Walking with Moss

You know when it has been a good day

when there is mud on your nose

and a smile on your face

You know it has been a good walk

when the river is wide

and splashing is fun

You know you have been having fun

when the sticks that float down the stream

just call to you to be caught

and rescued

and dragged to shore

You know when the walking has been good, 

when there are plenty of puddles

to drag those rescued sticks through

You know it has been a good one

when you can run and run and run

then run some more

Wuff,  yes, it was a good day :)

A letter to myself

When I was about 16 years old, many, many years ago, the day before we left our beloved home country for one further south, I spent the last evening with my best friend. We chatted and reminisced about our childhood days and wondered about the future. Then, when my friend went to refill our hot chocolate mugs, I picked up a scrap of paper and wrote a letter ... to myself.

I wrote how I felt, where I was, who I was with and what I hoped for, for the future. I then tucked it in my bag, the next day we emigrated. I left behind friends and family, left behind a boyfriend and pets. It was hard, I think harder on me now than it was then when the invincibility of youth carried me through.  I had that letter with me for many years until once again I changed countries as well as hemispheres and with moves and time, the letter disappeared.

 Fast forward a few years, I am now married, sharing a mortgage and Christmas decorations to take down.

As I was packing away the baubles and bells, I remembered my letter to myself and sat down and wrote another. It was a short note, listing what we were doing, what the cats were up to, where we lived and what I hoped for in the coming new year. I tucked the note in a box and hid it to the Christmas decorations box.

As the years passed, I wrote more letters and added cards made by the boys and special cards from special folk.

Today, as usual I wrote myself my annual letter and on a whim looked back at the others. I never re-read them, usually only glancing at the previous year's note. This time I looked back at all them.

I have (minus one or two) twenty letters to myself... twenty years of tidying away decorations, twenty years of thoughts and fears, twenty years of stories.

Plans for jobs found and jobs lost, moves, emigration, immigration and scraping enough money to buy a home.

Thoughts on the baby, the toddler, the second baby, the tweenies, the teenagers and now the young men that fill our lives. Tears for those that have died, both friends, family as well as pets.

Fears for the future, thoughts on the past and what is happening now, each year, as I write.

Each one has a mention of the weather - the snow, the rain, the stifling heat. Each one always says what Himself is doing - washing up, pottering around, walking the baby/riding bikes with the boys, packing away the tree.

I found myself reading them all - I never done that before .... I felt the hope and optimism, the worry and concerns, the pride and delight in the words that I wrote to myself.

And it made me realise that I need to get on with my 'grand plan' that I must not hesitate any longer. If I get anything from these letters from me, I get new strength, greater determination and a belief in 'm*y*s*e*l*f.

In me.

Watch this space!


#art  #hawthorn

Boxing Day

.... And breathe ...
The house is quiet, Himself and I are sitting downstairs, listening to the wind as we drink the first mug of tea of the day.

The boys are still sleeping as is the dog. Around us, despite our attempts at tidying up yesterday, is evidence of the last few days.

We promise ourselves a walk later to clear the heads and stretch the dog's legs. She has been so good the last couple of days, having to put up with our family jollities and silliness.

In fact, she joined in with her 'first' chrimbly and even 'opened' her own pressies :)

We agree she loves her new toys, playing with them and taking them to her bed, burying them in her blanket.

The wind is bitterly cold, cheek burningly cold and my eyes stream. Moss runs and runs and runs, chasing after her chrimbly pressie Youngest throws for her. In a flash she is back ready for another go.

Eldest finds a rabbit skull, we marvel at it's delicate beauty.

I ask him to bring it home so I can sketch and paint it.

On 'Old Joe's Lane' above the village we follow a familiar route.

A favourite of mine, long enough to feel good, 

short enough to complete before the weather worsens.

Himself wears his knitted beanie I made.

During November, in the evenings, sitting next to him I quietly knitted it,

and, although he knew I was making something - he'd not realised it was for him :) 

On our way home, Moss is proudly wearing the badge of a good walk -

a coating of mud.

Happy dog.

Thank you everyone who commented, 

joined in and linked to my chrimbly crafting posts. 

You were amazing! 

Thank you xxxx

Ho Ho Ho!

As the wind howls around the house, 

I sit quietly on my own, 

the boys wrapping pressies upstairs,

the cats investigating around the tree. 

We've just returned from my folks 

where we had a wonderful family celebration.

The meal was delicious

 and the obligatory silly party games 

had us laughing out loud.

It is amazing how much fun you get out of wearing a false mustaches and eating green chocolate Brussels sprouts! 

The vintage slide show of various great great grandparents,

grandparents and children was the icing on the cake...

Thank you x

Now, presents wrapped,

stockings filled,

tree lights out,

we're off to bed.

Good night, sleep well xxx

May tomorrow be filled with 

Family, 

Love and

Laughter 

xxxxx

Three ways to fold festive serviettes and chrimbly counting 24

Once again a distinct lack of numberage - hey ho, let's get on with the final crafty post of my chrimbly crafting marathon! I am so pleased you all joined me and kept me going with your stories and photos of your crafting! So, without further ado - welcome to the final festive post for 2016!

