Tuesday

Part one - holiday highlights ....

After an 850 mile round trip -
we arrived home safely on sunday .
We were blessed with gorgeous weather ,
and the odd warm rain shower fall -
and totally enjoyed our time away -
even if it was tiring with all the walking and
places we visited .
I took some 650 snaps - that`s just mine -
and i have picked the best ones to show you .
I will get around to visit you all soon -
but for now - i hope you enjoy these ...
Some - not all are clickable ..
The way down to Norfolk -
rolling fields and blue skies ...



Fields of poppies swaying with the slight breeze ..






Going through many tiny villages ,
with thatched roof`s .
And seeing unusual place names -
like Little Snoring , and Great Snoring ! ;o)





Belton House - Lincolnshire .







beautiful gardens ..











The orangery ..





From inside - out ...




Some of the many succulent plants ...





Felbrigg Hall and gardens - Norfolk .

















Dovecote house ..









Peach trees lining the garden walls





Chickens roaming free ...





One of the many poppy varieties - i have not seen
this colour before ...





There`s so much more to follow - including 2

outstanding houses , one where they filmed

and starred Kiera Knightly ! You could also take

photographs inside the stately home - of course i

was well pleased !!

Thursday

It`s nearly time for our holiday -
going down to the Norfolk / coast and
onto Oxford again . A welcomed break from
home and to see the beach and the sea .
So i will say bye for now -
takecare - and i will see you when i get back !
xxxxxx






One last thing ...
Just a couple of blooming flower
journal pages ...













Wednesday

I made this reversable headband
for my holiday - and to match the
Eco bag i made too . Just 2 strips sewn
together and for the elastic part i used
an elastic hair band - those you can buy in packs
and real cheap and hand sewed it to the edges .
It turned out pretty good , as i am not really a
hat person , and thought it may give my head some
protection from the sun . I suffered sun stroke
some years ago , and i was very poorly ,
and i don`t want a repeat performance !!
Bottom photo is clickable .











Monday

We recently had a visit to
Oakwell Hall Country Park .
Built in 1583 - an Elizabethan manor house
in a 100 acres of parkland . Visitors can peruse
the grounds and garden - for free , with
an entrance fee for the house . It was a pleasant
way to idle away an hour or two .


The house front ..



Rear -with 17th century styled garden .












A few of the diverse array of flowers ..













And i was quite chuffed to capture
a bumble bee inside this flower ! ;o)
I could not tell properly on my preview
camera screen if i had a good picture , i had to
wait until i got home to download it .
Pretty good huh ??





Enjoy your day !!



Saturday

Feathered friends ...


Whatever you do - enjoy your weekend !
And here is just a few of my
bird visitors recently ...

House sparrows - one caught mid hop ! ;o)
Not so good one of a Blue tit - he`s that
tiny and fast - you need to be quick .
I am waiting to get a better photo .


My friend - Mr Blackbird -

who stands on top of the hedge , waiting for

me to bring out some food .



And thinks i cannot see him
when he cowers down !
Makes me laugh everytime !




And feeding one of their babies ...


















Thursday

Introducing .....

It may seem like i have not been creating -
and wittering on about other things ;o)
but i am doing . I am working on drawings
and a story - in the hope to be published
for a children's book .
For obvious reasons i cannot show all
of any work completed- however i thought i would
show you at least one ...

Here is my main character ...

Pickle !!!


A close up in the grass ...







Pickle just loves to smell the flowers

Don`t you ???
As an added extra - this time only -
i have decided to printed a limited amount .
Be the first to comment to say if you genuinely
wish to have signed copies - this will not be
offered again - for free of course ;o)
And this will be my last giveaway for a while -
and before i go away on holiday .
The size is 2.5 x 3.75 on matt photo paper / card
and there is 2 sets of 2 in the give away .
Thanks !!

Tuesday

All Is Revealed ....


Thankyou to all who had a guess at how i did
the ghost effect in this photo ...




So - how did i do it ??
I set my camera on my tripod -
and took this photo first ...






Then took the same photo again -
with myself in - using an infra red
remote control . Thankyou Sherry - for commenting
on my skirt too ! It`s very rare i wear one , i`m more
of a trouser person ;o)



Next i used a photo editing programme -
i have Serif Draw plus 6 - although i
have just got photoshop - i know it`s
a massive programme to learn and i
still have to look into it yet .
I imported the first photo , then the one
with myself in - lined it up to match ,
clicked on a transparency tool for the top photo
and hey presto done !!

