Hypnotic little website(s)

I know it's more of a 'Dan Style' blog entry to write about a cool thing on the web - but this is a very hypnotic little web page. I think it must be the computery equivalent of popping bubble wrap!

Trace - Thomas Petersen

Now, that's just reminded me of a lovely web page where you tried to get dancing stick men to dance in time with each other.

Dancing Stick Men

 

(You need Adobe Shockwave to play this - you can get it from here)

Oh, and talking of the calming nature of bubble wrap...here's the online version!

Virtual Bubble wrap

Chillax man!

Leopard Toes

A few weeks ago I blogged about a new nail treatment I'd discovered - Minx nails and I also posted a pic with my new jazzy toes.

Well I've been back - and this time I've come over all "animal"!

 

Aren't they fab???!!!!

  

 

About the trains

This post follows on from a previous one - click here if you want to read it first!

Eithne and I were on the train, sat in a 1st class compartment, awaiting our cooked breakfast. We were on a day out which had been bought for me by the lovely Dan, for my Xmas present.

I'm a closet trainspotter. Well, let me qualify that. I've never sat on the end of a platform waiting for trains to go past, and I don't have a dogeared notebook with a list of engine numbers, BUT, I do LOVE steam trains. I remember going on a school trip back in the 1970s and seeing the Flying Scotsman (I think it may have been at the York Railway Museum but I'm not sure) I fell in love with the shiny brass fittings and the green livery! It looked like my Hornby train set, on steroids!

The journey we were on today was a special excursion from the Tyseley Locomotive Works in Birmingham, to the Didcot Railway Museum in Didcot. The train was pulled by 2 vintage engines...

4965 Rood Ashton Hall 

and

5043 Earl of Mount Edgcumbe

Both trains were attached at the front of our 1st class carriages - the Rood Ashton Hall at the front, and then Earl of Mount Edgcumbe behind it. Each had a coal wagon behind. It's not the best pic (some trainspotter interference!) but you can see the Earl of Mount Edgcumbe behind the coal wagon with Rood Ashton Hall in front.
 

The top two pics were taken after the 2 engines were unhooked and then brought into the Didcot rail Museum sidings to have their mid journey maintenance done. The bottom pic was just after we arrived at Didcot, whilst they were still attached to the train.

After we arrived in Didcot, and took a few photies of the train, we then went over into the Railway Museum to have a look at the other engines over there.

Our day trip continues here.

 

Planes, Trains and Automobiles (well just the Trains, actually)

Eithne and I got out of the car in the car park of the Tyseley Locomotive Works in Birmingham. It was 7:45am on Saturday morning. We looked around.

I'd not seen so much brown corduroy since the 1970's...

What on earth was going on? Why were these anoracked individuals huddled together in the corner of a car park, early on a Saturday morning?

Actually it was my Christmas Present!!! Dan bought me a luxury trip on a vintage steam train and this was the beginning of the journey!

We were called to board the train almost immediately, and got ourselves settled in to our 1st class seats.


The carriages were all restored and the first class ones dated from the 40s and 50s. They were lovely!

The steward came around with the Menu - it was going to be a great day!!!

Next installment here...!

 

Snowing AGAIN!

I thought we were done with the snow!!!

This was the picture at 7:30 this morning - a light sprinkling - you can still see the grass showing a bit darker in the patch between us and next door.

Roughly the same view at 9am this morning. How much snow has fallen? It's just not really stopped - and it's sticking enthusiastically!

Posted a vid on YouTube this morning of the snow falling...



...just in case you'd never seen snow before!!!

Needlework again!

Just another pic to show you the green in the top right corner is finished! Amazin'!

 

Since coming back from Scotland, I've rolled the top FINISHED portion up into the frame and exposed the more unfinished sections at the bottom. I'm trying to get to a point where all the (boring) green leaves are done!!!

~o~  Happy ~o~ Happy ~o~ Happy ~o~ Happy ~o~ Happy ~o~ Happy ~o~ Happy ~o~ 

  

Even More Needlework Action

Been stitchin' away the last couple of days - I seem to do it in fits and starts. Here are some pics for comparison...

 

So, this is the status of the stitchin' when we had come back from Conrad & Michelle's at the end of November last year.

I did a little afterwards, starting on the green leaves, and some of the blue flowers...

And this is where we were at about 5pm this afternoon...

 

LOADS more green bits - and - I've just finished all the bits in the top right as well...photo tomorrow!!!!

So, I'm going to start on the only bit left in the top portion which are the blue leaves!!!!

 

Rossi Xmas

We went home for the official Rossi Christmas - Roast dinner and prezzies!

Very Gothic decorations!

Pictures are here on Picasa.

  

 

Meeting up!

Had a wonderful time at the weekend meeting up with Kate & Billy and their 2 delightful daughters! Their hospitality is immense and the girls are absolutely gorgeous!

This is the cookie making session the girls did.

 

My 1st Bento Attempts

Hmmm, I'm not very creative, so some of the pictures on the Bento Box flickr pool leave me astounded. However, I think I've managed to make a quite pretty lunch...

1/3 of the box is filled with basmati rice, into which I chopped a couple of spring onions. Carrot batons around the edges of the rice. The middle 3rd is salad leaves (underneath) with alfalfa and sprouted peas on top.

The final 3rd is split into 1/2 protein (chicken pieces, a baby bel and a slice of ham) and 1/2 fruit (strawberry, pineapple, and some melon)

I think it's quite appealing and certainly has lots of colours.

I've ordered some cookie cutter shapes so I'll update this with some more pics when I've got the carrot stars in the mix!