In which we celebrate chrimbly-mass and number 7❤

Firstly -   Merry  Christmas 

Secondly - 

Thirdly - I was about to do my next themed run of images and waffle but I seem to have lost the photo - oh well, never mind, got a bit much going on here - so not going to do it!

What I am going to do is to wish you peace and blessings.

8♥ and Christmas eve

On Thursdays I finish early enough to have time off in the afternoon. Usually it is just me at home but all my boys were off from work and school so it was a wonderful opportunity to get out and get some fresh air. We walked along the canal letting Giddy dog run and sniff. The boys chatted and ran on ahead while Himself and I just enjoyed companionable silence.


 Moored on both sides were narrow boats of all shapes and sizes. I decided that naming of boats is a very personal thing - there are the obvious monikers  like 'Just Sailing' and the cutesy folk-style such as 'Rosie' and 'Water Wanderer' and there are the types that raise a giggle like the interestingly named narrow boat - 'Floater'......... but the most curious are the ones that must have a personal reason for their name only relevant to the owner.....'Ossey Gobbin'.


 This means nothing to me but to my northern husband it was obvious - 'Ossey Gobbin' means somewhere on the lines of 'Idiot from Oswaldtwistle'.......Any hoo, where this waffle is meandering towards is today's number which is 8❤

I just want to thank you for your lovely comments about our silly-kitties, they are bringing such joy to us, it feels like the whole house is smiling at their antics. 

Well, it's Christmas eve and we are off to celebrate with family - we eat our main meal tonight. The table will no doubt be laden with crackers and  table presents. My Mom and Dad are hosting and do such a beautiful spread - I am definitely taking my camera!

Enjoy tonight and hope that Santa brings all that you have wished for! I am sure the kittens will love all that wrapping paper tomorrow - just for them obviously!

❇❄❊❈❅ ❤ ❄❇✳❄❊❄❊❈❅ ❤ ❄❇✳❄❊❄❊❈❅ ❤ ❄❇✳❄❊

9♥ and furry festive fun

Today, the number 9♥ is brought to you by a pile of sleepers.....

.....and just a thought, 

have you had a.....

Hard day at the office?

do you have to do loads of pre-festive washing?

Finding it hard to get round all those family phone calls?

Lots of tidying up to do?

No time to rest ?

Never mind - it is the festive weekend - here's wishing you all have a 

purrrrfect yuletide time 

=^.,.^=

10♥ and a quick reminisce

During the summer months (and  pre-knackered-knee situation) a wonderful friend and I would walk with our collective pack of dogs and children up over the fields and on to the moors behind our village. One of our regular spots we'd pass through is this gate. I had eyed up the speed sign for ages but kept forgetting to take my camera. I think I finally remembered on the last walk before I hurt said knee - phew!

I've so so so very nearly finished the last of my hand-made pressies so mustn't chat for long - still to take some photos before I wrap them up. 

eeeee

oooh .... It's Friday tomorrow - woohoo - that means it is nearly the weekend and I get to spend 4 very precious days with my family. ❤❤ 

eeeee

11♥ Winter Solstice celebrations

Firstly - today's number - 11♥ taken on the 11th of November this year..... I'd sat quietly with the radio broadcasting heavy thoughtful silence and I realised that this time and date would only happen now and not again in my life time.


11♥


We celebrate winter solstice. We fill the house with candles and fairy lights, we fill it with music and laughter. We usually take a turn at singing or playing music or reciting poems and this year was no different. Youngest sang and danced and Eldest played the piano. Himself had cooked a wonderful meal so he was allowed to sit back and relax and I found and read a lovely winter solstice poem*.

 Summer is on it's way - the seasons turn, spring is next - let it be a good one !

*If I have a surplus, may I pass it on,

may the sharing return as the weak winter sun,

may it grow stronger until it has won,

and the day of the selfish be over and done,

like night fog I pray hunger fades and is gone,

may abundance return like the weak winter sun.

May the hunger for justice be all that remains,

may we all count our blessings and break hunger chains,

may we make human chains down the country lanes,

may we honour connections and take on natures pains,

may the whole of the world sing this heartfelt refrain,

and as the ice breaks may we break hunger chains.

By all that is generous all that is giving,

so may this be felt in the land of the living.

craft of the wild witch - Poppy Palin

blessings hawthorn xxxxxxxx

♥ COUNTING AGAIN - 12♥

A couple of chilly weekends ago, I sat shivering in the car as we waited for a partying Youngest, he was at a bowling alley tucked away in an industrial estate. We'd only just parked up and had a few minutes to go when I saw, amidst the cars and trucks - a doorway - with the magical number I needed. The fading yellow door with it's turquoise phoenix rising seemed almost like an unworldly portal from this functional work area into an unknown space. There was no signage, no names, no telephone numbers....just a small door, quietly proclaiming it's own importance, set in a huge industrial building. Perfect!

