Weekly Challenges between May and Sept 2013

 This was MaggieB's challenge on www.ukscrappers.co.uk for the weekly challenge beginning 2013. MaggieB is a member of the Glitterbugs and as a team-mate some of us were giving layout examples of her challenge.  A sketch and a colour chart variation.

Below is is my example below.Of my DS2 James being a Big Kid jumping on his godsons trampoline.  I flipped Maggie's sketch on its side to allow me to get the peacock feather in and added labels describing James at the side.

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From May to September 2013

What have I done since Danica was born (May) to now?  Quite alot really!  In the crafting sense, I have more or less managed to do every weekly challenge on ukscrappers.  Danica has meant more reasons to take photographs of her.  I've had flown to Berlin, boated with Girlguiding BP guides, adult leaders and WDP's "Wizard", had a spell in hospital as an emergency and enjoyed looking after Danica.

JUNE 2013 - BP AFLOAT 

I was invited to help on a BP Afloat weekend.  BP refers to Baden Powell Guides who have achieved at least 7 or 8 clauses of their 10 point Challenge Award which should take them approx 9 months to a year to complete and then an Adventure which should be something they have never ever done again and is a Challenge to themselves.  Most counties within our Region - England North West will have a person who is a co-ordinator for this award and may either organise an Adventure - which can be a day out somewhere or an overnighter or a weekend depending upon where they are staying residentially and the overall theme - or find someone else to run the Adventure.  My friend Jane F is such a volunteer from Sefton county (Augton Guides)

AFLOAT - refers to a boat - in our case a narrow boat which are usually 70 foot long with bed berths, kitchen area, dining/living space and toilet/shower and wash hand basin.  It is still a very basic boat.  

Opportunity to steer if they want with an adult helping, learn about engine checks, how to cook on board - not the same as home as we cook on a slower gas, take on water from a stand pipe on the tow-path, so some knotting and learn the basic knots to tie a boat up, and basically learning to live in a close confine with others.

JULY 2013 

I've tried very hard to wait to be asked to have Danica instead of wading in and taking over. However, Pete my husband, has taken to doting on his new grand-daughter and picking her up when she was crying and just generally walking around with her.  I have many photos of the two of them. And of course we went away to Lytham St Anne in mid July, just when we had a bout of glorious warm weather and I was able to snap quite a few photos of Danica with her doting grand-dad.  She is our very first grand child and likely to be the only one too.  So is very precious to us all.

It was just too hot on the beach and we could not get the parasol to stay up on the soft sand.
Danica stopped crying once Grand-dad picked her up.  Her Daddy watching the antics with amusement!

We had taken the games room over in the St Ives Hotel, Lytham St Annes as it was raining on our almost last day of our break.  Danica was hungrey but also too hot.  Soon stopped when Pete picked her up and held her!

Another over the shoulder photo shot!

Mum & Dad went to try the pedallos at Lytham St Annes and left Danica in her pram with Grand-Dad.  She cried and Grand Dad took her out of the pram and laid her on the bed next to him whilst he was watching TV.  She went back to sleep and when I came in from my swim the pair of looked so funny on the bed side by side.  Camera came out!

After we returned from our joint holiday, the next day was a big important date for Lisa.  It was her Master's degree ceremony at Edge Hill University.  The last time she did her basic degree it was held at Lancaster University which Edge Hill came under their umbrella.  Now they were a Uni in their own right.  Lisa was a distance learner and she was delighted to receive her certificate with the words "with merit" on the certificate.  She had studied hard for the degree, combining it with work, her dog Jackson and a pregnancy.  I was invited to go with her and look after baby Danica and her partner Oliver would come later after work.  He starts his job early in the morning and finishes early in the afternoon..  

The above layout was for a weekly challenge - we were given a sketch and could either do a single or double layout, use a film title and say which film the title came from if appropriate and use colours of purple, pink and red. Think it was Jen from Wear Crafts that set the challenge originally in August. 

I chose to do a double layout and show off some photos I had taken from Lisa's graduation ceremony and of course it was Dustin Hoffman's The Graduate and I use purple as a main colour as it fitted in really well with the University Colours of purple, green and gold.  We were really lucky to get a photo of the chancellor with Lisa too - her speech at the graduation ceremony had the audience in fits of laughter too.  I discovered much later that she is married to an actor who was in The Bill, forgotten his name now, but I remembered liking him in his role of The Bill.

