get back on your bicycle and keep riding

ahh words of wisdom from a friend ~

'Get your butt back on your bicycle and keep riding.'

I went for a walk. visiting my friends Avis & Bill . . . (I must show you their gorgeous home oneday), I took the post and the email and showed them, had a cry, a cup of tea and now I know what to do ~ ~ ~
I will continue to blog and try to get past yet again another email from someone who obviously doesn't like me and know that it will probably happen again and that each time it happens, it will make me a little stronger - well that is the theory

. . . . . . and I need to try to stop worrying who and who doesn't visit, comment or like me - but it is hard - I am a gal of the 1950's, a product of my upbringing - on the day any girl was born in the 1950', the Drs stamped her forehead with the words 'worry' & ' guilt' - forever marked.
and so many words of support and comfort - thankyou.

But it did hurt to receive that email from someone whom I thought was a very good friend - since I began my blogging and was part of my postcard swap - the first swap I ever organized. I am going to leave the previous post here on my blog & re-instate the one that caused all the hoohar in the first place - to remove either is to deny a part of me. because they were my thoughts when I clicked the publish button (love that, I read it on a blog somewhere!) and I don't want this to turn into a witch hunt (ooh, the witch word, more emails) so I am just going to get on with being me - I hope.

and yes, this is my blog * I should be able to write what I like & if anyone doesn't like it why the hell do they keep visiting? I now realize that I have many friends out there who get enjoyment from my ravings & to stop, would be to deny both them and myself from fun!

sabbatical

I posted yesterday and I guess it came across the wrong way - I wasn't wanting accolades or praise & it wasn't about getting comments and it definately wasn't aimed at anyone - I don't have a problem at all with people visiting and reading and not commenting - I just wanted to get my feelings out on 'paper' - I guess it sounded like 'oh, here she goes again' or that I wanted sympathy, but truly, it was just something that I had been thinking about, how friends move on and i often wonder why, - thankyou to each of you who responded . However I received the following email and it has just broken my heart. I know it is only one, but one matters to me and for that reason, I am walking away from blogging for awhile. I have closed comments to this post.
*don't forget to go to Hidden Haven and bid on the auction*



I am very sorry to have to write this email but I happened to drop by your blog today and I had to comment on your post about comments. As you know I am unable to comment on blogger but I did email you if I had a comment. This is not the first post of this nature and I'm sorry I feel I have to something now. You can't expect people to comment all the time, you should blog for yourself and no one else. For all the time I had my blog I think you made one comment. I did not take offence and quite frankly if no one left any comments it didn't bother me, I just wasn't that needy.
I am sure that you are a caring person, but I wrote to you on many occasions and never once got a letter, yes once I got a collage and I did appreiciate it but honestly Robyn if I hear about your sensitivities once more....
So Robyn, I'll not be commenting on your blog, I may visit if I choose because I do think that you are a nice person but my advice honey would be to stop expecting too much of others when sometimes your not so perfect yourself.....


Unfortunately, I have had quite abit of trouble with my email - and I didn't receive alot of emails that people have sent. If I haven't replied to an email that is the reason & if you sent me a gift or a letter in the mail, then I am sorry if I didn't reciprocate - I was planning too eventually - but excuses, excuses.

I am so, so sorry if I have hurt anyone - I didn't mean to.
much love, blessings & bliss x0

I realize ~ ~

nuff said

too much time on my hands?

ok, I wasn't going to post this but it has been bothering me & I need to get it out. or else it will eat away at me until I make myself sick - spit it out girl!
is there such a thing as blogging etiquette? what does one do about visitors and comments........ I have lots & lots of blogs I visit - I call them my favourites. yep. and I have many people who I have a great blogging friendship with - commenting on each others blogs - back and forth. but there are some that I thought I had a friendship with * commenting on each others blogs, every now & then but something happens and I comment, and I comment but one day realize that some aren't visiting anymore. so I go and comment and still no return comment. I don't think I have 'done' anything to offend them - I thought I was a good friend, so what happened? why does this happen? what do I/you do about this? oh, I have emailed some before and tried to work it out but then I feel like a real idiot, asking someone if I did anything to offend them. maybe they lost me in my move.......I drive myself nuts. am I one of these people who 'love' too much & expect too much? or maybe it is menopausal margaret or the moon. or maybe I worry too much *of course I do! i know that! problem is, I want to be liked by everyone in my little blogging circle & mostly I am ((thankyou)) but I worry about those others who I have lost along the way, I want to be one big happy blogging family - guess that is a little naive & simple, life isn't really like that in the real world is it? but I find blogging can be so fickle, hurtful and downright cliquey sometimes. and it just hurts my heart - do I stop caring?
like I read on a blog somewhere: THESE ARE MY THOUGHTS AS I CLICK 'PUBLISH POST'

