A favourite viewpoint of mine in Gibraltar has to be this spot on the Med Steps where you can look along the Eastern side of the Rock towards Spain. But last week I visited a completely different kind of viewpoint…
(It was obviously the time of day for Jet 2 maneuvers).
The visitor centre at Manchester Airport. We have a plane enthusiast in the family you see…
This is the penultimate week of my summer craft challenge. I set out on this mission back at the start of July in a bid to do something crafty every day of the school holidays as a way of keeping my head above water in all the chaos of School holiday time. Here goes week 7:
Day 43 (Saturday 18th August 2018
The Rock of Gibraltar part of my Sandy Bay blanket was completed last week, and no Rock is complete without a fluffy Levanter cloud sitting on the very top! The Levanter has led to some very uncomfortable and humid conditions recently, not the best weather conditions to be sitting under a crochet blanket, but I was determined catch up on this CAL!
Day 44 (Sunday 19th August 2018)
A busy day meant just time for a few shells after dark!
Day 45 (Monday 20th August 2018)
Another busy day left time for just a few more shells, this time in daylight.
Day 46 (Tuesday 21st August 2018)
At last! I got time (after packing our cases for our next trip) to finish the shells and after many weeks, I was finally all caught up and up to date with this Coastal Crochet Crochet-along.
Day 47 (Wednesday 22nd August 2018)
On Wednesday, we flew to Manchester to visit my family. Time to dig out my portable holiday project again!
Day 48 (Thursday 23rd August 2018)
On Thursday I did a bit more of this. And a spot of decoupage with Littlest…
We visited a craft shop and bought some supplies to keep us busy on wet days.
Day 49 (Friday 24th August 2018)
I started this little chap’s feet in Commonwealth Park last week… he now has legs and a tummy!
This week is the last week of the school summer holidays, hopefully I’ll be able to finish something before they go back!
Thanks to everyone who responded so positively to my 150th Sunday Sevens last week! This week, I packed up with the Little Postcards and headed back to Manchester to visit my family, leaving Mr Postcard at home to look after our rabbit and some baby birds…
Birdwatch update
You may remember a few weeks ago I told you about the pair of collared doves who were nesting in our roof and then gave up and went away. The nesting material didn’t go to waste – a pair of sparrows took it and made another nest further along the roof and we have been listening to the chirps and cheeps of babies for a few weeks now. Then, early this week, we saw them fledge!
A final Gibraltar sunset
There must be something about me leaving our place that the apartment doesn’t like. The day before we left for Suffolk earlier this summer for a holiday visiting Mr Postcard’s family our two hot water boilers both blew up. On Tuesday evening, as I was looking forward to enjoying a calm quiet evening before flying to Manchester, the pipes behind our washing machine split and sprayed water everywhere. Mr P reckons the house is haunted and it doesn’t want me to leave!
On our travels again
Wednesday saw me heading off to Blighty again. It’s been such a relief to leave the high humidity behind, it’s just been unbearably hot in our apartment lately.
Beeing in Manchester
On Wednesday evening, after unpacking, I went for a walk with Eldest to the park and gardens at the end of the road where I grew up. I remember them being beautiful when I was very young, but as I got older, they were neglected and vandalised, which was very sad. In recent years though, a group of volunteer gardeners have got involved and they have made the place looking lovely again. In one corner of the garden is a memorial dedicated to the victims of the Manchester bombing last year. This bee mosaic is part of the memorial, it’s lovely.
Cooling off!
I haven’t done any proper exercise since about May, so I made use of the flat pavements and cooler weather to go for a run…. and got soaked through! The heavens opened once I was past the point of no return. I’m not complaining though!
Gnome alert
I spotted a rather funny collection of garden gnomes and other ornaments in a front garden not far from my Mum & Dad’s house which made me chuckle. I’ve never seen an astronaut gnome before!
Dunham fun
Yesterday, we visited Dunham Park in Cheshire. It’s a place I’ve visited since being very young and I love it there.
The deer were so tame, coming up close to the human visitors. We even saw some of this year’s fawns which were just 3 or 4 months old, although they were a bit more timid and kept their distance.
Despite it still being August, there were a few signs that autumn isn’t far away. This fungus looked beautiful in the afternoon sunshine.
That’s all for Sunday Sevens this week, thanks for stopping by!
I’m linking with Natalie from Threads and Bobbins for this weekly blog series.
Only 24 hours late for my Friday (ahem Saturday) photo challenge for this week. Stitch is the theme. Stitches have been with me ever since I was a child. I first learned to sew, knit and crochet when I was probably younger than 10. Taught by my Mum and Grandma.
