A Windmill? PSH again

Today we nipped the 21 miles up to Ebbw Vale to deposit the account books and papers that I found in my Dad's box and cupboard. We spent a happy hour talking to Frances Younson one of the Archivists about the stuff and then filled in the forms and moved on to Costco.

I love Costco because they always have things I desperately need. Today I just had to have a box of Chocolate and oat Nature Valley bars. My youngest son, for reasons that I won't go into, is now living with us again and he as discovered that there is a lot of satisfaction in a couple of those bars when he is driving his HUGE truck across the country every night.

I nearly had a picture of some fishermen but as usual by the time the camera was switched on and I had pointed it out the window we were three miles past them.

However!

On the way home we came the pretty way along the levels - this is the coastal flat land that is only dry because of the sea wall - and I was ready. I knew the windmill was there, I had the speed judged to the millimetre and I got this

I could say that the cloud behind them looks like two people kissing...... but I think I'll just go with the windmill. I am quite pleased with this one because I managed to avoid photographing the bird poop that was on the window by sheer good luck. I didn't notice it until after I had taken the picture and I was sure that it would be perfectly in focus and right in the middle of the picture - Phew!!!

Scavenger Hunt - More pictures!!

We spent the day with the Bluefunnels, See here how they got their name We gave them a Treasure Trail for Christmas, take a look at the website and they said we could all do it together. We kinda hoped they would say this because it looked really good. It was a Spy Mission type trail - it explains in detail on the website - and was a mostly driving trail in a figure of eight around the Forest of Dean. I managed to get two pictures for the Scavenger hunt at the same time!so here for your delection are
Number 13. A Fence

By the time we stopped here my legs were two inches shorter than when we started but I was brave and trudged along behind Mr and Mrs B to collect the clues. This is Parkend, by the way. Nearly at the end of the trail and we were all showing our unfitness. Mr B had a knee replacement in March so  he did amazingly well. Mrs B is staving off the moment when she has to have a knee replacement. Mr M hasn't even seen the GP about his painful knees yet and I am just over weight.



Number 8. A Tower
The tower looks like a lighthouse. It is in Cinderford and commemorates something but my mind has gone a complete blank so I will need to look it up on Google before I do the page for the album.

Wwe both love being "up in the Forest" and we only mean the Forest of Dean when we say that. I could happily live in any of the towns there and probably a lot of the villages too.

We stopped in Coleford to find clues for the trail and had lunch in Kaplan's cafe restaurant. We can highly recommend it. Mr M and Mrs B had the Roast Dinner and Mrs B said the carrots  were cooked to perfection. Mr B had the steak and kidney pudding and chips and declared that he was in heaven. I had plaice and chips which was also perfectly cooked and the fish was really moist and delicious.
All in all a fabulous dday for completing a Treasure Trail and getting two more pictures for the PSH

Going through Dad's papers

I keep going back and doing a little bit until I just can't stop being emotional and then I shut up the cupboard and leave it for a while. I spoke to the nice man from Gwent Archives recently at the FHS Open Day and asked if they would be interested in the books and stuff that I have from my Dad's company. He said that simply from a social history point of view they were always interested in day books and accounts and anything that gave insight into the small businesses that were in the area. All the stuff remains the property of the family but it will be stored in the archive and be available for research so Into The Bag my Pretties, you are going to Ebbw Vale!

While I was sorting through the cupboard I opened an old envelope and discovered it was full of small envelopes and in those were lots of old postage stamps. Some with Hitler on some from germany before WW1 some Canadian ones with Queen Victoria and loads from the Netherlands. Now what I need is a stamp expert :(

Scavenger Hunt 2. A Theatre for the performing Arts

We went to the dentist yesterday. Well what else would you do on your wedding anniversary?.......... beg pardon?...............Really? you go out to a real restaurant for a slap up meal? Gosh. We'll have to try for that next year.
When your anniversary falls in the middle of the week and it just happens to be one of the days when Mr M is working an afternoon shift (2pm to 10pm) it kind of mucks up any dreams a person might have about some quality time together.
Mr M had a dentist appointment at 10 am and as the dentist is 30 miles away I decided to go with him. That way we could chat in the car and while he was being poked with sharp instruments I could nip up the road and take a picture of the Savoy Theatre and Cinema.