I've got mail

yep, today I received two packages - one from Peggy & ms*diva - the soaps that I ordered and as a gift - some gorgeous paper bits and the other package was an ebay win from Colette and some gorgeous wool as a thankyou gift - love the bag that the cards were in too! thanks gals!
these two ladies are two of my favourite sellers of wares on the net! check them out on my sidebar when you get a chance. You won't be disappointed!

to market on Tuesdays

these foolish things. . .
I 'met' Gena awhile ago and we have become firm friends. Kindred spirits, so to speak. She has recently opened an online store with all sorts of vintage goodies. matter of fact, I just bought myself a sweet vintage brooch.

and don't forget to see my sidebar - to market, to market! added to weekly!

monday musings

EVERY MAJOR ACHIEVMENT BEGAN AS A SMALL THOUGHT

gratitude on Sunday

I am grateful that I live in my gorgeous little village, Woodford. Where the air is clean, you can take a walk and people say hello, where I am free to do as I please and where there is a real soul. I am grateful for all of that and more

sunday scribblings

THE MONSTER*

so I write about my childhood monsters. I had many.

the one that I still think of often is 'the hand under the bed'

*many times, as I was drifting of to sleep I would see a hand coming out from under my bed - just a hand, no other part of the body.

But in this hand was always a gift, just sitting there.

all wrapped up and tied with a bow.

I would look at it and wonder what was in the gift but was never game enough to take it. I would look and pull the blankets up over my head, I would lie there looking, trying to be brave enough to take that gift, but, I was scared that whatever this hand belonged to, would grab me if I took the gift.

Now, I wonder what would have happened if I had taken it.

Would my life have been different?

was it a gift from a spirit or an angel or a faery?

I wonder.

guess I will never know

" peace begins with a smile "

the inspiring Mother Theresa was born on August 26, 1910. She always wrote her birthday as the 27th of August because that was the day of her baptism, which was always more important to her than her birth.

" If you want to make peace, you don't talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies.”

"There are so many religions and each one has it's different ways of following God."

- Blessed Mother Theresa

help & advice needed

I have this doll in my head

* it is all there but I need to get it down.

inspired once more by another kindred soul - Lisa (X0)

* I am going to get started.

I want this doll to be painted and I want her to be 'hard'

any ideas as to what to use to make her really hard?

after painting her legs and face what should I use to give her that crisp look?

and any ideas on art dolls would be much appreciated

* I have made cloth dolls for many, many years. some with painted finishes but have never got the crisp hard look quite right.

thanks a bunch to you all xo

my green cardi

I finally found a cardi that I liked * not vintage though * it was quite inexpensive which was good, as this is an experiment. I also tend to be one who gets a tad tired of the same clothes so I like to buy cheaper ranges rather than 'designer wear' * so here is a little preview of the cardi and my ideas:

FROM THIS:

TO THIS:

AND TO THIS:

KEEP WATCHING!

oh and I also bought a lovely skirt and some hot pink ric rac to sew around the hem! a busy weekend for me !

is it the moon?

all over - I have read posts about many of us not feeling quite right, not being able to focus, feeling blue, too many ideas in our head at once that we just can't get down to. on and on it goes. is it the moon? one thing though - we are amongst kindred spirits here, who know just exactly how we feel, makes it easier to deal with, don't you think? kind of makes you feel normal

helping others

a week or so ago, I read a very sad story on Peggy's blog. Quite a few people wanted to do something to help. So, Peggy & I had a little 'chat' and came up with an auction idea. It will be held at Peggy's blog: helping a blog neighbour - if you are interested, please go and have a look. Maybe you can help in some way.

simply - Thursday

a few of my vintage quilts * and sitting on top - a 1930's bunny and two much loved rag dolls - sometimes I think they look how I feel!

a simple day for me - patchwork with my friends & working on my bitsy quilt.

