winterizing...

in between being florence nightingale this weekend

i have pottered,

i have cleaned,

i have sorted

and

i have winterized

winterizing is usually something

i do with relish,

and

i do with glee,

i start 'a planning' in september and just love an excuse 'to nest'.

but this year i lack the 'urge to do so'...

i am thinking it is due to an unusually long hot summer. for one summery season i lived the life of an 'outdoor' bohemian, chicken lady. flitting in and out of the open back door, lanterns hanging, countless meals eaten 'al fresco' and only needing a summer dress day after day (but let's not dwell on the summer dress thing, 'cause then we think about 'the missing slip' and then it spoils everything. no, best all round if we just move on from that)

and then several weeks back it was like 'bam!' winter is upon us, cold, wet and miserable. daylight hours appeared to no longer exist and the shed resembled a cave.

a cold cave, for our shed suddenly appeared very white. i don't usually notice this for all the 'clutter' that surrounds me, but there is not denying it, it lacks a feeling of warmth...

having looked at the Neet Magazine blog i noted the shed's whiteness

i mentioned this to our #1 as she recuperated

"blimey, mum... of course it's white, every wall is white apart from the odd bit of wallpaper, it's glaringly white, we live in a white, white box, haven't you noticed before?"

i can only imagine it was the concoction of painkillers that made her feel the 'whiteness' so deeply and thus her 'outburst',

and of course i recall the time i put wallpaper one end of the lounge, our #4 remarked, it was a huge relief as he no longer felt like he lived in a hospital...

and so it was at the weekend, i went around doing a bit of winterizing, hoping to warm the place up...

i found one strand of fairy lights in a drawer and hung them on the fireplace.

they lasted one night and then gave up the ghost. so much for twinkly lights this christmas.

i found some knitted jackets, some i had made and some i had been given and wrapped up a few cold souls

i took down the white linen drapes in my studio and hung up my prized granny barkcloth, not bothering to hem the fabric, knowing in a few months something else would probably replace them

and

then i started a little crocheted garland for my fireplace

in warm, woolly thrifted cream yarn

i'm not sure my attempts at winterizing have met with much enthusiasm, although our #4 was tres excited about the yarn balls and knitted jackets on the cold souls, he exclaimed it would seem only right that a 'pesky gnome' sit upon the horse and he hoped they would hurry up and arrive soon...

but i do not need to worry, for little olive never lets me down, she embraces all my winterizing with great gusto, i know this to be true when i look under the couch and see her 'magpie treasures' accumlated from around the shed, all made from yarn and all crocheted...

she is dipping her crafting toes into the world of kitschy 'miniature living' and wondering if she is 'quite all there' ~ Tif

thrifty thursdays...

since it's turned november i am seeing little snippets of holiday crafting everywhere i look.

not necessarily when i look in my yard, my car or my cat litter tray... it's usually when i am looking in the cyberworld

so now i have got past halloween successfully ignoring all pumpkin buying or decorating, but in return having to listen to the 'moans' of discontent from our #4, i must really try and make an effort for christmas.

thanksgiving will come and go in a blink of an eye and then i will be looking at december the 1st and having to fix up a 'charlie brown' christmas tree due to my lack of 'foresight'.

i will not let that happen dearest readers, no for i am determined this year to be one foot ahead of the game.

of course if i was really one foot ahead of the game i would have started planning last january but let's ignore that bit and just focus on how great it is to be thinking ahead by around five weeks.

in my new found 'being prepared for christmas' state of mind, i have been perusing the figurine aisle at the thrift store, but alas there have been no pesky gnomes looking for a warm shed this holdiays. in fact, as is usual with the figurine aisle, it is full of 'horrendous crimes' committed with ceramics, wood, clay and other materials.

the only joy i've had so far is a little deer

apparently it traveled from china at some point

i looked at it and it looked at me

i asked, if it knew how to keep it's eyes closed

it said it did and so i took a chance

several coats later it is a glossy red (actually orangey/red as that was all i had) and is preparing to play 'some part' upon our mantlepiece this christmas.

i really have no direction this year, no vision of 'crafty delights' with which to add a warm eclectic vibe to my decorating. i am quite fearful that last year was the best it is ever going to get and it's down hill from now on.

i plan to get a few things down from the attic, my yarn balls, my crocheted popcorn garlands and little trees... take them out, in the off chance, they may inspire me in my creative thought process.

in the meantime, i'm happy to report the advent calendar situation is under control, more 'bemoaning' from one half of the shed clan, but the other half was relatively onboard.

even i have to admit i'm still not sure if i have crossed the boundaries of 'tasteful' holiday decor.

dearest readers it is with great delight and perhaps some trepidation that i report, stumbling upon a '1970's macrame christmas tree' wall hanging complete with pompoms, last night on vintage etsy. when it arrives via the mail man, only then will i be able to tell if i have truly crossed the 'iffy' boundary or if indeed it was $5 well spent...

and so it just leaves me to tell you i will be away for a few days, our #1 has her wisdom teeth removed tomorrow and so i must scrabble around the kitchen drawer trying to locate my florence nightingale hat along with my 'best' bedside manner...

i have plans of being a wonderful caring attendee to her, whilst also updating the shop with my latest offerings...

she is wishing you a lovely weekend, dearies (do you like that, she thought 'dearies' was rather endearing) and will see you next week ~ Tif

Mr Hook, myself and a sorrowful tale...

there are cat people,

there are dog people

and then

there are 'inbetweenies' like myself,

who even if their lives depended upon it, could not bring themselves to choose between the two.

i liken the same way of thinking to crochet...

there are 'roundies' like michelle,

there are 'squaries' like ingrid

and then

there are 'inbetweenies' like emma

and where do i place myself in my opinionated assumption of 'crocheting folk', well let's just say i strayed from the path of 'squaries' once before and that straying ended up in the trash can.

a year and a half on, i dared to stray again and dearest readers, i do believe that for one moment in time, there was a flicker of hope,

a short lived evening, filled with a lifetime of 'circular crocheted' possibilities to come

and then the flicker died...

no amount of recounting the increases,

no amount of blocking offending shape,

no amount of ironing it's 'extra' ripples,

for crying out loud,

no amount of praying to the 'roundie' gods up above,

could save my little mat...

my moment of 'never destined to be an inbetweenie' came late on friday night.

by monday morning, having studied the art of 'avoidance' for several days i faced the truth, my heart sinking in the realization that 'me and Mr Hook' were 'squaries' through and through.

but do not shed a tear for me and Mr Hook, for there is a happy ending to my doomed 'flying high for a moment' sorrowful tale .

yes, it's true, i perhaps will never own a crocheted circle of good proportions made by myself,

but at least my 'ripply circle' has been saved from the 'inevitable' trash can dumping.

for a good home has been found...

a home that appreciates the finer side of all things crocheted, whatever their shape or color

and so it would appear, little olive is most happy with her new crocheted frisbee and so far the frisbee hasn't made any complaints either...

she is thinking that some days it must be exhausting being 'little olive' ~ Tif