Clare Davis Etheridge

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3/52 Weekly Photos 2014

I didn’t take many photos this week, the photo a day prompts and a few randoms. So here are the randoms!

This was one of the choices for the ‘black and white’ prompt for Wednesday’s photo. I used a different one, but I like the sun flare in this one.

Talking of the sun, here it is rising through the trees on our way to school.

The sewing machine came out this week to try out a bag pattern I have designed. It has given me lots more ideas for bags now! Sew sew sew.

Yesterday I tried out a S’mores Brownie recipe which is yums! It made more than I thought it would, I wonder if it will freeze? Can you freeze cooked marshmallows? I might be about to find out.

Both of my kids have the flu, so today has been filled with watching ‘Wild Kratts’ and ‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D’, drinking lots of water and moaning and groaning. I hope everyone in your house is healthy.

Six Word Saturday

Published by Clare at CatsEatDogs

What did you do today? I have been inside with a flu ridden child, but he is getting better, so I tried to give myself a little vitamin boost with this smoothie which was surprisingly tasty!
To make it I put a banana, a handful of baby spinach, some blueberries, a drizzle of honey and splash of water into a jug and whizzed it all up. I don’t have a blender, so I used an immersion blender which worked fine.

Happy Friday and a late through the lens Thursday.

Published by Clare at CatsEatDogs

Yesterday didn’t go so well, nothing terrible happened, it was just a rubbish day and I got nothing of any use done. In fact I really got nothing done, of use or not.

The day started out just fine, but then I took some photos which all turned out so badly I had to delete the lot, I think this was the tipping point, unfortunately this was 8.20am, so the rest of the day stood no chance.

I thought I would make something, that usually helps, so out comes the sewing machine and the fabric and the ironing board. I cut out a scarf, yes a scarf, only the easiest thing to make next to maybe, a napkin. A rectangle of fabric which according to third grade math, is also known as a ‘special square’. A special square? Where does that leave triangles? Rehab?

Anyway, it all went wrong, my scissors are so old and abused (paper, I blame the paper) they barely manage fabric any more so even the basic cutting out was a chore. Good start, should have left it there.

However, I persevered and I sewed and I pressed and I sewed and I ended up with an inside out tube. I wanted a pretty infinity scarf, used the wrong type of fabric, didn’t pay attention and failed. I didn’t even attempt to correct it, it now resides underneath a pile of books and magazines, squashed and inside out, under a heap of reading matter.

To top it all off nicely, we walked home from the dentist in a barrage of sleet and hail! Fun times.

Ironic then that I choose a scarf (a pretty vintage one, not touched my me and my scissors or sewing machine), to feature as my Through the Lens Thursday (see, nothing got done yesterday) photo. The theme this week was ‘movement’, so I popped the scarf on the line and took about a million photos as it wafted about. I would have preferred a blue sky, but I had to make do with a snow filled whitish grey background.

I used my big girl camera and learnt that capturing a moving thing while trying to be all clever and use manual is still out of my ability zone. So thanks Alison and Greta for this prompt….pah!

Blimey what a crabby pants I am! Not really today, just yesterday and as long as I can say that, I am sure I will get over those mardy days just fine.

How do you get through rubbish days where it all seems to go wrong? Tips? Techniques? Do share. Please don’t tell me to have a glass of wine. You don’t know how close I was to that yesterday!

See you tomorrow for Six Word Saturday!

2/52 Weekly photos 2014

Published by Clare at CatsEatDogs

Two weeks and no bevvies for me! Wooohooo. I just hope that I will be able to announce two months and keep going through the year. How are your resolutions going? I can’t really remember the rest of mine to be honest. That can’t be a good sign.

The snow stayed nearly all week and after a nice downpour has nearly all gone now. Yay. The sun is out and temps are almost ‘no coat’ this week.

I got some pictures of some frost and snow, sweeties and left over Christmas lights. All of the photos are taken on the iPhone 4.

I made some Harissa paste and used all of these chillies! I am thinking I just made chilli paste to be honest. It wasn’t as head blowingly hot as I thought it would be. Pretty good with some salmon though.

Digging out the snow cave.

Snowy seeds looking all pretty.Blackberry coffee cake. Yums.

Sweeties galore.

Six word Saturday

Published by Clare at CatsEatDogs

Found some cool bits and bobs today, left them behind though. I do like to look around for treasures, don’t you!

Ten on the Tenth January 2014

Published by Clare at CatsEatDogs

The first Ten on the Tenth of the year and the rain has started to wash away the snow. It has rained all day and now there is a snowy rainy river rushing down the street. Bye bye snow, you were pretty, but now I need to see the ground.

I got stamps today, but I can’t use them. I mean look at them, they are fantastic! Harry Potter stamps, pictures and everything. I need stamps again. Plain stamps.

I got out some lovely African Trade beads and some wood and some silver beads today to make a necklace or two. I got a bit carried away. I made some long and some short necklaces which will look great with tanks and T’s in the Spring and Summer.

It rained and rained today and it still is.

Books we are reading at the minute. Mr.Y is reading Billionaire Boy and I am reading All the Birds Singing. We are liking them so far.

I hope all is going very well where you are. Happy Weekend!

Through the lens Thursday. Two.

Published by Clare at CatsEatDogs

This week’s theme provided by Through the Lens Thursday is ‘corner’. I captured the corners of a bench and a chair in the snow while out for a coffee with friends this morning. I like the colours of the seating, but not so much the black wall behind them.

Next week is ‘Movement’. See you then!

The jar of positivity

Published by Clare at CatsEatDogs

I have seen various themes on this idea, so I decided to give it a whirl in our house for this year. We found a lovely blue vintage Mason and every day we have written a little note of positivity to pop in there.
I am not sure we are going to jam in 365 notes, so the notes could get smaller or maybe we will start writing on the back of the existing ones.

The idea is to write a teeny note (or you could write a giant ones and just roll them up small!), every day consisting of some positive words. Something you have done, seen, heard, like, wish. Or just a word of goodness. Maybe a mini drawing or two will make it in, I am sure it will. Anyone can write (or draw) the note as long as one per day goes in. We are doing well so far, usually a cry of ‘anyone got an idea for the note’ brings a call or two back and we have one for every day of 2014, a grand total of seven.

By the end of the year, we can look back and empty the jam packed jar and see what we all thought of 2014.

Are you doing anything like this? It is an easy win for everyone, especially as we see it fill up and look forward to spilling it all out to read the little notes to ourselves on New Year’s Eve 2014.

1/52 Weekly photos 2014

Published by Clare at CatsEatDogs

I can’t believe that last Monday was still 2013. As usual time is zipping by and I am just about keeping up.

This week we saw New Year, I stopped drinking FOR A YEAR (ha, we’ll see), we started a ‘Positive jar’ which we put a teeny note in every day with something positive on it, so that we can open it in a year and enjoy all the notes and it snowed – lots.

All of these photos were taken on the iphone 4. Some with filters from Camera+, some taken with Oggl and some straight out of the camera, no filter.

Forest Park on New Year’s Eve was icy and all blue skies, a pretty end to the year. Frozen leaves in the ponds and a little scrap of a rainbow over the bandstand.

We ended up with about 12 inches of snow by the time it stopped snowing yesterday. We went out in the morning, but by the afternoon it was frozen nose time, so we didn’t bother!

Six word Saturday. 2014.

Published by Clare at CatsEatDogs

While we wait for the Arctic to come to town, we thought we would make a volcano! It was a science fair on the porch.
Stay warm and safe if you –
A) Have 10 feet of snow
B) Are expecting 10 feet of snow
C) All of the above and you bought all of the bread on the shelves