2015...

...comes to an end in just a few hours.

I considered doing a review of my year but to be honest, if anyone really wants to see what I've been up to this year they can browse through the 200 posts I have made (this will be 201).

Instead, I thought I'd share something a friend emailed to me...

1915

THE YEAR IS 1915 

This will boggle your mind! 

 The year is 1915 “One hundred years ago”. What a difference a century makes! 

Here are some statistics for the Year 1915: 

The average life expectancy for men was 47 years. 

Fuel for cars was sold in chemists only. 

Only 14 percent of the homes had a bath. 

Only 8 percent of the homes had a telephone. 

The maximum speed limit in most cities was 10 mph. 

The tallest structure in the world was the Eiffel Tower. 

The average British wage in 1915 was £15 per year! 

A competent accountant could expect to earn £800 per year. 

A dentist £900 per year. 

A vet between £600 and £900 per year. 

And, a mechanical engineer about £2000 per year. 

More than 95 percent of all births took place at home 

Ninety percent of all Doctors had no university education! 

Instead, they attended so-called medical schools, many of which were condemned in the press AND the government as "substandard." 

Sugar cost two pence  a pound. 

Eggs were 10 pence a dozen. 

Coffee was five pence a pound.

Most women only washed their hair once a month, and, used Borax or egg yolks for shampoo. 

Canada passed a law that prohibited poor people from entering into their country for any reason. 

The Five leading causes of death were: 

1. Pneumonia and influenza 

2. Tuberculosis 

3. Diarrhoea 

4. Heart disease 

5. Stroke

The American flag had 45 stars.

The population of Las Vegas, Nevada was only 30. 

Crossword puzzles, canned beer, and iced tea hadn't been invented yet. 

There was neither a Mother's Day nor a Father's Day. 

Two out of every 10 adults couldn't read or write and, only 6 percent of all British pupils went to university. 

Marijuana, heroin, and morphine were all available over the counter at local corner chemists. 

Back then chemists said, "Heroin clears the complexion, gives buoyancy to the mind, regulates the stomach, bowels, and is, in fact, a perfect guardian of health!" (Shocking?) 

Eighteen percent of households had at least one full-time servant or domestic help... 

There were about 230 reported murders in the ENTIRE U.S.A.! In 2014 this figure had risen to 14,249.

In the UK the murder rate in 1915 was 1420. In 2015 it was 537. (Perhaps we are doing something right!)

Can you imagine what it may be like in another 100 years.

So there you have it, a brief comparison between 1915 & 2015. Two very different worlds in some respects - only 8% of homes had a telephone in 1915, in 2015 nearly every PERSON has a phone of some kind. In 1915 the thought of a man walking on the moon was the stuff fairy tales were made of, in 2015 we have folk living in outer space on the International Space Station.

So as the final hours of 2015 slowly tick away, I would like to wish you all the very best for the coming year and if you are unable to be with the ones you love as we welcome in the New Year, I'm sure you will be holding them dear in your hearts and minds.

Happy New Year to one & all......................................................................................

So what did Santa...

...bring you this year?

I hope you have all had a wonderful Christmas and if you are lucky enough to have some holiday time, I hope you are able to spend it how you wish and with the folk you wish to be with.

My main present arrived early and I've already shared photos with you - my set of Spectrum Noir Sparkle pens. I love the sheen that these pens give and will be looking forward to having a play over the holiday period.

I was very lucky this year because in addition to my pens I also received lots of lovely candles, chocolates, books, CDs, wine and this...

...it is a Sentiment bracelet - part of the 'Pure' range from Coppercraft. This was from my Mum. The sentiment appears on all four bars of the bracelet and the edges of the bars have a lovely scroll etching along them. The beads are Jade which is a stone that I love - Thank you Mum.

The usual family phone calls took place between those that couldn't be together on the day. The call to my sister was hilarious as all you could hear in the background was a lot of high pitched squeaking - that was my fault as I had bought her dog a selection of toys with squeakers in. My sister said that Lexi couldn't make up her mind what to play with so she was running in circles around the lounge jumping on all of them. Kiya the cat was being rather more refined and just sitting there giving one of her toys the occasional pat LOL

I hope you all received some lovely goodies.