but I want to say thankyou to each of you for your support - with my blue day and my mood swings. Honestly, I have never been like this before * but to know that there are many other kindred spirits out there, who know EXACTLY how I feel & to take time to comment or email me, well, it just touches my heart. To be called 'hun' or 'sweetie' or be given a hug of support helps me alot. THANKYOU xo

a blue day

I have no idea what is wrong with me lately

up, down, up, down. It is bothering me. *today I am having a blue day*

I am beginning to think I am mentally unbalanced

a wander through my garden

spring is truly just around the corner - I wandered around the garden today, just taking a few photos. I do love this time of year, even though the gorgeous blossoms give me hayfever - I would rather take the pills than miss out on this:


this is a manchurian pear that I planted about 2 years ago. through the branches you can see the view I have from my back verandah & kitchen window.



daphne - it has to be THE most exquisite perfume in the garden. I love gardenias and roses and frangipanis but the daphne, well I cannot describe the perfume. I have about 6 scattered around my garden and at this time of year, when you go outside the perfume is heavenly.



a view of my front yard - at this time of year, it looks a little bare but it is a haven. I have quite a few citrus trees, the lemon is quite heavily laden this year.



along one side of my home, we have planted an avenue of flowering plums.



we have a small inground pool & this is the water feature on the fence. Not quite finished yet, I am wanting to paint the wall a tuscan yellow, the lion's head fountain still needs to be hooked up & I have to replant the agaves (on the to do list this weekend). The pool is only a small one but wonderful to have on those hot summer days!

a scary thing

and if that photo of me as Annie Lennox was not scary enough - let me tell you I was a big fan of Boy George back in the 80's too. I know he is not going to be everybody's cup of tea but there was something about him, that I loved. His quirkiness, his style & his courage to be him. He was OUT THERE! I had a lime green jacket which I often wore with hot pink pants - gawd, I was out there for sure back then. I like being out there, an individual, an eccentric.

I don't know what happened to me though - oh yes I do - I married someone(previous life of course) who was ultra conservative and I started acting like I thought I should, as an upstanding member of the community - that was a sad time for me, I was being stifled, he suppressed me - no, make that: I LET him suppress me. I know there is nothing wrong with being conservative, it is just not for me. I don't do boring very well at all.

sometimes I am so sure I have multiple personalities - the 'out there' girl breaks out every now and then - next thing you know I am a jeans and tee gal, then the hippy shows her face & I am in sarongs, headscarves & patchouli oil. and I am thankful that the girl is breaking out more often than not, these days. I feel alive and I feel that I am finally being me.

must be fun to be married to me - you never know who you will wake up with.

to market on Tuesdays

I have many favourite etsy shops & ebay sellers and would like to share them, so once a week I will have 'to market on Tuesday' & I will eventually have a list on my sidebar.

enjoy!

ms* divas' goats milk soap
I know many of you are familiar with peggy and ms*diva but so many of you are new and I would love to share - ms*diva's goats milk soaps are just divine! pop over and have a look. lots of lovely goats milk soaps, all hand-made at hidden haven and some Christmas soaps coming up soon, so i hear!

an idea -

what is the word that I am looking for - when you sketch an idea that you have? it is on the tip of my tongue. anyhow, whatever it is - I found some spotted fabric and I am wanting to make a little square using it - this is for my friend Dotee xo

monday musings

'EVERYDAY DO ONE THING THAT SCARES YOU'

and with that lovely crazy bit of musing & before I change my mind - I will unveil my scary thing for today - my photo of my Annie Lennox hair cut -

this is scary for me to post, there is another shot, a full one of me in my bikini but NO WAY will I post that. I often wonder why most of us are 'scared' to post photos of ourselves. is it because we are embarrassed, vain or very critical of ourselves?

this was taken in 1987 and I DO NOT look like this now, believe me!

gratitude on sunday

I have decided that I am grateful that, this week, I have been comfortable in my own skin. Happy with who I am, where I am and where I am going. I have felt settled, still struggling with the 'wanting everyone to like me' - but I am trying hard to let go of that! * BUT I am still not quite sure if I am comfortable enough to post THAT Annie Lennox look-alike photo of myself. Maybe tomorrow . . . . .

a little bit more

a tiny bit more progress on my *mini meltdown quilt* - I am calling it this because it is the first time I have really done any sewing since the wedding quilt, after which I am sure I had a mini meltdown. I am going to add tea cups and baskets in memory of my Nan


this is little spotty birdie - the flower he is sitting on is made from a vintage feedsack



the photo of myself that I printed out, embellished with a little bit of embroidery & a fabric cap - all inspired by ART TEA LIFE. Still not quite sure if it is 'right' for this quilt. I made some pink suffolk puffs to place along the bottom - but I am not sure if this piece will stay. It was fun experimenting though!





