me and my sweet 'mr hook'...

quite simply put,

i crochet to save my sanity...

and as i had not crocheted in quite sometime

i feared my sanity was in peril.

my lack of crocheting ways

has come from

trying to finish Our #1's blanket,

every time i look at it,

i am overcome with an emotion that i have yet to get a grip on.

perhaps for some it is hard to understand,

indeed i myself,

am somewhat amazed by the intensity of the emotions that pour from my heart,

when i give myself time to think of her departure into the world,

and more so when i think she will soon be followed by Our #2...

but i miss my crocheting and

i am miss my sanity.

i need them both

for without them i am 'a drift'.

so i have told myself it is okay to start a new blanket

and return to Our #1's in a few weeks.

i am quite sure some of you have inhaled a deep breath

followed by a 'tut tutting',

knowing the knowledge that comes with putting a work in progress to one side.

and yes i know it is risky,

but it is a risk i must take,

for i need to spend quality time with Mr Hook...

since making my decision,

i am back on the path of crocheting goodness

and lordy does it feel so mighty fine...

me and my sweet Mr Hook

back together,

doing what we do best.

basic

simple

but

'oh so happy'

double crocheting.

back and forth

no need to think

no need to look

just me and him in perfect harmony,

sorting out the world

one stitch at a time,

thoughts are pondered

questions never quite answered

and

time spently wisely...

i am now at the point where i only have eyes for him,

Miss Ethel is out in the cold,

the Clan are making noises near dinner time,

i, with no intention of moving out of my chair.

used dog and pesky olive are left to their own amusement.

little olive now living with a chronic case of 'crochet addiction'

trying all sorts of pesky approaches,

so my 'ordinarily extraordinary' blanket may become hers

but i see her every time.

and why would i call my blanket

an 'ordinarily extraordinary' blanket?

i'm thinking you may be thinking...

well for me i am always quietly amazed.

when i sit back,

having repeated over and over

one simple stitch

in several different colored yarns

i see once again,

that an ordinary 'day to day' thing,

when made by hand

has the ability to become something quite extraordinary...

she is wishing you the peachiest of peachy times, this weekend ~ Tif

me and my grandpa joe ways...

in the past week i have felt a little like

grandpa joe from charlie and the chocolate factory.

i say "a little" and not "a lot"

for if i said "a lot" then it would mean i had whiskers a lot like grandpa joe

and even if the truth were that i do have whiskers to rival grandpa joe's,

i wish to remain in denial...

so that being said and all cleared up,

i must tell you that just as grandpa joe got out of his bed,

albeit a little achy,

did a little dance in his nightie and whiskers.

i got out of my shed,

albeit a little achy,

did a little dance,

no longer in pj's and without whiskers.

on returning to the shed each day i felt most peachy indeed.

so today i give you,

a week in the life of 'me and my grandpa joe' ways...

1: i went on an art trip to the zoo with our #1 in the pouring rain,

i was surrounded by eighteen year olds, something wasn't quite right.

i am supposed to still be eighteen, how on earth did i get to forty one so quickly...

2: i went to the thrift store and an estate sale.

i found a few little finds worth finding

and a granny chic cabinet that could not be left behind.

i had no justification for my purchase other than she spoke to me,

pleaded with me,

telling me how she needed to live at mossy shed.

i do believe i saw a lone tear at one point,

who was i too let the old dear down...

i have since been busy with my glossy white paint,

a pot of glue

and some vintage wallpaper.

the estate sale made me ponder,

thinking of the person's life laid out before strangers.

3: i beavered a little with Miss Ethel,

short little bursts of sewing, taking things easy...

i beavered under the influence of my swedish clogs.

Miss Ethel understood

4: i, along with my man started the long overdue, re-do of our bedroom.

i have waited over 2 years to get started,

it would appear mossy shed has waited over 30 years for me to find her and get started.

i was not able to participate in my usual frenzy of painting due to my CCSI,

so instead i made myself most useful by pointing out areas my man had missed with the roller.

it is an on going project,

but having got rid of the 30 year old carpet,

the past few nights are the first i have slept soundly with my allergies since arriving at the shed...

5. i noted that spoonfulzine issue 2 is now out...

my copy is winging it's way to moi as i tippity type.

it does look most lovely indeed and i'm rather excited to see how my bit of blurb turned out

6. the lovely Victoria kindly mentioned my dottie angel retreat...

six places have been filled by six dearies.

i am indeed most excited by this bit of news.

still room for more dearies to join in

7. and perhaps the bestest of besty thing to have happened over the past week.

after many weeks of neglect,

me and Mr Hook did indeed find time to renew our love affair...

no need for dorothy or dr hook this time.

just me and my Mr Hook,

sweet and oh so perfectly perfect.

she notes for the first time in weeks, the sun has come out to play ~ Tif

and the winner is...

dearest readers, i must tell the truth,

and the truth that must be told is this...

i had doubts.

yes, Mr Doubting ways were mine

when i posted my granny chic giveaway.

i was quite convinced that most would not enter...

that indeed a request from moi for words of wisdom would not appeal.

but lordy, was i and Mr Doubter proved 'oh so wrong'.

over 400 times 'oh so wrong' infact.

i have spent many moments reading your quotes and philosophies.

many here upon my blog and many more in my inbox...

i have been uplifted and warmed by the words you choose to live by daily.

once again my eyes are opened up to the 'goodness' in others

and that is a lovely thing to see indeed.

how to pick a winner was tres worrisome to me.

my soul sister kindly offered me the solution to my conundrum

(can you tell that darren the dictionary has been over for tea)

who ever falls closes to the middle of the granny cushion

would be the worthy winner...

but then the rains came,

actually they came many days ago and have stayed to play.

this afternoon a small miracle appeared at mossy shed.

the clouds parted and for one small moment in time,

the rains stopped,

the sky went clear

and i rushed outside with my little cushion

whilst shouting up to our #3.

"now when i say go, go... not before and not after.

and just keep your fingers crossed the blogging giveaway gods are smiling on us"

no need for finger crossing however,

for one person did indeed find the center of the granny cushion

hurrah for Brierley Thorpe!

when Brierley appeared within my inbox i thought to myself

"Tif, there is a creative name if ever you saw one"

and it would appear i was not mistaken

for Brierley is

a playwright

a screenwriter

a face painter

and

a maker of lovely things

and now it would appear

Brierley is also a winner

here is what the lovely Brierley left as her quote

"each day i try to...

create something lovely

appreciate something lovely

and let my lovelies know i love them"

i thank you all so kindly for sharing your 'words of wisedom'

so we may go about our days

inspired by 'words full of goodness' that came this way over the past week

she will be back tomorrow with news of what she has been up to ~ Tif