Tif, the lurgy and a pair of curtains...

it would appear that Mr Lurgy has invited his friends Miss Sinus and Master Bronchitis to join the party...

so despite the lovely sunny weather i will be remaining indoors, behind closed curtains... reclining upon my 'lurgified' bed and trying to stop my 'little creative' cogs from whirling around and around...

she will see you in a few days ~ Tif

laying low...

i'm staying quiet this week, the lurgy has got me in a full headlock grip.

i'm just going to hang around the shed, try to take it easy and give the lurgy it's marching orders once and for all...

she will see you at the end of the week with news of her top secret mission ~ Tif

wall doilies...

for a moment there i was beginning to think you had all locked your 'thinking caps' in a cupboard and thrown away the keys.

i do however thank you lovely readers that did come up with some suggestions...

in the end i have come up with the name

'wall doilies'

seems a nice little play on the words

'wall flowers'

it all sounds pretty and sweet (hopefully not too sweet, but perhaps 'little girls vintage bedroom' sweet)...

the rain has moved aside for sun and it's all warming up a treat around here...

i have no thrifty spoils to show this week but i do have to tell you tomorrow i head off on a top secret mission. ("oooh, Tif... such intrigue, such suspense")

i know... you can always rely upon moi to be up to something. a while back a friend commented to me "why do you always add something into the mix when things are ticking along just fine"... and it is a good question one should ask one's self on occasion and then not dwell on the answer.

a little clue for you would be to say my man said "this is it Tif, this will be the last for a good long while." to which i replied

"yes, of course... at least until our #1 leaves the nest, because then i will have a whopping great big hole in my life to fill!" (and we all know that isn't so very far away, sniff)

on the chicken front, we hold our 'chicken coop' christening party on Saturday...

not a huge grand affair just a few friends around for drinks and a wee game of 'footie' in the back yard. the weather is suppose to stay peachy all weekend long so i'm imagining a wonderful alfresco affair, that is until i focus on the fact i must prepare some 'nibbles' (and no, i will not be preparing 'chicken anything' as that would be plain wrong)...

she will see you on Tues, as it's a bank holiday here... she's taking a wee break to soak up the sun and hopefully get over her hacky 'not nice in public' cough

(which Tasha experienced first hand in the Bank today, "oooh, which Tasha would that be, Tif?"

oh, that would be 'the Tasha who recently tied the knot' eeek!) ~ Tif

doily picture thingy~me~bob...

i have had a wee embroidered pesky squirrel sitting on my sewing table for several weeks now.

when i found the little doily place mat at an antique place i knew exactly what i wanted to do with it, i just had to figure how to do it...

yesterday, whilst struggling to focus on the bags, a little bolt of inspiration hit me with regards to the wee squirrel.

so with the help of trusty Miss Ethel and a piece of cardboard, i have created a doily picture thingy~me~bob...

who tomorrow will be placed in the window of my little store, but not before i have actually worked out what to call it. any bright suggestions of wisdom here would be appreciated. i fear my little inspirational brain cells are mute this week and as i have another two i would also like to put along side this wee pesky squirrel, i really need all the help i can get...

she's got to get out of the shed... oh, well fancy that, it's thrifting day ~ Tif

footy note: having just been out to feed the chickens, i have come over all hot and clammy (and not in a good way i can assure you) so i shall forgo my thrifting ways (shock, horror) and stay home with used dog and a cup of tea instead...

the cogs turnieth no more...

just as i get into the swing of things i am laid low by a cold, i'm not complaining, just frustrated by the continuous cycle of flu and cold bugs that seem to be coming my way of late.

i had thought that i may achieve some 'great things' this week in the way of sewing but it does not appear to be... i have noted that when 'under the weather' my ability to 'create' is greatly hampered. everything takes longer to do and nothing seems to 'flow together' as it should...

that being said i did manage one bag yesterday. this was an experiment of sorts... i took my bucket bag design, made it bigger and added a quilted strap for comfort.

it is constructed entirely out of recycled finds...

