IT HAS BEEN A HECTIC WEEK

Hi everyone

Did you watch the Olympics Opening Ceremony?  What did you think of it?  Wasn't the lighting of the fire pit spectacular?  I had wondered what all of those brass bed pans (sorry copper kettles) were going to be used for.  I think it was a very good choice to have Sir Steve Redgrave deliver the Olympic Torch to the Stadium and how about the Queen and James Bond?  Both very game jumping out of the helicopter - thank goodness the fire pit hadn't been lit - all in a day's work for Mr Bond.  David Beckham looked good - as always - and very proud too.  Like all sporting events, there will be shock wins and losses, great races run, silly comments by the commentators, but I hope everyone enjoys it.

Have you had a chance to read my latest guest blogger's post?  Thank you Zofia for a great post.  What do you think - are women better blogger's than men?  Zofia's post may be my last guest post for a while - unless any of my followers or fellow Handmade Mondayers (or new visitors?) would like to contribute?  I have been really pleased how successful the Guest Blog spot has been and hope everyone has enjoyed it as much as I have.  Hard to believe it has been running for six months and every post has been brilliant.  Contrary to a recent comment, I feel the guest blog spot did 'take-off' and I am looking forward to posting and reading many more guest blog posts in the future.  So, if anyone would like to join in, please do get in touch on christmaspiecrafts@virginmedia.com.  Remember your post doesn't have to be craft-related, it could be about marketing, blogging, event organisation, a hobby you have, travel, or how about a book you have read - or even better one that you have written.

Last week was pretty hectic.  Had a meal in Ripley with friends on Wednesday evening.  The weather was great and we dined outside - sadly the staff seemed to forget the outside diners and service was a bit hit-and-miss at times.  Not too much of a problem really as it was a mostly non-stop talking get-together.  One of the friends I met up with is looking into starting a business making chutneys, relishes and jams - something she is very good at and feels she is ready for the next stage.  Our next group get-together is going to be a tasting of her range - yum, yum.

A couple of weeks ago I volunteered to assist the Woking Cats Protection Group with catching and helping abandoned, unwell and feral cats.  Although we live in the Guildford CP area, I chose Woking because we adopted Daisy from them.  My 'job' will be to set up cages/pens to catch cats and kittens.  I did my first trip on Thursday afternoon with a fellow CP volunteer and we did a return visit on Saturday morning.  My biggest problem will be resisting taking them all home with me!  I know Daisy wouldn't mind as she will be a mum to the kittens, not too sure Jazz will welcome another cat or kitten with open paws though.

After my Thursday cat visit, I met with my bride and groom to discuss their wedding invitations and they signed off on their order.  Although they had a design already (having gone through the process of designing an invitation with another wedding stationer who sadly let them down) they were very pleased with my interpretation of this.  All systems go now and some intensive invitation-making days and nights ahead of me.  Once they have been completed I will ask the couple if I can post pictures on my blog as I would love you to see them.  A little taster: the card and paper are pearlised pale ivory with orange and purple trims, ribbons, etc.  Here are a couple of sample invitations I made recently, but the couple's design is completely different to both of these.

Still on Thursday, a friend and I went to RHS Wisley for the evening.  Wisley rarely opens after 5.30 pm - sometimes they have musical or special events, but it is rare that the gardens are open.  During July, the gardens were open until 8.00 pm on four Thursdays and we had arranged to go to the last one.  It was a gorgeous evening, hot, still very sunny and everywhere looked good.  Surprisingly, it wasn't very busy and on arrival we discovered that a member's only Wine Tasting Event was taking place - not too sure how we missed out on that.  Despite tickets still being available, we were both driving so unable to take part - but we did.  We decided some sit-down and people-watching time was the way to take part.  Surprising how many people think wine-tasting is to get as many glasses of wine drunk in as short a space of time as possible.  Oh, well, they looked happy.  Up to a few years ago, Richard was a professional wine taster, so I took home a set of the tasting notes for him.

The next couple of weeks will be very busy as in addition to the wedding invitations, I have jewellery to make, birthday cards, wedding anniversary cards and a thank you card to do as well.  I am trying to set aside time to make Christmas stock because I am getting concerned that I may not have enough for the events I have booked.  Although the main ones are not until November, my stock boxes are telling me that I need to get a move on.

We have had heavy rain, thunder-storms and a little hail so far today - just like summer really.  I hope it doesn't last too long as I am sure there are many sports that will not benefit from wet weather.  However, there are some very dry parts in my garden that are crying our for rain - tap water doesn't really do anything other than keep plants alive.

It's Handmade Monday time again, so don't forget to visit the other blogs and see what everyone has been working on during the past week.  Don't forget to contact me if you want to give guest blogging a go.  Enjoy the Olympics - I will be back on Wednesday.

Jill