My Friday Finds . . .

 

 

A few of the things  I find each week that pique my interest, bring me joy, inspire me to learn, create, do, become . . . Maybe they will do the same for you!  

 

 

I couldn't find a source for this, but I am in love.  A Beehive Pedestal Cake Stand.  I wouldn't have anywhere to store it and it wouldn't be used very often, but isn't it lovely!  

 

While I'm at it, look at this cute butterdish from Anthropologie!  

  

Tales from a Happy House, Miniature Craft Room in a suitcase.  Cute! You need to click on the link to see all the details.  I love this! 

 

Embroidered Brooch of Van Gogh by Fischtashka on Etsy.  Magnificent.  Her work is amazing. 

 

Jennifer Rizzo. How to make a Santos Cage Doll.  

 

Coco Knits.  A neater way to slip as if to knit, slip as if to pearl.  

 

 Purple Poncho, Wasabi Pop Scarf. Free pattern.  

  

Nana's Crafty Home. Candy Kisses Triangular Scarf. Free pattern.   

 

House of Wood, DIY Gold Foil Prints.  

 

Bunny Mummy.  Crocheted Granny Square Hearts.   

 

Maria Bittner on Ravelry.  Sachets of Love.  Not free, but not expensive.  

 

No Knead Rosemary Bread.  Damn Delicious.  

 

Cathy Rose Studio.  Wall Flowers. Inspiraton only.  Expensive, lol, but tres unique. 

 

Silly Old Suitcase.  Its in Dutch but there are a lot of pictures to follow.   Crocheting with fabric.

 

Your Crochet.  Ear Warmers, free pattern. 

 

Just because  . . .  they look related. 

  

Sometimes Crafter.  Fabric Basket Tutorial. 

 

Craftsy.  Project Baskets.  Love these.  

 

Baked by Rachel.  Baked Chocolate Peppermint Bark Cheesecake.  YUM!   

 Knot Garden.  Floral Bunting.  This is so, so, so pretty. No instructions.  Just inspiration. Do click through to see it closer up. 

And those are my finds for this week!   I hope you saw something to inspire you!

A thought to carry with you  . . . 

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
•。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★
 *If God puts a Goliath in front of you

He must believe there is a David 

inside of you.    •。★★ 。* 。 

  

Cooking in The English Kitchen today  . . .  Christmas Coleslaw.  Perfect for the holiday buffet table!

Have a great Friday.  Don't forget along the way of your day! 

═══════════ ღೋƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒღೋ ═══════════ ⊰✿░G░O░D⊰✿⊰L░O░V░E░S⊰✿⊰░Y░O░U░⊰✿
═══════════ ღೋƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒღೋ ═══════════

And I do too!

My Favourite Things . . .

 

A few of the things in life that make my heart go pitty pat. Maybe they will do the same thing for yours. ♥♥♥    

 

When the wind rages and snow and rain beat against the glass of my windowpanes, but I am tucked up safe and sound and warm inside, with nowhere to go and nothing to do.  Comfy cosy in my own little world. 

 

Scented candles.  They are cosy also, but can evoke any kind of mood.  I am particularly fond of the ones that smell like warm spices or baking.  I also like Christmassy smelling ones! 

  

Homemade Mince Pies.  Well, any kind of mince pies really.  Funny that, as I never used to like mince pies when I was growing up, but I love them now.  You can pretty much buy them all year round now, but we only indulge at Christmas.  

  

Old children's book illustrations depicting nature's creatures and elves and brownies.  They remind me of my childhood.  I used to devour books like this.  I loved reading about the fairy world.  

  

Squirrels, especially red squirrels.  The few times we rented a cottage up in the Lake District (when we had money, lol) we stayed in the same Cottage in a Red Squirrel Conservation area.   

 

They are a lot smaller than grey squirrels and have a sweet tuft of fur that pokes out of their ears. did you know that in the summertime the sun bleaches their tails white?  It does! 

  

Emma Bridgewater ceramics, especially her mugs.  They are perfect for enjoying hot cups of whatever keeps your hands warm and brings comfort.  