a linen tapestry piece (for the front)

a large doily (appliqued over tapestry)

a retro tablecloth (for the back)

a shell button (placed on doily)

a small doily (for detailing on side)

a bed sheet (for lining and quilted handle)

a wee vintage placemat (for interior pocket)

i am now working on some larger bucket bags for the shop, but not quite sure how well that is going to go... i keep getting distracted by

nose blowing,

chicken watching

and pesky squirrels

she is thanking you kindly for your 'picture' support ~ Tif

me, winston and used dog...

we are basking in sunshine at the moment, in between eight loads of laundry and laying a gravel pathway around the veggie patches i took the opportunity to get some pics done for my Etsy store...

for two years on Etsy i have managed to keep myself out of the frame but alas my need to 'wow the world' with my 'summer apron wraps' has caused me to rethink my styling.

my girls have been most gracious at weekends by giving me a ten minute period of time to set up my little 'patch' in the yard and then 'model' for the camera. (any longer then ten minutes and they double their charge)

i can hear Tyra Banks wise words in my head, "then you do this, then this and little bit of that" but alas i look more like Flat Stanley then america's next top model...

over the past few weekends of 'shoots' i have got a wee bit more happier about standing in front of the camera. i'm not saying i'm any better at it but i am starting to feel like i have a 'style' of picture that works well for what i am selling.

this all accumulated in me being most reckless, and throwing caution to the wind and deciding to 'record' this moment of time in my life for prosperity's sake...

as i stood on my wee stool,

our #2 muttered "oh lord, let's just hope no one drives by"

then our#1 pulled up with her boyfriend who then muttered "your mom is barking mad" (or the american version of barking mad, to which i do not know but surely should learn one day).

next my man questioned the sanity behind needing to stand on a stool for a photo shoot. (after 24 years together does he really need to question anything, anymore?)

for the second photo, i proposed to the camera person we involve a chicken.

said chicken (Fatty) was most co-operative and dealt well with the 'moment' considering she was under intimidating circumstances... just out of the frame was 'used dog' licking her lips...

i am most happy to know that in years to come when my grandchildren are perhaps going through my effects, they will happen upon my little photos and marvel at their granny, who in her youth (ha, ha, ha)

kept chickens,

had a trailer named Gladys in the backyard

an old Ford truck named Winston on the drive

had an alter ego named dottie angel

and tried to convince the world to wear 'summer apron wraps' and 'slips' everyday...

her creative cogs have started turning, causing her little sleep... but it's all good ~ Tif

a parting of the ways...

i have two gripping pieces of info to share with you today...

gripping piece of info #1:

in my despair at graying rapidly and feeling a frump, i had a close inspection of my coif. i have discovered a small slither of hairline that shows no wisdom yet. this fantastic, ney brilliant discovery has aided me greatly in breaking up my hair wearing routine. for four weeks i shall part my hair on the side, when those pesky gray hairs come back to haunt me i shall then part my hair in the middle, thus adding a eclectic vibe to my 'hair wearing' and a 'will she or won't she' feel to my morning routine.

(doesn't get more gripping than that does it!)

gripping piece of info #2:

my sweet chickies are in the coop.

for mother's day, my gift was a finished coop, i can't think of a nicer gift in the world then a finished duck egg blue chicken coop with some natty bunting...

i am pleased to report, my little chickie peas have settled in most well, and after a day or two have figured out the ladder as well.

she will see you on monday ~ Tif

thrifty thursdays...

you always get a 'feeling' the minute you walk through the thrift store door as to whether it will be full to the point of over flowing with 'great finds' or totally 'crappity crap'.

last night it was a 'keep yourself under control Tif' type of thrifting night, someone somewhere, god rest her soul must have passed onto something better because what was on view hadn't probably seen the light of day for many a year...

half way through my 'trawling' i realized my thrifting ways were getting out of control... and so i did what i always do, pile my cart full and then at the end go through and select my 'absolutes' and put back the 'not today' items.

so for your perusal i give you...

a heavy cook pot ("what unearth does Tif need a cook pot for?" i hear you gasp, and perhaps even experience a wee tingle of fear for my loved ones).

