Happy Halloween

I love Halloween, I love reading Ghost Stories (love the Haunted Liverpool books) and have even been on a Ghost Hunt in St James Cemetery in Liverpool in the pitch black and freezing cold for a Christmas night out. I also love all the traditional Irish Tales of Banshees and remember with scary fondness "Bogeymen"

As you will get by now I love theming stuff and celebrating holidays so this weekend as been no exception....

1. Halloween Make up: These days fancy dress is the name of the game and if your going to dress up why not  look authentic? I had the pleasure of designing the make up for my sister Sue's Zombie Bride look this Saturday - luckily she was happy with the result and from the sounds of it had a great night

Belle of the Zombie Ball 

2. Duncan : I love getting Duncan bandannas (again themed for the time of year). A lady called Elaine makes most of his bandannas for him and so when I wanted a Halloween themed there was only one lady I would go to

Hey I kinda like this look! 

3.Pumpkins: Finally Halloween wouldn't be the same without a bit of Pumpkin Carving - I remember years ago we did'nt get pumpkins here and my Mum would use a turnip - it did the job but just did'nt have the effect of those pumpkins they used in America but now I am glad to say we get Pumpkins here. This year I carved a cat on a wall and Peter carved a spider 

Taken with Hipstomatic App for I Phone 

So after a very busy weekend and a nice day off it will be back to normality tomorrow

Hope you all have a happy halloween

Craft, cupcakes and a good cause

One of the things that I love about reading other peoples blogs and one of the positive things about social networking is being able to read and see other peoples hobbies. I like being able to see what other people have created. So the blogs this weekend will be to share what I have done the past week,

This week I decided to do put my creativity to good use and make some cup cakes in to sell in work to support "Wear it Pink Day" which is an annual occasion I support every year in aid of Breast Cancer awareness.

Being me I didn't want to just do "cupcakes" I wanted to theme them! I love theming stuff - others may think I am sad but life can be dreary and dull so I try to make the most of occasions! So I decided to make pink cupcakes and wanted to add the universal pink ribbon as a cup cake flag or using sprinkles. The UK is hard to track these things down. Ebay had an array of cup cake ribbon sprinkles but the postage was far to high and I doubted I would get them in time and so I made my own!!

1. I started off with printing off a load of pink ribbon logos on white paper

2. The next stage was to get my materials together to make the flags: Good old fashioned sellotape, Pritt Stick (pink as well!) and some cocktail sticks

3. The next stage was to start cutting out the ribbons

Duncan watches proceedings

4. The next stage was to stick some of the ribbons to card and leave some of the ribbons on their own as you can see in picture

5. I then added the cocktail stick on to one of the cardboard ribbons with some sellotape and them added another ribbon on top - so the ribbon was double sided 

 6. Eventually I had a whole set of Pink Ribbons to go in my cupcakes

7. The next stage was to make nice edible cupcakes - I won't go into detail on making cupcakes this evening as I don't want to send you asleep (if your not already) but I did a variety of pink buttercream topped cakes and some pink iced cakes with traditional hundreds and thousands on and some girly glitter and pink butterflies.

The picture below is my presentation in work on Friday for Wear it Pink Day -They went down a treat!!

In all we raised over 160.00 for a brilliant cause and I had loads of fun making them!!!

Runners with a Cause

Tomorrow Liverpool has it's own Marathon for the first time ever. I am sure everybody will have their own reason for running in this, some will be runners moving themselves up to the next phase of their running -   setting themselves a challenge:  others will be those that compete in marathons for sheer fun of it. Others have their stories to tell about why they are running in the Marathon in the first place... two people very close to me have these stories to tell. Both of them are people that I look up to
Ped's Story : This week it will be 10 years since I first met my husband Peter, or as everybody knows him Ped. In May this year he found out that his sister Jayne has Lymphoma which is a blood cancer.  We were all shocked and horrified when we heard this.  When I found out I went sick inside and went home and cried. Nobody would blame Ped for doing the same - However he decided to do something positive - to support not only Jayne but to put two fingers to to Maggie. Ped was  not a runner but for three months he has worked his behind off training to compete in this marathon and raise funds for Leukemia Care. Jayne is doing brilliant always, positive and has a smile on her face - knocking "Maggie" out as we call her and she is winning. Maggie is no match for Jayne!   Both of them are an inspiration.