I will not be hitting the sales. In fact, I will be trying to keep as far away from them as possible - I just can't be doing with all those crowds.

I intend to spend a lazy day today. The TV will be on in the background and I'll have some knitting to play with. Mum & I will also be tucking into the leftover meats from Christmas.

Have a lovely day folks.................................................................

Merry Christmas...

...to one & all!

Hope Santa delivered all that was on your lists and that you are now enjoying the festivities.

Seasons Greetings.......................................................

I have reindeer...

...trotting across my bed!!!

Well, not the real kind - it would be kinda crowded LOL

I decided the reindeer bedding should be on the bed for Christmas and I'll save the snowflakes for New Year.

So one freshly made bed, all ready for the last sleep before Christmas...

 ...all snug and cosy...

 ...and I love the plaid on the reverse...

 ...I even have reindeer PJs...

 ...so everything is set.

For those of you who are members of the UKScrappers site, I had to share this added bonus that I found in Lidls. Folk who remember the weekend cybercrops will be familiar with the term "baffies" - well look what I found...

...and the colours are just right to match in with the bedding etc. What a find.

So today I have presents to deliver and last minute bits & pieces to do indoors but other than that; it's all done.

Have a super Christmas everyone.......................................................................

Oh Christmas...

...tree balloon!

I always find it difficult to make cards for fellow card makers and each year on the Pinnacle's shop anniversary I normally buy them a balloon to celebrate. When I saw this one I thought it would be perfect...

 ...so this year they have a balloon for Christmas as well. Have a wonderful holiday Pauline, Joanne, Andy, Paul and last but not least Holly.
At work I took some more photos of the tree by my desk (in daylight this time)...

 ...as you can see, the trees are providing a useful screen...

...of the buildings going up across the road. The one you can see to the right of the photo is almost at its full height but just behind the tree is the new tower block which is now starting to climb - when finished it will be 36 storeys. Not much chance of any daylight once that is completed.

Still no tree at home - think that is going to have to be a Christmas Eve job once the present deliveries have been made..............................................................................

Christmas trees...

...everywhere.

Except at home.

The trees at work went up on 30 November...

...lots of small trees rather than one large one as we don't have the floor space to site a big tree. However, we can normally find some space on top of a cabinet for a few.

Julia (Stamping Ground) shared photos of her lovely little tree - a real one - all decorated and ready for the big day.

Earlier in the month when I went to a meeting in central London, I noticed that the disused platform at the Barbican tube station had trees in all the arched alcoves.

The plaza in Stratford has its huge great tree and Stanford-le-Hope has its small trees dotted around the town centre and the large tree on 'The Green'.

At chez moi - nothing.

I really must get a move on or the holidays will have been & gone..........................................

It's the final...

...countdown.

(sorry if you all have that tune running around your heads now)

The Christmas china is out of the cupboard...

 ...washed & dried...

...and ready for use.

The next task is the Christmas bedding but first I need to make a choice as to which set will go on the bed for Christmas eve. I now have the lovely snowflake set that I bought last year and the new reindeer/plaid set that I bought this year.

Decisions, decisions..................................................................................

It's Sunday...

...on the last weekend before Christmas.

After a week that has been horrid and fabulous - Santa arrived early.

Last weekend, the Spectrum Noir Sparkle pens arrived at Pinnacle Crafts but only in the blister packs. I umm'd & arr'd about getting some as I so wanted to have a play with some of the colours and was soooooooooooooooo tempted to throw a few of the packs into my basket. Andy (Pearson) said that he'd had a bit of a play with the Autumn shades and having seen the resulting sheen on the colours, my hands were itching to grab some of the packs. Sanity won when Andy said the boxed sets were due any day - I placed a 'pre-order' and was intending to be very good (unfortunately, one blister pack was determined to jump into my basket **rolls-eyes** so I had no choice other than to bring it home with me **chuckle**).

