and the winner is...

yes, i know... i felt the same when i first met Greta.

if you are sitting comfortably, perhaps with your gleeful 'to do' list almost complete then i shall begin.

earlier today i was having a little chat with Speedy, he noted before that life was pretty busy with all his remodelling and once again, when i approached him of my 'needs' he came forth with mutterings of 'way too busy' and 'not on your life, will i jump into a basket for you'.

i felt this most unreasonable after all it was for a good cause.

my little gleeful dishy had to be replaced by a gleeful basket due to an enormous amount of 'thankfulness' that has appeared in my comments and inbox of late.

as i was tearing and folding up little bits of paper, it occurred to me why some people chose to use 'random generator picker' things. as i am totally clueless as to how such things work, i have been left once again at the mercy of the inhabitants of my shed to help me with picking a winner.

but i digress,

and so there i was, having a chat with Speedy when i heard a little knock at the door.

as i was tres busy in deep conversation, 'used dog' kindly answered for me.

now she is known to be a bit of a 'scaredy pants' at times and so when she ran to me shaking and whimpering, i didn't heed too much thought. i marched over to the door, 'huffing and puffing' as to what could possibly be that important to interrupt my very 'important and busy' giveaway work.

it was my turn to do a little whimpering and shaking.

dear gods, i thought to myself, where on earth did this little forsaken soul come from and more to the point why was her scary forsaken soul upon my doorstep. i quickly composed myself, remembering it is the time for goodwill towards all men, pesky gnomes and forsaken souls...

"yes" said i "can i help you?"

the little forsaken soul began to tell me in very broken english, her name was Greta, that she had met a pesky gnome by the name of Big Daddy online in a chat room. he had promised her a life of untold 'good times', given her the name of his dwelling, that being Mossy Shed and voila! here she is now, having travelled for months, looking for the love of her life and a good time with Big Daddy.

and so dearest readers it has begun, not three days into december and pesky gnomes are causing me trouble. i rolled my eyes to the heavens and then i glanced down at Greta. one lone tear sliding down her cheek... at least i think it was. due to failing eyesight i thought it a tear but it could just as easily have been the bad 'paint job' upon her face. but in the trying circumstances it seemed most rude to stare too closely...

you will be pleased to know, compassion overcame me, and with a few words of comfort i told her that Big Daddy had moved on to the great Las Vegas for pesky gnomes in the sky, due to a tragic accident involving a soccer ball in the back yard one snowy day last winter.

yes, he may be gone but he was not forgotten... and perhaps she would care to come in and be a 'little passing stranger' and help me with my give away. as she entered into Mossy Shed, i failed to mention i was looking for a passing stranger with no fear of heights or sticky parcel tape.

some time later i was offering up words of encouragement "just close your eyes, it's not that far"

"oh, and if you could attempt a dive, it might help the sticky tape to adhere the winner"

of course i was now feeling a little crappy, as after a nice cup of tea and chat, Greta had grown on me in all her bright orange kitschy niceness

but do you know dearest readers, that is what is so wonderful about forsaken little souls that find their way into one's life, they have so much to give...

bless her heart,

she did jump,

she did pick a winner,

and she did survive,

thankfully...

congratulations to Cricket, hurrah! send me your details Cricket and the magazine, along with a gleeful wreath will be winging their way to you pronto.

i did enjoy reading all your lovely thankfulness and i think we can all agree it is nice every now and then to count one's blessings.

and with that all said and done, Greta is now resting on the couch, with a headache and i must away to Miss Ethel for a small shop update beckons tomorrow... i will be putting apron wraps out, hanging a couple of 'whatnot' garlands and hoping to find a 'forever' home for these sweet things

it will be my last update before christmas, so i'm trying hard to not procrastinate and spend wasteful minutes with Greta, Mr Hook and a ball of yarn

she will be back tomorrow with a small miracle or two, after all, it is the season ~ Tif