The Bikie Gang!

This is a scrapbook page about my elderly friend, Irene. We met in 2005 when my husband was admitted to an aged care facility in Parkes, where Irene was a resident. Irene and I became firm friends, and she used to visit my husband every day when he became a resident in the nursing home section.

My husband and I introduced computers for the elderly, in that aged care facility, and Irene admired from afar, but would never agree to participate. One day she saw me relocating computers to another room, and offered to help.

Here was my opportunity! "Irene, can you just hold the mouse, please...now, we have to test it is working....can you just click on this game thingy....and move it to there....and now click on this green fruit..."

...long story short...she was HOOKED!!!!!

The scrapbook layout below marks a special day in her life...and showed me, dreams never die.....

Retro Fresh!

Have you all been enjoying the slower pace of January, after all the busy pre-Christmas rush?

January this year has been a great month for me....a time of rest and refreshing, with lots of craft activity at home. Card making is very relaxing, and I also bought myself a Silhouette Cameo cutting machine so the month has gone quickly, learning how to use my new toy!

My Digital Studio has scarcely had a look-in, but yesterday I downloaded the stunning new Retro Fresh files, and made the card below.

God's Christmas Tree

This Christmas I have been given the privilege of presenting a message for the Chapel Service in the Aged Care Facility. The rather crudely executed wall hangings below strive to represent the difference between how the world sees the Christmas tree, and how I believe God would have us see it. 

Hang In There.....

The card below was made for a friend who is going through a very challenging time. Her favourite colours are the soft blues and whites...and as I said in the accompanying message..."This card is made with sooo much more love than skill....

My Awesome Family!

Other people may wish to correct me, saying, "You mean, your husband's family". Technically, they would be accurate in doing so, but in every way possible, I regard this precious couple, as MY family! They have been there for me in good times and difficult times, and welcome me at every visit. 

They are simply the BEST!

Change Stamps to Punches in MDS

My Digital Studio program has many exciting features, and a new one I have learned, is to take a digital stamp and change it into a digital punch - as in the example below.

Five Minute Challenge

This scrapbook page is in answer to a Challenge for the Simply My Digital Studio group. We had to create a page in five minutes, using an existing template.

Puff, puff...I did it...in almost five minutes, including Thinking Time...so this may not entirely make sense...my theme was to give thanks for new days, and new beginnings, and the calendar inserts are intended to reflect that.

When I've messed up, or feeling low at the end of a day...then - Hooray for New Beginnings! 

Calm Christmas!

Calm Christmas.....do those words go together, you might ask?

Yes, they surely do, when we enter in to the true spirit of Christmas.

It isn't about the tree, the decorations, or the gifts, but rather the celebration of the birth of Jesus, the one who was truly the everlasting Gift from God the Father. 

My card is made using the Calm Christmas download from My Digital Studio.

Flying Geese!

My former hobby, before I discovered Stampin' Up! and paper craft, was patchwork quilting. Time consuming, expensive, and very satisfying, it was a delightful occupation for many years.

My favourite quilt, and the ONLY one I ever hand quilted, was made in the traditional Flying Geese pattern. It was made as a raffle prize for the nursing home where my late husband resided.

Autumn in Australia

This scrapbook page was an entry in the Simply My Digital Studio Challenge for Monday, 21st October 2013. The Challenge required a page including photos depicting the changing colours of autumn.

I'm not a rabid photographer, and our trees have already prepared their summer clothing...but thankfully, these photos were in the stash from a bus trip we took to Lake Canobolas and the Carcoar area, in 2005.

Bike Racing

The bicycle was a valued mode of transport between 1930 and 1940. Colin was given an old bicycle when he was about eight and in his teenage years he and his brother began bike racing. This was a very popular sport in those years, and we tend to forget that the roads back then were far from the surfaces we have today, being mostly dirt, or at the very best, gravel.

High Street and Albert Street

My late husband, Colin and his family lived in High Street, Parkes - in fact, Colin was born in 1920 in the nursing home directly opposite his home. Colin's father was accidentally killed in 1924 and so Colin's mother opened a mixed grocery shop in her front room, to help make ends meet. No pensions were available in those days.