"Adventures in Berlin" with Girlguiding England North WestThursday, 25th till Tuesday, 30th July 2013

• 6 adult leaders - myself, Stef, Jane, Woody aka Chris, Kim & Helen
• Helen was our Event Organiser with myself as a Deputy!
• We came from 4 different counties - Lancs South (Wigan), Sefton (Bickerstaffe), Cheshire Forest (Warrington & Chester) & Lancs South East (Ramsbottom)
• We decided that we didn't want to take any girls with us, we wanted to be an adult only week
• We were down as Ramsbottom Guides initially which was changed later to Bridgewater Boaters in Berlin.
• Our ages ranged from 35 years - 62 years 
• We knew each other via narrowboating
• We were all members of Bridgewater Boaters based in England North West

We started saving hard in the October 2012 and had to save £100 by December 2012 so that we could book flights - we had 3 different prices for the whole group - Jane B and Kim joined us later after we had booked 4 flights and then by February we had to have saved another £150 for the apartment which Helen and I started to look at online in March and chatting via text messages and FB, discussing whether to go for a bed settee near Checkpoint Charlie or a 3 bed apartment near Brandenburg Gate.  

Eventually we went for an apartment near the Brandenburg Gate and it was just as good as the photos online.  Plus the Trip Advisor rates were really good but nevertheless we worried whether there would be a room for us as they didnt want paying until we arrived!

The surplus money that was left over from the apartment, flights and taxes was divvidied up and we all received the surplus in coins and notes, although we then decided to put money into a kitty for food and toiletries as Customs was very strict on what we could and could not take with us.

Our flights were originally direct and then changed at a later date to a destination in Germany and then a transfer within Germany to Tegel airport.  It was a bit of a pain on the day.  I was driving myself, Stef, Woody and Jane B to Manchester and we got stuck on the M56 as there had been an oil spillage earlier that day as well as being the start of the flower show at Tatton Park - 10.15 when we should have been at Manchester booking in, we were still stuck on the M56 in a traffic jam!

Helen was panicking at Manchester airport because the express ticket machines were out of order so she was trying to book in as we arrived at the airport desk some 20 minutes after her.  She was done very quickly and eventually Kim arrived too, equally delayed with the Flower Show traffic queue from Chester.  By the time our flights were being called, only 3 of us had managed to check in via the desk ... I was equally panicking as I'm not a seasoned traveller for the airport so had no idea where I was supposed to be going, sincerely hoped I could just follow everyone else!  So ... the three that had their boarding cards were advised to go there and then because if they missed the flights because they were waiting for the other three, they wouldnt be refunded whereas we would be!  

Suddenly Stef and Woody were cleared and I was still waiting to be processed.  Finally I was done and caught up with the other two at the end of the corridor.  We finally found the rest of our group and we were waiting ages then for the gates to open.  The plane was late in being checked and cleaned so Stef and I made our escape to the ladies, whilst the rest of them looked after our cases - ohh heaven and relief it was.  I have the bladder of a flea I am convinced!

I have various photos of our trip out and whilst there which will be published eventually.  I am putting a scrapbook of our adventures together for the Journey part of the Discovery Award for the over 50s.  Similar to the Duke of Edinburgh scheme for kids.  Slightly more sedate but I didnt have the chance to do the D of E when younger, so am aiming to have the Bronze level completed by January now.

After our week away in Berlin, I developed a rash on my lower legs.  Visit to the Doctor and apparently I had walked too much in very hot weather which caused the rash.  It was called Dependent Pupera.  Stef had been bitten on her lower legs and she had swollen legs for most of the week too.  

Bridgewater Boaters Survive The Cheshire Ring 

11th - 19th August 2013

This was the basis of our badge originally.  Hils, our talented badge designer worked the idea into a badge and ordered the badges.  Unfortunately there was a manufacturing design fault and they offered to re-do them in a woven material free of charge.  These have now been received by Hils and I am awaiting delivery of them.  

The whole week was fraught with another problem.  The boat had been returned damaged three days before we were due to hire it.  I got the information on the Friday as we were due to have access to the boat from the Sunday late afternoon.  I had 2 days' of intense stress whilst I took calls from the Hire Company and contacted the Boat Yard to find out how likely was the holiday to be cancelled or go ahead.  As the Boat Yard also had a hire company of narrowboats themselves, their main hirers were going out on the Friday/Saturday and were unable to do anything about our boat until late Saturday afternoon.  

Finally I got a call to say that the Boat had been repaired and had instructions on how to keep the rudder from being damaged again.  I had to drive down to pick up the keys if we wanted to board the boat on Sunday evening.  I took some boat equipment with me and loaded that on.  And then returned home to pack my own belongings, make tea for myself and hubby and then left him with instructions for the week and our cat Tigger and set off back down the motorway.  On the way, I realised I had forgotten to pack my socks and some bras, a decision to carry on however, which led to me being admitted to Tameside General Hospital as an emergency - no socks were the main cause!

On average we had 11-12 people on the boat at any one time.  

But overall, we had 17 people on the boat over the week.  It was interesting seeing people come and go at various times of the week.  I unfortunately left them Friday evening and didnt return at all.  A major blow for me as I had more or less organised the whole week on my own.