and here I have the other side of the flowers - a vintage doily, fussy cut to make the flower. I have a suitcase full of ripped & torn doilies that I use for this kind of thing. I look on it as a new lease of life for an old gal!

guilty pleasure

I loved the term 'guilty pleasure' that annie-elf used to describe Billy Idol - one of mine is Johnny Depp - if ever a man made me swoon, go weak at the knees, all giggly & my heart rate quicken - it would be him. there is just something about him, don't you think?

Olwen

I have this fantastic Goddess book by Patricia Telesco - 365 Goddesses. - great book! If you are into goddesses & rituals - I can recommend it ! There is a goddess for each day.
Today is Olwen - for creativity. Her symbols are flowers & red or gold items. hmm got me to wanting to play with a photo, so I did. instead of doing the early morning washing.
there is also a creativity charm
you need to collect 13 different flower petals and find yourself a red or gold coloured small cloth - hankie size. place the petals in the middle of the cloth and fold the cloth inward over the petals, 3 times, for body, mind & spirit. saying with each fold: *insight begins, bless me, Olwen*
carry this with you, releasing one petal whenever you want a little extra inspiration

for women only

you simply must buy one of these - I just wish they came in little buttons to pin on a jacket!
our lady

yummy stuff

as I am obsessive compulsive in nearly everything I do * I just had to jump into my car and drive to a little shop I had heard about called 'Fred the needle' - how quaint is that ? and gals, it was trim heaven! I was literally racing around that shop, hyperventilating - the woman wondered what had hit her, I am sure!I bought a few things for my embellishment idea plus a few bits of fabric for my bitsy quilt I am designing. I also bought 5 mtrs of the best pompom trim - I am going to put this right around a gorgeous piece of fabric I have and use it for a summer tablecloth - I am having such fun - it is like the designer that I was in a previous life has been re-awoken.

making a note . .

you know sometimes when you get a great idea and never act on it? next thing you know, someone else has found that thought from somewhere deep in your mind and they have run with it.

I had a 'dream/ thought/ vision/idea - call it what you will but I am going to put it down here so that I remember. Now, I don't know if it has been done and if it has - well - so be it. And if it hasn't been done & I inspire someone - wonderful! but I am going to do it anyhow - just have to find me some pieces of clothing

take a vintage cardi *or new* and embellish - a quaint saying embroidered somewhere, change the buttons to vintage, unmatching, sew some braid, trim or pompoms along the bottom and you have a unique, stylish, out there piece of clothing - much along the same lines as altered art, although I guess you could say it is a type of altered art - watcha think?

in a past life. . .

in the 80's - I was in love with Billy Idol * but I also went out and got my hair cut like Annie Lennox in the Eurythmics * yes ! really short and bleach, bleach blonde. dare I post a photo?

it is good to laugh at yourself, is it not? laugh and the world laughs with you - so they say, but if I posted a photo of my Annie Lennox era - the world would be laughing at me, not with me!

maybe we should start a weekly photo challenge

tuesday terrors or something like that - gee I could come up with some doozy photos!

the chakras & dancing them

ok! you asked for it - here it is!

whether or not you believe in chakras - we all have them - the fact they exist has even been accepted by the science world. Ancient cultures have known this forever.
The chakras are simple to understand but way too long winded to go into here - so here is a link if you are interested:
your chakra energy

Chakra dance is a free spirited dance where you dance the chakras to music that has been specifically designed to resonate with each chakra. The base being very earthy & grounded up to the crown which is more hypnotice and angelic. as the music is played you just move your body as you wish or if you feel the need you can just sit. The music works on the chakras anyhow.
My chakra dance class is run by a young girl who is into rituals as well - so I am in my element, of course! each season she does a special seasonal class and the one I went to last week was our winter one
She set the mood by having at least 60 candles all around the room and a circle in the middle with pillows placed around, a scarf for each person incase we got cold. drumming music is played as we walk in and we just sat til the class started. at the beginning she took us through a guided meditation and then we started the dancing, the lights are off and you dance with your eyes gently closed and you just DANCE! no steps, no co-ordination - great for someone like me who left their co-ordination gene with their maker. So you dance for 15 minutes to each chakra - and there are are 7 main chakras, so it is a wonderful workout as well.
then once that is over - you sit and either write or draw a reflection. then a closing meditation is done - this time we were all given a garnet grounding stone and we did a meditation with that & took it home to meditate with whenever we needed grounding - great for me who has been an air head lately.
here is a link to the chakra dance class: chakra dance and a link to the CD that you can buy to play at home - even playing this in the day during my housework, I know I am balancing my chakras : chakra dance CD

tonight

I am off to an african dance class

with drumming and bells!

