Wednesday 31 August 2011

Happy Anniversary...


...to Adrian and I ~ 27 years and never a cross word ;-)

(And if you believe that, sweetie~pies, then frankly you'll believe anything ROFL)

Like any relationship we have of course had many ups and downs over the years we've been together, but we've weathered the storms, picked ourselves up and kept plodding on :-)  I guess it helps that we are as much in love today as we were back then.  And "they" said it would never last.....

Monday 29 August 2011

Start the week with a quote...


image from The Graphics Fairy



Much good work is lost
for the lack of a little more

Sunday 28 August 2011

Prayer for World Peace


Dove of Peace ~ Giclee print

We pray to the great Spiritual Power in which we live and move and have our being.
We pray that we may at all times keep our minds open to new ideas and shun dogma;
that we may grow in our understanding of the nature of all living beings and our connectedness with the natural world;
that we may become ever more filled with generosity of spirit and true compassion and love for all life;
that we may strive to heal the hurts that we have inflicted on nature and control our greed for material things, knowing that our actions are harming our natural world and the future of our children;
that we may value each and every human being for who he is, for who she is, reaching to the spirit that is within, knowing the power of each individual to change the world.

We pray for social justice, for the alleviation of the crippling poverty that condemns millions of people around the world to lives of misery - hungry, sick, and utterly without hope.
We pray for the children who are starving, who are condemned to homelessness, slave labour, prostitution, and especially for those forced to fight, to kill and torture even members of their own family.
We pray for the victims of violence and war, for those wounded in body and for those wounded in mind.
We pray for the multitudes of refugees, forced from their homes to alien places through war or through the utter destruction of their environment.

We pray for suffering animals everywhere, for an end to the pain caused by scientific experimentation, intensive farming, fur farming, shooting, trapping, training for entertainment, abusive pet owners, and all other forms of exploitation such as overloading and overworking pack animals, bull fighting, badger baiting, dog and cock fighting and so many more.

We pray for an end to cruelty, whether to humans or other animals, for an end to bullying, and torture in all its forms.
We pray that we may learn the peace that comes with forgiving and the strength we gain in loving;
that we may learn to take nothing for granted in this life;
that we may learn to see and understand with our hearts;
that we may learn to rejoice in our being.

We pray for these things with humility;
We pray because of the hope that is within us, and because of a faith in the ultimate triumph of the human spirit;
We pray because of our love for Creation, and because of our trust in God.
We pray, above all, for peace throughout the world.

prayer for world peace ~ dr jane goodall

Thursday 25 August 2011

How to join a new color in log cabin knitting

The Thursday Poem




All Things Bright And Beautiful

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all.

Each little flower that opens,
Each little bird that sings,
He made their glowing colours,
He made their tiny wings.

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all

The purple-headed mountain,
The river running by,
The sunset and the morning,
That brightens up the sky;

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all

The cold wind in the winter,
The pleasant summer sun,
The ripe fruits in the garden,
He made them every one;

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all

The tall trees in the greenwood,
The meadows for our play,
The rushes by the water,
To gather every day;

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all

He gave us eyes to see them,
And lips that we might tell
How great is God Almighty,
Who has made all things well.

All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all.

Cecil Frances Alexander
(?? 1818 - 12th October 1895)

Monday 22 August 2011

Start the week with a quote...


image from The Graphics Fairy




By swallowing evil words unsaid,
no one has ever harmed his stomach

Sunday 21 August 2011

Prayer for World Peace


Dove of Peace ~ Giclee print


We pray to the great Spiritual Power in which we live and move and have our being.
We pray that we may at all times keep our minds open to new ideas and shun dogma;
that we may grow in our understanding of the nature of all living beings and our connectedness with the natural world;
that we may become ever more filled with generosity of spirit and true compassion and love for all life;
that we may strive to heal the hurts that we have inflicted on nature and control our greed for material things, knowing that our actions are harming our natural world and the future of our children;
that we may value each and every human being for who he is, for who she is, reaching to the spirit that is within, knowing the power of each individual to change the world.

