A Day on Safari...

Heathcliff...

A brand new adaptation brings Emily Bronte’s passionate and spellbinding tale of forbidden love and revenge to life on stage. Set on the wild, windswept Yorkshire moors, Wuthering Heights is the tempestuous story of free-spirited Catherine and dark, brooding Heathcliff. As children running wild and free on the moors, Cathy and Heathcliff are inseparable. As they grow up their affection deepens into a passionate love, but Cathy lets her head rule her heart as she chooses to marry the wealthy Edgar Linton. Heathcliff flees broken-hearted only to return seeking terrible vengeance on those he holds responsible, with epic and tragic results... A dark and somewhat less than compelling storyline though you couldn't fault the production. The narration was very good and the characters well played, it just wasn't my favourite performance of the year. I now remember why I struggled to read this the first time around and even though seeing it on stage should make it easier to understand, it doesn't help when you miss bits. I would like to apologise now for waking everyone up when I dropped my water bottle. No excuses... and if it's any consolation, it woke me up too! He he...

The Szabo family+1

Here's what 55 years of marriage looks like! If I look that good after 55 years of marriage, I'll consider myself to be extremely lucky. I just need to find a groom and I'll be on my way to happiness... !
My family know how to celebrate. Today is mum and dad's 55th wedding anniversary - imagine that. 55 years of living with the same person, day in and day out and they're still smiling. The family gathering spanned the generations with fathers, mothers, daughters, cousins, sisters, brothers, grandmas, grandads, nephews and nieces. I have my lovely friend Fi to thank for the location - the Swan did us proud and it's rare to get us all together these days which made the day all the more special. It was just the start of a brill weekend for yours truly and I thank my lucky stars that I have such a great family and fabulous friends.


The thinker in my family...








The great reader in my family...

Busier...

Than a busy person's busy bits! Here's a pic of the grand opening at Cabot Circus today. No space for a little person like me. I've decided that I'll visit next week when everyone else has been! I aim to shop at Harvey Nicks, eat at Brasserie Blanc and ride up and down the escalators all day long.

OMG... circus legs!

To celebrate the opening of the biggest and best new shopping experience in the wonderful city of Bristol - Cabot Circus - I wore my circus legs today! I carefully matched my wardrobe to my legs which are 'on-trend' (what a naff expression!) and yes, I knew I'd bought slightly, subtle patterned raspberry tights. They looked fabulous in the mirror from a distance. It was only when I got into my car and suddenly my legs were stretched out in front of me that I pulled one of those Dame Edna faces and shrieked! So, I've re-named them my circus legs and now they just make me smile.
Apart from that then it was another busy day at Origin Towers. I did have a minor tantrum this afternoon - sooooooo unlike me. Changing my email system over to one that makes more work for me isn't such a great idea - DOH! But, it's done now and I have to live with the fact that I now have two accounts to juggle with. IT now stands for something else which would make my raspberry circus legs blush like peaches if I said it OUT LOUD! Calming down with a nice cuppa (no cake!) was the best way to purge myself of the nasty email situation and I settled down to backseat designing a poly for one of the mags.
Today was also CMOTY day so we had visitors. Only nice people are invited. We went to Loch Fyne for lunch and it was fab. Come to think about it, it's always fab at Loch Fyne. My shell on prawns starter was fresh and tasty. I had a bit of a moment when the mackerel arrived with its head and tail intact. But, ignoring the bits on the ends, I just ate the middle bit and it was lovely. I do believe it's going chilly. I drove back from my favourite shop just after 7pm and had to put my lights on. Autumn is here and I'll need to think about my heating very soon... cosy hey x

Happy Crafting Spaces...

Here's what creativity looks like! It's not pretty, nor is it logical or particularly organised, but it's filled with potential. Some people are crayons and like to draw pictures whereas others are more into words or numbers. I'm definitely a crayon with a passion for words. Being creative makes me happy. I can lose myself in the creative process and although it can be frustrating too, it's a journey of discovery, both of the unknown and of myself.

Secret Santa meets the Strictly Secret Scrappers!

