A little bit of cheer

I'm supposed to be marking. 

I'm supposed to be planning lessons. 

I'm supposed to be doing so many other things at the moment. 

It's cold and grey outside and I'm tucked up indoors by the fire. I need a little bit of cheeriness. My vase of freesias is eminating the most delicate scent and just that is reminding me that Spring can't be far away.

Cheeriness achieved.

I hope you are all managing to keep safe and dry in this bizarre weather we are having. Heart felt wishes to those of you affected.

Jane

x

W.

January is always one of those months. Time to reflect, restore and regroup. Expectations are simple - keep warm, keep healthy and keep the washing pile ticking over. However once you turn the calendar page to February there is suddenly no excuse for leaving the Christmas lights on the weeping cherry outside, and by the time you do bring them in you realise the wooden front door has swollen so much in the bad weather that you can't retrieve the last bit of cable from the lower corner. This is why we now have a beautifully illuminated shoe rack. 

I'll give them another month. 

I'd refused to return Christmas to it's snoozing place this year until it had been thoroughly 'sorted out'. Our hidey hole is in the attic which has for many years now been a no go area. The only time it is ventured into is a) Christmas - put arm in, grab necessary boxes, retrieve and replace as necessary, and b) Summer - repeat operation with garden recliners. This means that the only movement has been around the door and the further reaches have remained blissfully dormant. No longer! After several dust laden hours of pulling, hauling and some rather choice language we managed to rid ourselves of two car loads of - ahem - rubbish and upturn some long forgotten treasures.

First up was this gorgeous little clock.

 We bought it for Big Sis when she was but a tot but she never liked the sound of it. In her words - 'I no like the tickety tock'. So into the attic it went. Sadly it was over wound so we need to get it seen to as the little pixies look so sweet going up and down on the see-saw as the clock tickety tocks away.

Then came this box. 

In typical fashion rather than just open it we stared at it for quite some time trying to figure out what it might be inside.Was the W. a monogram? What did Walter keep in his box? We remembered an old reel projector that we once had with old newsreels of a zoo and (oddly) the Hindenburg disaster. Eventually it was opened and I whooped at what was inside. A gorgeous Remington typewriter.

 Was W. a writer? A journalist? Had this been an essential part of his kit as he visited newsworthy places? It still works and makes a heartening nostalgic click with each letter pressed (although it feels very odd not being able to alter size or style of font!) 

So what do I do with it? Keep it safe in it's box and bring it out for special occasions, or find somewhere to display it in all it's glory (although the dusting of all those little parts doesn't thrill me)? Who do you think W. might have been? Do you know when it might date from (if it's any help it's been in the attic for twenty years so it's not from this century ;))?

So, although there's still more work to do  (we didn't make it into the furthest corners stuffed with baby clothes and Mr K's paintings) our first little foray was roundly rewarded. However I don't think we'll be needing those garden recliners anytime soon!

Jane 

x

A Spanner in my Banner

Please forgive all the faffing on that has been going on with my banner lately. Somehow I seem to have 'mislaid' the original whilst having a little play around and now I'm stuck with one of my samples. Abnormal service will be resumed as soon as possible. 

Meanwhile here's a pretty book cover.

Jane

x

She's Here!

Thank you so much for all your lovely comments on my last post - colds are rotten,stinky and should not be allowed but your kind words were a breath of fresh air and helped blow it out the window, down the street and hopefully off the edge of a cliff somewhere.

Since last weekend there's been a flurry of activity doll wise. Old no face has turned a corner. With the help of your wonderful advice, an invisible marker and an incredibly shaky hand she slowly developed a little character all of her own. Want to see?

Oh how I have enjoyed regressing to girlhood. What colour ribbon? Hair up or down? Button or flower?

I must admit I think my favourite bit is the old cotton lace on her bloomers!

In typical 'me' fashion though one is never enough.

I was on a roll.

Meet dolly number two.

She's even got a little crochet flower in her hair.

Oh the hair. Poor Mr K. You can imagine the conversations.

'I'm just off out with Jessie dog - do you fancy coming?'

'Oh for goodness sake don't make me talk when I'm concentrating.'

'Why - what are you doing?'

'What does it look like I'm doing?'

'?'

'I'm making a wig for dolly.'

No reply.

Not sure what to do with them now though. I'm thinnnnnnnnkkkkkkking of maybe opening an etsy shop (gulp?) What do you think? Have any of you sold anything through etsy? Would you recommend it?