Yesterday, having chatted about (but omitted any pictorial details) about the kits and having received some gentle reminders about lack of said pictorial details - here are some brief (and non-blurred) pictures of my fur-babies. 

Top row - Fascination with reflections

Bottom row - cat napping

Holly has just walked over my laptop and some how switched off the internet and Lily is chewing on a plant - excuse me while I rescue it (plant not kitten)!

All my boys finish today for the festive break - but alas not me, I work right up to Friday evening. We will be celebrating our mid-winter meal this Wednesday - I am looking forward to that.

Better get going, still at the weaving-in-million-ends stage of my crochet goodies. I have already wrapped and given loads away so the pile of handmade looks quite small for the amount of hooky time I have been having....

Have a lovely day where ever you are

xxxx

13♥ days to 2012

I'm still in recovery mode after the weekend so I am fully embracing the fact that the house is quiet and empty apart from Giddy Dog and the kits.  Mind you the kits more than make up for the boys being at school - they are just as bad as the boys at leaving their toys all over the place. I will, over the course of a day, have to pick up cushions and blankets, rescue toppled over pots of pens and paintbrushes and rehang the ornaments on the tree....


Any hoo - enough waffle -


today's number is 13♥, not one of my favourite numbers - 13. As a teenager I was incredibly superstitious and would go to great lengths to avoid saying, thinking or seeing the number. Made maths a bit tricky (Mind you maths was a bit tricky for me any way!)

The kits are galloping up and down on their dainty elephant-sized feet and the washing machine has become silent....better get on, got work to get ready for and I am still trying to finish my crochet pressies - the deadline draws closer and I keep kidding myself that starting another woolly based handmade gift is a good idea....I start off in good time and as chrimbly-pressie-swap-day gets closer, my crafting becomes more frantic and instead of going with the flow and finishing them off in good time, I hastily start the next one as I convince myself that weaving in ALL the ends and stitching on ALL the buttons and sewing on ALL the labels is a good idea if only I would actually get on with it and do it!!

And the hardest thing of all? Not sharing the pictures with you, oh well, will have to have a show and tell after everyone has opened their pressies :)

A Happy Monday to you all!

15♥ and14♥ and festive fun

Apologies for not posting yesterday but it was a whirlwind of a day.

It was our annual festive decoration making workshop and along with all the foliage and friends and fun we were 'blessed' with some rather wintery weather.

But first - 15♥- taken in 2009 (yes I do plan and photograph that much in advance - but not necessarily always successfully!) 

We were on holiday up in the Orkneys on a wild-weathery-break. Some days the weather was fiercesome enough to drive us to hiding in museums and cafés. 

We drove over to Stromness and I fell in love with it's tiny part-cobbled part-flagged streets. Some were so narrow it felt intrusive driving through them. So we parked up and wandered the quiet streets. The wild winds seems to be kept at bay by the twisting of the roads and streets, almost thwarting the breeze.

It was here I found a superb number 15 and wonderfully named street - 

My next offering was only taken last weekend,  a quick drive by photo - nothing special but just what I needed.

  

We had such fun yesterday at our festive workshop. A slightly different format but nevertheless, a yummy and successful day.

There were, as usual, such a wonderful array of door wreaths and decorations.....I mean just look at this creativity!!.....

...and this is only some of them, I have just realised I've not photo-ed them all!

I must admit to eating well too - such gorgeous bakings happened and it would have been rude not to try them all at least once, if not twice erhem....

Sadly some of the delicious offerings were scoffed before I realised I'd not photographed them, but believe me - they were yum!

The entire weekend was filled with family and friends, sleepovers and meals, chatting and nibbling,  and now in the quiet house, Youngest and the kittens are sleeping on the settee, Eldest has wandered over to find sanctuary with a friend, Himself is bumbling about (he is always busy doing something)and I have finally found a moment to catch up with all of you - enjoy what is left of your weekend.............

blessings - hawthorn xx 

Ps can't finish a posting with out gratuitous cute-overload - the kittens and Youngest snuggling on the settee after a seriously hard weekend of fun and friends

*in whispered tones* awwwwww xx

ERrrrrr counting again? 19♥

The festive lists are getting longer and more urgent for this week - so this posting will be brief but probably will have a gratuitous kitten photo....or five.


In the grand scheme of counting down - I now present to you 19♥


At the beginning of May this year, we spent a couple of weekends up near Appleby in Westmorland. We explored the villages and walked all over the place. One of the villages we bumbled into was this one, where the green was long and winding, filled with casually grazing sheep and busy hens. A narrow strip of cottages and houses were sleepily nestled either side of the green while a gently moving stream meandered through it's heart. We had parked just outside of the village and were enchanted as we walked through. The boys spotted the swing so we wandered over for a closer inspection......

