And the winner is . . . .

. . . . Busy Little Chicken.

Well done Debi, please send me your address and I'll put a little something in the post to you (you can PM me through FB or email me at joy@treetopsystems.co.uk).

Come on, Eileen

(Sorry, but I have this thing about trying to use song titles wherever I can in my blog titles!)

I have been following Eileen's (in my playroom) blog ever since she started, about a year ago. She had entered the Photographic Scavenger Hunt hosted by Kathy (Postcards from the PP) and it was obvious from one of her entries that she lived quite close to me. As the weeks went by it also became apparent that we are fairly contemporary - her twin sister has young grandchildren, as do I - and that we share a love of photography, although I have to say that hers is much longer standing than mine, as mine has only really developed into a passion over the past four years.

So, it seemed a good idea that sooner or later we should meet face-to-face, and this we did, yesterday.

We met up for lunch in a local pub (yes, Chrissy, another pub!!), and spent a very happy hour and a half chatting, eating and generally getting to know each other, I enjoyed it immensely. Eileen has already blogged about our meeting, and you can see a picture of us both here.

Eileen very kindly gave me a rose bush, which I shall repot and place on the decking, then take a photo to show.

Thank you so much Eileen, it was lovely to meet you, and I look forward to seeing you again during the summer (if we ever get one, that is).

500th blog post giveaway . . .

. . . was won by Kayake Katy as you can see here. I have tried to contact Katy and asked her to contact me, but I have heard nothing, and her blog seems to have completely disappeared, so I have decided to have another draw. All those of you who commented on the original post (here) will be entered, plus there is a window of 24 hours for anyone else who wishes to comment on this post to have your name put in the hat.

Sorry Katy, but if you read this please get in touch and I'll send you a consolation gift.

Cassie, at home

If you are not a cat fan, then you'd better look away now, 

as there is nothing more than pictures of Cassie in her new home!

Sitting on the door mat inside the conservatory 

Helping me to shorten the curtains 

Asleep on the garden chair 

At the top of the loft stairs 

On the armchair 

On the back door mat 

Behind the ladder on the decking 

She certainly seems to like it here

May Scavenger Hunt

This month has been very busy, so trying to keep up with photographic challenges has been a bit of a struggle. However, I managed to get 9 of this months subjects for the Scavenger Hunt hosted by Kathy at Postcards from the PP.

 2) Small packages, it was my birthday at the beginning of the month, these were from my friend Kate

3) Fragrance, Rog bought me a "Welcome to our new home" bouquet, this lily smelled gorgeous.

4) Station, Station Road in our new home town

5) Nose, mine

6) Front Page, one of those "Whats on" mags that came through the door

7) Nine

8) Beverage, alcoholic, of course!

11) Yellow, contrived

12) Do you see what I see? ducklings

A package from Essex

A little while ago, the lovely Tracy, from Madaboutbags, was having a bit of a destash, and she put various items she wanted to sell on her facebook page. I chose some bag handles that I liked the look of, but asked her to hang on to them for a while, as I would probably like some fabric as well, and also at that time the house move was fairly imminent. Then she listed loads of fabric, and as I am going to make a quilt for Marissa once the unpacking is finished I picked out a few. I duly paid for the whole lot, and Tracy said that she would send it off to me as soon as she had finished a little something she wanted to send me as a gift for our new home. Well, yesterday the package arrived, and it was just like celebrating my birthday all over again!

When I opened it, here is what I found, not only lots of lovely fabric pieces and the bag handles I had chosen . . .

but also a string of pink bunting for Marissa,

and a couple of extra packages,

the smaller of which contained a card and another package.

Inside the small package was a fridge magnet (how did you know I collect these, Tracy :-)) and a delightful book which I am looking forward to reading . . .

. . . and inside the larger one was a cushion that she made - isn't it just lovely, and matches the colour scheme of our lounge perfectly.

Thank you so much for your generosity Tracy xx

Tracy is also a very talented photographer and has a lovely photography blog at Depth of Field

. . . and the winner is

. . . chosen by his own fair hand. So, Kayaker Katy, please email me at joy@treetopsystems.co.uk with your details, so I can send you your surprise prize. Thanks to all who entered, its good to know so many of you read my blogs regularly.

(Sorry Nifty, the draw was made about two hours before your comment appeared)