Take 8 girls who have a passion for paper and glue. Put them together and what do you get? More fun in a weekend than most people will have all year! I was invited to join the girls in Derbyshire this weekend as an honorary member of G+G’s scrapping group. I decided to take the long way there via Paperarts (of course!) and enjoyed a tasty trout for lunch in a Worcestershire pub. It was going to be a day of great expectations and surprising revelations. Arriving in Derbyshire late in the afternoon, after quite a long drive north taking in some of the best scenery Derbyshire has to offer. I could have done without the dawdlers but hey ho, the sun was shining, I was topless and this was just the start of a wonderful weekend. There are always one or two special highlights and this weekend was no exception. The Quiz, watching Strictly Come Dancing, making a special birthday card, scrapbooking my love affair with the US, Gwyneth’s birdhouse challenge, the silly stories, staying up til 2am, late night cheese and biscuits, and so much more.. I learnt that I really am hopeless at dog spotting, not bad at ariel views, but seriously rubbish at general pub quizzes. Yet, me and Ginger still won! I have learnt how to die-cut better than I did before and discovered the finer art of embossing. The lovely Ginger bought me delicious amaretto biscuits back from her hols and a hamster! No, not Richard Hammond! I could be forgiven for thinking it was a hamster because it appeared to be a bundle of shaved wood wrapped in brown paper. But after further investigation, I discovered the most beautiful hand blown champagne glasses, which Ginger had bought me for my birthday. No, in case you’re wondering, it’s not my birthday again yet, thank you! Talking of birthday’s, I spent Sunday evening back in the Cotswolds at one of my favourite places with one of my favourite new people. Someone there asked about you Ginger… we must book dinner for 3 weeks time...

Doing the washing was never this much fun...

Can you guess what inspired these images...??






I love photoshop! I love experimenting with my digital images and just seeing where I can get to. I went to the library today and picked up a book aptly titled 'Idiot's Guide' so I can find more ways to play. Sometimes, it's good to know just enough to get you started. Now of course, I want to know more.. and more. Ok, not many people would see the possibilities in a bowl of washing, but I do. The vibrant colours of my hand washing seemed just too good an opportunity to miss so I got out my camera and got snapping. All these images come from just the one source. Clever little programme.. clever little 'me'... x

My life is... one big cappuccino!

Oh what a lovely, lazy weekend. Plenty of 'me' time and just doing those jobs I rarely have time for. I took my little Min to Tescos. Why? To get it handwashed.. lovely. I went shopping with Tash. We had such a brilliant day and finished it off at the wine bar. I sat outside Hobbs with my cappuccino and a muffin watching the world go by before wandering along to the ironmongers to buy screws. btw, my mouse has gone walkabout, hence why this is more difficult to write. I hung one of my wonderful pictures that has been sitting in the hall for what must be over 2 months. Why is it such a challenge to do such things? I drove into Chelts on Sunday, sat in La Scala with my grilled hullumi cheese salad and another cappuccino! My life is just one big cappuccino!

LIFE IS SWEET

This week I've been collecting "QUOTES". It started when I heard a couple I really liked on the radio. They struck a cord with me and now that my brain is tuned into 'quote-mode' I've picked up a few more that I like. Life is indeed very sweet so I have made up a quote of my own to celebrate that fact!

Today is... happy 1st year in the mill day!

I've put the flags out and I'm celebrating my lovely apartment today. Here I am 12 months ago waiting for the BIG move. Now I've been here for a whole year, I still think it's wonderful and love waking up here to the sound of the water and the wildlife. I never tire of being here. It was a great move and although I loved living at the barn...

I know I'm happy living anywhere where my heart feels at home.

I still remember walking in here and falling in love with the place. I can recall my excitement at buying this place and even though it's further away from my family and friends, it's brought us closer together. People come to stay here. My family and friends visit here. I have found new friends here too and that will always be so, wherever I go.

Here is a stepping stone to somewhere that I've not discovered yet.

How exciting is that. Life's journey is an intricate pattern and we have to live every day as if it was our last, treat everyone with kindness and take advantage of every opportunity. Trust your instincts, follow your dreams and smile ;-) easy really... just watch those swans go!