It brings me lots of pleasure and I always have several projects on the go at any one time. The first photo of crewel wool honeysuckle has been a work-in-progress for at least 8 years (whoops – I really should get it finished).
Then there’s a pile of some of my crochet blanket creations (the bottom two using lots & patterns from Attic 24).
And as I am currently at my parents’ house on holiday, here’s a couple of my previous projects from years gone by which hang on their walls….
This month’s monthly meet-up prompt is flake. There can only really be one can’t there? This was mine while strolling along the prom prom prom in Great Yarmouth a couple of weeks ago.
The only other ‘flake’ I could think of was flaking paint and masonry. It was something I was drawn to a couple of years back as I wandered around the streets of Gibraltar’s Upper Town armed with my camera…
This door inspired me into painting my own watercolour version of it…
I’m linking with Sandra at Wild Daffodil for this bloggers’ monthly meet-up.
So, here we are at my 150th Sunday Sevens! Feels like a bit of a milestone… so far I’ve managed to publish them all on time (ie on Sunday – even if they only made it moments before the strike of 12!). I hope I’m not tempting fate by saying that!!! So, here’s number 150:
Evening beach walk
Last Sunday night I’d had enough. I felt rather homesick for England. I get that way sometimes after a trip back home. I was tired, grumpy, and thoroughly fed up.
Eldest clearly picked up on my mood and suggested we go for a drive. Normally I’d say no, but I put my lethargy out of my mind and picked up the car keys. I’m so glad I did. We left the youngest 2 with Mr Postcard and drove to the East side for a walk on Eastern beach.
It was really rather lovely and brightened my mood no end. Well done Eldest, and thank you 😊.
Hunting for shade
On Monday we had a few errands to run in town and ended up seeking a bit of sanctuary in Commonwealth Park. It was a beautiful, calm oasis and coincidentally we bumped into a few friends from the boys’ schools, so it was a great detour.
Protests
On Wednesday I took a drive into Spain with the boys. It was only as we crossed the border that I noticed the large protest which was going on on the Spanish side. It was industrial action to do with the Spanish police forces and had a huge impact on the queue of motorists heading into Gib. The queue of traffic waiting to cross into Gibraltar stretched almost all the way to Campamento (about 4 km).
I had been planning a strategic dash into the shop in question and then to head home straight away, but we went for lunch instead before shopping and the queue was much shorted on our return, just 50 minutes wait…
Thursday
We had a lovely day at the beach on Thursday, this was the view as we were packing up to go home, with a police speed boat whizzing last.
Patio problems
Our poor patio’s not looking too great at the minute. We live next to a long, and I mean long, building project (as is a common occurrence in Gibraltar) and our poor plants are covered in dust, masonry paint and even cement. These blooms are the best bits.
Cardboard boat race
The annual charity cardboard boat race took place in Gibraltar yesterday. The event has really grown over the years, from maybe 8 boats the first time we watched it to a junior race, and two heats and a final for the adults yesterday. Some of the creations were amazing to see. Such a lovely community event.
That’s it for this week, thanks for stopping by to read number 150! I’m linking, as always, with Natalie from Threads and Bobbins for this weekly blog series.
Another week gone already, I can hardly believe it. The summer holidays are whizzing by, and we have just 2 weeks left here in Gibraltar. Here’s what I’ve been getting up to this week in my craft challenge….
Day 36 (Saturday 11th August)
I enjoyed doing my Jennie Maizels sketchbook club picture so much last week, that I thought I’d have another go on Saturday and give some Southwold Beachhuts the Jennie Maizels treatment. This time, though, I couldn’t leave them black and white, I just had to colour them in.
Day 37 (Sunday 12th August)
Done! Now, I wonder what I should draw next?
Monday
A trip to Commonwealth Park which running some errands in town meant a few moments of Crochet calm on a bench in the dappled shade. The perfect excuse to crack open another Little Box of Crochet!
Later on, in the evening, I got reacquainted with an old friend…
Day 39 (Tuesday 14th August)
A few more rows were completed on my Coastal Crochet CAL after dark on Tuesday.
Day 40 (Wednesday 15th August)
It was International Granny Square Day on Wednesday, so I had to join in!
Day 41 (Thursday 16th August)
We spent most of the day at the beach on Thursday so my crochet came too!
Day 42 (Friday 17th August)
I’ve been working on my Sandy Bay Seaside Stash Busting Blanket a bit this week, as I had a lot to catch up on. On Friday I spent quite a bit of time on it and am working on making a crochet version of the Rock of Gibraltar (hence the grey & green rows). I think I’ve done about 17 rows this week. Here it is in all its glory:
That’s it for this week. The end of week 6 means we are three quarters of the way through the long school summer break already! Thanks for stopping by!