Jayne and Ped in Benfica 

Paddy's Story : Paddy is my little brother - although you would think he was my older brother - he definately is much more sensible, clever and I look up to him like he is my big brother. He has always helped me out and supported me when times get tough. One of the toughest times we have both ever faced is loosing our mum. I can remember my mum telling me in April 1995 that she had Breast Cancer. I felt like I had been smacked across the face and knocked out. Breast Cancer to me is one of the worst Cancers you can get - It's nasty and cruel and it spreads.  My poor Mum got over it initially and was and still is my heroine - she did it with dignity and pride and I was amazed how well she coped and faced up to it. Unfortunately it can back four years later. Not just in the Breast but all over and when we were told she literally had two weeks left to live, we leant of each other to try and cope, to help our Dad and our little Sister as well. Paddy has also lost a very good friend Andy to Cancer in 2007, both my mum and Andy were in their 40's. Our Uncle Pat in Ireland has suffered with Blood Cancer the past couple of years and he like Jayne is doing so well. Paddy has been wanting to do a marathon for years and now its his chance to run in one. Not only with Ped, but Anna, my sister in law who has also lost her mum to this horrible disease. Anna is also running the marathon and is equally as brave - she has had a whole host of injuries in training but sheer determination as driven her on to take part tomorrow.
All three of them have raised in excess of 3k for Cancer Charities - they have turned the worst thing in the world into doing something positive, raising not only money to help find a cure but they are putting themselves through one of the toughest things they have ever been through Physically to do this

Me and Paddy at Wembley

Ped and Paddy are both my heroes for doing this. I can only stand by and watch them and cheer them on tomorrow and I will be doing so with admiration. We are all so proud of you both for putting yourselves through this but what a personal achievement it will be. We are all so very proud of you.

If you would like to donate to their fundraising their links are below

Ped Leukaemia Care  and Paddy Howlin Cancer Research
Also Anna Howlin Cancer Research

I have to dedicate this blog post to my Mum who will be cheering on I am sure from a cloud watching over us. She would be so very, very proud

Christine Howlin 1950-1999

Man's best friend & the Canine Heroes of 9/11

People can normally be summed up as either a dog person or a cat person. I have very much always been a dog person. My favorite dogs have always been Labradors and working dogs in general - this is probably thanks to my Dad who coming from Ireland had many working dogs including a lovely black Labrador called Ceaser whom he left in Ireland .I can't remember what I did yesterday most of the time but I can remember that dog.  I can also remember my big strong Dad breaking down in tears one evening when my Cousin had passed news on that Ceaser had died, that was the bond between man and his dog.

There is a point to this post (I promise) -this week has been the 10 year anniversary of 9/11 and I wanted to write about where I was and how I felt when this happened .. and I probably will later this weekend but after reading and watching so much about 9/11 this week, I remembered reading some stories a couple of years ago about dogs and their part to play in the aftermath of 9/11. 

Just in New York there were nearly 350 Search and Rescue (SAR) Dogs deployed to help aid the search rescue operation at Ground Zero.This included 80 dogs that were sent from FEMA These dogs were  to remain there for days, helping firemen, police, FEMA staff  and in some cases brave owners that had volunteered to help,to find anybody still alive in the "Stack" These are called Live Find Dogs .. the dogs would work with their Humans 16 hours a day, crawling through every space possible to try and find survivors, digging and sniffing their way round. 

As the dogs found less and less survivors they became remarkably depressed and disheartened when they found no survivors. The fireman took to hiding in rubble so that the dogs could find them and feel motivated to then carry on and look for more survivors. 

Later dogs were brought in to provide emotional support to rescue workers - these dogs are trained to identify trauma and people feeling depressed and stressed 

I read a lot about this on this website which contains quotes and other information about the dogs and people involved.  

I also found out that a book has been written called "Retrieved " this book is about the story of some of the remaining dogs that are still alive and the stories behind their rescue attempts at 9/11 - Dutch Photographer Charlotte Dumas travelled across America to capture these brave dogs in their twilight years - this picture is one of my favorites - 

Moxie is now 13 and arrived at Ground Zero on the evening of 9/11 and searched with her handler for 8 days - she just looks brave and proud. She is now retired and living with her handler 

Finally I read this story which is even more amazing.  Omar Eduardo Rivera is and found himself on the 71st Floor of one of the towers, when it was stuck that day. His guide dog Dorado led him out of the tower 71 Floors down slowly nudging and encouraging him by nudging his legs, so he did't loose his way. Omar even states that he let him off his lead as to give him a chance to get out, but Dorado faithfully stayed by his owners side until he was out of the tower safe. Moments later the tower collapsed : the full story can be found here 

And so that's my blog for this evening - I know I have used lots of pictures as well as words, but as I have said before images sum up a lot about a moment in time. The pictures I have used this evening have done just that. I could write stories all evening about these brave dogs and indeed the stories I have read and seen on TV this week about the brave humans involved, but for now I will leave it there. I think it's time to go and play "fetch" with Duncan. Who has changes would have it has brave parents as him mum and dad are police dogs! As for these stories this evening, I am sure even the most ardent cat person would have to admit on this occasion these dogs deserve the title "Man's best friend"