 

The rain and wind are beating against the glass of our windows this morning as I write this, but looking over at my wee glass sparrow cheers my heart and reminds me that His eye is on the sparrow.  Poor wee sparrows are all snuggled down in our hedge this morning.  I feel sorry for the wild animals in this kind of weather.  Thankfully my glass one is toasty warm and dry indoors.  I love this glass bird.  I got it from here.  I think I want to collect all of his birds. They really are lovely and you can see, they look nice in the window. 

 

Secret Gardens and spaces.  Little worlds tucked away that you just happen to chance upon. There was a secret garden on the grounds of the Big House where I worked.  There wasn't much in it, but it was always a little bit of a surprise when you happened upon it. 

  

Humming Birds  . . .  we don't get them here in the UK.  I always put up a hummingbird feeder when I lived in Canada and used to love watching them arrive at the feeder.  They are such fun! 

  

 

Getting stuck into a good book.  I haven't been able to find any really, REALLY good ones to read lately.  Ones that I can't put down.  I am reading a couple books, but they aren't my favourites.  

   

Although at my age and girth, I would never wear one (I don't even wear necklaces anymore because I don't want to accentuate my turkey-neck)  I do love a beautiful crochet collar.  They look sweet on the young, although I do believe that Susan Branch could pull wearing one off. 

 

 

Christmas.  Although it can also be the saddest time of the year, I do love everything about Christmas.  I love listening to the carols on the Mormon Music Channel.  They have Christmas Music playing 24/7 now and I love it!  I love watching Christmas Movies (although I haven't been able to get Todd to cave in just yet.) I love the decorations.  I love the food.  I love the Christmas story about the Saviour's birth.  The only thing I don't like is shopping this time of year when the shops and roads are far too crowded! 

 No surprise here . . .  Michael Buble.  I wonder if there will be a Christmas special this year?  I used to love watching all of the Christmas specials when I was growing up.  All the big musical stars used to have one. 

 

Anyways, I love Michael Buble full stop!

His music that is.

  

Romance and roses  . . . 

 

And dresses that go swish  . . .  memory, my mom and dad all dressed up and ready to go out dancing.  My mother looks so pretty, my father so handsome and both smell amazing.  My mom smells like Ma Griffe perfume and her dress makes a swishing sound . . . they are both so happy.  I love that memory  . . . 

To a  young child their parents are their whole world. 

My parents still mean the world to me. 

  

  

Letters sealed with wax . . .  love, love, love . . . 

And with that I best leave you with a thought for today  . . . 

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
•。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★
 *In the end I would rather be able to say

 I loved too much than not enough.

~Christian Poindexter   •。★★ 。* 。 

 

There is a Diabetic friendly Berry French Toast in a mug in the kitchen today.  A treat we can all enjoy.  If you are not a Diabetic, just use regular ingredients, instead of sugar free.

Have a wonderful day.  I hope you get to enjoy a few of your favourite things.  Don't forget! 

═══════════ ღೋƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒღೋ ═══════════ ⊰✿░G░O░D⊰✿⊰L░O░V░E░S⊰✿⊰░Y░O░U░⊰✿
═══════════ ღೋƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒღೋ ═══════════  

And I do too!    

   

 

Consider the Lilies . . .

“During the bombing raids of WWII, thousands of children were orphaned and left to starve. The fortunate ones were rescued and placed in refugee camps where they received food and good care. But many of these children who had lost so much could not sleep at night. They feared waking up to find themselves once again homeless and without food. Nothing seemed to reassure them. Finally, someone hit upon the idea of giving each child a piece of bread to hold at bedtime. Holding their bread, these children could finally sleep in peace. All through the night the bread reminded them, "Today I ate and I will eat again tomorrow." “(Linn, Dennis et al, Sleeping With Bread, p.l)  


It occurred to me as I read this passage that these orphans were able to sleep, only because they were able to hold on to something that would nourish them. This is what brought them enough peace of mind that they were able to let go of the cares and woes of their life for a moment, a moment long enough to be able to fall asleep in . . .

I have been really and truly blessed in my life. I have never had to go to bed hungry, unless it was by choice . I have always had a roof over my head, be it small or large, humble or luxurious. I have always had a coat to keep me warm and dry, and shoes to keep my feet in the same manner. I have always had the luxury of being able to take a bath or a shower with warm running water, with soap and shampoo and other luxuries that I often take for granted. When I go to the “loo” I sit on a porcelain throne and not a hole in the ground.

