Rocking Your World 2021: Week 4

Well we have all survived another week, and it has been a very pleasant week here. We have had plenty of sunshine, though the days are short and the evenings chilly, but I have been grateful for the times we have been able to sit out on the porch, even eating our lunch out there on some occasions. The sun isn't guaranteed, and yesterday was grey though the promised rain didn't come. Today it is blowing a gale that nearly swept me off my feet when I went out to feed the dogs. The government have issued warning of coastal danger with 3 metre high waves. I'd love to observe it - from a safe distance of course,(I have great respect for the power of the sea), but we are still confined to the village.

One thing that has made me smile is our furry friends. They seem to play musical chairs - or beds - and keep moving around. The dogs beds are on the patio behind our chairs and when I turned round on Wednesday I found Tolly had taken over Foxy's bed, and Foxy was sitting in the corner, apparently unwilling to claim it back. At least she was sitting in a ray of sunshine.

A few minutes later when I look, Foxy had moved to Kim's big bed, and Kim was laying on the tiles between them, but he would certainly have claimed his back if he wanted to lie on it!

Another thing that makes me smile is our little lemon tree. 90% of our land is tiled so we have few places to grow anything in the ground, but right outside my kitchen door there is a small square where a different tree had once stood, and a few years ago we bought a tiny lemon tree to plant there. It flourished and is now well established. I see it every day as I feed the dogs just under it. Yesterday I noticed there were new buds and the odd blossom on it. It always fascinates me as it is the only tree I know that can have buds, blossom, baby fruit, developing fruit, and ripe mature fruit on it all at the same time. Here is a collage of photos I took all on the same day, to show you what I mean.

I have kept myself busy this week in my craft room and am very happy to say that I have finally finished clearing my desk. I now have doubled my working space which is wonderful.

It may not look very cleared, but believe me it is a huge improvement. The green basket on the left, was full and overflowing with stamps and dies that needed to be sorted and filed away. Some had never been used, and others had, but had not been put away. It was a mammoth job and I am determined to clear up after each project is finished this year. That's the plan anyway!

The green basket is now empty, and propped up against the wall so I don't start filling it up again. So here's a quick tour of the rest of my room. 

Up above my desk is the little shelf where I keep a few essentials ready to hand, and I also use it put projects on to dry etc. Above it I still have the old mirror that I decorated and the lovely card that my sister made for my birthday last year.

If I swivel my chair a quarter turn I see the rest of my desk space where my two most important pieces of kit live - that's my big shot die cutting machine and my Silhouette Cameo electronic cutter.

Another quarter turn and I am sitting at  my computer desk. It is very handy to have an office chair that lets me roll between these three spaces without getting up! Above the computer is my notice board with the recently made calendar that helps me plan holidays etc. with the boys when they ring me. And to the left of the computer are my two stacked printers. The lower one is an A4 black ink laser printer, and the big one above it is a flatbed injet colour printer that allows me to print my 12"x 12" album pages.

The rest of the room is shelves of boxes that house all my stash. As you can see I am really quite organised in there, and I like a tidy space to work in, so I am very happy to have sorted the desk area out. Since it was done I have finished two projects but they are not anything I can share yet.

And that is about it for this week. The days pass so quickly. I have managed to do lots of washing and dried it all outside which is always a blessing. 

I have had long phone calls and video calls with the boys, and with my sister, which is uplifting for both sides.

I have read two books on my Kindle while relaxing outside, or in bed. And the evenings have been spent watching TV - some good and some very bad! - while doing my crochet, and feeling cosy in front of the fire

The number of virus cases in our village is falling again and that makes me very happy. The Town Hall have authorised the lorries to drive round in the night, disinfecting all the streets and bin areas, and constantly issue messages of encouragement on Facebook, ending with 'together we will get through this'. It is good to be part of such a caring community.

So I will leave you with two sky photos. Neither were very dramatic, but both were so pretty. Then I will link up with Rocking Your World and Annie's Friday Smiles, and go and see whether Chris is wondering whether there will be any dinner today!