Being on holiday with 8 people involves an almost constant round of trips to the shops for new supplies! Today's purchase NINE toilet rolls! I did get some strange looks from the people on the beach!

                                                                           1, 2, 3
This is the call that tells us that the weekly duck race is taking place!!!!!!!!!! My money is on the big pink duck at the front!

                                                                      Multiples
There were some very cute little warthog babies at the zoo- all trying to get prime position next to mum. We watched this little group for ages.

                                                                        
                                                                      INFINITY
My initial thought when I saw this word- was the sea, as it goes on forever. But whilst Holly was doing her daily laps in the beach pool I thought this looked like one of the posh infinity pools you see in the posh hotels! I do really love it in Perranporth.

  
            

                                                                             FIRE
I was hoping to see the Olympic flame- but it's only on view to those inside the arena. Luckily we could see it from the top of the Orbit tower. It also shows just how much work was going on to transform the arena from the opening ceremony into the track and field that have featured on telly. They were moving the flame into a new spot- and apparently it had a small private ceremony.

RINGS

Guy has a much better shot of this- but can't find the cables for his camera and think they were downloaded onto his laptop anyway. I'm hoping to get his photos onto my laptop so that I can get some photos sorted and printed ready to scrap. I am even wondering whether I can get any of the web photos printed and do a complete Olympic scrapbook maybe. Costco tend to be quite hot on copyright though!!! These are the rings inside the Waterpolo. Unfortunately we didn't get to see the main rings on display.

                                                                               HEAVY
                         A new feature in the gardens inside the zoo. We had a lovely day there.

Happiness

We got back from our holidays last night and I'll try to catch up today and tomorrow. We had a lovely time with great weather - which was totally unexpected. Sadly I realised just how tough my dad is finding everything. He's got trouble with his feet and knees ontop of his neuropathy, diabetes and poor sight. He didn't want to go- but knew my mum wouldn't go without him. His blood sugar levels were all over the place and we had a time getting him back from a walk in the park one day. It's so sad to see how everything is so difficult for him- and because of that - for my mum too. She said she was frightened to go out with him on her own incase he became unable to walk. He is due to see someone about his feet- and came back to discover he'd missed his appointment on Friday! They are also considering operating on his knees to make it less painful to get about. So I found it quite upsetting really.

Anyway! What could I include for happiness- it surely has to go to some of the athletes from yesterday- what a fantastic time we are having. I am slightly ashamed that all these athletes are performing their hearts out- and up until the last couple of weeks- a lot of them were totally unknown to me!

HAPPINESS

ANGER

We were travelling back on the train yesterday- and although it's not my favourite pastime no one was particularly angry. A small group of drunk lads kept everyone entertained for part of the journey (thankfully not too long- and thankfully not sitting opposite me). It started when they spotted someone reading the 50 Shades books. They recognised the book and started to chat about it- saying one lad had read page 56. He didn't know there were 3 books!

Anyway- when we got back- I wasn't angry but really disappointed that all our lovely hanging baskets suffered in the beautiful weather we had. We had organised a plant sitter- but because of the dreadful weather we had decided they would be able to fend for themselves. There was a cute little sign in a garden we visited, that proved prophetic!

                                                                            JOY
Holly made the most of every single minute on holiday. She wanted to be outside all the time. Our flat was right on the beach and if we left the back door open - or sat outside she'd take herself over the bridge and onto the beach and into the little brook that she loves swimming in. The beach also has a man made swimming pool in Chapel Rock and she did a few lengths every morning. She thought she was Rebecca Adlington. Other dog owners used to watch her swimming her lengths in the morning and take a few photos. She really did find the holiday a real joy.

                                                                  POINT
Everyone helped me think of something to take every day. This one was my sisters idea- and my niece found a deserted part of the beach to allow a photograph! Even Holly had a go!

                                                                    FASTER
This was one of the things I was really looking forward to- The Orbit Tower in the Olympic park. Our train was delayed on the way there due to point failures just outside Plymouth. We actually missed our time slot completely. But Guy decided to brave it out- and the queues were tiny. The first lady said we were a little bit late but they would probably let us on- the next ladies didn't look at the time slot. The volunteer in the lift was a complete bundle of joy. She was making it an experience like a Disney ride. She was dancing and singing when the doors opened- and the lift was certainly a faster way of travelling than the 431 steps down again!

   

                                                                      STRONGER
Our day in London was absolutely fantastic and I've used it for a few of the Olympic words- cheating a bit but they seemed to fit with the theme and I didn't suffer with not taking a photo every day. We have over 1000 (if I'm honest probably approaching 2000 between us) over the holiday! We didn't even do that much this year- was a quiet, relaxing time on the whole!

