
We've just got home after a fabulous fortnight in the Isle of Man. That's 'home' to me, of course, so we were visiting family and friends, and also showing the girls some of the sights. Actually, LOTS of the sights, because they've managed to make Manx history/culture much more interesting for kids than it seemed when I was their age... I am a huge fan of the modern tendency towards 'living history', where people dress up and act out parts around historical sites. I especially like it when they let you taste authentic bakery products, such as the Manx Bonnag at Cregneash, which was still warm from cooking on the griddle over the open fire. When I think of how much I hated history as a child, thinking it dull and irrelevant, I am delighted to see Yarrow genuinely enjoying herself when we visit these places. And she actually learns quite a lot too, without really noticing that it's happening.
So a big cheer for
The Story of Mann, for doing history really really well, and coordinating the various historical sites brilliantly :)

We stayed with Leanna, one of my best friends in the whole world. It was so lovely to catch up with her and her hubby and to meet her gorgeous boys for the first time (it has been too long since I went home...). I also caught up with my eldest brother and family and, in a bizarre series of events that are too complicated to go into on my blog, met two of my
other brother's children, and saw
him very briefly as i dropped them off in Liverpool... The girls were thrilled to get to know four cousins they've never properly met before, and to gain two honorary cousins in Lea's boys.
I think our best day out was a picnic at
Peel Castle. We kept waiting for good weather (rare in the British Isles this summer...), and we finally got a perfect day. The girls loved running around in the open spaces, rolling down grassy banks, and taking in a bit of history at the same time. My mum and dad spent the day with us, telling us stories about their childhood in that part of the Island (mum used to play in the castle all summer long, in the days before it was paid-entry). Later that day we went to Peel promenade for delicious
Davision's Ice cream. Yum!
So we've had a marvelous time, with far too many stories and photos to put on my blog, so I will share them once they get turned into scrapbook pages!!

Anyway - before we went away I had a busy week, including a scrapbooking demo at my local scrapping shop - Totally Crafty in Plymouth. I just wanted to share some of the layouts I did for the demo, mainly using Basic Grey Euphoria, but also a spot of Prima Paintables, which were lots of fun to play with :)
