Week #22 of my NEW52 life ...

Now-a-days I seem to start every post with an apology ... and this one's no different. I said I would post about week #22 a couple of weekends ago, but I never did ... sorry! Just when I think I'm getting caught up on posting, something else creeps up and demands my attention. With that said, let me cast my mind back a few weeks and share with you what was probably the most NEW52 things I've ever experienced in one week!!! This is going to be a LONG post, so go grab yourself a tea / coffee and get comfy before you start reading.

Week #22 began with a bank holiday here in the UK, but rather than relaxing and enjoying the extra day off work, DH and I were running around like headless chickens, whilst we tried to get organised for our trip to Tuscany. Our flight was due to leave Gatwick at 10:55am the following morning and knowing that we'd need to check in at least 1hr before departure and that driving to the airport would take around 1.5hrs, we figured it made sense to book into a B&B (near the airport) the evening before. The B&B was nice enough, though it was located on a busy road with traffic lights right by our room, which meant there was constant noise from idling vehicle engines ... not great!

The first of this weeks new experiences came when we arrived at the airport. We'd bought our flight tickets online (via expedia.co.uk) so didn't have an actual ticket, just a print out with a booking reference. We went to the British Airways check-in zone and were greeted by a row of self service check-in screens. Now, we consider ourselves as fairly frequent travellers, but this was the first time we'd ever had to check ourselves onto a flight ... eeekkkk!!! Thankfully though, it was really easy! It was just a case of keying in a code, scanning our passports and confirming luggage numbers. I don't know about you, but I always think holidays begin the minute your luggage is checked in ... our trip, albeit short, had begun. Bring on the planes, trains and automobiles.

Planes
The flight to Pisa took less than 2hrs and we were soon through customs and let loose in Italy ... for the first time!


Usually when we go on holiday, we book a "package" deal where flights, transfers and accommodation are all included in the price. Our trip to Tuscany was different though because everything was organised separately. We'd have to make our own way from the airport at Pisa, to San Gimignano where we were staying ... eeekkk!! Thankfully a friend had given us great advise / instructions on how to get there.

Trains
Train timetables in Italy were surprisingly easy to understand. The closest train station to San Gimignano is at Poggibonsi (btw, isn't that just a great sounding name?!?!?) and to get there meant we needed to change trains a couple of times. Firstly we got an express from Pisa Aeroporto to Pisa Centrale, then we got a connecting local commuter train to Empoli and finally another train through to Poggibonsi. It was on the last train that we met up with some fellow British travellers and when asked where they we travelling to, we found out they were actually guests at the same wedding we were attending!!!



Automobiles
By the time we finally arrived at Poggibonsi, it was after 5pm and we were shattered! We were due to catch the local bus to take us to San Gimignano, but the thought of another hour of travelling really didn't appeal, so we grabbed a taxi instead and booked into our hotel a very swift 15 minutes later.


Pre-Wedding Celebrations
No sooner had we arrived, than we were heading out the hotel door to meet up with friends (+ the Brits we'd met on the train) for a pre-wedding dinner. Members of the main bridal party were all staying at a farmhouse approximately 2miles from San Gimignano, and had invited everyone for a meal the evening before the wedding. It was a chance for people to get to know each other before the big day itself, a chance for the two families to meet and mingle and have a glass of two of wine!


The Big Day
It was like a scene from a fairytale wedding with a white carpet leading towards the assembled guests and officiating dignitaries. The groom looked a little nervous as he glanced over his shoulder and caught the first fleeting glimpse his beautiful bride.

The weather was perfect, the sun shone throughout the ceremony and a refreshing breeze kept the temperatures comfortable for everyone that was dressed up to the nines!


Post-Wedding Recovery
We'd planned to head back into San Gimignano the day after the wedding but instead, friends invited us over to the farmhouse for lunch on the patio, under the Tuscan sun. Or at least that was the original idea. The weather, however, had other plans. It rained. A lot. But this didn't dampen our spirits because instead on sitting outside, we sat indoors, ate delicious cured ham with melon and drank tasty wine, made from the grapes grown on the vines outside the very farmhouse we sat in, all the while we listened as Dave (playing his guitar) & John (serenading Paula) entertained us. Bliss.


Homeward Bound
But all too soon, our time in Tuscany was over. So with wonderful memories and 700+ photos, we packed our bags and headed home. Automobiles, trains and planes.

After you've been away, do you have a view / a building / a land-mark that as soon as you see it, you say to yourself "I'm almost home"? We do and this is ours ...

As you can see, it's not a scenic view, or an historic building or even a beautiful land-mark. In fact, it's a bit of an eyesore ... it's the cooling towers from Didcot power station ... however whenever we see them, we know we're nearly home.

Week #21 of my NEW52 life ...

I'd been coveting a new lens for my camera since the beginning of the year, but I really couldn't justify the expense as DH had only just bought me a lovely new zoom lens for Christmas ... it didn't feel right to cough up even more money for another lens so soon. That though, was before I knew I was being invited to a friend's wedding in Italy. Once the invite dropped on the doormat in January, all I could think of was, how nice it would be if I could have a 50mm f1.4 lens to take with me ... ~sigh~

I started browsing the Internet and came across Warehouse Express, a UK supplier offering a Nikon 50mm f1.4 G AF-S lens for what I thought was a not too unreasonable cost. The only catch was they had no stock. In fact, everywhere I looked had no stock. Every site said I could place the order, but they didn't know when goods would be despatched. It took a while to figure out why, but then I eventually realised ... it was the knock on effect of the terrible earthquake & tsunami in Japan earlier in the year.

