Weeks 26 & 27

June has definitely brought some highs and lows in our family. My grandmother (Dad's mother) passed away recently... just prior to her 107th birthday!! It's amazing to think of all the things that have happened during her lifetime and how much it has all changed since she was a little girl. Which brings me to this weeks prompt:

Week 26: Heirlooms

This weeks prompt is all about heirlooms and history! The journaling reads: Just before her 107th birthday my Gran passed away. She led a very full life and had lots of interesting stories to tell.

A week later my Dad gave me a very special heirloom!

The brooch is a Scottish Thistle made from solid silver with paua inserts! The detail on the leaves is incredible! Apparently this brooch originally belonged to Gran's mother!

It's really stunning and I'm thrilled that Dad gave it to me.

It also made me realise that I have been given quite a few heirlooms over the years. Some are big... my dressing table... and some are small... like Nana's wedding ring... and yet they each hold memories, and history of times gone by.

I'm wondering what items my girls will want in the future and what memories they will associate with them. It really is the little things in life that count.

Of course, as a scrapbooker I'm hoping that my albums will be treasured and that journals like 'Creating My Life' will be read with interest. These days though, we live in such a 'throw away' era that my girls (and their future children) are not going to want to keep my laptop etc... so what heirlooms will I be leaving behind??

Week 27: A good sort of tired

I often go to bed feeling tired... which is a good thing... but it's often more a mental tiredness than a physical one. On Sunday I definitely felt physically tired!

The journaling reads: On Sunday I went down to Taupo to get some firewood from my cousin. Krystal came with me and it was nice to get a change to really talk to her.

Instead of just getting firewood from the shed we headed out the back of the farm to get some really good wood!

First though, we had to feed all the horses! Fearnley's got 40 horses so it took us quite a while! He's driving the ute while I'm holding on and feeding out the hay. Next minute I hear: "Hold on Cuz!" and the ute starts sliding sideways! Nothing like a bit of adrenaline to get the heart racing!

Then it was time to gather pinecones and cut wood... in the rain!

We ended up heading home several hours later with a huge load of wood and pinecones... and very dirty, wet and tired!

It was a great sort of tired though. The sort of tired that lets you know you've worked hard! The sort of tired that gives you a great nights sleep!!!

Unfortunately I've turned into a bit of a 'townie' and my poor body didn't really cope with all the physical work in the rain and I've ended up with a cold... although the headache has finally worn off!

The best part about getting the firewood was working with my cousin... we worked hard, talked lots and just generally felt happy in each others company. It really was a great day :) And of course we are now enjoying lovely warm fires at home!

I hope you're all having a great week and I'll do my best to have the next prompt ready on time :)

Weeks 23, 24 & 25

Can you believe we're almost half way through the year??? Time seems to be rushing by in a hurry... but I do have some more prompts to keep you busy :)

Week 23: Quirks

I've been thinking about the things that make us who we are lately. It seems that we all have quirks... those little things we do that are just a part of us. I was talking recently to a good friend of mine and happened to mentioned one of my quirks and then next thing she's laughing her head off... it seems that I'm a little more 'quirky' than I thought. So here's me prompt page:

The journaling reads: Let's face it... we all have our own little 'quirks'... little things we do that make us who we are.

I have a special fork! After years of stabbing the roof of my mouth every time I had a meal I finally found the perfect fork for ME! I'm not sure where it came from... but I do use it every night! The prongs are shorter than normal and now I can eat my dinner without worrying about hurting myself!

I know that it's a bit unusual... but no more so than stirring coffee a certain way... or putting milk in your milo before adding the hot water.

I have just discovered that something I do throughout winter is considered a bit 'strange'!

Like most people (I think) I don't like getting into a cold bed... but I also don't like electric blankets! But I have the perfect solution for that!!! I use my hair dryer!

I simply warm up the bottom sheet... hop into bed and make a 'tent' out of the blankets and warm the bed up. I works great! Is that quirky???

I'm not holding out a lot of hope that you all do the 'tent' thing with your hair dryers... but if you do then PLEASE leave me a comment so that I don't feel like I'm the ONLY one who does this! LOL

Week 24: When you're ready

Have you ever just known that you weren't ready for something??? I've had that feeling lots of times... maybe it's about making a change in your life that you actually want to make but you're just not actually 'ready' for. That leads me into my page:

The journaling reads: You know how sometimes you know you're not ready for something... and then one day, all of a sudden, you're kind of ready?

After the break up of my last relationship I got really badly hurt and I buried myself in work and projects for a LONG time. I knew that I really needed time to heal.

Around Christmas time a good friend of mine asked how my 'love life' was... my answer? Non-existent! And I was very happy about that! I knew inside that I wasn't ready to take a step in that direction.

Just recently things in that area have started to change.

I'm still VERY happy on my own and I have a great life... but I've met someone who makes me smile again.

Basically I feel like I've got a crush! LOL What I like the most is that it makes me feel really good. I feel like the healing time has really worked and I'm making progress. I feel like I'm in LIKE with someone. It's a nice feeling and well worth enjoying. I'm still not ready but I'm getting there. :)

The part I really like is that nothing actually has to happen! When I see him I get those little butterflies that we all experienced as teenagers... I'm smiling a lot more... and I even blushed when we talked on the phone today. Whatever happens I know that it's a sign that I'm well on the mend :)

Week 25: Just say Yes!

Are you a homebody who never wants to go out of your comfort zone? Have you been 'stuck in a rut' for a while? Sometimes it's nice to just have a change of routine... that happened for me on Friday and I wanted to document it just to remind myself. Here's my page:

The journaling reads: How often do you actually say 'Yes' when friends invite you out?

I have become a bit 'stuck at home' in the last few years! I used to go out with my friends on quite a regular basis... but these days it's a different story!

A good night (including Friday's and Saturday's) was scrapping in my craft room or an early night with a good book... and I still love doing those things!

But on Friday after work a couple of the teachers invited me out. I was going to say 'No thanks' out of habit but at the last minute I said 'Yes'... and I'm so pleased I did!

We all met up at the R.S.A. for a few drinks together and had a really great night!

We talked, laughed, caught up on the gossip and relaxed!

It reminded me of how much fun it is to simply go out... to get out of the house for a change. I'm definitely going to say 'Yes!' again :)

I really did enjoy myself on Friday night... and it was pretty good value too! Plus I was home just before midnight and had a great nights sleep because I was so relaxed (and the brandy probably didn't hurt either!) I've also achieved so much more this weekend by simply having a break so it was well worth it!

I hope you all have a wonderful week and I'll try my best to keep up to date next weekend :)