woyww530

I couldn’t post last week – the overnight storm last Tuesday took out the village power supply, so no electricity and no computer! Thankfully, this week it’s been a tad cooler and more bearable, both indoors and out. This past week, I’ve been busy testing and recording all my ink pads, sprays and paint-dabbers……. and pens and markers – to see what works best with my stamps and what colours I still need to purchase.It’s been a fun, useful exercise 🙂 Sharing with other deskers over here.

PS I’m planning a blog-break throughout August, so if you don’t see me around Blogland, you’ll know why 🙂 I’m hoping to return refreshed and renewed in my favourite month – spectacular September ❤

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woyww528

The other week, a dear friend took me to Retford (it’s only half an hour up the A1 from us, but I’d never been before). And who knew, one of my all-time favourite art companies is based there?! We had a wonderful time perusing all their yummy stock and chatting to Alfie 🙂 He told me all about this – which I’d never seen before…As you may know, before the stroke I used to stamp A LOT – art journalling, making cards, swapping ATCs – then, when I thought I’d never stamp again, I gave away 100s of clear and rubber stamps and dozens of stamping blocks! I kept a handful of wood-mounted stamps, which I sort of manage to use left-handed (the image is invaribly squiffy, though).

Now, with this wonder-tool, I can stamp to my heart’s content. The clear top is gridded and can be removed – one side is set deeper for rubber stamps, and the shallower side is perfect for silicone/clear stamps – and it’s incredibly easy to wipe clean!

Here is my first attemptIt is just SO wonderful to be stamping again! Now, I just wish I had more stamps to play with… And I need more ink pads – over a decade in storage, many are bone dry 😦

Sharing over at, you’ve guessed it, the Stamping Ground!

PS I found the lovely storage sleeve half-price on ebay 🙂

PPS I’m continuing writing each day in my journal – up to 110 days and counting…

woyww526

It’s been a long, hot** week, and I can’t settle to anything At such times, I do what soothes me – scribbling my thoughts, cutting and pasting beautiful images…On the desk from left to right: The Writer’s Life, a wee book full of great advice and quotes; the current Toast catalogue, I’ve read the articles, now I can cut out the pictures; images already clipped from old diaries (the Virginia Woolf cut-out is actually a card – I love that she’s busting her moves :D); my daily diary (cheap and cheerful from Rymans – I like the purple ❤); and my ultra-bargain – this year’s We’Moon diary (which I got for a £1 from here), always a favourite source for images and poems.

Sharing with the lovely folk at the Stamping Ground (I shall miss next week’s gathering – Dear Daughter is coming home for a couple of days, yay! :D)

** I know we, in the UK, have had it easy compared to the rest of Europe, but as those with health issues know, any change in the weather is difficult – it takes our already-challenged bodies a long while to adjust.

woyww525

Today is National Writing Day in the UK (see here), so I’ve been writing…Notice the ‘new’ desk blotter (a canny ebay purchase 🙂 It’s a vintage one and has suede underneath, so no slippage!). I spent the Summer Solstice doing a Mid-Year Review, which I really enjoyed. I wrote more than I thought possible – this lightweight pen with the pen-grip is really helping!Also I’m 90 days into my 100-day challenge (not that I officially joined any of the online groups – this was purely a personal thing to keep my hand working despite the tennis elbow). Answering the daily prompts from here and writing one side of A5 is the perfect daily challenge for me 🙂

Sadly, though, typing and scrolling are proving still very painful, hence I blog just once a week. But I did manage to visit (and usually leave a comment) every desk last week, of which I am very proud 🙂 We’ll see how this week goes – I have physio first thing this morning, so I won’t manage many today.

PS Sorry, but I had to add one more photo from Esther’s graduation – our beautiful, beautiful girl ❤ ❤Sharing over at Julia’s.

woyww524

Totally missed last week – overwhelmed with things going on every single day – and nothing to show on the desk today (hope that’s allowed)! Too busy being a proud, proud mama 🙂 What a memorable day (Monday, 17 June 2019) and how surreal, remembering my own graduation in the same city 34 years before, oh so vividly (how can it be that long ago? How can this wonderful young woman be my daughter? And why don’t they make the hoods smaller for women’s shoulders? In my graduation photo, my hood’s slipping off my left shoulder exactly like Esther’s! Esther graduated with a truly amazing 1st Class BA (Hons) degree in Architecture from Oxford Brookes.And a very kind chap took a photo of us all

(l to r) my dad, Esther, me, hubby Nick

At least now I have a free week to recover, phew!

Sharing over at Stamping Ground.

woyww522

Apologies for not visiting many of you last week – typing is still painful, and I have to do as little as possible

But throughout this tennis elbow episode, I have been writing a little every day. As of yesterday, when these photos were taken, I have written every day for 67 days. The first photo shows the day I started, March 30th, answering the question: ‘What are your favourite noises? Your least favourite?’And this one, June 4th’s entry: ‘What do you think of when you think about love?’I’m using this book on my kindle for daily prompts, and following my physio’s advice, I’m using different pen grips on different pens to minimise the pain caused by holding/using a pen.

Some days I’ve barely managed a couple of sentences, other days, a couple of pages, but I haven’t missed a day, of which I am very proud 🙂 I’m aiming for 100 days, and if I manage that, ultimately, the full 365 days, which may well see me completing this gorgeous journal!

Sharing with other deskers here ❤

 

woyww521

Yes, I’m back – two whole months since I last posted… I’m emerging from the Valley of Pain that is known as tennis elbow – a real problem, as I only have one ‘good’ arm (Clearly the 12 years of constant use of my once non-dominant left hand, since the stroke, took its toll!) I’m still cautious, seriously limiting my typing/texting time (this post took several days typing in tiny spurts), resting the arm completely for hours at a time (I am watching A LOT of dvds (thank heaven for Downton Abbey!) The weekly combo of hydrotherapy on a Tuesday and physiotherapy on a Thursday, seems to be helping, though.

So, on my newly tidied** desk today isI’m taking part in an online study of the Book of Wisdom (I’m using my BIG Apocrypha. I’m not able to write much, and I have to take frequent breaks, but I’m enjoying the process 🙂 There’s a prompt a day (Mon – Fri, with an arty prompt on Sat) for four weeks – I’m a tad behind… but never mind 🙂

And I must show the view from the windowMy beloved goldfinches! This pair have a wee brood who are just starting to grow their coloured wing feathers – their torsoes and faces are still a fluffy brown. The babies are very hard to photograph as they can’t hold on to feed as long as the adults.

Happily sharing this post with other deskers here 😀 Celebrating 10 remarkable years of What’s On Your Workdesk? Wednesday – WOW! I’m sorry I missed the ATC swap, but my arm is still not up to creating much.

** the desk has been buried under ‘stuff’ for two months. I simply couldn’t pick up anything like a book, a ring binder, a pen, a glue stick. Slowly over the past week I’ve been sorting and tidying, and beginning projects again – it feels SO good 🙂

BTW I have added a blogroll of my favourite blogs and websites – do take a look ❤