Pinterest is like crack

Well as I am not working currently finding myself with lots of time on my hands and working out new and interesting ways to fill it.  Met a lovely fellow American who introduced me to card making and die cutting machines and now I have been sucked into the strong gravitational pull that is craftiness.  I do not mean the sly kind but the omg gots to make all kinds of stuff variety.  Now I have gotten my first die cutting machine a Sizzix Big Kick and just got my first dies via ebay thanks to my wonderful husband.  Have gotten some great paper and my brain is exploding with the possibilities.  With drifting over to pinterest now I want to not only make cards but decoupage the world as well.  LOL!  oh, since my last post got to go to London with my MIL.  We took a coach (to us Americans that is a hired tour bus).  It dropped us off in the middle of London and we just had to be back by a set time.  I got to visit trafalgar square and piccadilly circus as well as buckingham palace.  Must say the palace suffers from a severe lack of bling...hehe.  Now the gates are blingtastic but the palace itself is a rather austere looking gray stone building.  We were awash in young french students as well.  I got to visit the national gallery which was rather fantastic and pretty much walked my little feeties off.  That is one thing that I have done way more of since coming to England.  There were tons of statues everywhere and took a lot of pictures.  There was one cool thing going on at the palace.  They were having "royal investitures" going on.  An Investiture is a very special day when an individual who has been awarded an honour receives their award in person from The Queen, The Prince of Wales or occasionally The Princess Royal.  Think it might have been the queen as my MIL told me that if the queens flag is flying at the palace the queen is in.  It was up while we were there.  Oh and I should add that men dress in what is called Mourning suits for the occasion ; top hats long coat with tails very very snazzy looking or the occasional fulll kilt and for women it is the season of crazy hats.  There were more wild crazy chapeaus in evidence that day that on a sunday morning at a black southern baptist church.  This is a very strange English fetish that I don't understand but do find most amusing and maybe a little bit fun.  The English are also often taken with fascinators which are hair decor peices that are usually quite festive as well, often festooned with flowers feathers etc.  Some of the fascinators even are small hats themselves.  The oft times dour English do like some bling every now and again.  More to come I am sure.  Peace and love!