We pray for social justice, for the alleviation of the crippling poverty that condemns millions of people around the world to lives of misery - hungry, sick, and utterly without hope.
We pray for the children who are starving, who are condemned to homelessness, slave labour, prostitution, and especially for those forced to fight, to kill and torture even members of their own family.
We pray for the victims of violence and war, for those wounded in body and for those wounded in mind.
We pray for the multitudes of refugees, forced from their homes to alien places through war or through the utter destruction of their environment.

We pray for suffering animals everywhere, for an end to the pain caused by scientific experimentation, intensive farming, fur farming, shooting, trapping, training for entertainment, abusive pet owners, and all other forms of exploitation such as overloading and overworking pack animals, bull fighting, badger baiting, dog and cock fighting and so many more.

We pray for an end to cruelty, whether to humans or other animals, for an end to bullying, and torture in all its forms.
We pray that we may learn the peace that comes with forgiving and the strength we gain in loving;
that we may learn to take nothing for granted in this life;
that we may learn to see and understand with our hearts;
that we may learn to rejoice in our being.

We pray for these things with humility;
We pray because of the hope that is within us, and because of a faith in the ultimate triumph of the human spirit;
We pray because of our love for Creation, and because of our trust in God.
We pray, above all, for peace throughout the world.

prayer for world peace ~ dr jane goodall

Saturday 20 August 2011

Nostalgia



I love the music...I love the hairstyles, make-up and fashion...but would I really want to be transported back to actually live in the 1940s?  No, on the whole, I rather think not ;-) 

I see so many comments from folk about how they feel they have been born in the wrong era and wished they actually lived in the 1940s (or 30s, 50s or other particular period of time).  It does make me wonder if they have really thought this scenario through, though.  It's so easy, isn't it, to say we wished we lived in another time but if we think about the day-to-day realities of whatever age it may be, then I really do believe that we are looking back through those rose-tinted spectacles!

Depending on the particular era in question there would be no home telephones or mobile phones, no television (not necessarily a bad thing, granted, but I do like to chill out in front of the 'ole box I must confess), no computers (gasp, HORROR!!), no labour-saving devices such as washing machines, tumble-dryers, freezers, etc.....There could be rationing of food, clothing, household commodities.....And, of course, there could be the awful reality of war for the "ordinary man on the street".  Our fathers, brothers, husbands could have been called up to serve their country and thrust into the horror and carnage that was WWI and WWII.  And before someone comments, yes I know that many still do have loved ones taking part in war and of course I am grateful to our armed service personnel for the job they do ~ but the difference between now and those earlier wars is that they are in the armed forces as a career choice.

I know that there is a lot wrong with society in this age that we are currently living through but there are still many good things to be thankful for.  I for one am grateful that I have so many advantages, comforts and choices in this age in which I live ~ and should I so choose, I can dress like a 1950s starlet today and a 1940s housewife tomorrow :-)    

Within Temptation ~ Frozen

Friday 19 August 2011

Thursday 18 August 2011

The Thursday Poem




Futility

Move him into the sun -
Gently its touch awoke him once,
At home, whispering of fields unsown.
Always it woke him, even in France,
Until this morning and this snow.
If anything might rouse him now
The kind old sun will know.

Think how it wakes the seeds -
Woke, once, the clays of a cold star.
Are limbs, so dear-achieved, are sides,
Full-nerved - still warm - too hard to stir?
Was it for this the clay grew tall?
- O what made famous sunbeams toil
To break earth's sleep at all?

Wilfred Owen
(18th March 1893 - 4th November 1918)

from the book: Poem for the Day One

Wednesday 17 August 2011

A garden visitor...a cute kitty...and a teensy wee bit of "trauma" for Beverly!


I was sitting at the computer the other day when I heard a scrabbling sort of noise.  I didn't take any notice at first as I thought it was a cat clambering over the fence.  The noise continued though, so I looked out the window and saw that there we had a visitor :-)


We don't get squirrels visiting the garden very often, so I always find it a bit of a thrill when one drops by LOL


I know that grey squirrels are considered pests but I still can't help finding them pretty cute ~ just look at that sweet little face...


