Just Jo!

The photo prompts girlies are on holiday and have left a game to play. People take it in turns to put up a photo, the next person has to take a photo that begins with the last letter of the photo before. Confused??
The photo before this was ‘Knight’, so I got ‘T’, so I did ‘Tea caddy’. Another one of my frogs!

Them being on holiday means I can leisurely do a photo prompt catch up. I have a month. Yee hah!!!
Now I’m off to feel sorry for myself, Ive had a horrible earache since Tuesday afternoon and only got about a half hour of sleep last night. So I will do a proper post over the weekend.

Too tired yesterday to post. This getting up early business is no good for me at all! I got to group, and realised I’d forgotten my diary, not usually essential, but it is on Wednesdays so I don’t forget anything. Especially as yesterday was also the AGM. And I’d forgotten my luvverly posters reminding everyone about the outdoor activities, and to put my rings on, and food to share at the party in the afternoon, and the birthday card and pressie for the child in question.
Anyways, the AGM went the way of most AGMs, kids playing outside and occasionally running screaming through the middle of the meeting. Olivia got her photo prompt while we were there.

Hand
The end of an arm. Show us a hand in your space today.
She borrowed a friend’s hands holding a borrowed umbrella in the rain. Mine was taken after we’d left the park and were walking along the High Street in the rain.

Today’s prompt….
Boat
A small vessel propelled by water. Find one in your space today.
We’ve both cheated and used old photos, Olivia’s is one she took at Dartmouth last week, mine is one I took at Teignmouth last month. Mine doesn’t have much chance of being propelled by water though….

Back to yesterday, after the wondrous AGM, it was party time! One of the boys had reached the grand old age of 10, so it was balloons, pass the parcel, food, (I had remembered marmite sandwiches for our two selves!) and Elfic the Jester. Yay! We like Elfic. We get to see him at least twice each year.

We’ve not seen him in an indoor setting before, the rain got rid of all notions of outdoor shenanigans. He coped admirably well though.
After group, it was still raining, so I did my usual humiliating Olivia by walking barefoot into town. Flipflops are dangerous!
Wander round shops before drama, then home.
Adam was on the ‘puter finishing his last assignments for college. His very last assignments. So he has absolutely no more work to do now. He’s a happy boy. Except last night he wasn’t. His girlfriend wanted to go out for a run. So he did. Must be love.

Now for the rest of today….
We could do lots of housework…. Olivia could finish off some more workbooks, she got through quite a few pages on Tuesday (we didn’t go to Di’s, Tavis was very ill in bed)….. We could finish cutting the teeny tiny last bit of hedge…. Or we could make some choc chip muffins and stuff our faces all afternoon…. Hmmm…. decisions, decisions….

What with all our efforts yesterday, re hacking hedges, then promising to get up by 8 this morning, I was tired. So I went out to get a photo of the main culprit….the pile of dead hedge in the front garden. Olivia was there to show how big the pile is, but couldn’t resist jumping on it, “It’s a trampoline!!”
There probably won’t be a photo from her today….she doesn’t really understand the concept of “tired”.

I felt really grotty last night, all achy, like flu or something coming on. Couldn’t sleep either, which just made it sooo much nicer.
So this morning, we got on with cutting down the front hedge. ‘Cos there’s nothing like a bit of manual labour to beat flu-like symptoms is there?! We got halfway through and came in for some lunch, and it started chucking it down. Which meant, obviously, that we could get on with a photo prompt catch-up, completely guilt free. Yay!

Lid
A removable cover for the top of a container. Find a lid in your space today.

Fairly easy for both of us I think….

Basket
A woven container. Find one in your space today.

The only problem with this one was discovering the huge amount of baskets we actually had, and how to decide which one was worthy of a photo….

Bread
A simple food of brown or white colour. Show us bread in your space today.

Olivia beat me to the only (plastic) bread we had in the house….

Furry
Something that is covered in fur or has a fur like appearance. Find something furry in your space today.

Another easy one….

Cheese
A food made of milk curds. Show us cheese in your space.

Milk curds?? This one got tricky, for obvious reasons….us being vegan, for those who didn’t know, although Olivia has wavered on occasion. But visiting the Bristol Vegan Fayre on Saturday has renewed her enthusiasm. Especially stepping inside the PETA tent. She lasted about ten seconds….well, they do go for shock value in their posters….
Anyway, I got the only cheese-like substance in this house, Olivia sneaked into Adam’s room….

Plug
Something to block a hole or a device to make an electrical connection. Find a plug in your space today.