UPDATE - home from african dancing - it was fun but way too co-ordinated for me. I looked like a grasshopper who had too many martinis. I think I will stick to chakra dance which is alot more free spirited

today

friends are important to me and I have a dear friend who blogs & sometimes it knocks my socks off when I read her posts: this is the post that ms*A posted today:bygones - wonderful sentiments from Amy.

I also had an email from a 'new' blogging friend in Scotland - and I thank Ray, the silver surfer from the bottom of my heart for her kind words.

AND on the advice of a dear friend and fellow menopausal soul - I am letting my inner light shine * I am fearless and I will survive !! yay for menopausal women & the moon !

a side track on the journey

when I was little, I always thought that when I grew up, I would know everything, have the answer to life & know the meaning. If I ever thought of myself reaching 48 - I stood in awe of that thought. 48! oh my, when I get to 48 I will be a wise old woman, I would think to myself. Well, here I am in my 48th year & sometimes I feel like an old woman but geez, I know less than I did back when I was that little girl. It is like, when I reach the end of the path - they move the end and I never know what it is I am searching for. Some can breeze through life, not worrying about it but me? I can send myself insane trying to work out the meaning of life - I sit and ponder about it everyday - sometimes profound thoughts come into my mind and I race off and write them into my journal, other times well,* I wonder if anyone knows the whole truth - I mean, what if there is no meaning to life? what if, what if, what if...........(see, I told you menopausal margaret was rearing her ugly head) oh and it is scary to think that when I die someone might read that journal - the journal of a crazy woman. NOTE TO SELF - BURN IT before I pass over.

my guardian angel

my maternal Nan - Jean Ingall Franks died about 24 years ago -(she was the one who lost her sight due to diabetes). I was her eldest grand-daughter and we shared a special bond. I know I was her favourite, not that she didn't love the others, she just had a special place in her heart for me & I, for her. I was devastated when she died and I guess a part of me died when she did. I often talk to her, ask her advice & tell her my problems. A priest once told me that just because a loved one had died, that did not stop the love they had for us when they were here on earth. It continued after they had gone & I believe that. You just can't 'see' them. But I tell you, I can feel my dear Nan and I can smell her. Yes, sometimes I can faintly smell her - the floral perfume she wore, the 'nan' smell that she had. Just last night as I was drifting off to sleep, I knew she was there with me - I could feel her gently patting my brow and I could smell her and it comforted me. It was like - all is ok in my world. Even at 48, sometimes we need our Nanas, to hush us and tell us all is ok.

MENOPAUSAL MARGARET

menopause (or 'the change' as it was called by my nan in hushed tones - was this because when you went through it, you changed from a normal gal to a completely demented out of control crone?) - I know a few of my blogging friends suffer from 'menopausal symptoms' and I am in total sympathy - it is just awful - oh I know that PMT is bad but at least women know just when PMT is going to hit and they can be warned - not so with menopause, you just never know when Menopausal Margaret is going to rear her ugly head - one minute you are normal, the next it seems you have to moved to the tropics & the love of your life is being silly - stoking the fire up as if he is Casey Jones on the steam train. all you want to do is throw a bucket of water on it (and him too!) Menopause is the time in your life, when people hurry past you in the street, with their heads down, not looking at you. menopause wasn't something that I was going to 'suffer' from - oh no. When I was younger and heard horror stories of hot flashes and screaming like a fishermans wife - I thought smuggly to myself - I am not having that happen to me, oh no. But of course as life does, it decided differently. I got cancer, had radiation and that put me into instant menopause. one minute a sane women, the next waking up from an anaesthetic instantly into menopause screaching like someone who put Linda Blair in the Exorcist to shame. So I muddled along for a few months ignoring my doctors plea of 'please take HRT' and ignoring the pained expressions on my familys faces. Until one day, I 'woke up' in the garden, crying. I instantly removed the gloves and raced to the Drs - screeching 'give me the patches'. ha! they became the bane of my life - they kept falling off and I was using one every two days, I developed a rash all over so obviously they weren't for me. So I went onto oral HRT and haven't looked back. Well, except for when I forget to take them - and yes memory loss is another menopausal symptom. I am reminded by Joe if I ever forget - he just simply says ' have you taken your HRT lately?' ha! poor long suffering guy he is. sensitivity is another symptom - do I need to explain more? I am sooooo sensitive - my nan would be pulling her hair out - telling me to get a tough shell. But nan - I am in menopause and I am a wise woman now, in the years of my life when I feel that I deserve to have a menopausal episode when I need to. Sometimes, I feel I just don't fit in anywhere. I flit from here to there and back again trying to find my niche - like a butterfly who has lost her way. I am just a confused gal. Is anyone else like that? I need to find me a support group, I am thinking - something like 'searching for the meaning of life anonymous'. A club, where we hold each others hand & support each other through this thing we call life. oh gawd, menopausal margaret is rearing her ugly head. I know there are many women who are menopausal out there and I am here, just an email away - I will hold your hand if you will hold mine - we gals hafta stick together xo