Of course to youngsters - swings were meant for swinging on - but we were rather taken by the iron work on the top -

19 E☼R 53  

it was interesting to think how long the swing had been in place and how many children's bottoms had sat on those seats........!




As I type, the girls (kittens) are racing about on elephant sized feet, killing their toys and beating up a small card box that they have claimed for their own. For such small and potentially delicate creatures they don't half make a mess when playing! There is such a stalking and a pouncing and lions and tigers and rough and tumble that I fear for the safety of my feet and my house!!Oh they are such a ( naughty) delight =^.,.^=

Holly-butter-wouldn't-melt-in-her-mouth

Lily - 'helping' put the decorations up, she is now in the process of 'helping' take them down again......

Holly doing the cute thing and 'helping' the decorations not fall off the foot stool. You mean you didn't know that a cat makes a perfect paper weight?

Holly -- err once again showing her 'helpful' side and lighting up our lives!

Lilly has been as equally helpful but she does it a such speed that all her photos are blur of red fluff! 

Must go,

Have a lovely day and wishing you happy thoughts

hawthorn xxx

I present to you - 20♥

Morning!
Firstly I'd like to thank you for your comments and thoughts, its lovely receiving them - I still get a squeeeee feeling when I see I have comments needing moderating.

Hello Grateful4crochet, welcome to my rather random world, lovely to 'meet' you, I will pop over and visit you shortly :),
Carolina Artesanias - your festive tree comment is gorgeous! How long did that take you?
Angela - a sun cake is a fruit cake (very similar to a Christmas cake) but represents the returning of the sun. We eat it on the 21st December - our Yule, when we celebrate the ending of winter and the returning of spring. We have a special meal that night, loads and loads of candles and tell each other stories, songs, poems and music. I don't sing - I wouldn't wish that on anyone, but I recite poems while Himself sings (beautifully) and the boys play the piano - we usually end up laughing a lot, eating too much and generally have a lovely evening.
Jane , Jak, Ju24, Cat,Liz Sarah and Lovely Lady - kittens = scrummy gorgeousnuss, fluffy yummy naughtiness! They are still quite small, each one fitting in a hand, but they make up for their Lilliput stature with their godzilla catitudes! 
Yes, I will share/show off crochet and other handmade goodies in the new year - good idea - thanks Jane
Lyn and Lovely Lady - my post for the 22♥ and still counting down also reminded me of that warm week, silly how quickly you forget. We all generalise about the weather but when you look back, in between the wet and cold there have been some lovely summery days - thank goodness for blogging :)



Now, back to the matter in hand, today's number for counting down to 2012.

I present to you - 20♥


There are two today, the first is the thermometer in the dispensary where I work, we have to maintain a regular temperature in the room to keep the medication at an optimum environment. This little one is a magnetic version clipped to a metal cabinet.

The second offering for 20 is a speed sign as you enter into the town of Settle. Taken last weekend when we tried to watch the festive lights switch on and failed!

Right, enough waffling, must get on with wrapping, finishing, writing, tidying, sewing and feeding the kits - this next week is going to be full on - I've two festive parties - one on Tuesday with friends since my vet nursing days and the other on Wednesday with our knit and natter for an end-of-crafting-year-celebration and then on Saturday we are going to do our annual festive decorating making thingy! I posted about it here and here. We've doing this wonderful workshop since 2003 and it is still going strong :)!

Now, I must really stop -


Happy Monday to you all xxx

COUNTING AGAIN! 28 ♥

A wet weekend, a slow (but almost over) wet weekend. 

Youngest was over in Skipton for a birthday party, and we, rather than driving home and returning to collect him later, decided to wander around town. I had an inkling that there was a new (to me) knitting and wool shop and thought a little woolly experience would certainly lift the washed out weekend mood I was in. 

Did it?

Oh boy did it!

Did I buy anything?
Don't be silly - of course I did!

I will take photos tomorrow in - hopefully - better light.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

But today,  a bit late I know, is brought to you by the number  

28♥

Spotted today while out and about in Skipton by Eldest.

I am baking mince-pies. For many many years Himself has had a mince-pie eating competition for the whole of December. I mentioned it in 2009 but was too flu-bound to say anything in 2010. This year, the annual mince-pie fest has begun and ALL three of mine are happily scoffing... oh well... back to the kitchen.

Back tomorrow with more stuff and nonsense and pictures of scrummy yummy wool and yarns hmmmmmm 

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

**THIS TIME LAST YEAR**  pop over and see what we got up to this time last year

***edited to add - IT'S SNOWING! Just been out and taken a photo from the end of our lane........... brrrrrrrr