Thursday 27 May 2010

And the Rest of the Week

All the usual going on this week, work, college, school, homework, housework, cubs, guitar etc etc. It was also flower club this week and here are some pictures of the fantastic designs which were created by the wonderfully talented lady who did the demo (I can't remember her name - but will add it when I find it!). These were all very big and bold designs and largely pretty modern. I cannot decide which is my favourite.

Below, black and white - very on trend!!

The colours below have not come out so well in the photo they were incredibly vibrant.



I love this one, so I think this is probably my favourite, I love the circle!!

The fragrance from these lilies was wonderful!!



Ciao
Sue
XX
Reading challenge 10/16 - currently reading Songbird by Josephine Cox

A Memory of my Boys

Nelson looking out of the window and Mika sat chillin out on the chair!
A sad one today, as it is 3 years since I lost Mika and Nelson today. Three years of missing them very very much. We decided that we would head to the peace tree near the Peace Pagoda again this year and leave a memorial to them. Imagine how delighted we were to see that the pictures we had left last year were still there where we had fastened them up. So we added some more and thought about them, not that we don't - they are never far away from our thoughts. It was also nice the see the other photo of some dogs was also still there.

I had also done some work for college which was perfect as they were two hearts - one loose and one based so we placed them in the garden in the favourite sitting place and where we have a little light for them.
Still my boys, still loved and still very much missed.

Nelson drinking out of their water bowl on a hot day!




Ciao

Sue

Summer Term Week 3

Week 3 already!! My planted design is still doing well, another couple of maintenance to go.
This week was the shop window display, I did mine with J and we had an enjoyable time and produced a lovely display, I have to say I think ours has been the best overall design. I know I am going to say that but personal bias aside whilst the others were good I think ours just nudged the other displays out. So lots of pictures of our display and my banner in situ.
Lots of lovely Easter ideas and colours - we didn't get the flowers we had ordered from college, so poor old Mike had to bring some tulips and daffs in for us - thanks pet!!
With a few minor problems such as seeing the writing under the box covering I think everything in the design is just about perfect!! I would love to have some feedback on this - feel free to leave a comment!!

So this is a big one out of the way just the assignment to write now, and homes to find for a lot of the stuff I got for the display, hope I can find some use for them!!

Ciao
Sue
XX
Reading challenge 10/16 - currently reading Songbird by Josephine Cox

Jamie Goes Motor Racing - Step Aside Jensen and Lewis

We have been waiting for a few weeks for Jamie's motor racing with Cubs, his six won the competition at cubs that term and this was their reward, great reward. So we headed off to Daventry and here are some photos - it was great fun for them all and Jamie did really well, so step aside Jensen and Lewis - Jamie is on his way!! Below they are being given a little talk about acceleration and breaking, quite important! They had all the right kit, fireproof suit, helmet, gloves the lot, don't they look brilliant!!
Jamie hasn't run this chap off, just done a brilliant overtake, go go Jamie!!
Doesn't he look cool in his racing driver outfit!!
Waiting for the green light.
Right where's the champagne!!

Ciao
Sue
XX
Reading challenge 10/16 - currently reading Songbird by Josephine Cox

And the Best of the Rest

An entirely quiet week this week, nothing much of anything going on except all of the usual stuff, cubs, music, drama, me at college, Mike at work.


J who I am doing the shop and instore displays with at college came round and we had a dry run of our shop window, here are a couple of photos ahead of the real thing in a few days.





Ciao

Sue
XX

Reading challenge 10/16 - currently reading Songbird by Josephine Cox

Some Political Stuff - A Tribute to Ashok Kumar MP and the General Election

We have finally reached the beginning of May and it has been totally remiss of me to not mention before now the sad and too early death of Ashok Kumar MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland. As you may know I am a Northerner, to be precise an East Clevelander and for some time Ashok was my MP and also my comrade in the Labour Party. I was for many years a committed and active member of the Labour Party in the area at branch and constituency level. I always found Ashok a friendly, caring man who served his constituents well and was truly committed to the people of the area.
I remember him being chosen as the Labour candidate the day Nelson Mandela was released from prison and ultimately it was a very good choice. Quite soon after being selected we were faced with a by-election which Ashok won, wow that was such a brilliant night. Sadly we lost the seat at the General Election, but Ashok didn't run and try to find a safe seat, he stayed Cleveland was his home and he built up his reputation. At the next election he won and there he stayed until his sad death.

I do hope whoever is selected to fight the seat at the forthcoming General Election does so with as much commitment to the people of Middlesbrough and East Cleveland as Ashok did, he deserves a worthy successor to continue the important work he did for the people of that area, people who do not have the easiest of lives to live.

(Note - the seat was retained by the Labour Party, whilst the neighbouring seat of Redcar, another constituency I was closely associated with was lost to the Liberal Democrats, unsurprisingly due to the loss of the British Steel plant in Redcar)

As for the General Election, well I hardly care - they are all tarnished in one way or another - but I will always vote.

And vote I did - not at all happy with the outcome but I guess I will have to live with it like so many others. I am only relieved I didn't vote Liberal Democrat as I would have felt truly sold down the river as I would rather slit my wrists than vote Conservative. I did what I always do these days, ummed and aahed and then voted in the same old way. And now that we have a Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition Government well I am thinking I may rejoin the Labour Party - I wasn't expecting that!!