a little more done

not much progress on the quilt - although tonight after my amazing discovery of printing onto fabric I have been like a woman possessed - cutting, snipping, tossing aside, pulling bits out - I will take some pictures in the morning - it is looking good! but oh, dear friends - my creative mess room is a complete fuddle once again. if only you could see me in action, I am sure you would have a chuckle.

I am a clever gal

oh my! I just bit the bullet and tried to print photos onto fabric and IT WORKED !!!! I wanted a photo of myself to put onto my newest quilt & I had an old doily so I popped it into the printer and found a photo & off I went.... me holding my breath while it printed . Oh I am so very excited - there will be no stopping me now !!!!

I just had to tell you!

Monday musing

not sure if this will be a regular Monday thing - but I found this ages ago, I have it hanging over my computer, pinned to the wall. You all know me by now & I am sure you realize that lots of my time is spent with my head in the clouds. Being an earth sign, this is not good & I constantly have to ground myself - either by spending time in my garden, connected to Mother Earth or if that is not possible, I pop a garnet into my pocket - my birth stone and a great grounding stone

gratitude on Sunday

a fresh egg from my chickens, lightly fried - served on spelt bread with oven roasted vine tomatoes, drizzled with olive oil & cracked pepper. A glass of freshly squeezed orange juice from oranges from my own tree. served on my deck in the late winter sun - a delightful breakfast to be grateful for!

sunday scribblings

WARNING !

PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT THE FOLLOWING SCRIBBLING & THOUGHTS ARE EVEN CONFUSING TO THE AUTHOR!

sunday scribblings: the prompt for this week is:

Who Else Can I Still Be? prompt

hmm - seeing as I don't really know who I am anyhow, this is a challenge. You see, I do struggle with just who I am - have done all my life. who am I ? is something I have asked myself from a very early age and I still ask.

Why am I here? is another.

But the first thing that comes to mind when I think of who else can I still be, is - I can still be me. The woman who I am. The multiple personality woman. One day a normal everyday gal the next a hedgewitch.
or that could be one minute a 'normal' gal the next a hedgewitch.
I can still be true to myself, without worrying about what people think of me, or how people judge me or who likes me - yes, that is who I can still be - a strong woman who is true to herself. OR I can still be the flower child of the '60's - the long hair in two plaits, bangles on both arms, beads around my neck, long flowing white dress with leather sandles on my feet. peace signs. Bob Dylan. flowers and ban the bomb. incense & love. And I can still be the woman who loves rituals & spirituality & talks to angels, faeries & spirits.

I can still be all of these, wrapped in one - a melting pot.

I can still be my authentic self and when it all boils down to who I can still be - I realize - I just want to be who I am, there isn't much I would change

I often wonder

after trying on & off nearly all day to try and post a damn photo on a post - I got to thinking. Why is blogger FREE ? why is there absolutely no charge? It just doesn't make a lot of sense. Maybe someone more cluey than I, has an answer. Then there is the comment verification thingie - I wonder what the record is of having to type the letters in correctly? I am up to three times at the moment - i's that look like l's & two v's which are actually a w. Then there is the amount of letters - gee sometimes there are more letters in the word verification than in my actual comment. I get rsi from just typing them in! Not being able to post a photo has even got me thinking of finding a new blogging system, that I pay for without so many problems. I don't mind paying at all, as long as it works.