that's a very valid question, after all we know my strengths lay elsewhere than in the kitchen. well i saw it and i noted how lovely the color was, then how hefty the weight was, then the sweet handles on the side and then it dawned on me that if i had such a cook pot in my possession then surely my cooking would improve. whilst i ponder what delight i am going to conjure up in it (and don't say it's the size of a small chicken) i have placed it safely on top of my dresser to gather dust.

the linens were looking especially lovely last night and i really did have to be selective, i found several tablecloths that will end up as curtains, a nice selection of pillowcases that i need not tell you their destiny, for you are always super duper clever at remembering things.

and then perhaps my favorite fabricky find was a tablecloth in lovely sludgy retro colors.

i can't decide whether it will get the chop in the end, something i will ponder on for a while...

next, a little orange cup thingy-me-bob that i felt most suited to live on my desk for keeping tags and cards in.

my thrifty find on Etsy this week is some wonderful vintage wallpaper squares. you just dip and stick, i have enough to cover one wall but alas i have no walls left to cover. now i am thinking i could perhaps cover a door or cupboard, then again my ugly filing cabinet could do with a lift and it would look just peachy covered in a little retro print, yet another thing to ponder upon.

i tried two panels out on my trash can in my studio as a trial run and it worked just brilliantly..

so that's our thrifty thursday round up... i am off to make our #4 feel super special on the day he has turned 11. to celebrate the up and coming event, a few days back he decided to embrace his maturing years by having his long flowing locks removed.

it was not unlike shearing a sheep, as i have never actually sheared a sheep i am only guessing, but i did break out into a wee sweat and was quite concerned at one point that i had unearthed a bird's nest. he is now sporting a rather natty little do most befitting for his 11th year...

she will see you tomorrow with grand news about the chickie peas ~ Tif

a question of crafting...

Janet Clare ~ part two

i don't think a roving reporter of 'worth' loses their notepad, so if you give me a minute to turf out my desk drawers i'll be right back...in the meantime, make yourselves comfortable and take a wee moment to reflect upon the fact that Janet had no prior screening of the questions and had to answer on the spot...it was a truely lovely sight, three women huddled around the kitchen table, one very professional with notepad and pencil posed, one with her best knitted frock on to impress and one trying on her collection of hats. i shall leave it to you to put the name to the description...

okay, notepad located and my best interviewing voice is in order.

let the questions begin...

if you were to host a 'yak and yarn' afternoon tea party, which famous people would you invite to your 'bit of a do'?

obviously i would invite Elvis ("me too!" i squealed) and Colin Firth for decorative purposes. Nigella Lawson will provide the refreshments. the best person i know for indiscreet gossip is my hairdresser Colin, so i'm inviting him too.

what is your ultimate thrift store find to date and what are you still on the look out for?

i'd rather choose the dump than a thrift store, my local dump is Aldershot and is full of great finds. my best find there has to be a two seater leather sofa from Laura Ashley for twenty pounds, all i need now is to get some feet for it.

i am still looking for a dresser top to display ceramics in the kitchen, perfectly distressed with layers of paint chipped away

what's in your secret 'crafty' address book?

i get my blankets that i use in my work, from military surplus stores online

what's your guilty craft secret?

never starting a new project in an old book. even if i have only a few pages used, i'll still start fresh in a new book.

what inspired you to start crafting?

i can't ever remember a time when i didn't do it. i have an Irish mother who never allowed us to be idle, so we were always busy with something. "why are you sitting there with your two arms the same length?" is something my mum always used to say. i do remember my granny teaching me to crochet.

a sunny day is perfect for?

going to the coast, sitting on the beach and ending it with fish and chips

what skill do you wish you had that you don't?

i'm not accurate enough, i would like to be more precise with cutting

what's your favorite chocolate bar? (such quality questions don't you think)

milk chocolate...i do like Green and Black. and if i had to make a choice it would be Galaxy over Cadbury

staying in or going out?

staying in, i'm a nester and a real home body

favorite book and movie?

nothing too intellectual, an 'aga saga' type of book, something feel good and uplifting.

