Saturday this and that . . .

 

We kitted out bed out for winter this week.  It was finally time.  We have gone from just having a duvet on top to cover us with to having flannel sheets (top and bottom fitted), blankets, quilted spread and duvet folded over the end for the really cold nights.  I gave the room a real good airing first though . . . throwing open the windows and letting that cold November air blow through the room for a good hour or so.  I don't know why I find that so refreshing, but I do.  It is cold really, but also bracing and invigorating.

Those flannel sheets felt really good when we snuggled into them that first night.  I love to have a nice sheet tucked in around my feet in the cooler months.  In the summer I like it all free and loose, but come winter, I want my tootsies all toasty and warm.



This week my thoughts have turned to getting ready for Christmas.  Funny how that goes . . .  once Halloween is out of the way my thoughts turn to jingle bells and  other festive things. (I will be dragging out the Christmas films soon!) I have been searching for a large star punch.  I finally found one, but had to order it on line and it will take over a week to get here.  Sigh . . .  I hate waiting for stuff.  I am such an impatient person that way.    I want to do a punched star paper garland. I saw a photo in a magazine. (Although I also love the look of Silent Night.)

 

I have all the Christmas papers and the will . . .  but not the stamina to cut out that many stars by hand, so a large paper punch is a must.  I found a 3 inch one, so that has been ordered and my patience will get a work out waiting for it to come.  It cannot be helped.

In the meantime I picked up some wooden beads, of various sizes . . . as I want to make some of those doll head necklaces that I showed you a week or so ago . . .



And I got some cord as well to string them together, but look at what else I found . . .

 

Now I am really intrigued and impressed . . .  oh, to find the instructions on making these.   These are not craft items for items which you buy ready made, but . . .  I want to make my own . . .



They are adorable . . .

 

But where to find foot shaped beads for the toes . . .  and a way to put them together.    My wheels are turning overtime with this.   And I don't know why because I don't even wear necklaces.  The thought of drawing anyone's attention to my turkey wattle neck is immeasurably abhorrent to me.  Yikes!

When I first moved over here in 2000 there were these clown charm necklaces that were for sale in all the jewelry shops, all in moveable bits, and I had always wanted to get one for our Eileen, but not now that clowns are scary to her.

 

Look at this one . . .  so pretty.  I wonder where I could find the parts.  I am searching.



These seem to be all the rage at the moment.  My next door neighbor has kitted out her whole winter bedroom in stags.   I am not sure how I feel about them.  They remind me of my father's hunting exploits when I was a child and I don't really think I see this type of cushion/decor as agreeable to me . . .

 

This . . . perhaps, but then I am just being silly.  It is cute though.  Ravelry.

 

These delicate glass teardrop baubles from Dobbies really are nice (expensive however at £19.99 for 24)   They remind me of the Christmas lights that my father strung on the tree each year when I was growing up.  Our tree we have now has the lights built right into it.  No more hassle of trying to untangle them every year.  It never seems to matter how carefully you wind them up at the end of the holidays, somehow they always end up being tangled when you dig them out the next year.  Funny how that goes.   We have come a long ways since my father's day.   He used to make us sit on the couch and be as quiet as church mice while he untangled them and tested the bulbs to see that all were working.   I must say, my father never ever cursed in front of us but I am sure the inside of his head was filled with expletives galore!

 

Now I am one of those people who just adore Brussels Sprouts.  I could eat a ton of them and not just at the holidays.  Some witty person has come up with the perfect game for Christmas Day.  Sprout Roulette! Spin the wheel of this fun roulette game and take a chance on a choccy treat. With 12 identical-looking chocolates inside, most have a tasty centre but, be warned, some hide a not-so-scrumptious surprise. So close your eyes, pick a sprout and hope for the best. It comes with a  board, spinner, 12 sprout-shaped white chocolates and 1 turkey-shaped milk chocolate.  Now I think that it would be a lot of fun having one of these to play with on Christmas day.  I wonder what the nasty ones taste like though  . . . .  I am intrigued.  Apparently there are six nice flavours and six nasty flavours.   You have a fifty fifty chance.  You can find these at Lakeland.



These ones are probably a bit more agreeable and a lot less risky.  Chocolate truffles encased in a white/green chocolate coating that looks like sprouts.

I suppose that this might be the only way to get real sprout haters to eat their sprouts.  People are very inventive aren't they!

 

These little animal egg cups from Asda are really cute.  If I had grandkids coming over for the holidays I would be getting some of these to hold their morning boiled eggs.  Sigh . . .  it is probably a good thing I live far away because I would be spoiling them all rotten I think.

 

This is a butter dish . . .  also from Asda.  So cute.  That reminds me . . . I saw some really cute children's socks the other day.   Oh, I could go wild.

 

Speaking of wild  . . . look who has taken up driving!!!  Yep, that's Baxter.  So cute.



Can you guess what this is???  My son Doug built a computer with his oldest boy Jon!  I know!  Amazing!

 

And it works.   I am so impressed, but what impresses me more is that my son takes the time to do things like this with his boys.  I am sure there are some great memories which were also built in the putting together of this project and that makes my heart smile.

What does not make my heart smile however is that my dear favourite singer Michael Buble's oldest son has been diagnosed with cancer.  Heart breaking.   It is heart breakingly devastating for any family which has to live with this type of diagnosis for their child.   When our Bruce was young his best friend Mitchell was diagnosed with a brain tumour the year they started kindergarten.  He battled for 7 years.  More than half of his short life was spent in hospitals undergoing treatments, etc.  So sad.   This gives me so much respect for our Amanda who works as an RN with children who have cancer.   I don't know how she does it.  My heart would break in a million pieces every day.

Keeping the Buble's in my prayers.

  

The first Friday of every month we spent the morning sitting with a member of our church who has Dementia so that his wife can get out and about and do some errands.   Its usually quite a pleasant experience.  Yesterday it was not.  We can usually get him talking about things he did when he was younger and even though we have heard the stories a bazillion times before, we listen to them again and have a laugh with him.  He was incredibly argumentative yesterday however and had a bee in his bonnet about Todd and I leaving church early a few weeks back.  (Todd had developed a migraine and so we left after Sacrament.) No matter how many times I tried to change the subject, he kept bringing it back to this.   I could tell Todd was getting more than a little bit annoyed.  Longest couple of hours in my life.  I am not looking forward to next month.  I told Todd that perhaps we need to be bringing something with us that we can distract him with, perhaps a film or something.  Any suggestions?

In the afternoon I spent a couple of hours visiting first a friend who also has dementia and her husband, but that was pleasant, and then another friend of ours who has terminal leukemia.  He and his wife are so inspiring.   They are never down, but remain positive.  What an example they are to me.

And I have decided that once our Mission is finished I am going to start going to our Addiction Recovery group at the church on Thursday evenings.   I recognise that I have a somewhat unhealthy relationship with food that goes back a very long way and I am so very tired of it.  I want to heal myself.  It is now preventing me from doing things that I really want to do, like visit with my family amongst other things.

 

See how my mind works . . . its all over the place.   But I know you love me anyways.

A thought to carry with you through the day   . . .





Its a picture one.  I adore Winnie the Pooh.




Its Bonfire Night here in the UK tonight.  Celebrating with a Sticky Ginger Lemon Drizzle Cake.  This is so good that I sent half of it over to Doreen.  It was too dangerous to have in the house.

Have a wonderful Saturday whatever you get up to!  Don't forget!

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 And I do too!!