Colin's mother, Amy became friends with Lindsay Smith, a widower with five children, who lived in the next street. The Smith children and the Hendry children were of similar age and were already friends, and in due course Amy and Lindsay were married.  Amy and her three children moved to Lindsay's house in Albert Street and the two families became one.

Holidays at Manly

Col and I enjoyed three wonderful holidays in Manly, thanks to the generosity of Tony and Helen Bernardi, who gave us the use of their flat for three weeks during the years 1993 to 1995. Below is a two-page scrapbooking spread of our Manly holidays.

Here is the second page of a two-page spread of our holidays in Manly. One of the highlights of our vacation there each year was to visit the Society of Australian Genealogists, in Sydney's historic Rocks area, and further our family research. This was very fruitful, as the story below testifies.

Thasindu

During September 2013, I fulfilled a long-awaited wish....to sponsor a child. The dream had almost faded, but last month I was inspired by Emily Hendry, a sweet 18 year old fellow-Christian, who had given up some of her pocket money to help someone else less advantaged.

I was going to start sponsorship in the New Year, but checked out the Compassion website, just to get more information. During that time I saw Thasindu's photo....and kept coming back each day to see if he was still there, or had been already sponsored.

He crept into my heart, and I sensed there was something special about this child....I just HAD to sponsor him! So.....here is the new man in my life!

Terralea Goat Stud

Another scrapbook page from my late husband's album, this time with some photos of his dairy goats. Col's first love was the Anglo-Nubian but he also successfully bred Saanens, British Alpines and the notoriously mischievous Toggenburgs. 

The latter was not by any means his chosen breed, often being referred to affectionately as "Toggenbuggers"....but he was given a fine doe, Willandra Marella, who bred many champions for Colin.

Tennis

My late husband Colin was a very proficient tennis player. It was a miracle, really - born before the Great Depression of 1930, money was scarce for this little family who had tragically lost their breadwinner in 1924. A tennis racquet would have been the height of luxury!

Colin, aged about eight, was given an old, string-less racquet by his uncle, Wes Cheney. Colin soon had it working well and he and his brother Lloyd used that racquet for a number of years whilst they were gaining competency in the game. The scrapbook page below tells more of the story.

Wall of Honour

This layout corresponds with another layout done a couple of months ago - both are records honouring my late husband, Colin, and his war efforts. 

Embracing Technology!

The journalling tells the story, really! I'm so thankful that the computer not only helped Col recover from the effects of a stroke, but gave him countless hours of pleasure, as well. When he could no longer be cared for by myself at home, the staff at his nursing home thought his prowess on the computer was amazing.

Born in 1920, such technology was inconceivable....the T Model Ford was only just coming into use, and air travel was a thought for the future. I was so proud of my 'computer-literate' spouse!

Fowls

My late husband Colin was a keen breeder of dairy goats, and it was because of the goats we eventually met and married. Colin had a keen eye for all livestock and was a very successful breeder of dogs, cats, and many kinds of poultry. He would have added to this, "Except turkeys!"

Col's experience raising turkeys caused him a great deal of frustration. He told me, the young poults had brains the size of a dried pea, and seemed determined to commit 'pesticide'. It was enough to put him off turkey dinners for life!

Rev Up The Fun!

Tuesday each week is MDS Download Day and eagerly anticipated at my house! One of the downloads for Tuesday 27th August 2013 was Rev Up The Fun.

Priced at a tiny $4.50, it has fulfilled my search for a suitable teenage boy card and this week has been spent in printing, fussy-cutting and assembling a number of these cards for charity.

The DSP for the card front above is from Back to School and the card base is Marina Mist. The car was printed separately, fussy-cut and mounted on dimensionals.

Another version, using Midnight Muse cardstock and the All Time Fave DSP.

The third version, once again using the Midnight Muse cardstock and the Back To School DSP, and the car printed separately, using Poppy Parade.

This stamp set is going to get a lot of use, in my craft room!!!!