I promised...

... that I wouldn't reveal the source of my inspiration for this one. But there's a few people that know. Ah, the travels that this one has gone on, the stories it could tell.

Impromptu Shoot

Went round to Katacake's Kreations last night to photograph a couple of her cakes, ended up, to my pleasure, finally being able to take some pictures of her darling daughter Emma with their new puppy Max! I'm determined to break this ice with this little girl! Looks like I've made a start...

You raise me up!

Literally!

Oops. Life got in the way.

Life has gotten busy all of a sudden, and it's great! It started here:

She's here, she looks great, and I just can't get enough of her.

I'm not sure when she grew up, but she's turning into a beautiful young woman.

And she sure loves her little brother...



See you tomorrow!

Here we are, on the eve of Maggie's arrival. We've just had our 'See You Tomorrow' conversation. I love that. Seven weeks from today and I'll be sobbing my eyes out as it will be all over. But I'm not going to think about that until it happens. I've got her back for the summer and we're going to rock it!

I miss her so much...

One for every week she's here!

Mr. Weatherbee, he's no prince, he's no pal.

Been a beautiful day today despite having a soggy back garden. It was nice enough for the bees though, and the sunshine has brought out the nectar sucking buzzers in full force. After about 40 shots, this was the one that I liked best. Go figure, it was also the last one and only one that I kept.

Supposed to get a month's worth of rain over the next two days. I predict this will be the last one of these shots I get for awhile.

Great weather for snails.

It's Thursday morning. I'm about to leave for work. I've come downstairs and glanced out the kitchen window. Lo and behold, what do I see? A snail sliming across my deck. Typical. I bet he's not complaining about the weather. Glad to see someone's enjoying the summer.

I hate you.

It's the Fourth of July

Today is a good day. It being the Fourth of July is really only secondary to what today is all about. Today is the day where we're no longer in weeks, and the countdown can only be done in days, hours, minutes and seconds. Just thinking about my trip next week to Manchester Airport, waiting at the gate for her to arrive, sends butterflies in my stomach. There really is no other feeling. I don't know how I did what I did 10 years ago. But that's in the past, and I can't change that. But I can appreciate what I have now. And it's great. I hope I haven't let her down, I've tried to be there in other ways, less unconventional I suppose you could say. Sometimes I'm surprised at how we've made it through and how strong we are. Everyday I'm surprised at how she never gave up on me. Maggie's 15 years old now, going on 25, has been for the last few years. I've tried to protect her from what I did, tried to make it sound not as bad as it was. But it was bad. I've had to accept that I made some bad choices, and I've had to live with those and make the most of them. Regrets? We all have them. Would I go back and change things? I might do things differently, but I don't know how much I could have actually changed things. It was a bad place for me, 10 years ago. Today is a much brighter one. I have two wonderful kids and two great stepsons. I have a husband who, I'm sure, in his own quirky way, loves me, as much as I love him. I have a cute dog. I have a fantastic job doing what I've always wanted to do. I have a hobby. And I have my life. So, if I could go back and change things, would I still have all this now? Probably not. But I'll still always be full of regret over the pain I put her through. But she's a tough nut. She pulled herself up by the bootstraps and carried on. Her and I, we're the same breed. We're always ok. As long as we've got each other.

See you on Tuesday, Magpie.

Let them eat strawberries

It's official. Summer 2012 is going to officially suck weather wise. If even there is the remote chance of there being any truth to what I read this morning, we're basically in for rain everyday for the next 60 days. Noah never had it so good. My blueberries, pretty much non existent. My grass is rotting. My flowers, covered in morning glory, which by the way seems to thrive in wet, damp, soggy, non-existent sun weather. But we still have the strawberry. Edible summer. Long live the strawberry.

Happy Canada Day .... whoop whoop

Every year down in London they have a Canada Day celebration for us Canadians. It usually involves back home food and beverages and some great music. So take my favorite place Covent Gardens and add in a good helping of fellow Canadians playing hockey and celebrating our country, and you've got yourself one great big kitchen party. Again, as much as I wanted to be there, I was not. One of these years... perhaps I should make myself a promise and say that next year will be the year. Beats the hell out of what I did this year, same as last year... nothing. But that's own fault. I accept that.

It's not been a great weekend, but nevertheless, in the true spirit of my nationality, Happy Canada Day. I miss you, Hot Vanilla Capachino and a plain blueberry bagel.

Oh... and I found a hair in my buns... Thank you Morrisons bakers. Just what I needed. Happy Canada Day encore.

Two-fer won!

Thanks to the almighty Virgin Media, I was without internet last night... from about 4pm onwards. Sadly, I live in a realm of where my life completely revolves around it. And if I can't get onto Facebook to 'update', then I turn into something evil, more so than my usual self. I can't be doing with paying (or rather Chris paying) for a service and then not receiving it. I think I'm probably over touchy about it, but I suppose it's a symptom of this day and I've bought into the system of getting everything I need online, including most if not all of last year's Christmas shopping list. Well, despite last night's trama, it's back on and I'm online yet once again.

