Well, that great idea ...

... didn't work! Spent all those hours ripping/converting CDs into MP3 format, burned a VERY large amount of files to a DVD (well over 1000) and .... the player wouldn't recognise it so .......... I started burning again. This time, thinking it was the DVD that was the problem, I burned to CD-Rs. I got to CD 4 (CD-Rs don't take anywhere near the amount of info that a DVD does) and thought I'd better try one in car which ...... recognised that there was MP3 there but spat the disc out at me every time. Paul tried one in his car. Same result. Now I'd burned another 4 CDs and still had 3 to go. Didn't bother with the last 3. Instead I visited Mr Google and, it seems that I need to use Audio CD blanks rather than Data CD blanks. Looks as though I can't just 'pop out' to buy some either as a search of the sites relating to places I could 'pop out' to has drawn a blank *groan - haha*  Anyways, I've now ordered some.  Unlikely to be here in time to burn so we've a good selection of moooooooosic to play on our road trip to Doncaster on Thursday so will have to gather together a selection of sing-along type CDs (aka 'oldies') and some chill-out ones as well as use the radio a bit *grin*

Doncaster?  Didn't I mention that me and Cally are off on a trip up to Donny this weekend?  We went to the inaugural Summer Crafting Show last year and liked it so much we're repeating the experience. The workshop on Friday is different. Last year there were 4 workshops with different demonstrators/tutors. This year it's a day long workshop with Stephanie Weightman and Nancy Watt. Last year they had separate classes, of which we did both. This year they've come together and we should end up with 8 projects made by the end of the day ..... yeah, right! Course we will ....... be very unlikely to have succeeded!  Anyway, as Donny is nearly t'other end of country for us we're going on Thursday and coming back on Sunday.  The trip should take around 4½ hours, providing no hold ups and that doesn't allow for any stops.  I've got tickets and hotel reservation confirmation printed, as well as any vouchers for cheap meals I could find and Boris has been programmed - well, the new one for the hotel 'cos we're staying in a different one this year. Not so plush but a helluva lot cheaper *LOL* Guess that means another few days of non-blogging and some catch-up to do afterwards :0) We're hoping to catch up with Toni and rescue her for a spot of afternoon tea. Will she need rescuing? She reckons she might. She's demoing for La Pashe, with some of the La Pashe guys so yep, she probably will.  Gonna be keeping an eye open for Susan as well. She'll be on a coach trip down from her neck of the woods with a few others we know from the forum - although never met. We know Susan, obviously, having spent many a weekend with her so my reckoning is that if we see her we're bound to meet some of those we've never physically met before. Looking foward to it, with or without loads of MP3 music - *LOL*

Today, being Tuesday, was a Dad day. Not a good visit.  I arrived to find a stranger in his flat with Dad telling them to go and leave him alone. That he just wanted things to stay as they were. The stranger turned out to be a very pleasant young lady from the Falls Team. She'd called the carers but nobody had answered so she got the flat's manager to let her into Dad's flat so she could talk to him. He, not expecting her, got very flustered and confused as well as very upset. He obviously hadn't listened to her properly or hadn't understood her as he thought she wanted to move his furniture around and change things in the flat. Anyway, I had a chat to her and she's going to come back with a physiotherapist but ... she's going to contact me first so I can be there. Dad doesn't cope well with people he doesn't know unless I'm there.  It took me ages to calm him down after she'd gone and I finally got him to listen to me so I could explain what it was all about. He's quite open to a physiotherapist calling, if they can help him, but he's not prepared to go to visit one, however they will do home visits so that's good! When I left him he was more settled but he still wasn't good. She had really thrown him although most of what he was worrying about was in his head and bore no relation to what she had been trying to tell him. Anyway, she now knows that she needs to contact me before visiting Dad - although he now reckons he might be dead by next week! She told me that he'd proudly told her how old he was. I asked her what he'd told her. In his 90s, apparently *LOL* Told her, not yet. He's 90 next birthday but I think it depends what week you ask him as I've known him tell people he's 86!

Anyway, enough of all that. Back to the House Party weekend. Here's a 360° video clip I took standing less than ¼ of the way down the access lane to the cottages, from the main road. I'd gone to look for a beautiful partridge and his lady that we'd seen on the side of the lane a couple of times, just on the bend ahead of where I was standing.  I was close enough to see that he wasn't in sight this day. It was soooo quiet and peaceful I just had to record the surroundings and the peacefulness.  It does sound, in places, as though it's quite windy but there was only a gentle breeze, as can be seen by the stillness of the crops. I guess I could have been doing some heavy breathing *LOL*

The occupants of the car told me that the partridge was right down by the gate when they came in - doh!  

There was going to be another clip here ... I've taken a soundtrack from another video clip I took as I'm not sure that the 'stars' of the video would appreciate it being shown but I wanted to give a totally opposite view of the 'sounds of silence' above. Unfortunately the site I've uploaded the soundtrack to to get a widget to post here isn't giving me the widget option it's supposed to. I've emailed and waiting a reply ....

Oh ... and, look at these beautiful flowers that Greta gave me. She gave both me and Cally the same bouquets and they are gorgeous. I say 'are' as, apart from the roses, they're still going strong, 2 weeks after she gave them to us - well, mine are anyway :o)

  Thanks for dropping by .....