iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Sharon McGuinness @blushingunseen.bsky.social · 07/10/2026

Progress is being made though. They had to completely rebuild my floor but I am now free of ominous creaks [and so is the floor etc ha ha]…

Bathroom renovations under way. Wooden battens now affixed to walls ready for plasterboard. While still no true right angles we are now much more rectangle adjacent!

020

Sharon McGuinness @blushingunseen.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

The other end still has its floor at least! And a slightly precariously balanced loo. Still - needs must!

Other end of bathroom showing loo temporarily balanced on old tiles and exposed stone wall. The other walls looking relatively untouched for now!

240

Sharon McGuinness @blushingunseen.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Last day of bathroom looking like this. Awaiting arrival of gang of men and a skip to commence the “worse before it gets better” phase. 😱

View of bathroom - dark grey marble effect walls, white basin, a white bath with shower above it, and a turquoise bathmat. Dark grey flooring. Photographer visible in the mirror!

View of other end of bathroom - white toilet, radiator, one grey wall and two white ones with art on them as well as decorative vinyl seagull silhouettes. Rectangles of sampled paint in various shades. Stainless steel medicine cabinet on one wall.

110

Sharon McGuinness @blushingunseen.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Lancaster looking gorgeous today in the soft Autumn light

River Lune and the Millennium Bridge in Lancaster under a blue sky with wispy clouds and bathed in golden autumn light

000

Sharon McGuinness @blushingunseen.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

A long few days at work with a somewhat late finish at the office tonight plus train journey home so took myself out for my tea and had an epic chicken pie!

Black ceramic plate on a scratched wooden pub table holding an enormous pile of buttery mash, an equally huge chicken and leek pie garnished with crispy onions, and a smalk white jug of gravy. In the background a glass of water and just out of shot a glass of nicely chilled Sauvignon blanc.

040

Sharon McGuinness @blushingunseen.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

Fresh out of the oven! Just need to rustle up a tomato and rocket salad to go with. 🙌

Pyrex bowl resting on a gas hob after just being taken out of the oven. Within, a cheesy, creamy, potatoey, bacon bake thing looking all golden brown and appetising.

121

Sharon McGuinness @blushingunseen.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

For Heritage Open Days I visited a textile printing factory. Some machines still steam-powered and they abstract water from the River Lune under “grandfather rights”. Really fascinating tour.

Pumping equipment which facilitates abstraction of water from the River Lune to provide the steam needed to run some of the machines. Saved during Storm Desmond by the engineers who shut off and physically moved the bespoke (and largely irreplaceable) pipework when they realised it was going to flood!

Yard inside Standfast & Barracks factory compound. Arch at end supports huge water tank as steam power still in use. This bit of the factory dates from 1896 but current use as textile print works merely from 1924!

030

Sharon McGuinness @blushingunseen.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Fair play to Ralphy’s in Morecambe but when you get a cappuccino they do not stint. Kindle for size comparison!

Enormous cup of cappuccino next to a Kindle.

231

Sharon McGuinness @blushingunseen.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

The choosing of bathroom paint colour begins!! I’m armed with tester pots and not afraid to use them!!

A white bathroom wall with 4 rough rectangles of paint samples in a variety of greens.

140

Sharon McGuinness @blushingunseen.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

My friend Dave’s annoyingly good Timelapse of peak eclipse. Done on his phone.

010

Sharon McGuinness @blushingunseen.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Up at the park awaiting celestial event!

View over Morecambe Bay from Williamson Park in Lancaster. Sun overhead in pre-eclipse splendour

120

Sharon McGuinness @blushingunseen.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

In this week’s episode of “where’s Sharon?”… First time using the swanky new railway station.

Picture of the sign for the new railway station in Moseley Village, Birmingham with the station forecourt behind. Bathed in late evening sunshine.