...and curly tail!

He/she stayed on the fence post for quite some time, just watching me watching him/her.


Eventually he/she decided to trundle off again.  Bye bye cute little squirrel :-)


Daisy finds junk mail so comfy ~ especially when it's in Daddy's chair ;-)


What a bloomin cheek!  I spread out my giant granny square for a spot of measuring, turned my back for a minute and found Miss Daisy had taken possession of said piece of crochet.  She made herself right at home doing her ablutions!


Daisy's life is just positively exhausting at times LOL


"Go on Mum, tickle my cute furry belly ~ you know you want to"


"Oh no, Miss Daisy, I am not as daft as you seem to think I am ~ I have seen with my own eyes what you do to your poor little catnip-filled butterfly toy!"


"Cute as you are, I am not daft enough to put my hands anywhere within striking distance when you are rolling around on the (unvacuumed!) carpet"


And this, my loves, is the "trauma" Beverly went through t'other day.  Have you spotted what caused her such distress and dismay??  Yes indeedy, my little girl has her first grey hair ~ at the ripe old age of 20 1/2 LOL  She should worry ~ I had my first grey hairs at the age of 13!


She managed to pull herself together so that I could take a photo of her eventually ;-)

She goes back up to Orkney tomorrow and won't be home again until Christmas.  Sam is going back to uni on 1st September, so Adrian and I will be empty-nesters once more.  I shall have to get used to shopping and cooking just for two all over again!

Tuesday 16 August 2011

Houseplants ~ and a surprise bouquet!


I've shown you this houseplant before but just look at what appeared in its pot recently!  I noticed it one morning ~ and I swear it wasn't there the day previously!  I have no idea how it got into the compost.

Does anyone have any idea what kind of toadstool it may be and why it suddenly popped up in a houseplant?


A closer view of the toadstool, which has a somewhat phallic appearance in this photo ;-)  I must say that the colour looked rather unpleasant on closer inspection! 


The strange little toadstool proceeded to open out like an umbrella!
It shrivelled up and died but a second one appeared a few days back.  This one didn't last as long as the first ~ I shall let you know if any more grow ;-)


This is one of the camellia plants that my Mum gave me this last Christmas.  It's looking so beautiful and seems to like living on the kitchen windowsill ~ it is really thriving!


A closer view of those gorgeous petals.  They look for all the world as if they have been dipped in pink dye :-)


The cyclamen on the kitchen windowsill is still going strong, too :-)


Our next-door neighbours moved house the weekend before this last.  On the Monday Peter surprised me with these gorgeous flowers as a "thank you" for letting them park on our driveway whilst they loaded up, and also for being "such nice neighbours".  How sweet was that!  I was very touched, as you can imagine :-) 

The flowers filled the house with their beautiful scent for days afterwards.  I do so love to receive flowers...

Monday 15 August 2011

Rednex - Cotton Eye Joe

Poor tattered and bullied chicken


Yesterday I finally took the step of separating the two Dominique bantams from the Black Rocks.  Poor Imogen has been on the receiving-end of some nasty, sustained bullying and this is the result *sigh* 

The bantams and the big girls had lived together quite happily for about three years but after Imogen had a leg problem, the bullying began.  You can still see where I sprayed her a little while ago with gentian violet (and anti-pecking spray!) after the first attack by the Black Rocks.  Things did calm down for a short while but they have started on her again and have been making it very difficult for her to get to the food and water.

Of course, in hindsight I should have separated the bantams after the first attack but I was hoping that peace would return to my little flock :-( 


It wasn't easy to get a photo of Imogen as she was determined to sit with the early morning sun on her back!  But  you can still see how badly pecked she is.
 
Hens are most definitely not the nice-but-dim creatures that some folk think they are!


I set up the spare run ~ which is in fact a collapsible rabbit run/shelter ~ near the log stores and made it nice and homely for the two bantams.  They were a little worried for a few minutes but soon settled down.

