FIVE GO TO THE FOREST

I am busy packing the camper for a week away with my daughter and granddaughters.  Synchronicity (I'm not sure if that is a word but it sounds good) is a funny thing. And it often pops up when I look at Alexa's posts.  Because today she wrote about Enid Blyton, and coincidently I have packed a copy of the Famous Five to take with us.  My eldest granddaughters have started to venture off with their friends, just locally, but out of sight.  A scary time, I remember when my own children were small and I had to start untying the knot in my stomach so that they could learn to be independent.  They think they are quite adventurous and as 5 of us going away it seemed the perfect book to take for bedtime reading.

We are also taking our camera's.  And as a bit of fun I have done a scavenger hunt, sparked by Rinda's summer challenge.  And the fun I had away with friends recently.  But instead of being by the water this time, we shall be staying in a forest.  There will be wooden animal sculptures to find and a host of other things, and we shall be going to see King Lear in the Theatre in the Forest.  The weather is promised to be kind, hot even, and I need to finish packing.  So, I will tell you more on my return.  Because right now it's time for 5 to go to the forest for an adventure!

10 THINGS ON THE 10th - JULY

One of the things I organised for our recent weekend 'MESSING ABOUT ON THE RIVER' was a list of 30 things to photograph in 30 minutes. I love challenges like this and it turned out my friends did too, because we came back with lots of great photos and different ideas what to do with them.  Moira and I decided to make mini albums and you can see a couple of Moira's photos here.  I started my album but not added photos yet, so for my 10 things this month here is a sample:

 Wood

 Movement

Sky

 Feet

 Associated with time

Sign

Red

 Shadow

Blue 

Person

This post is part of Shimelle's '10 Things on the 10th' and if you'd like to see more contributions pop over here. You can also find out about the Olympic preparations, and after a day in London today, I can tell you that staff at the railway stations are gearing up and out in force. The good news?  There was a good atmosphere and it was well organised! 
The Olympics are approaching fast and my granddaughters saw the Olympic torch as it travelled through our home area.  They were surprised how quick it was all over and said 'was that it?!'  But they waved their own hand made gold torches and cars beeped and waved, and a good time was had by all.

CREATIVITY BOUQUET

I have been looking forward to this weekend with friends, 'MESSING ABOUT ON THE RIVER'.  Moira has a way of creating something spectacular out of nothing.  Take our dining table for example.  She turned this bland space into somewhere we wanted to sit and spend time, using flowers picked from the lane and her freshly laundered bed sheet.    

And she also arrived with a beautiful bouquet of flowers, picked from her garden.  They sat on our workspace this weekend, adding something special.

We stayed in a small village that leads nowhere.  Because the road becomes a slipway, straight into the river, and consequently it isn't somewhere you pass through.  It's somewhere you drive to.  And the thing that struck me was how everyone we met seemed so at ease, so relaxed.  I said this to one of the staff who looked after us during our stay.  He replied "that's what happens when you get to the end of the road".

And in the pub, where we went for an evening meal, I had the surprise of meeting the  garage owner who has looked after our cars for as long as I can remember.  So we chatted about how we each came to be here, and I learnt he moved there 2 years ago and loves the quieter life.  When he heard that I'd been taking photos he seemed really interested, saying he wants some local prints for his home.  And so he asked to see them, suggested we could do an exchange, photos for work on my car.  I felt really touched that he should be interested in my work and consider it worth putting in his home.  And others too, made us feel welcomed and part of something good and positive.  

And when we packed to go home Moira offered the flowers to me, to take home.  How could I refuse?  I had admired them all weekend!  

And when Jessica suggested this morning that I find or create a personal creativity bouquet to show how I feel RIGHT NOW, I knew straight away what it looks like:

Because I feel energised and uplifted by my weekend away.  

I had suggested my husband and son had their own weekend away in the camper and they too came back full of stories and having enjoyed their time together.  And to complete my weekend, my daughter and I had a long and unexpected drive out in the evening, just the two of us.  Time to catch up and plan our holiday..... 

So yes, I am blooming, alive and thriving!  And loving that I have a day off work to finish unpacking and to spend creatively.  

I love reading other peoples stories on Sian's Storytelling Sunday, so this month I am linking in.  And I am also planning some special time as The Artists Way Bookclub run by Jessica has kicked off today.  A whole year of creativity and meeting up with others.  I have had this book for years so to be able to work through it with others is really exciting.  Follow Jessica's link above if you want to find out more.  You can sign up  until the end of July.  

Happy Monday!