Fast forward to Thursday 26th May at approximately 1:25pm ... my lunch break [at work] was almost over and I was just about to log off my laptop and get back to my day job, when I casually glanced at the Warehouse Express website and ... finally the available stock sign was GREEN ... they had 2 in stock!!!

It took me all of 10 seconds to make my decision! My bank card was whipped out of my purse sooooooo fast, I almost gave myself a plastic cut ... and with furious fingers flying across the keyboard, my order was placed ... and the very next day, this lens would be mine!

I ♥ the depth of field I'm able to achieve
I ♥ that it's easy to use
I ♥ my 50mm lens

I'm still practising using it, but here's just a couple of photos I've taken with it [so far] ...

DH not quite frowning, but not quite smiling either

floral decoration at a recent wedding

So you see, my "new" for this particular week was quite big ... but just wait 'til you read what week #22 had in store for me ... I can honestly say, I lost count of all the "new" things I experienced. I'll be back this weekend to share some of them with you!

Week #20 of my NEW52 life ...

In truth, this happened much earlier than week #20 (it started way back in January when I renewed my driving licence) but it wasn't until the week of 16th May that I finally received the most important card I'll ever own. It's a card that I'll never actually get to benefit from, but one that never-the-less I gladly hold onto in the knowledge that one day, I may be able to help someone who truly needs it.

This is the one card I encourage EVERYONE [in the UK] to carry ...


For more information about the NHS Organ Donor Register, please click here. Thank you.

Week #19 of my NEW52 life ...

New things have been coming along thick and fast over the last few weeks, so much so that I've not really had time to sit down and share them we you ... for which I apologise. But thankfully things have calmed down now and I can spend some "quality time" with my laptop (oh how I've missed it!) and you.

So let's start with week #19 shall we? Let's see, that was the week from 9th - 15th May ... yikes ... was it really that long ago??? My new for this week was a purchase, a total impulse buy but I love them none-the-less ...


I've got a thing for jars. I have LOTS of them in my spare bedroom / scrap space. I have big ones and little ones and I use them to store all manner of embellishments (from my card making / paper scrapbooking days) and although I'm mainly a digiscrapping girl now-a-days, I can't bring myself to get rid of their content, let alone the jars themselves!

But these new jars aren't destined to store pretty, sparkly trinkets or multicoloured grosgrain ribbon ... no siree ... these jars are to be filled with sweet goodies and tasty treats for anyone to dip in to and help themselves whenever they pass by ... yummy!!! I think I'll print a label / tag to hang round them that says "Help Yourself" and/or "You're Welcome". I'll try to remember to take a photo of them once they're filled and share the photos here too.

So that was week #19. What's next? Of yes ... week #20.

Just a glimpse ...

Beautiful isn't it? It's just one of the magnificent views DH and I captured during our recent trip over to Tuscany, Italy. We were there for a wedding (more on that in future posts I hope) and we had a fabulous time. Our only regret is that we didn't stay for longer (we were only there for 4 days and 2 of those were taken up with travelling!). We took 700+ photos during our short visit, most of which were of the wedding we attended, so far we've only uploaded a small selection (just 18) to Flickr, so if you fancy seeing a few more photos of the area, feel free to click here.

Week #18 of my NEW52 life ...

Bear with me friends (and loyal readers) for I'm breaking myself back into the NEW52 habit gently. It's been a number of weeks since my last "new" post, in fact I think I've missed 4 weeks in total ... yikes!!! So for my return to the fold, I'm starting out with a new book ...



I love to bake! And not just sweet cakes and biscuits (though that does tend to be what I bake most), savoury pastries and pies are just as welcome in my oven!

This particular book appealed to me for a couple of reasons; firstly, I'd seen some of the corresponding episodes on BBC2 and therefore seen some of the recipes being made. Now I don't know about you, but I think seeing the dish being made really helps to understand how the ingredients come together, know what I mean? Secondly, the book has a great mixture of sweet and savoury recipes to try out. In particular I'm looking forward to baking the Whisky & Chilli Tiger Prawns, the Cookies & Cream Fudge Brownies and the Pumpkin & Rosemary Muffins ... all of which sound truly scrumptious!

Well, I guess we all know the subject of at least three of my future NEW52 posts ... my attempts at making [hopefully] tasty morsels from this book.

Ladies that lunch (part III) ...

On Thursday, exactly one year to the day from our first "Ladies That Lunch" date and 5 months since our last reunion, I got to meet up with Selena & Lorraine for lunch again ... yeah! It's always fun getting together with this girls, not least because we try to come up with inventive ways of photographing the three of us together. No mean feat when you consider just how camera shy these ladies are (not me I hasten to add, lord knows I'll jump in front of the camera anytime!). Last time is was our feet ...


This time is was our hands ...

I meant to take a photo of us toasting our get-together (& Lorraine's birthday) with the champagne / Kir Royale drinks we'd ordered, but alas I forgot .... so it's water filled tumblers instead!

I never under estimate just how lucky I am to live close by to these ladies and I'm so grateful that we get the chance to meet up a couple of times a year, to celebrate our friendship, our love of all things digi and of course to catch up on all the gossip!