Anyhooooo I'm off for a lovely Sunday dinner cooked by Mr K (I've requested a large portion of roast potatoes - my desert island food) , followed by a night in front of the fire with my knitting and 'The Musketeers'.

Have a good week everyone - in spite of the weather Spring is definitely on the way!

Jane

x

Runny nose, pretty stamps

I've got a cold. That's all. Just a cold. It almost sounds benign and yet for the last couple of days I've been completely at it's mercy. I'm currently all tucked up on the sofa under my sick blankie with a large box of tissues by my side. Every now and then I get up and throw the used tissues on to the fire . There they slowly smoulder and glow in a way that very damp tissues do. Stupid cold. So as I lay here feeling all woebegone and Camille like I thought about what I could share with you. 

How about this?

As I was firkling around the charity shops recently I came across a small bag. No bigger than a pixie's envelope and marked up at £1. Being the curious type I ventured to investigate further. It seemed to contain a few old stamps. Being a fan of Viv Sliwka's envelope artwork over at Hen's Teeth I began to think how I could use them in some way. Realising I  a) was no way as talented as Viv, and b) already had a huge backlog of 'things to do something with' I almost put them back. 

But I didn't. 

So here they are.

A huge range of colours and images from across the globe.

Some familiar and not so familiar faces.

Incredible detail.

Iconic creatures

And landmarks

Franked 

And unfranked

Even Queenie looked glamorous

(which is more than I can say about myself at the moment!)

I wish now I'd taken more photographs in the daylight but the risk of causing a global hurricane with just one sneeze was too great.

I wonder who collected them and when. What tales did they bring?

But back to now. Old dolly is looking at me with - get this - her EYES! (yes she now has two eyes but nothing else as yet - looks odder than ever bless her!) And I'm about to smother the fire with my next lot of tissue. 

Oh snuffles.

Yours sniffily

Jane 

x

January?

How the heckity heck did that happen? After the whirligig of Christmas the dust is finally beginning to settle (sadly literally as well as metaphorically) and my feet are slowly drifting back toward the ground. So many things have happened that it's tricky to know where to start so I'll begin with an image from my new Rob Ryan calendar.

 No stepping stones for us

Because we choose to stand together

And feel the icy water flowing between our toes

And around our ankles.

This water is not deep

But deep enough to make us feel alive with life

And with love.

Aaah that's nice isn't it?

Back to the everyday. Last week saw everyone return to work/ college/ university and I fully intended to settle down and compile lovely little boards of 'things that happened in 2013'. Sadly this was not to be. This darned family of mine insisted on being fed and having - wait for it - CLEAN clothes - as well as expecting the house to miraculously transform from a winter wonderland into a spick and span palace awaiting the return of Spring  (and so my imagination floats on...) Suffice to say as far as me old blog was concerned I just didn't know where to start. So I didn't. Then I started something else. 

Something different. 

Something new.

Do you want to see that something?

Get on with it!

Oh dear - I feel as though I've built it up too much now. I apologise.

Here it is.

It's a DOLL! It has bendy knees and everything.

Do you want to see it in colour?

Sadly the light isn't too condusive to picture taking at the moment but you get the idea.

Old dolly here was sitting on the table like this, quite happily minding her own business, when Little Sis entered the room with a shriek. Maybe I should have warned her? Maybe we've enjoyed too much Doctor Who? She was, shall we say, a little bit 'freaked'. I promised her that things would improve once old dolly had some hair - and so the wig making began.

Now Mr K and I go back a long way - eighteen years in fact - and yet I think even he was slightly worried when he saw me searching for tutorials on dolly wigmaking.

But it worked!

Want to see?

Excuse me while I have a quick word.

Come on dolly you're on camera

 Sit up properly

That's better.

Now give us a smile.

Cue the dramatic music

Bom!

Bom!

BOMMMMMMMM!

What's that? You can't smile yet? I'm going to have to give you ... a face?!

Oh dear - memories of distraught bunnies and manic elves are haunting me. I've been practising. I've bought a vanishing fabric marker and everything. And yet ...oh dear. It was all going so well.

Wish me luck dearest bloggy friends and please cross all that is possible to cross in the hope that old dolly here doesn't end up in the next Chucky movie. Now I'm off to search for a 'stitching a face on a rag doll' tutorial. Poor Mr K.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Jane

x

Thoughts on a walk

Sometimes it's just good to...

Follow

Breathe

Observe

Dream

Wonder

Listen

Pause

Reflect

Continue

And relax.

Happy New Year to all of you wonderful people out there - your support and friendship over the last year has been staggering so here's a big thank you and a virtual hug coming your way!

Jane 

xxx