I spotted this beautiful shop when we were on holiday in Rome this summer. Just look at that floral balcony!
I’m linking with Nana Cathy and Wild Daffodil for this weekly photo challenge throughout 2017.
Month: October 2017
Sunday Sevens #107 29.10.17
Hello there, I hope you’ve had a good week. We have had a very busy one again as we headed towards to the end of the school midterm. We are now officially on the midterm break after building to a Halloween themed crescendo on Friday!
Sea mist
This time last week we were enjoying a beautifully sunny day and decided to head down to Europa Point for some fresh air and scooter riding for the Little Postcards. As we were about to leave, one of the boys suddenly said “where’s the lighthouse gone?” Sea mist had rolled in and the lighthouse had vanished, everything looked very mysterious!
Rule Brittania
As I took care of the recycling on Monday morning I spied quite a collection of different vessels out in the Bay. The white-sailed yacht looked dwarfed along side the Brittania cruise ship which brought loads of visiting passengers to Main Street!
Sunset through the Levanter
The Levanter cloud has been back in force this week, I heard the weather lady on the radio say that there had been 22 Levanter days so far this month. On Wednesday we had a lovely sunset which we could see around the cloud.
Watercolour rooftops
In watercolour class this week I started a new project attempting to paint a view of town. It was a nice change from the orange and black of the last few weeks!
There are worse places to have swimming lessons…
Sometimes I look up from where I am and I realise how lucky I am to live where I do. This happened on Friday as I was standing outside the municipal swimming pool waiting for swimming lessons to end. When we lived in England and I took our eldest to swimming lessons, the view from the pool wasn’t as impressive as this!
Sea mist’s back!
This week’s Sunday Sevens are book ended by sea mist. Yesterday we woke up to a Bay full of mist. It is indeed the season of mist (but perhaps not mellow fruitfulness) in Gibraltar.
Mid term begins now!
As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, we have had a very busy week, with school dress up days, a bake sale, and all sorts of other exciting time consuming things. But it all came to an end yesterday after our final commitment (a football match) ended and it felt like we could relax. I had a beer to celebrate, my first alocoholic drink this month. I have had a dry October so far and I’ve been feeling very very virtuous.
So that takes us to the end of another week, one that began with some lovely comments and messages from you lovely lot out there. Thank you to everyone who took the time to like and comment after my last Sunday Sevens.
When I said I’d been struggling to find time to blog, I wasn’t fishing for compliments but I received some lovely messages. Thank you, you have all bouyed me up and I will continue blogging when I can – you have all made my week!
I’m linking with Natalie from Threads & Bobbins for the Sunday Sevens weekly blog series.
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2017 Weekly photo challenge (week 43) Paint
As with all my crafty endeavours watercolour painting is my therapy. My weekly classes with the very talented Deborah M Lawson are such fun and work wonders for my sanity.
It never ceases to amaze me how the colours can blend and create such natural effects.
Flowers are my favourite subjects.
Painting can be such a relaxing pastime, I’d recommend giving it a go!
I’m linking with Nana Cathy and Wild Daffodil for this weekly photo challenge throughout 2017.
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Sunday Sevens #106 22.10.17
Greetings from sunny Gibraltar! We are in the middle of a beautiful weekend here on the Rock – the weather here has been perfect; sunny and not too warm.…
Here’s this week’s Sunday Sevens:
Yarny reading…
Those of you who have listened to primary children (in the U.K. or Gibraltar) read in the last 10 or so years may well be familiar with the exploits of Biff, Chip and Kipper. This week a book came home from school which I had been anticipating; The Whatsit.
I saw a fellow crocheter post a photo of the book on Instagram a year or so ago and wondered what it was all about. I don’t think I’m revealing any major plot twists but (SPOILER ALERT!) it’s about the discovery of a wool winder. I had a chuckle when it came out of a school bag this week.
Sleeve & cuff time
Dressmaking class is moving on apace. This week I was working on my sleeves and cuffs again. Baby steps, but I’m getting there slowly…
Colourful veg
We get through a lot of kale in our house… our four-legged, furry, big-eared friend likes it. Normally it’s boring green kale which we get for our bunny Diamond, but this week, the kale in the supermarket was technicoloured! Fortunately for us, Diamond doesn’t like it… all the more for us 🙂
Watercolour class
I have been working on this painting at my watercolour class since before the summer holidays. It’s based on a sunset photo I took across the Bay of Gibraltar from our home. I’m not altogether happy with how it turned out, I may tinker with it a bit more. It’s so tricky to get the beautiful colours down on paper.
The start of a beautiful weekend
Yesterday morning we were up bright and early for a certain young man’s first ever football match. He has been training for over a year (well over if you count all the touchline kickabouts I had with him while his big brother was training). It was an exciting morning for him and his teammates and a great experience for them.
