Odds and ends...

Hurruh!! The sun is shining in London. Today it reached 27 degrees!!!!


Yes, we are all a little over-excited here in London about this fact - so much so, that the weather is an even more consistent topic of conversation than usual. But, after weeks of rain and unseasonably cold temperatures, I think we can be forgiven.


I've had a busy week with a variety of planning tasks and odds and ends filling my days (in addition to actually working, of course)...


I spent Sunday in the grounds of Windsor Castle watching the annual social cricket match between the Royal Household Team and the Royal Navy Team. One would think that a day out watching cricket in such a picturesque setting in late May would be delightful...and the day itself was, apart from the fact that it was 14 degrees and we didn't set foot outside of the clubhouse for the entire match (not even to take photos)! 


But, finally (finally) summer arrived on Tuesday. I went from wearing a winter coat and scarf, to a spring coat to no coat in the space of only 24 hours. I never thought that I was emotionally affected by the lack of sunshine, but am amazed at how much my mood improves as soon as the sun comes out!


I'm doing some last minute planning of possible places to visit when I travel to Paris on Saturday morning - enjoying all of the beautiful images in Janelle's book, and making some portable crib notes. 


I was very lucky to receive a DSLR as a PhD graduation gift from my mother - so I've been trying to remember the details from when I did an SLR photography course many years ago. Sadly, I've had a lot of difficulty remembering anything, so have signed up to complete a month-long on-line course which will start in June. So, I'm setting myself a goal to get in some practice and only use my camera on a manual setting whilst away this weekend...no doubt the little point-and-shoot camera will also make it into my bag (just in case...).

I also treated myself to some new Florabella Photoshop Elements Actions this week. I already had the classic workflow set, but have just downloaded the colour matt and design kit. I'm very excited about these - once I've learnt how to use them properly! To get myself in the mood for the weekend, I took an older photo of mine from a previous Paris trip and tried a few of the actions...a lot more practice to do, but the design possibilities are endless!


Planning has also commenced for a short trip to New York in the autumn. My old London flat-mate moved to NYC two years ago, so I am finally getting my act together and managing to get across for a visit - it has been almost ten years since I was last in New York, so I've already started to make a list of places that I want to explore or re-visit...


Finally, and happily given the recent improvement in the weather, I'm heading to the Chelsea Flower Show tomorrow afternoon. It will be my first ever visit to the show, so am feeling very fortunate that I can enjoy it on what promises to be a warm, sunny day...