So this week started with me having had a bit of a play - the colours are lovely - but then it was pretty much down hill from there.

C2C (rail) introduced their new timetable and chaos broke-out on the network. Unhappy, frustrated commuters at the end of busy working days let C2C know in no uncertain terms that whoever came up with the new timetable and service allocation was a complete IDIOT and by Wednesday some amendments were announced. A good thing you would think? After all, the company were listening to its customers? Nah, after their tinkering, I have even less choice of services to get me home and now have to mess around chopping & changing trains as the only services that would take me all the way home no longer stop at the station I use for my homeward journey.

Coughs, colds & flu have hit the office which meant that our team meal was much smaller that had been planned for but the food was great. Everyone had a good time and it was a break from the office. Downside is, I now have a cold coming and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it won't develop into a full-blown chesty cough just in time for Christmas.

So needless to say, I was feeling a little grumpy when I set off to Barleylands yesterday. However, things soon brightened up as the boxed Sparkles had arrived at Pinnacles...

 ...lots and lots of lovely new pens to play with...

...over the Christmas holiday. They are out of the cellophane but I haven't actually opened the boxes yet - the 3 pens are from the blister pack that just had to come home with me last week LOL.

Today is Sunday and I have actually managed to have a bit of a lay-in. Something that I was very much in need of after a rollercoaster of a week.

The rail service is pants...boo!
Mum's new door is finally installed...yah!
Winter coughs & colds...boo!
Super friendly/helpful staff & friends at the craft village...yah!
Poor restaurant services at the craft village...boo!
New goodies to play with...Yipee!!!

Just 3 days to go before I start my Christmas break - I can't wait.....................................................

Blogger is...

...winding me up at the moment.

It doesn't seem to matter whether I post direct or schedule but the postings are appearing at strange times or not appearing in reading lists until almost a day later.

This is frustrating the life out of me because I don't know if I've done something to upset the settings of whether it is just Blogger playing silly wotsits again.

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr..................................................................

Christmas gatherings...

...and plenty of food.

 

This should have been a much larger gathering but flu/winter colds etc have hit the office...

 ...resulting in just eight of us making it out for our Christmas meal yesterday lunchtime.
We went to "Jimmy's" at the O2 in North Greenwich...

 ...and whilst there were a lot more folk in the restaurant than the last time we visited...

...it wasn't crowded by any means.

We had looked at a number of venues but prices had 'hiked' for the Christmas period - how can any business justify going from £4.95 to £25 just because it is Christmas.

"Jimmy's" is one of those restaurants where you help yourself to whatever you fancy and can eat as much as you like. There was roast turkey/beef, seasonal veggies, Indian dishes, Chinese dishes, Italian and a huge selection of desserts - this meets all the requirements of my team and better yet...the price during the year is £9.95 and over the Christmas period it is £9.95 (this is a lunchtime price - not sure what the evening prices are).

It was a shame that only one of our 'leavers' from earlier in the year was able to join us and even more of a shame that several folk from the office couldn't make it as they had been struck by one or other of the current bugs doing the rounds. Still, we had a lovely time (a couple of hours away from work) and it didn't break the bank........................................................................

The last...

...carvery crop of 2015.

I have fallen so far behind with all my Christmas makes that I decided that the crop would be the perfect place for a mass production of Christmas cards.

Here are a few spread out waiting for the Cosmic Shimmer Twinkles to dry...

 ...the Hunkydory "Little book of..." range came in very handy.
I don't have many Clarity stamps but this large Christmas tree was perfect for a bit of CAS...

 ...using white card blanks (6x6) some Tuxedo Black Memento and red Cosmic Shimmer Twinkles...

 ...it was so easy to batch make these cards...

 ...stamping the tree twice, without re-inking, on each card gave the shadow effect that I wanted.
The sentiment was from a magazine freebie...

 ...and with the red satin ribbon as a finishing touch, these were done in no time at all.
The Hunkydory Little Book of Snowy Scenes was what I used for these...