Unfortunately, the little disturbance to my new routine resulted in no pictorial display. So, for the record, in the great words of Huey Lewis and the News.... This is it... It doesn't represent anything of the day other than the fact I learned a really quick and easy way to do storyboards in Photoshop... something I plan to use quite a bit I think...

Today we've had the mother of all storms. Being in the Portakabin at work, we were ready to rename it Noah's Ark. I'm surprised we didn't drive away. I've never seen rain like that in a long time. The last time was when I was living in Ontario, where it seemed to be the norm to have a flash rain storm, especially in the heat and humitidy of the summer. You'd almost pray for them when you were in the midst of a 30 degrees celcius, feels like 40 summer spell. Seasons are changing, they're becoming one. The end is neigh...

Wouldn't take much for the fish to 'walk' out of that!

Let them eat cake.

Cake...

Cake is a form of break or bread-like food. In its modern forms, it is typically a sweet baked dessert. In its oldest forms, cakes were normally fried breads or cheesecakes, and normally had a disk shape. Determining whether a given food should be classified as bread, cake, or pastry can be difficult. (as taken from Wikipedia).

I love cake. I love it even more when it's on someone else's plate. That way, any bites I steal don't have any sin attached to them. My favorite cakes have to be one of the following two taken from my childhood: Gingerbread Cake, warmed and covered with whipped cream. Wow. Or the Coconut Cake my mother used to make with the coconut frosting that always made the cake sag in the middle. I've never made these as an adult. Probably because I don't want to spoil my memory.

Kathryn makes really good cakes. Her kids will grow up remembering her cakes with fond memories. She's given them a great gift, and probably doesn't even know it.

Can't tell the time

All blog times prior to this are wrong.... I must have been thinking I lived somewhere in the Pacific. Doh. I'm back on London time now.

Flight of the Bumblebee

What's the first thing that goes through a bumblebee's mind when it hits your windshield? It's ass.

Ah, the humble bumble bee... I like these guys. I don't like the big fat ones, I like these guys. Far less intimidating and out to get a job done. They don't care if they get their furry little bodies dirty. Get that pollen and get out! Cool dudes. Thumbs up.

On the up side, this one took a couple of clicks to get. And they all went downhill after that. I do however quite like this one. It's lost a bit in the focus, but tres cool backend view. Nice bum.

My Fair Lady

My all time favorite movie/musical has to be My Fair Lady. I saw it live in Detroit years and years ago with Richard Chamberlain playing Henry Higgins. I always had a thing for him ever since The Thorn Birds. Bit wrong really, cause at the time he was (and still is) much older than me, AND he was a priest. I'm not Catholic. I had to watch it today. A little bit of Leroy Anderson and a Plink Plank Plunk, Typewriter, and Syncopated Clock, and I'm afraid you had me at hello. Just you wait, Henry Higgins.... Just you wait... you'll see that My Fair Lady doesn't hold a candle to yours...

My gorgeous gal Maggie.

Goodbye, my dear friends...

It is with great sadness that I must report on the passing of my dearly beloved KEDS.

We'll meet again one day in that great big shoe shop in the sky... be free, Champions... be free.

It's bloody Ketchup!!!!

Ok, second time's a charm...

Parking Lot vs Car Park. Trunk vs Boot. Hood vs Bonnet. Sidewalk vs Footpath. Asshole vs arsehole. The list goes on... but one thing I must insist on... it's not toe-maaaa-toe sauce... IT'S BLOODY KETCHUP! The more I write, the more I'm thinking that I see the direction this blog is going to go. Perhaps it might be something that I actually make public one day. I think there's a purpose... for all those Canadians that feel the need to be heard! Stand up I say! Stand up and be heard! I am woman (or man) of a Canadian citizenship... HEAR ME ROAR! Yea.. ok... well, hear me give my two cents (oops, pardon me, pence).

Just a wee bit damp... what else is new

Ok... it's England and it's raining. Again. Nothing new there. I've figured out my theme for today (not exactly hard, was it)...

I think this speaks volumes. I hate English weather. It's crap.

Let the games begin...

So my initial thought was to create a 365 day challenge for myself... one picture a day. But where? Do I use a facebook page? What about a blog? What about a website? This was free. No boner really.

So, if for no other reason other than to get things started, here is picture numero uno...This one's a bit of a cheat really as it wasn't taken today, but I suppose I need to start somewhere. Would it be ok to put a clause in stating that images may or may not be taken on the day they are submitted? That might be cheating, so if I get another one in later, then consider this one cancelled.

This I think is probably one of my favorite pictures of Ben so far this year. It clearly says he's had enough of Mummy and her camera.  Sooner Maggie gets here the better. The bugs won't stay still and Ben's fed up of me. Maggie's a sure bet.