The best little Spaniard I knew

I am not a fan of transfer deadline day.By now you will know I am about as Blue as they get and being an Evertonian is what I can only describe as "Character Building"  - it is certainly not the easy option but hey as Lady Gaga sings "I was born that way" and a blue I will stay. Getting back to the point, I don't like transfer deadline day and  Everton are totally skint  : therefore I didn't expect any nice surprises for any signings - if anything I thought we would get a loan deal at the most. I had heard about Yakubu and Beckford probably going early in the day but that was it. I was out that night at a craft workshop in Leaf in Liverpool  happily making leather cuffs with my younger sister - (funny enough I took up crafts as a form of stress relief) . Anyway there was I all happy to be picked up by Ped, who informed me Arsenal had put an offer in for Arteta.. but it was off and then on the way home I heard it was back on. Boom!! I wasn't expecting that - he was one of my favorite players (at the moment they are Cahill, Arteta and Coleman) and I really hoped he wouldn't go. There was an image of him arriving at the Park End in his car and my heart sank, he was going I was sure, but I just hoped he wouldn't. Finally after much excitement from Sky News pundits, it was announced he had gone. I am not ashamed to say that I cried and I don't care what anybody thinks of me, I wear my heart on my sleeve with a lot of things, but I bloody love Everton and those players that give me something to smile about share a special place in my heart, so for one of my favorites to go,so quickly and without warning was a shock to the system.
The next day I moped about quite a bit (not as much as when we sold Rooney though, that went on for a good few days) and I was moaning in work to anybody who wanted to listen how fed up I was and how we had sold a good player and we cant afford to do that. I also moaned about how when me and Ped went to the players lounge as a wedding gift I refused to have my picture took with him because I felt too ugly next to him. Then last night in bed I remembered, I had! At the end of the season my little nephew and Ped were waiting in the car park to get autographs and when I turned up Artera was on his way to his car - this photo is awful and I look dreadful on it, Ped's phone had a weird floaty bit of plastic that is over Mikel's face but I am glad he took it

It's now Friday and I am feeling a bit better, I can understand what a lot of other blues are saying about him not being the same player the past few years etc but at the end of the day, I get attached and so I am gutted. 

My best memory of Arteta will be for a goal he scored against Florintina at Goodision in 2008 : I literally felt like I  held my breath from when his boot touched the ball, only to exhale as it landed in the Street End goal. It is moments like that, which sum up what being a blue is about. It was this goal I thought about on Wednesday at 11:00pm 

Thanks Mikel, you really were the best little Spaniard I knew 

Summer in the City Part Two

And so.. the bank holiday is over but luckily I have one more day off  before heading back to work! Yesterday was a dull and quite frankly cold bank holiday! I was freezing and had my old trust Ugg boots back on for what seemed like the first time in ages. I  hope we get some sunshine back in September. Especially as we are heading to Wales later in the month for a long weekend. 

The weather seems a far cry from when we went to visit the new "Museum of  Liverpool  Life"  back in July this year. The museum's building has caused some controversy as it is not what some would argue is fitting with the Three Graces and the Liverpool Waterfront. I can only say that we all need to move with the times and there is a place for old and new in the world and it looks great. I enjoyed the Museum itself - lots of good football stuff in there and lots of fashion through the decades. Some of the pictures below are ones that I took on day of the Museum and Liverpool Waterfront 

Musical Lambananna 

The New Museum

SuperLambanana 

Three Graces - a welcoming site for any scouser 

One Hundred Years of the Liver Building 

 

Later that week, there was a series of shows at the Pier Head to celebrate its Centenary. It was difficult to get pictures of the projections on the building but I got some really good shots of the way they lit up the building 

I am hoping to try and upload some of my "hipstomatic" prints off my IPhone once I work out how to blog them as I managed to get some shots that I really like just being out and about over the summer that would be a shame to not include so watch out for a part three (unless your totally bored by this time!) 

Summer in the City Part One

Time moves pretty quick when you get older. It only seems a blink of an eye that it was St Patrick's Night and I was snapping pictures of Duncan in his St Patrick's bandana, feeling really happy that the nights were getting lighter.

It is now the August Bank Holiday, which to me means we are on the road to Autumn and Summer is drawing to a close.
Not that it has been much of a summer, mind you. As a kid, I remember summers being warm and balmy,  seeming to last forever and ever. Now they are more showery and it is my age, I am sure that makes them seem short. This summer was the first one of having my new DSLR and so was hoping to get some nice shots. I was lucky enough to manage to have a bit of spare time on some of the nicest days of the summer to get out and take some pictures.