010

Sharon McGuinness @blushingunseen.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

In a new (to me anyway) cool spot in Liverpool. Having a cheeky mocktail while I wait for my sister to join me. 😊

Interior of an old industrial building refurbished into a food hall. Large central skylights run down the spine of the corrugated roof, and pendant lights hang down from metal roof struts to add further light. A long wooden bar runs around the edge of the mezzanine floor. Two tables at the far back are decorated with white balloons for someone’s event.

040

Sharon McGuinness @blushingunseen.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

New sweater coming on well. Big needles ftw!! 😂

Work in progress knitted “in the round”sweater in 2 strands of creamy beige wool. It’s sitting on a green velvet sofa. Sweater has a lacy yoke for interest which will look more obvious after blocking.

040

Sharon McGuinness @blushingunseen.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

What does Chris Mason think of your town? Me and my deeply apologetic eyelashes are just fine thanks. *flounces*

Randomly generated burbling à la Chris Mason describing Lancaster as “an igloo whose eyelashes are spam fritters - and the eyelashes are deeply apologetic”

021

Sharon McGuinness @blushingunseen.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

Here are my emotional support okra fries.

A restaurant table holds a plate of poppadoms, some dips and a bowl of okra fries, as well as a glass of IPA.

000

Sharon McGuinness @blushingunseen.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

Went for a walk and made new friends. Played a delightful game of grandmother’s footsteps with them for a while before they plucked up the courage to walk past me.

Two ewes and their lambs standing on a grassy/shingly beach with hills behind them and staring straight into camera.

120

Sharon McGuinness @blushingunseen.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

The Simmerdim. Twenty past eleven at night. No filter. So beautiful.

View up Loch Linnhe on a midsummer’s evening. Shades of blue and grey with hints of peach on the horizon. Taken at 11.20 at night. No filter.

030

Sharon McGuinness @blushingunseen.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

Safely gathered in with friends in the Highlands and enjoying this much missed view.

View up Loch Linnhe from my friends’ garden just north of the Corran narrows.

020

Sharon McGuinness @blushingunseen.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

So nice to be able to enjoy the view from the Erskine Bridge. I’m usually too focused on not crashing the car!

View of the River Clyde from the Erskine Bridge. Constable on clouds today.

020

Sharon McGuinness @blushingunseen.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

The long tailed tit family have come for their tea. Literally 3 feet from me and totally unbothered. Magical.

A bird feeder on a stand covered in several long tailed tits

020

Sharon McGuinness @blushingunseen.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Whoever it was recommended these, omg! Delish!

Empty wrapper from a Magnum peach flavour ice cream.

100

Sharon McGuinness @blushingunseen.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

Workstation. I sometimes wonder if an easier hobby might have been better!! 😂

A large wooden embroidery frame rests on trestles, a work in progress uncovered in the centre, reference image of cornflowers to one side, surrounded by tissue paper to protect the rest of the work. Scissors, needles and threads scattered around the edges waiting to be utilised.

020

Sharon McGuinness @blushingunseen.bsky.social · 23/05/2026

Friends fear she’s on the negronis again…

Crystal glass tumbler sits on a wooden table. Contents comprise a massive single ice cube, a twist of orange peel and an interesting pale red liquid.

130

Sharon McGuinness @blushingunseen.bsky.social · 17/05/2026

Popped out for a walk round the neighbourhood before the forecast rain sets in and had this magical encounter. Totally unbothered by me, dog walkers, and passing trains. Less sure of cyclists. Less than 5 mins from my house.

130

Sharon McGuinness @blushingunseen.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

Not a bad walk to and from the supermarket I suppose, all things considered.

The River Lune. Millennium footbridge in the middle ground with its stanchions forming a distinctive “2 fingered salute”shape. Lancaster spreading up the hill behind it and catching the golden evening light. A bright blue sky behind with a scattering of fluffy clouds.

051

Sharon McGuinness @blushingunseen.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

Worth every minute of stirring to be fair.

Pretty china plate sits on a wooden chopping board alongside a lemon wedge. The plate holds a pile of sumptuous risotto and some charred hispi cabbage. A golden crispy crumb is sprinkled on top.