This sweet little theatre claims to be the oldest working theatre in Wales. It has its own website and really is the most delightful little building. The two guys standing in the entrance smoking did not enhance its photogenic qualities but I didn't have time to shove them out of the way.

Starting the Scavenger Hunt

  

I made an excellent start to the Photographic Scavenger Hunt on the very first day. We went to Tyntesfield, a National Trust property and they were having a 1940s day so I managed to get these. 

4. an airplane. This is a Dakota, I know
becuase the man told us

20. a dinosaur

10. a bench that is outside

12. a cloud in the shape of binoculars

bonus item. sundial

9. something clearly out of place. Mr M
wearing Miss Em's hat

14. Stained glass or mosaic

7. A sign that is intentionally or
unintentionally funny.

The Dinosaur we found in Morrisons. More updates soon.

The Great Big Swap of very small things - Thrilling!

I am taking part in Sian's Great Big Swap. I thought it would be fun to pack up some small things and send them to someone and to receive some from another person.

I had no idea how excited I would be when the package came through the letterbox. I was bouncing! I care fully opened the wrapping and inside I found a beautiful postcard and three - note that - three small envelopes each with a name on it.

I opened the one that said Ann - cos that had to be for me. So many small things diecuts and frames and labels and paperclippy things oh and a teeny tiny key.

I can't wait to see what is in Miss Em's envelope, but I have to contain myself until she comes home from school this afternoon.

The one for Miss Kay will need to wait until either she gets to me or I go out to her. Still, it will be an extra thing that she doesn't even know about.

My thanks to Helena for taking the time to package everything so beautifully. I am thrilled and can't wait to do a page or three...... although I feel a need to hang onto the things for a while and just grin at them. Oh aren't scrapbookers just wonderful?

I will be posting my parcel to Alison on Saturday, when Mr M takes me to the post office so it will be winging its way to Spain next week.

Embellishing pages

I have been thinking a lot about this lately and yesterday I went into the craft room for the first time in three weeks!!!
I am a worrier, you see. I have my precious photographs, some of them taken more than a hundred years ago and I want to ensure that my children and grandchildren know who the people are.
My granny kept her pictures in an old tin "ditty box" that my Grandfather used when he was in the navy in the war - we are talking World War One here, by the way.
When I asked a conservationist how to store the pictures she went into elaborate detail about archive quality boxes and layers of acid and lignin free tissue paper. She continued with suggestions about temperature controlled storage rooms and not allowing sunlight to touch the pictures. By this time my eyes had glazed over and my brain was giving up the will to listen. I thanked her and did nothing. I had to go to my favourite camera shop so I asked "Young Mr Davies" - Old Mr Davies was having a day off. YMD is my age so not really that young, but I digress. YMD said "How are they stored now?" I explained that my Granny had this tin Ditty box and they had been kept in there for all my mother's life and mine. "Leave 'em where they are," he said if they haven't deteriorated after 80 odd years then they won't deteriorate now.
So I asked him about scrapbooking them. "As long as you make sure the papers are acid free and anything you stick on the page is with a safe glue and is acid free - stay away from pages of books from after 1920 as they are dreadful!"
SO my thought is this. When people use old book pages or "found items" for their pages how do they know that these items are safe to go against a precious picture?
I also worry about how the albums from a lifetime are going to be distributed amongst my three children. Should I insist that they are kept together and moved around the families every four months? should I make albums with the photos of the pages for each child and then put the real ones into the local archives or should I stop worrying and trust my children to pass on the information and albums properly...... sigh