I'm in print!!

I'm in print twice this week! Read all about me on Jennyflowerblue's blog "A Kent Makey Do" (see "blogs I'm following at the side) and my Crystal Kisses bracelet is in the April/May 2009 issue of Bead Magazine. Brag, brag, brag..........

Work
I'm not going to write about work any more, I don't really like writing this part of the blog and I'm pretty sure that people don't want to read it.

Where I went
Well, it has been a busy week for trips out. The weather has been fabulous all week, and it's really felt like spring. I've made the most of it by getting out and about as much as possible. On Monday, which was my non-working day, I set off for Highgate in North London and spent and hour or so walking in one of the most curious open spaces in London. It's an old railway line that has been turned into a nature reserve. You're never more than about 100 yards away from the houses on either side of the line. The line itself has been removed and a path has been installed. It was a short but lovely walk along to Finsbury Park. There were quite a lot of people about too, for a Monday.

On Thursday I went to the Health and Social Security Recreational Association awards ceremony to pick up my prize for winning the "Craftwork" class of the national art competition. I got a £15 M&S gift voucher. I'll eventually get round to putting a picture of my winning entry, Magic Carpet, on my website.

On Saturday I went to a craft fair at Telegraph Hill and then walked to Lewisham before taking the train home. In the evening we went to Pizza Express to celebrate our wedding anniversary (which is on 22 March).

Sunday was Mother's Day and after lunch we went to Igtham Mote. This is a moated manor house in Kent which is now owned and operated by the National Trust. It is such a pretty place and was very popular today - I didn't think we were going to be able to get parked, but luckily we managed to get hold of a space very near to the house, which someone had just vacated.

What I made
I spent quite a bit of Monday afternoon designing the beaded butterfly picture that my mother wanted for her birthday (but I still haven't actually started the sewing!). Most of the rest of the week was taken up with the floral filigree scarf, when I realised that I'll really have to pull my finger out if it's going to be finished my the end of June. I missed metal clay class last week - but the Lord alone knows what they'd been doing that week because they seemed to be pretty much at the same stage I was at Thursday's class. I applied syringed clay to the base of my ring, and then fired it, before polishing it at home. It is a very chunky ring - far too heavy for everyday wear - so I'll have to save it for special occasions.

What I read
A Robert Goddard book called "Into the Blue", a murder mystery with a whole slew of improbable twists. It wasn't bad, but I wouldn't really recommend it either. I've just started reading Frank Harris's biography of Oscar Wilde - more about this next week.

What I learned this week
Telegraph Hill is actually a hill. Yes, I know that the clue is in the name, but it's very, very steep. Great views towards North London from the top though.