I sat out there with them for a while yesterday afternoon and it was lovely to see Imogen start to relax, although she did still make a bit of a fuss if she thought Martha was getting a little too close.  I was very happy when Imogen began to stretch out her wings in the sunshine, and preen her poor bare back and feathers :-)  After a while, she settled herself down in the wood chippings and had a little doze. 

She is looking a lot happier this morning and tucked in to the tomatoes I gave all the girls with obvious delight LOL  She is also okay with being close to Martha again, which is wonderful to see. 

  Poor Imogen has been through such a lot in recent months.  After the first bout of attacks, she was looking very poorly (I know, I know ~ I should have separated her then) ~ lethargic, sitting in a corner of the hen house and hardly going outside at all.  But she rallied round and although the others still bullied her, she started to perk up.  It became obvious, though, that the Black Rocks were not going to stop attacking her and so the only solution was to put Imogen and Martha into their own run.    

I shall keep the bantams and the big girls separated until all Imogen's feathers have grown back and then see if the Black Rocks will accept them back.  If not, then I shall just have to keep them apart as I do not want little Imogen to go through anything like this again. 

Start the week with a quote...

image from The Graphics Fairy



There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child.  There are seven million...

Sunday 14 August 2011

Prayer for World Peace

Dove of Peace ~ Giclee print



We pray to the great Spiritual Power in which we live and move and have our being.
We pray that we may at all times keep our minds open to new ideas and shun dogma;
that we may grow in our understanding of the nature of all living beings and our connectedness with the natural world;
that we may become ever more filled with generosity of spirit and true compassion and love for all life;
that we may strive to heal the hurts that we have inflicted on nature and control our greed for material things, knowing that our actions are harming our natural world and the future of our children;
that we may value each and every human being for who he is, for who she is, reaching to the spirit that is within, knowing the power of each individual to change the world.

We pray for social justice, for the alleviation of the crippling poverty that condemns millions of people around the world to lives of misery - hungry, sick, and utterly without hope.
We pray for the children who are starving, who are condemned to homelessness, slave labour, prostitution, and especially for those forced to fight, to kill and torture even members of their own family.
We pray for the victims of violence and war, for those wounded in body and for those wounded in mind.
We pray for the multitudes of refugees, forced from their homes to alien places through war or through the utter destruction of their environment.

We pray for suffering animals everywhere, for an end to the pain caused by scientific experimentation, intensive farming, fur farming, shooting, trapping, training for entertainment, abusive pet owners, and all other forms of exploitation such as overloading and overworking pack animals, bull fighting, badger baiting, dog and cock fighting and so many more.

We pray for an end to cruelty, whether to humans or other animals, for an end to bullying, and torture in all its forms.
We pray that we may learn the peace that comes with forgiving and the strength we gain in loving;
that we may learn to take nothing for granted in this life;
that we may learn to see and understand with our hearts;
that we may learn to rejoice in our being.

We pray for these things with humility;
We pray because of the hope that is within us, and because of a faith in the ultimate triumph of the human spirit;
We pray because of our love for Creation, and because of our trust in God.
We pray, above all, for peace throughout the world.

prayer for world peace ~ dr jane goodall

Thursday 11 August 2011

The Thursday Poem




Come to the Edge

Come to the edge,
We might fall.
Come to the edge.
It's too high!
COME TO THE EDGE!
And they came,
And he pushed,
And they flew.

Christopher Logue
(23rd November 1926 - )

from the book: Poem for the Day One

Monday 8 August 2011

Start the week with a quote...

image from The Graphics Fairy




Always be a little kinder than necessary

Sunday 7 August 2011

Prayer for World Peace


Dove of Peace ~ Giclee print


We pray to the great Spiritual Power in which we live and move and have our being.
We pray that we may at all times keep our minds open to new ideas and shun dogma;
that we may grow in our understanding of the nature of all living beings and our connectedness with the natural world;
that we may become ever more filled with generosity of spirit and true compassion and love for all life;
that we may strive to heal the hurts that we have inflicted on nature and control our greed for material things, knowing that our actions are harming our natural world and the future of our children;
that we may value each and every human being for who he is, for who she is, reaching to the spirit that is within, knowing the power of each individual to change the world.