Flowers for a Princess

I lie in sleepless nights
Looking up at the dark sky
Seeing the moon so bright
Feeling your soul by my side

Flowers for friends, flowers to say “I’m thinking of you”, flowers to cheer you up and flowers to send your love. I love receiving flowers and these are flowers for… “being the best hostess (was there ever any doubt?!” and cooking dinner”. And very yummy it was too! Then it was off to the cinema to see ‘The Duchess’. What a fabulous film and great company too! I was totally enthralled and moved by some of the scenes. I shed a few tears and got that weird twisting pain that only a mother can feel in the pit of her stomach at the thought of giving away one of her babies. Keira was excellent and this movie showcased her talent in a way not yet seen on the big screen. She deserves to win an award for her performance, as I will eventually do for mine!

Home sweet home...

Here's Little Mystic Meg with her mystical house - made all by herself with bits of paper and sticky tape! Quite a challenge considering the roof didn't want to stay on but she wouldn't be beaten and just found more sticky tape to solve the problem!

Not guilty.. ;-) who ate all the puds..?!

Not me.. not sure who this is.. ?! Naomi's certainly got a talent for photography!
I could try to deny it. I could even blame it all on dear, sweet Naomi. But, the evidence is plain for all to see... YUMMY! Me and Naomi had a lovely lunch at the Gumstool Inn. Naomi chose the puddings so we could share them and we made a good effort to demolish both the bread and butter pud and the summer pud, both of course served with the most enormous scoop of clotted cream! Every mouthful was mouthwatering and worth every calorie!

'Me' and hamsters...

Today has been another busy day juggling one project with a zillion others. Yet, today is different. Today, I'm peeping over the parapet and OMG, this is such a great feeling! This rush of fresh air may be short-lived, we all know there's no respite when it comes to magazine deadlines, but I can smell the success and that pleases me. Life has been a roller coaster ride over the past month, or so. I can only liken it to being stuck a very small and cramped hamster's wheel. Not something I've experienced in the 'real-world', but in 'anna-land', anything can happen! When my mind goes into free fall, I see my life played out in images, not words, and as with everything in 'anna-land', they can often be weird and wacky! People say they have 'Out of body experiences'... I know what they mean. Like seeing images speeded up. The scenes from Times Square, NYC with the neon lights making streaks across the night sky. Yet there's one tiny person standing amongst the noise and commotion - that's 'me'. So, back to my hamster's wheel... with my legs frantically making it turn faster and faster and getting me no where. The faster I have run, the more frustrated I have felt. That's what getting no where feels like. But in this age of green things, my guardian angel did something wonderful. She made sure that my hamster's wheel was connected to the National Grid! That's the real reason that this week, my electricity bill was cut, just like that. It's nice to look back and know that I got somewhere after all ;-)

Green fingered friends...

I may not have green fingers but I know someone who has! Fi & Rob have an abundance of beautiful plants, not least these wonderful fuchsias.

Our Wills...

Hagley Hall is the venue for another outdoor Shakespeare evening in the company of these two lovely people. It truly was a Midsummer Night's Dream! No rain, no wind, just a balmy evening in the grounds of Hagley with a picnic and a few bottles of vino. Produced and performed by the Chapterhouse Theatre Company, the shining lights were definitely Puck and Bottom! There were many hilarious moments and I thoroughly enjoyed another foree into the weird and wonderful, cultural world of Shakespeare!

a top weekend... !

Us girls know how to relax! Up not so early on Saturday morning, a cup of tea and a girly gossip then a dip in the spa. Two hours later we both had one or two more wrinkles and far less worries! It certainly beats anything I get up to on a weekend!

Mad Monday!

Here's the view from the 5th floor of our office in Bristol. As I looked out of the window today suddenly we noticed that there was someone sitting on the corner of the roof of the car park. The panic that whipped around the office was startling. People on phones trying to call the police and others just scared with that was unfolding before our eyes. We watched horrified as a guy appeared on the roof and walked towards what appeared to be a young woman with long, dark hair. He boldly approached the woman from behind, he swiftly flung his arms around her and held on tightly as she started to struggle wildly. We all thought she was going to pull him off the roof with her. Within a few seconds there were five men trying to stop her struggling as they pulled her down off the edge of the roof. But something just didn't seem right - 'she' was too strong to be a young woman. Bristol is a strange place at times and sometimes things are not quite what they seem. The police and an ambulance appeared within a minute blocking the roads around the car park building and with the imminent panic over, we took a deep breath and waited. Imagine our surprise as the police marched an elderly balding man out of the building! Perhaps it was a stunt, or just an act of sheer madness. He certainly disturbed a few of us in the office... !