In The Pink

I saw these colours in the sky as we returned to the vehicle after a dog walk the other night. There was no way to get a better view and set up the scene better so I just had to point and click through the hedgerow but I don't think I ever seen such pastels in the sky before. To see more Sky Watch Friday shots from around the globe click HERE .

Its our niece's birthday party this weekend; she is having a masked ball and unfortunately we cannot attend. So we decided to make some masks anyway, and as she is such a big film buff, act out scenes from 5 famous films about people wearing masks to send her as a video quiz for the night, accompanied by a birthday message from us. It was such good fun and I really hope she enjoys watching and taking part in the quiz. I am not going to share the videos here, I don't think Mr Dancin would forgive me although his acting was outstanding and considerably better than mine, but I am sharing the masks I made as I am really proud of them. Home made is always the best and such good fun.

It's my last day at work today before maternity leave and it has been a long count down to get here. Typically I have been awake since 1.30 am and have finally decided to give up on my attempts to get back to sleep. In fact my alarm is due to go off in 20 minutes now anyway so there is not much point and once again it affords me some quality blogging time.  I am going to miss a lot of things about my job and it will be hard not to have the focus as it can be stimulating and demanding. In addition I have spent the last three and a half years building a department and I am really pleased with where we are. On the other hand I absolutely cannot wait for the next 8 hours of work to be over so I can start focusing on my little girl, due to arrive in about 10 weeks, who is also awake...or so it feels anyway. Right, time's up, shower here I come.

Just when you thought it was safe to stop looking, this happened. To see other Sky Watch Friday shots from around the globe click HERE .

I came across a new walk round the village last week that incorporates an area of open space I had not found yet and it is beautiful. There is a small hill to get up there which stretches the lungs and legs a little and the views are amazing.  I didnt take photos of the urban areas that start and complete the walk, although they are lovely and interesting. There are actually three paths that go through the park area, I took this one first by mistake and doubled back when it started to take me down towards the estate to the east as I was heading south and then west again to home. This is the view to the east further along, looking towards England and below is the view southwest up the Vale of Llangollen and to the mountains. This is the view of the middle path that I took across the park. And then again the view south west heading towards the woodland and the old railway line. A foot bridge crosses the old railway line which closed around t...

To see other Sky Watch Friday shots from around the globe click HERE.

Yesterdays beach trip took us to Llandudno. We had planned to take a trip out onto Great Orme, the prominent limestone headland west of the town that boasts amazing views and interesting flora and fauna, however traffic slowed or journey considerably and we ran out of time. This being said we were in no way disappointed with our day out and discovered the most amazing seaside town hidden away on the north coast.  We have driven past this area many times and I had no idea of the scale of this town, or the extent of its many attractions. I have never been anywhere with so many hotels and B & B's, and it seems although long established as an area of civilisation, Llandudno was greatly developed to become the town we see today through the Victorian era. The town is beautifully maintained. A very traditional seaside resort that appears to have suffered little from a decline in interest and tourism unlike so many of the English seaside resorts of a similar size. ...

Radio 6 has just played the theme from Bladerunner by Vangelis (ooh and is following it up with Albert King, good call Huey) and it was so good to hear it. I got that soundtrack when it came out in the early 80's and it has remained a favourite since. I also had a tape recording of it with a couple of different versions of songs, the ones I know were different are Memories of Green and One More Kiss Dear, and I have long been meaning to track down this version on CD as both alternatives are superior in my opinion. Anyway, I thought I would see what Vangelis was unto and what do you know but he has a new album coming out in September this year. Fabulous! Its called Rosetta and comes out on 23rd September. I may have to check that out. In the meantime here is my favourite Vangelis track ever, heartbreakingly beautiful!

I am up early again after waking before the sun made an appearance and find myself excited at the prospect! Another opportunity to come downstairs in a quiet house, in a sleeping village, make some tea and go blogging! Of late when I wake early I have suffered from the barrage of thoughts that sometimes plague us in the wee small hours when work and home life floods in and all you can do is lay there churning over everything that needs to be done; but this morning it didn't happen. I had a great week at work last week and finally got on top of my current list of big and urgent jobs, home is under control for now, and I must have managed to convince my brain that all the recent stresses are nothing to sweat about. Of course that is usually the case but knowing it and believing it are two different things aren't they! So here I sit, freshly back from my visit around the globe care of Sky Watch Friday, its early Saturday and the weekend stretches out before me with n...

We had some amazing skies on the dog walk the other night and as is often the case after seeing nothing of particular interest up there for weeks I took a lot of shots this evening as the sky changed rapidly and dramatically. This is one of my favourites. To see more Sky Shots from around the world CLICK HERE.

Its the simple things in life as they say, picking tomatoes from my garden, harvesting the rhubarb and eating it fresh for my tea, waking up early and heading downstairs for a blogging session before the village awakens. Ah the joys of a quiet Saturday morning with these thoughts in mind, my only company a cooing Wood Pigeon outside and a softly snoring pupster. Keep good company.

To Join Skywatch of see other shots from around the world click  HERE

Well here we are again, there's not much point posting about why I can't sleep, we all go through it at some point, but often I find heading for my blog is a good cure. It takes my mind of the 101 worries or jobs that seem to fill your hear when morpheus evades and usually after a hot drink and a few minutes distraction I can get back to sleep for the short time between now and the alarm clock. We moved to a new house 6 months ago and there are two reception rooms, as such I can come through to what we call the music room and set up without disturbing the pupster. Our old house had one living room, open plan to the kitchen, where the pups would sleep and my midnight blogging sessions would result in much heavy sighing and staring from them as their rest was disturbed.  I popped into the living room when I came down just now and Roxy pup lifted her head briefly to give me her usually sweet acknowledgement, but now she has lowered her head back to the couch and resumed s...

To view more Sky Watch Friday shots from around the globe click HERE.

 My thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by the attack in France last night. Image Credit: Eskipaper

See more sky shots from around the globe HERE

Yesterday morning it rained heavily and we all went for a long walk to enjoy it. Some of us enjoyed it a little more than others. This was not the only roll Roxy pup had on her walk but it was the only one I managed to capture on camera. When we got back I made the most of her soggy state and gave her a bath; she was then towelled off and hair dried (a necessary step to prevent her getting stiff) and after resembled the Pink Panther when he comes out of the tumble dryer....an image I have long been searching for on the internet. I got a letter from the Dogs Trust on Friday that said 'Life Begins at 14', and I thought Roxy was doing to fabulous job of demonstrating that yesterday on her walk.

Well it seems like quite a few of you are still there and blogging! Hooray! However for some its been a very long time and some blogs have now become private. I have kept a few old favourites on my bloglist in the hope that bloggers may return, I have had gaps in blogging myself over the past 10 years, and now I am off in search of new blogs. What better way to start a relaxing Sunday morning.

I have had a resurgence in blogging of late and have noticed that many old friends in the blogosphere have moved on, some remain, and I have encountered many new bloggers, or new to me anyway. As such I am going to spend the morning visiting blogs and updating my blog list. I have never been able to effectively summarise why I love blogging so much, and at times why I continue to do it, but not everything needs to be rationalised! Blogosphere here I come! Image Credit: HD Wallpapers