OK I’ve succumbed!

I’m usually having a rant about now…complaining that all the shops are already displaying Christmas goods when we haven’t even had Halloween yet! I was aghast when we visited Harrods in August to see a fully stocked Christmas department (however beautiful it looked!) & Santa’s grotto already under construction!

But…I now have to admit that while visiting Bedford’s spanking brand new ‘Aldi ‘ store yesterday, I bought all of the chocolates needed for the advent calendar & Christmas tree, along with three rolls of festive gift wrap & several packs of Christmas cards!!!! Well…what can I say?!!…the price was right!!

So, with the floodgates opened, I’m now finding myself actively looking around at possible gifts for family & friends…I do have a couple of bits already squirreled away…I like to grab things that are ‘just right’ as I see them, because they’re never there when you go back. Maybe 2010 will be the year I am not madly wrapping on Christmas eve?!! I might even leave myself with enough time to complete my ‘Journal Your Christmas’ album…third year lucky?!!

On a scrappy theme, I’ve just uploaded my entry for this weeks challenge over a Dixie Pieces ‘Glee Club’….this time the theme was Children’s Music, with titles from Raffi to choose from & to stay true to the genre! I ummed & aaahhed about what to do & then Lee looked over my shoulder & said “That one would be good for the duck tour photo’s”…talk about hitting the nail on the head!! Sometimes I don’t see wood for tree’s!! So, what was he talking about?…

  
And he was right!! It was perfect! I tried to keep everything childlike, from colours to motifs, & had a go at the lacing technique I’d not tried before…not perfect, but not bad for a first attempt!! I couldn’t decide on which photo’s to use, so decided to make a collage, so that I could tell a better story of our adventure!! Of course, I’ve thrown everything but the kitchen sink into it, in an attempt to score extra points for the ‘secret items’…last weeks LO earned me three out of a possible five, so you were spot on, Karen!!!

This Sunday, Amanda made it to the cinema & we saw ‘Made in Dagenham’.

What a fabulous film! Set in 1968, it’s the story of how the bill for equal pay for women came to be passed. A truly inspirational cast with Bob Hoskins & Miranda Richardson to name two.

I can remember this as an eight year old, being a BIG news item, even if I didn’t understand what it was all about at the time. It really brings it home at just how recently many injustices were still accepted as the norm!  On a lighter note, it was fabulous how the film contained reminders of every day things of that time…things I hadn’t even remembered I’d forgotten, if you know what I mean!!!

So, that’s it for the moment, I must get off to do the school run….it’s a short week for the boys this week, they finish at lunchtime tomorrow & have Friday off! I don’t remember such privileges when I was at school!!!!! The good thing is that the weather is supposed to be a bit brighter, we may just be able to get out & about & make use of the extra time off!!

Thanks for dropping by & do come back soon! : )