Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Croatia by Coach

Well, here I am again - feeling very frustrated. My broadband connection keeps 'disappearing (thanks again 'talktalk'!) when I get - just - to the end of a post! I've been so busy since I got back from holiday that I thought I'd better do a quick travelogue!

So many people had said that Croatia was wonderful - and I’ve been dying to go to Dubrovnik for ages – that I have to say that I was rather disappointed. Long coach journeys aren’t for me unless there’s something really interesting to see and periods of enforced inactivity don’t do it for me either.

But - this was an interesting day at the Krka Valley National Park - lots of waterfalls. Croatian ia one of those languages where they miss out all the vowels!


Of all the places we went to I liked Split the best.



The Diocletian palace was my favourite historical site. Built in 305AD as a pagan stronghold it is now a UNESCO World Heritage Monument and houses sophisticated shops, cafes and restaurants. Complete with cheesy 'Romans' - although these were a bit 'tasty' as well ...



Over 3,000 people live within the walls – and, even if you live in a palace, you have to have somewhere to hang your washing!



On to Dubrovnik, where the main streets and piazzas were very crowded with tourists from the cruise ships.


The small side streets looked very inviting and I longed to explore these but didn’t have the chance.



Then the weather arrived – yes, the kind that had followed us all the way from England! Three months without rain and it all arrived at once!



So - back home, still with webbed feet, and will blog soon about my much more active life in – for the moment – sunny Lancashire!



Sunday, September 7, 2008

A day to remember

September 7th is not a good day in our family. Seven years ago my beloved husband, Bill, lost his fight with cancer. Four days later came 9/11. The World Trade Center was a place that he loved, glorying in the views and the wonderful people we always seemed to meet there. It's almost as if my little tragedy is subsumed into the much larger US one and every year there are reminders in the media of this time in my life and I feel connected with many other people who lost their loved ones on that day. I suppose I wouldn't have it any other way - if there has to be a time I feel bad, I may as well share it with thousands of others! I visited 'Ground Zero' two years ago and that hole in the ground sums up the way I sometimes feel about my life. Roll on the infinity pool!

I usually try to be out of the country on this particular date but haven't quite managed it this year - and in a way I'm glad. My eldest grandson, Allan, has just got engaged to Kerry, a wonderful young lady, whom I am delighted to welcome into our family. So today has been a day of celebration - an emotional day in every way. God bless you both!

Tomorrow I'm off to Croatia with my friend Barbara. We spend three days in Omis and then off to Dubrovnik. Oh, the thought of some sunshine and escaping from the downpours of the past few weeks - I feel as if I have webbed feet!


So - I'll be off the blogisphere for a while, soaking up the sun and recharging my batteries. See you when I get back!

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Trying again



This is just to prove that I am actually doing something creative. Here is one of the 'pre-felts' that I have made towards the four pieces for the exhibition in October. I decided that sitting and looking at the work I have done wouldn't (as my Mother used to say) 'buy the baby a new bonnet' - but that's another story! Anyone heard that expression?

I think that 'procrastination' ought to be my middle name. Why do I find it so scary to actually embark on a creative project when I can quite cheerfully - well, no, quite miserably in fact, spend long hours in the middle of the night - thinking about it? Is there anyone else out there like this? If so, please tell me!

Anyway - here we go - I have tried twice to post and pass on the award that Jackie passed on to me and have been determined to do it properly this time. But 'Blogger' doesn't like it. Tough.

So here goes - which of your blogs keep me going, make me smile and generally inspire me? Well, Mary from 'White Clover Stitches' seems to spend time 'agonising' over her work, too - and she loves hydrangeas as well! Leave 'Jump Rope Girl' alone, Mary, she's lovely as she is ...

Carol of 'Textile Tales' is so generous with her tutorials and her support for a 'new girl' and 'Ellie MacPhee' is a girl after my own heart with her displacement activities. Linda from 'Blue-eyed Girl' makes me so want to get into soul journalling - but I mustn't until I've dealt with a few more UFOs. But I will - and until then I shall continue to drool over Linda's work.

'Kayla Coo' paints lovely pictures and posted pictures of Nice, which is one of my very favourite places. Sharon B of 'In a Minute Ago' is so generous with her stitches and tutorials. And I've just discovered the most mouth-watering pictures on a new (to me) blog - 'Sea Angels'. I think that's more than enough but let me just sneak in an extra 'new girl on the block' - 'Picallily and Blossom'. We new girls have to stick together and she deserves it for the whacky name alone!

When I wasn't feeling very creative myself it was lovely to lurk around your blogs, girls. Thank you for keeping me going.

Now, all I have to do is to write up the minutes of the Preston EG committee meeting (a job I hate!) and then I can start to think about packing for my hols - more of that in my next post?