Sunday 17 January 2016

Sunday morning this and that . . .


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There is a heavy frost out there again this morning . . . every branch and spent blossom is etched in the glitter of it's icy blast.  So beautiful.   I am so glad that we picked up a new can of car window defroster spray yesterday when we were out and about.  The frost is even thicker this morning than it was yesterday.  We have not had snow . . .  although many places have.   Chester only ever very rarely gets snow and when we do it is not much, and great cause for exctement!  At least that has been my experience.

This is the time of year that the garden catalogues begin to drop through the letter box onto the mat by our front door.  There is nothing quite so inspiring as to sit and make your way through a garden catalogue, as you sit by the fire on a grey and dismal day in January.

 

It can be almost fatal to the budget.  Those fabulous looking roses  . . .  monster sized delphiniums with their unbelievably tall steeples of beautiful blue blooms.   Those fat and impossibly rich looking peonies . . . the tall as the side of a barn sunflowers with faces as big as dinner plates and their fairy story brightly coloured dwarf counterparts  . . .  you want to buy them all . . .

 It's too late in the season to be thinking about daffodils or tulips, but the herbaceous border section . . .  sigh . . .  this is the area that almost makes you lose your head and reach for that order form.

But common sense must prevail.

 

(Source)

I have decided that this year, I will attempt one paper project each month, and this will be my first.  I am so in love with the papers.   I have begun to gather my supplies.

 

I am short a few so far, but doing well.  I need to find a circle punch . . . and I don't have a die cutter, so will have to improvise those bits, but I am excited!



I wish I could afford to go on workshops, but alas . . . it's just not in the budget.  However on the bright side I sold a print yesterday from my Etsy shop and I have begun scanning all of my black and white art to sell as digital stamp sets in the shop as well.  We will see how that goes.

In the meantime I am looking forward to creating a lovely recipe book for myself.  Perhaps (once all my recipes are in it) it will become an heirloom one day.  

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 This is canoodling season . . .  when you want to be indoors in the warmth, tucked in safe and sound.  My neighbors were both in bed all day yesterday, under the blankets keeping warm.  I could not do that myself, I like to be out and about if not outdoors then in the house, but the colder weather does give one the opportunity to do some indoors stuff you don't think of doing the rest of the year like crafting, knitting, crochet, embroidery and the like . . . the household arts . . .

I love them.  I feel bad for Mitzie in the Winter time.  I am almost tempted to get another dog for her to play with, but as Todd says . . .  we would probably just end up with two dogs laying about all day with nothing to do.  I got her a new toy yesterday, but the initial enthusiasm for it soon waned . . . we ended up playing "Go Find" for what seemed like hours.  She loves that game.  You put her in the kitchen and show her one of her toys, and then you make her stay while you go and hide it in the other room.  Once it is hidden you tell her to go find it.  She excells at this game.  It doesn't matter where you hide the object, she will sniff it out.  It's pretty amazing to see her at work, but then again . . .  that is her job as an English Cocker . . .  to sniff out game birds and flush them out of the wild.

 
 

We watched an excellent film on Amazon Prime last evening.  The Water Diviner with Russell Crowe.  We both really enjoyed it very much.  I am not normally a fan of Russell Crowe, but he played a softer character in this and he did it very well.   It is the story of a father's love for his family and the lengths they might go to show it.  One of my favourite quotes from the film . . . it comes after the main character (Russell Crowe) Connor says to the turkish woman he meets in it that one of his jobs as a father was to steer his children to manhood and he has failed them.   Her response  . . .

"I measure a man by how much he loves his children, not by what the world has done to them." 

I love it.  So good.

 

I am sure you all remember when Baxter dressed up as a Banana for Halloween?

Well it is obvious that the law of sharing hand-me-downs amongst siblings is alive and well . . .

 

Lucy wears it well and appears to be enjoying it much more than Baxter did.  Check out the tail wag.  She's a delighful cutie pie.  ☺

And that's all I have for today!

A thought to carry with you . . .

~•~♥♥♥~•.~•~♥♥♥~• ~
Reaching out to rescue one another,
under any condition, 
is an eternal measure of love.
~Ronald A Rasband
~•~♥♥♥~•.~•~♥♥♥~• ~

Spiritual enlightenment

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In The English Kitchen today  . . .  Apple and Mincemeat Brown Betty.  Take care of leftovers.

 
May your Sunday Cup hold more blessings than it can hold.   Don't forget!

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═══════════ ღೋƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒღೋ ═══════════

And I do too!


9 comments:

  1. Good morning Marie,

    It sounds cold. Beth is on her way home. Just over 5 weeks in Finland and she did not get to see the lights. OH well. Twenty hours to go now.