Ciao

Sue
XX

Reading challenge 10/16 - currently reading Songbird by Josephine Cox

Summer Term Week 2

Week 2 already!! Below is a modern glued corsage on a solid badge base, bright and not too bad.
Some leaf manipulation, plaiting palm leaves and weaving aspidistra - I will come back to these once the course has finished and I have more time to write about techniques.
Some leftovers made into a group table centre, just to use them up (I did this at home!)
Below is an assignment piece, a based wreath with complementary spray, I got a merit for this arrangement. I then parcelled it up and sent it up to my friend Joyce to place on my Grandad's grave as I don't have anywhere to leave flowers for my Mum.
Wedding work and an Alice band - don't like this at all......I will have to have another go at this one, I may get signed off something at college, but if I don't like it then I have to give it another go until I do.
A topiary tree from function decorating, pretty pleased with this, kept it in a nice round shape, so happy with this one!!
The flag below was done by the girls who are now doing Level 1 instead of Level 2 but this is a lovely piece of work, a based cushion turned into the Italian Flag, I think they did a really good job.
My planted design in situ - I've taken a photo of it for the assignment I have to do about the maintenance of this design.
My maintenance kit.....
And another week is gone!!


Ciao
Sue
XX
Reading challenge 10/16 - currently reading Songbird by Josephine Cox

And the Rest of the Week

And the rest of the week, well a couple of weirdy ones to start. Here is Jamie's arm covered not in real blood but in our fake blood as he was having a couple of days playing CSI - he was Mac and I was Stella!! The blood we made was quite good actually and had loads of bits in it too to make it really authentic, I do now of course need to get some more red food colouring. Oh and it did take a bit of work to get it off skin, hands, worktops etc!!
Jamie went around photographing the evidence a la CSI and was having some good fun!! The murder weapon perhaps with our fake blood. And talking of blood check out this from youtube it is so funny - I love all of these children's funnies - Jamie shows me them and they make us laugh so much (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6tzQ8cW9E0 or search for Blood Not Funny on youtube) I made a flower arrangement for home just for fun - doesn't happen much at the moment - but like this one a lot! Lots of phormium tenax, chrysanthemum, gerbera and calla.

I decided to bring two interests together here, so in preparation for my window display assignment I have made a scrapbook style banner saying Happy Easter, which I think looks fab!!
I really enjoyed putting this together and found some Hot of the Press papers from my scrap crap which I must have been given as I didn't buy them, which worked perfectly, found a template on the web and used some chipboard letters I already had as templates, lots of cutting and sticking but enjoyable. I then used a cropadile for the holes and strung some green either Karen Foster lime floss to string the eggs onto. I was really pleased with the result. I had hoped to put some flowers on too, but ran out of time to finish them in that way but will finish them during the summer.
I hope the banner works on the window display - I have a feeling it might! I am thinking of fastening artificial forsythia along the length too to bring some 'real' flowers through the window display.
Ciao
Sue
XX
Reading challenge 10/16 - currently reading Songbird by Josephine Cox

Summer Term Week 1

Back to college for the start of the summer term and the final term of the course, and oh boy what a lot of work is still left to be done. It is going to be heads down and working very hard for the next few weeks - very hard indeed.
Above is a hand tied feature arrangement in a vase, some aspidistra leaf manipulation and I love the colour scheme, well anything with lime green and orange does it for me!! Apart from the top chrysanthemum being too far off to the left I was very pleased with this design.

We finally got our first (and only - although we were promised 3 varied trips at enrolment) college trip to Van Vliet's wholesalers in Northampton. The gripes first - the lack of trips had come up in a feedback session to the head of department and then suddenly a trip was organised - hooray you may say. Well the day chosen was a day which had been planned to do practical assessments so they were cancelled therefore putting further pressure on fitting assessments in later in the course.

My own view has been that a visit to the wholesaler should have happened in the first term because we would get to see a wide variety of flowers and foliages at a time when we need to be learning about them. We would have the opportunity of seeing some items for real when we are never going to get the chance to see or use them in class. We would have the chance to seeing the vast array of sundries that are available which would also fire imaginations when it comes to writing assignments and thinking about putting designs together. And it would happen at a less intense time in the course, at a time when we are learning and not focusing on getting assignments in and assessments done! I had visited several wholesalers by this point but was still looking forward to the trip.

But saying that the trip was enjoyable, if the flowers a little in short supply (can't remember now if it was Mother's Day in Eastern Europe combined with volcanic ash that meant flowers were not as abundant as they often are at Van Vliet). Here are some photos of my favourite bits, lime green bags and baskets for either flower arrangements or planted designs - lovely ....
spider gerbera - I love these ......
a whole section of carnations (dianthus caryophyllus) .....
a lovely selection of tulips (bear this photo in mind for an upcoming blog!)........

some sundries .......
gerbera .....
a wider shot, showing a selection of flowers ....
This was an enjoyable trip.

The staging for the window display assignment has been erected - mine is in a couple of weeks. I am not sure about the positioning as it is in the main entrance to the college - the solid metal barrier is next to the main door and students are likely to be walking past the whole time we are trying to put the display in situ. Wonder whose idea it was to place it there?

Another assessment out of the way above is my planted design in situ. It has to stay there for 6 weeks (it will end up there for 8 so it is there for the External Verifier to see! couldn't be bothered with the hassle of arguing over my bowl, my plants etc etc) This was the other bowl I bought on my trip to Smiths.
I am really angry with myself over this as I ended up with a Merit rather than a Distinction because I wrote the wrong figure down in one section of the cost sheet (I'll come back to this in a final summary of the course as a whole).

I used variegated ivy (hedera helix), spider plant (chlorophytum comosum), flaming katy (kalanchoe blossfeldiana), money plant (crassula) and Easter cactus (Rhipsalidopsis or Hatiora). I was pleased with the design as it was bright and welcoming for the reception desk (the area I had been allocated) where it had to sit for 6 weeks to be maintained which was the next part of the module.

Ciao
Sue
XX
Reading challenge 10/16 - currently reading Songbird by Josephine Cox
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