Thursday 4 July 2013

My Month in Numbers ~ June 2013

I didn’t do much counting in April and May, but June proved to be a very good month for numbers so I’m joining in again. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, then go check out Julie’s blog, where you’ll find all the information you need.

It began on the very first day of the month, when I drove 45 miles to meet up with a group of 17 lovely ladies (and a couple of chaps) in Burbage. The drive was a bit nerve wracking, with an intermittent fault light flashing at me. I’d stopped to check the manual, before I was too far from home, and rung The Mechanic. His response? Just keep driving and if you break down, call the AA. Thanks then!

I made it there in one piece, if a little frazzled. I had a brilliant day with wonderful company and the most amazing lunch laid on by Jan. They don’t call her Lunch Lady for nothing. It was fun matching people up with their blogs and deciding if their real life personality matched how they came across on line. I don’t know about you (if you’ve ever met any blog friends) but it’s all about the voices for me. So often people sound totally unexpected and I always ‘hear’ blog posts in their owner’s accents for ever afterwards.

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As if that wasn’t enough excitement for one weekend, there was more to come. The following day I drove (5 miles) to Shaftesbury, to meet up with these 6 lovely boys. We met for coffee in King Alfred’s Kitchen, a favourite hang out when we were sixth formers. Back in the day, they’d have spare tea bags in their pockets and ask for an extra jug of hot water, to eke out the stay as long as possible!

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We spent almost 7 hours together and the conversation and laughter flowed, with barely a pause. The casual observer would never have guessed that it had been 26 years since we were last all together. We’ll not leave it so long next time.

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There were 13 days between my boy’s last exam and the end of the month and we went out on 2 mini expeditions. One of them took us to Stourhead, which we are extremely lucky to have virtually on our doorstep. We spent 2 hours there and I took 59 photos. 5 of them featured in my Scavenger Hunt round up on Friday.

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These 3 little ducks dashed out from the undergrowth and crossed our path as we walked past.

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We spied this group of Canada Geese, but all attempts to count them failed and even with a photograph in front of me I’m still not sure. I’ll leave it to you to decide.

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I taught my card class on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month. We made 5 cards and a Post-It note holder between the 2 classes and I now have a total of 8 lovely ladies who come along each week. Next Wednesday we are moving into a bigger room, because we have outgrown our current home.

This may seem like a bit of a random selection, but I did have a vague idea of a theme in mind when I chose them. You may remember, way back at the beginning of February, I posted about my word for the year and haven’t mentioned it since. These numbers are a good illustration, I think, of how I have been connecting and reconnecting with people in my every day life.

The final batch of numbers for this month are all related to my blog, another great way of connecting. I managed 13 posts, a record number compared to other months this year. I gained 7 new followers, having been stuck at 122 for an age. A warm welcome to you all. I reached my 300th post and had a little giveaway, inspired by Sian’s Great Big Swap of Little Things and the 3 winners are:

  • Twinkle Star
  • Scrappy Jacky
  • Ladykis

If you are a winner, please could you get in touch, with your address and a preferred colour scheme eg bright, neutral, subtle. Thank you.

My email is angelfishcrafts{at}gmail{dot}com.

We’re planning on another little foray tomorrow, to tick off a few more items on the Scavenger Hunt list. I hope to share them in the evening. See you then.

PS My blog visiting/commenting has ground to a halt this week. I’m mourning the loss of Google Reader and not really feeling the love for Bloglovin’. What are you using now and are you happy with it? I think I need an alternative. Something more like Google Reader, if such a thing exists. All suggestions gratefully received.

14 comments:

alexa said...

Lots of happy photos here and I haven't been able to count the waterfowl either! Glad your word of the year is active and flourishing :). And for what it is worth, I've gone with Feedly. I find it quite intuitive and like the clean and simple format ...

Melissa said...

For now I've gone with Bloglovin' and am still adjusting to it! Not sure it's the answer for me, but at least I'm able to read & keep up with my blogs for now.

Sian said...

What a nice newsy post!

I'm still flicking between Bloglovin and feedly, which is more like Google Reader but still not right. Not good with change...

Julia Dunnit said...

Great post Fiona, love the whole weekend of meeting and reunion, how fun. Curiously, I'm enjoying the blogloving format more than i thought i would...although I hate the name and the not quite spelling!!

Jaki Morris said...

Love the picture of the geese.
I haven't blogged in an age so haven't noticed the demise of Google reader! I have downloaded something on the recommendation of someone but can't remember what it's called.
Not helping much am I?
Jakic

Lou said...

Great numbers and photos. I'm not feeling it with bloglovin either and am using my dahsboard reading list for now!.

KraftyKaren said...

Fab numbers - looks like you had a very busy but fun month x

I never used google reader I just didn't get on with it but since switching to Bloglovin have been using it every day - I like the daily email and do my daily blog visiting from that

Lisa said...

Brilliant numbers and a day in Burbage! its been so long since I went there too. Loving your number 8! and your followers have increased too :D
Alun is using feedly atm but for how long I don't know...

a Great blog post and congrats to the lucky winners too :D
Lisa
xx

My not so simple life said...

Lovely photos and great post. Love reading about your month in numbers :)

Lisa-Jane said...

I'm not loving bloglovin because of the difficulty of Pinning or commenting while being within the system so if you find anything better please do let me know!

Estelle Grace Tudor said...

Lovely post full of lovely things! Very excited to be one of your lucky winners! Thanks again!

Hugs, Estelle xx

Julie Kirk said...

Before I forget - I'm using Feedly - quite similar to Google reader and it's OK really.

Anyway ...

... it's funny, I've just been adding some more MinN posts to the Pinterest board and thinking of how I've never had a *male* blogger join in - then I read your post with the mention of the 'couple of chaps' at your retreat. I wonder if any of them will read your number post and think of joining in sometime!

Sounds like you had a great month of connecting + reconnecting. It's god to have a focus like that sometimes isn't it? To keep things moving along ... like with the Scavenger Hunt list too. All helps to narrow down all of life's endless possibilities!

I've added you to the board now: http://pinterest.com/notesonpaper/my-month-in-numbers/

Happy July, thanks for joining me this time round!

Julie :-)

p.s: The questions for the 1st 'Communal Count' are up on my blog now too [if you were wanting to join in with that too]

Julia said...

A lovely and varied set of numbers. Looks like you had a fun filled month. That photo of you is stunning - so natural. It really captures you :)

Susanne said...

All those numbers add up to good times I see. I'm looking forward to your photo hunt post too.