    I am seriously tempted by the vest pattern. I hardly ever feel the cold but my hands itch to make this;http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/tracery-4. The trouble is that I have a stash but no four ply and of course it is on special too.

    What do you need done on a die cutter?

    Enjoy your Sunday and God bless.

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  2. What a shame she did not get to see the lights Suzan! I can remember laying in bed in Northern Alberta and watching them in the winter skies over our home way back when. What a beautiful vest! That would certainly be a challenge! Wow! I am not sure what I need to do with a die cutter yet, but am hoping that whatever it is I can cut with scissors when the time comes! Necessity is the mother of invention and all that! God bless your day/evening also! xoxo

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  3. Morning Marie, from an equally cold Box...it's still dark so can't see how much frost is about I just know it's cold as when I let Masy out first thing I get a blast of cold air !...certainly wakes me up LOL...what kind of things are you going to do with ...paper..?..but I agree these cold days make you more like staying in and doing something. I am about to start on a patchwork kind of alter cover for church...not sure that's what it's called...it's a hanging that hangs down in front of the pulpit. I made one many years ago all Autumn colours and thought the other week that perhaps it was time I did another, then another ! So going to,TRY to make a spring, summer winter ones...as the finished hanging is 12 by18 ins and all done in 1ins squares it takes a wee while.... I have got as far as squaring up some light card and going to get Mary to cut them up then I can get some materiel cut...our new church worker brought me down a large bag of patchwork materiel..so I have no excuses....hope you have a lovely day nGod Bless. Xxx

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  4. I am also very sure that I have sticker letters and surrounds just like those and I know where they are. I haven't paper crafted in so very long.

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  5. I could never stay in bed all day either. There is so much else I love to do. I might spend a great deal of time in my chair with a good book or a movie, but get up and dressed every day. Hope you have a wonderful Sunday!

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  6. Guess what we watched last night from The Movie Channel On Demand..The Water Diviner..I loved it too..the light in so many of the scenes..her darling boy Orhan..her beauty..and when the son admits to what happened..how sad..how great a love he had for his brother.
    So my ending is he marries her and the son marries the other;)

    I like your idea of a paper craft a month..can you buy your stock online?
    Not abed person in the day either..but I know some need to..
    we are al so diffeent with such different needs and ways..all of us.

    Your description of certain flowers in catalogs is poetic ,lyrical and true.

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  7. As if I had not said enogh..I have had a 1.75 inch circle cutter in my wish list for months..I just can't ..$11.70....? Why so much?:)

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  8. Hi Marie! I think I need one of those catalogs, but then I would need the green thumb to go with it... :0) I sure love to look at all those beautiful flowers, but I can't grow them for love nor money!

    I think your paper-craft ideas look adorable, it sure does inspire me to get busy on a few crafts I have wanted to finish. And can I just say that I love the word, canoodling, I think that describes me to a tee!

    I will have to check out Amazon Prime to see if that movie is available here, it sounds really good, and it's had to find a good movie these days.

    Oh my, I just keep rambling on and on! We used to have a little poodle that loved to play hide-and-go-seek! My daughter would keep her entertained for hours with it! Although, she did not have a banana suit . . . just too adorable!

    Have a wonderful week and stay warm! I keep eyeing that yummy Apple Mincemeat Brown Betty - I love mincemeat!

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  9. Sybil, it sounds positively beautiful! You will have to share some photos of it when you are done! I love to do small patchwork projects like that. I really need to do some more. You have inspired me! xoxo

    Suzan, I have a thing about paper and I collect it, then I have a hard time using it. But I think if I have specific projects in mind it won't be so hard for me. xoxo

    I could happily stay in my pajamas all day Pam, but the thought of someone coming to the door and catching me in them drives me to get dressed AND put my face on! Have a great week! xoxo

    Monique! I think that is just wonderful that we were both watching the same film around the same time! (with a few hours difference) Just goes to show how aligned our personalities/tastes/etc are. I like your happy ending because it is my happy ending also. My heart broke when the remaining living son had to tell his father what had happened. Oh how very sad. Life is like that, we often have to make choices that are difficult, but must be made. I am lucky that I can buy most of what I need online. I am a great online shopper! Todd hates online shopping. He would rather buy in person. Meh! I don't care, just so long as I am shopping! I think I would balk at a paper punch that expensive also. I have a circle cutter that I think I will use. xoxo

    Oh, trust me when I say this Barb. I have NOT got a green thumb. I am very much an armchair gardener. Any plants I have thrive on neglect or my husband does all the work. I love to canoodle in the Winter. Canoodling is my winter state of mind! I hope that you can find the movie to watch. It's very good. You need to try the brown betty if you like Mincemeat. It's excellent! You have a great week too! xoxo

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