Us spectators enjoyed the gorgeous sunshine as well as the match – it was well worth getting up early on a Saturday for.
A sunny walk
I decided to make the most of the lovely autumnal weather yesterday afternoon and went for a walk up the Rock. The sky was clear and you could see for miles.
The real thing…
So I finish with this picture taken by Mr Postcard yesterday evening as the sun was setting (I think I was watching Strictly Come Dancing at the time so completely missed it!). It just goes to show that you can try to capture the beauty of a sunset on paper, but you can’t improve on the real thing!
And finally, I have made mention a couple of times lately that I haven’t had much time for blogging in recent weeks. In fact, I have wondered whether I should take a break from it for a while. Last Sunday I was approached by a lovely lady who asked if I wrote Postcard from Gibraltar and said how much she enjoys reading my posts. I guess sometimes things happen for a reason… for now I shall continue and see where it leads.
I’m linking with Natalie from Threads & Bobbins for this weekly blog series.
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2017 Weekly photo challenge (week 42) Muddle
How appropriate that this week’s correct photo challenge title should be ‘muddle’ after the muddle I got myself into with posts last week!
In all honesty my life has been a bit of a muddle for the past few weeks, I have taken on a new challenge recently which has taken up rather a lot of my time (spare time and not so spare time) hence my blog posts have been a bit thin on the ground lately and there’s been nothing but photo challenge posts and Sunday Sevens for weeks.
Anyway, here’s my take on muddle:
This is my little crafty cubby hole. Believe it or not, it was lovely and tidy at the end of August… oh dear! I’ll get round to tidying it eventually!
I’m linking with Nana Cathy and Wild Daffodil for this weekly photo challenge throughout 2017.
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2017 Weekly photo challenge (week 41) Regal
This is my photo challenge entry for last week’s word prompt (as I got confused and published the wrong one – you will be getting two this week!).
On Sunday, the old style of pound coin (left) went out of legal tender, it’s been replaced by the two tone coin (on the right) which is supposed to be more difficult to forge.
Unfortunately, a shortage of the new-style pound coins in Gibraltar means that we are still using our version of the old coins which were minted for Gibraltar. They will continue to remain in circulation until March next year.
The result has been a fair bit of confusion and the need to double check your change in shops here. So far I have had 3 defunct UK pound coins given to me in change since Monday…
I’m linking with Nana Cathy & Wild Daffodil for this weekly photo challenge throughout 2017.
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Sunday Sevens #105 15.10.17
Another week has flown by and it’s already Sunday afternoon – do you ever want a pause button just to stop the world for a moment or two? We’ve had such a busy week in our household this week and I could do with another weekend to catch my breath and take stock (you can probably appreciate the state of mild chaos I find myself in if you noticed that my previous post was published almost a month early by accident – so far, last week’s photo challenge photo is as yet untaken!).
Anyway without further ado, here’s this week’s edition of Sunday Sevens….
Another Sunday, another beachy crochet pic…
Last Sunday was another glorious autumnal day, perfect for heading down to the beach again, crochet hook in hand. I’m busy working on a Christmas gift, but time’s running away with me already and I’m really not as far along as I would’ve liked to be by this point….
Monday morning Med Steps
The lovely weather continued into the start of the week and I had a lovely trip up the Med Steps again on Monday. I glanced up at one point and saw the Europa Point Lighthouse framed beautifully by the branches of a tree.
Technicolor Tuesday sewing
In my Dressmaking class on Tuesday I started working on the sleeves of my blouse. The photo shows the slit at the cuff of my sleeve which is just waiting for a cuff to be added.
Misty Med Steps
Wednesday began rather murky and misty. I really enjoyed my walk back down the Rock from the summit of the Med Steps. Looking out to sea from the road, there was nothing but mist and cloud, it was as if I was on the edge of an abyss. I love it when it’s like this, it’s so atmospheric and magical looking.
Light show
After the mist cleared on Wednesday, we had a scorching hot afternoon. Standing outside school waiting for the Little Postcards, I could feel the sun burning my back through my shirt. By dinner time however, the clouds had rolled in and we were treated to a fab lightning storm and then rain shower. Talk about four seasons in one day.
Sunset skies in watercolour
I’ve been working on sunset skies at watercolour class… this is about the third attempt. Mixing that correct shade of orange has proved tricky…
Mini Olympiad
Yesterday, hundreds of middle school children from across Gibraltar came together to participate in the annual Mini Olympiad. Organised by the Royal Gibraltar Police, the event is aimed at introducing young people to the joys of sport as a way of avoiding bad life choices later on (ie drugs).
The Olympiad began with a congregation in the Piazza with an address from the Head of Police, Mayor and a priest’s blessing before a parade through town to the Victoria Stadium. The Parade was led by the drums and bagpipes of the Sea Scout band and the members of the historical re-enactment society and their very loud cannon.
