Incredible Distances!

Fascinating and exciting as I find this latest discovery of what may be a similar planet to earth I have to laugh at the way they bandy phrases like "1,400 light years away" like there's the slightest possibility of us ever visiting it. Bearing in mind that a light year is actually 5.88 Trillion miles, and if you were to start counting out a pile of stones of ONE trillion at 1 a second it would take 31,688 years and you wouldn't finish until the year 33,703 AD (321 generations hence) and probably end up with the equivalent of Mount Everest. So multiply 1,400 by 5.88 trillion and that's how far away it is! And this is the closest one they've found. Don't get me wrong, I am in constant awe of these discoveries but the thing that really blows me away are the incredible distances we're talking about when it comes to space :-)

Kepler 452b revealed as most similar planet to ours ever found with a 'substantial opportunity for life'... but its days may already be numbered.

St. Patrick's Day Info

As I was born in Dublin and I'm Irish through and through I shall be celebrating St Patrick's Day on March 17th. I've found this great infographic as well as featuring some of the lovely vintage souvenirs that are available from my GIFT STORE at Kaleidoscope Kreations on Zazzle.
We'll start with an interesting video that tells the story of St Patrick and his day. Oh and by the way don't call it St Patty's Day, it's St Paddy's Day!

Proud to be an Irish American 3 T-shirts by CharmaineZoe
Create unique custom shirts no minimum.

Vintage St Patricks Day 10 Fridge Magnets by CharmaineZoe
Browse Irishamerican Magnets online at Zazzle.com

Click on image to see large version on History.com

Vintage St Patricks Day 10 Tie by CharmaineZoe
View more Irishamerican Ties

Vintage St Patricks Day 12 Mug by CharmaineZoe
See more Irishamerican Mugs

Amazing CGI Animations from Animusic

Came across these guys on my Facebook feed and just had to share them here, they are amazing! Check out the Animusic Website and Facebook Page

Post by Animusic.

Post by Animusic.

Not a well bunny!

Sadly been off work for the last 3 days with the dreaded lurgy and feeling pretty grim. Been coughing like a 100 cigs a day smoker and now started sneezing for England. I can't believe the amount of snot/phlegm/mucous I'm producing - especially when I do both together - it's like something from a horror movie! Can't see my self being able to return to work until next week and just glad I've got Pepsi and Max for company, who are being positively angelic, it's almost like they know I'm really poorly and taken the decision to not hassle me. Talking of whom, we got the good news yesterday that Max's biopsy results showed there was no cancer to be found in the lump they removed from his chest last week, and it was just a benign histiocytoma. So to get that news was a huge relief, as the alternative outcome was just too scary to contemplate!

New Invitation Cards

Got a lovely new Birthday Party Invitation Card in my Kaleidoscope Kreations store now, it's completely customisable so wording for dates, location etc., can all be changed to suit. It's in a stunning purple and gold color combination and would make a very striking statement for your own party.

Royal Purple & Gold Birthday Party Invitations by CharmaineZoe
Shop for invitations and announcements on Zazzle.com

Got a marauding Wren trashing the Hanging Basket!

Aargh! The wren is back with a vengeance, got home today to find a generous sprinkling of soil on the path below the hanging basket. I've seen him disappear under the foliage on at least 5 occasions tonight, he's a real cheeky little thing. Even tried putting some netting round the area he's most interested in - to no avail. He's so cute though, I have to admit to not trying too hard. I had a look on the internet to find they are quite prone to nesting in baskets, but I'm fairly sure it's too late for him to actually be nest building, just burrowing for insects - one burrow goes a good 6 inches into the middle of the basket! so I don't feel guilty chasing him off - but I have a feeling I'm fighting a losing battle :-)

A Great Idea for Conservatory or Sunroom Shading!

We've been sizzling here at between 28C & 30C for well over a week now, and although it's been lovely to get a Summer at all, and I don't suppose it can last for more than another week (not at these temperatures anyway)I can't say I'll be sorry to get somewhat cooler temperatures! Now I know that a lot of people around the world on reading this will laugh their socks off, but trust me when I say these temperatures are remarkable for the U.K., and we're just not used to them at all.

We recently moved house (one reason I haven't been blogging recently) and gained a lovely conservatory to sit in and enjoy the garden.

The thermometer has been showing 45C until I open the doors when we get home about 5pm. We are having to run two fans to keep cool, one is a large pedestal fan and the other is a smaller floor fan.

We have rigged up a couple of colourful sarees that I found on eBay to give us some shade. They shimmer with gold decoration and beadwork and are lovely either in the sunshine or by candlelight in the evening. We've just draped them from an expanding net rod at either end and over the center stantion. They are long enough that they fall almost to the floor at the back and I have made tiebacks from the sleeves of the matching blouses that sarees traditionally come with, and which were trimmed with the fancy ribbon fabric on the edge of the sarees. A great idea if you have a conservatory and need shading.