Another frog for me. Olivia wanted the bath plug, but despite our efforts there yesterday, it still remains horribly stained. So I put my foot down at putting photos of our manky bath on display to the general public.

Nugget
A small lump or chunk of a substance. Find a nugget in your space today.

This one was a doddle….

Me
Yourself, who you are. Show us who you are in your space today.

Olivia has absolutely no qualms about her photo being taken. I, on the other hand, do. Soooo…. some might see this as a cheat. I don’t. It says, quite clearly, “Show us who you are in your space today.” I had to go to my bedroom for ‘Basket’ and ‘Nugget’ (which is also where I store all the old photos), so in ‘My Space’ today, was a photo of me. So it’s me in my space. Job done.

You can click on the photos to get a better view, and some more info on the pics.

Just remembered that I’ve forgotten to do my list of 8 things….
Ooh….quick….
Ooh….should I go with Sarah’s rules? 8 things with the number 8 in them? I have a strange feeling I may be struggling with it….
Here goes anyway….

Adam was born in 1988. (Two down, six to go….)
There’s an 8 year gap between Adam and Olivia. (Five more….)
I have 8 toes bigger than the big toes. (Four more….)
Sometimes I wear size 8 shoes. (Three more….)
Once, a long time ago, I was 8 years old. (This is really hard! Does it feel like I’m scraping the barrel?? Oh well, two more….)
I’m halfway to being 80. (That is seriously scary! Cheers Sarah! One more….)
Um….um….um….
I promise, faithfully, hand on heart, that I will get up, really get up, not just wake up, at 8 o’clock tomorrow morning.

No doubt that later on, I’ll think of some mind-blowing things about myself concerning the number 8. Now I’m supposed to tag 8 more people. Bearing in mind that I’ve found it really hard (and quite scary at one point!), I’ll leave it entirely up to you. But let me know if you did it!

Fruit
A sweet product from a tree or plant to eat. Show us fruit in your space.
A strange lack of fruit in our house today. Definitely in need of a mega shop tomorrow. Whoopee doo…. Regular readers will be aware of how much I dislike shopping. Detest might be more appropriate actually….

Her Space
Olivia grabbed the strawberry ‘flavour’ washing up liquid. Not that she makes a habit of drinking it ….

My Space
I made do with an abandoned half eaten apple in the alley beside our house. The fact that someone on this GCE eats (however half-heartedly) fresh fruit is encouraging however….

I have been indulging my healthy obssession with Flickr by uploading most of the photos from our jaunt to Spain last year.

So here’s a few of them…..

The rest of them are in a set over here.

I shall now jump on the bandwagon, and ask any lurkers to de-lurk….. ‘cos I’m starting to get curious….

Tape
A narrow strip of material used to hold or fasten. Is there tape in your space today?
My initial reaction to this one was getting some parcel tape and fastening it over Olivia’s mouth to hold it closed. But she ran away and I couldn’t catch her. Most unfair…. I tried to persuade her it would make a really funny shot, but she was having none of it. Really must work on my children’s total and blind obedience, they are both somewhat slacking in that department….

Her Tape
Olivia went through all the drawers to gather all the tape together for a pose….

I went crazy and got two shots.
My Tape #1
My first one was the insulation tape we have in a drawer. Why do we have insulation tape? No idea. Although Adam has used the black and white for football. Apparently it goes round his boots to keep the laces tidy and untrip-uppable. (Excuse me while I re-write the English language.) He’s not the only one who partakes in this little custom. But the rest of the team buy their own. I refuse to supply a whole teams-worth of insulation tape. Unless I can find some in pink. Because I think that would be funny, watching all that testosterone running around the pitch with pink feet.

My Tape #2
My second offering is the anti-slug tape I bought after they’d enjoyed a feast of all the sunflowers, all the cucumbers, pumpkins, most of the sweetpeas, most of the sweetcorn, etc etc….

Apart from keeping on top of photo prompts, what else have we been up to?
Short answer?
Not a lot….
Long answer?
Olivia has been doing some more photo prompts. This one because the sun came out yesterday and she wanted an alternative “Shadow” picture….