Banks of the Royal Blue Mersey
The first set ironically was the first bank holiday of the year back in May. Myself, Ped and Duncan headed off to Hale Lighthouse and walked along the banks of the Mersey. It is somewhere I have not visited before and luckily it was a really lovely day

Hale Lighthouse and River Mersey

Everton Valley 

The next set are all taken from the Everton Valley which I can only describe as one of the best viewpoints of Liverpool. For those of you not familiar with the view, you get a fantastic panoramic view of the city, including overlooking the Mersey. Last summer we saw one of the biggest liners come into the Mersey from this location.

Liver Buildings and Welsh Hills 

Metropolitan Cathedral 

Panoramic City 

Of course being a big blue no visit to Everton Brow should be without a visit to St Rupert't Tower which is the tower included in our club crest. It is the first time I have actually got up close and personal to the tower and managed to get some really good shots - the one below is my favorite : This sums up how hot and lovely that day was :) 

Sam's little corner of the web: Summer in the City Part One

Sam's little corner of the web: Summer in the City Part One: Time moves pretty quick when you get older. It only seems a blink of an eye that it was St Patrick's Night and I was snapping pictures of Du...

We're off ... another season starts.. it may be a long one

One of the biggest things in my life is my support of Everton Football Club. Supporting Everton is something that has been with me for a very, very long time. It has lived with me since my school days, lasted longer than some friendships and relationships. It has given me amazing highs and some altogether awful lows. Despite this I go back for more like a love sick teenage - it is like I am in some sort of horrible abusive relationship sometimes where my energy and happiness are constantly tested. .

Today was our first game at home against QPR,after our first game of the season against Spurs was cancelled due to riots in London. In honesty I wish this had been cancelled too. It was the flatest atmosphere I can remember for a first home game of the season  - ever. Some of the players looked jaded and like they frankly could'nt be arsed. Moyes made some shocking subs and it was just an all round depressing game.We ended up getting beat by a very poor QPR side 1-0.  

Given that this week there has been a lot of contraversy, over  The Blue Union (a union of four Everton Supporter Groups)  and their transcript of a meeting with Bill Kenright and allegations made by the Club - fans have been at each others throats - add to that the lack of any summer signings and it should have been no surprise really how angry people were at the final whistle

The message boards, twitter etc are all similar tonight as the rest of the week - fans not happy with the situations mentioned earlier , all at each others throats again and feeling in general pissed off 

Oh and if anybody knows what has happened to our scoreboard - let me know - it seems that they forgot to switch it on today. Please bring it back 

Duncan's Check Up

This week Duncan has had to have his annual review for his heart condition that he suffers from. He has "Wolfe Parkinson's White Syndrome" and luckily we found out just after  his first birthday that he had a problem with his heart - which meant he could be treated quickly. We discovered his condition , when he had a spate of collapsing over a fortnight. At first everybody thought he had a virus and then one night he was sitting on my knee and his heart was pounding at nearly 280 beats per minute. Thanks to a quick potential diagnosis from our own Alder Veterinary Hospital  in Liverpool  (the young vet on call was amazing and luckily she had studied with people that could help and suspected after all night monitoring of him what was potentially causing the fast heart rate)
He was referred to a fabulous cardiologist called Simon Swift at the North West Surgeons  in Frodham. It is a bit like a hospital for dogs/cats that need more care than his normal vet, (who are also great) can give two times a year

This is him after we brought him home - (picture was taken with my I Phone so not good quality)

He has had a 24 hr tape attached to measure his activity. Today he had bloods, ECG, Echocardiogram, the works done. The one lesson I can take from this to share with other dog owners is that that Pet Insurance is invaluable to have - without it I am not sure how we could afford his treatment and care.

You can read more about Wolfe Parkinson's White here Wolfe Parkinsons and Labradors. At the moment Duncan is ok on his medication which is good but the operation described is an option.

On a final note I love how Simon and the nurses bandaged up his tape in a blue bandage to keep him in with his love of Everton xx

Sam's little corner of the web: My Photography

Sam's little corner of the web: My Photography: "Every since I was small I have enjoyed looking at and taking pictures. I remember going on holiday t o Ireland and my dad bought this tiny ..."

Hello and welcome

Hello there, welcome to my new blog. After having various little haunts on the internet over the past 10 years or so, I have finally decided to settle down on blogger as my little corner of the web! For those of you that used to read my other blog http://www.orble.com/respectable-in-the-80s/b8/ - this is still here but I decided to move as I felt the layout was not that personable. I like to add my own sense of style to proceedings hence my new blog. I pretty much did like the blog and so I am going to see if I can transfer those posts to this one 

Looking forward to posting lots of musings over the upcoming weeks.