Don't know how long this Internet is going to last but hopefully until I get this post finished. Last night we went to the Atholl Arms Hotel for tea

The bar we ate in is very old.

We have had a quiet day today, walked around the village. It is very small. This is one of the highland cows that greet us as we walk out of the caravan park

This is the River Tilt that we walk over to go to the general store

We also visited the water mill. They actually still grind flour here.

I had to go and pay for another half hour of Internet as I did not get the post finished. I am disappointed that my Internet is not working up here but I am sure it will be fine when we get to Cambridge on Monday. It is raining here now, quite heavily, and I am going to get wet going back to the van. Because the weather was quite nice when I came down here I did not bring my rain coat or umbrella. Tomorrow Anne and I are going to catch the bus to Pitlochry and have a look around there. Thanks for dropping bye Till next time Cheers Julie

Hi everyone. I am in an Internet cafe at the moment because my sim card does not want to work up here in Scotland. We travelled up here yesterday from Jedburgh where we spent Wednesday night. It took most of the day. The distances are not that big but it seems to take so long to get from one place to the other. We were going to stop and have a look at Haidians Wall when we came through there on Wednesday but we missed it somehow, so we plan on checking it out on the way back to Bisley. There are miles of stone walls along the way. Very impressive.

We are here until Monday morning and then we head down to Cambridge. Will has got a practice session this afternoon so Anne and I are going to have a walk around the town. It is not very big but what I have seen so far looks very interesting. We walked down to one of the local pubs last night and met up with some of the shooting team for tea. Very quaint. One day while we are here Anne and I will visit Blair Castle, I'm looking forward to that. It is raining off and on here at the moment but I am hoping the sun might come out for a while this afternoon. Till tomorrow Thanks for dropping by Cheers Julie

Well all seems to be well in blogsville at the moment. Yesterday was a lazy day spent at the campsite at Bisley, reading and relaxing. Today was a day of driving. We left Bisley at 7am!!!! Yes I know it has been a long time since I have seen that time of day but I was actually up at 6am so I could have a shower and be ready to leave at 7. We drove to Jedburgh which is about 20 mile inside of Scotland. The scenery on the way here was magnificent once again

We booked into the caravan park, which I might add is nothing like the caravan parks in Australia, we have got much better parks, and then we went for a walk along the river to the town area

We went to the butcher and bought some bacon and ham so we could make some pasta for tea. On the way home we saw one of the Border Abbeys

We also went past Mary Queen of Scott's house

Tomorrow we will head up to Blair Athol where we will be stationed for about 3 or 4 days. There is a castle there I am looking forward to exploring and probably some time for relaxing and laundry duties. I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has sent me an email. You can not begin to imagine how much I enjoy getting them. Keep them coming. Till tomorrow Thanks for dropping by Cheers Julie

Not sure if I will be able to do a post tonight as my Internet is playing up. We are in Scotland by about 20 miles. Will try to post more info and some photos after tea. Cheers Julie

Today Anne and I drove to Winchester to check out the Cathederal made famous in the song. Winchester is a very pretty town and we think we may go back there if the opportunity presents. This is the Cathederal. And this one shows a panel of the stained glass in the Cathederal There is a very nice park surrounding the Cathederal and there were lots of people making the most of the fantastic weather we had today. One of the highlights of our visit was the playing of all of the James Bond themes by a military band. They sounded great and looked fantastic in their uniforms All in all a very pleasant day. We also went through the local museum which was very interesting and we visited the tourist information centre. They do not have tourist information centres in every town like we do, this is actually the first one we have seen. Will had a practice shoot today and he was not all that happy with the way he shot but I am sure it was very good anyway. We have decided to keep the hire car for another day just to do some bits and pieces. I plan on having a very easy day tomorrow, some packing up ready to head to Scotland on Wednesday morning but mostly just sitting in the sun, it is supposed to be another nice day tomorrow, reading my novel and relaxing. Hope all is well with you Till tomorrow Cheers Julie