I go to bed at night, neither cold, nor wet, nor afraid . . .  with the comforting warmth of my husband laying next to me. I have no fear of a bomb dropping on my house during the night and I don’t’ have to listen to the sounds of distant shells going off and fear them getting closer.

Yes, I live in relative comfort compared to 90% of the world at large, and yet . . . there are times when even I cannot sleep. Nights where I lay there and toss and turn, unable to let go of my thoughts or worries of the day that has just passed, my mind mulling over things again and again. Perhaps I have some important event looming in the day to come, a talk to give at church, or a lesson to teach . . . other times it might just be as simple as having had my routine interrupted and being able to settle down.  How many of us are like this?? I would wager more than just a few . . .

Sometimes when I find I cannot fall asleep I lay there and begin to pray extra prayers for others. I start with the letter A and I pray for everyone I know, individually, who's name starts with the letter A. And so it goes, on through the alphabet until eventually I do fall asleep. Somehow being able to focus on the problems and needs of others is quite helpful in helping me to forget my own. In many instances,  my own needs pale in comparison. I rarely ever get more than halfway through the alphabet though, before I am gone off to "lala" land . . . sailing away in a pea green boat with winkin, blinkin and nod . . . so if your name starts with anything much past an "M", you'll have to wait for my wakening prayers . . .

It occurs to me that at times like those, with my mind full of my own cares and woes . . .  I need to just let go and let God. I need to hang onto the nourishment of the knowledge that He is and He cares and what will be will be, and just hand all my thoughts and woes over to him for that moment . . .

“Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? "Therefore do not worry, saying, "What shall we eat?' or "What shall we drink?' or "What shall we wear?' For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these thingS. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” 
~Matthew 6:28  

 

The thought just occurred to me that all of the children in these old photos from London in WW2 are probably either very old now or no longer on the earth.  Todd is 80 and he was born just as the War started. He never saw his father until he was 7 years old, and there are 8 years between him and his brother, who was born after the War.  He was born in the East End of London, within the sound of Bow Bells, so he was a true East Ender.  Once the Blitz started however, his mom moved them out to  the suburbs where they lived with his maternal grandparents for the duration of the War.  He can remember the sounds of the bombs and even one occasion when an incendiary bomb went through the roof into the attic of his Grandfather's house and started a fire, which they had to put out.  They had a hut dugout in the back garden that they would go into when the air raid sirens went off and he can remember feeling afraid.  He had a Mickey Mouse gas mask that he carried with him to school and if he was at school and the air raid sirens would go off, his mom would come to pick him up and take him home. 

His father was one of the soldiers rescued from the beaches in the miracle of Dunkirk between the dates of May 26 and the 4th of June, 1940. If you have seen the film Dunkirk, you will realise just what a miracle it was that anyone survived.  War is a terrible, terrible thing. If I could have three wishes one would be to end War, and another to end Poverty, and another to end Hunger. 

 

 There was a Relief Society Christmas Activity at the chapel last night.  There was cooking demonstrations and crafts to do.  My friend Tina and her husband Tony did Christmas Cakes and these lovely chocolate cones . . .

 

There was also chocolate lollies and a tasty cheese thing.  Plus there was a Balloon Nativity, some Nativity Pebbles to paint and paper lanterns.  I didn't actually go.  I have such a hard time sleeping after being out in the evenings that I gave this a miss.  We are having the Senior Couple Missionaries for dinner today and I wanted to be awake for that!  (Hard cheese when you have to make these kinds of choices!)  I really would have enjoyed the RS Activity I am sure!

A thought to carry you through the day:
° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
•。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★
 *"What would you attempt to do 
if you knew you could not fail?"
~Dr. Robert Schuller  •。★★ 。* 。 

 

I know its a week late for Thanksgiving, but some of you might want to bake this for Christmas. You never know.  Sheet Pan Pumpkin Pie.  This was really good! 

Have a wonderful Wednesday!  Don't forget along the way of your day! 

═══════════ ღೋƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒღೋ ═══════════ ⊰✿░G░O░D⊰✿⊰L░O░V░E░S⊰✿⊰░Y░O░U░⊰✿
═══════════ ღೋƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒღೋ ═══════════  

And I do too!