Three ways to fold festive serviettes

You will need...

Serviettes 

Time

Mug of tea/coffee/mulled wine (may be wait til after folding to tackle the mulled wine - you will need your faculties in suitable order)

A timely festive dinner table just waiting for your creations :)


Two folds are quick and easy and one a little more fiddly but so worth the effort!

Windmill, Pixie Boot and Festive Tree

Windmill - easy

1. Open out the serviette and check it is square

2. Leave open and fold diagonally in half to create a triangle

3. Fold the triangle in half again and open back to original square

4. Take each corner and fold to the centre - see photo on top right

5. Once all four corners are in the middle, press all creases down firmly

6. Take the bottom edge and fold up to the middle point - see middle photo, press firmly on crease

7. Take top edge, fold down to middle point - see photo on right, again press down on crease

8. Take left edge and fold towards centre - photo top left

9. Take right edge and fold towards centre - middle picture - at this point press all creases down firmly

10. Carefully pull out the inner corner  - see top right photo - this is as the corner is just beginning to be pulled out

11. Once corner out, press down and then repeat the procedure on all four corners so the serviette now looks as per top right photo

12. Take top let point and flap upwards

13. Take bottom right point and flap downwards

14. You have just made your windmill ! Well done you :)

Ta da!!

Pixie boot - intermediate to huh??? what do I fold now?? (but worth the effort!)

1. Open out serviette fully

2. Fold upwards in half lengthwise

3. Fold upwards again lengthwise

4. Fold one half of the length down creating a mitred corner, see above, then repeat on the other side, making a 'paper aeroplane' shape

5. Take the left corner (see picture top left) and fold to the centre, making the shape even more 'paper aeroplane' shaped, repeat on the other side (see top right photo) Press all new creases firmly down

6. Fold in half then turn 90 degrees ensuring the fold on the 'toe' is on the top side of your work

7. (This now is a bit fiddly but I know you can do it!) First, fold the top flap upwards

8. Then reduce the size of the bottom fold - see right photo- by folding 'diagonally in half' 

9. Bend this flap towards the point (toe) 

10.  Fold this flap and tuck into the fold

11. Make sure this step is firmly tucked in as this now makes the structure of the pixie boot

12. Take the remaining flap and carefully open and bend down towards the boot making a 'cuff'

Once you have made the pixie boot, carefully place a finger into the boot and gently round it open - see below photo ... did you do it? Well done you!

Ta da!!

Festive tree - easy

1. This works best either with a fabric serviette or a double sided paper one. I separated my serviette to have a coloured and a white side to make the steps stand out more

2. Have your serviette folded in quarters , rotate so that the corner at the bottom (nearest you) is made up of several layers

3. Fold up the first layer - not quite to the top, leaving a border, press down firmly on crease

4.Fold up the next layer, again leaving a border showing from the previous layer. Repeat the folding up of the layers

5. When final layer has been flipped up turn the serviette over, then, rotate serviette so the pointed top now faces you

6. With the point facing you, take the left top (see image left) and fold to opposite right long edge

7. Fold the to right across to opposite left long edge - press down firmly on new folds. Now TURN IT BACK OVER

8. Flip up top layer towards top point

9. Flip up second layer and tuck the point beneath the above layer

10. Repeat until final layer tucked in.

See how the different layers show when using a single ply serviette

Ta da!!

If you have been inspired by my tutorial, 

please could you be so kind to link back to my blog

I would love to see your serviette foldings :)

Linking with Julie's Advent

Well, that's it! I am done done done! Now I'm going to lie down in a dark corner and recover - it has been brilliant fun and I have learnt things along the way, I hope you have too, if you did do any of my tutorials, please let me know, take photos, show and tell, I would really love to see what you got up to :)

It just remains for me to say - 

Have a peaceful, family filled Yule, full of love and joy and laughter

Blessings

Namaste

Peace

#hawthorn

#crafts  #christmascrafts  #handmadewithlove #handicraft #inspiredby #imadethis #livelovecraftme

Festive home made caramel bars and chrimbly counting 23

Good grief - no 23!!! Hey ho, no worries, lets move on to ....

Home made caramel bars

You will need ...

Your favourite caramel or toffee recipe

Grease-proof paper

Festive wrapping paper/ribbons

Scissors

Make and cool your caramel or toffee recipe as per the instructions

Cut into finger sized bars

Wrap first in grease-proof paper - either as a little parcel or in a candy wrapper style

Layer up with your decorative paper or ribbons

Slap away any hands that think they can have first dibs

Decorate tree or hand out your caramel bars to special folk - just because they deserve it :)

If you have been inspired by my tutorial, 

please could you be so kind to link back to my blog

I would love to see your  caramel bars!

Linking with Julie's Advent

#crafts  #christmascrafts  #handmadewithlove #handicraft #inspiredby #imadethis #livelovecraftme