Another post of my daily adventures. Today Anne and I drove to Brighton. The drive there was great. Peaceful and scenic. We went through Guildford then Dorking, Reigate, Redhill, Crawley and Hove to get to Brighton. This photo is of the beach to the right of Brighton Pier This phot is of the Brighton Pier And this one is to the left of the pier The weather has been pretty good today, overcast but sunny in places. No rain at all. I have actually had 3/4 pants and a long sleeved t/shirt on today. When we were in Brighton it was very windy but we enjoyed our walk through the Lanes and out to the end of the pier. Was tempted to buy an icecream but resisted. We also got our laundry done which is a good thing, I was beginning to wonder where that might happen as there are no laundry facilities at the park we are staying at. Not sure where we might go tomorrow but Wincherster Cathederal is on the list of possibilities. I would like to see it because of the song if for no other reason. Stay happy Till tomorrow Cheers Julie

Another day in the UK. Today we went to Stonehenge. The Druids were having their Summer Solstice celebrations there today. There were people everywhere but it was good to see. It started to rain while I was walking around the rocks but it was very good to see this icon. Then we went on to Bath. On the way home we called in at Marborough. The shops were still open so we had a half hour walk through the main street. This photo is of a building that was just down the road from where we stopped for lunch...very interesting. Straw roofed buildings are always good to see, very neat. It has been a very long day of driving. We have done 214 miles on narrow winding roads and we are all warn out. None of us really felt like having any tea so we have just had some nibbly things and called it tea. Will's guns got held up in Singapore and did not arrive when expected but they arrived late today and will be available for pickup at 8:30am tomorrow from the armoury so they will be having shooting practice tomorrow. Anne and I have decided to head towards Brighton in the morning and see how far we get. Today was our wedding anniversary and I spent some time on Skype with Ray. It was good to see him. Thanks for dropping by Till tomorrow Cheers Julie

Hi everyone A bit more detail about our travels yesterday. We travelled south to Chitchester through Guildford, Godalming, Haslemere. As I said yesterday the scenery was very good. This photo was taken through the windscreen of the van and you can see the raindrops. We called in at a pub and had lunch. It was a beautiful old English pub. This photo shows Anne and Will sitting waiting for their lunch to arrive. The main part of this pub was built in the 1700's Today we drove over to Aldershot and bought a sim card for my iPad so I don't have to sit out in the cold now to do my blog posts. We also organized to hire a car for the next 3 days so it is easier to get around and be able to stop more often. It is very hard to find places to park a big motor home. The roads are only two very narrow lanes wide and they are not wide enough to park the van on. We had lunch at another English pub today. This photo shows the outside This photo is of the Pavillion Hotel here on the rifle range. The building looks great I received an email from Helen this morning, it was good to hear from someone in Australia. Used my new sim card in my iPad to book our flights to Zurich. Saved quite a bit on the price quoted by the travel agent. The plan at the moment is to go to Bath and Stone Henge tomorrow, but plans change by the minute here. Till tomorrow Thanks for dropping by Cheers Julie

It is 8:45pm here at the moment and it is raining. I am sitting under the verandah of the place that is supplying my wi-fi and feeling a bit damp and cold. We have had a good day today traveling around the south of England. The countryside is beautiful. Green and lush. The buildings are similar to what I am used to with the exception of the old buildings that are really quite exquisite. These photos are of the motor home I will be calling home for the next 25 days and the park we are staying at, which is the same place that Will will be shooting at while we are in this part of England I am freezing and that is all I am going to post tonight. I will be back tomorrow with more pictures and more news. I know tonight's news is very sparse but I will fill you in tomorrow. Thanks for looking Till tomorrow Cheers Julie