as to a movie, any romantic comedy that i can sit and watch whilst sewing away

how do you feel being 'online' has helped you and your crafting?

i would not be where i am today without it.

i came across Heather Bailey's blog by accident and thought perhaps i should have myself a blog, it just took off from there. being online makes it easier to get work and for people to find me. it's lovely to be part of such a great crafting community and to received such positive support. i made my connections with Sew Hip and Pfaff through having my blog and i also find that blogging helps me to appreciate the little things.

favorite pronked outfit?

my spotted coat and knitted warmers

how many hours a day do you spend crafting?

as many as i can fit in

how many hours a week do you spend thrifting?

one or two hours

could you save the world in your underpants if needed?

yes! most definitely

would you run a marathon naked? (question courtesy of my 9 year old godson and probably the most revealing)

no! i couldn't, i don't run, not even for a bus

favorite crisp/chip flavor?

sweet chilli

what did you want to be when you were little?

a ballerina

how old were you when you completed your first quilt?

in my early 30's

if the queen came to tea tomorrow what would you give her to eat?

ginger cake, what's left over from today. i'm quite sure she wouldn't mind a bit

what lift's your spirits on a 'low' day?

tea, chocolate, music, romantic comedies, thrifting or just having time to myself

if you had three chickens in your backyard what would be their names?

Hfer (h for hen)

Rfer (r for rooster)

Cfer (c for chicken)

"do you mind Janet if we just pause there, so the readers have a mo to study the names and have a wee chuckle?"...

"no Tif, not a problem... perhaps we should pop the kettle on while we wait"

do you perfer warm giant undies or slinky skimpy knickers?

oh, definitely warm giant undies, remember i may need to save the world one day

stripes or spots?

stripes

knitting or crochet?

knitting

bagpuss or trumpton?

bagpuss

high street or thrift store?
thrift store

favorite all time fabric?

1950's cherry red with roses on it

what's your absolutely 'first love' in crafting?

knitting, my granny taught me, it was 'love at first sight'

what's your best eco tip for cleaning?

there's not much you can't do with vinegar. i also use baking soda and soap flakes

do you have a 're-use' bag with you every time you go out?

yes, it's one of those things i really try to do

have you ever cooked a fish in your dishwasher?

no! i never have but now i am wondering if perhaps i should try

so it leaves me now to just thank the wonderful Janet Clare for being a 'guinea pig' extraordinaire to my very dubious 'roving reporter' skills.

thanks goes to my lovely assistant Debbie who has still 'got it' and thus able to tell me things about my life that left my memory long ago.

and to you, dearest readers for humoring me.

so until next month's spiffy installment of 'a question of crafting' it will be back to normal ("ha! what's that Tif?" i hear you cry) tomorrow.

she is off to help 'orla and little eva' pack their bags as they take the midnight train to georgia very soon (no tears, we must be strong) ~ Tif

a question of crafting...

Janet Clare ~ part one

are you ready for this one dear readers, after talking about it weeks ago i am at last getting around to starting my new monthly blogging series 'a question of crafting'.

now if you are sitting quietly and have finished rustling your choccy bar wrappers then i shall begin...

a few weeks back (okay, a couple of months but let's not mention it) i had the greatest of pleasures in meeting the lovely Janet Clare.

i have been a buddy of Janet's for several years now, we both launched ourselves upon the cyber world at about the same time and fast became 'friends' and i will always treasure a picture of used dog and myself she so kindly gave me...