 ...each was given a touch of Cosmic Shimmer and will be finished off with some flat-back gems (once I have replenished my stock)...

 ...so most of my cards are now finished - just a couple of 'specials' that need finishing off.
Carol who organises the crop always gets everyone either a pencil or a pen with the year printed on as a gift for Christmas...

...this year she wasn't able to get the pens printed but look what we got - isn't he cute. Carol found the design on Pinterest and she made one for everyone attending - Thank you Carol.

With carols ringing out from Debbie's I-pad and many folk in festive jumpers, it was a fabulous day of crafting.

Merry Christmas to all the Eastwood croppers - see you in 2016........................................................

Grab a cuppa...

...you'll need it as this is pretty photo heavy.

So first off, let me introduce you to the "Boss"...

 ...this year's onesie was an elf outfit (and yes, he had bells on his shoes LOL).
This tee-shirt was representing the 12 days of Christmas...

 ...from the Partridge in a pear tree, right through to...

 ...12 drummers drumming.
For some reason, this team decided to go with a "Zombie" theme...

 ...in amongst the baubles are photos of the team members that have been zombie-fied.
This was the winning entry...

 ...a Christmas tree. Tommy also entertained everyone with his...

 ...robotic dancing.
The entry for this team was a 'post Christmas paunch'...

 ...not quite a 6-pack - and if you're wondering, the hairy chest was created using rubber bands.
This was probably my favourite...

 ...it looked so cute...

 ...and even had a tufty tail at the back.
A lovely bit of Santa artwork...

 ...on the front and on the back was...

 ...a seasonal greeting.
This team went for the "Dad in an apron" look...

...but for some reason there were also antlers on the shoulders (???)
A few strands of sequins and this team ended up with a Christmas tree...

...and the prayer cap was decorated to match.
Meet our "Master of Ceremonies"...

...Kristian looked every inch the part and received lots of congratulations for all his hard work organising the event.
This team took the instructions literally...

...they were told the competition was to "Pimp my t-shirt" so that's what they did **chuckle**.
I think John got a little carried away with the music and it took several attempts to get a photo...

...this was the best I could get and as you can see - another Christmas tree with plenty of baubles front (and yes there is more on the back but he wouldn't stay still long enough).

I think everyone made a fabulous effort and it was a real fun lunchtime....................................

And here we have...

...our model - Chandra.

I think he thought he was posing for one of those knitting pattern photo shoots LOL.

Here he is with the pile of team Christmas prezzies...

 ...so very casual...

 ...and in this one you can just make out the LEDs glowing inside the tee-shirt.

 Gurmeet provided the LEDs and also lit up a bit himself...

 ...in his Christmas jumper. The pair of twinkling elves...

...having a good time surrounded by lots of food and other folk in 'silly' tops.

If I can sort out the photos, I'll show you what the other tee-shirts looked like and what the 'Boss' came dressed as..................................................................

Pimp my...

...tee-shirt.

Today is our office party and our Department head insists that everyone 'downs tools' for the lunch time and just has a bit of fun - he always leads the way...last year he was in a Snowman onesie and the year before it was a Rudolf one.

In addition to food, the odd quiz and a Christmas jumper competition, each team is given something to decorate festively. The fist year we had a Christmas stocking. Last year it was a Santa hat. This year we have a white tee-shirt to 'pimp'.

This is the tee-shirt that our Team will be modeling at lunchtime...

...and I'll try and get some photos of this and the other tee-shirts being worn.

The Team all came up with ideas and then very kindly left it to me to put into practice - I think I ended up with more green fabric marker on me than on the tee-shirt LOL

Yesterday I added Cosmic shimmer twinkles to the "O"s of "Ho, Ho, Ho" and Santa's beard but it was taking so long to dry that we had fans surrounding the tee-shirt trying to speed things up and as a result I forgot to take a photo showing the sparkly bits - hopefully that will show when I take the photos today.

It will be fun to see what the other teams came up with.....................................................