Retirement card and a quick catch up

Good morning friends, crafting and non crafting

You may remember I made a black and white box card for a lovely friend of ours to give to her husband on his retirement, Neil and I were invited to the retirement 'do' at the Ashborne a couple of weeks ago  and this is the card I created for Steve

We had a fabulous night, super delish food, brilliant music and a fantastic atmosphere, we caught up with a few other couples who we haven't seen in a while and made some new friends too.

So thankyou Steve and Di for inviting us to share in your special celebration xxx

The card was made using all Stampin' Up stamps and inks, the ribbon used to be in my shop but it is so versatile for masculine designs, I grabbed a couple of meters before I sold off all the stock

Talking of which I haven't mentioned it on here yet, but if anyone is interested, my lovely friend Jan was the lady who bought the stock, she took the whole lot, lock, stock and barrel and is selling it from her home

Jan did me an enormous favour as it meant I could shut up and leave the shop without the hassle of going through the obligatory closing down sale

I know Jan did this for my benefit and I will never be able to repay her kindness, but I can help advertise that she has lots of stuff at her house if anyone would like to pop along and grab a bargain

You can find Jan through her blog HERE

And a quick round up of events in the last couple of weeks

I am trying to keep up with the emails and messages but do still have a couple to reply to, so if you have messaged me and I have yet to respond, please don't think I am ignoring you or that I have already upped sticks

Last week was superbusy, I had a fabulous 'ladies that lunch' afternoon on tuesday, with the tuesday girls, we all met in a local pub/restaurant and had a gorgeous meal,  lots and lots of chatting, catching up and of course girlie giggles

We were busy doing another stint in the attic on wednesday with another 8 black bin bags finding their way to the tip and another 3 large bags being donated to our local hospice shop, I am starting to see a little progress now and the whole decluttering is not quite so daunting

I am loving my new voluntary job on thurdays, I work with some real characters and am kept incredibly busy ( and out of mischief!)

Of course Mothers day at the weekend meant another meal out - yum yum, thankyou Neil and thankyou to the kids, love you all so much xxx

Lots of other things happening at home already this week but nothing I can share on here just yet, maybe in a few days when things have settled down and the dust has settled

Regarding 'the move', things are progressing nicely, we are grateful the process is taking longer than the four weeks our buyers insisted on at the beginning. As per usual, the solicitors are toing and froing at their own pace, which suits me just fine as I rustle about in the eaves digging out trash and treasures

Love and attic adventures

Tracey

xxx

Dash !

Hello

It has been  an unexpected day

Not in the way that it is wednesday and I was waking up believing it was tuesday

But in the way that you wake up

Have plans

And the day or event is entirely different to how you imagined it was going to be

Today we said goodbye to my uncle Dave

Married to my mum's sister, and, dad to my most favourite cousin ( I know you shouldn't have favourites but Phil is, and will always be, my favourite cousin - for pasts shared and an unspoken knowledge that we will always be there for each other - no matter what !)

I made this card for Phil and his family

I kept the card simple, a masculine shade of deep charcoal against white pearlescent

The unexpected part of the day was the funeral

All went according to plan, Phil's partner recited a thought provoking poem and one of Uncle Dave's friends and associates in his masonic lodge got up to say a few words

And there was the unexpected

The words uttered by Uncle Dave's friends and associates

Tales of humour, loyalty, dedication, respect and of a life I never even glimpsed

I sat thinking

Of the mosaic each of us creates with our lives, our friends, our hopes and our dreams

We build relationships and share a part of ourselves with each of the people we welcome into our lives

Each of those people have a totally exclusive view of us and each relationship is as individual as a handmade tile

Our mosaics are created by the characters we choose to invite into our existence

And they are cemented into place by a common love, ideal, dream or connection

A diversely rich and utterly unique creation, our life as seen by all those who know us

RIP Uncle Dave, God bless you

I will leave you with the words spoken by Phil's partner Caz

 A very well known poem, and, in my humble opinion a very poignant reminder to us all

​The Dash
by Linda Ellis copyright 1996

​I read of a man who stood to speak
at the funeral of a friend.
He referred to the dates on the tombstone
from the beginning…to the end.

He noted that first came the date of birth
and spoke the following date with tears,
but he said what mattered most of all
was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time
that they spent alive on earth.
And now only those who loved them
know what that little line is worth.

For it matters not, how much we own,
the cars…the house…the cash.
What matters is how we live and love
and how we spend our dash.

So, think about this long and hard.
Are there things you’d like to change?
For you never know how much time is left
that can still be rearranged.

If we could just slow down enough
to consider what’s true and real
and always try to understand
​the way other people feel.

And be less quick to anger
and show appreciation more
and love the people in our lives
like we’ve never loved before. 

If we treat each other with respect
and more often wear a smile,
remembering that this special dash
might only last a little while.

​So, when your eulogy is being read,
with your life’s actions to rehash…
would you be proud of the things they say
about how you spent YOUR dash?

Love and Dashes

Tracey 

xxx

Birthdays wishes times two

 Good evening

I am back today to share a couple of birthday cards I made about three weeks ago now  - both were for special friends who celebrated their birthdays in February, just like yours truly

In both instances I used new (to me) papers and kept the designs fairly simple, I actually had 7 cards to make the evening I made these and managed to complete all 7

I have been enjoying another busy week

Tuesday afternoon was reserved for my regular coffee and biscuits with the girls, we had a couple missing but it's still nice to meet and catch up with my tuesday girls, we haven't achieved any crafting at all since christmas but we seem to fill the time with chatting quite easily

Wednesday was a day designated to reorganising  - Marie Kondo style ( more of that in another post) - I am a convert !!!, wait until you see my t-shirt drawer !

Thursday I spent the day helping at the St Andrews charity shop in Cleethorpes, I have been there a few weeks now and love it, mum is there too so it's extra special spending a little time with her also

All seems to be progressing with the move

So far this week I have started the application for AJ's new school, submitted all the forms for the solicitors with regards to the purchase and begun the massive downsizing required to fit all our stuff into the new cottage

More craftiness to share over the weekend, not sure how long it will be before all my stash will have to be boxed up,  I might have to get a little crafting in before it all gets stored away ( any excuses to take a break from the sorting and decluttering)

Love and craftiness

Tracey 

xxx

Love is .....

Hi

I am catching up this evening with a card I made a couple of weeks ago ( but you don't need to be a genius to work that out, the clue is in the sentiment )

I have a few more cards that I have yet to share so I will be back later in the week with some more craftiness to share with you.

Love and lovehearts

Tracey 

xxx