Janet is a mother, wife, crafter, and designer. she is fast becoming in demand for her tutorials and often has work featured in publications, you just need to take a look at an issue of Sew Hip to realize what a talent she has.

and so it was, on my wee visit back to old blighty, i told her of my whereabouts and she so wonderfully responded with a "please do come and have elevenses" rather than ignoring me, which a sanier person may have wisely done.

we arrived on Janet's doorstep, i believe wednesday morning (it's been a while remember)... she so very sweetly had baked a ginger cake, in return i had to confess i did not eat ginger cake (i can hear you all gasping at my bad manners, i can't help it, turning 40 has made me say things out loud without thinking).

but this little detail did not worry Janet, for she had stocked up on choccy bars (how well she knows me)... and so it came to be that one very lovely morning was spent in the company of my friend Debbie, (bought along for documenting purposes and 'cause i like her) and my friend Janet.

now may i just digress a little here and perhaps go back to the beginning, so we really understand just how fortunate i was... to be invited to some one's home is always a kind gesture but to be invited by someone whom you know in the cyber world but have never heard their voice or seen them is quite an extraordinary event.

i felt most honored and interestingly not at all nervous, it was like we had always known each other and perhaps only lived two doors away and not seperated by a gigantic pond...

moving on back to the lovely Janet, who i knew to be gifted in the ways of 'crafting' but until you really feel and see textile work in front of you it can be hard to have a complete appreciation of the work involved.

Janet kindly took me and Debbie on a tour of her beautiful home that she and her family have worked so hard on renovating.

the best moment for me was seeing her new studio space, a dream of Janet's for a wee while that had come true at last. we stepped from the kitchen, over the threshold onto hallowed ground, it is bright, light and just stinks of 'crafting'. (that's a good thing in case anyone thinks 'stinks' is a bad thing)...the defining moment was seeing Janet's lovely shelf of her animal figurines and there standing, pride of place is her Hugo... my very first stitched delight i saw of Janet's and a huge inspiration to her work.

and this is where i shall leave it for today, ("oooh, Tif, why would you do that? i hear you ask)

i wish to give you time to visit all of Janet's lovely places and then tomorrow i shall return with my interview, which Janet so graciously allowed me to perform.

it went most swimmingly, with me asking the questions, Janet replying, me then exclaiming "me too!" and then Debbie sitting recording our conversation in shorthand and using her 'corporate skills' that i can only sit and marvel at...

she will see you tomorrow with the 'telling and most revealing' part two of Janet Clare ~ Tif

footy note: please note that all pics in this 'gripping' prologue and interview were taken with Tif's spiffy camera but are of Janet's lovely abode and creations... please do not use unless you have asked permission from the lovely Janet herself as i don't want to get into any trouble however small... thanking you kindly

mothering sunday...

"why do you always get so melancholy this time of year?" asked our #2 the day after her 16th birthday... "we always have to listen to tales of when we were born and the silly things we did when little. i've heard it all before you know, the times i would leave the house and on returning you discovered my knickers were not on under my dress". (i must assure you this was when she was three).

and she speaks the truth, May rolls around and squeezed in between two of my children's birthdays is America's Mothering Sunday. and so i go into a state of reminiscing and recalling...and the beauty of what comes with the privilege of being a mother is the ability as years pass to only remember the sweet good moments and totally forget the 'crappity crap' times.

in the seventeen years of my mothering career i have had my share of 'crappity crap' moments and i do believe as they grow older and become teenagers it can be a 'thankless' career at times...

but every now and then they say something or do something that warms my heart so much that i just can't even begin to imagine a time when they will be out in the big wide world and my nest is empty...

so if you will indulge me (and perhaps ignore my mushy words) i would like to share a few things they do that makes me know i'm loved...these moments are from more recent years, not from the years of sitting on the sofa, 'let me cover you in kisses' years but the years of 'there's a world out there and i need more than just you, mum'...

our #1 is seventeen and this will give hope to any thrifting mum out there that has small children who will not go 'a thrifting' or if they do, 'minnie moans' the whole time.

a few weeks back she took an overnight trip across the mountains to the east side to visit a college...she left at the crack of dawn with bag in hand and $20 in her pocket for food. i did not expect to hear from her unless there was a problem. later that day at around 4pm the phone went and it was her...