My first post from the UK. We arrived here yesterday morning at 6am. 2:30pm Australian time. We had no problems getting through Heathrow and were sitting at the Park Inn Hotel waiting for the delivery of our motor home well befor 7am. The motor home arrived at about 9:15 and we were very glad to see it. By the time the fellow explained everything to us it was after 11 by the time we got away from there. We drove to Bisley using the directions given to us by the sat nav. I bought a sim card for my phone before we left London and I must say I am very happy with it so far. I have not as yet bought a sim for my iPad so I am sitting outside one of the clubs here at the Bisley Rifle Range to post this with their wi-fi. When we arrived in Bisley we stopped and bought a few basic food supplies and some lunch then drove out to the Rifle Range where we were booked into the caravan park. Well what a surprise, we are used to Australian standards and they certainly don't apply here in the UK. The ground is not level and the ablutions block is at least 500 meters away and comes out of the arc. One thing it does have in its favour are the surroundings, it is very picturesque. We saw a squirrel this morning, very cute. We had planned to go out for tea last night but none of us could be bothered so we didn't really have tea in the end. We were in bed pretty early but we were also up very early this morning as well. Will got up at 5:20 which woke Anne and I up. An early start to today. We decided to go for a drive to Woking and see if we could find a better park to stay at. No luck, they don't have parks all over the place like we do, so we have to stay where we are. The countryside is very nice and I enjoyed the drive. Will on the other hand did not enjoy it very much at all as the roads are very narrow and the van is very wide. The weather today and yesterday is great. The sun is out and it is quite warm. This is going to change tomorrow apparently so I am sitting in the sun making the most of it while I can. We are going to go out for tea tonight, well that is the plan, have to wait and see if we have got the energy. I am feeling more tied today than I was yesterday. I have taken a photo of the park but the cord I need to transfer the photo from my camera to the iPad is under the bed and Will is having an snooze right now so will post it tomorrow Thanks for dropping by Till next time Cheers Julie

I have just finished my final packing and the weight seems to have grown???? All my clothes have put on weight. Anyway with a bit of re-organizing I have managed to come in 800gms under weight. Had a nice lunch with Cindy and Charli but have decided not to go out this afternoon,going to settle in here with the heater on and watch a bit of Telly I think. Till next time Cheers Julie

Another layout for my Switzerland Album.

Very simple layouts. I used papers from a Prima Ledger Pad I bought at Camelot, some Kaisercraft Check In die cuts and a Kaisercraft clear stamp called Postmarks to make the transparency used on the bottom page. The title and the tag that holds the days diary page were cut on my Cricut. The text is from Opposites Attract and the tag is from the Plantin cartridges.

Last night we went to Legends Rock and Roll Club.  Ray DJ'd there and they had a guest artist Ricky O who sang some great songs.

Tonight we are going to the Para Hills Community Club to see the Highlights, one of my favourite bands here in Adelaide.

A busy day tomorrow, watching Charli have her swimming lesson, lunch with Cindy and Charli then over to The Lighthouse Inn in the afternoon to see The Party Cats for a couple of hours.

Have got some last minute washing and packing to do and then I should be ready to fly out on Monday.

Only 2 more sleeps, but who is counting.

Thanks for dropping by

Till next time

Cheers

Julie 

GREAT GIVEAWAY

I have just been over to Sam's Eye Candy Magic blog and she has a great giveaway happening. Check it out here. and have a go at winning these colourful embellishments.

Cheers
Julie

Just a quick post to share the latest addition to my Switzerland  album

In the top layout the landscape photo opens out to show another 2 photos inside the folder. I stamped and embossed the "beautiful" on transparency, stamped and embossed the ticket, suitcase and Explore verse on assorted card. The compass and Travel are chipboard that I have painted with acrylic paint. The title Landquart was cut out on my Cricut using the Plantin cartridge, normal in the patterned paper and shadow in black card.

We are going out this evening with friends to catch up on all the happenings at Cooly Rocks On this year as Ray and I decided not to go. The weather was pretty bad for them but they seem to have had a great time anyway. I am looking forward to hearing all about it.

Only 4 more days before I leave for London...very exciting.