The word reflective can mean several things; a reflected image, light or heat, a geometrical transformation resulting in a mirror image and deep thought. So here’s examples of all of those things….
The first photo was taken on the beach in Spain, and was just so beautiful. We’d gone on a (rare) peaceful evening stroll along the beach and watched as the sun disappeared over the horizon. It’s at times like this that I find myself pondering the most important things in life.
Another sunset photo, this time in Toulouse in France while we were there on holiday last year. The River Garonne was so still and calm, a perfect surface to reflect the bridges and the Ferris wheel.
And finally, the Rock reflected in a wing mirror while heading off on a shopping trip earlier this week.
Next week’s Friday photo challenge is ‘Stitch’.
We’ve had one full week back in Gibraltar after our trip to England, and blimey it’s hot here. The weather has been so humid that everything’s so exhausting and wearisome. I’m counting down the days to my next trip back to England!!! Here’s this week’s Sunday Sevens:
Back home 
It’s been a few weeks since a sunset view like this has appeared in Sunday Sevens… the humid weather has brought with it lots of murky misty days and this evening last Sunday was no different.
Street Art
A new Government initiative to have legally created street art is underway in Gibraltar at the moment. Apparently a number of different murals will be appearing over the coming weeks and months. This one is being painted by a local artist and is meant to signify her childhood memories growing up in Gibraltar. It certainly brightens up this gloomy underpass, I’ll include an ‘after’ shot once it’s completed.
Gecko watch
Nothing represents hot steamy Gibraltar summer nights to me more than geckos on our kitchen windows. We’re having these windows replaced soon, so I do hope they still visit us on the new ones!
Sandblasted
Fancy having the beach to yourself in August?? Well the secret is to go on the windiest day of the summer… we didn’t last long. We looked like sand monsters when we gave up and packed up our stuff to head home, every exposed piece of skin had sand stuck to the suncream…. delightful!
Fun in the sun
The sandy beach day was rounded off nicely though, we were invited to a barbecue at some friends’ villa in Spain. It was a lovely evening and the Little Postcards loved the use of the pool!
Summer nights
Every summer for a night or two each week, the Government in Gibraltar lays on free performances with bands, local dancers and so on. For the first time in the nine years I have lived on the Rock, I attended one of these ‘Summer Nights’. There’s no particular reason why we haven’t gone before, it just hasn’t happened.
The event was great. Entitled Magic Circus, it featured acrobats and magicians and was fab for the children and grownups alike.
Dinner with a view
Last night, we were very fortunate to be invited to our second barbecue of the week. This time it was in Gibraltar on a roof terrace with this fabulous view! How lucky are we?
So that’s it for this week’s Sunday Sevens. I hope it’s been a decent week for you. Thank you to everyone who has commented on my recent posts, I haven’t had the chance to respond to several of them, but I will as soon as I can. Things have been a bit hectic with the boys off school and windows of peace and quiet seem to be few and far between at the moment!
I’m linking with Natalie from Threads and Bobbins for this weekly blog series.
Week 5 of my Summer Craft Challenge has been and gone in a Whirl (a Scheepjes Whirl to be precise). I spent most of my crafty time with a crochet hook in my hand, but took a bit of time out to try something new too…
Day 29 (Saturday 4th August)
All the suitcases were unpacked and the washing done, but I was done-in by Saturday night and only managed a quick row of my My Picot 2060 scarf in my PJs before bed!
Day 30 (Sunday 5th August)
Day 30 and it was another super busy day on Sunday. On the go since before 7am and I didn’t sit down with my hook until 10:45! Oh how I miss those lazy days I had in Suffolk and Norfolk over the last couple of weeks!
Day 31 (Monday 6th August)
I fancied trying something different for a change and treated myself to a module from the Jennie Maizels Online Sketchbook Club featuring some very cute houses. Don’t look too closely at my wobbly lines please!! I’ll show you how it looks when I’ve finished…
Day 32 Tuesday 7th August
I think I may be hooked… I had to go to the shops to buy some acrylic paint to finish this off! My mind is racing with other things to paint and draw….
Day 33 Wednesday 8th August
I’m really enjoying the colours of this Scheepjes Whirl.
Day 34 Thursday 9th August
Al fresco brights on a deck chair were the order of the day on Thursday.
Day 35 (Friday 10th August)
Late night crochet in front of the telly with a sleeping child on my knee! I daren’t move too much in case I disturbed him… but I got him back into bed in the end!
So that’s been my crafty week this week, I need to get that scarf finished so I can crack on with something else next week. Until then, thanks for stopping by!