(and of course there will be no photo with this post - sheesh, enough to drive a gal insane)

the best medicine!

I was always told that laughter is the best medicine! after reading a post at annie's - I just had to pass it on: go have a laugh!

isn't this gorgeous?

isn't this just gorgeous? No, I didn't create this, I wish! a dear friend, Colette, a kindred spirit, really, created it.

This has inspired me to go out of my box with my quilt & to explore. I am going to make a block similar

(is that wrong? if so, of course I won't do that!)

but I want to put it into my quilt border to remind me of how Colette inpires me daily.

I love it!
want to see more ?
dear Colette

Oh the more I look at it, the more I love it!

the yummy fabric

remember the fabric that I bought last week? - I have started a quilt with no idea of what the finished product will be. a bit of this and a bit of that. a bit of me and a bit of who I am. here is the first step - I have ideas flowing through my head and am jotting them down like a mad woman. It is going to be a bitsy quilt but what I see in my mind's eye, I like.


this is how I start my quilts - I place different fabrics on the background and live with it for awhile, changing bits around. The piece of vintage red work, I am going to use in the quilt just like it is - I have other bits of vintage trims and embroideries that I am hoping to use as well. My quilts are decidedly different to the traditional quilts - I seem to have a quirky style. some like it, some don't. But it has worked for me for over 20 years & really reflects my personality

to let you know -

we have put Sophie's name down on the list to go to Egypt. When the time comes to pay the final payment, we will pay it & live day by day on what happens as to our final decision. Even if at the last moment, we, or even Sophie, decide no - then we lose the money but that is how we had to plan our trip to New York in 2001 & it all worked out ok. So - to each of you for your wise words - my thanks xo

(oh and who knows - she may even drop Ancient History in her final year - I am living day to day with her, let me tell you - like I have said before - the OC & Marissa have alot to answer for!)

poking their little heads out . . .

just because these dear little daffy-dils are poking their gorgeous heads out - DOES NOT mean that it is spring, because today it is a chilly two degrees (celsius) and there is a frost on the ground that would even have Jack Frost putting his slippers on! It is cold - brrr.

I have fairly normal day today - a few housekeeping bits to do - washing mostly & I am making the meat sauce for lasagne (Ms*Sophie's birthday dinner choice) then hope to do a little on my newest quilt and maybe play with my journal or book of shadows. Tonight I am off to a class for chakra dancing - looking very forward to that. I am sure it will get the metabolism moving.

what do you do?

I know everyone knows about what has happened with the UK & those foiled terrosim attacks. Just dreadful. But this is a more selfish post about that - my darling gal, ms*Sophie has been asked to go on a trip to Egypt. Not til next year in September. It is for a trip with her Ancient History class. To me - this would be a trip of a lifetime. But - well I am sure you know my worries. And I guess it is a year away but we will be needing to make decisions soon.

Many times we have travelled as a family and even travelled in the December of 2001, just after September 11. But that is 5 years ago and the world is again in turmoil.

This is my baby. I am finding it so hard to 'let go' of this gal.

What to do?

simply Thursday

I am off to patchwork today. I haven't been in ages but with my creative juices flooding, then I am off to sew. It is customary to take a small gift to the hostess and I have 6 eggs from my chooks, a few lemons of my tree and I am going to pick a bunch of sweet smelling violets. Don't you just love this simple flower? Most say that they love roses and all those other old fashioned plants and often the humble violet is over looked ahhh but the perfume! see you when I get home and don't forget to give Peggy a hug and to pray for rain in Kansas xo

Peggy and hidden haven

please, please go and give Peggy a hug & a prayer. She needs it right now.
Peggy & Davie

the elixir of life

without water, we die. simple as that. Here in Australia we live with drought, on & off. But rain always comes. A dear sweet friend of mine is experiencing a drought that has rocked her world and asked me if I have a spell - hmmm. not that I know of. Unless I do a naked rain dance, and believe me that is not a pretty sight. However - the good old trusty saints can come to the rescue as they do & will always.
Isidore the farmer for rain * AGRICOLA of Avignon for rain & fine harvests * HERIBERT of Cologne - against drought

dear sweet Jenny - I will be asking the saints to send some rain & will light a candle on my altar for you today