homeward bound...

"well that's that then"

i announced to my man in early january as he arrived home late from work to survey the leftovers on the table from our chinese takeout.

"what's what Tif?" he asked with a little trepidation in his voice

(gosh isn't that a spiffy word, Darren dictionary is aiming a little higher these days)

i held in my little mitts a tiny piece of paper,

"it would appear the fortune cookie gods have spoken" upon which i read their wisdom to him as he helped himself to the remains of supper

"you will soon vacation in a place of cool climate"

i gave him credit, he did not bat an eye, just calmly pointed out as he always does when i claim every fortune that comes out of a cookie to be spookily accurate, that it is possible to read anything and everything into them.

i allowed him to digest his meal before i pointed out 'Old Blighty' is a place of cool climate, this time i noted his eyes rolled heavenwards. he agreed indeed it was and how fortunate i was going back there this summer so i was able to once again claim my cookie fortunes have a canny knack of coming true.

"ah ha!" i chimed in, "my fortune says 'soon', therefore it must be talking about sometime closer than July." i waited... nothing.

and so i bided my time, waiting and watching for the moment to strike and like all canny plans one sits upon, the time eventually comes. my time came in mid February and with it a cheap flight back to Old Blighty for a few days to spend quality time with Our #1 and recharge my british batteries.

tomorrow, me, my three pairs of clean undies, along with three frocks, three pairs of woolly tights (which still need darning) and one pair of clogs will be winging our way back over the pond for a whistle stop tour of a small island. Our #1 and myself will be doing a whole lot of travelling but it will be grand for we have so much to catch up on since we last met in December. we will be meeting and greeting peachy folks where ever we go. those peachy folks include (and not in any particular order)

my mother and father

my brother Ben

my soul sister Debbie

Joanna, lovely editor of soon to be released Mollie Makes

(will be sure to talk about that on my return)

Louise Dearie from my dottie angel camp last september

(she will be kindly taking us on a trip around Spitalfield market and brick lane)

the peachy Emily Chalmers (eeeek!)

and lastly, the day before i head back to my shed

the SELVEDGE spring fair,

where upon i will meet

my friend Gloria,

my buddy Fran

and plenty of other lovely dearies who will be at the fair

as you can see there will be lots of miles to cover inbetween the happy meet ups. this is grand for it will give me time to sit and natter with Our #1 whilst i do a bit of crocheting. along with the undies and frocks i will be packing some yarn and a special hook, her name is Grandmother Hook and she belonged to my grandmother Jane. there is real age to this hook of mine and it shows when looking at the lines upon her.

together we will be working on some 'itty bitty' garlands like the one you see in the pictures today, upon my return i will be finishing off the appliques and then popping them into my little shop window. all profits from the little garlands will go to relief funds aiding Japan.

i have noted everytime i crochet or stitch something for another, i spend all the time i am stitching thinking of them... these little itty bitty garlands will be no different.

Carlos my trusty camera, will alas be staying behind for he is unreliable as a travelling companion these days, so instead i will be taking a new fellow. he is called Leonard and he has a trusty lens and appears to have a liking for dim and dingy corners...

i have twiddled with all his bits and despite extensive studying of his manual (causing me to break my 'no reading manuals' rule) i cannot find his soul. however i have told myself Leonard has a lot to live up to and therefore i need to give him more of a chance, so together we will be taking pictures of our travels and with a bit of high hopes, will have a nice lot of snap shots to show on our return. i have put him in a fine and dandy floral travel pouch to make him feel worthy and therefore heighten the chances of him showing me his soul and thus, me and him getting along nicely.

righty ho, i am away to gather up my undies, frocks, tights and clogs. leave penciled scribbled notes all over the shed for remaining clan members to heed and as i see Mr Sunshine has come out to play, i may well take a few moments to stand on an acre of moss with my chickie peas and enjoy his rays. just for a moment though, for tights need 'a darning' for i do not think i can possibly get away with 'stirruped' tights in clog sandals...

she will be back tomorrow with a final 'ta ra' ~ Tif