Thanks for dropping by

Till next time

Cheers

Julie

Ok, here I go again. I have resized a photo using an app I downloaded. I have then uploaded the photo to Photobucket, copied the location code and then typed it in here. Drawn out proceedure but I can't see any other way of doing it.

 Hooray it worked.
Till next time
Cheers Julie

Well look at this another page for my Switzerland album finished....

I used the Crafters Workshop Time Travel Mask and sprayed the white cardstock background with Tattered Angels English Ivy. I applied Tim Holtz  Victorian Velvet Distress Ink around the edges. The paper is Basic Grey Blitzen range "Snowballs" and the plain blue cardstock is Coredinations Core Color Tidal Wave.

The Benedictine Abby that houses the Black Madonna is really something to see. Awe inspiring really. The madonna has about 50 different robes and they are changed in accordance with the ecclesiastical year. Photography is not permitted in the Abby so I have used post cards for the bottom layout. The top layout shows the actual town. Very quaint.

Well off to start another layout while the urge is there. We are going out later on this afternoon so don't know that I will get much more done.

Thanks for dropping by
Till next time
Cheers
Julie

I have to tell I am really over all this technology stuff...

I have still not found a way to post reasonable sized photos on this blog. I have found "you tube video" on how to do it in another blogging program but not with Blogspot. I will just have to keep working at it and try even harder to find a way of doing it otherwise all my well laid plans will be flying out the window.

Anyway on to other stuff..

I had my last class with the ladies at Camelot this afternoon until I get back. The time just flew as usual. I hope they get together while I am away and keep on with their layouts.

I have finished a layout for my Switzerland album. I have painted the background card with watered down acrylic paint and this has caused it to buckle. I think I will have to attach it to a sheet of card to try and flatten it out although now that it is in the album it seems to have flattened out OK. The diary entry for the day is attached to the back of the tag.

Last night I packed my case to make sure all of my clothes etc would fit in and see if I was over weight but to my surprise everything fitted just fine and I was about 17kg of a 20kg allowance so I am pretty happy with that.

It is freezing cold here today. I am looking forward to going to the summer weather. It seemed strange packing short-sleeved light weight clothes in my case while I was rugged up with trousers, jumper and ugg boots last night. Couldn't help myself, had to throw in a few "warm things"

I think I have just about got everything under control now, only a couple of small jobs to do next week and then I am set.

I am going to start work on a new layout tonight. We have decided to stay at home because we cannot be bothered going out in the cold. Must be getting old hey...

Anyway thanks for dropping by
Till next time
Cheers
Julie

Here I go again. Photo trial number 2


Well that didn't go very well. Still having trouble getting the photo reduced to a reasonable size.
Will have to keep at it.

Thanks for dropping by
Till next time
Cheers
Julie

That was not very successful. The photo was way too big and covered the side bar of the blog and made the blog very slow to open. I have gone back and adjusted it using my computer but I am definitely back to the drawing board on  this one.

Thanks for dropping by
Till next time
Cheers
Julie

Hi. I am just having a practice post using my iPad. I have downloaded some photos from my camera and I am now going to add a photo to this post, hopefully. I am posting a photo of Charli's curls taken at Pianorama on tuesday. What a procedure to get this photo on here. I have had to open an account at Photobucket and then paste the code into notes and then type it in here. A bit of a long winded process. There is no option to paste on the iPad in blogger that I can find. Am going to try a search on google today to see if I can find a better way. It looks like the photo will be at the end of the post, not sure how to move it, another thing to work out Anyway, hope this works, I am sure you will see me back here soon as I keep at this.

Thanks for dropping by

Till next time

Cheers Julie

Ray has just started a 2 week campagne at work for Vallia. He is starting at 5 and 6am and while he has only been doing it for 2 days it is already taking it's toll.

He is DJ'ing at the Adelaide Rock and Roll Club tonight and has to be up and ready to start work at 6pm tomorrow morning.