"is everything okay, have you made it through the snow and mountains?" i enquire

"yes, yes... it's all fine mum, thing is i don't have long but i'm in a Goodwill and i'm standing here looking at a saucepan and it looks just like the type of thing you would buy, it's that greeny color you like with a wooden handle and mentions Japan on the bottom"

do i need to go any further, i think not... to know that my daughter has stopped at a thrift store is warming enough but that she actually went into the 'kitchen' department on my behalf just makes tears well up in my eyes...

in recent times our #2 has taken it upon herself to call up ocassionally on the way back from school and say "we are just passing (where ever it may be) and wondered if you had eaten lunch, if not can we pick you something up?" now for some this may not mean much, but for me it speaks volumes. it tells me, her and i have come through our dark tunnel together and are now standing in the sunlight, mother and daughter together and dare i voice it, "friends"...it's been a tough journey at times but one i am so glad i took...

our #3 is a quiet soul, he is happy with who he is and takes everything in his stride. some days he is so laid back i fear he may fall down but he's completely in control and i must let him be who he is.

thirteen is tough, i believe it is especially so for children these days and having to put up with two older sisters does not help him i am quite sure...

he has a smile like no other i have seen and when he smiles at me, the whole room lights up and it is at that moment that my heart flips and i feel a rush of love...

our #4 is about to turn 11. as a 'wee one' he was bouncing off the walls, i put this down to my pregnancy diet of Mars Bars and not much else. but as he has matured, the energy levels are still there but we are a little more focused in our day to day life. he always wants to try new things and it is never a dull moment living with him.

although several years old, one of my favorite pictures from my mothering career is of him and myself knitting,

it is the first picture i ever placed on my little blog...

i like his hair

i like the fact he wanted to learn to knit

i like my hair

i like the fact my slip is showing

but most of all, i love we are sharing a moment that did not involve anything but being together and crafting...

i thank you kindly for indulging me with my melancholiness and before i head out the door may i just tell you, on wednesday morning my man asked if i would care to go to the movies on sunday. alarm bells rang, we only go to the movies a couple of times a year. on closer questioning it would appear he thought i might like to spend mother's day watching the new Star Trek movie...words fail me.

i had hoped the panini episode had taught him a lesson but alas i see his memory is as bad as mine these days...

whether you are a mother or not, she is hoping you are treated like 'you are loved' on sunday ~ Tif

thrifty thursdays...

we will not focus today on the fact that little eva and orla (my only two speckled sussex chicks) have been pretending to be girls all along...i know this to be true because i burnt the midnight oil trying to find out information that might tell me otherwise...but alas it would appear that at least two of my eight chickie peas are not going to be 'a laying' any eggs. this morning i have discovered that not only are they fond of Elvis but also David Bowie, it was a bitter sweet moment.

we will also not focus on the fact i am fearing for Gladys...thank goodness the rains have stopped, i had visions of her slowly sliding towards the mini lake in our yard and just sailing on down the hill. i half wondered this morning if Maggi my neighbor would wake to find Gladys in her front yard...

so let us find some more uplifting thoughts to focus on and what better than thrifty thursday... i have a list as long as my arm. it would appear i have gone thrifty nuts this week but really i haven't, okay well perhaps i have.

before i begin, can i just tell you that it is the most dangerous thing to discover that one can thrift from one's desk. over the past few weeks i have noted that Etsy is a haven of lovely vintage thrifty finds, if one can't get out and about when being florence nightingale then just peruse the aisles of vintage on Etsy to keep you sane.

so if you are sitting comfortably then i shall begin...

1. a sweet little ceramic deer holder thingy-me-bob from etsy seller karapegg

it caught my eye when i was reading the blog over at papernstitch (worth a read, and the shops featured are just lovely). i never ever have found a ceramic at my thrift store more than two years old, it is complete 'pants' in the ceramic department...so that being said i am most happy to find one on Etsy.

i am waiting for inspiration to hit and figure out what to do with the container bit at the back, i would buy a wee plant to put in it, (this is where my dad will have taken a sharp intake of breath and feared for all little greeneries waiting to be bought near me) but alas i am rubbish at keeping house plants alive. i pride myself on keeping my four children, one man and countless little critters alive, so i forgive myself not being able to maintain a potted plant...

2. pillowcases and napkins for 'summer apron wraps' sigh...my favorite thing. i managed to get started yesterday on some more...