Pretty easy to do - although you wouldn`t
think so reading it . There could be another way -
for eg - cutting around myself and placing me
there - but this was the easier option for me
and i knew how to do it !!

So who has won then ...

A few suggested me using a programme ,
correct - but here is the winning comment :



Wow, amazing photos Carolyn, and I just love you as a "ghost" :)
If I was going to do that I would probably have taken two photos,
one with and one without myself, then layered them in a graphics program.
I would then fade the one with myself on using an Opacity I think it's
called so you can almost see through me. Best guess,
but you may have done it another way :)



Congratulations LYNN !!!


A lucky friend of mine - and i had the honour of
meeting her last year when she visited here in the UK .
She has just celebrated 29 years of marriage -
way to go !!!! Who wouldn`t love a man who
loves to cook for you - and clean up as well !! ;o)






Monday

Warning - contains tasteful visual photos !! ;o)

We went to see the new Terminator Salvation
movie yesterday evening . I am a big fan of all of
"T" movies , especially the 2nd one , and i thought
the third one- Rise of the machines was just lacking in
something , but that`s just my opinion .



So when i knew it was being released -
and with Christian Bale in - i had to go see !
He`s my latest crush - if you can call a 42 yr old
woman having one !! ;o)
His Batman performances were good .. and in Equilibrium
and The Prestige - with Hugh Jackman - was
equally enthralling ... A film i have yet to see whole is
The Machinist . I stumbled upon it flicking on satellite TV -
and i was shocked and "bothered " by his appearance .
I hardly recognised him and had to check the cast list -
to make sure it was him .
Having lost some 60lbs in weight for the role , he
looked poorly and a concentration camp skeletal
figure - i couldn`t view it anymore . It was necessary for
the character he played , so any extra weight on him ,
would not look realistic . I will however give it another
try and see what i think .
The new movie i thought was visually entertaining ,
the special effects were brilliant as well as the cast .
At nearly 2 hours long - my initial thought was
oh no - too much . However it did not seem like that at all ,
and the time just flew by . So i would recommend
seeing this - especially if you liked the previous ones.

Now here`s some more eye candy photos ...











All in the details girls ....
A shoot i wish i had participated in !! ;o)
But i think i would have needed my tripod -
to help with the camera shakes !! LOL !!
Pass me the soap please !!
Or even just the person who handed him a towel
to dry off !!!






Cheeky chap !! ;o)
Not a case of flicking a tea towel at those
taught buttocks .. but wouldn`t your hands
just fit perfectly nestled holding them girls ?? !! !!!
* BIG laugh and smile *
BTW - if by chance you`re reading this Christian -
i would love a signed autograph !! Wishful thinking ....







Have a " peach " of a day !!
( Sorry - bad pun !!! ) ;o)


You still have time to enter my small
giveaway - on the below post also ..
You can have as many goes as you like ..
the guess`s so far are partially right -
Hint 2 - i used my tripod !

Saturday

Guess How ...

It took me 2 trips to our local
cemetery , to get some photos .
The first visit - i took mostly colour ,
and getting home and viewing them -
I realised - that the few black and white
shots looked so much better to me. So i had to pay
another visit . I had a play with the colour -
as you may be able to tell also .
Maybe because of the age of the stones , crumbled and
weathered and many probably unvisited today .The
elaborately decorated headstones something which was
done in days gone by , unlike many today .
In my opinion - they do look better in monochrome .
I`ve always loved visiting cemetery`s -
maybe you can call it , a morbid fascination -
seeing the names , how long they lived and how
old they were when they passed , some at a very young age .
I have a respect for them , and in my head , if i have to cross
over a grave for some reason - i apologise ! !
So - with out much explanation - here they are ..

Down the lane before i entered - i saw this baby magpie !!
My first sighting !! ;o) Frozen and frightened , he let
me take a few snaps . I think he had lost his mother -
but he was gone when i passed to go home .
I call it fate i saw him ...
UPDATED - i found some photos are not clickable
if you want to see them ! Just try them out !











Colour comparison ...














A missing head - nowhere to be seen
which is sad ...









A fly ...









And some camera trickery ...
adding myself - as a ghost ...
Can you see me ???






The first person to guess how i did this -
in a comment on this post -
will get a signed printed copy of a Maisey art postcard
taken from one of my drawings - below !
You have until Tuesday 9th June -
when i will reveal all !! ;o) Hint -
it was pretty simple - which it has to be for me !!
Have a great weekend !!