We have also been making more cards, which I still haven’t taken a photo of.
We have also discovered the wonder and joy that are ATCs. Now, if you’re anything like me, I just thought of the Air Training Corps. But as I first heard mention of them on a craft forum, I thought that couldn’t possibly be right. How could one woman do six ATC’s in a morning??
The mind boggles, fortunately someone was on hand to drag my mind out of the gutter….
So we have been making lots of ATCs, experimenting with different techniques, trying things that we wouldn’t usually, just for the heck of it. The sitting room floor has been covered in a mass of paint, tissue paper, glue, sequins, feathers, ribbons, buttons, brushes, scraps of paper, card, scissors…. For the last few days. Adam is not impressed. Although Maisy’s quite keen on the feathers.
I’ve not seen Adam this morning, so I can only assume he’s gone to work. Because there’s no way on earth he’d be up before us on a Saturday morning.
Lisa picked Olivia up a while ago, to drop the girls off in the woods. For a Guide thingy. Not because we’d had enough of them….
So I’ve got about three hours of freedom left this afternoon. I’ve started a couple more ATCs and I’ve a necklace to make. Re-make. Adam had bought me a lovely necklace with some gorgeous beads for my birthday last year. But the wire broke. So do I make it exactly the same as it was? Or do something different? I’m leaning towards a replica, because it was lovely as it was….

Still going strong with the keeping up to date with photo prompts!
How long is a week??

Vegetable
A plant or part of a plant that is used for food. Show us a vegetable in your space today.

We both went with pre-vegetables today.

Her Space
Olivia’s being slightly more “pre” than mine. Some of the seeds she’s planted in various locations around Exeter.

My Space
One of the potatoes that’s in our back garden. Donated by Anderson. Because there wasn’t enough room in the community garden for all his potatoes. So we brought some home with us. I’m waffling now. I’ll shut up!

We have slobbed stupendously today!
I am extremely chuffed with myself!
DVDs all day and that really is that!
Apart from a bit of a fumble with some Lego….
(The rain put us off cycling to the museum for an art workshop.)

Photo prompt today….
Peg
A small piece of wood, metal or plastic used for holding things together or marking a position. Find one in your space today.

Her Space
As soon as we knew what it was today, Olivia charged outside to set up her shot.

My Space
I was left floundering….
Mini decorative pegs. To decorate things.

Olivia wins this round!

I am truly shocking myself at the moment!!

Shadow
A dark area created by lack of light. Find a shadow in your space today.

A bit of a tricky one this one, we have no sun today….no sun = no shadows. So we had to find alternative light sources.

Her Space
Olivia made use of the main light in the sitting room to get hers.

My Space
I made use of Olivia holding a torch in the kitchen.

I have no idea how to put the writing on the photos, sorry!

But I’ll get to that in a minute….
Sunday night, after our mega photo prompt catch-up, we snuggled up in bed to watch Pride and Prejudice. We’d bought it a while ago and Olivia has been desperate to watch it. But she had great difficulty in staying awake and had a headache as well, most unlike her.
I persuaded her to go to the loo as soon as it had finished, so she could go straight to bed.
I heard an almighty wailing…..”Muuummm!!!!”
“Whaaat??” (Apologies to Rick for excessive vowel usage…)
“Muuummm!!!!” (And consonants….)
I went down to find her hugging the toilet bowl….
Not good….I’m not very good with sick….
“Um….did you get it in the loo?”
“Yes!”
(Phew!!)
She felt very sorry for herself, lots of tears….so we had a late start in the morning.
Not doing very much at all yesterday as a result. We went on a fabric hunt around the house, so now we have a big pile of it in the front room. Awaiting inspiration to beat us over the head….

She’s still not feeling 100% today, so I cancelled our visit to Di, who’s also had a headache and upset stomach over the weekend….
We had a look at the prompt for today….Treat….
So that let us both off for the entire day.
Well, not much point having a treat, unless you go all out and make the most of it, is there??
So….cue art in the garden and a bit more faffing with fabric….

Treat
A little something to brighten up your day, week or year! Show us a treat in your space today.

My treat today was finally getting around to do the sunflower picture we saw at the Lyme Regis fossil festival. And as Olivia wasn’t feeling herself, I was allowed to join in….just to help out….a bit….not a lot….and I had to follow the rules….her rules….I’m not much good at rules….but as she’s ill….

Olivia’s treat was me cutting up a patchwork printed duvet and pillow cases so that she can sew them back together again to make a cushion cover….or something….

That’s been it today. Apart from Adam going to the walk-in centre at the hospital.
Apparently, at his girlfriend’s sister’s flat the other night, he’d tripped up the stairs and split his lip quite badly. Sounds highly dubious to me…. So of course, I raised an eyebrow, and he then went into great detail explaining what had happened. So of course, I then found it hard to keep a straight face. Which pleased him no end….
(Note to self….must work harder on sympathy for my children….)

Right….got to go….half a duvet still to cut up….dinner to cook….tears to wipe away….Olivia’s going downhill again, curled up on the sofa with teddy. See, sympathy’s already kicking in.