3. a retro tablecloth in the color of _ _ _ _ _ . i am not going to say it for i do not want to put any one off buying my wares. this lovely dogwood table cloth is destined to be made into cushion covers.

4. a lovely pair of retro yellow curtains in minty fresh condition... which i will put in my little vivant store, but of course all in good time.

5. two sweet pictures... i know what you are thinking, Tif has gone off on one, but do not worry yourself laying awake at night thinking i have got it "oh so wrong". no dear readers i intend to butcher the pictures and just use the frames (that does sound rather aggressive, i fear my martial art ways are getting out of control). i shall paint them a lovely glossy color and then figure out what delight to frame with in their beauty.

6. a tissue box... not just any old tissue box but a kitschy, hang it on the wall kind of tissue box in the most perfect granny pink. having reached the adult world at 40 i have discovered apart from things heading southward at an alarming rate, my nose has started to drip (too much info, i know) and i think it rather lovely if one has to deal with a 'drip' to have tissues at hand... usually i just have a toilet roll sitting around. but no, i am all grown up now with a tissue box that i shall attach to the wall so any passers-by, upon being invited in, may admire my tissue box and exclaim "how lovely and sophisticated to have a plastic kitschy tissue box holder upon your wall".

she's off to get busy with the laundry, ahhh the joys of being a homemaker ~ Tif

the day after...

my little heart has been warmed ten times over by the kindness you have shown me, not just here but over at rearrange design and decor8. to know that you have taken the time to post a comment of such 'loveliness' about me really is quite extraordinary and i feel most humble today...

coming back down to earth, our #3 has been home three days now with another cold bug thing (don't think it, and don't even say it).

yesterday i volunteered to repaint his closet doors to cheer him up... i could tell that although he had never voiced it, he was very much bothered by the clashing of his green doors and the orla kiely wallpaper on the wall outside his room. (and if you believe that my dearest readers then i fear you will believe anything).

so while he lay around feeling most sorry for himself (and so he should, having only just got over the flu, four weeks ago) his mother set to work on transforming the 'bright green' to a more subdued 'sludgy charteusey' kind of green.

when i had finished and he chose to inspect it there was silence and then in a hesitant way as not to offend, he pointed out that it did not appear green at all, and more a sludgy browny yucky yellow kind of color...

"aaah," said i "i believe you are describing the color of vomit, dearest child?"

"yes, that is exactly what i was trying to say, but just couldn't quite find the right word."

i then proceeded to let him know that he may not thank me today, tomorrow, or the week after, or perhaps even in a year or more.

but some day in years to come when he is all grown up and my footprints no longer tread this earth, one day he will stop and remember the day his mum painted his closet doors vomit color to match her wallpaper and he will thank me for giving him such a memory to stay with him forever...

of course he is not convinced, even though i said in my 'wisest toned voice' i could muster,

"it will happen, mark my words"

i give it one week and the doors will be covered in his drawings, pinned up to disguise the queeziness of it all.

it is raining cats and dogs here at the mo, once again we are feeling like noah's ark and i am having trouble keeping the eight chickie peas entertained in the garage. i have discovered as one is apt to do when dealing with chickens that they do care about the type of music they listen to... they do not care for my buddha music, that is quite obvious. and of course i know they like radio 2 unless it goes into some nighttime show with classical music.

but they do have a favorite band and every time i pop the cd on for them, they chirp away with such happiness...it is the one and only ABBA. dancing queen starts up and it's just like an early 80's disco going on...it's most contagious, before i know it, they are dancing, i'm dancing...used dog is dancing and licking her lips and i close my eyes and yes, for one minute i could be meryl streep on mamma mia surrounded by those drop dead gorgeous linens hanging on the line and a view that takes your breathe away...

she is off to sort the chickie peas and then get crafty with miss ethel ~ Tif

footy note: whilest cleaning out my chickies, elvis came on the radio and it was mass hysteria, not unlike one of his concerts in the 70's...i'm such a proud mother hen of my chickies and their musical tastes ;)

me and decor8...