Because he was up at 4:30 this morning to start work at 5 he did not get any time to spend with Charli today, he needed to try and get a few hours sleep this afternoon before DJ'ing tonight. He is feeling pretty dejected and that he is missing out. He is not very happy at the moment. Can't say that I blame him, apart from the early hours he is doing a lot of manual work lugging things around and he is just not used to it.

Today is the first day for sometime that it has not rained. The washing I did on Sunday is finally dried, ironed and put away.

As you can see I have been messing around with my blog presentation but not going all that well. When I view my blog on my iPad the clocks do not show. I need to try and find out why and correct it but have not had time as yet. Maybe tomorrow. If anyone else has had this problem and knows how to fix it I would love to hear from you.

I have to take Daisy to the vet tomorrow for her annual immunisation so will give her a bath tomorrow morning. I don't like taking her for this injection because she is not well for a couple of days after it.

I have started work on the next page in my Switzerland album and hope to finish it tomorrow so will have something to share later in the week if all goes well.

I took Charli to Pianorama today. She is coming along nicely. I really enjoyed watching her play the piano. She certainly seems to enjoy it and she catches on very quickly. She had got a concert for Fairy Ballet on the 23rd June and a concert for Pianorama on the same day. 23rd June is also our 39th wedding aniversary and I will not be here for any of them. These will be the first of Charli's concerts I have not attended. I will be sorry to miss them.

This is a photo I took this morning while she was playing

That's it for tonight. Ray will be home soon and will want to be going straight to bed I guess ready for another big day tomorrow.

2 weeks to go..........

Thanks for dropping by
Till next time
Cheers
Julie

What a night!!! It started off so well, I had the greatest plans of doing a double layout for my Switzerland Album but thought before I do that I will just add some clocks to my blog so that I will know what time it is in Adelaide when I am in London and Zurich. What a fiasco....

Firstly I found some clocks that I liked and put them on my blog, then I thought I would like them to be a bit bigger so I deleted them all and put bigger ones in their place. Oh dear I couldn't tell if it was am or pm so go searching for clocks that show am or pm. Find them and decide to put them in at a bigger size again. Go ahead and do that to find they were too big so deleted them and re-installed slightly smaller ones....and here it is 10:25pm.

I had to go back to the old blogger interface to add the clocks because I could not see where to add them with the new interface. I guess when I get some of that "spare time" I will have to check it out. I was actually thinking I should have an update to my blog before I go anyway so will see if I can fit that in. I have noticed some of the blogs I have visited have created their own blog backgrounds, I would like to try that but don't know that it will be this time round.

I have had a cold all week and actually spent the day in bed on Monday. Still feeling pretty average but am getting on OK.

We have not been doing anything out of the ordinary. We did not go to dancing lessons last night as I did not think I could take it all in. We missed last week and I believe it was a pretty tricky step, the first weeks step we had not mastered and we will not be able to make next week because it has been changed to Tuesday and Ray is DJ'ing at the Adelaide Rock and Roll Club that night so we would miss the week and there is no lesson the following week then I will be away for 2 months so all in all the dancing lessons are a bit of a goner for me for a while.

I am going to be at Camelot tomorrow for my afternoon class, looking forward to it.

I am sharing some more of my old layouts as once again I have not had the opportunity to do any new ones. These layouts were created 3 or 4 years ago. Wow don't styles and trends change over time.

The count down and list checking for my holiday are continuing, 1st June today and I leave on the 18th so just over 2 weeks to go. Getting sooooo close. Can't wait.... although tonight I worked out just how long it will be between leaving here and arriving in London, 24 hours!!! OMG I will be very happy to get there. Even worse on the way home as it takes in 2 nights. Leave London at 10:30pm so no sleep that night, arrive KL and spent 5 hours there then back on the plane and overnight to Adelaide arriving at 7:20am....the things we do!! I will be like a bear with a sore head by the time I land..poor Ray

Till next time
Thanks for dropping by
Cheers
Julie