020

Sharon McGuinness @blushingunseen.bsky.social · 03/04/2026

A very jolly time had at Settle Victoria Hall listening to Mikey Kenney and his band.

A traditional proscenium arch stage in Settle Victoria Hall holds a band comprising a fiddle player, a drummer and a cellist.

020

Sharon McGuinness @blushingunseen.bsky.social · 28/03/2026

After a sunny but rather cold and blustery walk I think I deserve my little treat from Bettys! 😅

A wooden coffee table holds a mug of tea and a small box containing four diamond shaped fondant fancies decorated to look like Easter chicks with yellow icing and bright orange beaks.

150

Sharon McGuinness @blushingunseen.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

Ah yes, the Middle East, famously not remotely prone to any sort of geopolitical activity.

Image is an extract from the FT which reads:

An executive at a large global hedge fund with a presence in Dubai said: "We have been exploring how to evacuate people but it's not easy."
He added: "It's pretty scary - this is going to have implications for some of my guys... The trade was not that you were getting exposed to geopolitics when moving to Dubai. It was not a consideration. People have moved families. This element of concern is new."

110

Sharon McGuinness @blushingunseen.bsky.social · 01/03/2026

At last beginning to feel like Spring.

Purple crocuses congregate at the base of a tree trunk lit by pale spring sunshine.

030

Sharon McGuinness @blushingunseen.bsky.social · 28/02/2026

At The Dukes for Private Lives. Everyone’s tirribly witty.

Theatre set bathed in purple and blue light. There are voile curtains and a gramophone with occasional table and sofa in front.

130

Sharon McGuinness @blushingunseen.bsky.social · 21/02/2026

Home from lovely wine tasting (via night caps at Runner Duck). So glad past me got tickets for something nice at end of first week back from Rome,

2 bottles of wine (one a fizz) standing on kitchen table behind an A4 sheet of paper listing wines tasted on the night and my jotted thoughts about each one.

020

Sharon McGuinness @blushingunseen.bsky.social · 18/02/2026

Slow cooker lamb stew for tea. Behold my majestic dumplings though!

A cream coloured slow cooker contains a lamb stew but this is barely visible beneath a layer of the fattest, fluffiest dumplings.

000

Sharon McGuinness @blushingunseen.bsky.social · 15/02/2026

Nice cables. I’m pleased with how my first cardie is shaping up.

Knitting in progress. The emerging shape of a v necked cardigan in rust coloured wool can be seen against a green sofa cushion.

100

Sharon McGuinness @blushingunseen.bsky.social · 15/02/2026

#SundayPixRed Honestly, you sit for ages for your portrait and the dog comes and spoils it at the last minute…

Man with red beard and moustache, in a ruff and a splendid black hat against a red backdrop. He looks straight out of a portrait which appears to have been “photobombed” by his red and white setter dog.

180

Sharon McGuinness @blushingunseen.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

St Peter’s Square by night, panorama

Panorama of St Peter’s Square at night. Basilica and colonnades lit up. Lights reflecting in the wet cobbles of the square following earlier rain. My friend Paul silhouetted against it, taking his own panorama photo.

000

Sharon McGuinness @blushingunseen.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

Went up to St Peter’s again, this time to get in and to see Michelangelo’s masterpiece, La Pietà. I’m not sure I’ve ever been so moved by a work of art. Literally fighting back tears. A mother cradles her dead child. Sorrow distilled through stone. Impossible to describe its presence.

Michelangelo’s sculpture La Pietà. Mary cradles the dead Jesus in her lap. Ultimate sorrow and acceptance distilled into white marble.

000

Sharon McGuinness @blushingunseen.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

Got up early and got on a bus to the Pantheon

View of the inside of the dome in the Pantheon. Coffered ceiling leads up to a central oculus through which is streaming two beams of daylight

Inside the Pantheon dome with oculus in the centre

Interior of the Pantheon in Rome. Blurred figures mill around under a giant dome. Circular walls highly decorated with statues, columns and paintings. Tiled marble floor with geometric pattern.

220