After an opening ceremony and the firing of the cannon, the sports began. It was a great event and was enjoyed by us, although a certain young man was feeling rather achey and tired today after his exertions yesterday!
(Thank you to my friend Sarah for taking this photo for me – I managed to leave home without my phone, but she saved the day!)
I’m linking with Natalie of Threads & Bobbins for this weekly blog series.
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2017 Weekly photo challenge (week 45) Walk
(Edit: whoops – I seem to have published this out of sync! It’s only Week 41!!! Week 41 & 42 will come next week)
I have written many posts about my walks, in fact I have a whole series of posts on my ‘Strolls around Gibraltar’. In June 2016, I took a walk up the Med Steps and got to see it looking completely different as I climbed up through the cloud / mist, you can read about it here.
I’m linking with Nana Cathy and Wild Daffodil for this weekly photo challenge throughout 2017.
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Sunday Sevens #104 8.10.17
Good morning, I hope you are having a good weekend. This week has seen a return to my watercolour class after a very long summer haiatus. It was so nice to be back…
Sunday afternoon on the beach
Last Sunday we did something rather out of character — we went to the beach. We aren’t huge beach goers normally as we don’t enjoy the crowds or the heat at the height of summer. We do, though, rather like sneaking down there out of season.
As you can see from the photo above, we weren’t alone, but there was loads of open space where we could sit, chat, splash and dig without upsetting anyone else.
My neighbours may not agree with me but I really do try to keep a lid on the level of noise coming from our apartment (I don’t think I’ll ever get used to living so close to other people). Being somewhere where the Little Postcards can scream and shout without upsetting anyone is a very valuable space for me.
Oh, and I got a bit of crochet done too…
Monday Med Steps
Last week on one of my Med Steps trips I was surrounded by a pack (troop?) of apes, on Monday it was Barbary Partridge bingo! There were loads about. This pair were very tame and I got very close before they scarpered.
Dressmaking whoops
Don’t you just hate it when that happens? I was making great strides with attaching my collar to my blouse at Dressmaking class when I managed to accidentally sew my underarm seam to the collar by accident – whoops!
Med stepping into the Levanter
These two photos were taken about 20 minutes apart. One below the cloud in bright (and rather hot) sunshine. The other at the top of the Rock and slap bang in the middle of the Levanter cloud.
I started Wednesday morning’s walk in hot sun but was relieved to hit the cool, damp Levanter near the top. I almost took an amazing photo at the top… as I gazed up at the misty summit, on that low bit of wall to the right of the fence was the silhouette of a mother ape with a baby on her back. By the time I’d got my phone camera on, they’d vanished into the mist. Never mind…
Watercolour refresher
Thursday morning saw my return to watercolour class. I didn’t realise how much I’d missed it over the summer. Our teacher began the new term with a refresher lesson on washes. It came just in time for me to get back to a picture I was working on before summer which had a very dodgy wash for the sky. My new aim for this term is to be less wishy washy with my colours – I need to embrace BOLD!
Beautiful Botanic Gardens
You may have noticed that my excercise levels have gone up in recent weeks. After a rather sedentary summer I have a good few kilos which I need to shed. On Friday I took a trip into town and on the way home I opted to walk rather than catching the bus. I was rewarded by with a walk through the beautiful Alameda Botanical Gardens.
Autumnal WIP-along
On Instagram recently I have noticed lots of crafty people publishing photos of the WIPs (work in progress) they have completed as part of a WIP-along with Gosling & Plumb. Check out the blog post in the link above to find out more about it.
When I finished my last crochet project (Jenny’s Mandala from Little Box of Crochet) I almost started something new but I could hear some of my many WIPs calling me from carrier bags hidden in my secret hidey hole. So far I have worked on three; circles in granny squares (see beach crochet photo), a green granny square blanket and a cute crochet cactus pin cushion from a Simply Crochet Magazine kit.
Thanks so much for stopping by for a read about my week. It’s been lovely to have your company.
I’m linking with Natalie of Threads & Bobbins for the Weekly Sunday Sevens series.
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2017 Weekly photo challenge (week 40) Rust
I was scratching my head this week trying to figure out what to use for my ‘rust’ picture. (I’m assuming you have no interest in our rusty gate!) Then suddenly it struck me on my walk this morning.
These rings can be found all over the Upper Rock Nature Reserve in Gibraltar. They were used by the military in days gone by to haul cannons up to their positions around the top of the Rock.
I cannot imagine how difficult that must have been – it’s hard enough hauling myself up there. The strength and ingenuity of the military is plain to see all over Gibraltar, with the fortifications and tunnels. We have the Royal Engineers to thank for much of them.
I’m linking with Nana Cathy & Wild Daffodil for this photo challenge throughout 2017.