We pray for social justice, for the alleviation of the crippling poverty that condemns millions of people around the world to lives of misery - hungry, sick, and utterly without hope.
We pray for the children who are starving, who are condemned to homelessness, slave labour, prostitution, and especially for those forced to fight, to kill and torture even members of their own family.
We pray for the victims of violence and war, for those wounded in body and for those wounded in mind.
We pray for the multitudes of refugees, forced from their homes to alien places through war or through the utter destruction of their environment.

We pray for suffering animals everywhere, for an end to the pain caused by scientific experimentation, intensive farming, fur farming, shooting, trapping, training for entertainment, abusive pet owners, and all other forms of exploitation such as overloading and overworking pack animals, bull fighting, badger baiting, dog and cock fighting and so many more.

We pray for an end to cruelty, whether to humans or other animals, for an end to bullying, and torture in all its forms.
We pray that we may learn the peace that comes with forgiving and the strength we gain in loving;
that we may learn to take nothing for granted in this life;
that we may learn to see and understand with our hearts;
that we may learn to rejoice in our being.

We pray for these things with humility;
We pray because of the hope that is within us, and because of a faith in the ultimate triumph of the human spirit;
We pray because of our love for Creation, and because of our trust in God.
We pray, above all, for peace throughout the world.

prayer for world peace ~ dr jane goodall

Thursday 4 August 2011

Hazelton ~ a miniature town



New post here today :-)

61 Stove Avenue, Hazelton ~ and hello new followers!

Before I show you the progress (or lack thereof!) on the Greene's new home, I just wanted to say hello and welcome to my recent new followers :-)  It's so lovely to see you here and thank you for deciding to follow this little blog (((hugs))) 

So, now on to Vincent and Rachel's new home.  You'll no doubt be pleased to hear, my loves, that I have now progressed a tad further than this pile of MDF pieces ~ the Greene's certainly are LOL  Poor Rachel in particular is getting most anxious to have her new home built and finished so that the family can move out of their rented accommodation.  Of course, it isn't quite so bad for Vincent since he is at work most of the day! 


This is the start of the dry-run.  DHE houses generally go together pretty smoothly I've found, so the dry-run was quite a simple building exercise.  As you can see, it is a nice sized house.  Since it has opening sides as well as the front, I have mounted it on a turntable for easy access ~ and it should make turning the house for decorating easier too.


This is the landing area with the opening up to the loft space.  As you can see, sweetie~pies, it really isn't in the most convenient of places ~ especially as I want to fit permanent stairs up to this area instead of using the loft-ladder which came with the kit!  I remembered that I have a metal spiral staircase kit, which I've had for a good few years (so long, in fact, that I can't even remember why I bought it in the first place!) and have been playing around with it.  I shall have to cut a new opening into the loft space to accommodate the new staircase.


The loft area will be Rachel and Vincent's bedroom.  I have decided that the roof will have to have a number of alterations to make this space more user-friendly, so I have been looking at various pictures of similar real-life and model houses.  The front roof panel will remain the same (as shown in the photo above) other than having the chimney-stack on it, placed higher up (I will have to cut the stack down in height somewhat) ~ the internal chimney-breasts will then run up through the centre of the house.  I sort of have a picture in my head of how it will look ~ I just hope it will translate to the actual house satisfactorily! 

image from Hobbies


image from Hobbies

 I will make dormers for the two side panels, similar to those in the pictures above (Park House plans are available from Hobbies).  In its normal state, the roof panel opposite the chimney removes for access into the loft.  I intend to have all four roof panels permanently fixed in position as I am going to build, in effect, a more or less panel-size dormer on the rear of the roof.  Instead of removing the roof panel for access, I intend to make it such that the window wall opens.  

I do hope that all makes sense, my loves ~ now that I have read what I have written here, it seems a teensy wee bit confusing even to me!  Hopefully, if all goes according to plan, you will eventually see what I have been rambling on about ;-) 


I thought I would leave you with a photo of Daisy inspecting the house :-)