"could someone please pass me the smelling salts...

oh thank you 'used dog'...licking my face will be just as good."

i'm not sure how long it took me to come around after my lovely friend lynn pointed me over here

but for the first time in my rambling blogging career of two years, i am left speechless...

she is off to watch paint dry on some closet doors with a paintbrush in one hand and a chocolate bar in the other, damn she knows how to celebrate ~ Tif

ramble not, Tif...

there will be no ramblings here today...but before you hang your little heads and weep, (did i hear someone in the back row shout "hurrah"?)

i have to tell you why i'm not a 'rambling' ("oh really Tif, do you have to?")....

(dadadada....DA!!!)

because i am a 'rambling' over here instead...

where i have surpassed myself with a whole load of rambling.

before my man went to work i made him sit down and read my interview...afterwards he told me everything would alright and that i only sounded like half a 'twit' and not a complete 'twit'.

nothing new there then, so i can breathe a sigh of relief.

so i must just say a thank you to my girls that took it upon themselves to edit their mother's answers (thank goodness) before she pressed the send button

and to the lovely Ana who so kindly thought me worthy of her house touring blog.

she's off to make our #2 feel super special on the day she turns sweet sixteen...sigh ~ Tif

part 'thrilling' two...

it is such a better day today...several reasons for that.

1. i put my bi-focals away in a drawer and hopefully my short term memory loss will kick in and i will soon forget where i put them and actually, that i even had them in the first place...

i have located an old pair of specs that i use for painting, they are covered in speckles of white and quite frankly i do not care.

my eyes are relieved,

my brain is relieved,

innocent pedestrians are relieved

and my summer wedges are relieved.

2. the sun is shining and it is warming up a treat outside. the chickie peas and i have been out already this morning practising our tai chi.

i fear they are much better at it then myself, although they did get distracted some what by a big slug that happened upon our little gathering. i don't own any tai chi music so i fished out one of my buddha cd's. it's going all rather swimmingly and i actually have retained a few 'moves' in my head now. i am especially good at 'cloud' hands...when i am tai chi-ing, in my little head i could so easily be in 'crouching tiger,hidden dragon'...

i have told my man, he needs to watch out. he may think i am retreating but no, i am taking all his tae kwondo energy and just when he thinks i have weakened and the battle is won, i will retaliate with my 'cloud' hands...

me and my chickies were doing a grand old job but then somebody on my buddha music started doing a 'wailing' thing that was most distracting and i lost my tai chi 'grove' and had to give up.

3. i am finding time today to finish up some apron wraps...the lovely kimberley over at seattle style gave out some 'summer apron wrap' loving last week and it really made my day, perhaps even my week.

but enough of this dilly dallying talk...

and so to 'potholdering'...my latest weakness. i blame the lovely emma lamb, she of the beautiful crocheted granny cushions, of which i am a proud owner. she is also rather nifty with the camera and putting together treasuries on etsy.

she started a lovely flickr group called 'all colours in' and asked me to join...which was most kind as she knows i am totally 'pants' at joining in with most things. but for emma i tried really hard to remember i was part of her lovely group.

i took a wee look a while ago at all the lovely pics that people around the globe were adding to the group.

and there is was, the photo that made me 'gasp', clutch my hands to my chest and exclaim "i need to add to my piddly potholder collection of three, so that i too may have a wall as beautiful as this" (i talk quite a lot out loud these days, it helps if you have furry and feathered friends around because then you feel it's okay)

my little collection is growing but isn't enough to start placing on the wall...so for now i have made myself a 'potholder' tree...

i am most happy with my tree and am thinking it might stop there, just as it is...for i can move my tree from room to room as the mood takes me. for now it is on the mantlepiece bringing a touch of 'potholdering' love to our lounge...

so there we have it...i am not actually quite sure my 'thrilling' potholdering part two was up to much and i know my aunt will be most disappointed as she had high hopes i was making swimwear out of them...the thought of having to model my apron wraps was traumatic enough, the thought of modeling 'potholder' bikinis is just too much for me and quite honestly way too much for the world...

with that thought she will leave you to have a lovely weekend ~ Tif