I was really struck with the sense of National pride around the whole Olympic park- and loved this shot of the 2 elderley gentlemen displaying a stronger sense of National pride. People were dressed in Union Jacks and Olympic tshirts. A lot of the other nations were dressed in national dress or their flags. It was a real spectacle to see the pride in everyone. We were in a water polo match where the Hugarian fans went wild every time their team breathed.

                                                                        DIVE

The telly in the flat wasn't really good enough to capture one of the fantastic dives- so we went with my niece diving into the bowl of sweets for me. On holiday we tend to have the journey sweets out on the table once we get there - and they might have been refilled at least once!!!!!!

CHEESE

CHEESE

The cupboards are intentionally bare- but luckily just enough cheese for a photograph. I love jacket potatoes with cheese. The Sweet Chilli Cheese spread is lovely aswell.

The clothes are ironed and packed for 3 of us- Amy hasn't done anything yet. My kindle is charged and ready.

Guy has had a better week than he feared at work. The problem has mainly been resolved- some parts had gone missing in transit which threatened to halt a production line. But they have managed to sort that. His boss leaves at lunchtime tomorrow- at which point everyone else will relax and go into holiday mode. He had to make 2 people redundant earlier this week- rather than the very last minute . His company used to make redundancies on Christmas Eve every year.

My neighbour wasn't a very popular man last night. He was still doing diy - including using an electric drill at midnight. If I could have been bothered to get out of bed and dressed I would have gone round and complained. He has 2 young kids- and not sure whether he waits until they've gone to sleep and they stay asleep. But he'd better not repeat it tonight. Or we'll be swapping bedrooms with Emma- and letting her wake them all up at 5am every day. My evil side thinks it might be a good idea to set my radio alarm for 4am whilst we are away!!!!!!! But their room is probably on the other side of the house anyway. One year when we had to be up at 3am to go on holiday- he was still scraping wallpaper at 2am.

The weather report suggests that summer is arriving on Saturday- and we're going to lassoo it and keep it captive in Cornwall!

So I probably won't be updating my blog for a couple of weeks. I hope to be able to find the theme for the day on my phone and might be able to update one or two to facebook.

Holly and I are both excited now! Holly is like a coiled spring. She knows that cases mean holidays - and she loves holidays! She normally packs a ball in the case. She gets a bit nervous when we pack the car to come home again- and usually lies on top of the pile of stuff waiting to go in the car. She's a rescue dog- and we always wonder whether she was abandoned when they went away. She definately shadows Guy on the last day- he's going nowhere without her..

Airborne

Normally this would be such an easy prompt here. We have more planes go past than buses. But we woke to a blanket of white sky and the planes were obviously flying above that. I heard a few rumble past- but couldn't see anything in the white sky. Then we had some delightfully seasonal torrential rain and I didn't want to take a camera out in that.

So I've had to wait until tonight before the sky looks pretty!

The birds have been going mad flying around tonight- maybe they had to sit and roost earlier and they are bored!!!!! But what a beautiful blue sky. Our neighbours son has just got back from Cornwall and said that the weather was quite nice- so fingers crossed that we'll see a few blue skies down there.!

These clouds were quite pretty- much prettier than when they are completely overpowering the sky.

BUSY

A couple of signs that we are getting ready for a holiday and busy, busy. We had to buy new roof bars - as the old ones don't fit the new car. We've had them months- but of course nothing like leaving them until the last minute to fit!!!!!! We have to take a roof box- because I became used to overpacking when the girls were little. My dad used to take pushchairs etc down in his car- when we holidayed together. He had a very bad car accident a few years back- and we went out to buy a roofbox- so that he didn't need to drive down to Cornwall anymore. They used to travel with my sister. The past few years she's been poorly- so half of us travel down on the train. We had an estate car last year and managed to take everyone's luggage. The new car won't hold as much- so we are trying to pack light. We normally look like we are going for a month when we go somewhere for a weekend- so it's a struggle!!!!!

The holiday ironing waiting to be packed!!!

Three of us have clothes ironed and ready to pack. Amy 'ordered' her new clothes TODAY!!!!!! She is sooooooooo like her dad- leave everything until hours/days past the last minute!!!! We are usually practically all sitting in the car ready to leave before Amy starts getting ready. Amy's clothes might not even come in time. I bought her a top in Asda last night- but she couldn't look then! She is even ordering some from Asda!!!!

Guy is just leaving to go and say bye to his mum and dad. They are flying off to a wonderful holiday in Sri Lanka on Friday and staying in a nice hotel in London tomorrow. They have a packed itineary and it sounds like a dream holiday.  They are seeing elephants.

Next door are really busy fitting a new bathroom- and I'm getting really jealous that their bathroom will be finished within a week- and mine is coming up 18 months. Our old neighbours hadn't replaced anything in their house since it was built- so the new neighbours (well they've been in about 3 years!!!!!!!) have had a lot of work to do.